I nodded at this. “Go help Aparna with Ardeleanu,” I said. The chopper was now close enough that it was about to drown out conversation. Niamh dropped back, and I was now the only one standing in front of the creature. Two of its friends were now about twenty meters away, moving up on us slowly.
I thought about my options, stowed the shotgun, and took out my canister launcher. The creature seemed to watch me do it but otherwise did nothing, waiting on its friends to close in.
I moved aggressively toward the creature, closing the meters between us and shouting, as if to threaten it. Then I started to wobble on the thick moss and algae.
This is what the creature was waiting for—for me to lose my balance, to distract myself and to be defenseless. It opened its mouth wide, its scream lost inside the noise of the helicopter rotors, and hunched itself up to leap.
Which was what I was waiting for. My footing was just fine. I just faked out the creepy fucker. And now its mouth was open.
I shot the canister directly into it.
Do you think you’re going to be that good of a shot? I remembered Riddu Tagaq asking me when I asked about shooting a canister at a creature.
As it happens, I still wasn’t that great of a shot.
But I was also shooting from a very, very close distance.
The canister burst in the creature’s mouth, going off like the grenade it was, knocking the already off-center creature back and toward its oncoming companions. Who, once they got a whiff of their now stunned-or-dead pal, forgot all about me and decided their pal was an easier meal.
Tagaq was right; they’ll eat us if we’re convenient. So, make it more convenient for them to eat something else.
I suppose I could have used the shotgun to the same effect. But honestly using the canister launcher was so much more satisfying.
More of the creatures were picking their way out of the jelly toward their fallen comrade; I took that as my cue to take my leave. I walked back slowly to the helicopter, keeping situational awareness, until I was at the copilot’s door. I opened it and got in. Satie took us up while I was still strapping myself in.
“What did I say about not needing emergency extraction?” he said to me after I was buckled in and switched over my headset.
“Sorry,” I said. I looked back at the passenger compartment. Ardeleanu was on the floor, and Aparna was over him, cleaning out his wound with the antiseptic in the helicopter’s first aid kit. “How is he?” I asked.
“It looks pretty bad,” Niamh said.
“Tell base we’re going to need medical,” I said to Satie.
“I did that before I picked you up,” he said.
I looked over to Ardeleanu, who didn’t have a headset on. He was saying something drowned out by the cabin noise. It looked like, I’m fine. Aparna was ignoring him and treating him anyway. She was the sensible one here. I looked at Niamh, who still looked pissed. We weren’t all good, but we were all alive. I was going to take that as a win. I turned back to the front, looked out of the helicopter, and let out a long, shuddering breath. Satie noticed it but didn’t say anything.
Until several minutes later, when his curiosity got the better of him. “Hey, I didn’t get a good look at it,” he said, “but did you actually just shoot one of those things in the face with a goddamn canister gun?”
CHAPTER
16
When we arrived, we were greeted by a stretcher there to take Ardeleanu to medical. Tanaka Base had two doctors and two nurses, and one of the doctors, Irina Garin, was a surgeon. I suspected Ardeleanu might be visiting with her soon. He was efficiently removed from the helicopter and hustled off, decrying all the way that he was fine, actually, really.
“I’m glad he’s safe now, but when he’s better, I might punch him,” Niamh said, watching him go.
“Seems fair,” I said. “How are you?” I included Aparna in this. “How are both of you?”
“I need a drink,” Aparna said.
“A drink?” Niamh exclaimed. “I need several.”
Aparna smiled. “That’s what I meant, but I didn’t want to look like a drunk.”
“To hell with that. After today’s adventure, I’m going to get smashed and wear a fucking lampshade as a hat.”
“Let me get the first round,” I said. “After that, you’ll be responsible for your own lampshade procurement.” We said goodbye to Satie and promised to buy him a drink when he was done, then walked up the tunnel to the base, where it turned out almost everyone was waiting for us, cheering.