The Beasts in the Void

said, "I'veonly been on one hunting trip in my life."

  "Is that so?"

  "In India. A boy carried my gun for me. When the tiger came the boyhanded me the gun and told me where to point. I fired but I didn't hitthe tiger. Somebody else shot it."

  "That was too bad."

  "No, it was all right. He was such a big beautiful animal. So sleekand powerful."

  I saw her body tremble as she closed her eyes. I said, "You better getsome rest."

  She passed a hand over her eyes and then gave me an odd wistful smile."Animals are smarter, I think. We _do_ make awful messes out of ourlives, don't we?"

  "I'm afraid we do."

  "But is it our fault? God makes us this way. We can't help that."

  "No, I guess we can't."

  "Why did God make us like we are?"

  "I don't know, Jane. Let's hope _He_ does."

  "Isn't that sacrilege or something? Doubting Him?"

  "I guess it is."

  She reached out suddenly and touched my face. "You're a nice guy. Idon't blame you for slapping me."

  "I'm sorry. You're pretty nice yourself."

  The smile faded. "I'm not," she said miserably, and left the cabin.

  Poor kid. I forgot her and thought of Melody.

  Something's gone wrong with everything. Not a very scientificstatement for a skipper to make but that's how it is. The stars havedisappeared. The instruments jumped around as though they had minds oftheir own. The dial needles spin around like crazy.

  And something else--something even worse. Space has _changed_. I meanthere's something out there in space. First I just felt it. A rawuneasiness. Then I trained a light through the port and I could seeit. Stuff that looks like dust but isn't. It's hazy and yet itsparkles and you have a sense of being on a ship that's pushing itsway through a fog so thick the friction holds you back. And there'ssomething more about this sparkling fog. You look out at it and itseems to be looking back at you. Or maybe I'm losing my mind. Anyhow,that's the way it seems. As though it's waiting for you to speak toit--say hello or something.

  I guess I'm going crazy.

  The sparkling fog is affecting the others, too. They've all quieteddown and they slip along the bulkheads as though they were beingfollowed. Only Murdo blusters back. He says, what the hell? Weexpected something different, didn't we? Well, this is sure differentenough, isn't it?

  I'd turn back but I don't know how. I have nothing to go by. Theinstruments make no sense.

  I _am_ going crazy. I looked out the port just now and saw a waterbuffalo. It was standing right out there in space with its head downlooking at the ship! I had a light turned on it and suddenly itcharged and hit the port headon. It bounced off and went staggeringaway and disappeared.

  But it left a big white scratch on the quartz outside. At least Ithink it did. Wait. I'll look again. Yes. A big white scratch. It'sstill there. So how can I be mad? Maybe it's a new kind of madness....

  * * * * *

  Some of the sparkling fog has penetrated the ship. Turn out the lightand you can see it in the cabin. Not as thick as out in the void butthick enough to see; thick enough to stand there and ask you to talkto it.

  Murdo is ready to turn back. He came to the control room and said, "Isaw it out there."

  "You saw what?"

  His face was pale and his hands twitched. "A boa-constrictor. Exactlylike the one I killed four years ago on the Amazon. It came to theport and looked in at me."

  "It must be your imagination."

  "No. It was there. Let's turn back. Get out of this."

  "I wish we could."

  "You mean--?"

  "I don't know where back is. We might just as well go as we are.Changing course doesn't help if you don't know your directions. Ouronly hope is to drive on out of this cloud. If I turned I might goright back into it."

  "Then one direction is as good as another?"

  "That's right."

  His mind wandered as he turned away. "I didn't know it would be likethis," he muttered. "I thought it would be fun--sport. I thought we'dput on space suits and go out and make a kill. I thought--"

  "The space suits are ready. Do you want to try it?"

  He shuddered, his hanging jowls almost flapping. "You couldn't drag me outthere."

  The stuff is getting thicker in the ship.

  Jane came into my cabin. She had an odd look on her face. She said,"There's a big tiger in the companionway."

  I got up from my bunk and suddenly she seemed to realize what she'dsaid. She repeated it. Then she fell down in a faint. I put her in mybunk and looked out into the companionway. The sparkling fog glitteredbut there was no tiger.

  When she came to, she didn't seem to know where she was. Then shesmiled. "I must have been drinking too much," she said. Then sherealized where she was. "But look where it got me? Into your bunk."

  "Do you feel all right now?"

  "I guess so. I can get up now. I _do_ have to get up, don't I?"

  "I think you'd better."

  After she left I did some thinking. The sparkling haze had beenoutside the ship and I'd seen a water buffalo through the port. Murdohad seen a boa-constrictor. Then the haze penetrated the hull and gotinside the ship. And Jane had seen a tiger in the companionway.

  Were they phantoms? Was Jane's tiger a tiger of the mind? Murdo sworehis snake had been real and my buffalo left a mark on the port. I satthere trying to think. With the sparkling fog drifting around me. Itseemed to be trying to tell me something.

  Things grow worse. Today, at mess, Murdo was holding forth about aPlutonian ice bear he'd killed. I think he was trying to cover thegloom that has settled over us. Anyhow, he'd just got to the pointwhere the bear was charging down on him when we heard the roar ofthunder from outside. Maybe I'd better repeat that for the record. _Weheard a roaring through the walls of the space ship. In the void._Nothing goes through the walls of a space ship in the void but we allheard it and jumped to the port. And we all saw it.

  An ice bear as big as ten of the largest that ever lived in thePlutonian ice flows. A huge ravening beast that rushed through thevoid at the ship and tried to tear the port out of its metal seat withteeth as big as the height of a man.

  The women fell back, screaming. Keebler, in his usual stupor staredblankly as though not realizing what was going on. Kelvey looked toMurdo for guidance. When none came he crouched behind a chair.

  Murdo fell back slowly, step by step as though his eyes were fastenedto the quartz and it was hard to pull away. I don't remember what Idid. Murdo was saying "My God--my God--my God," as though chanting aritual. He tore his eyes from the sight and looked at me.

  "You wanted big game, buster," I croaked. "There it is."

  "But it can't be real. It _can't_!"

  "Maybe not, but if that port gives I'll bet it won't be from vacuumpressure."

  "Vacuum draws. It doesn't press," Kelvey babbled inanely, but nobodypaid any attention to him.

  The beast made two more charges on the ship, then drew back screamingin rage from a snapped tooth. And all around us, there in the ship,the sparkling fog glittered and tried to talk.

  Two hours. The beast still rages in the void outside our ship.

  * * * * *

  Jane is dead. She was horribly mangled. I put her in her bunk and laida blanket over her and now the blanket is soaked in her blood.

  No one could have helped her. It happened in the lounge. She was inthere alone. I was in the control room. I don't know where the restwere.

  I was working uselessly with the controls when I heard a terriblescream mixed with a hideous snarling. I ran into the companionway andstared toward the lounge. Murdo appeared from somewhere and we wereshouldering each other on the companion ladder. Murdo fell heavily.Then we were both looking into the lounge.

  It was too late to help Jane. We saw her there, still and bloody. Ashiny black leopard was crouching gory-mouthed over her body with itspaws
on her breast. It's eyes were black magnets, holding mine.

  I said, "Get a gun," trying to speak without moving my lips.

  "But--"

  "Damn you--get a gun!"

  Murdo staggered away. It seemed a year before he came back with aHinzie Special .442. The leopard was tight, ready to spring. I didn'tdare move a muscle. I said, "Over my shoulder. Get him. Don't miss."

  That last was a little silly. How could a man miss with a Hinzie atten feet? Murdo fired and tore the leopard's head off. It was downalready so it didn't move. It sat there