The Black Pod Read Free

at full attention. Its
lips drew back in a parody of a horrific smile. Its long fangs
reminded Adams of a saber-tooth tiger’s.
    It waited.
    She clicked her tongue,
and the beast tore into the deer. Savage ripping of flesh followed.
It gorged itself on the guts, meat and bones. In short order, there was only some hide, hooves, and the skull left.
Adams had not realized just how savage the beast really was until
then.
    Turning back up the ramp
with a satisfied smile, Wynn began speaking quickly again. In the
small galley kitchen, she placed the meat in the
sink and began washing it. He knew as she talked she was demanding
something.
    “ Box, help me
out here, ” Adams said.
    “ She seems to be requesting a container of some kind for the
meat.”
    Adams opened a cabinet and
took out a large pot. She grabbed it from him, and as she finished
washing each piece she placed it in the pot. The single hoof comically stuck out the top. She set the pot in the
refrigerator.
    Wynn washed her hands quickly as she
continued to talk fast.
    “ Tony, I think she is
going to collect wild onions and some sort of root. She is also
asking for her own knife and belt,” Box translated with 80%
certainty.
    He collected another knife
out of stores and was looking for a belt in the lockers when she
was suddenly at his side handing him his freshly cleaned knife
back. He traded it for the other sheathed one. Without asking, she reached into the locker and grabbed a belt
before he could pick one. She threaded the sheath onto it and then
wrapped it around her waist three times before buckling
it.
    She waved to him over her
shoulder as she descended the ramp calling for Lane. As Adams
watched, she jogged quickly toward what remained of the
forest, with Lane running alongside . Her heavy boots
left clear tracks in the ashes of the clearing.
    Adams wondered about her family for
the hundredth time as she disappeared into the charred skeletons of
trees that were still standing. She looked like she knew where she
was going.
    “ Box, keep an eye out for
them. Close it up.” Adams turned away as the hatch slid
closed.
    ***
    He took a shower, put on a
fresh set of clothes and managed to eat only a protein bar.
    He climbed the ladder to
the dome level. Box had the external view turned on. It
was as if Adams were on a round platform about four meters from the
ground. He walked in a circle around the command chair and console
in the center. The late afternoon sun shone brightly on
the fire's devastation. The landscape was black and gray in
every direction.
    “ It has a kind of beauty,”
Box said. Her computer generated avatar had appeared. It seemed
like she was standing on a ledge just on the other side of the
dome, her hand clasped behind her back. She stood at parade rest.
She wore a standard security team flight suit. Her ginger hair was
longer than shoulder length and moved gently in the breeze. Looking
over her shoulder she said, “We should move the pod.” Adams said
nothing.
    “ We are far too exposed
here.” She looked again out over the vista as Adams sat heavily in
the chair. He pounded a button on the extreme right and the entire
console receded into the floor.
     
    A flock of birds flew by overhead.
They looked like geese. He didn’t know for sure. It occurred to him
then that he had never seen a real one.
    He drew out his Glock and set it on
top of his right thigh.
    Box remained quiet but present. She
changed her position now and then. Always looking out. Always in
his field of view.
    Sundown came early, and it was
spectacular. He thought the smoke may have contributed.
    He fell asleep.
    His chin was on his chest.
He snored lightly as Box watched over him. The
twilight deepened and it became full dark with a sky full of bright
stars. The moon rose and was brilliant. Even over the
charred vista, it was dazzling .
    Adams slept as Box kept silent vigil. There was no sign of Wynn.
    ***
    The sun was just rising
over the forest-covered mountains