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Their nostrils and eyes were slits against the powder-but every so often, one of the creatures would pause and straighten and look at us, blinking its eyes wide for a quick curious instant; then we could see that the bu
I said, "This is very very bad news."
Lizard glanced at me. "Huh?"
"We've been telling people that the Chtorran ecology is extraordinarily vicious, right?"
"Uh huh."
"And we've got pictures to prove it, right?"
"Go on. . . ."
"So-how long do you think we'll be able to sell that story after these creatures are seen by the public?"
"You're right," she said. "This is bad news."
I continued recording the bu
The first of the bu
"I keep wanting to say awww," whispered Lizard.
"It's a fucking teddy bear-a goddamned fucking teddy bear!" I growled. "What a dirty trick."
The bu
There were other bu
"I, uh-hate to say this," said Lizard, "but I'm starting to get scared."
"Me too. I never thought I'd be afraid of a herd of teddy bears."
"They just keep staring at us. What do they want?"
"I don't know." I was still recording. "I think maybe they're just curious." I lowered my camera. "I want to try something. Will you record this?"
"Sure." She took the camera from me. "Okay, go ahead."
I leaned forward in my seat and placed my hands up against the glass, opposite the paws of the first bu
The bu
"That doesn't seem very intelligent," Lizard said.
"It is if you've never seen glass before. It's testing." The bu
I blinked back at it-a big oversized gesture. The bu
I showed mine. As wide as I could.
The bu
"I think you're communicating," Lizard said.
"I wonder what we're saying to each other?"
"It looks like, `for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.. . "'
"Bite your tongue," I said. But my face was frozen. I was still smiling broadly at the bu
The bu
"I dare you," Lizard said.
I swallowed. "The things I do for my species." I made a face back at the bu
The bu
"Oh, God-I think I've insulted them."
The bu
"Or something," Lizard said. "Maybe they're laughing themselves to death."
I looked at Lizard; she had the camera still recording. She pointed it straight at me. "This-" I said angrily to posterity, "-is not the way Captain Kirk always did it!"
TWENTY-SIX
THE BUNNYDOGS climbed back up on the windshield and stared at us for a while longer. I made some more faces at them. They made some more faces at me. Gradually, they lost interest in that game and drifted away to explore other parts of the chopper. We heard them scrabbling across the top of the ship and scratching at the observation bubbles.
"I better see what they're up to-" I grabbed the camera and headed for the back. I stopped and peered up into the turret. One of the little cutenesses was peering back down at me. I waved at it facetiously-it waved back-then I closed the shutter in case Duke woke up again.
On a hunch, I peered out through the tiny accidental window in the door patch. "Holy Ha
Lizard called me then. "Hey, McCarthy-something's happening. "
"Wait a minute-"
"I mean it! You better get down here!"
She was right. Something was happening. The bu
Lizard pointed off to the left. "Over there. Look-the bu
She was right. The little round creatures had fallen still-they were listening for something. They had their heads cocked sideways and their expressions were expectant.
Beyond, in the darkness, something was stirring up the dust. It rose brightly in the glare of our lights.
The bu
And then the first worm poured over the dunes and down into the drifts.
And then a second worm, and a third-
There were more bu
Lizard lifted her camera and started shooting. "Well, you got the worms right," she said, "but you missed the time."
I barely heard her. The worms were still pouring over the dunes. "Win one, lose one," I gulped.
Lizard was sca
We could see the coloring of the worms vividly. They were bright red and orange, striped with purple and all over frosted with pink powder. They left trails of glittering dust in the air. They sparkled as if they were made out of magic.
"I hate to say it," whispered Lizard, "-but they're beautiful." She was right. As horrifying as the worms were, they were also fascinating. Each worm was a gaudy calliope of color. Their stripes had the confusing effect of seeming to shift even as we watched. If there was a pattern to the markings, I couldn't tell.
Despite the dust, this was the clearest and closest view of worms in the wild we'd had yet.
I yelped and leapt for the peace-pipe. I fumbled a rocket into it, then looked out the window again.
The worm was peering in at me.
I jumped backward, almost tripping, slamming into the opposite wall. I braced myself and aimed the rocket-launcher straight ahead. Something tapped at the door. It sounded exactly like a knock. "Don't answer it..." squeaked Lizard.