Free Transmission Lost by Stefan Mazzara Page B

the other animal nearest to Jack almost managed to turn around before he dispatched it in a similar fashion. The smoke clearing from the gunfire, Jack looked up from the corpses to survey the area. Aria had somehow managed to kill another beast, but there were still three left.
    “Aria!” Jack yelled, standing up and raising his snugging the rifle in tight to his shoulder.
    The Ailian wiped blood from her face, looking around for the source of the voice that had called her name. She seemed very disoriented to Jack, and was wobbling on her feet. One of the beasts looked towards Jack, but whether it had not seen how he'd killed both its packmates or it just didn't care, it turned its attention back to Aria.
    “J-Jack?” Aria called back. She took a step in his direction as she seemed to see him. “What you...!”
    Jack watched in horror as one animal whipped its tails, and Aria jerked forward as a tail blade slashed at her left leg, stabbing clear through it. Screaming, Aria stumbled to the ground, landing flat on her face, blood gushing forth from the fresh wound.
    “Damn...,” Jack hissed. He dropped to one knee and flipped the rifle to automatic fire. Aiming carefully, he directed a long burst towards the demon that had its blade through the Ailian's leg. Four rounds rippled along its body, and it jerked its tails away from Aria as it shuddered and collapsed on the ground. The two remaining predators turned towards Jack, forgetting Aria in light of this new threat. Jack stared them down, trying to keep his breathing under control as they stared back. They seemed to be considering their options, shuffling their feet on the ground.
    Apparently reaching a decision, both of them turned tails and ran off, disappearing into the night.
    After making sure they were gone, Jack slung the rifle over his shoulder and ran towards the fallen Ailian. “Aria!” He knelt next to her, rolling her over. The Ailian was very heavy, no surprise for a three-meter-tall being of pure muscle. He looked her over. Aria's eyes were closed, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. He lightly slapped the side of her face, but got no response. “Dammit...” Jack looked around, trying to think. Aria was wounded terribly, and he had no doubt that she would die if he didn't act quickly.
    He leaned down, hooking his arms underneath her armpits, wrapping around her chest. Standing up, he started to drag her back closer to the fire, into the light. The process was slow for him, but he heaved and strained and eventually managed to get her there. He laid her out parallel to the flames and turned his attention to the heat source. The fire was beginning to die, and the first thing Jack did was to throw wood onto it. Aria was shivering and he knew he needed to keep her warm. He rushed over to the tent, weaving around the dead animals, and retrieved the medical kit and one of their canteens. Returning to Aria's side, he contemplated how best to start his work.
    There was nothing for it. “Sorry about this, Aria,” Jack said. He removed her belt, then started unzipping her flight suit. “If you make it through this, you can kill me later.” With some difficulty, Jack got her undressed. He gazed at the expanse of light orange fur on her body, her underbelly cream-coated. Her fur was matted all over with blood.
    Jack opened the canteen and quickly washed as much of the blood off of Aria as he could. The wounds on her leg and her shoulder were the worst, and were still bleeding heavily. Jack frowned. Even with the amount of blood she had lost, he couldn't imagine that she would be in the state she was in. Aria was too tough for that. Jack touched the wound on her leg, bringing his hand up to look at it in the firelight. Apart from the Ailian's blood, a blackish, thin liquid clung to his skin.
    Immediately, Jack felt his finger start to tingle with numbness. Biting back a curse, he grabbed the canteen and furiously scrubbed his hand off. The numbness started