Andrews acknowledged the big man’s comment with a glance, resumed his declamation. ‘At about 0700 hours prisoner Golic reappeared in a deranged state. He was covered with blood and babbling nonsense. Presently he is physically restrained and receiving medical treatment in the infirmary. Prisoners Boggs and Rains are still missing. We are forced to consider the possibility that they have met with foul play at the hands of prisoner Golic.’ He paused to let that sink in.
‘The history of the prisoner in question is not incompatible with such a suspicion. While no one is sent here who has not first been treated and cleared by Rehabilitation Central on Earth, not every program of treatment is perfect or everlasting.’
‘I heard that,’ said Dillon.
‘Just so. However, until prisoners Rains and Boggs, or their bodies, are located and the reason for their absence resolved, any conclusions are necessarily premature. They may be sitting in one of the tunnels, injured and unable to move, waiting for help to arrive. Or they may have gotten lost trying to find their way out. Obviously there is an urgent need to organize and send out a search party. Volunteers will be appreciated and the offer appropriately noted in your records.’ He stopped in front of the north wall, which had been fashioned of locally poured lead.
‘I think it’s fair to say that our smoothly running facility has suddenly developed a few problems. It is no cause for panic or alarm and in fact is to be occasionally expected in a situation like this. Whatever the eventual resolution of this particular unfortunate incident I think that I may safely say a return to normal operations can be anticipated within a very short while.
‘In the meantime we must all keep our wits about us and pull together for the next few days, until the rescue team arrives to pick up Lieutenant Ripley. I may even go so far as to say that her unplanned arrival here, while creating some problems of its own, has likewise caused the Company to divert a ship to Fiorina. That means the possibility of obtaining extra supplies and perhaps a few luxuries well ahead of schedule. It is something to look forward to. So we should all be looking to the days ahead with anticipation.’
The door to his right slammed open to admit Ripley. Out of breath and anxious, she ignored the stares of everyone present.
‘It’s here! It got Clemens!’ She was glancing around wildly, her eyes inspecting the dark corners and distant corridors of the assembly hall.
The veins bulged in Andrews’s neck. ‘Lieutenant, I’ve had about enough of you. Stop this raving at once! Stop it! You’re spreading panic unnecessarily and without proof, and I won’t have it, you hear me? I won’t have it!’
She glared at him. ‘I’m telling you, it’s here!’
‘And I’m telling you, get control of yourself, Lieutenant!’
He looked sharply to his right.?Mr. Aaron, get that foolish woman under control at once. Get her back to the infirmary!’
‘Yes, sir.’ Aaron took a step toward Ripley. Her expression made him hesitate. She looked no less physically capable than the average prisoner.
As he considered what to do next the lights suddenly flickered wildly. Prisoners shouted, ran into one another, looked around in confusion. Andrews shook his head dolefully.
‘I won’t have this kind of nonsense in my facility. Do you all hear me? I will not put up with it.’ A faint scraping noise caused him to glance upward.
The alien reached down and nipped the superintendent off the floor as neatly as a spider trapping a fly. In an instant both predator and prey were gone. In the ensuing hysteria only Ripley and prisoner Morse actually saw the monster drag the quiescent form of Andrews into an open air shaft.
Ripley took up a seat in a corner and lit a narcostick. She found herself remembering Clemens. Her expression hardened.
Clemens: better not to think of him, just as she’d learned to quickly forget several other men with whom she’d formed attach-ments, only to have them snatched away and destroyed by other representatives of the seemingly indestructive alien horde.
Except that they were not indestructible. They could be killed. And so long as she was alive, that seemed to be her destiny. To wipe them out, to eliminate them from the face of the universe. It was a calling she would gladly, oh, so gladly, have bequeathed to another.
Why her? It was a question she had pondered on more than one occasion. Why should she have been singled out? No, she reflected, that wasn’t right. Nothing was singling her out. Fate hadn’t chosen her to deal with a lifetime of horror and devastation. Others had confronted the aliens and perished.
Only she continued to suffer because only she continued to survive.
It was a destiny she could abandon at any time. The infirmary was well stocked, its contents clearly labelled. A single, simple injection could wipe away all the pain and the terror. Easy enough to put an end to it. Except that she was a survivor. Perhaps that was her task in life, simply to survive.
No, fate hadn’t singled her out for special mistreatment. She wasn’t responsible for the fact that she was tougher than anyone else. It was just something she’d have to learn to live with.
Another man gone. One she hadn’t been especially fond of this time. She regretted it nonetheless. Andrews was human, and if nothing else deserved to die a decent death.
The alien had left dead silence in the wake of its astonishingly swift attack. In its aftermath the men had resumed sitting or standing, each staring into the distance, at his neighbour, or inwardly. As usual it was left to Dillon to kneel and begin the prayer.
‘We have been given a sign, brothers. How we deal with it will determine our fates.’
‘Amen,’ several of the prisoners chorused. The comments of several others were fortunately unintelligible.
Dillon continued. ‘We give thanks, O Lord, your wrath has come and the time is near that we be judged. The apocalypse is upon us. Let us be ready. Let your mercy be just.’
Near the back of the hall the prisoners had begun to whisper to one another, Dillon’s prayer notwithstanding.
‘It was big,’ prisoner David muttered. ‘I mean, big. And fast.’
‘I saw it, asshole.’ Kevin was gazing intently at the place on the ceiling from which the alien had hung. ‘I was there. Y’think I’m blind?’
‘Yeah, but I mean it was big.’ So intent were they on the memory of what had just happened that they even forgot to stare at Ripley.
Prisoner William rose and surveyed his comrades. ‘Okay, so what do we do now, mates?’ A couple of the men looked at one another but no one said anything. ‘Well, who’s in charge? I mean, we need to get organized here, right?’
Aaron swallowed, glanced around the room. ‘I guess I’m next in line.’
Morse rolled his eyes ceilingward. ‘Eighty-five’s gonna be in charge. Jesus, give me a break!’
‘Don’t call me that!’ Aaron glared at the prisoner who’d spoken. ‘Not now, not ever!’ Rising, he advanced to confront them.
‘Look, no way I can replace Andrews. I’m not even gonna pretend that I can. You guys didn’t appreciate him. I know he was a hardass sometimes, but he was the best man I ever worked with.’
Dillon was less than impressed. ‘I don’t want to hear that shit.’ His gaze shifted from the assistant to the lanky figure seated on the far side of the hall. ‘What about you? You’re an officer. How about showing us a little leadership?’
Ripley glanced briefly in his direction, took a puff on her narcostick, and looked away.
Williams broke the ensuing silence, gesturing at Dillon. ‘You take over. You run things here anyway.’
The bigger man shook his head quickly. ‘No fuckin’ way. I ain’t the command type. I just take care of my own.’
‘Well, what’s the fuckin’ beast want?’ The discouraged Williams inquired aloud. ‘Is the fucker gonna try and get us all?’
The narcostick eased from Ripley’s lips. ‘Yeah.’
‘Well, isn’t that sweet?’ Morse growled sarcastically. ‘How do we stop it?’
Disgusted, Ripley tossed the remains of her narcostick aside and rose to confront the group.
