Attack of the Monster Plants

Part 1

Judy was safely in her father's arms, wrapped in a blanket. "Daddy, I'm so cold," she whispered. Don wanted desperately to hold her, but John wouldn't relinquish his daughter to anyone right now. Don told himself to be patient. Judy hadn't asked for him, so he'd have to bide his time until she needed him. John carried her back to the Jupiter, followed by Dr. Smith and Don.

When they returned to the ship, Plant Judy was like a tigress watching her cubs die in front of her eyes. Maureen tried to hold her back, but she escaped and lunged at Don, screaming "Murderer!" He dropped the two cans he was holding as she scratched his face with her fingers. He grabbed her wrists, but not before Plant Judy etched a wound down his left cheek. He tried to hold onto her, but her wrists felt like rubber as she twisted away and ran into the cyclamen jungle.

Filled with an overwhelming desire to help her, Don yelled, "Wait!" and ran after her. He knew this wasn't his Judy, but he couldn't leave her alone to… well, to do whatever it was she needed to do. He was determined to ease her pain.

Plant Judy had returned to her birthplace… the very plant from which John had just rescued his daughter. Don watched the clone crawl into the plant and curl into a fetal ball. She was crying and moaning as if the life was draining out of her… Don climbed in and lifted her head. Horrified, he watched her eyes as they turned from the familiar crystal blue to a sickening green and finally to a brown mud that melted into her skull. He dropped her head, realizing that there was nothing he could do to stop her disintegration.

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Judy, confused about what she had seen, struggled to get away from her father. "Don!" she called as she finally tore away from John's grip and ran after him. She stopped short when she reached the base of the plant that had been her prison for the past twenty-four hours, but she gathered the courage to step in and kneel by Don. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle her scream as she got a clear view of her double.

Don stood and drew Judy to his chest, trying to shield her from the horrific scene in front of them. He backed away, keeping a hold around Judy's waist, and half carried, half dragged her away from the plant. He shrugged off his jacket, threw it over Judy's shoulders and hugged her to his body. He knew that this was the Judy who needed him, not the dying plant in front of him. Even so, he couldn't stop looking at the poor creature. He told himself to close his eyes, but he was mesmerized by Plant Judy's transformation from human to vine to compost…

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When John and Maureen found them, Don and Judy were standing together, paralyzed in a tight embrace. Don's eyes were glued to the mass of dead plant material where his Judy had once lain. Judy had turned her face away from the spectacle, not able to bring herself to watch the death of her clone. Neither had felt the curl of a vine as it attached itself to their ankles and started to work its way up, twining in, around and between them.

The freezing process had killed the full grown plants and leaves above the ground, but the roots were still viable. John performed his second rescue of the day as he aimed the freezing canister at the couple's feet and sprayed until the vine shriveled and fell away from their bodies. The shock of the cold gas brought both Judy and Don back to their senses. Maureen put her arms around Judy and gently pulled her away from Don. John reached out to hold Don up as he stumbled without Judy's support.

"Are you gonna be ok?" John asked him.

Don shook his head to dispel the images that were impaled on his brain. "Yeah," he mumbled, even though he wasn't sure that was true. He needed to look into the face of a human – needed to see Judy's face. He reached out to her and she took his hand. As he looked into her eyes, he expected them to change into the dead eyes of her clone – but they remained their clear, shining blue and he told himself that he would be fine as long as she stayed with him. Hand in hand, they started back to the Jupiter with Maureen by Judy's side and John by Don's.

By the time they reached the Jupiter, both were shivering and Don's face was burning where he had been scratched by the clone. Will, Penny and Dr. Smith were waiting for them and ran out, all asking what had happened. John raised his hand for silence. "The plants are regenerating." He handed Dr. Smith a canister and asked Will to help Don into the Jupiter. "We have to freeze the plants off again – this time we'll set the temperature much lower. Maybe that will destroy the roots."

"Professor, I'm sure Major West is well enough to handle the task. I am frightfully susceptible to cold, you know," Dr. Smith stated.

"I'll do it, Dad," Will offered.

"No, Will. You help your mother. Dr. Smith is to blame for the mess we're in and needs to take responsibility for destroying those plants."

Normally, Don would have proclaimed that he was fine, but this time, he knew better. He wouldn't be able to help John if he couldn't stand up. He also had an irrational fear that, if he turned his back, Judy would disappear, so leaving her was not an option.

Once inside the space ship, Maureen ordered Judy into the lavatory for a hot shower as she tended to Don's face. Penny and Will were at her side, and both still clamoring to know what had happened to the clone.

"Not now," Maureen ordered. "That's an angry wound, Don."

"Just like the woman who gave it to me," Don said. He closed his eyes and shivered.

"Penny, please get the disinfectant, and Will, find a blanket for Don," Maureen asked. She gingerly felt his cheek and it was hot to the touch. There were three, red, inflamed scratches that ran from the corner of his eye down to his jaw.

Penny returned with the bottle and a wad of cotton and handed it to her mother. "This is going to sting, Don," Maureen warned.

Don jerked his head back at her touch and mumbled, "Sorry." He shut his eyes and prepared himself for the next application. It burned like hell, but he managed to stay put until Maureen was finished. Will came back with the blanket and threw it over Don's shoulders.

"Can you tell us what happened now?" Will asked.

Maureen sighed and said, "All you need to know is that Judy's clone is gone and won't be back."

"Did she die?" Penny asked.

"We don't know because we weren't there," Maureen said.

Don caught Maureen's eye and wondered if she was trying to protect the children or him. "Maureen, they need to know that she wasn't a real person…" Don said and then stopped. He wasn't really sure of that, but the clone's remains certainly weren't human. "I was there when she… died. She kind of… transformed…" He stopped and shuddered at the memory of the clone's eyes.

"Don? Are you all right," Maureen asked.

He shivered again. "Just cold… The clone sort of… melted into the base of the plant she was in and disintegrated," he snapped his fingers, "just like that." He spared them the details and was saved from having to answer any questions by Judy's approach.

She came up behind Don and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I saved you some hot water," she said. She felt warmed and comfortable in her robe and her hair was turbaned in a towel. He tilted his head back and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Take your shower and I'll make us some hot tea," she urged.

He smiled gratefully. "Yes, great swami," he teased.

She tapped him playfully on the arm. "Oh, go on…" After he disappeared into the lavatory, Judy busied herself with making tea, but Maureen shooed her away and took over. Judy undid her turban and combed her hair out, letting it fall to her shoulders.

"Judy, how did it feel when the flower cloned you?" Will asked.

"I don't know, Will. All I remember is that I was looking for Dr. Smith and wandered into this huge flower. I don't know what came over me. It was like I had taken a sleeping pill or something. I just curled up and went to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was freezing and Dad was pulling me out of the flower." Judy explained.

"Your duplicate was mean, Judy," Penny said.

"Did she… interact with anyone?" Judy asked.

"She yelled at mom when she offered her salad and…"

Before Penny could finish, the elevator descended to the lower level. "Oh, my poor, poor back. Tea for me? Oh, bless you, Madam," Dr. Smith said as he grabbed the blanket that Don had left on the bench and settled himself in the galley. "What horrendous conditions your husband forced me into," he complained.

"Well, now, Dr. Smith, if you hadn't given all our deutronium to the clone, we wouldn't have needed to be in those 'horrendous conditions.'" John retorted as he jumped off the ladder.

"Really, professor, as if it was my fault that Judy had to go and have herself cloned in the first place."

Maureen looked askance at Dr. Smith and handed John a hot cup of tea.

"Thank you, darling," John said, "Judy, what were you doing near those plants?"

"I was looking for Dr. Smith to apologize to him about how everyone was treating him," Judy explained.

"There, you see… not my fault at all," Dr. Smith interjected. "If Major West hadn't made me believe that you were going to leave me behind, none of this would have happened and we'd be leaving this dreadful planet."

"So, it's my fault that you extorted a promise from John that I would take you back to Earth in exchange for Judy's location?" Don asked.

"Major!" Smith said, "I didn't hear you sneaking up behind me."

"Obviously."

"He is right, Don," Judy said.

Don's faced flushed with heat. "He's right? Judy… I can't believe you're still defending him after he used you as a bargaining chip."

"He was desperate… and desperate people do desperate things…"

"You are quite right my dear," Smith said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must warm up. I trust you left a drop of hot water for me, Major?"

"I hope not," Don replied.

"Don…" Judy admonished him.

Maureen handed Don a hot cup of tea and noticed that he was still shivering. She threw the blanket around him. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I just can't get warm. The tea will help," Don replied.

"Penny said my duplicate was mean. Did she fool all of you?" Judy asked as she looked at Don.

"Well, dear, she said that she had gotten lost and wandered around all night, so we just thought she… I mean you were tired," Maureen explained.

"Don offered to walk her to her room, and she bit his head off," Will added.

Judy looked pointedly at Don and asked, "And you still didn't know it wasn't me?"

"You were mad at me, remember?" Don stated. He took a sip of his tea and glanced sideways at her. "Still mad?" he asked.

"Well…"

John intervened. "Judy, before you answer, you should know that Dr. Smith put us all through a difficult time. He knew where you were and wouldn't tell us. Not only that, he knew that the… creature… who wandered into our camp was your duplicate, and he never told us."

"But, Dad," Judy interjected. "He thought we were going to leave him behind to die."

"We never would have done that, Judy."

"But did Dr. Smith know that? If he did, I'm sure he wouldn't have…"

Don couldn't take much more of her defense of Smith. "Look, Judy, the point is that you could have been dead or dying for all we knew and he still didn't tell us. The only thing that got him to talk was when I threatened to choke the truth out of him… and he knew I was serious…"

"Must you always resort to threats of violence?" Judy asked him.

"That's the only thing that works with Smith," Don replied.

"Maybe if you tried some kindness, you wouldn't have to resort to threats." Judy stated.

Don was too cold and tired to argue with her anymore. "Forget it, Judy… just forget it." He rose and retreated to his room.

John watched him leave. "Judy, you need to know that he was crazy with worry about you. I would have strangled Smith myself if Don hadn't offered to do it."

"But, Dad, he needs to learn that violence is not the answer," Judy said.

"Judy, you are a sweet and innocent girl… sometimes you have to communicate in whatever fashion the other person will understand," John stated. "And with Smith, a little fear goes a long way…"

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Don lay in his bunk wondering why Smith was the source of so many of their arguments – but, maybe it wasn't Smith at all – maybe he was just an easy target for him and Judy to focus on rather than talking about what was really bothering them. Although he had finished the tea and was covered in both the blanket Will had given him as well as his own, he still couldn't get warm. He knew he had a fever, but was just too tired to do anything about it.

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