by Merita King
Let me tell you a little about Floxham Island, just so you can get the feel of the place. It’s one of my regular delivery points so I’ve been there a few times with what I call my cargo and it’s not a place I really enjoy visiting. Floxham 4 is an uninhabited planet with a mountainous and deeply forested environment. Although I say uninhabited that’s not strictly true; it is inhabited but not by people. A long time ago the Inter Galactic Law Enforcement Agency decided, in its wisdom, to build an outpost there where prisoners could be tried, sentenced and incarcerated all in the one place and where all of the forensic testing and evidence could be processed on site. They cleared several square miles of forest but before they could begin to build, they had to dig a deep trench three hundred feet deep and five hundred across. The purpose of the trench was to keep the indigenous animal life out of the complex so the builders could do their job in safety. You see, Floxham 4 is home to huge predatory creatures; millions of them roam the entire planet and no one would survive long beyond that trench. That’s one of the main reasons they built the prison there; the knowledge of the creatures ensures none of the prisoners dare try to escape.
The prison is a self contained living environment, like a small town and not only houses the prisoners and the staff but also has accommodations for visitors and those who work in the other aspects of law enforcement; judges and court officials etc. Those who visit family members incarcerated there are allowed a three day visit twice a year and they spend the whole three days down there and the accommodations are comfortable despite it being a prison. The food is good and the staff know how to have a good time and I didn’t mind being stuck there for three days with Nembier. It’s my job not just to deliver my cargo, but also to go through some official stuff with regard to the case, do my report and officially hand them over and that normally takes the better part of a day anyway. The leggy blonde wouldn’t be there, which was a shame but there’s always the hope of a sexy female judge to help me while away the time.
The prison’s automated comms system welcomed us as soon as we arrived at the planet, and guided us down to the landing station that we could see framed in dull glowing yellow lights below us. Sneaking a look at my fellow passengers as we descended, I tried to get a handle on them. People watching is fun and I suppose it’s because of my job that I’ve become so good at reading people and I find myself automatically summing people up whenever I meet them, even when there’s no need. It’s a habit I’ve got into and I don’t feel the need to stop doing it just yet. They were a mixed bunch; one old man with a young kid by his side, two guys who looked to be in their twenties, one of whom had dark brown skin and bright eyes, a teenage girl and a nice but rather plain young woman. One of the guys, the solidly built man with deep brown skin was obviously military; the way he held himself and his firm gaze told me that right away. The other guy looked a bit soft and seemed to be more of a thinker than a doer. The plain woman looked tough and I knew instantly that here was one tough gal that didn’t need a man by her side to make her feel complete. This woman looked the type who would argue with you and know she could hold her own in any debate. She was one of those women who believe that she has what it takes to survive in any situation, but lacks any actual experience of having to do so. The teenage girl looked scared and frail but I could tell she had an amazing strength inside of her that she hadn’t needed to discover yet. It was the old guy and the kid who really caught my attention though and I knew right away that there was a lot that old guy was hiding. He made me feel uneasy but I didn’t know why and the kid didn’t make me feel any better. As I looked into the kid’s eyes it was as if he didn’t quite belong in that body somehow. He made me shiver inwardly and I looked away.
We had five crew on board with us; Flark was Captain and under him was a pilot by the name of Chip Trale; a blonde, blue eyed plank who obviously felt he should’ve been a model or a vidicom star instead. His co pilot was at the opposite end of the scale and the contrast between them was more than a little amusing. Luggs was a throwback to some time long ago when his race was first evolving from grunting animals. A coarse individual, he was big but lacked grace when he moved and seemed to have a permanent and unsettling leer on his face. If I was a woman I’d feel very uncomfortable around him. The navigator was our one female crew member and I felt let down as I looked at her. Meesha Roddry was obviously a gal who liked a drink and probably used it to mask out some past hurt that she hadn’t yet come to terms with. She looked at every male on board in a way that made it very clear she’d open her legs for anyone without a fuss, even the old guy. We also had an engineer with us by the name of Jo Cappilianos who told everyone to call him Cap. He was one of those annoyingly happy folks with a permanent smile on his face who never worries about anything and is always optimistic and joyful. The kind of guy you like to punch first thing on a Sunday morning after a heavy evening the night before.
We landed safely on Floxham Island’s shuttle landing station and everyone prepared to disembark. Hann and I had previously arranged for the passengers to disembark first, while I would wait inside with the crew before escorting Nembier into the prison. Once the passengers were off, I got up and began to take down the wall boards shielding him from view. I was just about to say something to Flark when the scream rang out and everyone was shocked into silence. Everyone looked at each other before jumping up and heading for the hatch to see what the commotion was. As we followed the direction of the scream we could hear sobbing. It was late afternoon and the light was getting low when we arrived and the dull yellow landing lights didn’t afford us much illumination so it wasn’t until we were within a few feet that we could see the teenage girl sobbing and being comforted by the plain woman.
“What’s going on here?” Flark bellowed. The woman pointed into the gloom to her left and we all squinted but could see nothing. Luggs took a step closer and we heard him gasp in shock before swearing and turning away to vomit. “What the fuck is going on Luggs?” Flark bellowed again and Luggs pointed. He and Cap approached cautiously and peered into the darkness. “Holy fuck,” Flark exclaimed as he jumped back. By now I was getting more curious myself so I took a step forward but he blocked my way. “I wouldn’t if I were you Mr Sinclair,” he gasped as he looked at me wide eyed. There was no way I was missing out on the fun so I stepped past him and took a look and found myself staring into a pair of startled eyes. The hat told me this was one of the prison guards and his shocked expression was obviously a result of him having no body below the chest; the gaping, bloody rent through which we could clearly see ribs, lungs and liver telling us this guy met with a horrible end not long ago. The shock made me leap back and I glared at Flark.
“What the fuck?” I began but couldn’t think how to finish. Before anyone could say anything else we heard a loud roaring grunt and everyone looked around. Having been here before, I knew there were terrible creatures living on Floxham but I’d never heard them so close before and it unsettled me. The noise came again and Flark sprang into action, bellowing commands and ordering everyone to run for the main door of the prison. Shaking away my shock, I leapt back into the shuttle to unlock Nembier and Luggs appeared beside me; his size helping to ensure that my prisoner would give us no trouble. Nembier looked scared, his eyes darting to and fro and he obviously picked up on our unease. Feeling no desire to allay his fears I grabbed my bag and dragged him from the shuttle; Luggs holding his other arm in a vice like grip.
We leapt from the hatch and raced to catch up with the others who were by now over a hundred yards ahead of us. We heard another loud roar right behind us and I turned to find myself looking at something I’d never seen before and never want to see again. That image haunted my dreams for weeks afterwards and almost drove me to drink. The creature was two legged but hunched forward; the hump on its back giving it a slightly bent forward appearance. It didn’t appear to have arms that I could see, but its head was huge and out of all proportion to the size of its body and I couldn’t h
elp wondering how the hell it supported such a huge head. The head was basically spherical, if rather flat on top, with a wedge shaped jaw jutting from the front with rather short but wickedly pointed teeth in two rows, top and bottom. The thing that surprised me most was its eyes and as I looked at them I realised two things that save our lives. First I realised that we had no hope of out running this thing; with two hundred yards of open space between us and the safety of the prison, we were screwed. As I continued looking at that horrific face I realised why those eyes surprised me; they were tiny and the way it was moving its head told me those eyes were almost useless. Realising that this meant it probably worked off sound or smell or both, I scanned the head again for ears and noticed a large hole on each side, surrounded by what looked like a bony frill. It obviously uses sound far more than sight so I put on my most commanding whisper.
“Keep still guys,” I hissed as loudly as I dared. “Don’t move a muscle and keep silent.”
“What the fuck?” Luggs started to protest but I shushed him immediately.
“Shut the fuck up you idiot, it can’t see. Look at its eyes, they’re useless. It operates on sound so shut the fuck up and keep still okay?” Surprisingly, Luggs did as he was told and we stood there; the three of us rooted to the spot as the huge creature approached, turning its head this way and that, scanning for sounds. At one point that huge head passed by my face with just a couple of inches to spare and I felt and smelled its acrid breath. Nembier was terrified out of his wits; I could feel him shaking as I held onto him and I’d already decided that if he ran off screaming like a kid, I wasn’t going to chase after him this time. It was then that I was suddenly reminded of some of those old vidicom movies I love so much as we stood there within twenty feet of the creature as it slowly approached, head bobbing from side to side, ears cocked for the slightest noise. After what seemed like an hour but was probably less than a couple of minutes, the creature snorted and lumbered away to the right and disappeared into the gloom. We waited until we could no longer hear its footsteps thudding before running for our lives towards the prison. We caught up with the rest of the group as they reached the main door. We stopped to get our breath and make sure everyone was accounted for and found that so far at least, we hadn’t lost anyone.
“Oh fuck. Fuck what the hell was that?” Luggs said, his voice trembling with fear. “My god, what the fuck was that?” The guy was obviously terrified but I had to hand it to him, he held onto his fear and I felt some admiration for him.
“This whole planet is full of them,” I said and he nodded.
“I know that but why the fuck is it here on the island?” he asked, knowing I hadn’t a clue.
“Fuck knows,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. “The trench is supposed to keep them all out. Come on let’s get inside where it’s safe huh?” He nodded and with a last fearful look behind, we entered the prison.
Once we got inside and shut the door we all thought we would be safe. We expected the prison staff to come running up and ask us if we were okay or had we lost anyone and would we like a drink to settle our nerves but the place was eerily silent. The teenage girl was still crying and being comforted by the plain woman who was in her element having someone to take charge of. At that moment I realised that although rather a plain looking woman, she would be very useful in a crisis and I silently apologised to her for underestimating her worth. My mind was still trying to digest what just happened to us out there and I suppose a part of me still didn’t quite believe it. Usually I’m not given to fits of panic but at that moment a part of me was silently screaming for help.
“Is everyone here? Do we have everyone?” Flark barked suddenly, breaking the silence of the place and making us jump as his voice echoed around the room. We all looked at each other and realised that yeah, we’d all made it. “Is anyone hurt? Are there any injuries?” he barked again.
“Does shitting my pants count?” Luggs retorted immediately and a tense silence ensued before one by one, we all started to laugh. Even Nembier was grinning at that. It’s funny how, during high stress situations, things make you laugh that might not in another situation. It’s like it’s a survival mechanism for stress relief or something. Normally I would have found Luggs disgusting but that made me laugh and I realised that here was another good ally to have in a crisis, despite him being a little coarse. Although I didn’t yet realise it, subconsciously I was picking my team for when the shit really hit the fan, which was in just a few minutes.
“Why is he in restraints?” the military guy asked suddenly and everyone now looked at Nembier, who blushed to the roots of his hair and looked at the floor. In the panic I’d forgotten that no one knew about him and for a moment I tried to think of a plausible lie, before realising I’d just have to tell them the truth.
“He’s my prisoner,” I replied, “and I brought him here for trial.”
“What did he do?” military guy enquired.
“Nothing, I’m innocent,” Nembier suddenly interrupted.
“Aren’t they all?” I snorted in reply as I looked around for somewhere to secure him. A corridor stretched out ahead so I opened a couple of doors and found one to be a bathroom. It wasn’t the ideal place to house a prisoner but circumstances dictated that I think on my feet, so I dragged him inside and cuffed him around a metal girder that held the mezzanine ceiling up. He protested of course and I promised to come back and move him once we’d gotten our bearings and found some guards who could take charge of him. He gave me no trouble but as I turned to leave he called me back.
“Sinclair?” he called and I turned and looked at him. “Don’t leave me alone in here too long huh? Whatever you think of me is irrelevant; just don’t forget me, please.” That was another of those moments when I really wondered about Nembier so I nodded and left the room.
Pretty soon we realised that our arrival should have been noticed by now and the lack of any staff coming to check us out became too obvious to ignore. It was then that I had a thought that scared me so much I instinctively backed away from it. There was no way I wanted that thought; I didn’t want it at all but it wouldn’t go away no matter what I tried. My mind forced me to consider the possibility that the staff hadn’t come to see us because they were all dead. The fact that no one else voiced the question made me realise that they were probably trying not to acknowledge the same thought themselves. Finally I knew someone had to take the lead if we wanted to get out of this alive so I voiced what no one else wanted to.
“Why is there no staff here? Shouldn’t someone have come to check us out already? Is everyone here dead from those creatures?” Blank faces looked back at me as I looked from one person to the next so I turned to Flark; instinct telling me to give the problem to the Captain. “Well?” I demanded as I raised my eyebrows. “Where the fuck is everyone?”
“How the fuck should I know?” he countered angrily and glared at me. His response surprised me; I was taken aback by his aggressive tone and was about to respond in kind when it occurred to me that he was obviously scared shitless. He sighed deeply and I remembered that he was employed by a cruise line and more than likely has never been in anything remotely similar to this situation before. This made me feel bad, a little, so I backed off. The last thing this situation needed was a row when we needed to work together.
“Sorry Captain,” I replied and nodded at him. “Maybe we should take a look around huh? Maybe split into a couple of groups and meet up back here in an hour, what do you think? Is everyone okay with that?” Hoping everyone would agree I looked around the group and everyone nodded and grunted in response. It was the only sensible thing to do anyway. Working alone all the time means I don’t have to answer to anyone and I was about to suggest who goes with whom when I remembered that Flark was technically in charge of us so I held my tongue. “Captain? You wanna suggest who goes with whom?” I offered.
He looked at me and nodded. “Okay folks, we have 2 kids with us so maybe we should first fin
d a secure room and hide them in there while the rest of us split up to search the place okay?” Everyone began to nod but the old guy with the weird kid looked aghast and clasped the boy’s hand tighter as he shook his head violently.
“No, I’m sorry Captain but I can’t leave Eddy alone,” the old guy said. “He stays with me or I stay with him.” My heart sank and I gave a silent sigh and rolled my eyes as I remembered all those vidicom movies where this happens and the kid ends up running off and getting everyone killed. Flark was obviously thinking the same thing because his expression darkened and I mentally clapped him on the back.
“Listen to me dammit,” he snapped. “You saw what was out there and for all we know this whole place could be crawling with them and who knows what else. We have to take a look around to see what we’re dealing with and we don’t want to have to deal with 2 scared kids when we might have to fight for our lives. Now we find a secure room and Eddy and the girl can keep each other company there while the rest of us reccy the place. That’s an order not a suggestion by the way so get with it people.” His expression made it clear it would be unwise to argue so we moved off and within a couple of minutes we found a small office with a lockable door. We arranged the desks and chairs to make a little den and put Eddy and the girl down in there together. The girl looked scared to be left on her own and I felt sorry for her. She’d been no trouble at all so far and was travelling alone and must’ve been scared out of her wits. Her eyes were huge and frightened as I crouched down and smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Hi there, my name’s Sam,” I smiled. “What’s yours?”
“Jena Marks,” she replied quietly.
