Domus Read online

  “Now,” continues Reed, “we all have our jobs, so let’s get to them. The relay is up, so take an ear piece each and listen out for any warnings from CETI. She will alert you to an approaching organism, and it is advisable to seek shelter right here in the Dweller. Weapons are optional but advised.

  “If any of you have forgotten your tasks then see me. I want reports from all of you in three hours. Now, get to work, Seekers.”

  The others leave but not me. Captain Reed heads towards the observation bay and I follow, my legs wobbly but determined. He circles the dead beast in the centre and runs his hand down her rough hide while shaking his head. Exactly how many more of these things can there be, Captain?

  When he thinks he is alone, he puts in another ear piece, a different one to the ones we have. He has Racker on a different frequency.

  “Racker,” he says at almost a whisper, “it’s me… how many did you actually see? And what size? Okay, ask CETI to send the live feed to the screen in the med-bay only.”

  The screen in the room flickers and shows an amazing vista. The land is green for as far as the probe can see, and it can see for miles. I can see the seagulls flying in the sky, only I can see them clearer now, and they are not seagulls at all. They have tails and claws.

  “Audio, too, Racker,” requests the Captain.

  The speakers in the room pop and fizzle, and then I can hear the soft chirp of the birds and the call of insects. The scene is peaceful, tranquil even. What has him so scared other that a few strange birds and crocodiles?

  And then I hear it. A roar, and it sobers me up and drains the symptoms of withdrawal immediately.

  It is a roar that no mammal back home could ever make. The live visual feed from the probe shakes under the influence of the roar, and a giant foot slams down in front of the camera feed. The foot is like that of an elephant with a similar textured flesh, but greener skin with only flecks of grey, and slightly feathered.

  The beast moves further away from the camera and the entire screen is filled with its full frame. It has a long neck, longer than that of a giraffe, and a huge tail. I have seen this familiar shape before. We all know what this thing is, and we have a name for them back home - Dinosaurs.

  Domus was similar to our planet apart from one thing. It seems ours was millions of years ahead, millions of years older. We knew that a supercontinent here has only just broken up, and that makes it a mirror of home.

  Captain Reed rubs the sweat from his brow. “I see it, Racker…I can see it. Kill the feed.” The screen fades to black. The Captain slams a fist onto a gurney. “No, Racker, the Project is not aborted. These things…no, I will not call them that because you do not know for sure what they are…I know what I see, Racker, but this is different. Domus is different. I will not, Racker, not while we still have a chance of life here.

  “I will tell them when the time is right.”

  Well, Captain, I will tell them now.

  I turn to leave, but a voice in my ear halts my steps. “Seekers, this is CETI. We have an approach from the south west corner of the forest. I repeat - we have an approach from the south west corner. The signature weighs eighteen tons and measures seventy feet tall.”

  Dinosaurs…

  I run through the rec room just as the others are coming back inside the Dweller. They had heard the warning, too, but were not as curious as I am. I barge through all of them, and the outside greets me with warm sun and the sound of the sea. I have to see this. I won’t let Reed lock us inside.

  The footsteps behind me change direction, and I can hear the others choose to follow me. Such is human nature to quench their own curiosity. I wonder if their curiosity is for the wildlife, or just to see what might become of me. The reckless side of me is jumping for joy, and the other side is thinking that I should have visited the armoury first.

  I race out of the Dweller and across the soil. The sandy beach is at my back, and the sea breeze makes the hairs on my neck stand up. I head south until the far line of trees comes into view on the edge of our peninsula, and I stop. I stop and I wait as the other Seekers. All except for Simon fall in behind me.

  The trees here are roughly fifty feet tall, but a long neck and head towers above them, tearing and chewing at the branches and the leaves. The skin is green-grey, the skull is broad and flat, and it has a short snout.

  “What is it?” asks Evangeline.

  “It is a Brontosaurus,” I say, and the word feels strange rolling off my tongue. The sentence is typically formulated ‘was a Brontosaurus’ back at home. Rarely has the name been used and followed by ‘is a Brontosaurus.’

  “Actually,” fuzzes CETI’s voice in our ears, “the human name for this creature is now Apatosaurus, an extinct genus of Sauropod. I have run the animal through my database, and I have learnt that Brontosaurus is now considered a junior synonym of Apatosaurus.”

  Learning – CETI was never meant to learn.

  “Thank you for the correction, CETI.”

  “My pleasure, Doctor Yun.”

  Captain Reed catches up to the group with Ex Materia already in his hands. That is the reason he was so far behind us; he made a trip to the armoury first. The long, white barrel of the gun is pointed towards the animal’s head. Only one of the Captain’s cornflower blue eyes is open, to help with his aim.

  “No, Captain,” I scream out. “She is not a threat to us or the Project. This animal is an herbivore, she just eats plants! Please confirm, CETI.”

  “Confirmed, the organism’s jaw is lined with chisel-like teeth which are suited to a solely herbivorous diet. It does not have the means to eat or chew flesh and bone and poses little to no hunting abilities. This organism is only likely to attack if threatened.”

  CETI’s words are comforting. Hopefully now he will lower his weapon. “See! She just eats plants, Captain.”

  “And this planet is now ours, Doctor Yun,” spits Reed. “This entire planet is ours even if we have to take it. And that includes the plants.”

  The end of Ex Materia lights up and the blast from the end loosens soil and sand at the Captain’s feet in a shockwave. The bolt of pure energy lands true and instantly. The Apatosaurus’ head explodes under the impact, and it colours the leaves all around her red. Brain, blood and bone scatter over the soil and as far as the sand. The beast falls like a felled tree, the vibrations travelling through my feet and beyond.

  I break away from the group. I run through the first few trees and into the forest where she has fallen. I see her great chest rise and fall for the final time. I press my hands and face against her bristly abdomen, and I close my eyes.

  I’m so sorry. I am sorry for identifying your planet out of all the others, sorry for bringing my species to your home, and I’m sorry that I could not stop him. You were no threat. I just hope it was as quick as it looked.

  There is a small squeak to my side, and I see that the Apatosaurus was most definitely a female; there is another one, smaller than this, just an infant that had been following its mother. Even at its juvenile age it is the same height as me. I hear the others approaching, Captain Reed with Ex Materia among them.

  “Shoo,” I hiss and flail my arms. “Go on, shoo! Get away now, go and find another place to eat, go on!”

  But it’s too late.

  “Step away, Doctor Yun,” orders the Captain. “We all know what must be done here.”

  “Why?” I hiss. “So we can just repeat the mistakes we made back home? Are we going to destroy all life on another planet? Are we going to rape this one of its resources and pollute her like we did to our own home? These animals do not even eat meat, Captain. They are not a threat to us at all.”

  “I will decide the threats, Doctor. This planet has room for only one alpha-species, and at the moment it isn’t us. These things could trample the Dweller. They could come and smash our gear or step on a new born child. And what about our supplies, Doctor Yun? What happens when we need sustenance from all the berries and leaves, but
these things have eaten them all, what then?”

  He starts to take aim with Ex Materia. The solid white barrel is as long as a human leg.

  “I will step aside,” I start without looking him in the eyes, “when you call them what they are.”

  There is a pause. I know that Reed would not say the name to Racker. I know that he is scared to admit what they are to the others.

  But he defies me.

  “They are dinosaurs, Doctor Yun. We are on a prehistoric planet filled with dinosaurs, thousands of them, maybe even millions. Now move out of my way!”

  The other Seekers gasp in shock at the revelation. Doctor Barros, Sarah and Evangeline hold their hands over their mouths.

  I start to walk forward towards Captain Reed. I walk until I am at the end of Ex Materia’s barrel and beyond. I hear the noise of it fire, like the crackle of lightning and the rumble of thunder, and I feel the tremor pass through my feet and hear the calf’s body hit the floor.

  Why start again to repeat the mistakes we made back home?

  Evangeline Nikosa

  I have tired of winding up Sarah just for fun.

  It only started because she questioned my credentials the first day of the Seeker Project. Doctor Spielerbürg had selected me because I was the best in my class. I started medical school when I was only fifteen years old and excelled at everything I did.

  I’m not “just a doctor,” as she had put it. I’ve trained in veterinary medicine, intrusive surgical procedures, a trained pharmacist, and a field medic. I was twenty five when I was headhunted for the Project, and I had already been on four tours with the military. I have seen more action than she could ever imagine.

  And that isn’t the only reason I like to be a thorn in her side. I remember the smile on her face the day before the Seeker Project took to space. It was that smug face she had when they read out our chosen ones. Every one of us had hoped for either Captain Reed or Simon. I was hoping for the hunky Englishman, but the Captain would have been a good runner-up prize. Reed was called out first and matched with Doctor Barros. My name was called next and matched with Pilot Racker.

  The bitch almost burst out laughing.

  I prayed she ended up with the stammering Doctor Lawson but no, she got the hunky, rugby playing engineer. My hunky, rugby playing engineer. And her face when she looked at me was full of smugness for days afterwards.

  Racker is nice enough man. If I hadn’t made it my mission to annoy Sarah, then I probably would be quite happy to have him as a chosen one. He would certainly show me more attention than Simon will ever show Sarah, and he would mean it.

  But I’ve tired of winding her up for fun now.

  The Seeker Project suddenly got really real, visceral, when Captain Reed took Ex Materia into the jungle to kill two ‘dinosaurs.’ If anyone’s credentials need questioning, it is the credentials of those people that landed us on a prehistoric planet, a planet yet to pull itself out of the evolutionary cesspool.

  It’s time I start taking the Seeker Project more seriously. We need to stick together, now more than ever. If Racker is my chosen one, then he is my chosen one. And although Simon is certainly more attractive than Racker, I will place my trust in Doctor Spielerbürg and his team.

  I will make a family with Racker as I agreed when I signed the contract. I will put my lust aside and give the man a fair chance. Besides, I spent last night with Simon, and it wasn’t great. It was a night twenty years in the making, and it barely lasted more than twenty seconds. Looks are certainly no replacement for technique. But it is time to end the games. Sarah was paired with Simon, and that’s it.

  I am going to tell Simon that last night was a mistake…

  …And then it hits me. Simon is still oblivious, still sailing out on his own at sea.

  I race to the sea’s edge and peer out. The water is calm and clear, but there is no boat on the horizon. The shape of the peninsula means that I can only see maybe a mile along the coast each way and no farther.

  Maybe he had capsized? Maybe another Sarcosuchus, or whatever those crocodiles are called, had got to him.

  “SIMON,” I shout at the top of my lungs. “SIMON!”

  Nothing.

  Footsteps suddenly come up behind me. It’s Sarah. “You just cannot leave him alone, can you,” she hisses with venom. “You cannot accept that he is my chosen one and not yours. I bet you tried to get your claws into him last night, too, didn’t you. I bet you begged him to sin against his contract. You are pathetic.”

  Bite your tongue, Evangeline. “Look, Sarah, I’m worried about him. He has been gone hours now. I would be worried if it was anyone! This isn’t a ‘him and me’ thing, I promise. He is out there with God knows what swimming and circling all around him!”

  I see the change in her face, from anger to worry. My face must look the same as hers for her to take me so seriously and at my word. “Racker,” she says, “can you hear us?”

  “I can, Sarah. How can I help?”

  “Can you see Simon anywhere out there on the sea? He took the boat out earlier, and he has not been seen for hours now.”

  “Hold on…yes, I’ve got him. He’s sailing back around the Peninsula now and at speed. He is right at the edge of my range but approaching quickly…hold on...”

  “What is it?”

  “More heat sources just came into the same range. They are pursuing him and fast but he is still pushing and pushing. One of you needs to go to the armoury and load up, fast!”

  “I’ll go,” says Sarah, “I have had more practice with the Widower. Please, wait for him, Evangeline.”

  “I will.”

  “He is still pushing. There are two heat sources following still. They are both around forty feet long and have more neck than body. CETI, can you see the profile and report?”

  “With pleasure, pilot Racker. The organisms are two Thalassomedons of the Plesiosaur order. They are a length of forty feet with necks that are comprised of sixty vertebrae which measure about twenty feet, or half the animal. Their skulls are nineteen inches long, with two inch long teeth. The have flippers measuring five feet long that can propel them through the water at a constant fifteen miles per hour.”

  “Evangeline, it’s Racker again. They are gaining on him. You should be able to see him to your left now.”

  Simon rounds the peninsula. He is rowing faster than I have ever seen anyone row. His thick arms are powering the oars over and over and over again. I can see from here that sweat is pouring from his head.

  He must know that they are in there and that they are after him.

  Sarah returns with Widower in her hands. The sun above is reflected in the bright purple paint along the light rifle’s slender barrel. She takes aim at the water but cannot get a shot away. We cannot even see Simon’s pursuers.

  The boat starts to turn and head right for us on the shore. Simon is rowing and rowing and rowing. His face is desperate. His hair is wet to his brow with sweat and changed from blonde to brown. I can only imagine how long he has been desperately trying to lose them.

  “This is Racker. He is not going to make it. They are closing in on him and fast. What’s the hold up with those light rifles?”

  “I cannot get a shot,” curses Sarah. “And now he has angled the boat right toward us so that those bastards are right behind him.”

  “Call out and tell him to change direction. He will not make it to the shore. I repeat - he will not make it!”

  “Simon,” shouts Sarah, “Turn the boat the other way! I said TURN THE BOAT THE OTHER WAY!”

  He must have heard her or instinctively guess at what she was shouting because the boat started to turn once more and was going to cross right in front of us heading to the other side of the peninsula.

  Sarah takes aim. “Can you hear me, Racker? Can you see our heat spots on the beach?”

  “I can, Sarah. I can to both questions.”

  “Then you tell me when to make these son-of-a-bitches meet the Widower
. You give me the word when they are right in front of me and that water is going to boil.”

  “Okay Sarah, get ready… hold it… a little while longer yet… just a little more… hold it…

  “…FIRE!”

  The Widower thrums and lights up the sea. The water changes under the influence of pure energy making the ocean briefly invisible. I can see the seabed, the small fish and shells that line the bottom. I can see the underside of Simon’s boat, and the beast that chase him - their bodies are almost dolphin-shaped but with four flippers and the longest neck comparable to a giraffe’s.

  Bolt after bolt after bolt smashes through the tension of the water and they kick up waves all around. Simon struggles to hold the boat steady after plumes and plumes of water leap into the sky and into the boat with him.

  Sarah stops shooting. The sea is now clouded with swirling sand.

  Simon is perfectly still in the boat, clinging to both sides and looking all around him.

  Something breaks through the water just behind the boat; it is one of those things, floating dead on the surface. The grey, smooth body bobs up and down in the wake of the waves made by Widower. Simon can see it. I can read his face like a book. That’s right, Simon, dinosaurs.

  He grabs hold of his oars once again and begins to row, slower than before but steady. The boat is nearly at the shore now, just fifty meters or so. The sea behind him begins to break, and then the boat is rocking. I hear the snap of wood, and the boat is flipped upside down.

  I hear Sarah gasp. Or was it me?

  The sea where Simon went in is quiet. Nothing is moving. Sarah brings Widower up to her chin and waits. She will not be able to shoot the thing from here. She probably won’t even see it, and there is a good chance she will hit Simon too.

  Before I know what I am doing, I’m in the sea. It is up to my knees, my waist, I’m swimming now.

  I swim through the cloudy water. I swim with all my strength until the sea beneath me starts to swell with sand and movement. The water just ahead of me breaks, and I catch a glimpse of a human hand. I can hear the rush and splash of the fight below the surface just in front of me. I dive down.