The D&B Adventures - An Alien Anthology

The First Marker

"You really need to learn how to relax, Dennis," Patricia said, standing knee-deep in a swamp full of killer plantlife.

I scowled at her, staying on the dry bank. Partly because I didn't want to completely muck up my clothes until it was necessary, but mostly so I could see and react to the threats that were sure to pounce at any given moment. Why I had let the crazy woman wrangle me into this little day trip, I couldn't fathom. I felt like a thousand alien monsters were just waiting to leap out of the trees.

Patricia waded further into the bog, her waist firmly tied to a lumpy orange tree trunk on the bank in case she hit quicksand. She leaned down and gently cradled the petals of a phosphorescent flower, its yellow blossoms rippling like seaweed. "Look at this! We thought Suns' Sonata only grew in the more temperate regions of this continent, but it seems to be thriving in the heat and humidity of these jungles! This will give us an excellent fuel source for the bio-lamps Georgette created if we can find a larger patch." She snapped several pictures on her datapad, mumbling notes to herself.

She startled out of her reverie when I fired a shot over her head, taking out an enormous toothy dragonfly/frog thing that had been buzzing towards her. "You're way too careless, Doc," I said for the tenth time that morning.

Patricia rolled her eyes as she bagged the plant specimen. "Thank you for the warning, Captain Paranoia. By the way, that species is harmless to humans."

I stiffened. "How are you so sure? This is an alien world; everything here considers us the outsiders and could probably kill us if we step wrong. I've seen it try enough times. You've seen it try enough times. Remember the thunder lizards?" I gestured at the flower. "I wouldn't be surprised if the glowy stuff on that thing makes you break out in a rash. Isn't that what happened to Kennedy last week?"

Patricia rolled her eyes. "Kennedy mistook a Moonglow for a harmless Tender Heart and tried to make tea out of it. If he'd simply checked the datapad, he wouldn't have eaten something that would blow him up like a balloon."

"You guys really have fun naming these things, don't you?"

"One of the many perks of being interplanetary explorers far from the strictures of Earth's stuffy academia," Patricia replied with a sly grin. She rested one hand on her hip and turned to me, as at ease as if she weren't knee-deep in swamp muck. "Look, I understand where you're coming from. But we knew at least a little of what we were getting into when we came here, and it's really not much more dangerous than an Earth rainforest. Add to that the surprise blessing of our obtaining your and Bruce's help developing defensive measures against the larger wildlife, and I think we'll be alright." I felt momentarily disgruntled at her praise of Bruce, but didn't let it show; it would be the height of stupid pride to deny the big alien's usefulness. Patricia flashed me a grin that made my insides churn. "So if you could tone down the doom-and-gloom a bit, I daresay you might actually enjoy yourself. Just a little."

Curse her sparkling eyes. I snorted and looked down to check my gun. "If you didn't want my particular brand of positivity, you shouldn't have kidnapped me."

Patricia laughed out loud. "You may have a point there! But, there are probably worse punishments." Before I could properly dissect that statement, she turned back to her work and nodded further into the swamp, holding up her beeping datapad. "Time to get dirty, soldier boy. If my locator is correct, the landmark we're looking for is at least a hundred yards deeper into this mess." Without waiting for my reply, she walked further into the bog, her safety cord extending out behind her. I muffled a groan and followed, nearly slipping on the steep bank and landing on my butt. Stupid alien swamps. Stupid swamps in general.

Everything became gloomier the further we went into the bog, the oppressive heat and humidity Patricia had been so excited about pressing in on us like a smothering blanket. A smell like sauerkraut and pig manure shoved its fingers up my nose, adding to the joy of the experience. I distracted myself by focusing on my eyes and ears and waiting tensely for something to attack.