Page 34 of Pets in Space 10

Cass’s eyes snapped open and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was.

Then she heard the steady, reassuring rhythm of Zach’s breathing, felt the warm, solid weight of his body behind hers, and everything came flooding back.

The storm.

The cave.

The creature.

Zach.

His hands.

His body.

Her cheeks heated, and her heart began to race as memories of the night before replayed through her mind. She couldn’t believe she’d been so bold, so shameless.

He shifted, tucking her beneath him so he could see her face, and she remembered that cyborgs didn’t really sleep.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“I… um… yes.” She knew she was blushing furiously, and the smile on his face told her he was well aware of the reason for her discomfort. “How about you? Are you okay?”

“Better than okay.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I didn’t think I could feel like this anymore.”

“Like what?”

“Alive. Human.”

She smiled and ran her fingers along his jaw. “You never stopped being either of those things. You just forgot how to recognize it.”

“Until I met you.”

He bent his head and kissed her, awakening an answering need deep inside her. When they finally broke apart, she was breathless.

“Are you sore?” he asked, studying her face.

She started to deny it, but when she reached for him, she became aware of a slight ache between her legs. It wasn’t truly painful, but the unfamiliar feeling made her blush deepen.

“A little,” she admitted.

“Then we’ll just have to find an alternative.”

“Alternative?”

“An alternative way to pleasure you,” he said, and his mouth closed over her breast, making her gasp.

She threaded her fingers through his short dark hair, pulling him closer.

He tugged more firmly on her nipple, sending a jolt straight to her clit.

The ache between her legs no longer seemed to matter, but before she could tell him that, the harsh blare of an alarm jerked him away from her.

The peaceful moment shattered as reality came crashing back.

He was on his feet in an instant, pulling on his pants and grabbing his weapon.

She bolted upright as well, and Roland squeaked anxiously as he scurried towards the airlock.

“Which alarm is it?” she asked, reaching for her clothes.

His eyes flashed silver as he accessed the alarms he’d set through his neural interface. “Lower tunnel. Movement detected.”

“Is it the creature you fought yesterday?”

“The signatures match,” he said grimly as she pulled on a clean coverall. “And it’s heading straight for the shaft.”

“Why is it coming back?” she muttered to herself as much as him.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” He headed towards the door, then paused for a second. “It’s at the base of the shaft.”

“How did it find it so quickly?” She grabbed her scanner, following close behind him.

“It may have tracked our scent. Or followed the vibrations from our equipment.” He stopped at the airlock door and frowned at her. “Stay here. I’ll handle this.”

“Not a chance. We’re in this together.”

She could see the conflict in his eyes, but he gave a curt nod.

“Stay behind me,” he conceded. “And if I tell you to run, you run. No arguments.”

She nodded, even though she had no intention of abandoning him.

Grabbing a breathing mask, she followed Zach and Roland through the airlock and into the hangar as the proximity alarm continued to blare. Phantom was pawing restlessly at the ground, his attention fixed on the heavy metal barrel covering the shaft.

“Isn’t the shaft too narrow for it?” she whispered, just as the barrel shifted slightly. Something was pushing from below, testing the barrier.

“I suspect those front claws are for more than just attacking.” He positioned himself in front of her, his weapon aimed at the shaft as the barrel moved again. “It may even have been responsible for the tunnels.”

“Wait!” She grabbed his arm, her grip firm despite her trembling fingers. “We can’t shoot it, not without learning more about it. It could be the last of its kind. If we kill it, we won’t be able to find out anything else about it.”

He shifted his stance, positioning himself more firmly between her and the threat.

“This isn’t a scientific expedition anymore. It’s survival.”

She knew he was right, but there had to be an alternative.

As she looked around the hangar, desperately searching for an alternative, her gaze landed on the equipment she’d brought with her from the lab earlier — specifically, the portable containment field generators she’d been using to isolate mineral samples.

“We can trap it,” she said quickly. “I can reconfigure the containment fields to create a larger perimeter — ”

“Those are designed for rock samples, not living creatures,” he objected as the barrel rocked again.

“The principle is the same. They create a force field that nothing can pass through.” She was already pulling components from her bag, fingers flying over the controls. “I just need to boost the power and expand the radius.”

The barrel suddenly went flying, clattering across the hangar floor. Phantom brayed and reared as the long narrow head emerged from the tunnel, its eyes focused directly on her.

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast,” Zach warned.

She worked frantically, recalibrating the first field generator as Roland hovered protectively at her feet. “I need three minutes to set these up. Can you and Phantom keep it distracted for that long?”

He didn’t answer, but he moved sideways, drawing the creature’s attention away from her as the rest of the huge body climbed out of the tunnel.

It followed his movement, head swiveling, forked tongue flicking out to taste the air.

It took a step towards him and Phantom brayed again, stamping his feet, and the creature’s head snapped towards the horse.

Her fingers threatened to tremble as she started on the controls of the second generator but she forced them under control and the device hummed to life, its power indicator glowing blue.

She scurried to the third with Roland at her side, acutely aware of the creature’s movements as Zach and Phantom alternated in drawing its attention.

“Almost there,” she muttered, connecting the final circuits. The third generator activated with a soft ping. “Ready!”

Before she could start deploying the containment units, the creature suddenly lunged at her, its powerful body moving across the floor with terrifying speed.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion.

She heard the sizzle of Zach’s weapon and Phantom’s neigh and saw blood splatter from the creature’s side, but she knew nothing was going to stop it in time.

Then Roland leapt in front of her, just as he’d done in the tunnel, impossibly small compared to the huge predator.

“Roland!”

The creature’s claws struck Roland’s small body, sending him flying, and she heard a pained squeak as the creature recoiled, hissing violently. Her heart broke, but there was no time to mourn — they had to contain the creature.

“Zach! We need to position the units in a triangle around it!”

He nodded, snatching the first unit from her hands and placing it on the far side of the hangar as Phantom drew the creature’s attention. She slid the second one into position and grabbed the third one.

“On my mark, herd it into the center!” she yelled.

“Got it.”

She waited until the creature’s attention was fixed on Zach, then darted forward, placing the third unit in position. The creature whirled at her movement, its scaled body tensing to strike.

“Now!” she shouted.

He fired another shot, this one closer to the creature. It jerked back, moving exactly where they needed it, and she slammed her hand down on the activation sequence.

Blue light erupted from all three generators, arcing upward to form a triangular prism of energy. The creature screeched as the field closed around it, throwing itself against the invisible barrier. Energy crackled where its body made contact, but the field held.

She exhaled shakily, keeping one eye on the creature as she hurried towards Roland’s crumpled body. “It worked.”

Zach followed her, his weapon still aimed at the trapped creature. “For now. How long will it hold?”

“The power cells should last twelve hours at least. Long enough for us to figure out what to do next,” she muttered as she bent over Roland. He was curled in a tight ball, only his armored shell visible. “My poor brave boy.”

He made a faint, high-pitched squeaking noise, and his tail twitched.

“Roland?” she whispered as she gently stroked the edge of his armor. “Are you okay?”

He uncoiled further, revealing his face. His whiskers quivered, and he blinked up at her. She exhaled a shaky breath of relief and hugged him.

“Oh, thank God, you’re okay. You scared me.”

“He saved your life.”

She looked up and realized that Zach was crouched beside her. He was still watching the creature, but his free hand was extended, fingers outstretched.

Roland bumped his head against Zach’s palm. He didn’t look away from the creature, but he scratched behind the armadillo’s ears and the corner of his mouth curved up. Phantom had joined them as well and he snuffled curiously at Roland’s armored plates.

She was about to warn him when Roland suddenly retracted his armor, tucking his head beneath his segmented shell. Phantom jumped back, shaking his head, and Zach laughed.

“Looks like Roland’s going to be okay,” he said.

“Yes, he is.” She settled Roland back against the wall. “Now you stay here.”

Leaving Phantom hovering protectively over Roland, she turned her attention back to the trapped creature as Zach joined her.

“What exactly is your plan here?” he asked. “We’re trapped in a remote station during a dust storm with a very dangerous life form.”

“I know.” She ran a hand through her hair, mind still racing. “But think about what this means. We have proof of indigenous life on Mars. It changes everything we thought we knew about this planet.”