by Alan David
‘Let’s try and lift him off the hut,’ he said. ‘Magenta’s legs are pinned underneath him.’
They took hold of the giant’s body, and the four of them had difficulty in dragging it aside. Clark didn’t get time to look closely at the alien, but he was impressed by its size, and was relieved that the Lasers had proved effective against them. They dragged aside the rest of the debris of the hut, uncovering Mallory and Paine. Both men were unconscious.
Magenta was shaken but unhurt, and she quickly recovered sufficiently to supervise the removal of her patients. They were carried into another hut, and Pacian approached Clark and Balfin as order was slowly restored.
‘I have never known such a concerted attack upon us,’ the Avic said. ‘Something has stirred up the Ogrins. They rarely venture this far into the forest after us.’
‘I think it was us they were after,’ Clark said. ‘Probably the weapons we used against them.’
‘We would have been exterminated if you hadn’t been here with those weapons,’ Pacian retorted. ‘Is it possible to make other such weapons?’
‘If we have the time we’ll go back to the shuttlecraft that Mallory crashed and remove the armament. You could use that.’ Clark nodded slowly. ‘If you set up those weapons around a permanent camp you would hold off anything the Ogrins threw against you.’
‘We shall move camp now,’ Pacian said. ‘We have another even deeper in the jungle, and we must go to it until the unrest and activity around here dies down.’
‘I’ll be moving out immediately,’ Clark said.
‘What’s on?’ Balfin demanded instantly.
‘I’ll tell you when we’re on the move! Your company is all I need, Kester.’ Clark looked around. ‘Have you checked that the Ogrin raiding party has pulled out completely?’
‘I’ll check now,’ Balfin retorted. ‘Give me twenty minutes.’
‘Some of my men will accompany you,’ Pacian said.
‘I’ll talk to the others, tell them what I plan to do.’ Clark turned towards the hut where Magenta had taken the injured. ‘We’re leaving as soon as possible.’
He went into the hut, to find Magenta bending over Lieutenant Paine, and Hanton and Searby were watching.
‘What is it?’ Clark demanded.
‘I thought the Lieutenant was coming to,’ Magenta said. ‘But he’s still out.’
‘How is Mallory?’
‘He hasn’t recovered consciousness yet. He’s badly concussed.’ The woman turned her dark gaze to Clark’s face, and he studied her for a moment. ‘Thanks for saving my life! She sounded breathless as she spoke.
‘Glad I was able.’ Clark took a deep breath. ‘I’m moving out shortly with Major Balfin. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but don’t worry if it turns out to be a week or so. Pacian is moving to another camp in a safer part of the forest and you’ll all go with him. Remain with the Avics until we get back.’
‘Where are you going, sir?’ Hanton demanded.
‘We’re going to check out the Brutans. If they have any kind of a ship that’s suitable for getting us off this planet then we’ll have to lay plans for stealing one.’
‘Then I figure we needn’t concern ourselves about when you might get back,’ Hanton said sharply. ‘You won’t be coming back. In the first place it’s impossible to leave the forest without activating the sensors the Brutans have erected, and if you did manage to get clear of them you’d soon be spotted and picked up by the Brutans.’
‘We shan’t get anywhere skulking around in the forest,’ Clark retorted. ‘I would rather die in the attempt at escape than accept that I’m stranded here with this nightmare of aliens for the rest of my life. But apart from that it’s our duty to try and return to Earth with the information we have. I’ll leave one of the Lasers with you, Hanton, and you’ll protect the rest of the party. Pacian will give us a guide out, and we’ll arrange for another to meet us on the way back. Don’t take any chances in here, and try to stay out of trouble.’
Hanton nodded. ‘I’m all for trying to get away, sir, but I feel that you’ll be risking your life for no real purpose. We’re trapped on this planet and there’s no way out.’
‘I’ll check on that for myself, and if I am satisfied that we cannot get away then we’ll sit down and try to work out what to do next. But I’m a hard man to satisfy, and I shan’t quit trying to get off Muta until I’ve exhausted all logical efforts.’
‘Good luck,’ Hanton said.
‘I’m thinking that perhaps Professor Searby should go with us,’ Clark said. He looked at the older man. ‘How would you feel about taking on a dangerous mission?’
‘I was hoping you’d ask me,’ Searby replied, smiling thinly. ‘I may be of some help to you in determining the value or ability of any craft we come upon. I would like to go along. I’ve skulked around in this forest far too long, and if there had been someone here with the ability to fly a spaceship I would have attempted what you’re planning now. It’s the only chance we have.’
‘Good.’ Clark held out his hand. ‘I’m glad you’re thinking like me. Let’s get ready. We’ll pull out as soon as possible.’
Pacian soon organized their supplies of food and water, and when Balfin returned Clark was ready to leave. Balfin was enthusiastic about the trip, and agreed that it should be made. Pacian arranged for their guide, and Clark was satisfied that when they returned to the jungle they would be able to locate a guide to lead them to the new camp.
They set out with the Avic guide in the lead, and Clark turned once to glance back at the huts as they followed a faint path. He saw Magenta standing in the doorway of one of the huts, and when she waved a farewell he lifted a hand and acknowledged. Then the scene disappeared from view and they were enclosed in the living forest.
Clark soon found that the journey on the previous day had taken a great toll of his strength, and within minutes he was sweating and slowed by his exertions. He saw that Balfin was similarly affected, and was concerned by their apparent lack of stamina until Searby spoke from the rear.
‘I think we should abandon this trip for a few days, Commander. It’s obvious to me that you are not acclimatized to Muta. If you take a rest now you’ll find that you’ll be able to handle the trip with no discomfort later.’
‘We’ll push on,’ Clark retorted doggedly. ‘I’ve got the feeling that if we don’t make the effort now it may be impossible to summon it later. What about you, Kester?’
‘I’m doing all right,’ Balfin retorted, and turned a sweating face towards Clark. He grinned and added: ‘Let’s keep going.’ Clark nodded and they went on, finding that after an hour their bodies accepted the strains of movement and they could continue without too much effort. It seemed that they were returning along the same route that had brought them to Pacian’s camp the previous day, and Clark worried about it, afraid of ambush. But there didn’t appear to be other living creatures in the jungle, and the air was stifling under the dark foliage.
It came home to Clark as they made slow progress that the situation in which he found himself was fraught with danger, and it became only too obvious to him that this mission was practically hopeless from the start. He could almost understand Hanton’s lack of hope. They were far away from Earth. Space was too big for Man, took him into many situations that he was not mentally equipped to face, because none of his ancestors had ever been away from Earth. Therefore he had no instincts upon which he could call for help when needed, and no matter where he looked, there were too many reminders that he was on an alien world for him to be able to overlook the fact for long.
They halted at noon, although they could not tell the time by the sun because the sky was invisible to them through the foliage except when they reached small clearings, when their view was somewhat curtailed anyway. But the Avic was at home in this environment, and he moved with an assurance that Clark would have felt back on Earth.
They reached a stream and paused to rest and eat. Steam arose
from marshy ground to their left, and Clark shook his head slowly as he gazed around. The water in the stream was dark and stagnant, and he wondered what kind of alien life forms frequented it. They didn’t pause too long, and went on, filled with a sense of drudgery, sweating continually in the heat. They passed a clearing cautiously, and Balfin, carrying the only Laser they had brought along, halted in the shelter of a tree to escort them past the danger.
Clark looked into the clearing as he went by, and was almost safe when a strange sound caught his ears, faint at the outset but growing quickly louder. He paused and looked back at Balfin, who was peering at the sky over the clearing, and Clark tightened his lips when he spotted a craft swooping in towards the clearing. It wasn’t one of the skyrafts they had seen previously but a more complex machine not unlike the shuttlecraft in which they had descended to the planet.
Balfin was behind a tree, the Laser ready in his hands, and Clark glanced the other way, motioning for Searby and the Avic to remain motionless. They watched the craft settling slowly to the ground. It fired rockets at the last moment to arrest its descent, then settled very gently upon extended legs.
Silence came and there was no movement around the craft. Clark imagined that the occupants were studying their surroundings before alighting, and he did not take his eyes off the alien machine. It was already in his mind that if they could capture the craft they might gain an invaluable advantage.
He saw movements behind the viewports in the side of the craft, and wondered at the origins of the occupants. Were they Brutans? He had heard a great deal about the cold bloodedness of the race, but so far had not set his eyes on any examples of the species.
The Avic guide was coming towards Clark, who heard the faint sounds of the movement and turned his head quickly to caution silence. There was no expression on the Avic’s face, but its movements were fast and nervous, giving Clark the impression that there was danger here. He switched on the transmuter as the birdman reached him, and the faint twitter that came to him was translated instantly.
‘We must get away from here,’ the Avic warned. ‘That is a Brutan craft and they have sensors aboard that can detect our presence even when they cannot see us.’
‘If that’s the case then they’ve already detected us,’ Clark mused. ‘They’ve been sitting there for some minutes. I was wondering why they didn’t alight.’
His forehead prickled coldly as he continued watching, waiting for some movement to herald the emergence of the craft’s occupants. But suddenly a flaring light emanated from a small rod sticking out of the nose of the craft, and before Clark could move the light encompassed the nearer trees and dissolved them into a fine dust. The beam began to swing around as the craft seemed to spin upon its own axis, and trees were disappearing rapidly.
The Avic was grasping at Clark’s arm, and he knew they had to get out of there. It was fortunate that the craft was turning away from their position or they would have been enveloped before they realized what was happening. Clark moistened his dry lips and turned to look at Balfin, who was crouching and aiming at the craft. Balfin was glancing towards Clark, awaiting orders, and Clark looked at the machine once more and realized that it would be deluging their position with the strange light before they could hope to get clear. He looked at Balfin once more and made a sweeping gesture with his hand towards the craft. Balfin nodded grimly and returned his attention to the target.
The craft was spinning slowly, and trees were disappearing easily under the bombardment of the strange ray being operated. Clark watched with a kind of fascinated horror as the falling trees vanished into dust, and the disturbance was creeping steadily towards Balfin’s position.
Balfin was holding the Laser steady, and Clark wondered why the Major did not shoot. He began to tingle with anticipation, then fear, and the alien craft was turning all the time, slowly coming around to their position, bringing with it the certainty of total disintegration.
But the Major knew what his object was. He wanted the craft as whole as possible after evicting the Brutans, and he waited until the nose of the craft was coming to point directly at him. The falling trees marked the point at which the strange weapon was operating, and it came steadily closer to Balfin, taking in all the trees in an area of twenty feet from the edge of the clearing. Balfin expected the craft was using deflector screens for self protection, but there had to be a gap in those screens to enable the alien weapon to operate. He was waiting to put his shots in through that gap.
Clark found he was gritting his teeth. His hands were clenched and sweating. He was breathing shallowly, feeling breathless in the stifling atmosphere. Sweat ran down his face and trickled down the hollow of his chest. He could feel his nerves tightening intolerably.
Then Balfin sighted along the Laser weapon and fired, aiming for the muzzle of the alien gun. Clark watched intently, saw the Laser beam strike the front of the craft, and there was an immediate explosion. The next instant a bright flash enveloped the craft and a pall of smoke arose, blotting out all sight of the craft.
Balfin moved to Clark’s side, his face showing amazement.
‘What the hell happened?’ he demanded.
The Avic was tugging at Clark’s arm, calling urgently for them to move on, and Clark shook his head slowly. He would have given anything up to his right arm for that alien craft to have fallen intact into his possession. He motioned for Balfin to follow and moved away from the clearing, glancing back at the smoke-obscured craft as they struck into the jungle.
They hurried on for an endless period of time, until Clark was practically exhausted, and the Avic turned away from the invisible course he was following every time he sighted a clearing ahead. Once they heard the sound of an aircraft passing overhead, but failed to spot it through the dense foliage, and Clark was wondering what was going on. He fancied that the aliens were making a concerted effort to get at the intruders visiting their planet, and for a time he was concerned that Pacian might underestimate the forces building up against him and permit himself to be trapped.
They walked all day, and Clark was stumbling like an old man by the time the Avic called a halt. He sank down and lay on his back, sprawled over a mossbound root, and gasped for air. He glanced towards Balfin and saw that the Major was as badly pressed as himself. Searby, although a lot older, was not nearly so exhausted, and he grinned sympathetically as he came to Clark’s side.
‘You’ve done better than I thought you would, Commander,’ Searby said. ‘But in a few days you’ll be able to make this trip without any trouble at all.’
‘I guess the fact that we were cooped up on Probe 2 for months has something to do with it as well,’ Clark gasped. ‘But how far is it now to the edge of the jungle?’
‘I’ve just asked the Avic, and he says thirty minutes’ walk from here will take us out of the trees. It will be night very shortly, and we’ll have a better chance of getting clear of the mechanical cordon at the tree line if we wait till darkness.’
Clark sighed with relief. He would not be sorry to get into the open countryside again, despite the added dangers. But he felt oppressed by the trees around him, and longed for a lungful of sweet open air.
They ate and drank sparingly, and then Clark moved through the growing shadows to the Avic’s side. First he thanked the alien for his help during the day, and the Avic rustled its wings with pleasure.
‘Now what can you tell me about this mechanical cordon around the edge of the jungle?’ Clark demanded.
‘There are sensors set out, invisible to the eye, hidden where you cannot see them, but they record your passing and strange weapons operate in blanket fashion, deluging the areas where the sensors are activated with different types of energy beams to destroy all living cells.’
‘Pacian said some of your people filtered through the cordon, but did not return. How did they get through?’
‘There is a concealed tunnel through a hill on the edge of the trees. If you go through the tunnel you w
ill emerge beyond the area of the cordon.’
‘I wish I’d been told about it before we set out this morning,’ Clark said. ‘It would have saved me a considerable amount of brain-racking. Are there any dangers once we are through the cordon?’
‘I do not know. None of our people have been that far and returned to tell us.’
That sounded ominous to Clark, but he said nothing. Balfin was sitting nearby, and had heard what was said. Now he spoke softly.
‘I think we’re going to have to move by night, Commander,’ he said. ‘Once through the cordon around the trees we can slip across country with no trouble at all. I had time to take a good look at the terrain as we passed over it on our way down. We’ll have to make for one of the cities we spotted in the distance. It will be our only hope of gaining information.’
Clark nodded. Already his mind was flitting ahead, although he knew he could not make any hard and fast plans because he had no idea what to expect in the future. But he was certain before they set out on the most dangerous part of the mission that it was going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to gain any kind of success.
Chapter Six
Their Avic guide began to grow nervous as they reached the edge of the forest, and finally he halted and refused to go nearer the tree line. Clark could understand the alien’s fear. He was not feeling confident himself, but he needed to know where the tunnel was located, and persuaded the Avic to show them the entrance. The alien agreed and they went on.
The hill reared up outside the jungle, with its lower slope inside the tree line, and Clark paused when they could see the starry night sky. Something akin to relief went through his heart when he saw the sky, and he was surprised for a moment by sight of two moons, one yellow and the other almost orange. Then he recalled the observations that had been made of Muta aboard Probe 2 before they swung into orbit, and the knowledge that had been forced out of his head by the shocking events since beginning the first orbit returned to his aid.
