Bloodthirst Read Free Page A

over, and started. “Will you look at that?” His voice was soft with awe.
    The light shone on the man’s neck, which had been slit from ear to ear in a hideous, gaping grin. An old-fashioned scalpel dropped from his limp fingers.
    â€œI’m trying not to, thanks.” Stanger averted his eyes quickly. “What about the woman?”
    â€œShe’s been dead for some time. Both bled to death. You can see how pale they are. You probably were picking up a reading on him a half minute ago—if we hadn’t spent so much time stumbling in the dark, I might have been able to do something”
    â€œMust have gone crazy.” Stanger shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do?”
    McCoy sighed. At times like this, his medical knowledge seemed a useless burden. “I can beam him up to the ship, and by the time I get him pumped full of enough blood to make a difference, the damage to the brain”
    Frowning, Stanger interrupted. “Do you hear something, Doctor?”
    McCoy listened carefully. The sound of someone talking, very far away “For God’s sake, my communicator”
    Stanger took the flashlight and retrieved it for him.
    â€œAnybody there?” McCoy said apologetically into the grid.
    â€œWhat the devil is going on?” The captain’s voice had no trace of amusement in it now.
    â€œWe just stumbled over two corpses, Jim. Quite literally. They’ve been cut very neatly.”
    McCoy could hear the slow intake of breath at the other end of the channel. Kirk was silent for a beat, and then he said, “Doctor, I just got a message from Starfleet Command in response to my report that we were answering the distress call. It says that under no circumstances are we to respond. Unfortunately, we were too far out to get the message before we beamed the two of you down.”
    â€œBut it’s standard procedure” McCoy began to protest indignantly. Behind him, Stanger had overheard and muttered what McCoy assumed was an obscenity.
    â€œYou don’t have to tell
me
, Doctor,” Kirk said dryly. “What interests me is that there is no explanation as to
why
we should not respond.”
    The thought did not strike McCoy as a pleasant one. “Did you tell them we’re already down here?”
    â€œNot yet. But if there’s nothing you can do down there, we may as well go ahead and beam you up. I don’t want you exposed to any unnecessary danger”
    â€œI’d just as soon not be exposed to
necessary
danger, either, if it’s all the same to you.”
    Stanger interrupted, flashlight down, his eyes fastened on the glowing tricorder. “Doctor, I’m getting another faint life-form reading.…”
    McCoy sighed. “Jim, someone else is down here. I just lost one person by a few seconds, and though I’d just as soon get out of here, I think we ought to stay a bit longer and see if there’s something we can do.” He and Stanger exchanged unhappy glances; it was clear that the security guard was just as displeased to have a reason to stay longer.
    There was a second’s pause, and then Kirk said, “All right. I suppose we can’t disobey the order more than we already have.”
    â€œThat’s the spirit. I’ll check back in if there’s any problem. McCoy out.” He snapped the communicator shut and looked up at Stanger. “Where’s the reading coming from?”
    Stanger nodded at the door just as it slid open in the dark. There was an instant of confusion before he got the flashlight aimed at the intruder’s face.
    The man in the doorway threw pale arms up to protect his face. “The light! Please, the light!”
    There was honest agony in his voice. Stanger lowered the flashlight. “Who are you?”
    Even the presence of the light near his feet seemed to dismay the man. Still shielding his face with his hands, he squinted at the others in