Pangaea- Eden's Planet Page 5

  "Don't tell the others just yet," Major Cooper said. "Let me carry him out in the desert and bury him before anyone knows that he's gone."

  "Borrow a shovel from Manning," Colonel Peterson suggested, "while we bring his body outside."

  Going back inside the bio-dome, he nodded to Manning, saying: "Leave the sign up, Roger. Evelyn understands now. She'll be okay with it."As the engineer and Sheri returned to the task of planting, the major found an extra shovel and carried it outside, not saying any more, but Roger saw what he was taking.

  Colonel Peterson and Doctor Barbara Terrill were carrying the body of Carl Plymouth between them by the time he returned to the ship. Taking the professor's body, he lifted him gently in his arms, and asked the commander to lay the shovel on top of the old man's body. Then he disappeared behind the ship as fast as he could, and was gone for the next hour. When he returned with the shovel, he was soaked in sweat from the heavy labor of digging the grave for their companion.

  "Did you say a few words over him?" Colonel Peterson asked.

  For a minute he looked shocked, and then he laughed jerkily. "Yeah, I said a few words, Colonel. And I asked a few questions while I was at it. But there were no damn answers.

  "By the way, I thought I heard an animal screaming from somewhere in the jungle to the north, but I couldn't see anything. I dug the grave as deep as I could, though. I didn't want the smell attracting something we're not ready to face. God knows what's out there!" he groaned.

  Chapter Five

  Into The Unknown

  With the work on Manning's garden finished, and the bio-dome in full operation, the crew was becoming restless again. Captain Mercer was now up and walking about, although Doctor Terrill would not allow him too much freedom, keeping a close eye on his recovery. At first, he cussed proficiently when he saw the name of Roger's little garden, but soon saw the humor in it and slapped the engineer on the back with his good arm.

  "I'm laid up for a couple of weeks," he laughed, "and when I come out of it, I find that we are living in the Garden of Eden! How ironic. Eden in a hellhole like this!"

  No one asked about Professor Plymouth. They just assumed that he was gone without asking, and didn't want to know anything about it. After all, the doctor was no longer concerned with her makeshift hospital ward, and that wouldn't have been the case if the professor were still in bed. And since he wasn't up and around, they could easily guess what had happened. And Roger Manning remembered the shovel Cooper had taken.

  Although Major Cooper had buried the professor's body pretty deep, beyond human detection by smell at least, he found odd animal tracks around the grave a couple of days later, and there were signs that something had tried to dig up the dirt that filled the hole, but had been unable to go deep enough to retrieve the corpse. He didn't want to alarm the others, but suggested to the commander that she warn the rest not to venture outside alone during darkness. A few days later, Roger Manning found more strange prints outside the bio-dome and called their attention to them.

  Sheri examined the prints, but could not identify the animal that had made them. They belonged to a heavy creature about the size of an African lion, but with a five-toed clawed paw that dug deep into the ground.

  "The prints don't belong to a big cat," she told them, "but they are about the same size. The oddity appears to be a lizard-like tail. See where it has swept the sand behind it, like a broom sweeping a floor."

  "Lizards?" Manning asked. "Are you sure there weren't any dinosaurs during this period? It certainly sounds like something from the dinosaur era."

  "No," Major Cooper told him. "There were no dinosaurs this far back in our world's history. But the ancestors of the dinosaurs were for damn sure around, and we don't know a hell of a lot about them."

  "I don't get it," Roger Manning admitted, "I thought dinosaurs were the first creatures."

  "The sea produced the first living organisms," Sheri told him. "Then the invertebrates—the simple worms, appeared on land; after that, the amphibians climbed ashore, followed by their cousins, the frogs and lizards."

  "Scorpions and other insects probably appeared about the same time—or between the worms and frogs. We can't be sure," Major Cooper said. "But the frogs and lizards had to eat something. And remember, this old rock has been around at least five billion years. Plenty of time for land creatures to evolve."

  The engineer nodded, as if he understood more than they were telling him.

  "I'm surprised that we haven't seen any insects here in the desert," Adam Cooper said, as he kicked the sand beneath his feet, as if looking for something to crawl away.

  "They would be staying near their food source," Sheri Thompson told him. "Near the swamps and trees. That's where we'll find the land dwelling animals."

  "Yeah," Major Cooper agreed, staring wistfully towards the jungle to the north. "I guess all living creatures stayed close to their birth mother, the water."

  "There's no sense putting it off much longer," Colonel Peterson told them. "Tomorrow, we'll mount an expedition into the unknown."

  The next day, as they gathered outside the ship, they found Sheri pounding a sign into the ground on a short pole. When they saw what she had written on the sign, they had a good laugh, for the girl had written, "I so name this place, Sheriville!"

  "Well," Colonel Peterson laughed, "Manning has his Garden of Eden, now Sheri has the first city named on Pangaea!"

  Laughing, Major Cooper asked, "Keeping with tradition, Sheri, why didn't you name it Sodom. Or Gomorrah?"

  "Sorry, Major," she giggled. "I've always wanted to have something named after me, so why not a city in the middle of a primitive desert?"

  Major Cooper and Roger Manning outfitted the ATVs again. Sheri Thompson and Colonel Peterson rode with Manning, while Captain Mercer rode with Major Cooper. Doctor Terrill stood beside the commander's vehicle as she pointed to the west.

  "Looks like a storm may be coming off the ocean, Colonel. I wouldn't stay away from the Galileo Two very long," she advised.

  "I wonder if they have hurricanes in this time period?" Colonel Peterson asked.

  "The temperatures are at least ten degrees warmer now than in our own time, Evelyn," Sheri told the commander. "I would imagine there are some horrendous storms in this period!"

  "We'll be safe inside the Galileo Two regardless of the size of the storms," Barbara Terrill told them. "Just make sure y’all get back here before the storm hits!"

  "Are you girls coming?" Major Cooper asked Roger Manning from his own ATV, as he gunned the motor.

  "I wonder if we can leave him out there when the storm hits?" Colonel Peterson asked. "Don't let Mr. Macho get ahead of us, Manning, or I will take away your license!" she ordered the driver.

  The two vehicles kicked up a trail of sand as they raced towards the verdant forest to the north of the bio-dome. The closer to the swamps they got, the more signs of life they observed. Strange tracks had marked the desert for a ways outside the tree line, though never seemed to go very deep into the desert. It was clear that whatever had made them, preferred to stay close to the swamps.

  Major Cooper raised his arm suddenly, indicating they should stop. When the two ATVs stood abreast in the desert, Colonel Peterson asked:

  "What is it now, Flash, forget your ray gun?"

  "Look at the soil, Colonel," he suggested. "It doesn't look quite the same as it does around the ship."

  Stepping out of the vehicle, he was joined quickly by the others. Scooping up a handful of the soil, he crushed it in a fist, and then opened his hand again, showing the ball of sod. It was dark and full of nutrients.

  "The soil isn't as grainy here," he said. "There's probably water just under the surface. That's why the jungle appears to be spreading outward, and the desert shrinking. The world is in a period of growth right now."

  "Instead of dying," Sheri said, "as it is in our own time period, we’re in a young and living world."

  "It's a time of evolution,
" Colonel Peterson said. Then glancing at Roger Manning, she shrugged, "Sorry, Manning. I was taught evolution in school."

  "I have no problem with evolution, Colonel," he told her. "Evolution is also God's plan. Just like the Big Bang theory. I have no trouble with that, either, as long as we remember that it was God who said, 'Bang'!"

  Laughing, Captain Mercer said, "Speaking of 'bang', I hope those pistols you're packing are loaded. I think I just heard something big splashing around in there just now!"

  Major Cooper and Colonel Peterson both checked their side arms to insure their readiness, as well as to alleviate the captain's concerns. The weapons were clip-fed automatics, each holding fifteen rounds of lightweight, but penetrating lead.

  "Suddenly, I would feel a lot safer if we had brought along a lot more weapons on this mission," Captain Mercer grunted.

  "May I remind you, Captain," Colonel Peterson said, "we were en-route to a dead planet, not one teaming with violent life forms."

  "Everyone stay close to your team, and we should be okay," Major Cooper advised. "If someone gets into trouble, the rest stick by that person until all are safe. What ever you do, don't become separated!"

  "And I might add, Major," Colonel Peterson said, staring hard at him, "don't anyone act like a hero."

  Grinning broadly, Major Cooper climbed back into the ATV. "Last one in is a rotten egg!" he smiled, stepping on the accelerator.

  A few minutes later, they were breaking through the tree line, the tips of which reached fifty feet into the sky and higher. Before them stretched a lush green valley, and a dark brown river angling from the northwest towards the east then wound southward, the mud and tress following its meandering course. Along the banks on either side were mud patches teaming with life, from microorganisms, to amphibians and frogs. Predators and prey were living side by side, each struggling to survive in an untamed world.

  "I could spend the rest of my life studying this environment," Sheri proclaimed. "This is nature's true zoological classroom. It's a primordial bowl of soup, teaming with prehistoric specimens. Who wants to go to Mars when this ultimate field trip is on the agenda?"

  "Nothing out there looks big enough to have made that loud noise I heard from the edge of the desert, Sheri," Captain Mercer told her. "There's something bigger in here somewhere!"

  "We'd better not go too deep," Colonel Peterson warned. "The river has overflowed in the past, and there are small lakes and swamps dotting this whole valley. The ATVs could easily become stuck in the muck, and we'd have to walk back to the ship!"

  "Do you recognize any of the plants and trees, Sheri?" Major Cooper asked the biologist.

  "Ancient Ferns, most likely. We may have some records in the computers," she said, "though I don't know why the scientists would have included such data for this mission."

  A loud splash drew their attention away from the river suddenly, and they scanned the swamp near by for several minutes. When there was no repeat of the sound, they started to return their gaze towards the wide river, but quick movement caught their attention again and they stared hard at the creature surfacing from the thick mud.

  "What the hell is that thing?" Captain Mercer asked.

  "That's probably what made the noise you heard back in the desert," Major Cooper told him.

  "It looks similar to an alligator," Colonel Peterson said.

  "It's only about five foot long," the biologist told them, "but it's all head. I think it's a crocomander!"

  "Don't forget the teeth," Captain Mercer said.

  "Yeah," Sheri laughed, "my mistake. It's all head and teeth!"

  "I bet the thing could eat one of us with very little trouble," Roger Manning said.

  "Undoubtedly," Colonel Peterson agreed. “But there’s no way it could out run me.”

  "Look at its feet," Major Cooper told them.

  "Who cares about its feet?" Tony Mercer asked. "I can't take my eyes off those ugly damn teeth!"

  "The feet are not the same," Major Cooper told them.

  "The same as what?" Sheri asked.

  "What ever it was made those tracks around the ship," Major Cooper told them. "This frogadiles, or whatever Sheri called it, isn't what has been prowling around the ship at night."

  "You're right,” Sheri Thompson agreed. "That thing may be ugly, but it isn't the only large creature in this swamp. There's another wolf hiding in these woods, grandma!"

  "A big bad wolf?" Captain Mercer asked with a grin.

  "Don't most predators roam at night looking for prey?" Colonel Peterson asked.

  "The big cats do," Sheri said. "At least back home they do. I don't know what the hell they do in this age!"

  "Mammals weren't around during this period, were they?" Roger Manning asked. "Cats are mammals, right?"

  "I'm not so sure about that," Major Cooper told him. "All the indications we have, from the fossils that have been discovered, are that reptiles were evolving into mammals before the mass extinction of the Permian Period. We haven't discovered a fraction of the animal fossils that likely existed in this period. Truth is, we don't know what all was running around eating each other!"

  "I hate to break this little party up," Colonel Peterson said, "but the wind is getting stronger. It looks like the storm is getting closer. I'd suggest we head back to the ship before we get stranded out here—with that thing," she pointed at the mud creature with all the teeth, "as our companion for the night!"

  Chapter Six

  The Storm

  They raced the ATVs back towards the Galileo Two at a cautious but fast speed. The storm brought high winds as heavy walls of rain were coming down in sheets, by the time they reached the ship everyone was completely soaked.

  "Park the ATVs in the belly of the Galileo Two," the commander ordered. "We don't want to lose them in this storm."

  Major Cooper and Roger Manning drove the ATVs in under the opening of the cargo door, and then lowered the portal before joining their companions in the main cabin of the ship. Colonel Peterson had the view screen on, and they were watching the storm building in intensity outside.

  "I hope your precious bio-dome can survive this storm," Barbara Terrill told them.

  "It was built to withstand the Martian winds and dust storms," the engineer said.

  "Martian winds and Permian Period hurricanes may be two different things," Doctor Terrill told him.

  "Winds are winds," Manning said. "The bio-dome was engineered to withstand just about anything, including a direct hit from a powerful tornado."

  "It really doesn't matter," the major told them. "Nothing short of a direct hit by an asteroid could damage this ship, so we are perfectly safe from any storm this planet can throw at us!"

  "I wish you wouldn't mention asteroids," Sheri groaned.

  "Oh, yeah, I forgot," he grinned, "I think that's what caused the Permian Extinction!"

  "Look at these gauges," Colonel Peterson told them. "The winds have already picked up and are sustained at two hundred miles per hour now. And I noticed gusts of two hundred and forty a while ago. I didn't think hurricanes got that powerful!"

  "Not since our meteorologist have been keeping records," Captain Mercer told her. "But the planet—and ocean is much warmer now than it was when we left for Mars. How long ago was that, do any of you remember?"

  His friends only looked at him, as they, too, were thinking those same thoughts.

  "What was the forest like, Evelyn?" Doctor Terrill asked the commander, breaking the sudden tension Captain Mercer had caused. "I don't guess you took any pictures, did you?"

  Smiling, Colonel Peterson gave her a word picture of the green valley they had seen, with the wide, muddy, river, and tall trees and thick shrubs.

  "There were smaller lakes and ponds throughout the valley," she told her, "and the whole area was teaming with life. Animals much different from those of our own time, and maybe a little uglier than most in fact. We didn't see anything that we were familiar with. There were lots of weird
looking insects, amphibians and frogs, and even something resembling an alligator.

  "We didn't have enough time to examine them, but the only thing that really looked dangerous was the creature that looked like an ancestor to the alligator."

  "I plan on going back once this storm abates," Sheri said, “and make a record of everything I see."

  "Why?" the doctor asked.

  "For future generations ... well, for my curiosity," she corrected. "Scientists are like that, you know. They like to study everything they find."

  "Well, handle everything cautiously," Doctor Terrill cautioned. "We don't want any more accidental poisonings."

  "It may be a while before we can return, anyway," Colonel Peterson said. "It was like a swamp out there already. With all this rain, the river will probably overflow its banks, and there'll be more mud and muck to wade through. It may take weeks for the water to recede."

  "I wonder what the wind sounds like out there?" Roger Manning asked suddenly.

  "Thankfully, we can't hear it from inside the ship," Major Cooper told him. "I really don't think I would want to, anyway."

  "Probably worse than a Banshee's wail," Sheri shivered.

  The storm raged for three days before it finally began to let up, but no one cared to venture out for two more days, when they saw the sun peek through the clouds at last. When they did open the door after the fifth day, they stared out on a ravaged countryside. Trees had been uprooted from the forest and flung into the desert, landing all around the ship. Several large limbs hung from the top of the bio-dome. Pools of water dotted the landscape, cluttered with brush and leaves. The trench that was carved out by the ship's tail fin when the Galileo Two crash-landed was filled with storm water from the fierce rain.

  "Yard work in the desert!" Major Cooper groaned.

  "Not for a one-armed moron," laughed Captain Mercer. "I'll let you rake the leaves and clean the swimming pool, neighbor."

  "Look!" Sheri Thompson giggled. "See that large lizard-like reptile playing in the muddy puddle? I've seen the fossils of that creature in the Museum of Natural History. It's a Seymouria baylorensis. They grow to about three foot long."