The sound of scratching yanked Maureen awake.
She slowly got up to her feet from the bed then looked over toward the resting man.
The sound hadn't yanked John awake so she slowly made her way to the bridge holding a spare laser pistol.
She can hear her heart beat loudly ringing in her ears coming close and closer toward the rounded window.
Maureen came to a stop in her tracks when she heard the sound of high pitched yelping and growls. She looked out the window observing the forcefield generator was discarded on the floor. There were several foot prints implanted into the dirt. The dark was slowly retreating away from the Jupiter 2. It was becoming lighter from outside the spaceship. The Robot was laid on his side waving his arms from side to side. His grill glowing red softly in the night. She opened the doors then closed the second door behind her carefully moving out of the Jupiter 2 looking from side to side scanning for threats. She closed the second door behind, moving toward the Robot and set him up to his treads.
"Thank you, Maureen Robinson," The Robot said.
"What happened?" Maureen asked.
"There was a attempted attack on the Jupiter 2," The Robot said. "I sent them running with the best I could do."
"How many were there?" Maureen asked.
"There were nine werewolves," The Robot reported. "You can return and get some rest, I can handle it from here."
Maureen looked out in the distance where the howling was coming from then slowly made her way back into the Jupiter 2. She stopped in her tracks finding several very deep scars into the door that had peeled away several layers leaving a nicely made hole that was ready to fall apart with the single touch. She pressed on the button on the side then made her way back down to the residential deck. She placed the laser pistol back where she had hidden it then seated down next to John. She was visibly terrified regarding the next attack. John looked at peace resting on his side. The unexpected, yet random bald spot stood out from the back of his head.
John slowly turned in her direction then grew a tired smile laid on his back.
"Good morning, darling," John grew a smile while taking her hand.
He noticed a visible tremble then slowly became concerned.
"John, the werewolves know how to get in here," Maureen said.
John straightened up then placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Did they hurt you?" John asked.
Maureen shook her head.
"The Robot chased them away," Maureen said. "We need a new door."
John had a sigh, lowering his head, grimacing.
"We need to make silver bullets," John said.
They hadn't find any physical remains belonging to Smith. Not a hand print. A trail of boot prints. Even Smith's favorite fishing spot that had a hidden cavern covered by long weeds was empty. They didn't find any more clothing that could have came from him. What had been found was the doctor's tent that showed no signs of tearing but it was covered in plenty of petals among the fur and the pollen.
Like every night since the discovery of the claw marks, the forcefield was set up.
Only in the last few nights, a night shift was started featuring Don and John.
It had been a week since the werewolf foot prints had been found.
The alien visitors didn't cross paths with any members of the family. Even if they did, they wouldn't have known as behind - the human like alien staring down the unwelcomed guests- the children foraging about the surface of Priplanus would appear from behind them a dark grayed werewolf that was hunched down growling at them and slowly make them turn around. All without making a sound. Without drawing any form of attention. The hair all over their body raised. Their eyes meeting a very tall yet intimidating creature.
The mere sight of the unusual werewolf sent the aliens running away for their lives tripping, falling, and spraining their ankles fleeing to the ship dragging themselves away as it slowly tagged along. Patiently standing still each time they turned toward them then turned away toward the path they were fleeing then resume fleeing and the next moment freeze where it stood in the distance digging into the rock with a claw sending it streaking down that it left a scar into the rock.
If the Robot had detected this commotion, he had elected to ignore it as the danger had left then decided to process this activity later.
Will was using his telescope to observe the parts of Priplanus from the top section of the Jupiter 2. The looming threat of the werewolves ripping open the door only after tossing the Robot aside then try to kill everyone lingered in Will's mind. The glowing blue force field from in front of the super spaceship made Maureen feel a little more safe and secure in the unknown. Her thoughts eased regarding the potential threat with the Robot on patrol. Will turned his attention off the telescope looking out into the darkening scenery.
Maureen recalled the tent had all indicators that it appeared to be stitched up in splotches of black fabric. It seemed that it had been extended numerous times that it had become a dome with a circular hole at the center with considerable additions to it. A customized home that had additional pockets from the inside made of strange material that came from the visitors who crossed paths with the Robinsons in the last month. Her attention into the present observing her son in his morning outfit.
Will hadn't changed into his orange PJ's quite yet out of the zipped up two piece blue uniform.
He had rolled up his sleeves earlier so that they ended above his elbow.
"Will," Maureen called, coming to his side.
Will looked away from the telescope.
"It is time for bed for you," Maureen said.
Will looked toward the window.
"What if the ship that has Doctor Smith isn't on here?" Will asked.
Maureen fought back a confident smirk placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I am very certain that Doctor Smith is still on Priplanus," Maureen said. "Everyone is getting off this planet," Maureen looked toward the window. "Somewhere, out there, there is a nice traveler struggling to politely ask him to leave."
Will shook his head.
"I get the distinct feeling that he is not in one," Will said.
"How long have you felt this?" Maureen asked, concerned.
"Since the other day," Will said. Will's attention returned toward the window. "Doctor Smith is out there, all alone, and no one knows where he is."
The elevator rolled up.
"Will, I thought you went to bed," John said, rolling aside the barrier.
Maureen looked toward her concerned son then turned her attention toward John.
"We didn't check the forest," Maureen said. "Have we?"
John shook his head.
"He didn't hide there," John said.
"Once," Will said. "with Penny and I playing hide and seek."
"When did you play hide and seek with Smith?" John asked.
"The night before we went to bury the time capsule," Will said. "We found him hiding in a tree trunk."
"Do you happen to know where this tree trunk is?" John asked.
"Yes," Will said. "It was hard to get into with that makeshift door." Will had a frown, in disbelief, at where the conversation was going. "It is the most unlikely hiding place from danger. Even for Doctor Smith."
The door to the Jupiter 2 opened letting in the Robot.
"My sensors picked up from the distance the sound of groaning," the Robot said. "Permission to check out the noise, Professor Robinson."
"From where?" Maureen asked.
"I have processed it could be coming from forest," The Robot said.
"Permission granted," John said. "Maureen, I will be right back but make sure to be armed in case it follows us in."
"Right," Maureen said.
"Robot, direct us to where the source is," John said.
"Affirmative," The Robot turned away then exited the Jupiter 2.
The Robot was rolling ahead of the Professor and Will, his glass head whirring, his sensors alert and up sensing for danger. His sensors detected several werewolves were lingering in the forest. John had a long gun in his hand looking around the scenery appearing to be rather wary. The gun seemed to be rather new like it had just came out of construction itself. It resembled more of a laser pistol than a gun from Earth laid in the holster. The two were silent. Not making a sound in the dark desert environment.
The two moons in the night sky were in their crescent shape so it was hard to see clearly in the dark. Their eyes could make out shapes but not color. Will was tagging close behind John. They crept through the forest hanging on to their pistols and their solar powered flashlights. Will's eyes could see familiar landmarks among the dark leading to the hiding place, Will ran ahead of John then came to a stop by a tree then grabbed on to the large loose bark. He dropped it aside to the ground then peered in to spot several small furry creatures that screeched.
"Ooops, sorry!" Will put the door back in.
"What was that?" John asked.
"Squirrels," Will said. "Wrong tree."
"Space squirrels?" John said. "I never seen space squirrels on this planet."
"If they are not . . . then what are they?" Will looked over.
John opened the door then Will aimed the flashlight in to reveal that there were several owls cluttered together from the inside of the trunk with their talons out and their eyes big, fur fluffed out, and their beaks open prepared to attack. John shoved the door back into the tree as the space owls screeched. Will looked around the tree searching for the landmark that made it stand out in the first place to him.
The young boy knelt down feeling around for the tree root as John looked around feeling eyes were on him.
There was the sound of familiar groaning that made Will lift his head up and John wave the flash light toward the sea of dark trees searching for the source of it.
"Doctor Smith!" John shouted into the forest. "You can come out!"
"Warning, warning!" The Robot's head bobbed up and his arms extended out of his chest then waved. Will overheard the sound of growling to his side. "There are twelve werewolves in the area!"
John turned away from the Robot in the direction of a creature headed his way then pressed the trigger with the solar flashlight aimed ahead. A black furry creature lunged into the light, momentarily stopped by the wound in its torso, cupping it with one of its lower arms. The Robot whirred away from John then released electricity toward the dark sky. Will stumbled back at the sound of a body hitting the ground caught off guard.
John began to aim at the creature ahead of him but was knocked down to the ground on his side by a hard, rough and stronger body. He aimed and fired from under his elbow. There was a loud yelp from in front of John. John reached his hand out spotting the ray of light illuminating from a object that was close to his head then grasped on to it and flipped over at the sound of his son calling for him. In the pitch black, one of the werewolves knocked both of the weapons out of the man's hands.
John reached out grabbing on to the first thing that he could get to, his hands wrapping around dark fur that was fine and curly, then delivered a punch that sent the werewolf creature stumbling back with a whimper then he was hit at the face knocked back down to the dirt with the side of his face aching. His eyes slowly opened then looked up to see electricity cackling from the trees from ahead. The Robot was trapped between two branches during the commotion.
"Dad!" Will called.
John saw one of the pitch black werewolves towering over the boy hidden between two of the long, large tree roots that were abnormally over grown. John's eyes grew big in horror then reached his hand out searching for the gun. Abruptly, there was a much taller and thicker mass that came from the pitch black. There was growling as John searched for the gun. The hair all over his body raised while a funny feeling came through that he were in between two of the werewolves. The feeling was fleeting. Just as the moment at the sound of crashing from behind him.
"Danger, danger!" The Robot announced, waving his arms. "Danger, Professor Robinson!"
John grabbed on to the gun then turned around to face the oncoming werewolf headed his way.
The gun jammed unexpected on John.
John looked up in horror, frozen where he stood, watching the inevitable end head his way and closed his eyes anticipating for the pain. Instead, there was a loud crash landing followed by trees breaking, growling, whimpering, yelping, and the sound of groaning became more apparent. The sound of Will's scream and the sound of a body hitting something hard jerked John's eyes open then there was uncomfortable silence. John spotted a very tall black mass colliding against a much shorter werewolf. The tree bent backwards making a noise that protested against the force.
John saw the flash light laid on the ground across from them then sped over toward it and picked it up observing the scenery was being cleared of the werewolves. There was a thud from behind him so John turned to the right finding the Robot in front of him tipping back and forward waving his arms in a attempt to steady himself. From underneath the Robot was a large rounded rock that appeared to have intentionally placed there. John looked over to find a dark mass hunched over a small figure on the ground with its shoulders moving up and down.
John's heart leaped. A rather inhuman scream came from John when racking the slide so that the round flew out then fired at the werewolf landing a hit into the werewolf's left shoulder that had lowered in relief. The bullet flew through the chest directly into the wooden bark. The werewolf sped off running off from the scene with one of its numerous hands clenching onto the injury leaving a trail of gold behind that shined from what moonlight there was. The Robot landed square on his chest behind the professor who ran toward the body. Will's eyes was slowly opening. John noticed the blue uniform had been torn to shreds with a piece of a stick laid beside a circular wound.
What John also noticed was a small piece of stick was bloody just as much as the boy's shoulder was still bleeding. He looked up observing a rather short tree branch that lacked its tip. He observed the lack of scarring on Will's chest except for the observation of a tied fabric that had a stone tightly wrapped around it letting the small portion of cloth cover the wound. John picked up Will into his arms then fled the scene leaving the scene empty making the hasty return to the Jupiter 2. The sight of the Jupiter 2 becoming clear and the windows glowing golden brought comfort. Maureen was standing in front of the main window when John became visible then bolted over to the doorway.
The doors opened one after another and they rushed Will to his bedroom as quietly as they could. While Maureen tended to her son, John peeled off his torn uniform. The sleeves of his shirt had been torn that it seemed be destroyed going up into his shoulder. John put the mirror up which let him see the wounds that he earned from fighting a werewolf. There were scarring from the left side of his face. The lower half of his pants were in terrible condition compared to the top section. John slipped into his pajamas then rolled up his sleeves and waited outside of Will's quarters. Maureen came out with the medical kit placed against her side. His hand was visibly trembling as she came over to him then took his hands and gave them a comforting squeeze.
"Is he alright?" John asked.
"He will be fine," Maureen said. "Not hurt bad as you are."
John's smile showed the relief.
"Now, it's your turn," Maureen added, guiding him to their quarters.
They walked away from his door returning to their shared quarters.
That morning, breakfast was prepared and the girls found their father with a large band aid on the side of his face and Will had difficulty moving his arm as he rolled it back and forth. Don was the one more alarmed about it. So over breakfast, John relayed the story and Will retold his side of the event. Maureen looked over expecting to see the Robot close by the table only to see that he wasn't there. From the distance, she saw the familiar light gray shape of the Robot headed toward the campsite. One by one they turned their attention in the direction of the Robot who arrived to the campsite.
"Robot!" The Robinsons surrounded the machine.
"Where have you been?" Maureen asked.
"Out," The Robot said.
"That part is obvious," Don said, with a laugh.
"What were you doing out there?" John asked.
"Mapping the behavior of the werewolves and their hiding places," The Robot said.
"Yes, but where have been for the last few hours?" Don asked. "And what have you been doing?"
The Robot was initially silent almost staring at the man.
"Do you really want to know?" The Robot asked.
The Jupiter 2 crew nodded at once.
"Yes," John said.
The Robot whipped a arm to behind his back then unhooked something from behind and discarded it to the table to reveal a large brown sack.
"Collecting coins that solidified after the golden pores were cut open," the Robot said. "I spent the better part of the night trying to get him to talk to me."
"Him?" Maureen asked.
"Doctor Smith," The Robot said.
"So he is okay?" Will asked.
"Affirm-negative," The Robot switched.
"Robot?" Judy asked. "What do you mean?"
"Instead, he was focused on getting a meal rather than socializing and was very rude. Kept telling me to 'Go' and 'Run'. He didn't call me a ninny," The Robot said, bobbing his head up. "He didn't insult me. Didn't even call me a hellbringer pestilent nascence."
"Sounds unlike him," Don said.
"Affirmative," The Robot said. "It is very concerning."
The Robinsons looked ahead from where the Robot came from.
"Just how concerned should we be?" Penny asked.
"Doctor Smith refused to return out of fear for your safety," The Robot said.
"Where is he right now?" Will asked.
"Sleeping in his makeshift apartment," The Robot said.
Don had his hands under his chin clasped together into a fist.
"Why don't we go check for ourselves," Don said.
"Not unless you want a werewolf ripping you to shreds," The Robot started. "I do not recommend it, Major West."
"Of course," Don said. "He is surrounded by werewolves," he rolled a eye then looked toward the Robot as the words had settled in. "He has gone mad."
'"I believe he has good reason to be to go mad," John said. "Could be a part of the reason why they are there."
"By accident," Judy said.
"Not by accident," the Robot said.
"How so?" John asked.
"I have computed that most of the other werewolves were intentional while the others were not," the Robot replied.
"Does it spread?" Penny asked.
"Affirmative," The Robot said. "It spreads by a scratch."
Maureen's eyes became full of heartbreak as their eyes went toward John.
"Is there a chance that Smith has been a werewolf for the last two weeks instead of being at the academy helping the space cadets?" Don asked.
"There is a good chance of that," John said, taking Maureen's hand.