Planet of the Damned · Chapter 11 (2/2)

He stood behind Lea, looking down at her thoughtfully while she worked. The back of her neck, lightly covered with gently curling hair, was turned toward him. With one of the about-face shifts the mind is capable of, his thoughts flipped from death to life, and he experienced a strong desire to caress this spot lightly, to feel the yielding texture of female flesh.⁠ ⁠…

Plunging his hands deep into his pockets, he walked quickly to the door. “Get some rest soon,” he called to her. “I doubt if those bugs will give you the answer. I’m going now to see if I can get the full-sized specimen you want.”

“The truth could be anywhere. I’ll stay on these until you come back,” she said, not looking up from the microscope.

Up under the roof was a well-equipped communications room. Brion had taken a quick look at it when he had first toured the building. The duty operator had earphones on⁠—though only one of the phones covered an ear⁠—and was monitoring through the bands. His shoeless feet were on the edge of the table, and he was eating a thick sandwich held in his free hand. His eyes bulged when he saw Brion in the doorway and he jumped into a flurry of action.

“Hold the pose,” Brion told him; “it doesn’t bother me. And if you make any sudden moves you are liable to break a phone, electrocute yourself, or choke to death. Just see if you can set the transceiver on this frequency for me.” Brion wrote the number on a scratch pad and slid it over to the operator. It was the frequency Professor-Commander Krafft had given him for the radio of the illegal terrorists⁠—the Nyjord army.

The operator plugged in a handset and gave it to Brion. “Circuit open,” he mumbled around a mouthful of still unswallowed sandwich.

“This is Brandd, director of the C.R.F. Come in, please.” He went on repeating this for more than ten minutes before he got an answer.

“What do you want?”

“I have a message of vital urgency for you⁠—and I would also like your help. Do you want any more information on the radio?

“No. Wait there⁠—we’ll get in touch with you after dark.” The carrier wave went dead.

Thirty-five hours to the end of the world⁠—and all he could do was wait.