Chapter 4 – Close Encounters

Chapter 4 – Close Encounters

Two arns later it was dark.  They had found a small, relatively flat area in the trees away from the water and were gathered around a fire that D'Argo had made as much for morale as warmth.

"So tell me again, what did it look like?"  D'Argo asked Jothee.

"It was enormous.  Like a huge snake with teeth.  It came straight up out of the water close to where Chiana was standing.  It didn't leave the water but it was so big that even as we were running away, it was lunging for us."  Jothee shivered and hugged his knees.

Crichton saw Aeryn get up and quietly leave the firelight.  He considered going after her, but decided against it.  Maybe she wanted to be alone.  He turned his attention back to Jothee.  "Just how big is 'enormous'?"

Chiana spoke from D'Argo's arms.  "The bit that came out of the water was at least the length of a transport pod, and maybe half as thick."

Crichton blew out a breath.  "That's pretty big."

"There was nothing pretty about it, Crichton."  Rygel put in.  "It had two rows of extremely sharp looking teeth and a mouth that could swallow you whole!"

"So why didn't it attack us when we were on the rafts coming over here?"  Crichton wondered out loud.  He was halted in his thoughts by the sound of laser fire close by.  He automatically looked for Aeryn as he leapt to his feet.  She hadn't come back.  "AERYN!!"  He yelled, tearing off towards the sound.

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As Crichton began to scramble down the steep slope to the water's edge he could see Aeryn standing straight, legs planted firmly apart, holding her pistol in a two handed grip, firing at something very large.  His eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but he could see that Jothee and Chiana's description had been accurate.  It was enormous.  It towered over Aeryn, opening and closing its mouth as it tried to reach her.  It seemed rooted to the water and Crichton wondered how much more of it was down there.  He drew his weapon and fired, coming to stand beside Aeryn.

The first thing he noticed was that the laser fire didn't seem to be hurting it that much. 

The creature lunged at them repeatedly and each time they would fire upon it, but it would only draw back momentarily before trying again at a slightly different height or angle.  It was relentless.

 

There was very little light except for the laser fire, acting like a strobe light, illuminating their attacker.  It made it difficult to keep an eye on it.  He was scared to take his eyes off it for fear that in that split microt, the creature would gain the advantage.  So he stood stock still, white knuckles wrapped around his pistol, firing desperately at the thing in front of him, trying to curb his natural instinct to duck when those teeth came lunging towards him.

And still it came.

The beast did not seem to be injured or weakening.  It did not howl in pain or anger or make any other sort of sound.  Crichton began to wonder whether they would make it out of this one.    

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!  NOW!"  He shouted at Aeryn over the sound of their pistols.

"HOW?" 

With a sinking feeling, Crichton realised what she meant.  The slope behind them was too steep to walk backwards up and the moment they stopped firing they would be monster food.  This creature could reach several metras up the slope.  "WE HAVE TO TRY, AERYN.  CHIANA AND JOTHEE MANAGED TO GET AWAY FROM IT WITHOUT ANY WEAPONS!" 

He was still waiting for Aeryn's response when he heard a roar from behind them and microts later D'Argo appeared by his side, firing his qualta blade. 

The creature lunged low at them, causing all three to throw themselves to the ground.

And then it was gone.

Crichton staggered to his feet and stood stock still, waiting for the creature to come back, but nothing happened.  The only sound he could hear was the sound of his own ragged breathing and that of Aeryn next to him.  He gradually became aware that D'Argo was no longer by his side. 

"D'Argo?"  Crichton couldn't keep the panic out of his voice. "D'ARGO!"

"I am here, John." D'Argo came scrambling down the slope with a flashlight and shone it on the water. "Nothing."  He said simply.  "It got away."

"Got away?  D'Argo, did you see how many hits that thing took?  Is there even any blood?"

"It's too dark to see."  The Luxan said standing up and handing the flashlight to his friend.  "We will look again tomorrow."  He began to make his way back towards the fire.

Crichton holstered his pistol, and rubbed his neck.  Aeryn holstered her own weapon and started to move away from him.  "Not so fast."  He said, training the flashlight beam on her..  "What were you doing out here anyway?"

"Nothing."

He gave a hollow laugh.  "Nothing." He repeated.  "Uh-huh.  And I suppose that it was just a coincidence that while you were out here, doing nothing, that the creature from the black lagoon appeared?"  He raised his eyebrows.

"We needed to know whether the creature was still here.  I had an idea for finding out."

"An idea?"  He was finding it difficult to keep his temper now.  "What idea, Aeryn?"

"I did what Chiana and Jothee were doing when it first appeared.  I slapped the water."  She said, unrepentant.

 Crichton could hardly believe that she could be so stupid and it registered on his face and in his voice. "And you didn't think to tell anyone you were doing this?" 

"I didn't know it would work."  She was beginning to get annoyed too.

He angrily pushed his face close to hers. "Well, it did and because you didn't feel like sharing, that… thing could have killed us both.  I can't believe you, Aeryn!  How could you be so careless with the life that Zhaan gave you?" 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them, but by then it was too late.  He prepared himself for her angry comeback but nothing came. Instead he found himself watching in silence as Aeryn turned on her heel and started up the slope, back to the others.

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"We could build another raft and create a diversion."  Jothee said.  "We could all slap the water and while the creature is busy with us, someone could use the raft to get back to the transports."

D'Argo looked at his son with pride.  "That is a fine idea, Jothee."

"Yeah, but…" Chiana looked around her friends fearfully.  " Who will go?"

Aeryn stood up.  "I have a suggestion."  She grabbed Rygel, floating on his throne sled. "And he won't even need a raft."

"I won't do it!"  Rygel insisted.

"You can float above the water.  It probably won't even notice you."  Aeryn tried to reason with him.

"I don't care.  You can't make me do it."

 "I'm afraid that your plans will not work, in any case."

Everyone turned to see a young man and woman standing behind them.  Both were dark haired, pale skinned and dressed in green.  Neither seemed bothered by the weapons that were now pointed at them.  The woman beckoned them downhill slightly until they could see the water through the trees.  "Look."  She said simply, pointing at the water.

"Look at what?"  Crichton asked.  He turned to his friends to find everyone staring at the water looking despondent.  "What?"  Aeryn wordlessly handed him the oculators from her backpack.  He put them on and saw at once the cause of everyone's concern.  In the relatively small stretch of water between the two islands Crichton could count three extremely large creatures, swimming and basking in the early morning sun.  He tore the oculators from his head and handed them back to Aeryn. He sighed. "Oh, this just gets better and better."

The young woman spoke again.  "There will be more that we cannot see.  You cannot return that way."

"Thanks for the warning.  And you are…?"

"I am Hailen and this is my brother, Damor.  We live here."

"Live here?  But Pilot said that there were no settlements."  Chiana said suspiciously.

"We live in caves and under the ground."  Damor explained.

"Can you help us?"  Crichton asked.  "We have to get back to our ship." 

Hailen smiled.  "That is why we have come here.  We can help you and I believe that you can help us."

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"Pilot?"

"Zhaan!"  Pilot raised his head from his controls to look at her in surprise.  His pleasure at seeing her was diminished when he noticed the red colour that was already showing at her forehead, an early sign of the illness that would kill her.  "It is good to see you.  Stark said that you were still feeling unwell."

"Thank you, Pilot.  Whilst it is true that the lack of nutrition has left me quite weak, I am feeling stronger with every microt that passes."  She smiled fondly at him, but her expression quickly changed to one of concern.  "Tell me, Pilot.  How are the others?  Stark tells me that they are unable to leave the planet."

"Yes.  Crichton says that they have all become trapped on an island with no means of safely reaching the transports."

Zhaan leant over Pilot's control panel, placing a hand on one of his arms. "Is there no way we can help them?"

Pilot was about to reply when a voice came over the com.

"Pilot?  You there?"

"Goddess be praised!  John?"

"Blue?  Hey, how're you doin'? You feelin' better?"  Crichton was clearly delighted to hear her voice.

"Much.  Have you found a way to return to Moya?"

"We're working on it.  We've met some folks who say they can help us, but it sounds like one of those 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' kinda deals.  We'll keep you posted."

"May the Goddess be with you."

"Right back at ya, Zhaanie."

Zhaan looked at Pilot and smiled.

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To Be Continued