“Two kittens,” Constantine said as a second bundle, tabby this time, dropped from his bag to the ground and then eeled its way across the floor, ears down flat.
“And what on earth are we going to do with them?” Maurice asked.
“Stroke them, of course,” said Saskia. “They’re sweet!”
constantine 6: 2252
Everybody loves kittens.
“I don’t,” said Maurice. “They smell, they make a mess, and what are they going to do on this spaceship anyway? It’s cruel to have them cooped up in here.”
“They can hardly be described as cooped up,” said Judy, waving her hand to indicate the enormous space of the hold. She was sitting cross-legged on the rubber floor, smiling as she dragged a length of silk ribbon back and forth for the patchwork kitten to chase. Its supple, darting movements contrasted with the plodding of the two colossal venumbs seen in the distance at the far end of the hold. The polished wood of their bodies looked like bone. Behind them lay the shuttle on which Judy had been sent from the
“Anyway, they can catch mice,” he was saying, his eyes drawn enviously back to the tabby kitten that Saskia was rubbing behind the ears.
“We don’t have any mice,” Maurice said. “We’re on a spaceship.”
“They might come on board with the cargo,” Saskia said contentedly. Her smile did not waver as the kitten wriggled free of her grasp and dropped to the floor. Edward reached for it, but naturally it headed straight for Maurice, the cat hater.
“Yes, mice might indeed try to come aboard,” Maurice said, kicking out at the kitten: it mewed and pattered away across the dark rubber of the floor. “And they would fail in the attempt as the ship’s manifest net would detect and eject them.”
The kitten took one look at Constantine, mewed again, and ran for the far end of the hold towards the great wooden venumbs.
“Do you always snipe at each other like this?” Constantine asked.
“Oh, no,” Saskia said seriously, “we used to be a lot worse.”
Maurice gave him a sharp look. “Are you laughing at us?”
“Honestly, no! I think it’s good that a crew about to cross into Earth’s solar system can be so relaxed about it.”
“That’s because there’s precious little else we can do about our present circumstances,” Saskia said.
“You know, I think we should call that one Paws.” She pointed to the remaining kitten, and the group paused to watch it spread wide its little white paws before swiping in an attempt to catch the ribbon.
“Look how she uses them like little hands.”
“We can still make a plan,” Edward said earnestly, turning to face Constantine. “That’s why we’re here.”
There was a creaking sound from the far side of the large hold as one of the huge wooden shapes slowly turned in a circle, apparently looking for something. Constantine wondered where they had originated. He had never seen venumbs that size before. Wooden skeletons: they would have to be carved from tree trunks to be so big. Beautiful white ash, planed into smooth curves that bent and flexed as the monsters pressed their splaying feet down on the floor. Incredibly shiny joints flashing in the antiseptic light. But what were they doing on board this ship?
“Plan to do what?” Maurice asked bitterly. “The ship lands on Earth. The Watcher has us under its gaze. We never get away. Period.” He sighed. “What do you suggest we do?”
“We should listen to Edward,” interrupted Saskia. “That’s what the Stranger recommended, and I for one think that’s right.”
Maurice pressed his mouth tightly shut. Constantine ignored him. The wooden monster was coming closer. It didn’t have a head, just a long neck made of white wooden vertebrae strung together by chrome.
