Zenn Scarlett

by Christian Schoon

  “Yeah, don’t let me keep ya,” Graad called after them. “You and the Friar here will be wantin’ to get back to pet your monsters. Don’t worry ’bout us humans. We’ll just eat the damn red dirt. Plenty of that on this godforsaken rock. You be sure and leave some for us, won’t ya?”

  “Ignore him,” Liam said as they walked away.

  “I intend to. You too, Hamish.”

  “I will attempt to do this,” Hamish said. “This person Graad Dokes seems like a very angry human man, if I may say.”

  “He just… likes to bluster, you know?” Liam said as they came to the garage. “Shoots his mouth off. He doesn’t really want to be here anyway. On Mars. He takes it out on anybody within earshot.” They entered the garage, where Vic had three trucks and an old tractor parked.

  “What’s he got against Mars?” Zenn asked.

  “He was in the last batch of colonists from Earth. Bartered five years’ labor for a berth on one of the final flights. Being indentured, they call it. I think he had a pretty bad time working for the guy who’d bought his passage. Anyway, that kinda poisoned him on the whole idea of Mars. When he gets drunk, only thing he talks about it how he’s stuck here and can’t get home again cause of the Rift.”

  They stopped next to the six-wheeler and Liam reached out with one hand and banged several times on the side of the truck. Zenn gave him a puzzled look.

  “Barn cats,” he said. “They sleep under there. Don’t have the sense to get outta the way.”

  An orange-red cat the size of a small dog emerged from under the truck, stretched languidly and walked over to rub his head against Liam’s legs. He bent to scratch it behind the ears, provoking the loudest purr Zenn had ever heard.

  “And who’s this?” she asked.

  “He’s Zeus. King of the ranch. He keeps an eye on things for me around here. Don’t ya, big guy?”

  Zenn bent to give him a pat.

  “Looks like he’s had to fight for his crown,” she said, noting the battle scars on the cat’s head and the missing chunk from one ear.

  “Yeah, but the challengers get the idea after the first time,” Liam said. “And after that it’s peace and quiet cause everybody knows not to mess with him. Alright, buddy,” Liam shooed him away with the wave of his hand. “Look out now, we’re gonna drive outta here.”

  Zeus ran to the garage door and out into the yard.

  Liam pulled open the driver’s door and Zenn went around to climb in on the other side. Hamish took up his position in the truck bed.

  “You know,” Zenn said. “Graad is really annoying, whatever the reason. Why does your aunt put up with him?”

  “Sometimes I wonder,” Liam scowled, stepped on the starter, and the engine coughed to life.

  “You and Graad don’t really get along, huh?”

  “Get along? I hate the bastard,” Liam said, jamming the truck into gear.

  The vehemence of Liam’s response startled Zenn.

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “Because, alright?” He gave her a look, and then stared out at the road.

  Oops… touchy subject.

  “So,” she said, breaking the silence after they’d driven out onto the road. “The skirni back there? Vic said he was here on business?”

  “Yeah, I don’t really know much about it. Something to do with swapping tanned goat leather for a shipment of drip-irrigator equipment. If I know skirnis, the irrigation stuff is stolen and Vic’s gonna be sorry she got involved. But hey, it’s her ranch.”

  “Well, that’s a new twist,” Zenn said, “Vic LeClerc making deals with an off-worlder.”

  “Business is business, far as Vic’s concerned. He’s kind of a funny little guy, though. Asks lots of questions. Wants to know all about the ranch, about Arsia, about the cloister and the whole valley. I just never thought of off-worlders like that. Being so curious and all.”

  “Well, it’s probably good for you to meet him. Broaden your horizons.”

  “Yeah, maybe… but I’d rather not talk about my aunt and her off-wa buddy,” he said, his cocky smile returning. “So instead, why don’t you tell me what poor, helpless animal’s gonna be your next victim?”

  “You mean which patient will be fortunate enough to have me looking after them?”

  “Right. Sure. That’s what I meant to say.”

  “When we get back I’ll check on the Kiran’s whalehound. See how his infected tear duct is doing.”

  “Yeah, the hound,” Liam said, giving her a look of what seemed to be genuine concern. “I… um…. heard about what happened. Close call, huh?”

  “It was. But we got him back safe, no one hurt.”

  The subject drew Zenn’s thoughts back to the deeply unsettling sensation she’d shared with the hound just before his escape. And then with Gil’s sandhog. The whole situation had been nagging at her for days; it was starting to interfere with her studies, becoming a real distraction. Otha hadn’t understood. Hadn’t been willing to try.

  “Liam.” She turned in the seat to face him. He glanced toward her, then back to the road.

  “Yeah?”

  Should she tell him? What would he think? Would it break the Rule? Would opening up about this mean she was “being friendly”? And was that the same as trying to make friends? No, she decided. She just needed to talk about something that was bothering her. Rule not broken.

  “Lately, it’s just that I’ve been having these… feelings around some of our animals.”

  “Feelings?” Liam gave her a mystified look.

  “Yes. It’s kind of hard to explain…”

  After she’d laid out the situation as well as she could, Liam was quiet. They drove on. He still said nothing, brow furrowed.

  Great. I’ve just lived up to every story the towner kids make up about the Ciscan weirdoes out at the cloister. Well done, Zenn.

  “Well, Nine Hells, Scarlett,” he said at last. “That’s… really…”

  Here it comes. She sank down in her seat.

  “… amazing. You actually feel what the animal is feeling? How’s that possible?”

  She had to look closely at his face to make sure he wasn’t mocking her. But no, he was serious. He believed her. She sat up straight again.

  “That’s just it,” she said. “I don’t do it. I don’t do anything at all. It just happens by itself. One minute everything is normal, just me and one of the patients. The next minute, everything is… different. It’s like there’s a bridge, a mental bridge between us, a link or something.”

  “Well, it’s sounds kind of great. To see into a mons… an animal’s thoughts, ya know?”

  “Actually, it’s not so great. It’s more like really confusing and it sort of makes me sick. But yeah, I have to admit it’s… like nothing else I’ve ever felt.”

  “Sounds that way.” He gave her a quick glance. “Say… you… um… don’t ever do that with people, do you? You know. Get in their heads.”

  She had to grin at his obvious discomfort.

  “No, Liam,” she said, having mercy on him. “At least, not so far.”

  “Oh. Good. Let’s… keep it that way.”

  FIFTEEN

  “I thank you for assisting me in this task, novice Zenn. I know you’re occupied with your studies,” Hamish said as they entered the tool shed Otha had converted to house Griselda’s tank. “Your assistance is very much appreciated.”

  “It’s alright,” she said, but she could hear the shortness in her voice. She told herself to be civil. It wasn’t Hamish’s fault she was feeling overwhelmed and distracted. After spending longer than she’d wanted worming the goats, she was behind schedule for the day, and still fuming about Graad. Not to mention everything else that seemed to be happening all at once lately. The only bright spot was her conversation with Liam in the truck. He had no insights to offer, of course; she didn’t expect that. It had just felt good to say out loud what she’d been going through. At least he didn’t think she was insane
. And that was encouraging.

  Griselda sensed them coming into the shed, and rose up into the water from the bottom of her aquarium, a clear ballisti-plast structure that reached from floor to ceiling against the back wall. Katie ran past Zenn, bounding up to the tank and staring, fascinated, following the creature’s every move as it undulated before her. About the size of a large sofa, the seepdemon could alter the form of her gelatinous, amoeba-like body at will, allowing her to flatten out like a carpet, roll up into a ball or stretch herself out thin as wire to fit through the tiniest openings. The seepdemon’s body was currently more or less the shape of a large, transparent pillow packed with various multi-colored organs, connective tissue and vacuoles floating in cytoplasm. She had no eyes, as such, but instead had tiny, photosensitive cells scattered across the surface of her see-through skin.

  “Hi, Zelda,” Zenn said, tapping the wall of the tank, “We’re just here to change your tank filters.”

  “She doesn’t comprehend you, does she?”

  “No. But you never know what they pick up on. A tone of voice. Body language. Never hurts to be friendly.”

  “A sensible policy.”

  “So, you shut off the oxygenation pump here.” Zenn threw a switch on the wall, and the hum-and-bubbling of the pump died away. “Then, you unlock this door down here, pull the filter out and replace it with a clean one.” She stooped and pulled the dirty filter out, threw it in the bin in the corner, took a clean filter from the shelf and inserted it into the receptacle.

  “Alright,” she said standing up. “That’s the basic Griselda routine. Any questions?”

  Hamish thought for moment, antennae quivering.

  “No. I believe I understand how to proceed. Thank you again.” Zenn turned to leave. “Novice Scarlett?” Hamish pointed to the filter door on the aquarium. “Should we close that opening before we go?”

  Zenn turned. She’d left the door to the filter compartment open, and Griselda had already noticed. A long, spaghetti-thin filament of seepdemon pseudopod was rising up out of the open door, where Katie sat, batting playfully at the thread of tissue waving in the air. A minute more and Griselda would have pushed her entire body out onto the floor.

  “Katie. Get away from there,” Zenn scolded, running to the filter door. “What is the matter with me?” She nudged Katie aside and pushed the filament back in, then shut the door and locked it. She shouldn’t have allowed Katie to come. This time, it had just been easier to let her follow than to make her stay. And while Griselda wasn’t really dangerous, Zenn still felt angry with herself for letting her guard down. Crouched on the floor next to the tank, she closed her eyes. To her great surprise, she felt like crying. She drew a ragged breath.

  “Novice Zenn? Is something the matter?”

  “No… I don’t know.” She stood, staring at Griselda fluttering in her tank. “Something weird is going on, Hamish.”

  “I do not know of this weirdness. Do you wish to speak about it?”

  You know what? I do.

  “First the whalehound got out, right?” Zenn crossed her arms, looked at the ground, frowned. Yes, it was time to lay this out. Maybe that would help her organize her jumbled thoughts. “I did not leave that fence off. I’m sure. Almost.”

  Hamish’s head turned to look down at the door Zenn had just forgotten to lock.

  “I know, I know.” she said defensively. “But I’m sure I activated that fence.”

  “Are you saying the energy-fence malfunctioned?”

  “No, I checked that. The switch was off when we got back.”

  “So, someone must have turned it off in some physical manner. Who, would you say?”

  Zenn looked up at Hamish.

  “That’s the question, isn’t it? And then Gil’s sandhog dug through his pen floor, after the wires in the fuse box were chewed. Or cut and made to look chewed.”

  “You are proposing a deliberate act by someone in both events? Based on what reasoning?”

  “There’s a vote coming up in the town council, Hamish.” Zenn said, thinking out loud. “People in town don’t like our animals. They think they’re dangerous, right? If our lease gets cancelled, they’d get rid of us and our animals.”

  “Some of the animals are. Dangerous. Are they not?”

  “Yes, obviously,” Zenn said, thinking that wasn’t the point. “But not if we do our job and keep everything locked down and secure.” The thought hit Zenn with an almost physical force. Maybe that was precisely the point. “Not if we don’t do our job.” She raised her hands to Hamish, as if to show him something. “What if that’s it? What if someone is trying to make us look bad. Like the cloister can’t control its animals. If the animals were a threat, then the council would have a reason to shut us down!”

  “It is a possibility. But who would do such a thing?”

  “I’ve haven’t really figured this all out,” Zenn said. “But one person comes to mind.”

  Hamish waited, antennae vibrating.

  “Graad Dokes,” she said.

  “The human-foreman at the LeClerc property? It seems plain he does dislike off-world life forms. In addition, he is referred to by our Liam Tucker person as ‘one foul-tempered mud-hopper’. I believe the phrase is non-complimentary.”

  “Yes, Graad has a temper, alright.”

  “But to accuse this Graad Dokes? This seems to be, what is the wording… jumping onto a conclusion.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I’m still collecting facts… but look, here’s what we have: the whalehound gets loose, I dart him, and Ren Jakstra says he ran into Graad in Arsia City that very morning. Coincidence he was in the area?”

  “Perhaps he had other business in the…”

  “Hold on. Then, Gil’s sandhog. Guess who just happened to be out at the Bodine place before power to the fence got cut? Gil said Graad dropped off some feed. And we both just heard Graad saying all kinds of stuff about our animals and how keeping them alive was a waste of grazing land.”

  “We did. But this theorizing would demand that Graad Dokes gained unseen entry to the cloister grounds. Could he achieve this?”

  “Alright. That’s a weak link. But he knows the cloister layout well enough.”

  “And there is this,” Hamish said. “I am going here and there all the day and much of the night throughout the grounds. My sensing apparatus are quite acute. The director-abbot has requested that I keep myself attentive for any animal having distress during the night hours. I believe I would have noticed a large, odiferous human going to and fro within the compound walls, even if he attempted to go undetected.”

  “Wait. Odiferous? Graad stinks?”

  “I can smell most life types. Mammal forms in particular. It is your metabolism and porous epidermal skin. Graad Dokes smells of addictive tobacco resin, mammal-goats and fresh dung. You smell of unwashed cloth material and carbonized onion-vegetable.”

  Zenn made a face.

  “I do not!”

  “It is a true statement.”

  “I smell like… cooked onions?” She shook off the comment. “Look, I’ll admit there are holes in my theory. But Graad has a major motive. He hates aliens, no exceptions. It wouldn’t surprise me if he actually wanted the hound to make it into town. Think of what would’ve happened then.”

  “Would he? Intend that kind of…mayhem?”

  “Maybe. Yes, sure. The worse the better, as far as turning the council against us and our animals. And Gil’s sandhog getting loose was just one more dangerous alien creature for people to get upset about. Graad could’ve cut those wires, easy.”

  “I suppose there is some limited probability to your scenario.” Hamish groomed one antenna nervously with his claw. “Should we go to the director-abbot? Tell him of your suspicion?”

  Zenn considered.

  “No,” she said after a few seconds. “Otha already thinks I’m having trouble with my training because of what’s been happening with…” She stopped. “Well, like I said before, I�
�ve just been a little off lately. Besides, Otha will want hard evidence. We need to show him proof.”

  “We?” Hamish now groomed both antennae nervously. “Novice Zenn, I have a reservation to lodge.”

  “Alright. Let’s hear it.”

  “You said you have been ‘off’ as of late. And just now…” He raised one claw, pointing to the aquarium. “You failed to secure the door on the filter. Might your being ‘off’ also affect your perceptions of foreman Graad Dokes’ involvement in these events? Humans, I have noticed, sometimes impose patterns where no patterns, in fact, exist. I am afraid this is in your nature.”

  Zenn knew Hamish had a point. What was happening between her and the animals was interfering with her concentration, making her miss things she shouldn’t, do things she’d never done before.

  “Alright,” she told him. She knelt, and scooped Katie up in her arms. “I admit I don’t have all the facts. It is possible I’m wrong about Graad. There, happy?”

  “Now you are displaying an open mind. I am content.”

  But as she shut the door to the shed and they headed for the refectory to see what Hild was making for supper, Zenn told herself that, at the very least, there seemed to be a pattern taking shape – and Graad Dokes fit into it. Nicely.

  SIXTEEN

  “He must’ve been sleeping under the truck,” Liam repeated for the third time as he and Zenn hurried toward the infirmary, the unconscious animal wrapped in a towel and cradled in Liam’s arms. “He shoulda got outta the way. Stupid cat.”

  “Alright,” Zenn said, trying to think, trying to visualize the steps from the chapters on small animal trauma. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Graad drove the truck out of the shed, accidentally hit him. At least, he said it was an accident… I didn’t see it happen.” He addressed the cat, softly, “Damn you, Zeus. Stupid damn cat.”

  “Was he conscious when you found him? Alert?”

  “Yeah, but he wasn’t moving. And he was crying. Then he got quiet, like now. You can fix him, right?”