Free Orbs II: Stranded by Nicholas Sansbury Smith Page A

a pod off a beanstalk.
    A human shape.
    He stopped dead in his tracks. There were hundreds of people on the poles; their heads slumped toward the ground, their arms hanging loosely at their sides.
    Jeff felt a push from behind, but didn’t dare move. His heart thumped in his chest as he finally realized what was happening.
    Another push from behind broke his trance. This time the shove was harder, and he lost his balance. As he regained his footing, he scanned the sky again. There were rows and rows of them. Poles as far as he could see. And the Spiders were herding the prisoners right to them.
----
    Emanuel watched the marines lay their gear out on a metal table in the mess hall. They didn’t have much. Certainly not enough to face an advanced alien race. But the aliens could be killed. This he knew, and knew well.
    As he checked his own gear, Emanuel thought of the growing feud between Overton and Sophie. Both of them were at their boiling points, and both of them were starting to worry him. It was Overton he was most concerned about, though. The marine seemed as though he was getting reckless. Ever since he’d seen his men outside, something had changed. Like a light switch, something had flipped on inside him.
    “Are we completely out of electromagnetic pulse grenades?” Overton snapped, scanning their gear like a drug addict looking for his last pill.
    Emanuel considered something that might calm the marine down. “If my experiment works, you aren’t going to need them, Sergeant.”
    Overton ran a hand over his freshly shaved scalp and jerked his chin toward Emanuel. “I don’t like surprises. Whatever you have up your sleeve, I want to know about it, now!”
    Emanuel studied Overton from a distance. The man’s temper was definitely spiraling out of control.
    “I get that I’m not one of your men and that you don’t trust me,” Emanuel said, standing his ground. “But if I were you, I would have alittle—”
    Overton tossed his pack on the table and took a step toward Emanuel, spit flying out of his mouth. “You’re exactly right. You aren’t one of my men. Which makes you a liability. How do I know your weapon will work?”
    Emanuel regarded Overton with a cocked brow. Now the man was starting to piss him off. Maybe I didn’t think this through , he thought, crossing his arms. But there was no turning back.
    An awkward silence filled the room as the two men stared at each other. “It will work,” Emanuel said. “This is our best shot at getting your men back, and rescuing Jeff. A successful field test might even put us in a position to help the other Biospheres as well. Maybe we can even find that survivor who’s been trying to contact us.”
    Overton narrowed his eyes and then nodded. “Guess I have to trust you, don’t I?”
    Emanuel wasn’t sure if the man was looking for an answer, but he wasn’t going to give Overton any more of his time. Faking a smile, he walked back to the table and grabbed his pack.
    “When are you leaving?”
    Sophie’s voice startled him; he hadn’t heard her approach. He turned to face her with the same smile he had extended to Overton, but it quickly faded when he saw her face. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes that added a decade to her features.
    He felt an instant wave of guilt. Like Overton, she was close to her breaking point, and here he was, preparing to leave her. On top of everything else, he knew she wasn’t sleeping. She hadn’t complained of any more dreams, but he knew she was still having them. The past few nights she’d kicked him awake as she tried to escape from whatever was chasing her. Every time he had asked her about the dreams, she’d denied having them. Emanuel didn’t have the heart to argue with her about it. Did it really matter anymore? Was there anything her dreams could tell them that they didn’t already know?
    “We’re heading out in fifteen,” Overton said. “Your boyfriend here was just about to explain