“Make him drink it,” James said.
Rogers shook his head. “Go sit down, bro. You seem too excited. Maybe go pull security for a bit.”
James shook his head and stepped back from the group. “You guys are no fun,” he said, dropping low on a stack of empty pallets. He called Duke up next to him and sat back with the dog lying across his lap, watching over them. Marks moved back to the five-gallon bucket and lifted one of the test strips with his rubber gloves. He held the strip out, waving it toward the Delta. Its black eyes didn’t appear to move; the thing’s head continued to dart back and forth between each of them.
Marks moved closer with the test strip. The creature turned its head, suddenly focusing on the paper. Its eyes blinked for the first time and the protruding brow on its head seemed to tighten. As Marks moved the paper closer, it leaned his head back as the look of recognition painted itself across the alien’s face.
“Holy shit. Like garlic to a vampire,” James gasped from his place on the pallet. “Come on, hit it with some more.”
Joe Dirt’s head moved back as Marks removed the test strip. He reached over and tore away the fabric at the creature’s wrist. Joe looked down at it with keen interest. Marks held the spray bottle in his hand with the sprayer close to the creature’s skin. He hesitated and yanked it back. The creature looked up at him. Marks looked it in the face. “Tell me why I shouldn’t spray you.”
The creature held the same expression, eyes focused once again on the spray bottle.
“Come on, man. Hit it with some juice,” James said.
Jacob stood and slinked further away, taking a position just outside of the blinding lights. Marks held up the bottle and pushed it toward Joe Dirt’s face; the creature again leaned back, away from it.
“Last chance. Communicate with me or you’re getting it.”
The creature gave no response. Instead, its gaze remained focused on the movement of the spray bottle. Without warning, Rogers squeezed the sprayer, applying a light mist to the creature’s wrist. The Delta writhed and shuddered in the chair so hard that Jacob thought its bindings might break. The creature bounced up and down, pulling and tugging at the tape.
“Look,” Marks said, pointing at the thing’s wrist as it thrashed.
All along the surface where the liquid had made contact, the previously bleach-white skin was changing from deep red to purple. At the same time, blisters had formed and continued to grow until the tips turned white and burst.
“Damn, it’s like mustard gas.” Rogers stepped closer and looked at the blisters.
“This is just a simple dioxin. It’s usually a by-product of manufacturing… things like weed killers and pesticides; how is it doing this much damage? Yeah, it can mess you up, but this is incredible,” Jacob said.
Rogers looked at the growing and popping blisters. “The Deltas didn’t grow up with this shit in the food and water like we did. It has no tolerance for it.”
Marks looked at the bottle, moved away from the bound creature, and set it back down by the five-gallon bucket. “So it works. How are we going to use it?”
“Wait,” Jacob said. “Pick the spray bottle back up.”
Jacob walked around the chair, instructing Marks to soak the concrete in a wide circle around the Delta. When he’d painted a strip of concrete a foot wide and in a ten-foot diameter, he looked back at Jacob. “Okay, now what?”
Jacob removed his pocketknife and sawed away at the tape holding the thing’s legs. James stood up to protest, but Marks raised his hand, backing him up. “Yeah, I want to see this,” Marks said.
He finished cutting away the bindings then cut its ties from the chair. James removed his MK III pistol and chambered a round. Duke still lay across his lap, the dog picking up on the building tension. As soon as Jacob cut the last arm free, the Delta lunged back, knocking Jacob to the ground. Rogers grabbed him and quickly removed him from the circle. The thing ran toward the wet concrete but backed off in agony every time.
“Look at its face,” Jesse said.
The thing was pacing back and forth within the dioxin barrier, going from side to side, trying to keep itself from the perimeter of the circle. When it turned, Jacob saw that its exposed skin was already turning pink and blisters were forming on its face and arms. Soon, it was bright red, completely covered in the festering blisters. After several minutes, it clawed at its face, trying to remove the gag; its fingers bled as it dug at the tape.
The Delta fell to the floor and drew its legs in. He looked at the men, its head moving from each one of them. Duke growled as the creature turned to the side and lay down.
“We done?” James asked.
Marks moved back from the circle. “Yeah, I’ve seen enough.”
Clack, clack—two quick shots from James’s pistol and the thing lay silent on the ground.
Chapter Forty
Light shone under the canvas tarp, letting the weary men know the sun was up. James stretched then tossed the remaining cup of coffee he had to the concrete floor before he approached the door and pulled down the heavy cloth that covered it. He pressed his shoulder against the door, cracking it just a bit, allowing the morning sunlight to fill the room. He leaned out and looked left and right before pulling back inside. He nodded satisfaction then stepped out into the open. Duke trotted out next to him, and then both relieved themselves on the building’s wall.
Rogers had worked the radio most of the night, attempting to make contact with the ship, with no success. Without a message, they would not be returning to Bay City for extraction. Marks briefed
