Inseminoid (18 page)

“Sandy,” he called, “over here, Sandy.” He was dragging himself across the floor to the portal. “Over here. You can have me instead.”

In that instant of Sandy’s indecision, Sharon regained control over herself, spun around and ran faster than she’d ever done before. Karl was hurt but even so, he was right behind her.

Sandy was about to give chase but her pain returned at that instant and she buckled from it. She dropped the dumb-bell and fell on to the two bloodied bodies.

She felt comfortable there. The bodies were still warm and she lapped up their blood. She needed nourishment and it had been a long time since she’d eaten last. Sandy forgot about Karl and the few remaining others. She’d get to them in good time. Instead, she ground her teeth into Holly’s neck. The life juices spurted out and that pleased Sandy because she drank it all.

“What happened?” Mark demanded. Only Gary, Sharon and Karl had returned.

Sharon was out of breath. “Don’t know how it happened. We had her, but it was so dark we couldn’t see what we were doing. Mitch came from nowhere. He wasn’t supposed to be down there. He ruined everything.”

“Mitch?” Mark looked around the room. “What in hell was he doing down there?” Then Mark looked at Karl. “I hope this puts an end to any thought of trying to take Sandy alive.”

Karl knew it did.

“Where’s Holly? What happened to her?”

“Dead,” Gary reported.

“Oh no!” Mark couldn’t believe it. “And where the hell were the both of you while this was going on?”

Gary spoke first. “My laser jammed. It . . . it . . . I couldn’t get it to fire.” It was a lie and Mark knew it.

Mark pulled Gary’s laser from its holster, readied it and fired into the wall. “Works good enough now. You just lost your nerve. You too, Sharon?”

“That’s not true!” they both protested.

Karl pulled himself upright in his chair. He was holding his injuries with both hands. “It’s true. I was there. I saw it. You chilled.” It hurt him to speak.

Mark felt sick with rage. One thing he couldn’t stomach was cowardice in the line of duty. “Now, I’m in charge. Don’t think I won’t deal with both of you in my own way if we ever get off this worthless planet.”

Karl looked up, surprised. “What do you mean,
if?”

“I checked the radio transmitter. It’s finished. I couldn’t even recognise it. Sandy did a good job, all right.”

“So what do we do?” Gary asked.

“If
we can liquidate Sandy, we have enough food to last us until Nova gets suspicious and sends an exploratory module down to see what’s happened. But for your sake, you’d better pray you don’t make it away from here. Cowards are the lowest snakes there are, and when I’m through with you . . .”

Filled with shame, Gary ran towards the doorway. “I’ll prove I’m no coward. I’ll kill her. I’ll kill Sandy myself!”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

“W
hat’s the fool going to try now?” Mark wasn’t quick enough to keep Gary from rushing from the control room.

“I’ll go after him,” Sharon said. She was also feeling deep pangs of guilt.

Mark rejected that. “Hell, you are! Don’t you understand anything yet? We’re dealing with a force we can’t anticipate.”

Karl stepped forward. His chest was giving him considerable pain. “He’s right, Sharon. Enough damage has already been done. There’s no way either of you can bring back Holly or Mitch. We just have to sit tight. If Gary is intent on committing suicide that’s his decision. You don’t have to join him.”

“Then what do we do?” Sharon reacted bitterly. She was being consumed by self-hatred. “We just wait until we’re devoured by Sandy or whatever she’s turned into?” She stared at Karl, then turned her gaze to Mark. Neither man was able to give her an answer.

Actually, Gary’s plan was probably the best anyone could have come up with at that point. And by all reason it should have worked. The only thing was, he’d forgotten what had happened to Ricky.

As he sprinted through the corridors, he tried to convince himself that he couldn’t have done anything to save Holly. Mitch was a different story altogether. It was clear enough he was bent on suicide. But Holly—what could he have done? If he’d fired at Sandy with the laser, he might have killed Karl or Holly anyway. He told himself no one would find fault with his actions. What could they expect? No one could have imagined it would turn out this way. How can you prepare for such a thing? But the more he tried, the less he believed his own words.

“This time, I’m going to do it! They’ll call me a hero! Maybe I’ll even get a commission.”

Gary slowed as he approached the space preparation chamber where the suits and oxygen supply were kept. He suited up, checked and double-checked an airpack to make sure he’d have enough. One last check; this one on the laser. The warning light on his handle indicated it was functioning but just to make certain, Gary burned a hole in the wall.

“Now, to find the bitch,” he said, out loud.

He returned to the gym. Moving slowly, he often looked over his shoulder. He was wearing his helmet and wouldn’t have been able to hear her approach from behind. That was a chance he’d have to take because at the right moment there wouldn’t be an opportunity to get the helmet on.

The light beams on his helmet made him an easy target for Sandy. She could see him coming a mile away. But that was Gary’s plan. She would never figure it out. Sandy didn’t think like a rational human being any more. In fact, Sandy no longer even thought.

“Sandy,” Gary called out. “I know you’re here. Come out and give yourself up. It won’t do you any good to fight me. I’ve got the laser and I’ll kill you if I have to. Don’t make me do it. Don’t make it hard on yourself.” He didn’t think coaxing her out would work, though he figured it was worth a shot anyway. He did his best to make his voice sound confident and powerful, but he was scared as hell.

There was a bend in the corridor and Sandy chose that spot to hide in wait for him. He was getting closer. Sandy could see the amber light glow on the laser and she bided her time.

Just before reaching the bend, Gary stopped and looked around. He held the laser waist-high. He took another step and stopped again. He moved in this way as he approached the spot where he fully expected Sandy to be.

Sandy didn’t know what kind of game Gary was playing. It didn’t matter. When he was in range, she brought her hands down on his laser, knocking the weapon to the floor.

Gary dived for it but Sandy was quicker and kicked it far into the darkened corridor. Then, she turned on Gary. This time, though, he kept his cool. It was going according to plan. He figured she’d go for the laser and that she’d attack him from just that place and he’d been right on both counts,

Gary spun away from Sandy and jogged towards the airlock. He didn’t move fast. He wanted Sandy to be only a couple of steps behind him. As he reached the airlock, he pressed the button opening the inner door. Then, he made it appear as if he slipped and fell by accident. Sandy went for the bait and jumped on to Gary. While they wrestled on the floor he manoeuvred so that they both rolled into the airlock. When the inner door shut, Gary reached for the button that would open the outer door. A moment more and he’d have Sandy right where he wanted her. She’d be unable to exist in the deathly atmosphere. But he would be fine. His oxygen pack was filled.

Sandy saw what he was about to do and cried out. “No! Gary, don’t do this to me! It can’t be the end. Please!”

Gary hesitated. “Sandy, it’s the only way. You’ll never again be,” he paused, “normal.”

His finger was on the button. It was up to him to decide when her execution would be held.

“Gary,” she begged, “No, Gary.”

Gary remembered the others. Everyone who’d died because of Sandy or the forces that controlled this planet. The emotion welled up inside him and he pushed hard against the button. “I’m sorry it had to happen this way, Sandy, but you see, I’m left with no choice.”

The door to the planet’s barren surface slid open on cue. The rush of strange atmosphere knocked Sandy to her knees. She grasped her bulging stomach as if to protect its contents. The skin on her face became taut. It turned a sickening shade of olive-green. She was choking and the yellow fluid once again poured from her mouth.

Satisfaction flowed through Gary’s veins. Sandy was dying and he had brought it about. His guilt over Holly was being exorcised by Sandy’s agony. She was still pleading pitifully at his feet. He allowed himself the luxury of a smug smile.

He waited until Sandy stopped quivering. She’d become still. Only the putrid foam still came from her mouth. He glanced at his oxygen pack but he was under no pressure to return to the safety of the complex. He would wait until he was sure Sandy was entirely dead. There’d be no mistakes, not this time.

He bent at the knees to drag her on to the planet’s surface. But suddenly her eyes began to roll at a furious pace. She opened her mouth and displayed her teeth. Her tongue whipped out and she breathed the atmosphere deep into her lungs. Gary hadn’t remembered that Ricky had somehow been able to adjust to both atmospheres. And that was the fatal flaw in his near-perfect plan.

For Sandy reared up, bringing Gary down on top of her. Her strength not only returned but it increased to more than she’d ever known before. The tables turned on Gary. He knew what was coming. Now it was he who had to find a way to survive. He figured his best bet would be to escape into the purple haze of the planet’s surface. He still had enough oxygen and there were many places he could hide. He kicked Sandy in her stomach and she fell over in agony. He struggled to his feet and made it to the open doorway but Sandy reached out and grabbed his ankle. Gary fell flat on his helmeted face. She dragged him back inside the airlock and moved in for the kill. He would have led her to an agonising death and now she was there to return the favor. She could have beaten him to death, but that was too easy for her. Gary knew the worst was on the way when he saw that look come over her. The expression was not of anger nor fury but of cold calculation. He cowered on the floor.

Suddenly, Sandy lashed out and ripped the airhose from his oxygen pack. Gary sucked in his last breath of pure air and held it for as long as he could.

Not long enough though because he began choking. He tried to rip the helmet off and did manage to get free from it an instant before crashing to the ground. He writhed helplessly for nearly thirty seconds. Then he was dead.

With deliberate coolness, Sandy pushed the freshly frozen body out of her way and sealed the outer door of the airlock.

“One more of them gone,” she told her babies.

CHAPTER
NINE

F
ood. Sandy needed nourishment for her ever-increasing appetite and for those of her unborn children. It had been some time since she’d eaten. And she was very hungry. The image of the mess hall and the kitchen entered her mind’s eye and she homed in on it. The corridors remained dark but Sandy had no problem seeing.

All of a sudden, she howled and doubled over on to the floor as the pain in her stomach grew more severe. She stayed there, naked and with her legs spread, holding on to her bulbous abdomen. If she listened hard enough she could hear sounds coming from within her.

She didn’t know how long she remained on the cold floor. It could have been a minute or an hour. She lost all sense of awareness.

“It won’t be long now,” she told herself. Soon she would be a mother. She let her mind wander. “I have to provide for my babies. Feed them.”

She felt at her breasts. They were so very sensitive that even the slightest touch caused her to suck in her breath. “Milk for my babies. Must feed my babies.

“To the kitchen,” she said. “To the kitchen.”

Mark needed to know Sandy’s exact position. When Gary hadn’t answered the calls on his communicator Mark wrote him off. So now something had to be done. He told Sharon to punch up those cameras that were still functional. At once, pictures of empty corridors leapt on to the monitor screens. Mark looked them over and said, “Put up another series, there’s nothing there.”

Sharon hit the second row of switches. This time only two of the six monitors came to life. The others had most likely been knocked out.

“There’s something at the bottom of the screen on monitor three!” Karl observed.

Sharon zeroed in on that quadrant and expanded the picture. “It’s Gary,” she gasped. “He’s dead.”

“It would have surprised me if he wasn’t,” Mark said, coldly. “That leaves three of us.”

“But we can’t give up,” Karl insisted.

“I have no intention of giving up,” Mark agreed.

Sharon hit the next six switches and there she was. Sandy was moving through corridor six.

“Okay, we’ve got her in our sights now,” Mark said. “Look at the woman. I think we’d be doing her a favor by killing her.”

Looking at Sandy was all any of them could do. Their eyes were glued to the screen. Sandy’d changed so much, even since the last time they’d seen her. They couldn’t believe it was the same woman. All her beautiful blonde hair was gone. Her skin color, once soft pink, was now moldy green.

“Magnify the picture,” Mark whispered, as if Sandy could hear him.

Sharon turned the knob and they were looking at a close-up.

Karl was the first to recognise the similarities between Sandy’s appearance and that of the creature. “Even her eyelids have retracted,” he said.

“What was that?” Mark asked.

“Her eyelids are gone. She’s lost her hair and she’s lost her eyebrows. Check out the skin. It’s become slick and scaley.”

“What are you trying to say?” Mark demanded.

“I think it’s pretty obvious. Sandy has become one of them. She’s been taken over, in mind, spirit—and now in body.”

Sharon agreed. “It’s true, you know. See how she walks. The same gait as the creature. I can’t believe any of this is happening. It’s all so crazy.” She covered her face with her hands, hoping that when she pulled them away it would be gone, like waking from a nightmare.