Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

“Maybe,” I said, reaching a hand down to ruffle the dog’s soft, pointed ears.

He looked up at me with a stupid grin.

“Man, I thought for sure we were about to see something wild,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “Like a mutated alien beast that was going to suck out our brains, or some kind of skeletal insect creature that was going to pump us full of bile.”

“That’s disgusting,” I said.

“I have a disturbing imagination,” Ricky said with a sigh. “It’s my burden to bear in this life.”

“What do you think about climbing a tree?” I asked.  “I don’t see the terrain opening up any time soon. I think with a boost, I can grab one of these lower branches and pull myself up.”

“Worth a shot.” Ricky shrugged. He laced his fingers together and squatted down to give me a lift.

I shrugged off my pack and placed my right foot in his hands. With a heave, Ricky lifted me up, and I was able to grab a lower hanging branch on the tree in front of us.

The mutt barked once as if he were worried for me and telling me not to fall. The tree’s bark felt like any other tree I had ever climbed as a kid, rough but firm under my hands.

I pulled myself up, choosing branches that were sturdy and only placing my full weight on them once they were tested. As I went up higher, I started noticing dark purple fruit that reminded me of avocados. I had no idea if they were edible, and I sure wasn’t going to try them.

I ignored the allure of a possible food source for the time being and continued upward.

The tree was taller than I had first guessed, but after a few minutes of climbing, I poked my head out of the top of the canopy. What I saw took my breath away. It filled me with both hope and dread.

25

My mouth went dry. I surveyed the landscape. To the north, there was smoke. If I squinted hard, I could make out some kind of dome rising from the ground—the Orion.

To the east, a red rock mountain range stood against the horizon—the same cliffs I had seen as we fell to the planet’s surface. To the west, I spied a large body of water, blue as the sky.

Glancing to the south, I blinked my eyes a few times rapidly. I shaded my vision as I leaned forward to get a better look. The forested area continued for about a kilometer before the landscape began to change into a swamp. A wall of mist prevented me from seeing any further.

The mist. The transmission we picked up before we lost contact was talking about a mist. I studied it longer, straining to see anything beyond the wall. There was nothing but the white, rolling waves of the mist as it ebbed and flowed like an ocean.

“Hey, hey, what do you see up there?” Ricky said in a loud whisper. “What’s going on?”

I turned back to the Orion one more time, making sure I had the bearing correct. I was horrible at measuring great distances, but it looked like we could make it in a day if we traveled hard.

Climbing back down to where Ricky and the mutt waited for me, I let myself fall the last few meters to the ground as I hung from the final branch.

“Some kind of ocean to the west. Mountains to the east and I can see the Orion, or at least what’s left of it. We need to head north,” I told Ricky.

“Great, great, and what did you see to the south?” Ricky asked, motioning behind us. “What’s down there? More forest?”

“It’s just a wall of mist, maybe a kilometer or two in that direction,” I explained.

“Sorry,” Ricky said, then wiggled a finger into his right ear. “It sounded like you calmly said a wall of mist is a kilometer away from us.”

“I did,” I repeated myself. “A kilometer or two.”

Ricky looked down at the mutt as if he were going to weigh in with an opinion. The dog looked back at him and opened his mouth with a grin.

“Well, let’s get the hell out of these woods,” Ricky said, looking behind him as if at any moment the trees were going to come alive and snatch him up. “You said the Orion was to the north? How fa—”

A scream ripped through the air like nails on a chalkboard.

I wheeled around, grabbing for my knife. Ricky did the same, fumbling for his own. The mutt growled, and the hackles rose on his back as he lowered himself to the ground.

Someone was racing from the south towards us, bleeding from a head wound. Her white lab coat was torn in half a dozen places.

Doctor Allbright caught sight of us and stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes were wide in panic. She was in shock, looking at me as if she didn’t know who I was.

“Doc!” I said, lowering my knife. “Doc, it’s okay! It’s me, Dean.”

Doctor Allbright blinked a few times. She licked at her cracked lips, then cast her eyes down to her hands. “I had them. I was about to pull them free, but it was too strong.”

I could tell something was wrong. She was dazed, maybe confused.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re safe now,” I coaxed as I elbowed Ricky in the side. “Put your knife away. She’s a friend of mine.”

“I don’t know, man,” Rick said, still pointing his blade at Doctor Allbright. “She doesn’t look right. What if a demon entered her body, or she breathed in some alien spores. You know, like in all those movies.”

“Rick,” I said with a growl.

“Okay, alright,” Ricky said, slowly lowering his knife. His eyes never left Doctor Allbright.

“Hey,” I said, making my way to her side. “Just take a few deep breaths and calm yourself. You’re safe