Alien Jungle Read Online Free Page A

do, but right then she was worthless. He muttered, “First we have to find the hatch.”
    He stepped to the saucer-shaped craft and dug his fingers into the thick growth, searching for the airlock. The others did the same.
    “Here!” cried the truck driver.
    Aldus hurried to his side. They clawed at the fibrous moss and finally revealed a door. Aldus keyed the entry code upon a control pad. A light blinked. The lock cycled.
    Then a reedy whistle filled the air, like wind through pine needles.
    “It sees us,” the woman hissed.
    The door opened.
    “All right, three at a time,” Aldus said.
    “You should go, sir,” Cole told him.
    Aldus motioned to the woman and two men. “These three. Hurry up.”
    Wide-eyed, the field workers crammed into the narrow compartment. The hatch closed, and the airlock started its slow cycle.
    Aldus tapped the side of the Lander. He heard another windy whistle, heard the clack of reeds on top of the ship. He looked at the driver’s blood-streaked face, at Cole’s patient façade. Then the airlock opened, and they piled inside.
    Oxygen whistled, and his ears popped as the lock pressurized. An inner door opened. Aldus walked into the dim interior. He glanced up at windows girding the ship, surprised to see light filter through the hoops of purple mold.
    The Lander had brought them down to the planet from a transport ship—a ship that was no longer in orbit. The circular vehicle had seats along the walls and a control hub in the center. A few lights glowed with lock-down.
    He said, “See if you can rig enough power to contact Alpha Camp.”
    Cole nodded and sat behind the communications console.
    “There should be a first-aid kit in the supply cabinet,” he told the driver. Then he looked at the field workers, their moss-stained clothing, their fear-spent eyes, and he growled, “I want an accounting. Why didn’t the barriers hold?”
    If possible, they looked even more alarmed.
    “Y-you must understand, Mr. Hanson, those energy grids were n-never meant to be used as electric blockades,” one man stammered. “We w-were told there were no life forms. We never expected to need—”
    “There’s nothing wrong with the fences,” said the other. “The moment we started plowing the fields, those monsters walked right on through. Nothing stops them.”
    “Fire does,” said the woman.
    “Fire just slows them down a bit while they re-grow,” said the truck driver. He dabbed his forehead with a gauze pad.
    “Sir,” Cole called. “I have the camp.”
    “Good,” Aldus said. “Tell them we need to be picked up. Seven of us.”
    “I count only six,” the driver said in a hushed voice.
    The woman shrieked. “Bentley! Where’s Bentley? Oh, God!” She ran to the airlock.
    Aldus rushed to intercept her. He grasped her wrist before she could activate the controls. “What do you think you are doing?”
    “We can’t leave him out there!” she cried.
    He shook her shoulders then leaned until his face was level with hers. “He’s gone!”
    A loud bang at the door made them all jump. Aldus looked up. Several mossy, eyeless faces pressed against the windows.
    His stomach fell. “They found us.”
     

CHAPTER 5
     
     
    T race crossed the crowded cafeteria, passing tables of laughing, boisterous people. He scanned the room for Impani and Natica then spotted them in a corner booth. Impani’s face brightened as he approached, making his step lighter. She patted the seat next to her. As he sat, she leaned to kiss his cheek.
    “We thought we’d missed you,” Impani said.
    He shrugged. “I overslept.”
    “I’m not surprised, staying up half the night with my friend here.”
    Trace raised an eyebrow at Natica. What had she said about him?
    “It was just one drink.” Natica laughed. “I kept him safe for you.”
    “Anyway, I ordered you chai.” Impani slid a cup his way.
    “Great.” He took a sip, trying not to make a face at the now lukewarm tea.
    “Impani was telling me