Harbinger

by Stephen Christiansen

  A slight chill came over Cleo. It had to with the tone of how Mister Smith had said those last couple of sentences. Something wasn’t right; she could feel it in her gut. But the adaptive properties of the creatures had so many medical benefits that she simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity to further her studies. She simply needed a live creature. Perhaps if she could just….

  Another chill came over Cleo and it was then that she realized that it wasn’t a psychological reaction to Mister Smith’s tone but rather something very physical. It felt as if someone had cranked up the air conditioning. This had been prohibited and completely forbidden since the Xenoamorphopseudopod sample reacted slower to a colder environment than a warmer one. She was sure that a living creature would eventually adapt to a colder environment, but they needed to keep this one warm.

  Again a chill hit her, this time it struck hard. Her form started to shake as her core body temperature started to drop. She could see her breath against the air of the room. She couldn’t remember ever being so cold as her teeth began to chatter.

  It struck her as curious that the businessmen in front of her, including Mister Smith, didn’t seem to be bothered by the dramatic drop in temperature, by the chill that had permeated the air. They simply continued to talk to each other as if she wasn’t even there. None of the other assistants seemed to be cold either. They continued to analyze their data or go over the culmination of their test results as if she no longer existed. None of them had taken notice of her. Yet here she was, freezing to death.

  Yes, it did strike her as the truth of the matter and not some exaggeration. She was actually freezing to death on the spot. Her body went into convulsions as she went into shock. Her form collapsed to the ground.

  “It’s ok. We’ve got you. It’s ok.”

  The voice wasn’t one she had heard before and she knew that it hadn’t come from anyone in the room. Cleo felt a survival blanket start to cover her and immediately she started to warm up. It was then that she realized that she was dreaming, remembering the events before the trip. It seemed to her that she had been able to make it aboard with the next Terraforming team, but everything was hazy and fuzzy. She didn’t remember coming aboard any ship and she didn’t remember any Space Marine military guards accompanying her to help obtain the specimen. They were flying into…

  “Xenoamorphopseudopods! Got to warn…”

  Cleo sat up with a start somewhere between being awake and still feeling that she was back at the laboratory. She was sure that if she was here then there was the potential of being too close to the Xenoamorphopseudopods’ area and unless there was a squadron of Space Marines that had been promised then they were all in terrible danger. Of course the flashing red lights, the coolant being vented, the sparks from the computers and the audible warning announcements only solidified her fear.

  “Warming...Fatal current trajectory. Destruction imminent.”

  “We’ve got to get out of here! Turn back…” Cleo’s comments and warnings were coming sporadically and she was almost incomprehensible.

  “Easy...easy. It’s ok,” Richard said trying to placate his new patient. “There are no aliens aboard this ship. It seems that we might have hit something and it took us out of hyper drive, but no aliens.”

  Cleo wasn’t too sure of the verbal assurance.

  Chapter: 07

  Doctor Peter McCarty bent down in the soft, wet soil. The Amazon jungle was still wet from last night’s torrent of rainfall. It had been a new record of precipitation and that was saying a lot ever since the world’s climate change began. It had been raining here off and on for most of the year. Unfortunately for the rest of the world there had been droughts. Some places, like the American Breadbasket and the African Savanna Grasslands, had turned to a dust bowl. But not here, here there were floods.

  The Amazon River had more than flooded. It had swelled beyond the likes that had ever been recorded. Parts of the jungle were now more like secluded islands while other parts were like a swamp. The environment here was changing too fast for the ecosystem to handle and everything was starting to fall apart.

  The forest floor was losing ground by the day. Land animals either had to move up into the higher tree lines of the Amazon Forest or drown. Many species found it easy to swim between the land sections, but there were still others that were less fortunate. The Amazon River, and now the forest floor, was full of predators and these were now feasting on anything and everything. It had been bad enough to have to watch out for insects that had threatened to eat him alive and the green anaconda that was known to attack humans, now he had to worry about piranha, the black caiman, arapaima, electric eels, payara, and finally bull sharks. Although some of these creatures were found in the deeper waters of the now swelling Amazon River, some still made their way into the shallower waters along the forest floor. Every step he took could be his last.

  The understory level was the next most affected. The smaller trees that reached up to this area were either washed away or had drowned with too much water. Rot had set in fast and every plant that came up to this level was dying off. On top of this, the animals that were able to move up off the forest floor were now overcrowding this section. Vegetation was getting scarce here and animals were competing with each other for food. This area seemed to be in a war zone of its own.

  The canopy was less affected, but scientists were sure that it was only a matter of time before this area started to fall apart as well. More and more trees would fall and more and more animals would climb higher and higher as their food supply continued to dwindle.

  The emergent layer didn’t seem to be affected, at least at first sight. However, the change of weather patterns had disturbed migratory birds that often nested in this part of the Amazon Jungle. Without these birds, seeds wouldn’t spread. The jungle wasn’t just dying from the bottom up, but from the top down as well.

  Peter had to take all of this into consideration as he reached for the seedling that he had spotted. There was no way that he, or anyone, could save this once precious jungle. It was only a matter of time before it all died and perished, this was inevitable. However, he could save various species of plants, one at a time, and find some way to let them flourish once again.

  The shot rang out through the air. Peter’s concentration keeping his sample safe had been broken by the tiny explosion of the bullet hitting the tree beside him, nearly striking his head. Pieces of the tree and chunks of its bark splintered in all directions.

  “Henry! Get the chopper ready! Now!”

  Peter held on to his sapling as he sprinted and dodged between the trees. His boots splashed in the mud as he avoided the larger puddles. Bullets whizzed past him or hit the trees that he was trying to use as cover. More piece of trees and chunks of bark continued to shatter all about him. With any luck he could make it to the helicopter in time.

  The Amazon was almost as bad of a war zone as just about everywhere else on Earth. Eco-terrorists had teamed with local tribes to fight against the larger corporations that were trying to exploit the area. That had all been fine when they were trying to save the rainforest. Now, they were nothing more than another set of terrorists that shot at anything and anyone that moved. These people were no longer truly concerned about saving the planet and seemed to be more of a fanatic militia group. This was only one more reason why Peter had to get these plants out of here, nothing was safe around these savages and he wasn’t talking about the natives.

  Then again, this shot could have come from one of the many other groups in the area. There were farmers that were trying to push out everyone to make their own living despite the country’s laws forbidding the jungle’s deforestation. Then there were the rebels that were trying to overthrow the government. It seemed that almost every country had a set of rebels trying to overthrow some government these days. Then there were drug lords, smugglers, and even American agents that weren’t supposed to be here but were rumored to be helping out one group or another t
o stabilize the area. Finally it could have been the Brazilian army that had enough of everyone hiding in their jungle and were starting to shoot everyone else. It was best to try not to figure out who it was; it was just time to run.

  Two more shots rang out through the rainforest. Peter was grateful that these individuals still had an older version of technology and were still using bullets instead of the plasma pistols that were on the market. A laser sighted plasma thrower would not only increase the chance of being hit, it would hurt a lot more than just a bullet to the arm or leg. Even a near miss could send shards of tree debris in all directions with so much force that being impaled by them could be fatal and smaller trees would be blown to shreds and no longer give cover. Still, he wasn’t looking forward to being hit by bullets either.

  If Henry had been listening to the communications device that each of them shared, and hopefully he had been or they would all be in serious trouble, then he and his co-pilot would get the helicopter ready for an emergency take off and get them out of here before they were either shot or were brought in on charges of espionage, trespassing, attempting to help overthrown their government, or whatever Brazil wanted to bring them to trial over. Then again, if this was the Brazilian army, they might not be brought to trial at all; they could just as easily shoot them on the spot.

  Rescuing these samples wasn’t a sanctioned event and could cause international problems. He wasn’t supposed to be here and no one knew that he was. There would be no rescue attempts or intervention from the American government. He was on his own. That was why he had hired Henry. He was good enough to get them in and out without problems and without questions. Now he was going to have to see just how good Henry was as both a pilot and as someone who could keep his mouth shut.

  They had already picked up several samples in the last several days and were already pushing their luck. It was only a matter of time before they were found out by one group or another and it had been Peter, himself, that had suggested that they go in for one more sample. Now he was regretting that he had made such a request.

  Another shot exploded as part of the tree next to him shattered. This was going to be tricky since he was now entering the field where the helicopter was sitting. He wouldn’t have any cover any more. There wouldn’t be any more trees to dodge around and nothing to hide his view. He would be an easy target.

  The field was a small, circular patch of devastated grassland that local farmers had clear-cut and burned to make room for their farm. When they were done with it, they had moved their farm to another location that had also been clear-cut and burned while leaving this spot to be reclaimed by the jungle. Some plants had grown back, but this spot would never be the same again. This just added to the ever growing reasons that Peter had to save as many samples as they could.

  The field opened before him and Peter’s heart raced. The chopper had already started up and the blades were whirling in place. The side door was already open for him to jump into. They were ready to take off. All he had to do was make it inside.

  Peter’s arms pumped faster and his legs carried him as quickly as they could. The ground was soggy, which only served to slow him down. Every step he took brought him closer and closer to the chopper. He was going to make it. His heart pumped faster and faster. His breathing became more labored. His side started to ache but he ignored it and pushed on.

  The shot rang out and seemed to echo in his ears. Then he felt it. It felt as if someone had kicked him really hard in the back of his thigh. His body screamed in pain as he fell, into the muddy terrain, just feet from the helicopter.

  There was movement near him, footsteps of someone close. At first Peter thought that it was one of the eco-terrorist, or whoever else that it could have been, that had caught up to him. Out here, in the depths of the jungle, there weren’t any laws. There probably weren’t any arrests or prisoners. There was only death. Too many people had simply vanished in the Amazon Jungle and suddenly Peter realized that he would be among the missing and no one would come looking for him.

  Then it dawned on him. The person next to him had gotten to him sooner than anyone could have run out of the jungle and across the field. Suddenly, Peter felt his body being lifted and turning his head he could see what his mind was now accepting. The co-pilot had gotten out of the cockpit, had circled around and was trying to help him into the helicopter. They were going to make it.

  Peter could hear Henry over the intercom, despite sound of the whirling blades, as his body rolled into the belly of the chopper.

  “We gotta go! We gotta go!”

  Another shot rang out and suddenly his momentum into the helicopter had stopped and a quick look back told him why. The man that had been pushing him into the aircraft had grown rigid. His eyes were wide and his body only momentarily shook in pain before he collapsed to the soggy jungle ground, unmoving. He was dead before he had fallen.

  “NO!”

  Peter hadn’t even known the man’s name. He was just some faceless individual who had helped pilot the helicopter. Now, he was dead.

  The uplift of the copter told him that Henry had realized what had happened and had already come to terms with the fact that it was time to let go of his co-pilot. There was nothing they could do. If they stayed any longer then they would join him as another dead body in the middle of the Amazon Jungle left to rot.

  Peter looked at his sapling as they took off. There had already been one death because of it. There had already been one person who had sacrificed his life so the plant might live on. Peter wondered if it had been worth it.

  ‘I’ll make it worth it,’ Peter said to himself as he held the back of his thigh, trying desperately to keep himself from bleeding out.

  Another shot seemed to ring out. This time there was a sound of metal striking metal. The helicopter started to make erratic movements. They had been hit. Some lucky shot had hit some moving part and now they were barely staying airborne. Smoke was coming from somewhere and Peter could see it as the helicopter spun in the air. They were starting to drop in altitude. Eric could hear the blades whirring and whining. He could feel their air movement across his face. He could hear the hiss of the wind as it began to rush in.

  Peter sat up with jolt. He could still feel the adrenaline rush from the memories of that time. He knew that they had made it despite the couple of bullets in their engine and cockpit, but for one moment he believed that he was still back at that spot in his life. Now he was…

  Confused...and...

  He was cold. His body was freezing and he was disoriented. There were people helping him out of the cryo chamber and putting blankets around him. It seemed that everyone else that had gotten out of their chambers and were either getting dressed or helping him out of his capsule.

  The memories started to flood back to his mind. He had been able to get a position aboard a Terraforming mission. And although he knew that he was aboard the ship that had left Earth, it had all seemed so real to him. Then, he heard the warnings from the computer and his current position and situation was solidified as his new reality; although it didn’t seem to sound any better than the thought of crashing in a helicopter wildly spinning out of control while he was bleeding out.

  “Warning...Multiple hull breach. Implosion imminent”

  Suddenly there was a loud bang at the only door leading out of the room. The timing couldn’t have been more attuned to the warning that had come over the audio system. For one brief moment they had all thought that the sudden noise was the ship finally breaking apart, an action that they had been hearing was “imminent” for the past few minutes. They had all stopped and turned toward the door that led out and into the rest of the ship. It was then that they realized that it wasn’t the ship exploding, but it was someone trying to get in.

  Another loud bang brought the door slightly ajar. First, a hand, perhaps gloved in some protective material, reached inside and grabbed the door. Then, with one great shove, the door was pushed open. There, st
anding in the doorway, was someone dressed in a spacesuit.

  Chapter: 08

  Vincent Hayden’s eyes opened. He knew immediately that something had gone “TU” as he would like to say. It was an expression he often used in the military, that along with FUBAR. Something was wrong.

  He lay there, for the moment to evaluate the situation. He always prided himself as a man who could think first and act upon the situation and not to panic at a perceived view and act upon fear. He had seen, far too often, first-hand experience of what happened when one of his men acted without thinking. It was often not a pretty sight and was usually fatal.

  The inside of the glass to his cryo chamber had frost on it and was starting to collect ice. His body was colder than it should have been and he would know. He had been through cryo status many times. Doctor Harrison should have been the one to open his chamber, after opening the chambers of the captain and other crew members first. This meant that something had gone wrong. The emergency program protocols should have kicked in to release all of the chambers, but even that wasn’t working properly. The chamber had been warmed up enough to wake him up, but not enough to open the glass lid. At this point, the temperature started to drop again. This meant that unless he got out of here soon he would freeze to death. It also meant that the others might be having the same problem. He didn’t just need to get out to save his life, but perhaps the life of the rest of the crew. Then he would check up on the scientists that they were transporting.