Trapped on Venus (13 page)

 
“Do you notice any
reaction?” Stimson asked.

 
“Not yet,” Scott
reacted. “But they seem to be crowding together again the way they were before.
Here comes that big black one,” he noticed as it grew larger in front of him.
The pool itself grew a little as the creatures emerged, too. It had shrunk a
little when they left, but was now back to its larger size.

 
“You know,” Stimson
advised them. “Now that the equipment is reset, maybe it would be safer if you
two were closer together. Why don’t you both go back to the point where you
were when you came out of the crater.”

 
“Roger that,” Scott
said. But Marty thought more about it before he spoke. “What about the sample,
Stimson? he asked. “You still want us to get it, don’t you?

 
“Yes, of course I do.
But, I thought it might be safer if the two of you were closer together so that
you could help each other if you needed to. Plus, I think you might have to
duct tape the extractor rods together to make them long enough to reach the
pool from a safer distance.
 
By the way,
what can you conclude about that pool they’re in? Do you think the edges are
firm enough to hold your weight, or do you think you’ll have to keep back away
from it?”

 
“Well... I’m about
twenty or twenty-five feet from one edge right now,” Scott conjectured. “When
the pool was expanding and that creature was coming at me, I might have been
only about ten or twelve feet from the edge. But the ground seemed solid enough
to hold me. I didn’t feel any sagging or cracking.”

 
“Same with me,
Stimson,” Marty added. “I haven’t noticed any cracking or sagging. In fact, let
me move a little closer and I’ll see what happens.”

 
“No! I don’t think
that’s a good idea, Marty,” Stimson cautioned him. “Wait until you two are
closer together so that you can help each other in case something happens.
Plus, you’ve got that tool kit with you. For now, let’s just have you meet up
at that opening in the crater.”

 
“Roger. Will do,”
Marty answered. “Affirmative,” Scott agreed.

 
So the astronauts
started retracing their paths back to a common point where they had first split
up. However, this caused some agitation in the creatures in the pool.
 
Their undulations seemed to increase, and
there was more movement in the identifiable bumps that Scott and Marty had come
to assume were individual creatures.

 
As he continued to
shuffle forward, Scott asked: “Marty? Do you think there are more of them?”

 
“Either that or
they’re changing their shape in some way,” Marty replied. “And they look like
they’re more active. I’m not sure if they like us moving around like this.”

 
“What are they doing?”
Stimson asked.

 
“They’re definitely
more active, John,” Scott answered. “I can’t tell if there are more of them, or
if they’re just moving around. “There’s a kind of cluster of them near the edge
on Marty’s side.”

 
“Yes, I see that,”
Marty agreed. “I think the pool is expanding in my direction, too.”

 
Just at that moment,
three of those flying creatures circled over the pool.

 
“Marty! Look! Those
creatures are overhead. They’re circling over the pool,” Scott said as he
reached the point where he was to meet up with Marty.

 
But, Marty was
otherwise occupied. The pool was expanding in his direction quite fast, forcing
him to move wider and wider until he was almost pressed against the wall of the
rim of the crater. He couldn’t retreat any farther.

 
“Scott! I’m up against
the wall. I don’t know what else I can do. I can’t move out any farther. If
they keep coming in this direction, I’m...”

 
Marty tried to hurry
ahead, but the way was blocked by the pool and the creatures that were in it.
But then, two of the flying creatures swooped down at the creatures in the pool
and sort of skipped off them. It was a glancing blow, like they were attacking
the shapes in the pool, but the creatures quickly lowered themselves under the
liquid.
 

 
“The flying creatures
are... well, I think they’re attacking the creatures in the pool,” Stimson.
“There are three of them flying around overhead. Two swooped down at the
creatures in the pool. They kind of smacked right off of them. I couldn’t see
what was happening, but those things in the pool went under the liquid. At
least they stopped going after Marty.”

 
“Yeah, but I can’t
move, Scott,” Marty replied. “They’ve blocked the way for me to get to you.
There’s a little gap – maybe five feet or so – but I can’t risk it. I can’t
tell how solid the ground is. But... wait. It’s crusting over a little. Not
much, but the opening is getting wider.”

 
“Some of the
scientists here think that if the liquid isn’t kept moving, it forms a crust,”
Stimson responded. “But, if you’re that close, is it possible to get a sample
of the liquid, Marty?”

 
Stimson knew what an
incredible effort he was asking of Marty, but he also knew that if the
astronauts didn’t move quickly and decisively they might miss an opportunity to
fulfill the mission. Maybe in this unexpected confusion Marty could get a scoop
of some of the liquid.

 
“I don’t know. I’ll
give it a try,” Marty answered. He was so concerned with the approach of the
creatures and the way the pool was cutting him off from Scott that he didn’t
even see the opportunity. But, Stimson was right. He might be able to get a
sample of the liquid if he acted quickly.

 
Marty fidgeted to open
the collection case, then took out one of the two collection jars that were in
it. It was obvious to him that he wouldn’t have time to elaborately tape it to
his extractor rod, so he just grabbed the jar with the scissor-like fingers at
the end of the rod and moved closer to the pool to see if he could reach it.

 
Because the creatures
were still circling overhead, there didn’t seem to be any activity in the pool.
At least, there didn’t appear to be any of the large globs of liquid near the
edge of the pool where Marty was getting closer. He didn’t feel as if the
collection jar was very stable in the prongs of the extractor rod, but he knew
if he didn’t do it fast, he might not get another chance. He was also trying to
move closer to the pool without causing the ground to crack or break away, so
he was especially careful.

 
Marty extended the
extractor rod as far out as it would go, but it was barely more than four feet
long. It was not meant to be used for this kind of reaching. The shaft itself
was not as rigid as he would have liked it to be, either. Still, he inched his
way toward the edge of the pool, and felt no sagging or cracking.

 
Just as he reached out
with the jar that was held in the prongs of the extractor rod, Marty was able
to dip it into the liquid and feel the rather heavy, sludge-like consistency of
the pool. He carefully dragged the jar through the liquid, but felt as if it
might be too heavy or slippery to pull it back. But, at the same time, one of
the creatures – a large, rapidly-undulating, dark and ominous looking bubble of
sludge – rose from the pool right in front of Marty and knocked the sample jar
out of his grip of the extractor rod.

 
Marty was so startled
by the sudden appearance of the creature that he fell over backward as he
leaned back to get out of the way. The sample jar was washed up on the ground
around the edge of the pool as the creature loomed over both of them. Then, one
of the flying creatures swept down into the creature that had appeared from out
of the pool and took a snatch out of it with two, short, talon-like feet, or
appendages, that extended from the creature’s body.

 
“Marty? Marty? Are you
alright?” Stimson asked.

 
Marty was only able to
quickly gasp. “I’m in trouble, Earth. Scott? Can you see what’s going on?”

 
Scott was occupied by
his own problems. Two other flying creatures, slightly smaller in size but
thicker – almost like floating jellyfish with short, thin tentacles hanging
from their bodies – were hovering over Scott. They bobbed up and down slightly,
as if caught by the Venusian winds, but maintained their positions by seeming
to adjust their body size.

 
“I can’t see you,
Marty,” Scott answered abruptly while he tried to move out of the way of the
creatures that were attempting to land on him. He ducked one way, then
backpedaled to avoid another one.

 
“What’s happening?”
Stimson insisted. “Are you in trouble?”

 
But, both astronauts
were too busily engaged with the creatures to take time to explain. Scott
merely said: “Stimson... two more flying creatures... I’m avoiding them...
Don’t know if they’re dangerous or not.”

 
Marty, on the other
hand, made a lunge for the container of pool liquid and grabbed it with his
extractor rod. Some of it spilled out, but there was still half a container
full of it. He dragged it along with him as he tried to scramble back from the
pool and the creature in it as two more of the stingray creatures swooped down
from overhead and took chunks out of the creature in the pool with the talons
that extended from their undersides.

 
Marty was able to move
far enough back from the edge of the pool so that he wasn’t directly in the
path of the creatures in the pool or those that were attacking from overhead.
He pulled the jar closer to him, then reached into the collection case to get a
lid for the liquid. He quickly pressed it on, then attempted to get to his feet
to try and make a hasty retreat to a less combative area. But, as he started to
stand up, one of the flying creatures slammed into his back hard enough so that
both he and the creature were quickly sprawled on the ground.

 
One of the creatures
Scott was trying to evade had landed on Scott’s shoulders and wrapped its
tentacles around his helmet. “Stimson... it’s got me!” Marty acknowledged.

 
“What’s got you,
Scott?” the Mission Commander asked urgently. “Scott, what is it?”

 
Scott lost his balance
as he struggled to get the creature off of him, and fell to the ground as he
lost his footing. With the force of desperation, he peeled the creature off
him, then rolled away from it so that he could get to his feet again. The
creature continued to lay on the ground for a moment, then began to move again
before it flew up out of reach.

 
Scott hadn’t noticed
it at the time, but he had torn off one of the tentacles of the creature that
had landed on him in his struggle to get it off. He was still clutching it in
his gloved hand as he spoke.

 
“Marty, I’m free from
that thing! Can you get over here, or do you need some help?” Scott was trying
to see where Marty was, but from his angle, he couldn’t see much because the
creature in the pool had risen high enough to obscure him. Then, Scott saw two,
three... there was even a fourth flying creature that dove at the huge creature
in the pool.

 
With a curl of part of
its upper body, the creature in the pool rolled a wave of liquid at the
attacking creatures that knocked two of them out of the air and into the pool.
Immediately they were covered over by liquid and could no longer be seen. The
other two attacking creatures swooped into the creature in the pool and tore
off handfuls of the creature’s shape. The creature in the pool recoiled from
the attack, then appeared to splash down into the pool and was no longer
visible.

 
This, however, gave
Marty the opportunity he needed to attempt an escape. He grabbed the handle of
the tool case and dragged it behind him as he quickly shuffled around the edge
of the pool toward where Scott was waiting.

 
“Marty!” Scott said in
relief. “Watch out for these new things overhead. They seem to think we look
like something good to eat!”

 
“Let’s leave this
area, Scott,” Marty answered as he reached a point where he could see Scott
again. But he continued to hurry. His breathing was labored both from the
exertion of what he had been through and from the heat and atmospheric pressure
of Venus.

 
“Roger that,” Scott
replied as he hurried over to where he met up with Marty.

 
Both of the astronauts
were incredibly exhausted from their ordeals. Their arms and legs felt heavy
and nearly limp from the strains of what they had been through.

 
“I got a sample of the
pool, Scott,” Marty said with a small measure of pride. “Look what I got,”
Scott responded as he held up the tentacle of the creature he had wrestled
with.