Free Alien Jungle by Roxanne Smolen Page B

a step forward, but turned back. “Have you found that man, yet? The one who was in quarantine?”
    “Jack Barnes.” She lowered her voice. “No, we haven’t. Mr. Hanson says to continue the search, but, honestly, we’ve looked everywhere. I almost hope one of those monsters took him. I hate to think of an untreatable disease loose in the compound.”
    “Is anyone else in quarantine?”
    “Currently seven people. Upper respiratory infections.”
    “Like Jack Barnes.”
    “That’s right.”
    Trace nodded then walked to room ten. He knocked and entered.
    Wilde lay propped on pillows. He wore a hospital gown ribbed with warming sensors. A purple welt encircled one ear. Above his eye, an instrument patch blinked red and yellow.
    Trace took an uneasy step forward. “How are you doing?”
    Wilde turned his head stiffly. “I’m ready to get back to work.”
    “The doctor wants to keep you overnight.”
    He struggled to sit. “That’s crazy.”
    “I’ve already authorized it.”
    Just then, a pretty, blonde nurse peeked through the open door. “I’ll come back.” She smiled and left.
    Wilde blew out his breath and nodded at Trace. “Well, if you insist.”
    Trace grinned.
    “Did you find the missing woman?” Wilde asked.
    “No.” He pulled up a chair. “And the colonists haven’t found that man from quarantine, either.”
    “People don’t vanish.”
    “And plants don’t run.”
    “All plants move,” Wilde said. “These are just better at it than most.”
    “Don’t you think it’s odd, though? The original reports didn’t mention walking fungus. I know Scouts can be wrong, but—”
    “More than likely, they didn’t see them.” Wilde waved a hand. “Those plant things blend right in. And they had no reason to show themselves to the Scouts. Then this group arrives. They irradiate valleys, slash and burn fields. No wonder the vegetables are miffed.”
    “Impani thinks she can talk to them.”
    Wilde laughed. “You know Impani. We aren’t here to butcher the locals.”
    “What if we can communicate?”
    “They’re plants. Plants don’t talk. But I’ll tell you this. It doesn’t make sense that they would kidnap someone just to kill them in private.”
    Trace felt a crawling sensation in his gut. “You think the missing colonists are alive somewhere?”
    Wilde looked at him. “I don’t know what the things are doing with them, but, yeah, I think they’re alive.”
     

CHAPTER 12
     
     
    I mpani sat alone in the cafeteria and stared at the dregs of her soup. She didn’t like Aldus Hanson. He was calculating and overbearing—and he made her think about things she didn’t want to consider.
    Like the way he said she didn’t love his son, that she put her position in the Scouts before him. It wasn’t that simple. She cared about Trace, but she also cared about her job. Couldn’t she have both?
    With a sigh, she crossed the room and set her mug on a rack with the other dirty dishes. She did love Trace. Okay, there was tension between them, but most of it was due to him being named team leader. She had been passed over and had a right to be irate.
    But did she have the right to be angry at him?
    She folded her arms and gazed at the domed ceiling. She didn’t want to lose Trace. She liked the way he made her feel about herself, that she was smart and capable and independent. Maybe the answer was to put as much enthusiasm into their relationship as she did into scouting. Then if they broke up, no one could blame her.
    With a nod, she left the main dome. It was pitch black outside. She hadn’t realized it was so late. She gazed at the night sky. Rain drizzled over her face and tapped a rhythm upon the disposable mask. On the hillside, lights twinkled like stars. Was the jungle bioluminescent? Such a marvelous planet.
    She walked toward the residential area. The camp was unlit. People rushed in darkness from one dome to the next or sprinted toward the warehouses. They seemed intent on