"We have one sitting right outside the front door." Another quick silence.
"Uh. . . " That was Danny. "Lieutenant-" He was speaking very carefully now. "Whatever you do, don't annoy it."
"Colonel, I have no intention of annoying it," I replied, equally carefully. "I am going to kill it." Before he could argue with me, I added, "That worm is going to do one of two things. Either it's going to peel this ship open or it's going to go get the rest of its family-and they will peel this ship open."
"Lieutenant-" the blimp captain interrupted. "Are you an expert on the worms?" There was skepticism in his voice.
"As good as you're going to find in California," I replied matter-of-factly.
Lizard put in then, "Captain Price, he is. I specifically asked for Lieutenant McCarthy to be assigned to me because of his expertise with the Chtorran ecology. If he says the worms are going to shit soup, you'd better bring your bowl and crackers."
"If you say so, Colonel. My apologies for any offense. None intended. But we've had a few bad experiences with groundhogs today, so you'll understand if we're a little testy."
"No problem," Lizard said. She looked at me. "McCarthy?"
"I'm fine." I said to the radio. "But I've got a worm to kill and you're using up my time. Of course, if you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it. But I'm still the guy whose ass is on the line-"
"Hold it, Lieutenant," came Danny's voice, very calmly. "Nobody's arguing with you any more. You made your point. It's your call. I just want you to be certain-"
Something went thump at the back of the ship. Lizard and I both glanced back. "I'm certain," I said. Again, a thump-this time louder!
Lizard said to the radio, "Danny-it's knocking on the door."
"Go do your job, Lieutenant. We'll keep this line open if you need to talk-"
I was already scrambling.
"-and Lizard, keep an eye on your patient for me." But she was already following me toward the back.
"Grab that freezer!" I pointed. "And a mask!"
"Here-" She tossed goggles at me.
Something banged loudly against the door. The handle rattled and clanged. Duke yelped in his sleep. I pulled the goggles down over my eyes, fitted the mask over my nose and mouth, then turned to help Lizard with the tank harness. "Who's Danny?" I asked.
"Colonel Danny Anderson. Northwest Liaison." She grunted as she pulled the harness into place. "-and whatever he says, he is not just along for the ride."
"Anderson?" I glanced back at Duke. "Duke's last name is Anderson-"
Lizard nodded. "Danny's his son." She stepped away from me to connect the freezer hose.
Duke was moaning now. He was half-awake, half-delirious. He was breathing very raggedly, and he looked worse than ever. "Oh God-no."
And then the scratching began at the door again-
TWENTY-FIVE
"WHAT'S IT doing-?" Lizard asked.
I wasn't sure. "It sounds like it's chewing."
It was a quiet, steady sound-but it had too much crunch in it. The door protested loudly in its frame. It bulged and squealed. Something black broke through-a mandible? Pink dust floated in the air.
I motioned Lizard to the side. "Give me a clear shot." I braced myself against the opposite wall. "When I give the word, you pop the door-and then freeze it. The whole frame. Ready-?"
She nodded. "Go!"
She hit the release. The door banged outward
A very surprised-looking worm reared up and back and away. "Chtorrrrr!"
Lizard stepped in spraying-the worm disappeared behind a cloud of cold steam. "Get out of the fucking way!" I screamed. She stepped back-
The steam cleared just enough for me to see the worm dropping down into a charge
What did they say in the comic books? "Eat cold death, you purple slime!" I squeezed the trigger.
The rocket streaked forward with a high-pitched scream and a cold white smell. The wall behind me crackled. I could feel the burning chill on the back of my neck.
There was a muffled FWOOMP!
The worm's body puffed up for just the briefest of instants. It froze in surprise-and then it simply stopped and collapsed where it was. Within seconds, tiny white ice crystals were forming all over its fur.
And then there was silence.
"Did you get it?" Lizard peered out cautiously.
The body of the creature was trembling and twitching. A dark ichor was flowing from the creature's mouth and there was the faint sighing sound of air escaping from somewhere.
"Get that door closed!" I leapt forward and grabbed the handle-the door was stuck in its hinge!
Lizard grabbed too. "Goddam worm pulled it out of shape-"
"Keep pulling!"
The door came unstuck with a bone-rattling BANG! It swung shut with a slam and we tumbled backwards on the floor.
"Oh, God-we did it!" Lizard was laughing. She sat up and looked at me. "We really did it-didn't we?"
I gulped air and nodded. I held up a hand-
"It's one thing to bomb them from the air-" she marveled. She was almost delirious. "But it's quite another to meet one face to face! Oh, God-!"
I was gasping too hard to speak. I pointed at the door. She followed my glance. "Oh, no-"
The hatch had a hole in it large enough to stick your head through-and you wouldn't have to remove your helmet first either.
"Shelterfoam?"
She managed to shake her head. "No good. The hole's too big. There's no support. We need a patch-" She looked around the cabin
"No. You stay there with the freezer! Dust that hole and keep it dusted!" I scrambled to the back of the ship to a place where the frame had bent. Several of the floor panels had popped off in the crash. I'd had to shelterfoam the hull back here.
I scooped up the largest of the panels and the shelterfoam canister and headed back toward Lizard. As I passed Duke, he reached out and grabbed me-`Wha's 'oing on?"
"It's all right, Duke." I patted his arm, tried to disengage his fingers.
"My legs 'urt. M' legs. Feel all red. Burr'ng."
I pried his hand loose. "I'll be right back. Hang on." He didn't hear me. He kept on moaning.
"All right-dust it again!" I screamed at Lizard. She loosed a fine spray of liquid coldness at the hole in the door; she directed it all around the edges.
"All right! All right!" I screamed to stop her. I sprayed the edges of the hole with shelterfoam-it crackled against the frigid surface of the hatch. I waited ten seconds, then sprayed again, outlining the break three times over. I slapped the panel over it and held it in place, bracing myself for maximum pressure. "How long does it take for this stuff to harden?"
"Fifteen minutes-half an hour. I'm not sure."
"Terrific. Grab that canister. Spray the hatch. The hinges. The handles. Everything. Outline it."
"Right."
She had to work around me, but she was thorough. By the time she finished, the foam over the break was already hardening. Gingerly, I took my hands away from the panel I was holding. It stayed put. I took the canister from Lizard and gave it another spritz around the edges. Good.
I turned around and looked at her. She was giggling. She pointed at the door. "I always wanted a window-"
"Huh?" I turned back to the door. The patch had a glass window in it. And a warning: CAUTION. DO NOT OPEN THIS PANEL WHILE-The rest was obliterated.
I was too tired to laugh. I pointed toward the front of the ship. "Call whatsisname. Tell him we're okay. And-" I lowered my voice, "-tell him Duke's in pretty bad shape."
She searched my face. "As in `Duke's on the roof and we can't get him down'?"