I'm jealous of those that have. But it's far too few. And everybody else is out there fucking around and hoping their heart won't be destroyed.
The outpost isn't far away, a half hour hike through the trees with the dark red leaves. Even though I knew the trees here are different from the ones on Earth, I was still surprised the first time I saw them, because every picture I had ever seen of a tree had green leaves. Plants here don't have green chlorophyll, they have red.
In some ways, this world is similar to the pictures of Earth I grew up with, filled with the promises of sun and soil and snow. The mountains and the sun rises. They filled a part of me I didn't realize had been empty before we landed. Some people feared the openness of an entire world and missed the confines of the ship. I love the open space because there is room to grow and explore, or at least there would be if the leaders pull their heads out of their asses and realize that we are so far away that the people on Earth would never find out if we made our own rules. The only thing that matters is being successful.
And success means survival.
"What kind of wildlife have you caught? Who caught it? And where was it found?" Because some random animal they picked up will not be useful. I want to watch and study them in the wild, and eventually try to tame them, or at least see if we can breed them in captivity.
The man smirks, and I know that I'm not going to like whatever it is waiting for me.
Did I ask too many questions about Sabine's disappearance?
Is this where they took the others that vanished?
For a moment, I'm terrified that I will be left out as bait for the local wildlife to eat. Sure, I'll get to study them…for a whole five minutes before they eat me.
With the four guards surrounding me, running is ridiculous, as I'll be caught before I've gone a dozen paces. But it's the only thing I can think of doing because my brain seems to have gone offline. I can't think on my feet like Sabine.
What would she do in this situation?
She'd tell me I don't have all the facts. She used to tell me that a lot, particularly about the leaders. No one has all the facts except them and that's the way they like it.
I exhale slowly. Running won't help, because if it's a completely innocent scientific outpost, there's nothing to worry about. Only someone who is suspicious of the colony's motives would expect something underhand.
Right, so I need to play along. At least until I find out what is going on.
A gray demountable sits in a small clearing. The demountable has seen better days, and I suspect it's one of the parts of the ship that took damage. It's only after seeing the holes in the metal that I realize how precarious our lives were as we traveled from Earth. Being on the ground is much safer.
"Is that the lab?" I point, even though it's obvious.
"It is, and you're not allowed to tell anyone about it." The man in charge glares at me, as if he expects me to gossip the moment he's out of sight. "It's a secret project."
One of my eyebrows lifts before I can stop it. "A secret project that you need a biologist on?"
There shouldn't be any secret projects. Everything we do is for…well, I do it, so we all survive. The leaders like to think everyone is doing it for the colony as if the colony matters more than the people.
"You are exactly the right scientist for the job," he says.
Now I'm really suspicious. I'm not naïve enough to think I've fallen in favor, or that the leaders are trying to soothe the loss of my sister with science. "So, I'm supposed to come out here every day to work?"
"That depends on if you think it's necessary."
"Generally, it's easier to study an animal if you spend more time with it."
One of the other men rests his hand on his gun. "This is what you might call a very special animal. He could be really useful, or no use at all."
I glance at the damaged metal of this new outpost. At the way, the guards are now more alert, as if expecting trouble from whatever is in the lab.
"And what is the use I am supposed to find?"
"You're the scientist, do some finding."
3
TIRIL
It was something they fed me. It put me to sleep, and by the time I realized it was too late. Fighting would've meant death, but that may have been the better option. I haven't been put to work. Instead, I'm locked inside a cage in some kind of building, like a creature to be traded at the market. I run my hand along the wall, and then over the bars.
