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"Come on down, Cad. We'll talk about it."
"I... I'm coming." The Skeeter floated down, spi
At first there was no movement from the Skeeter, just the motionless silhouette in the pilot's seat. Then the door opened, and Cadma
Sylvia's scalp crawled. He was burned, scratched and bloodied. His face was chalk, his movements teetering jerkily on the edge of shock.
Carlos hurried to his side, tried to help him, but Cadma
"No," he gasped. "Get... Ernst. You've got to believe now."
The other side of the Skeeter was already being opened. Someone gasped, someone cursed; several colonists broke for the open air. The stench of burnt flesh hit Sylvia, triggering a fresh wave of nausea.
"Let me take that," Zack said, forcing nonchalance into his voice. He reached for the rifle.
Cadma
Another hand touched him from behind, and Cadma
"Get a—"
Mary A
"Cadma
He wiped his hand across his forehead. She reached out a hand, and when he didn't take it, she grabbed him, ignoring his feeble attempts to push her away.
"Cadma
"No."
The pitiful bundle from the passenger seat was unwrapped. Jean
Patterson turned away and bent over, gagging hollowly. Hendrick tried to comfort her and she heaved again, staining his pants.
Cadma
Sylvia knelt to look at the corpse. Terry was behind her, peering over her shoulder, and hissing in disgust. "Komodo, Weyland?" he said incredulously. "Shit. It was sure as hell a dragon, anyway."
She had never seen a human body damaged so badly.
Cadma
You believe now, don't you? Don't you?
"You're hurt. You've lost a lot of blood," she whispered. "We've got to treat those burns."
"Not yet. No sedatives until you believe me." He waved one blackened hand weakly. "Go ahead. There's a tarp on the floor of the Skeeter. In it you'll find a chunk of that goddamned thing. If you can't believe me, you can believe that." He waved them away. "Go ahead—get it. Take it into the lab and for God's sake analyze it."
Two of the lab techs unloaded the chopper. The package was bulky and clumsily wrapped and weighed about two kilos. Sylvia didn't want to unwrap it.
"All right. Cad," she said. "Let's go in and take a look—but you come in and sit down. We can't afford to lose you."
Zack was watching Cadma
"Carlos," Cadma
"Amigo." There was confusion and mistrust mingled in Carlos's face, and his dark eyes kept straying to Cadma
Cadma
Several of the colonists had edged almost imperceptibly nearer, and the tension left a metallic taste in Sylvia's mouth. Something ugly was going to happen.
She broke the spell by clearing her throat. "I'm taking this into the lab. I'd like you, Zack, and Terry, and Mary A
Without another word she turned and entered the lab. She didn't look behind her, didn't want to, because she didn't want Cadma
He was mumbling as Carlos and Mary A
"Absolutely. Blew off of it when Ernst's fuel pack exploded. Shrapnel must have..." He shook his head woozily. Hysterical laughter was bubbling up through the fatigue. "It got a mouthful all right, a real mouthful, and I wish that I'd blown its fucking head clean off—"
"Cad—"
"Stay back." There was still iron in his voice.
"Cadma
Cadma
"Right after you left. Something got through all of our defenses.
Broke through her window. We need your help. But the first thing you've got to do is to put that rifle down."
Sylvia forced her mind to the table in front of her. There was a raging headache coming on, and it was splitting her attention when she needed it most. The only thing she could do for Cadma
She cut that thought off before it had a chance to take-root. He was telling the truth. There simply wasn't any other answer.
Not even Terry had accused Cadma
There is a big difference between a calf and a human being—
She sneaked a peek over her shoulder at Cadma
"I'm cold," Cadma
That's a nice image."
"Cadma
"Not until you look at that sample, damn it. But... I'll go into the veterinary room. I'll sit down."
Mary A
Sylvia turned from the magnascope screen. "You need plasma, Cadma
"All right, all right."
Jerry grunted relief and prepared a plasma bottle. Carlos peeled
Cadma
Cadma
"Come on. Cad," Mary A
"The hell with that!" he screamed weakly. "I'm not letting this out of my hands until that thing is dead, do you hear me? Dead."
Zack whispered to Jerry just before the veterinarian slipped the needle into Cadma
"Don't look at me that way—" Cadma
"Ernst had a bullet hole in him, Cad. We were hoping you could help us with that."