"Mine! Mine! Don't touch!"
Curiosity impelled Reese to turn the alien around and peer in the
bulging pack while the old man gibbered in fear.
Reese whistled. The pack was brim-full of ampoules of
benzolurethrimine, the pain-killing drug to which Kuhli had been made
an addict. The alien had stumbled into the colony one day, his chest
slashed open by the talons of a _khaljek_-bird; the colony doctor
had administered the drug to ease his agony and only then discovered
benzolurethrimine was a powerful narcotic for the aliens.
"Where'd you get all this stuff?" Reese demanded.
"Took it. Needed it. Not going back to Colony any more."
There was something doing there, all right. This was no pipedream of
Kuhli's--not when he was willing to steal a supply of drugs and strike
out on his own into the treacherous jungle. Reese tightened his lips
and, started to run toward the nearby colony at a dead trot. He hoped
Lois was all right; he'd never forgive himself for leaving her if
anything had happened to her.
* * * * *
He entered the circle of domes. No one seemed to be around. That was
peculiar. There should always be a few idling colonists resting up
before continuing their task of clearing the jungles.
Finally he spotted Lloyd Kramer, one of his best friends. He and Kramer
had decided together to join and had come out to _Damballa_ on the same
ship.
"Lloyd! Lloyd!" Reese ran toward the big man, who was standing stiffly
outside his hut, staring elsewhere. "Hey, Lloyd!"
Kramer turned. Reese said, "I just saw old Kuhli heading through the
forest with a packload of benzo. He says there's some trouble in the
Colony. What's up? How's Lois? Is she all right?"
A puzzled frown appeared on Kramer's face. "Who are you?" he said in a
deep rumbling, voice. "I do not recognize you."
"What? You crazy, Lloyd? I'm Jim Reese!"
"_Jim ... Reese?_" Kramer repeated the words as if they were some
totally alien name. "Where did you come from, Jim Reese?"
"I--what the devil is this, Lloyd?" Reese backed away suspiciously.
"What's happened to you? Where is everyone?"
"You do not know," Kramer said. "Therefore you were not here when the
conversion took place. Therefore I must capture you."
He lunged.
Reese got out of the way just as Kramer's six-four body came thundering
toward him. He had known Lloyd long enough to be aware of the big man's
fight-patterns; he could side-step easily enough.
"Lloyd! You out of your head?"
"You must be captured," Kramer repeated. He turned and swung his giant
fists. Reese managed to parry one blow but a massive right crashed
into his belly and knocked him gasping back against the thick bole
of a _ghive_ tree. He clung to the sticky bark for a second, sucking
in breath. Then, as Kramer advanced again, Reese yanked out his
hunting-knife. Kramer was unarmed.
"Lloyd, I don't know what's gotten into you but if you take another
step closer to me I'm going to slice you up. You must be crazy!"
Kramer drew back, staring in puzzlement at the gleaming saw-toothed
blade in Reese's hand. He froze some three yards away.