Jet Black and the Impossible Forest #4

by John Stevenson

between the faint scrapping sounds was getting shorter.

  He was intent on the sounds that the communicator made him jump. "Got it Jet."

  "Ready when you are Chub," he replied. Suddenly he felt nervous; would it work, could he enter the code and open the door before they drained the plasma? He would soon know.

  "Got the circuit; I think."

  "That’s good."

  "Broke into the line."

  "K."

  "Stripping the insulation… the fiber optics look good."

  "That’s good."

  "Better make sure I make a clean incision, don’t want to have it leak do we?" The voice was meant to carry humour, but Jet knew Chub was under tension.

  "Take your time Chub; last thing we need is for you to go and hurt yourself."

  There was a longer and more tension filled pause before he heard Chubs voice again.

  "Okay; you ready there?"

  Jet wasn’t sure he was. "Whenever you are."

  "Don’t go too soon; give two sec's to feed through before you start punching."

  "K."

  "Right; on the count of five: One…two… three… four… five, discharge, four..."

  Jet saw the panel light up but couldn’t press his fingertip.

  "It's flowing; it's too high a charge; hit the button, it's gunna destroy the circuit soon."

  The warning galvanized Jet into action, and he began punching far slower than he wanted; but making sure he didn't hit the wrong symbol; he didn’t and the panel glowed green. With a loud click the door opened and began to slide away. Almost as soon as it began to open, it suddenly it stopped, and the panel went dead. Jet stared at the gap.

  There was a gasp over the communicator, "It's blown…Is it enough?" said Chub anxiously.

  "Yes; yes I think so."

  "Great; I'm on my way back."

  Rosie, and then Jet had squeezed through and stood looking at the cargo shelves; Jets eyes centered on the symbol. "It's radioactive," he said recoiling slightly. "I hate radiation."

  Immediately Rosie thrust out the detector, "It's okay Jet; it's clean."

  "I still hate radiation," Jet grumbled as turned away to look out the part opened door. Chub was coming hurriedly back down the passage carrying something. "Chub bring the gurney closer." Jet called.

  Chub waved his arm as Jet turned back to Rosie.

  She was reaching beside the package to pick up the documents, "These have the same code so I guess they are what's called associated materials?"

  "What about that?" Chub was as far through the opening as he could get. "What about the other package; the smaller one?"

  Jet looked again at the instruction. "It says one package and associated materials, marked three-three-six-two, that’s the code on this," Jet said lifting it up and through the door into Chubs waiting hands.

  "Maybe we should take the other just in case?"

  Jet looked at the code on the smaller package; it was different. "Definitely not what's on the here."

  "Maybe; but we don’t want to have to come back do we?" Chub tried not to make his voice too pleading.

  "Chub we can't empty the entire compartment," argued Rosie.

  "He's got a point Rosie," Intervened Jet. "I don’t think any of us want to do this again."

  "Neither do I want to take any more than we absolutely need past that thing waiting outside."

  Jet placed his package down and nodded, "Agreed."

  Chub looked at them both slightly disappointed. "Guys it's not just you; I want to be absolutely sure."

  Jet sighed deeply, "Okay, but if we do have problems your gunna have to run with it under your arm, assuming it doesn’t blow you up."

  "So we have everything," Rosie said looking directly at Jet.

  "According to the shopping list Rackham gave me."

  "Then what are we waiting…" A more frantic scraping from the hull close by cut off Jet's words.

  "I don’t want to sound paranoid guys, but it seems to me those sounds are honing in on us?"

  "You are paranoid Rosie," smiled Chub. "They can't see where we are."

  "No?" she said acidly, "Ultra sound; heat; movement, what kinds of sensitive senses do they have; we don’t know?"

  It was something Jet didn’t want to think about. "So if were all agreed then let's get out of here."

  Chub waited until they were all back in the corridor. "Just one more stop Jet and we can go."

  Jet and Rosie stood by the door; Rosie was getting impatient, "What's keeping him?"

  "I don’t know but he said it was important."

  "You realize he's off somewhere in the ship pilfering.

  Jet did but he didn’t want to think about it. "Like he said it’s a grey line between theft and salvage."

  "As if we don’t have enough problems with the law as it is: anyway what's inside the data boxes?"

  "He said upgrades for the Silver Flyer."

  "Upgrades: how long has this hulk been laying here?"

  "Quite a while, but I did do a bit of research before we left; apparently the ship wasn’t all it seemed, besides the mining role it was also a test bed for control systems."

  "Maybe that explains what Rackham is after"

  Jet shrugged,

  "If he's not back soon we're gunna have to go looking for him."

  "I suppose."

  "Is that a control system as well? Rosie pointed to the box Chub had urged Jet to take.

  "Who knows?"

  They turned to the sound of hurrying feet. Chub was moving quickly down the stairs from above. "Sorry guys; took longer than I expected.

  "We were gunna leave you," said Rosie grumpily.

  "Sorry but you'll thank me."

  "I doubt that," muttered Rosie. "So: can we get off this planet now."

  "Shure; I'll go first," offered Chub, pulling a narrow cylinder from the backpack. "I should have thought of these on the way over but better late than never. Ready with the door Jet?"

  Jet nodded and pulled it open a little; immediately Chub tore off the cap. There was a hiss as Chub tossed it through the gap. Brilliant red light poured through the crack from outside, followed by a roar and thick orange smoke.

  "Let's go," shouted Jet as he pulled the door back. Chub raced out pulling another cylinder from the pack with one hand, and guiding the gurney with the other. Rosie followed the gurney, and Jet her. They ran barely daring to look to the left where towering above the doorway was a massive creature. It was snarling and choking from the smoke and probably blinded from the glare; they didn’t know or care as they tore down the path.

  In seconds the glow was behind and they were entering darkness: as the blackness enveloped them Chub threw another flare; far in front.

  It exploded into light and vegetation for some distance seemed to reel away. Its intense burning forcing Jet to close his eyes almost completely blind he followed Rosie and Chub into the billowing cloud of orange smoke; and stumbled as companions disappeared into the smoke. Coughing and retching Jet ran shoulder first into a tree trunk and fell sideways. He scrambled to his knees and suddenly realized he didn’t know which way to run.

  Chub ran on blinded, but he'd been through worse; much worse, and anyway he couldn’t slow or turn in case he lost the picture in his mind: suddenly the smoke was thinning, and at last he risked glancing back. He could see the vague shape of Rosie: she was hanging onto the gurney desperately, but there was no sign of Jet. Chub went a little further until he felt safe enough to stop. Rosie fell to her knees beside him; she was coughing and trying to vomit as he lifted her. "You'll be fine," he said reassuringly.

  "Damn it Chub," her words came in gasps. "Did you… have to throw … it so far in…. front?"

  He smiled guiltily, "Sorry."

  Slowly Rosie began to look around, "Where's Jet?" more in curiosity than alarm. She followed Chubs eyes back to the dissipating smoke.

  Before she could say anymore Chub pushed the pistol into her hand. "Take the
pistol: get back to the flyer; were gunna need to leave in a real hurry."

  "But Jet."

  "We aint gunna leave him, you just get back safe and wait." She was reluctant so he snapped threateningly. "Go: now."

  Rosie looked at him, and then glanced back into the smoke with a look that Chub instantly understood. "Rosie," he said a softer tone. "Go; I'll get him."

  She looked back at chub with a slightly embarrassed look, "Don’t get hurt."

  "I won't; now get the ship ready to get us off this place." Chub turned back as she left. "Okay Jet where the hell have you got to?"

  The brilliant light was barely more than a glow now, and the smoke was thinning fast. Jet wanted it gone, but wanted it to stay. Only a tiny spot of red indicated where the first flare had been; in moments his would be no better, Whatever had towered over them would have recovered and was probably already on its way; as if to answer his fear he heard a grunting snarl.

  Jet was on his feet and moving, far slower than he wanted but he didn’t want to run into another tree either. Suddenly the ground beneath his feet began to rumble and for a second time Jet was off his feet. Between him and the creature: but off to the right there was a sharp cracking explosion and an ear shattering whoosh. The glow from dying flare seemed to leap from the ground and shoot upwards in a pink geyser: it would have been a beautiful sight if he could only have had the chance to see it. Moments later the water was on its way back, hot and wet, and settling the remnants of the smoke. Jet began to run.

  Chub felt the ground shake; he made to reach for a tree for support but instead dropped to his knees. Not far ahead he could see a column of water reaching up through the canopy. He could see something else glistening with wetness was a large shape, and it was coming directly towards him, and he knew Jet was somewhere