The colony. Chapter 2: Response to a distress call

- See these footprints in the trees?
- Yes. I began to notice them some time ago, but did not attach importance. But now it already seems suspicious.

Gordon and Barney are comfortably seated in the rover’s cabin, sipping Coke and crunching chips.
“Let's stop here and take a closer look,” Gordon said, placing his glass in the cup holder.
Barney pressed the PAUSE button, which gave the rover's autopilot a command to slow down, find a suitable place to stop and get up. The obedient car pulled off the dirt road onto the grass and stopped near a large tree. The local redwoods were much more terrestrial, and the huge armored rover seemed like a child's toy against their background.

Gordon got up from his chair, stretched sweetly after a long trip, turned around and headed for the exit from the rover. Passing by a rack with a weapon that was right behind his chair, he stopped for a second and glanced at his machine gun, but did not take the weapon.

“Barney and I will go out and see something,” Gordon said to the others, passing by the rover’s rest area — if you like, you can also go out for a breath.

Barney lingered a bit, taking his machine gun from the rack and checking the number of charges. He believed that a good military man should always carry a weapon with him, even when he was sitting on a pot in the toilet or enjoying a candlelit dinner. Gordon, in turn, often teased about the inseparability of his comrade and his weapon.

When Barney came out of the rover, Gordon was already standing a few meters from the trunk and, apparently, was in deep thought. Only in moments of high mental activity, he slowly and methodically stroked his beard with his right hand, as if this contributed to a better digestion of ideas. Barney, not taking his eyes off the tree, came close to his friend and also proceeded to a methodical repetition of movements that improve mental abilities. Only, unlike Gordon, his hands were busy, so he gently drove his right thumb over the fuse switch.

Both had the same question, but no one dared to voice it. The guys stood in silence, and each of them scrolled through his head the versions of the events that occurred here.

“Hey guys, what are you there ...” Isaac, who had stepped out of the rover, started screaming from behind, but stopped right there and slowly came closer.

Also keeping silence, he stood next to Barney, so the latter was in the middle. Isaac, despite the lack of a beard, began to repeat the same ritual movements as Gordon. This only reinforced Barney’s suspicions, so he, too, decided to try, releasing the machine gun with his right hand and letting him hang on his belt. The guys continued to stand in thought for a few more seconds.

- One question - what is it and how did it appear here? - Finally broke the silence Barney, and not feeling an unprecedented influx of thoughts.

Gordon silently shrugged, never lifting his hand from his chin.

On the bark of the mighty redwoods, though shallow, but distinct marks, similar to scratches, were visible. It is as if a huge woodcutter worked here with its equally huge saw - similar traces remain on the bark of the tree, if one or two times pass along it with a tool. Some of the neighboring trees had the same marks.

“Interesting,” only Isaac could say.
“It’s also interesting what Emilia will say,” Gordon finally found her voice again, “she’s kind of responsible for explaining the local natural disasters.”

Ten minutes later, the whole team of four people was already standing near the rover and was actively discussing the version of what happened.

- Not! - Isaac fussed, sifting out another theory from Barney - these are definitely not beavers! They would not have been able to climb so high, and not even a single crazy beaver would set such a goal of life for himself as knocking down a huge redwood tree.
“Well, I was joking,” he said, who did not expect anyone to take his “theory” seriously.
“Let me express a thought that is probably spinning around in everyone’s head,” suggested Emilia, “what if these tracks were left by the very Titans studied by Dr. Angus and his team?”

The whole team silently thought, imagining this scenario. Gordon first broke the silence:

- Sounds reasonable, but unlikely. They have become extinct long ago, and our doctor Angus does not study them directly, but their petrified remains.
“Yes, it sounds extremely unlikely,” agreed Emilia, “but look at the height at which these scratches are located. Not less than four meters - who else will reach this height? In addition, for ten minutes we could not voice another, more rational version. Well, except for the version with beavers, - she smiled, she glanced at Barney, and he, in turn, winked smugly at Isaac.

The latter was inclined to agree:
- Indeed, we are on this planet for only three months. We were assured that it was all so that we were studying long-extinct species, but you never know, they still make discoveries on the Earth and find new types of organisms.
- All this, of course, is very strange. I will photograph these traces, and then continue to the Alpha base. Still, we have a task, ”Gordon summed up, heading for the rover,“ after ten minutes we move forward. ”

Returning to the rover and taking a camera out of it, Gordon decided to walk around the district a bit and make the most complete photo report. He looked at the guys - they continued to actively discuss something. Gordon turned his attention to Barney's face — there was not a shadow of a smile on it, on the contrary, it expressed serious concern about what was happening. The right hand was stroking his beard, which meant high mental activity.

“Funny,” thought Gordon, “this big guy sometimes seems so frivolous and even silly, although in fact he takes his work very seriously.
Looking around, Gordon saw traces on another tree nearby and decided to walk to it, while the guys continued the discussion.

“If your version is correct,” Barney said, turning to Emilia, “then everything is very bad.” Our research bases do not offer protection from so serious predators.

Based on the results of studies of living organisms conducted on the planet Demetrion several years before the landing of the expedition, the most dangerous of the local predators are wolves. Moreover, the local wolves are much larger and more dangerous than the earth. They have much more developed limbs, namely - a powerful loin allows them to stand on their hind legs, and their front paws have long and tenacious fingers, which allow both grabbing their prey and tearing it with powerful claws. Although they can not walk on their hind legs as confidently as people, they can run a few meters - usually this is enough to develop good speed and stick at the claws of the front paws. In general, local wolves outwardly resemble the heroes of the ancient terrestrial folklore - werewolves or volkolaks.

“It was supposed that wolves were the worst predators here,” Barney continued, “the walls will be saved from them.” But from the Titans - I'm afraid not.
- So, do not hide from them? - asked Isaac.
- The bunker on Alpha, in theory, must stand. And the old military base has strong blocks. I was still wondering why they are needed here, but now they will be very helpful. Port Demetrion, as the main base of the planet, also has strong walls - I think they can’t get there. But our Delta station has neither thick walls nor a bunker. And we, being on the road, are also extremely vulnerable.
- Let's get ready for the worst. Let it be our working version, ”suggested Emilia.
“I agree,” answered Isaac, “although I don’t like it, but bearing in mind this version, the refusal to communicate with Alpha does not look so much ...”

Isaac did not finish, because Barney suddenly jerked suddenly and seemed to jump on the spot. Usually, people jump like this when the alarm clock, hidden under a pillow, is ringing or vibrating. The guys looked at him questioningly.

- Hear?
- There is nothing. And what should we hear?
“Hush,” Barney squeezed his gun tightly in his hands and looked around, “but where is Gordon?”

Without waiting for an answer, Barney ran to the rover, looking for a comrade through the eyes. Emilia listened and heard from the rover a low, but unpleasant and wading sound, like a siren. And in the cockpit of the rover, on one of the monitors, the radar was displayed and the warning inscription was burning: “CAUTION! Near a large predator! ”.

Gordon looked around and found himself about twenty meters from the rover. Little, but quite enough to get lost in the vegetation and lose sight of his comrades. He stood on a small lawn among mighty trees and small bushes. The lawn was not particularly rich in greenery, and in the center of its grass was not at all. There was only dark dirt, not yet dried up after the last rain. Dirt, not particularly remarkable, at first did not even think to attract the attention of Gordon, but when he came closer, he could not take his eyes off her. The lawn well remembered her last guest, who had visited her quite recently - in the center of her, right in the mud, a distinct trace of the three-toed paw clearly stood out. There was at least half a meter from the heel to the end of the middle toe, and the footprint was clearly not a hare, or who else is still found in these parts.
Gordon considered the trail, crouching on one knee.

“It must be a hard thing,” he said out loud, assessing the depth of the track, “we must show this to the guys.”

After taking a close-up picture of the trail, Gordon rose to his feet, turned to the side of the rover, and ... was numb. A few meters away from him, from the bushes on the edge of the lawn, two burning eyes watched him predatoryly. The wolf crept in unnoticed. Gordon cursed himself for allowing his curiosity to lead himself into the depths of the forest, to separate himself from the team. Weapons, too, unfortunately was not with them. The only thing that happened to him was the camera, which he instinctively held tightly in both hands.

Dozens of thoughts rushed through Gordon's head one by one, but only one was remembered:

- So what are you ...

Gordon read a lot of mythological and fiction literature about werewolves and volkolaks. He also saw a lot of preparatory videos about local predators before the start of the expedition. In the end, he imagined a lot of the most dangerous predator of this planet. But nothing could convey his true image.

Gordon admired the mighty creature. But there was no desire to die from the paws of the subject of rapture. This was the case when it is better to hear a hundred times than to see at least once.

The wolf, apparently, understood that he was noticed, therefore slowly and imposingly came out from behind the bushes, showing his true size. Gordon stood rooted to the spot. Having seen this reaction of the victim, the wolf, apparently, decided to play a little before filling his stomach, so he did not hurry to lash out at the prey, and, as it were, expected his actions with interest. He allegedly played a chess game and, having a thick black skin, gave the opponent the first move. White always goes first. Only in this game everything was already predetermined - the queen threatened the defenseless king.

Gordon was also in no hurry to act: to be honest, he did not know what to do. Shout? It definitely does not help, because the wolf will regard it as aggression and pounce on him. On the other hand, this will allow the guys to sort out more quickly and avoid further losses.
The wolf stood motionless for a few more seconds, which seemed to Gordon for a whole eternity, then the predator began to shift its center of gravity closer to its hind legs - a sure sign of a preparing jump. Gordon mentally said goodbye to everyone and scored full air. The wolf rushed forward on its hind legs, took two steps and jumped. Before waiting for his jump, Gordon cried out that there was a force:

- wooolk!

Simultaneously with this, he tried to jump aside and thereby withdraw from the predator's attack line, and already in a jump he pressed the camera button, taking a photo with a flash.

The flash blinded the beast, and he could not land on his paws, falling exactly on the spot where a man had stood a moment ago. Gordon quickly rose, and, without losing the predator out of sight, backed away toward the rover.

Gordon wanted to shout again and warn the team about the danger, but suddenly he stopped. A pool of dark red blood began to form under the wolf's corpse, and a black hole gaped in its chest. The queen did not notice the rook, and the king made a castling.

- I hope now a joke about the fact that I never part with my gun, exhausted myself? Are you okay?

Gordon turned around - Barney stood next to him with a gun at the ready.

“A nimble flash thing, though I almost missed it myself,” he smiled.
“Damn,” Gordon said only, then walked over to Barney, looked into his eyes and firmly shook his hand, “I owe you.”

The rest of the guys were also standing nearby, and Isaac, with surprise, opened his mouth wide. It is not clear that he was surprised most of all - whether the fact that Gordon was close to death, or the size and appearance of a wolf, or the accuracy of Barney.

“Let's go back to the rover, I’ll come around a bit and show you something,” suggested Gordon, “and, of course, now I’ll take my gun,” he added, nodding Barney gratefully.

The guys went to the rover, standing just twenty meters from the scene.

“You're doing great,” Emilia Barney praised.
“This is my job,” he answered.

The boys returned to the rover, closed the door behind them and settled in the recreation area. Gordon sat in silence for a couple of minutes, finishing his cola in the glass.

- How did you know where I am, and that a wolf is near? He asked Barney.
- I saw which way you went. When the guys and I were discussing possible reasons for the appearance of these tracks in the trees, I heard the radar yelling. You know very well this nasty sound.
“Yeah,” Gordon grinned, “on a subconscious level, you already hate him.”
“So,” Barney continued, “when I ran past the rover, I quickly jumped into the cockpit and looked at the monitor where the predator was exactly in order not to be mistaken. You never know, suddenly he would have appeared on the other side, and the danger would be threatened in the first place by us, and not by you.

The entire team, looking at Barney, nodded in silent agreement, assessing the speed and accuracy of his comrade's actions. Second delay - and one member of the crew would be less.

- Okay, let's not waste time. I wanted to show you something, - with these words, Gordon went into the cabin and started a rover.
- We will not risk any more, and even the disgraceful twenty meters is better to drive, - his voice came to everyone.

Rover, writing zigzags between the trees, drove to the ill-fated glade with a bald spot in the center. The trail was still there, as was the body of the wolf. Gordon stepped out of the cab, holding the machine gun in his hands.

“I added the sound of the radar to the maximum,” he informed the others, “now there is no one within a radius of one hundred meters.

The whole team left the rover and surrounded the trail. There was a short pause that Emilia had broken:

- Now there is no doubt. They are not extinct.
“Alpha,” sighed Isaac, “that is the cause of the distress signals.” Everything is much worse than one could have imagined. Can we help them? We ourselves are now in a very bad position, if my damn eyes do not deceive me and all this is true.

No one answered. Titans exist - only this thought occupied the heads of the guys. Gordon took out the camera and just in case took another photo. He opened the photo just taken and made sure that it was clear. Flung to the left, and the picture taken before was opened - a huge wolf for the whole frame, grinning and pulling the front paws in an attempt to cling to the victim. Gordon showed a picture of Barney, and then the rest:

- But what a photo I took. I will send to National Geographics, I can win in the nomination “The Best Wildlife Photos”.

Isaac opened his mouth again, and Barney, with a laugh, said:
- It would be better if you shot him from a real gun!

Gordon smiled, drove the whole episode in his head and again mentally thanked Barney.

“We must warn all the bases,” he said, opening the door of the rover, “the situation is from the category of the red flag.”

A minute later, the rover was on its way to the Alpha base. Gordon drove the car manually, wagging between the trees, and, as soon as they drove onto the road, he resumed the autopilot program. On the road, the rover quickly picked up speed.

Gordon put the camera on a special panel next to his personal monitor, thereby launching the automatic photo synchronization process. A minute later, all the photos were already copied to the computer's memory, and Gordon sent them to Delta Station, from where they left, with a short message:

“It seems the Titans are not extinct. We think that Alpha was attacked. The evidence in the attached photos. Transfer it to Port Demetrion, - the power of our traveling antenna is not enough to transmit data over such distances. ”

An envelope icon and the inscription: “The message was sent successfully at 11:27” was displayed on the monitor. Gordon looked at his watch and made sure that the time was correct. Then he looked at the monitor with the current route: the autopilot promised to be at destination at 23:49. It is getting dark here at this time of the year around 22 o'clock, so it won't be light at the beginning. Gordon looked at Barney, and he, catching the gaze of his friend, looked into his eyes. As if reading the thoughts of Gordon, he said:

- A couple of hours will have to shake in the dark. I don't like it either, but we can't do anything about it.

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The sun was setting. In an hour, it will be dark, even if your eyes are poked out. Barney noise overboard. The foreground shadows of the twilight, and then darkness.

“We will be there soon,” Barney repeated softly, although the connection had already been interrupted.

I will be glad to see everyone in VK group :)