Second Chances (55 page)

“And some hearing loss,” Mitch said, rubbing at his right ear. Dora saw it and then noted the blood. She came over and caught his chin. She looked into the ear and then frowned thoughtfully. “I don't think the eardrum is burst, I can still hear. Hurts though,” Mitch grunted.

“Aspirin?”

“In a bit. Actually that's a good idea. It might get the migraine under control,” Mitch said, brows knit painfully.

“I see,” Dora said, going off to the pharmacy.

“How...” Tina shook her head. “Thanks for saving us,” she said to Mitch.

He shrugged. “I don't even know what possessed me to go after you. It wasn't that I didn't trust you folks to handle it; it was just instinct.”

“Well, thanks anyway,” Tina said. “I got the buckshot out. If no one needs me, I'm going to pass out now,” she mumbled.

“Rest,” Mitch said. “We've had a stressful day,” he said.

Tina grunted but slowly, painfully, she climbed out of bed. “What are you doing?” the chief demanded.

“I'm getting out of these clothes,” Tina said, pulling her top off to expose her bra. “Then I'm going to get a shower to wash the crud and any eggs or crap off me.”

“Good idea,” the chief said, helping her.

Mitch averted his eyes politely as they walked to the showers. He felt a tap and turned to see Dora there with a small cup of water and a couple tablets. “Thanks,” he said.

“What happened?” Dora asked. “I saw Arby...” She shook her head.

“How is he doing?”

“Doc gave him the antidote; we don't know if it will work or not,” she said. “I'm not even sure what bit him or stung him.”

“He stepped in a hole. I don't think he knows,” the gunny said.

“Well, we had to cut his boot off the flesh was all puffy and blue. He may lose the leg,” Dora said. Mitch sighed. She shrugged helplessly. “That is if the poison doesn't stop his heart.”

“Hopefully not. Gina?”

“She lost the hand. She lost a lot of blood too. What...”

“A giant centipede bit it off,” the gunny said, making the girl turn green. “And before you ask, yes it got away. The thing is armored like a tank,” he said.

“Damn,” Dora said. “Maybe we should move,” she said, voice quavering.

“Well, the good news is we can figure out something. As soon as Mitch here calls Copper Town and gets them on board,” Angie said pointedly. “Jackie's waiting to take off you know. We need to plow the strip though,” she warned.

Mitch nodded. “Get Sam and Paul on that. Brian too. Or have Brian check the plane out.”

“Akira's on it with Jackie and Jolie,” Angie said. “She sent me to find you since you weren't answering,” she said.

Mitch sighed and pulled out his phone. There were messages waiting. He frowned, closing his eyes. “Sorry, stuck on vibrate,” he said loudly.

“He's still having some hearing issues,” the gunny said to Angie. “Dora, why don't you see if Doc or Cassie needs a hand. We'll get cleaned up and checked out on our own.”

Dora nodded and hustled off.

“I'll hit the shower real quick then be in the radio room,” Mitch said, moving out. “Gunny, when the chief is free grab Phyllis and do another sweep of the base. I want every nook and cranny checked, especially the vents and sleeping areas. Draft anyone to help. Animals too,” he said.

“Consider it done,” the gunny growled grimly, following him out.

------*------

Mitch put in a call to the other communities. He sat heavily in the radio room chair, trying not to relax too much. The adrenalin was wearing off; he'd had one hell of a stressful day. He knew he was going to just shut down into sleep if he didn't keep moving.

“Yeah, Mitch?” Jack finally said. Mitch frowned; he saw the lines on the display but barely heard anything. He cranked the volume up.

“This is Mitch; Jack, I need help. We've had ourselves a situation here. Chuck Atom is dead. We've got a lot of wounded and one hell of a mess to clean up,” he said.

“Shit,” Jack said. “Fill me in,” he ordered.

“Gladly.” Mitch filled him in with a sitrep, then asked if the pest control guy was around.

“I think his name is Bob. He's a big guy, I mean short but broad. He's been working with the chemists or doing the gutting,” Jack said. “I'm not sure; I'll ask Helen.”

“Please do. See if Bob is willing to fly here. We need his expertise,” Mitch said. “Fast. If you can spare Nicole for a couple days, I think Doc could use the relief. She's still in surgery with Gina,” he said.

“Well, it's snowing here so Jackie's flying circus can't land now. It'll take us a day or two to plow a strip for her,” he said.

“Understood. The airplane is rigged with skis, so as long as it's reasonably flat they should be okay,” Mitch said. “As soon as the weather is cleared and safe, we'll send her out,” he said.

“Understood. I'll see if we can get something. I don't know if this is a good storm or just a passing flurry,” Jack said.

Mitch frowned and pulled up the Doppler. He unfortunately couldn't see Jack's area, but the air around them was reasonably clear. “I'm not an expert, but I don't see a major storm front moving in from here. I'll ask Piotr.”

“Okay. If it clears I'll grab Axel and have him work on smoothing a strip for Jackie to land on.”

“Thanks, Jack. Thank Bob and the others too for us.”

“I will. Stay safe,” Jack said then signed off. Mitch sat back, staring dumbly at the radio for a moment before he closed his eyes. He took a moment to take a deep cleansing breath, then let it out slowly. He managed a second before the sounds of people in the hallway doing a sweep made him open his eyes. He checked his gear and then went out to help with the hunt.

------*------

While Mitch radioed for help, the chief and gunny moved half the armadillo population into the cavern. They retrieved the two bots there, both a bit battered but repairable. The other half of the armadillo population was split in the occupied caverns and the barns. People clustered together in groups; some even went to the extreme of sleeping out in shifts or taking their families to camp out in the warehouses, hangars, or factories. Just about everyone wanted a six-legged armadillo as a personal protector.

The animals grew fat after eating so many of the bugs. Eventually they were so full they just curled up and slept, ignoring the animals unless one came too close.

------*------

Akira got the idea for a flame thrower. The idea was pitched to the gunny who immediately knocked it down. “Think it through. Heat, smoke and flames rise.” Gunny Hodges pointed to the ceiling. The others looked up and then back to him. “Since we're the top floor tenants, we don't want to do that. Nor do we want to drive the animals up into the occupied section again.”

Akira shook his head vehemently no in agreement.

“What else can we do?” Phyllis asked.

“Flood it?” Akira asked, wrinkling his nose. “Like Mitch did? Divert the water down there?”

“It's an idea, but we'll wait to see what the pest control guy says.”

“What about freezing them?” Phyllis asked. They looked at her. “You know, vent in the cold from outside, maybe throw in some AC of our own?”

“And they'll head to the warmth,” the gunny said tapping his boot meaningfully.

“If we've got it lit up like now?”

“I don't know. We'll put that in the idea pile and save it for when Bob gets here. Until he's here just keep doing what you're doing.”

“I don't know if I can sleep,” Akira admitted. His face was drawn, his eyes sunken. He was tired, exhausted like all of them.

“Figure it out,” the gunny said looking at him. “Take shifts, one person on watch while the others sleep. Akira looked at Phyllis. She nodded hesitantly.

------*------

Doc came to their bedroom two days later, wiped out. Mitch took one look at her and then hugged her. She turned and punched him in shoulder repeatedly until he winced. “You deserve that and more,” she said hoarsely. “Stupid. So stupid!” She said, letting her bottled-up emotions finally loose. He didn't say anything; he just wrapped her in his arms and hugged her again. She hugged him tightly until he gasped, then relaxed. He felt her breath nuzzling his chest. He stroked her hair gently letting her just be.

After a few minutes of rocking her, he felt her relax. He swept her off her feet and carried her to bed. He made her eat a power bar and drink some juice before tucking her in. Then he curled up next to her and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her breathing settle and let himself drift.

------*------

Angie flew a short broad man and Nicole in from Copper Town. Nicole climbed out of the plane as soon as it taxied into the hangar. Bob followed, both of them were covered in animal furs. They stomped their way to the door of the base, keeping their arms tucked to their sides to keep warm the whole way. Jackie remained to service her bird with Angie and Akira.

As soon as they were divested of their furs, Nicole took off at a trot for the infirmary. Bob nodded to Mitch. “Bob, Bob Norbert,” he said, holding out a meaty hand. Mitch took it and shook it heartily. “Glad to meet you, Bob, though I wish it was under different circumstances,” he said.

“Understandable. Odd that you have a scorpion issue. They usually like hot dry climates,” Bob said.

“Yeah well, everything about this planet is odd,” Mitch said. He was quiet as Mitch outlined the situation grimly.

“Do you have a spray bottle?” Bob finally asked when Mitch paused. “A big one?”

“Several. Plastic for construction or spritzing stuff. Unless you mean something more potent?”

“Yes.”

“We can borrow something from the construction supplies or from the farms. Or we can make something. Hell, I can rig up something with a portable air compressor and a tank,” Mitch said. He'd looked into scorpion pesticides but had been discouraged. According to what he'd read the things were resistant to most pesticides.

Bob nodded. “I take it you can do chemicals here?” Mitch nodded. Bob's grim face cracked a slight smile. “Well then, let's get to work. We're going to need water, propylene glycol and boric acid. Especially the acid.”

“I'm pretty sure the glycol we've got in stock. The acid I'm not so sure about, but I'll check,” Mitch said.

“We'll also need the usual safety gear. And I could use a hot bath and a meal,” Bob said, patting his belly. “Flying isn't my thing,” he grumbled. Mitch snorted and then nodded.

Bob showed them how to create a spray to spray the inside of the caverns to kill the scorpions and centipedes. He pumped the handle of the sprayer he'd borrowed from the garden. “This will work fine. What we're going to do is spray a solution of boric acid along the base boards and in every crack and crevice. The best time to do it is in the dark with a black light,” he said.

“Are you sure? I for one wouldn't want to be in the dark with these things,” Phyllis said, shaking her head.

“Definitely. A black light makes them shine with UV. They glow a bright blue and stick out like a sore thumb against any background,” Bob explained.

“Yeah but we're talking about alien insects here,” she said.

“Well, we'll try it,” Mitch said. “Bob's the expert,” he said, waving a hand to Bob. Bob nodded his thanks.

“The boric acid is great. You don't have any Diatomaceous earth do you?” Bob asked. Mitch frowned. He checked the tablet and then looked up and shook his head no. “Thought not. It's made from fossils I think. Ground-up fossils. The shards pierce their armor and they hate it. It's great stuff and won't bother animals or people.”

“What about the animals and people? Will this stuff hurt them?”

Bob frowned thoughtfully, looking at the sprayer. He shook his head after a moment. “In low enough concentrations no. But if you want to be on the safe side...”

“We'll relocate. I don't think anyone is going to want to be around in the dark anyway,” Mitch said. He nodded to the chief. “Evacuate the areas ahead of the sweep.”

“Understood,” the chief said, swinging into action. He pulled Phyllis in to help keep things orderly.

There was some confusion about what to bring. “The acid is mild; it won't harm your clothes. Don't leave clothes in piles. The scorpions love that,” Bob explained. Janet nodded. She'd heard Anne and a couple people had had a couple close calls with hampers lately.

“The good news is,” Bob said as he went to work mixing the solution, “is that once you kill the food source the animals go away to better hunting grounds.”

“Yeah well, the problem is these things like eating people too,” Brian said, bringing in a container of propylene glycol. “This what you asked for?”

Bob nodded as he took the container. “Okay, we've got warm water here. We mix this in, let it warm some more, then we mix in the boric acid. Then we go to work,” Bob explained as he pulled his gloves on. “Safety first,” he said. Brian nodded and took a step back.

“While I'm doing this, you may want to take some tape and rig up some sticky traps,” Bob said over his shoulder to them as he worked.