A tiny mystery, one that would keep.
As I crossed the fence line, I heard the sound myself, like twin daggers plunged through my ears and into my brain. It lasted only a fraction of a second before I was through and clear of the noise. Humans didn’t hear it at all, but some Prytheen did when we were right in the middle of it. I shuddered at the thought of being held in that fence.
On the far side, nothing changed, and everything felt different. The snow still crunched underfoot, the wind still blew, but on this side of the fence, danger lurked. A grin spread across my face as I unslung my bow and advanced, keeping my eyes open for any sign of predator or prey.
I didn’t have to go far before I saw tracks in the snow. Almost covered by fresh snowfall, they would have been easy to miss, and I only spotted them after I’d been walking beside them for a while. Once I saw them, though, I crouched to examine them closer. My heart thumped and an uneasy prickling feeling climbed my spine.
Sure enough, they weren’t animal tracks in the snow. They were boot prints. Prytheen boots, like my own. I looked up, scanned the tree line. No sign of any watchers, though that meant nothing. It wouldn’t take much skill to hide from me in the dark beneath the trees.
Why were you here? Spying on us, or afraid to attract our attention? Not all my comrades accepted Auric’s leadership or the peace with the humans. Many of those who did not turned to raiding and violence, so I had to assume they were a threat.
But I couldn’t discount the possibility that they were lost. The energy field around Crashland drained Prytheen technology of power so quickly that we’d had no way to communicate; if this was the first sign of civilization the Prytheen warrior had found, then a wary approach made sense. He’d only have one chance to get contact right. Coming in too hard or too soft could be disastrous.
“At least he’s turned up while I’m here,” I muttered, straightening and following the tracks down toward the woods. “Doesn’t matter if he’s friend or foe, I’m a better match for a Prytheen than any of the humans are.”
Under the trees, the tracks became easier to follow. Sheltered from the snowfall, the imprints were clearer, and I picked up speed. Crashland was home to many dangerous predators so I had to pay close attention to the shadows under the purple boughs, check behind the larger trunks, watch above for predators ready to drop.
It was a relief when the tracks left the woods again. My prey crossed the covered area and emerged into another snowfield — perhaps he, too, worried about the wildlife? A chill had settled in while I was under the trees, enough to make me shiver as I pressed on. The bright light from Crashland’s harsh sun had been cut off by clouds blowing in fast and hard, and snowflakes drifted down around me.
If I turn back now, these tracks will be gone. I looked up at the clouds, heavy and dark, and wondered just how much to trust Allison’s predictions. Left to myself, I’d say a heavy storm was about to hit — but Allison had more experience than anyone else on the planet, and her predictions had been accurate so far.
“What do I know about weather?” I said to myself as the clouds scudded by. “I grew up in spaceships. Allison trained to do this for a long time; trust the expert.”
Taking those words to heart, I continued on before the snow buried the trail. It fell heavier and heavier around me as I went.
7 Molly
Watching the heavy clouds roll in, Allison frowned. Her pink nails drummed on her table as we both looked out the window, and I raised an eyebrow as she muttered under her breath.
“That can’t be right,” she said. “There’s no way I’d have missed a storm this size, not when I had the data from half a dozen colony pods to work from.”
We’d met in the room labeled ‘refectory’ on the floor plans. That was a joke: five tables, a score of chairs, and a matter printer were hardly worth the title. We’d taken to calling it the break room, and none of us ate our meals there.
That made it the perfect place for a private, unnoticed chat. A chance for me to… well, I didn’t know what I wanted, which exasperated Allison. Perhaps ask for a transfer? Somewhere far from Karnac and the temptation he posed would be perfect, except even thinking about that hurt. Or was I here to ask her blessing? That would be trite, stupid, and insulting to her, Karnac, and me.
I dithered, Allison got annoyed with me, and ended up looking out at the snow blowing in. The haze under the approaching clouds looked like a heavy snowfall.
Allison’s frown deepened, and she turned to her pink tarantula to help with some calculations. Numbers flashed over the hologram’s head as she called up her prediction. “I don’t understand, I couldn’t have gotten it this wrong. Look at the numbers.”
I obliged her, but they meant nothing to me. Whatever she saw in the numbers and graphs was meaningless to me.
“Everyone gets things wrong,” I said, trying to be reassuring.
“No, this isn’t just a fucking mistake,” Allison snapped back at me, then took a deep breath. “This is… okay, say the water pressure’s dropping in your home. There’s got to be a leak, but you can tell it’s not bad because the pressure’s only dropped a little. But when you track the leak down, the basement’s flooded and water’s gushing everywhere. You can’t have gotten it that wrong, it’s just not possible.”
Points for trying to put that in language I’ll understand, I thought, trying not to smile. And I guess I get what you mean, even if you don’t really understand plumbing.
“Okay, sorry, so how bad is this going to be?”
“Bad. That’s all I can say until I figure out what’s wrong with my predictions. We’d best tell everyone to get inside and stay there. The storm will be here in two hours, maybe less.”
I nodded, half-grateful for the interruption. This was definitely more urgent than talking to my rival about Karnac, so I got to put that off.
Oh. Oh shit. The last I’d seen of him, he’d grabbed his bow and headed out. At the time I hadn’t worried — the pirate could take care of himself. But now, with that solid wall of snow bearing down on us, things looked very different.
What a fucking asshole, running off to get himself killed in a storm. My anger was irrational: even the meteorologist hadn’t seen this coming, it wasn’t Karnac’s fault he hadn’t. But the blinding anger covered the aching pain in my heart at the thought he might not return. I swear, next time I see him I’ll kill the idiot myself and save him the trouble of doing it himself.
Allison leaned across the table and took my hand. Big blue eyes looked into mine, every bit the picture of concern, and every bit as superficial as a politician. For a moment, watching her fighting the data, I thought I’d seen the person hiding under the pink plastic shell Allison wrapped herself in. Now she’d vanished.
“What’s wrong, Molly?” she asked. I had to admit, she was good. With the full force of her personality focused on me, it didn’t matter that I knew she was faking her concern.
“It’s Karnac,” I answered, trying to pull my hand free of hers. No good, her grip tightened like a vice. Maybe saying that hadn’t been a great idea, but now I’d started. “He went out hunting, and I don’t think he’s back yet.”