Eden Read Free Page B

inside.
    It showed nothing but blackness. Looking closer, she realiz ed the gap was a natural parting, and after further inspection, she could see she was kneeling in front of a door. She pushed her fingers into the gap, and grasping the edge, she pushed first inwards, and when nothing happened, pulled outwards. But the door remained unmoved.
    “What’ve you found?”
    She jumped and swung round. “Ah, Bodie,” she said, breathless. “You startled me.”
    “Who’d you reckon I was? ET?”
    “You ’re nowhere near as attractive.”
    Bodie grunted, and settled beside her on his knees. “The remake never did live up to the original,” he said, as his hands travelled over the exterior. “This is a door,” he said.
    “Well done, Commander,” she said with sarcasm.
    Bodie grinned and rose to his feet, calling for Matt.
    A moment later, the three of them had hold of the bottom, and pushed and pulled in all directions until they realiz ed they could shove it upwards. The door moved with short, sudden spasms from the bottom, and stopped leaving a gap of 30 to 40 centimeters .
    Jenny peered beneath: to her right was a dark colored stain on the floor. Moving forward on her elbows, she could see it was blood. She drew back quickly, her heart hammering.
    “What?” asked Bodie.
    Jenny stood up. “ I’m not sure, I ’ll get the torch.”
    She returned from the buggy shortly with a heavy-duty torch, and approached the broken UFO with an ironic smile. Two butts, waving in the air, greeted her.
    “What a sight,” she said.
    Matt turned sharply, banging his head on the door.
    Jenny chuckled, and handed over the torch, then impatiently waited while the men inspected the interior. When Bodie sat back, she was beside Matt, on her stomach in an instant, head and shoulders inside the dark spacecraft.
    “You’d just about get under there,” said Matt.
    Bodie ’s hand circled her calf as she began to slide and disappear inside. “Hang on,” he said.
    Jenny stilled. “C’ mon, Commander,” her voice was muffled. The ship ’s been here ages. There ’s grass growing on the roof, for heaven ’s sake. No life could be onboard.”
    “And the blood?”
    Matt swung the torch across to the patch of red. Under the beam, it appeared almost orange. “My guess is animals use it as some sort of shelter - the blood looks dry in any case.”
    Bodie clearly wasn’t happy, but Jenny didn’t care about his happiness, and wriggled impatiently beneath his hand. Excitement coupled with the unknown only intensified her longing to explore.
    “Take a look -” he began, and she immediately kicked free and disappeared inside. Bodie lay on his front and shouted under the door: “Make it quick, and come straight back out. And that ’s an order!”
    Matt rolled the torch into the ship.
    Jenny moved towards the strong beam, which picked out an empty room. The ship smelled heavily of damp and rot. The floor was cracked, and sharp blades of grass pushed through.
    She swung the torch from one corner of the room to the other.
    “What d ’ you see?”
    “This room ’s empty. I can see another...” she moved towards it.
    “Daykin, get your arse back over here.”
    “Commander!” her voice was full of frustration, and it moved away from them.
    “Jenny!” he roared. “The vessel is not only unsafe, it could be harboring dangerous creatures.”
    Jenny stopped and swung the beam at his face. He looked both furious and frightened. Matt, next to him, looked smug, and she quickly realiz ed if she disobeyed, Logan would come to hear of it and she’d never go out on a space mission again. On the other hand, it might compensate...
    “Now I’m here I might as well take a proper look,” she said stepping through the broken doorway, stopping at the sight that greeted her eyes.
    “Jenny, I gave you an order!” Bodie ’s voice wafted faintly behind her, which she ignored.
    An old smell of burnt rubber and smoke became trapped in her lungs and