Apex Book Company

Lifting the stopper from the vial to his nose, Penn inhaled slowly. Against the neutral backdrop of his ship’s cleanroom, he picked out aromas of quince, elderberry, and bright Martian soil that hinted of blood, with undercurrents of cinnamon and Zeta Epsilon’s fragrantly sweet longgrass. He sighed, blowing the scents out again. The perfume was still out of balance.

The boarding chime rang, letting him know that Madison had returned. The round tones resonated off the glass labware and sent vibrations across his scalp as it slowly, slowly faded. God, it was gorgeous–picking up the temple bell when they were on Mosholu had been one of his better choices. He’d eventually get the whole ship converted to real things instead of all the virtual hoo-ha it came with. Well, maybe not the whole ship; the skip drive had to exist in quantum state, but by God, the controls at least were made out of real ebony and brass.

The intercom buzzed and Madison’s honeyed voice came over the wires, “Hey there, Mr. Man. Got a surprise for you.”

“A musk lion?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Come on out.”

“I anticipate the pleasure of your discovery.” He slid his left hand forward until he found the wire stand that held his work trials. His fingers followed the trail of braided metal up to the smooth glass vial. He slipped the stopper into it with practiced ease.

With one hand touching the stainless steel work bench, Penn paced the distance to the cleanroom’s door. Opening it brought a chaotic swirl of scents containing the dark mineral oils that lubricated the doors, and the green plants grown to filter the air, and dog and…something else. Something new. Penn lifted his head, scenting in anticipation. Madison, that tease… she must have found a musk lion.

The boarding chime rang again. Maybe more than one. Good.

“Cody?” He held his left hand down while the tick-tick-tick of claws hurried to his side. Cody thrust her damp nose into Penn’s hand, and licked once with her warm tongue before sliding forward into working position.

Penn fondled his dog’s silky ears, as she slipped past to bring the harness under his hand. The leather handle was warm where it had lain against Cody’s back.

“Airlock.”

Without hesitation, Cody led him down the hall, her shaggy tail beating against the back of Penn’s legs. Truth be told, even if his blindness were repairable, he would be hard pressed to give up his dog. She was a real lady. Not like a machine or electrodes in his brain. Loyal and true. Hell’s bells. The fool dog was so excited to be working that Penn didn’t even have the heart to let on that he knew the ship well enough to find his way to the airlock without help.

The new scent was so rich. Pungent with sexual intensity and spices that only flirted with the familiar. Penn quickened his pace; his clients would pay top dollar for a perfume with this. “Smell that, Cody? That’s why parfumiers like Lenox will never rise to the sublime. Synthetics. Feh. Any Joe with a copier can make a fake.” That’s why he did expeditions to new worlds before they were opened for colonization. Hitting the market with a unique ingredient guaranteed that he maintained the top position in his field.

Around the corner, something heavy scraped against the metal deck of the ship. Penn had wanted oak floors, but had to concede that they would not survive the heavy traffic through the boarding area. The thing, probably a cage, held something that squealed with a high rough voice. “Sounds like Madison had a successful expedition, eh, Cody?”

She whined in response.

The new aroma was definitely coming from the boarding area. It was mixed with the more familiar smells of Cody and the salty tang of Madison, but even with those distractions, the spicy musk begged him to breathe deeper and absorb the aroma into his pores.

As they neared the boarding area, Cody hesitated.

The boarding chime rang a third time and with it came a dry hissing, like sand blown across the steel floor. Cody flinched again. Then stopped.

“It’s all right, lady.”

She whined.

“Cody, forward!” He fumbled, searching for her head with his free hand. Cody trembled and shifted. What had gotten into her? He smoothed the fur on her ruff. “C’mon, lady. You’re on duty.”

The air in the corridor shifted and brought a smell like blood and offal. Sweat suddenly beaded under his arms and ran down his ribcage. “Madison?”

Somewhere in front of him, the musk lion squealed once as if in answer to his call. Penn gripped Cody’s harness tighter. “Find Madison.”

For a moment, Cody did not move. Penn’s mouth dried; if she refused to work… She huffed–not quite a bark–and stepped forward. Hugging the wall, Cody led him down the corridor to the boarding area.

The cage rattled and an animal raged in a high chattering voice. From the cage came the heavy spice of alien musk. Despite its intrigue, Penn found himself holding his breath.

Cody whined as they crossed the threshold into the airlock but did not falter. The altar bell chimed their departure.

On the ramp outside, warmth bathed Penn telling him that the sun was out. The dissonance of what passed for birdsong on this planet had stilled. Wind hissed in his ears, walling him in with white noise. At the end of the ramp, Cody led him across a spongy, uneven surface. The wind pushed him as if it were a bully on the playground, teasing the blind kid.

Cody did not take him far from the ship–only nine paces–before she came to a dead halt. “Madison?” The wind tossed his aide’s name aside.

Under his grip, Cody hunkered into a crouch. Stiff and beginning to shake, Penn knelt with her, reaching out with his free hand. The ground was soft with thick short fronds like a living shag carpet–the moss Madison had described when they’d first landed. He slid his hand forward until it met cloth.

Startled, he pulled back for a moment before reaching forward again. Quickly now, he recognized Madison’s arm and slid down it to grip her hand. Warm and sticky with what must be blood, it lay unresponsive in his grasp. “Hang in there. I’m here.”

Penn toggled his communicator to call for emergency services. Flat tones confirmed his request, but he was so far out from a settled world it might be weeks before his call was answered.

But his ship was only nine paces away. He could find his way without holding onto Cody, so enabling him to carry Madison.

It wasn’t that far.

Penn inhaled to steady his nerve and almost choked as the wind shifted to blow from his front. Something rank and wet with blood and urine lay along the wind’s path. Penn squeezed Madison’s hand again. “We’ll take care of you.”

He let go of Cody’s harness.

Using Madison’s arm as a guide, he slid his hand up to her shoulder. Raw wet meat filled the top of her sleeve, then nothing. Penn jerked his hands away.

He fell back on his rump, retching. Something warm and moist touched his face. Penn screamed and slapped out, slamming into familiar fur. Cody yelped.

“Oh God. Cody, I’m sorry. Sweet lady, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He reached for her, sobbing with relief when she came to him. Penn folded his arms around her and buried his face in her soft coat. Clinging to her, he rocked back and forth.

Madison’s hand had still been warm, which meant it hadn’t been removed long ago, which meant she might be alive and needing him. His mind shied away from the likelihood that Madison had already bled to death. It hadn’t been more than five minutes since the boarding chime had rung and– “Bloody hell.”
He was on an open plain. Even if Madison hadn’t described the place when they landed, the strong breeze and unfiltered sunlight should have told him.

He was on an open plain and whatever had killed her was probably still in line of sight. Penn grabbed for Cody’s harness. They had to get inside.

Halfway to his feet, Penn stopped. What if the thing hadn’t spotted him because he was kneeling? He listened, trying to hear anything past the sound of his own heart and the wind. It carried nothing but scent: moist, verdant moss; the heavy under notes of loam and stone; when the wind shifted and flicked to come from in front of him, it brought the harsh sharp smell of urine mixed with blood.

The thing would be there.

Or perhaps not. Cody had not shied away. Maybe Madison lay ahead and Penn was about to abandon her.

He rubbed his thumb over the leather grip on Cody’s harness. He would trust his dog. If she hesitated, even a little, they would go back to the ship.

“Cody, forward,” he whispered, still half-crouched. His good dog led him smoothly ahead. Through her harness he felt no hesitation.

He sniffed, searching for where the scent was strongest. “Left,” he whispered.

What could have done this? Not a musk lion–despite the ruff that gave them their name, they were no bigger than a capuchin monkey. The survey reports had said that there weren’t any larger predators on this planet.

They had gone eleven paces when Cody slowed, then stopped. No matter in which direction the wind blew, the hard ammonia smell of urine stayed in Penn’s nostrils. He crouched again, braced this time for what his hands might find.

He patted across the soft moss until he touched cloth, coarse twill, Madison’s trousers. Her leg beneath was warm. Penn followed the line of her thigh up. The material was soaked. Blood? His hands followed the topography of her body, sinking into valleys of savagery. Gashes carved out of her hip. When his hand touched the broken end of a rib, it moved.

A shallow gasp.

“Praise the saints. Hold on, Madison.” Penn pulled his shirt off and wrapped it around her. The wind moved over his bare torso like dozens of tiny cold fingers.

He tied the sleeves around her chest and slid both hands under her. He fixed the location of the ship in his mind. All he had to do was retrace his steps.

Eleven paces, then turn slightly and take nine more. He could do this.

Penn pushed to his feet. Clutching Madison to his chest, he turned to his right. That was far enough. Wasn’t it?

He slid his foot forward over the spongy ground. One. Setting his weight, he stepped again. Two. Wait. He had been crouching when he came this way, so his stride had been shorter. He wanted Cody’s grip in his hand. She would take him back to the ship. Penn licked his lips. It was a decent-sized ship and he hadn’t gone that far. Worst case scenario, he’d run into the side of it and have to follow it around to the ramp.

The spreading dampness in the shirt wrapped around Madison reminded him that there were other far worse scenarios. He had to take the shortest path back the ship.

Cody pressed against his left leg and Penn staggered a half-step to the right. He cursed and tried to correct for the misstep, but Cody was in his way. Fool dog was so used to working position that she wouldn’t–

No. Fool man couldn’t realize that she was herding him. His throat tightened. He would have cried if he’d owned a working set of tear ducts. “Good dog.”

Her tail beat against the back of his leg.

“Take me home, Cody.”

With her warm body pressed against his leg, Penn felt his way over the uneven ground. His arms burned under the strain of holding Madison. She had not made a sound and only that single gasped breath had told him that she was still alive.