Lost Cargo by Hollister Ann Grant, Gene Thomson Read Free Book Online Page B

camouflaged… because sometimes you can see it and sometimes you can’t... no, I’m not saying it’s invisible, if you would just listen… that’s right, camouflaged.” Her voice rose. “No, this is
not
a Halloween joke.” Silence again. “I’m here with my friend. We both went in it. He’s right here. He’ll tell you.”
    She turned to Travis. “They want to talk to you.”
    He stared at her and hung up the phone.
    “What did you do that for?” she said in outrage.
    “Why didn’t you just come out and say it’s a UFO ?”
    “Because they would think I’m crazy! You hung up on them! My brother is injured and trapped down there and you
hung up
on them! What’s with you?”
    “What’s with you? They thought it was a prank. You were just supposed to say he fell in the rocks!”
    “They weren’t going to send anybody right now. I had to tell them.”
    “Well, I have a news flash for you. Nobody is going to believe there’s a guy stuck in Rock Creek Park in an aircraft that you can’t see. Nobody.”
    “I said it was camouflaged!”
    Travis looked around the pub, trying to think fast to keep everything from falling apart. “Let’s sit down and have coffee and we’ll figure out what to do.”
    “No, thanks. I’m not going to sit around some stupid bar all night. I’m going home for a flashlight and some rope, and I’m going back there now.”
    “We should wait for daylight.”
    She wouldn’t look at him. “I’ll go back by myself then. I’m not a coward.”
    “Whoa, I never said I wouldn’t go back with you. We’ll take flashlights. We’ll go back right now. Hey, I’m on your side, all the way.” He put a hand on her shoulder.
    She nodded, still refusing to meet his eyes.
    “You have a mark on your throat,” he said. “Those things must have caused it.”
    “It hurts. I don’t care.”
    “Sure you’re okay?”
    “It’s nothing compared to my brother.”
    “Look, I’ve got to call my sister and get out of dinner.”
    “Thanks, Travis.” She finally looked at him. “Thanks for coming with me.”
    Tech 29 clung with his footpads above the engine room door in case the intruders came back. Their shrill voices still rang in his ears.
    His exhausted, worried face gazed back at him from the reflection wall. Bruises blackened three of his six eyes, ran in splotches across the intricate folds of his pale blue skin, and covered his left shoulder where the crash had hurled him across the ship. The medical scan he’d taken earlier said he had a concussion and was dehydrated, which explained his terrible headache.
    Strange croaks and shrieks came out of the woods. The Elemental must have found a place to hide by now. If it reached the sprawling city he’d careened over before the crash, it could be anywhere among thousands of buildings and alleys.
    The night wore on. A cold wind blew through the ruptured hull.
    He waited until it felt safe to come out of the engine room, crawled down the wall, and picked up the luminous manual that he’d dropped on the floor.
    Radiation Control Systems (4-5), Anti-Gravity Breaking System (5-8)
.
    Not there. He kept going.
    When Your Ship Is Towed By Tractor Beam (8-1), Hatch: Lockout, Jams, Damage: Meteoroids, Solar Wind, Space Trash (12-5), Encounters with Space Pirates and Intergalactic Gangs (13-3)
.
    Not there, either.
    In the Event of a Crash (14-5)
.
    Here it was, the section he’d been reading when the manual fell out of his fingers. He’d studied the ominous paragraphs when he went through training, but that was ages ago. Beyond ages. The dry language on the page seemed out of touch with his frightening situation.
    Escape from an Exploding Ship
.
    No need to read about that.
    Notify Galactic Animal Control (GAC)
.
    He’d tried that. The message wouldn’t go through. The crash had damaged the communication system.
    Set Controls to Regeneration
.
    He’d just finished this step when the locals broke into the ship. The black walls and floor