1899- Journey to Mars

Bixie rose and touched Ian on the shoulder, indicating for him to follow. They left the room and made their way through the ship to the engine room. Bixie pointed at the tools and said, “Would you bring dat long iron ting wit us? I need ta see sumtin’.”

Ian picked up the five foot long pry bar and followed her as he said, “Ya dinna want me to knock a hole in this flying machine, do ye?”

“Its for pryin’ and dat is what I need your strength for, beautiful man.” She stopped at the larger cargo hatch and said, “I need for ya to pry a spit of a crack so I can see dis ting, see if it be what I’m tinkin’.”

Ian went to work, taking his time. Bixie retrieved a small dynamo lantern, cranked the handle to charge it and returned to shine light on the door. It was hard work, and he resorted to using some coins in his kilt to slip in the gap between the door and the frame to hold it open until he could get a deeper bite with the bar, then he would open it a millimeter wider. Ian sweated with the effort, but in ten minutes he had an opening that allowed a sliver of space.

“Hold it dere.” Bixie said, and pushed her eye close to the crack and slipped a thin blade of metal through it to touch what was outside. Her breath hissed, and she pulled the metal blade back inside with some effort. “Dat’s enough.”

Ian pulled out the bar. “What did you see?”

Ian and Bixie saw that they weren’t alone. Billy and the others had come into the room and were spread out in the space behind them. Ekka said, “We came to check on you. We were worried.”

At that moment, the Argent dropped and the floor leveled out under their feet. They were no longer being dragged. Everyone listened for a full minute, but there was no sound coming from outside the Argent.

Billy asked Bixie, “What’s got us, Bixie? What sort of vine is wrapped around the ship? Did you see what it was?”

Bixie nodded, “Wasn’t no vine, brave Billy. We be wrapped in a great spiderweb. Da Ten-Leg spun us up same as a black widow spins an insect caught on the sticky. It plans to wait a while, den break de flying ship open and eat us every one.”

[ 64 ]

Pat said, “You’re telling me that those vines are really spiderwebs? They’re thick as my wrist!”

“I be speakin’ true, Patrick.”

“Did you see it?”

“In me head, and blurry, like lookin’ true a frosty glass.”

“So you don’t know for sure.”

Billy said, “Pat, she’s been right on every single thing she has told us. I wouldn’t bet against her.”

Pat chewed on his lower lip, then said, “I guess I don’t want to believe it, is what it is. That thing would have to be twenty, maybe thirty feet tall to flip this ship back and forth like a toy, then drag it for half an hour.”

“I tink you be talkin’ true, Patrick. Dis particular one may be bigger dan dat.”

“You’re talking something that’s four times larger than an elephant. How are we going to fight

something like that?”

Bixie touched Pat’s forearm, “Wit your courage, brave Patrick, wit your courage.” Pat visibly relaxed at Bixie’s touch.

Billy said, “But this thing, this Ten-Leg scares you, doesn’t it , Bixie?”

Bixie took a deep breath, blew it out and said, “Yes. Not many tings do. Because of how I am, things, be dey good or bad, don’t affect me dis way. But dis one, dis Ten-Leg, it is different.”

Ian asked, “How?”

“It is neither good nor evil. It is, and no more. It could be seemin’ evil to us because it would eat us in a blink, but dis...livin’ ting, would do it for food, not to be evil. It has intelligence, too, and even dat is not takin’ sides for either heaven or hell. It is a strange creature, it is. And because I can’t read it, it scares me. I do not know what it will do.”

Avi said, “It is making the air most hot in here, I am telling you that.” They all knew it. The cocoon around the ship’s exterior allowed the heat to build inside.

Ian said, “And here I thought this planet would be cold.”

Billy said, “It is, just not in here when the Argent is wrapped in a foot-thick blanket of sticky silk.”

“So, what do we do?” Pat said.