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His ankle twisted under him and Penn went down. His hip caught against Cody. As his knees jarred against the ground, Penn lost his grip on Madison. Pitching forward, one hand slammed into the moss, the other against Madison’s leg.

She did not make a sound.

Holding his breath, Penn laid his head on her chest. Praying for a heartbeat he stayed bent over her, counting senselessly in his head as if the numbers might help. She lay under his ear without stirring. At one hundred and twenty-seven Penn sat up.

He pressed his hands against his face, digging his fingernails into his forehead. Madison was dead and he had no idea what had killed her. But, by God, he would have it found and shot. And as for the survey team that had somehow managed to miss a giant predator, every credit in his account would go to suing them to penury.

Cody put a paw on his knee and whined. Penn dropped his hands to reach for his dog. He gathered her to him, burying his fingers in her warm fur. She licked his face.

“Thanks, lady.” Fondling her ears, Penn said, “Let’s get back to the ship.”

Gritting his teeth, he picked Madison up again. His right ankle sent a stab of pain up his leg, but he’d be damned if he was going to leave Madison’s body out here for the thing. Cody took her place by his side and herded him back to the ship.

Every step jammed an ice pick into his ankle, but Penn Would Not Leave Madison. When his foot hit the bottom of the ramp, he almost fell again but caught himself with his good leg.

The ramp had never seemed so steep. At any moment Penn expected the thing to come charging out of nowhere and clamp its jaws around him. Or mandibles. Or whatever it had. Someone would pay for this.

The floor flattened out as Penn entered the airlock, and then he crossed the threshold into the ship. The altar bell chimed as if it were a prayer for Madison’s soul. He had brought the stink of blood and shit into the boarding area with him, almost obliterating the scent of the musk lions. At least they had stopped yipping so he could hear the cleansing chime.

Without asking, his mind replayed the boarding chimes. Once: Madison had come in to set down the cage. Twice: She had gone back outside. Thrice… She had never come back inside.

Cold sweat suddenly coated his bare torso. Penn swallowed. “Cody, go to my lab.”

The scent of dead skunk, vomit and blood swept down the corridor from the bridge. With it, a sound like sand blowing across steel.

By his side, Cody growled.

They’d have to pass that corridor to get to his lab. No time. “Cody. Outside!”

She pressed harder against his side. Penn kicked her, desperate for her to flee. “Outside!”

The hissing came faster. Penn turned back the way he had come. Two steps and he tripped over Cody. He and Madison landed in a spatter of oily fur scented with sweet musk. The hissing became the sound of a thousand nails scraping across a blackboard.

Penn rolled over, pulling Madison’s body on top of him. He screamed wordlessly. Moist, hot and rank with death, the thing’s breath blasted him.

Madison’s body was yanked out of his grasp. Cody snarled then barreled past him.

“Cody! No.” Flailing, searching for anything he could use as a weapon, Penn got to his feet.

Everything in the boarding area was permanently bolted down. Except–

The fire extinguisher. Where was that?

Snarling and a roar like a steam train came from behind him. He had to get Cody away from that thing.
Penn slid his hand across the wall to the right of the door until he found the cylinder bolted to the wall. Panting, he yanked the extinguisher free of its holder and fumbled for the nozzle.

Thumps sounded against the corridor’s sides and Cody barked and snarled.

Staggering forward, Penn shoved the nozzle against the thing and squeezed, blasting it with freezing CO2. The cold air billowed around his hands. With a cry like a bandsaw, the thing jerked back.
“Cody! Let’s go. Go!”

The blast of cold air stopped as the canister emptied. Penn swung the extinguisher wildly, praying that he wouldn’t hit his dog.

With a thud, it connected with something. Cody was still growling, so Penn hit the thing again. Bashing it with one hand, he waved the other, searching for Cody where her growling was loudest. He touched a tuft of bristles so sharp they stung. Penn jerked his hand away.

“C’mon, lady. Leave it!” He had to get her away. Again he reached and his fingers sank into a wet, viscous mass. The creature screamed in rage and yanked back.

Then, soft familiar fur. He didn’t know what part of Cody he’d grabbed. “On duty! On duty!”

He hauled backwards, falling as she suddenly moved to his side. Pushing back, he slid toward the boarding door and slammed into the wall.

“No!” He’d gotten turned around. Which way was the door? Cody would know. “Outside! Cody, outside.”

The extinguisher shuddered in his hand and twisted away. Half crawling, he followed his dog.

His right calf went hot with pain. A flash of anguish painted his brain and a detached part thought, This must be what ’white‘ means.

Yelling, Penn kicked with his free leg. He struck something unyielding. He kicked again.

The thing loosened its grip on his leg. Penn jerked free, feeling his flesh rend on the thing’s teeth. Falling, he felt the airlock threshold under his knees. The altar bell chimed as he crossed. Penn let go of Cody’s harness to push himself up.

Cody barked. Her voice was hard and savage.

Penn slapped the door sensor. An eternity passed before it hissed shut. With a dull thud, it impacted on the thing. And then the damn safety made the door slide open. Cody’s claws scraped the floor as she lunged toward the opening.

“Cody, stay!”

Penn threw himself on her and tried to get between Cody and the door. He slapped again at the control. She squirmed to get past him, snapping at the thing. “No! Fool dog!” He scrabbled to grab her by the scruff and threw her away from the door.

Teeth scraped his shoulder as he turned with the throw. Penn spun, shoving with both arms against a surface that was covered in bone and bristle.

Behind him, Cody yelped as she struck the far side of the airlock’s wall. With strength he didn’t know he had, Penn yelled, “On duty. Stay! STAY!”

The inner door of the airlock hissed shut, sealing off the smell of corpses, musk lion and the salty tang of Madison.

Penn swayed for a moment, expecting the thing to still be in front of him. He heard nothing but the wind from outside. He reached for the airlock door and slid his hand down the unyielding surface.
“My God.” With a trembling hand, Penn wiped the sweat and blood from his face. “Cody. Cody, we’re safe.”

Penn steadied himself against the wall and sank to a crouch. “Come here you wonderful dog.”

He waited for the tick, tick, tick of her claws to come to him. The wind dried the sweat on his back, chilling him. “Cody?”

He swallowed, remembering the yelp she had made when she’d hit the wall. “Cody, come here lady.”
Penn crawled forward, patting the floor with his hand.

Her claws ticked on the steel, moving away from him.

“Cody? Where you going?” Penn held his hand out, beckoning her.

She backed away again, leather harness creaking. Maybe she wanted him to get out of the airlock. Penn pushed to his feet and stepped forward, reaching for her harness.

Cody ran.

Outside, her claws scraped against the boarding ramp as she almost slid down it. Careening forward, Penn chased her. He didn’t know what was behind them but, if it was enough to scare Cody, he would be dead if he stayed.

At the bottom of the ramp, he fell, knees mashing through the moss to the rocks beneath. The wind filled his hearing and he strained for some hint of Cody. To his right, a faint creak of leather skipped through the space in the breeze. Penn got to his feet and staggered toward it. He cursed every time his weight came down on his right foot. It threatened to fold under him.

“Cody?”

She huffed, not a bark, but a warning. She was more to his left. He followed the sound, sniffing.

“What’s the matter, lady?” He inhaled deeply, trying to catch a whiff of where she was. The stench of the thing burned his nostrils. His bowels contracted as slow understanding seeped down. She was afraid of him. He smelled like the thing and he had hit her. Kicked her even. No wonder she wouldn’t come. He’d told her to stay away from him.

The ground gave way. His ankle exploded with fresh pain and Penn pitched forward. The land rolled him over, carrying him down a shallow slope. He stopped on his back. For a moment, the wind did not fill his ears with its rush.

Beyond the shelter of the small hollow, Penn heard a hissing like a thousand fingers scraping across steel. Another one. Why had he thought that there would only be one on the planet? His heart kicked wildly at his ribs. He had to get back to the airlock. He could hide in there until help came.

Except–the fall. He’d gotten turned around. He didn’t know where the ship was.

Penn sat up carefully, and the hissing disappeared into the rush of wind. The thing could be anywhere.

Sinking back down so he could hear again, Penn shivered. The hissing was louder. Penn sniffed the air, searching for the scent of dog. He whispered, “Cody? On duty. On duty…”

END

Mary Robinette Kowal is a professional puppeteer who moonlights as a writer. Originally from North Carolina, she lives in New York with her husband, Rob. Her short fiction appears in Cosmos, Apex Digest, and Clarkesworld Magazine. She received the 2008 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Visit her website, www.maryrobinettekowal.com.

In 2007, Mary’s short story “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” appeared in the Apex Publications anthology Gratia Placenti. Get it on sale now for $10.00!