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			Captain Harris swore.  “Damn it!  Stuart, how’s 
			the dish?” 
			
			“Still in bits in the repair bay, I’m afraid, Captain.” 
			
			“Terrific.  Mike, you’d better find us somewhere to 
			ditch.  Reserve fuel, Paul?” 
			
			“Eleven hours, maximum,” said Paul.  “Sorry, but we 
			were accelerating hard when it hit.  We have plenty of liquid, 
			though.” 
			
			“Enough liquid for a safe landing?” 
			
			“A landing?  Hmm, not sure about that.  Docking, 
			no probs.  Landing, very dodgy.  Well,” he corrected 
			himself, “we can land easily enough.  Taking off will be the 
			hard part.  Maybe possible though.” 
			
			“We’ll do what we can.  Velocity Mike?” 
			
			“One-four-two.  Give me a moment … okay, I think I may 
			have found a suitable site.  It’s not a listed system, but I 
			can tell at a glance that it has a couple of planets worth looking 
			at.  Star is a K8, planets are at point eight seven and one 
			point three six A.U.’s respectively.  Nearer one is a bit 
			small, perhaps, but the other looks good – two point three Earth 
			masses.” 
			
			“Density?  Likely gravity?” 
			
			“I’m way ahead of you.  Point seven g.” 
			
			“Perfect!  Go for it.  How long until we can get 
			there?” 
			
			“Five hours forty minutes, at this speed.” 
			
			“Excellent.  I’ll go and see if Tahir can get that dish 
			fixed in the next five hours.  Stuart, you’d better go and tell 
			Wendy what’s happened.” 
			
			“Thanks Captain.”  Stuart jumped to his feet and 
			hurried out of the bridge, heading for the cabin section.  He 
			was beginning to regret his decision to bring his daughter along for 
			the ride.  At sixteen, she was already a veteran of many 
			spaceflights, but they had all been on commercial liners.  
			Still, all was not yet lost. 
			
			Wendy, it turned out, had slept through the whole thing.  
			Stuart found her stretched out on her bunk, fast asleep, and 
			drooling slightly on to her pillow.  Her pale blue minidress 
			was gathered around her waist.  He pulled it down to cover her 
			panties, then he shook her gently.  “Wendy,” he whispered 
			softly. 
			
			“Hmmmm?” she murmured.  She opened her eyes, then 
			screwed them up against the light.  “Um, hi Dad.  What’s 
			up?” 
			
			“Sweetie, we’ve had a bit of an accident.  Everything’s 
			okay,” he said hastily as her eyes widened in alarm, “but we’re 
			going to have to make an unscheduled landing.” 
			
			“But what happened?” asked Wendy, looking worried. 
			
			“We were surprised by a rather large rock.  It took out 
			the ramjet and now we have no way of gathering fuel for the 
			distorter.  But don’t worry – we’re going at a cracking pace 
			and we have some liquid fuel for a conventional landing.  Once 
			we’ve landed, we’ll fix the ramjet and get spaceborne again.” 
			
			“Have we sent a distress call?” 
			
			“Um, not yet sweetie, but we will, don’t worry.” 
			
			“How long before we land?” 
			
			“About five and a half hours.  We’ve been lucky enough 
			to find a fairly Earth-like planet not far away.  It’s probably 
			barren, but it will serve our purposes.  Anyway, I’d better get 
			back to the bridge.  You stay here and try not to worry.  
			Everything will be fine.” 
			
			“Okay Dad.”  Wendy lay back down and pulled the covers 
			up to her neck. 
			
			  
			 
			
			Five and a half hours later, the atmosphere on the bridge 
			was tense.  “Clouds, eh?”  The captain frowned.  
			“That’s a little worrying.  I hope there’s no life down there.  
			I hate going through 
			quarantine.” 
			
			“Yeah, me too,” agreed Stuart.  “And Wendy’s going to 
			hate it too.  But we’re here now, so we might as well make the 
			best of it.” 
			
			“I wish to God that Tahir had managed to get that dish 
			fixed.  Still, it can’t be helped.  We’re on our own, 
			chaps.”  He took a deep breath.  “Okay men, you all know 
			the drill.  How much longer now, Mike?” 
			
			“Four minutes.  I’ll give you a countdown if you like.” 
			
			“That won’t be necessary,” said the captain curtly.  
			“Just tell us when you’re about to hit the switch.” 
			
			For the next couple of minutes they were all silent.  
			Then Captain Harris turned to Stuart.  “Better go and fetch 
			Wendy,” he said.  “Just in case.” 
			
			Stuart nodded and left the bridge. 
			
			“Okay, here we go!”  Mike hit the button and the black 
			viewscreen suddenly came alive.  A white planet loomed large 
			before them.  “Ninety-one thousand miles per hour, Captain.” 
			
			“Apply forward thrusters,” instructed the captain.  
			“Take us in gently, Mike.  My God!  Look at all that 
			cloud.  The whole planet’s covered!” 
			
			“Yeah, looks a little like Venus,” observed Paul with a wry 
			chuckle. 
			
			“That’s not even funny.”  The captain scowled.  
			“But it’s a good point.  What’s the carbon dioxide level?” 
			
			“Three per cent.  A little high, but not overly so.  
			Enough greenhouse effect to give the planet a uniformly tropical 
			climate.  Might be a bit uncomfortable near the equator.” 
			
			“In that case, land us between seventy and eighty degrees of 
			latitude.  I hope this planet isn’t just a vast ocean.” 
			
			“Negative, captain, there’s land and plenty of it.  
			There’s also a great deal of oxygen – nearly thirty per cent as a 
			matter of fact.  The rest is nitrogen.  Very similar to 
			Earth in fact.  Should be breathable.” 
			
			“Breathable or not, we’re not getting out of our suits while 
			we’re there,” said the captain sternly.  “It sounds like there 
			might well be life down there, and I’m certainly not going to risk 
			any contamination.  Ah, Stuart, you’re just in time.  Hi 
			Wendy.  Would you both please get into your space suits.  
			We’ll be landing shortly.” 
			
			“Entering the atmosphere in two minutes,” reported Mike. 
			
			Stuart led Wendy out of the bridge and into what they had 
			collectively dubbed the ‘cloakroom’, where the space suits were kept 
			in lockers.  He climbed into his own and nodded approvingly as 
			Wendy expertly did the same.  She had been on several space 
			flights and knew the drill well. 
			
			A sudden jolt knocked them off their feet.  Surprised, 
			Stuart got up and hurried into the bridge, almost colliding with 
			Paul and the captain as they made for the cloakroom. 
			
			“We’re a thruster down,” explained the captain with a 
			tight-lipped expression.  “Get yourselves into a pod each.  
			This could be rough.” 
			
			“You mean we’re going to crash?” asked Wendy with a white 
			face. 
			
			“It’s a possibility,” said Stuart, ushering her across the 
			bridge and through the far door.  “It’s best to be prepared.  
			You know how to use a pod?” 
			
			“Well yes, but I hope we don’t lose the ship.  It might 
			be days before we’re 
			rescued.” 
			
			Stuart had not told her that no distress call had been sent, 
			and he was not about to.  “Yes,” he said, “but don’t worry.  
			Mike’s a very good pilot – he’ll have us down safely.  Now get 
			into your pod and we’ll keep in touch over the radio.” 
			
			On the bridge, the outlook was not hopeful. 
			
			“Get into your suit, Mike,” said the captain.  “I’ll 
			take the controls until you get back.” 
			
			“I don’t think so, Ted,” said Mike.  “This is not going 
			to be an easy descent, and there’s only one person I trust at the 
			controls: me.” 
			
			“Stubborn fool,” the captain growled.  “You’d just 
			better get us down in one piece, then.” 
			
			“Will do,” replied Mike. 
			
			As the ship tore down through the cloud layer, Mike gritted 
			his teeth and fought to slow their descent.  “Hold on to your 
			hats!” he yelled.  “I’m going to try something a bit 
			different!” 
			
			With the main dorsal retro thruster out of action, there was 
			only one way Mike could get any lift, and that was by turning the 
			ship upside down.  He spun it over on to its back, and the 
			gravity compressors whined in complaint.  Mike now fired up the 
			ventral retro thruster, and the ship slowly and painfully began to 
			lift its nose away from the rapidly-approaching ground.  Still 
			there was nothing to see on the viewscreen – just a blank whiteness. 
			
			“Altitude?” shouted the captain over the scream of the 
			thruster engine. 
			
			“Five miles!  I think we’re going to have to land on 
			our backs, gentlemen – brace yourselves!” 
			
			The ship gradually levelled off, then actually began to gain 
			altitude as Mike flipped it over on to its belly once more.  
			Applying the landing thrusters with a will, he fought to slow the 
			ship down as the main engine tipped them towards the horizontal. 
			
			“Oh hell!” he swore as one of the landing thrusters gave 
			out.  The ship began to spin.  “Captain, we’re about two 
			miles up and it’s not looking great.  You guys get out of here 
			– you shouldn’t have much trouble finding me once I get this crate 
			down.” 
			
			“What’s the point?” demanded Paul.  “If you don’t make 
			it, then we’re lost anyway!  Nobody is going to come looking 
			for us!” 
			
			“Pipe down Paul,” said the captain.  “Mike’s right.  
			Even if the ship crashes, we still might be able to salvage enough 
			of the distorter to make a beacon.  Come in, Tahir!” 
			
			“Yes captain?” 
			came Tahir’s voice over the radio. 
			
			“Get your crew into the pods – we’re bailing out.  You 
			have about half a minute!” 
			
			“Oh heck!  Will do!” 
			 
			
			Mike continued to wrestle with the controls.  “Good 
			luck, Captain,” he said.  “It’s been great working for you.” 
			
			“Shut up Mike, I’m not going anywhere.  I have every 
			confidence that you’ll get us down alive.”  Then he spoke into 
			the radio.  “Stuart, Wendy, eject now!” 
			
			Wendy gasped.  She had not really believed things would 
			come to this.  She placed her finger on the eject button, but 
			could not quite bring herself to press it. 
			
			“Wendy, you heard what the captain said.  Eject!” 
			
			At the sound of her father’s voice, she knew she had to do 
			it.  She pressed the button, and instantly felt the massive g-force 
			as her pod was flung from the ship.  A second later its 
			parachute opened, and she began to drift gently downwards.  She 
			knew the pod had its own thrusters, but she did not think she would 
			need them.  Her father confirmed this. 
			
			“Good girl.  Now just relax and wait until you land.  
			I’m probably going to end up about half a mile away from you.  
			I wish I could see through this damn fog.  Anyway, you won’t 
			need your thrusters – this atmosphere is thick enough for the 
			parachute to work very nicely.  Stay calm, and I’ll see you 
			soon.” 
			
			“Okay Dad.”  Wendy’s heart was in her mouth as she 
			began to feel very alone.  She hoped her father would be able 
			to find her once they landed, but if the fog extended all the way 
			down to the ground, that might be tricky.  Thank goodness they 
			both had radios. 
			
			“Okay,” 
			came the captain’s voice, “who’s got out?”
			
			 
			
			“Wendy and I got out fine,” 
			
			replied Stuart. 
			
			“Hopkins here, Captain.  I’m out.” 
			 
			
			“Anderson here, Captain.  I’m out too.” 
			
			 
			
			“Jeffries here – also out.” 
			 
			
			“Is that it?  What about Tahir and Scott?” 
			
			 
			
			“We’re still in the engine room, Captain.  We’ve 
			decided to stick it out.” 
			 
			
			“Silly … with Mike and we’re …spotted a flattish area and … 
			put down if we can…” 
			 
			
			“Captain?  What’s wrong?  Your signal’s breaking 
			up.” 
			 
			
			“… yours too … damn cloud I think … interferen… luck and 
			we’ll meet you down …” 
			 
			
			“Good luck Captain!  Let’s hope the signal’s better on 
			the ground!” 
			 
			
			“…damn … …over the … shit … steady …” 
			 
			
			“Captain?” 
			 
			
			From then on nothing but static was heard from the ship. 
			
			“I sure hope they get down all right.” 
			 
			
			“Me too.” 
			 
			
			Dark shapes loomed below, and Wendy looked down at them 
			through the pod window.  As she descended, the shapes resolved 
			themselves into what looked like the tops of tall trees, although 
			they were certainly unlike any trees that could be found on Earth.  
			“Dad, I’m dropping past the tops of trees!” she exclaimed into her 
			mouthpiece.  “Can you see them?” 
			
			“I can’t see anything.  Just whiteness.  Oh, wait 
			a minute – yes, I can see some shapes down below.  You’re 
			right, they’re trees.  Crumbs, we’re going to get tangled up in 
			them!” 
			
			“I already am!” wailed Wendy as her parachute wrapped itself 
			around the upper branches of one of the trees.  “Dad, I’m 
			stuck!”  Her pod thudded against the tree trunk, rebounded, 
			then hit a branch and started spinning. 
			
			“Don’t panic.  How far are you from the ground?”
			
			 
			
			“I don’t know!  A long way I think – I can’t see the 
			ground from here.” 
			
			“Okay, now I’m stuck too.  Never mind – I’m pretty 
			close to the ground here – I’m going to get out and try climbing 
			down the trunk.” 
			 
			
			“I see what you mean about those trees,” 
			came Paul Jeffries’ voice.  “I think I’m 
			going to miss them though.  Oops, that was close…  Okay, 
			I’m down!” 
			 
			
			“Well done Paul.  I’ll try to follow suit.  Oh 
			dear, I think I’m … oh hell!” 
			 
			
			“Hopkins?” 
			 
			
			“Sorry – that was a bit hairy.  My pod’s pretty smashed 
			up – I got caught on a branch and swung into a big rock.  I’m 
			fine though, luckily.  I can get down okay from here, though – 
			I’m practically on the ground.  How about you, Terry?” 
			
			 
			
			“Snagged, I’m afraid, and swinging from a branch.  I 
			think I’m going to have to get out and climb up my parachute to the 
			branch, then somehow get down the tree trunk.” 
			 
			
			“Dad, I’m going to try getting out,” said Wendy, her spirits 
			lifted by the reports of the other crewmembers getting down safely. 
			
			“Careful Wendy, don’t take any chances.  If you stay 
			there I’m sure we’ll find you.” 
			 
			
			“Well I’m not!  If I can’t see the ground, you won’t be 
			able to see me from the ground, will you?  No, I have to get 
			down.” 
			
			“Hey guys, my suit’s ripped!” 
			 
			
			“Oh heck Brian!  Are you okay?” 
			 
			
			“Yeah, the air has a funny smell, but I seem to be breathing 
			it well enough.  Feeling a bit light-headed perhaps, but 
			otherwise okay.” 
			 
			
			“That’s good news.  There’s no way I’m going to be able 
			to climb in this suit.  Here goes!” 
			 
			
			“Terry, what are you doing?” 
			 
			
			“Taking my suit off, of course.  I’ll never be able to 
			climb with it on.” 
			 
			
			“I think you will, Terry.  The gravity’s less than 
			Earth’s.” 
			 
			
			“Not that much less, I think you’ll find.  Mmm, aaahhh.  
			The air’s fine.  I’ll see you downstairs!” 
			 
			
			The others continued to chat while Wendy opened her pod door 
			and cautiously peered out.  Two feet away from her was a thin 
			branch, and she eyed it warily.  Would it support her weight?  
			After a moment’s hesitation, she reached out with one foot and tried 
			it.  It seemed sturdy enough.  She bent down, took hold of 
			the branch with both hands, and launched herself at it. 
			
			It held her weight, but she had misjudged her momentum and 
			her body fell around the branch until she was beneath it, hanging on 
			for dear life with her arms and legs wrapped around it. 
			
			“Are you okay, Wendy?” 
			 
			
			“I’m fine Dad,” she replied, and began to edge herself 
			towards the trunk.  When she reached it, she let go of the 
			branch with her legs and felt about with her feet for the branch 
			below.  She quickly found one, and once she had a firm footing 
			she let go with her hands and sat down astride it.  From then 
			on the going was fairly easy, with successively thicker branches 
			occurring at frequent intervals. 
			
			“Jeez, this terrain is going to be tough to cross.” 
			
			 
			
			“Why’s that, Paul?” 
			 
			
			“It’s wet as hell.  My pod’s already sunk a foot into 
			it – I’m going to have to get out before the door goes under.  
			I hope there’s some dry land around here or I’m going to sink too.”
			
			 
			
			“That doesn’t sound good!” 
			 
			
			“Okay, I’m on the floor,” 
			
			reported Stuart.  “I see what you 
			mean – it’s very boggy here.  I don’t seem to be sinking too 
			fast, though – I think the secret is to keep moving.” 
			
			 
			
			“Maybe in your spot,” 
			
			said Paul.  “But my feet seem well 
			and truly mired.  My pod’s disappearing fast, and I can’t get 
			myself free!  Damn it!” 
			 
			
			“Paul!  Try lying on your back and rolling!” 
			
			 
			
			“Ah fuck!  Something’s got my foot!  Hell, I’m 
			going down!” 
			 
			
			“Paul!” 
			 
			
			“Aagh, fuck fuck fuck!  Stuart, tell Carol I love her!”
			
			 
			
			“Shut up Paul, you can tell her yourself!” 
			 
			
			“No can do – I’m up to my neck.  Watch out for 
			creatures in the mud, guys!  Ackbrbrbff!” 
			 
			
			“Paul!” 
			 
			
			“Paul!” 
			 
			
			Wendy listened with horror as Paul failed to respond.  
			“Oh my God!” she cried into her mouthpiece.  “Is he dead?” 
			
			“Keep calm, sweetie.  We don’t know that.” 
			
			 
			
			“Like hell we don’t!  What the fuck got him?” 
			
			 
			
			“Pipe down, Brian.  What’s the ground like where you 
			are?” 
			 
			
			“I’m on some kind of rocky outcrop.  There’s mud all 
			around it.  I think I’ll stay here for a while.” 
			
			 
			
			“Good plan.  I think we should all try finding your 
			outcrop.  I certainly need to get off this mud, anyway.  
			Terry, how are you doing?” 
			 
			
			“I’ve reached the branch.  I’m just making my way 
			towards the trunk.  What’s the visibility like at ground 
			level?” 
			 
			
			“Not bad.  It’s misty, but not nearly as bad as it is 
			in the tree tops.  I can’t see an outcrop from here, though.  
			Brian, what can you see from there?” 
			 
			
			“Trees, mostly.  There’s another outcrop about a 
			hundred yards away, and beyond that, what could be some kind of 
			lake.  I can see something pale, anyway.  According to my 
			compass it’s to the north-west.” 
			 
			
			“Good, well that’s a start.  Wendy, can you see any 
			lakes or rocks?” 
			 
			
			“No.  I can see the ground now, though.  I’ll be 
			down in a couple of minutes, then I’ll let you know what I can see 
			from there.” 
			
			“Well, be careful not to step into any mud.  Stay on a 
			low branch if you have to, but try to get a good look around.”
			
			 
			
			Wendy continued to descend carefully, lowering herself from 
			branch to branch.  When she reached the lowest one, she was 
			still twenty feet above the ground.  Looking down, she saw that 
			it was practically liquid.  She sighed and looked around.  
			Then she frowned as she caught sight of something pale through the 
			trees.  The next tree in that direction, she noticed, was close 
			enough for her to reach one of its lower branches with a good leap.  
			This made her wonder if perhaps it might be possible to travel 
			through the forest without ever touching the ground. 
			
			“Dad,” she said, “I’m going to try jumping across to another 
			tree.  The ground below me is very soft mud and I think I would 
			just sink like a stone if I tried jumping down on to it.” 
			
			“Careful, sweetie.  It might be best just to wait on 
			your branch until we can get to you.” 
			 
			
			“But you don’t know where I am!  I think I can see 
			something pale through the trees – I’m going to try to get there.” 
			
			“Okay, but don’t take any chances.” 
			 
			
			“I won’t.  I think I’m going to take off my suit, 
			though – I don’t fancy leaping around in it – it’s just too clumsy 
			and I run a higher risk of falling if I leave it on.” 
			
			“I really wish you wouldn’t do that.  Stay where you 
			are – we’ll find you somehow.” 
			 
			
			“Stuart, she’s right,” 
			
			came Terry’s voice.  “I’ve been 
			without a suit for ten minutes now and I’m fine.” 
			
			 
			
			“Oh very well.  Don’t forget to unclip your radio 
			before you take your suit off, though.  You’ll need it.”
			
			 
			
			“I know, Dad, I’m not stupid.”  Wendy unzipped the left 
			arm of her suit, and there was a brief hiss as the pressures outside 
			and in equalised.  She pulled the arm off and dropped it, then 
			she reached up and unzipped the helmet.  Taking it off, she 
			unclipped the radio and placed it carefully on the branch beside her 
			before dropping the helmet down into the mud below.  It quickly 
			sank, though the arm she had dropped was still floating.  She 
			removed the right arm of her suit, then unzipped the front.  
			The next part was the trickiest.  She stood up on the branch, 
			then, leaning back against the trunk, strove to pull the suit down 
			and step out of it without falling off. 
			
			She removed her left leg from the suit and placed her foot 
			on the branch.  So far so good.  She then pulled the right 
			leg down as far as it would go, and stepped out of that.  She 
			let the suit fall down to the mud below, and there it stayed, 
			floating beside the two arms.  She sniffed the air.  Brian 
			had been right – it did smell funny, though she would have been 
			hard-pressed to describe in what way. 
			
			A loud whistle sounded close to her ear, and she jumped in 
			fright, almost overbalancing and falling off the branch.  But 
			she managed to catch hold of the trunk, then turned to see what had 
			made the noise. 
			
			It was a small creature, about the size of a blackbird, and 
			it was sitting on a branch near her head.  Its single, large 
			brown eye stared intently at her, while its long, tentacular toes 
			curled tightly around its perch.  Its body was long and lithe, 
			and a long slender tail hung down to six inches below the branch.  
			It whistled again, loudly, then extended large, bat-like wings and 
			flew off through the trees. 
			
			Wendy smiled despite herself.  As false alarms went, it 
			had been kind of cute.  She reached down to pick up her radio, 
			then gasped in shock.  It was not on the 
			branch!  In a panic, she looked down to 
			the forest floor below, and was relieved to see it had landed on her 
			still-floating suit.  She must have knocked it off the branch 
			when the strange animal had startled her. 
			
			But how was she to retrieve it?  It was twenty feet 
			below her, and she had no means of getting down except by jumping, 
			and then how would she get back up?  What if, like Paul, she 
			could not even get out of the mud?  Yet if she left it and 
			tried to continue through the forest without it, how would she 
			communicate with her father?  The thought of being lost, alone, 
			and with no means of contacting any other living person, was a 
			terrifying one.  But then, so was the thought of being sucked 
			down into the mud by some horrible creature.  What on Earth was 
			she to do? 
			
			In the end, her fear of being dragged under the mud won out.  
			After all, if she made it to Brian’s rocky outcrop, then she could 
			use his radio.  Her mind made up, she edged her way along the 
			branch, then leaped towards the next tree. 
			
			She landed squarely on a thick branch and crouched, putting 
			her hands down to steady herself.  Then she stood up, ran along 
			to the trunk, and hopped down on to another branch.  From this 
			one she could reach a long bough on the other side of the tree, 
			which pointed straight towards the pale object she had spied. 
			
			Several more minutes of running and jumping brought her 
			within sight of a small grey hill of rock.  Perhaps this was 
			Brian’s outcrop!  She made her way towards it, then stopped in 
			dismay as she realised the foot of the rock was out of jumping range 
			of the nearest branch.  She looked around for another way to 
			get there, but could see none. 
			
			“There’s nothing for it,” she said to herself.  “I’ll 
			have to try my luck in the mud.” 
			
			She walked along the branch as far as she could, then 
			lowered herself until she was hanging with her hands around the 
			branch, and her feet about six feet above the mud.  She swung 
			herself further along the branch until she got herself as close as 
			possible to the rock.  Then, gritting her teeth, she let go. 
			
			She landed with her knees bent, which was just as well, for 
			the mud was nearly solid.  She sank up to her ankles, but no 
			further, and she soon managed to free them.  After that it was 
			a simple matter to reach the rock.  Expecting at any moment to 
			be pulled down into the mud, she was greatly relieved to be on dry 
			land again.  She began to climb the rock, looking for Brian. 
			
			To her utter astonishment, she found him.  He was 
			sitting on the other side of the rock, with his radio sitting by his 
			side.  “Hey, Brian!” she called in delight. 
			
			“Wendy!”  He looked very surprised to see her.  
			“We all thought … well, that something had happened to you.” 
			
			“I dropped my radio in the mud,” she explained.  “Whew!  
			I was afraid I’d never find you!  I’m so relieved.”  She 
			sat down. 
			
			Brian had an odd expression on his face as he looked at her 
			thoughtfully. 
			
			She looked up at him.  “Would you please tell my father 
			I’m safe?” she said.  “I’m sure he’s worried.” 
			
			“He is, he is,” agreed Brian.  “But there’s no need to 
			call him just yet, is there?”  He took a step towards her. 
			
			“What do you mean?” she asked, a little alarmed.  
			“Please, call him at once.” 
			
			“Yes, yes, I’ve noticed that ordering people around comes 
			easily to you,” he said with a hollow chuckle.  “I think maybe 
			you need to learn some respect.” 
			
			“Don’t you touch me!” she warned, getting to her feet.  
			“My Dad will kick your arse.” 
			
			“He’ll have to find me first,” said Brian, and he leaped at 
			her. 
			
			Wendy shrieked in fright and anger as she fell over 
			backwards, landing with a thud on the hard rock.  The impact 
			took her breath away.  Brian reached up under her dress, 
			grabbed her panties, and yanked hard.  They tore, but not 
			completely, and he began to pull them down her legs. 
			
			“You fucking … bastard!” she yelled as she kicked and 
			punched at him.  One lucky blow caught him on the cheekbone, 
			and he reeled. 
			
			“Stop that you little bitch!” he hissed, and he punched her 
			in the side of the head. 
			
			Sparks exploded before her eyes and she fell back, stunned.  
			A second later she recovered herself enough to start struggling 
			again, but by this time he had her panties off.  She lashed out 
			at him, but he merely responded by punching her head again.  
			Her head spun and she felt dazed.  She barely noticed as he 
			pulled her legs apart. 
			
			Pulling his trousers down, followed by his underwear, he 
			spat on her pussy and rubbed his saliva around her vaginal opening.  
			Then he spat on his hand and began to lubricate his throbbing 
			erection.  Positioning it at the entrance to her cunt, he began 
			to push inwards.  This shocked Wendy back into wakefulness, and 
			she tried to push him away and force her legs closed.  But this 
			time he brutally thumped his fist into her stomach and the breath 
			caught in her throat.  She opened her mouth to yell, but she 
			had no wind for it.  Her belly screamed with pain and she 
			instinctively began to double up, but he roughly shoved her back 
			down on to the rock.  He ripped open the front of her dress, 
			tore her bra off with some effort, and then began to knead her 
			exposed breasts with his hands. 
			
			There was no more fight left in Wendy.  She merely lay 
			still on the rock, tears running down her cheeks, while Brian thrust 
			himself in and out of her vagina.  “Ohhhh … my … God,” he 
			murmured.  “This feels soooo good, Wendy.  You should 
			lighten up and try to enjoy it.  This is fantastic.” 
			
			But Wendy’s thoughts were numbed.  She tried to blank 
			out the awfulness of what was happening, to picture herself in 
			another place, at another, happier time.  She wished her father 
			would show up, suddenly, to rescue her and kill Brian. 
			
			And then it was over.  Brian pulled out, stood up, and 
			pulled up his underwear and trousers.  Zipping himself up, he 
			paused to admire her youthful body, now naked from the waist down 
			apart from her muddy gym shoes.  She looked wonderful, with his 
			cum leaking out of her still open cunt.  Except that her eyes 
			were blank and even the tears had stopped flowing. 
			
			But he could not afford to admire her for long, he knew 
			that.  He must cover up his crime.  Bending down, he 
			slipped his arms under Wendy’s prone form and lifted her up with a 
			small grunt of effort.  He then carried her down to the edge of 
			the rock, on the side where he knew the mud was softest. 
			
			Wendy came to with a start.  “What … what are you 
			doing?” she demanded.  She began to struggle. 
			
			“Too late!” said Brian, and he threw her into the mud. 
			
			“Bastard!” she shouted as she sailed through the air, then 
			she yelped as she landed bottom-first in the mud.  She sank 
			immediately up to her chest, although her knees and feet were still 
			above the surface.  The mud was smooth, and felt slimy against 
			her skin, caressing her bare thighs and her pussy through the thin 
			material of her panties.  If she had not been frightened for 
			her life it might have been an almost sensual experience. 
			
			“Have you ever wanted to commit a crime, but did not go 
			through with it because you feared the consequences?” asked Brian, 
			looking down at her with a half-smile. 
			
			“Brian, get me out of here!” cried Wendy in a panic, her 
			legs disappearing completely under the mud.  “I promise I won’t 
			tell my Dad what you did.  Please!” 
			
			“Brian, you’re a total psycho!  But listen, I swear, I 
			won’t tell him what happened.  Please!  I don’t want to 
			die like Paul!” 
			
			Brian sighed.  “I wish I could believe you,” he said.  
			“But once safely under your father’s wing, you would not hesitate to 
			tell him what I have done.  No, this way is much safer.” 
			
			Wendy felt herself slowly but surely sinking into the mud.  
			Every second she expected to feel something grab her, but so far 
			nothing had.  She tried to elevate herself, to lie flat on her 
			back like a person trapped in quicksand is supposed to do, but the 
			mud was so thick and sticky… 
			
			“Oh!  There goes my radio.  It’s probably your 
			Dad.  What shall I tell him, I wonder?” 
			
			“Oh yes, that’s right.  I’ll tell him I haven’t heard 
			from or seen you.  That’s it.  I had better take it to the 
			other side of the rock, though – I wouldn’t want him to hear you in 
			the background.” 
			
			Wendy paddled frantically against the mud, but still she 
			sank.  As Brian disappeared from view, she renewed her efforts 
			to get herself horizontal.  With every ounce of strength she 
			had, she forced her pelvis forward and arched her back, reaching 
			high above her head with her arms. 
			
			Little by little, she straightened.  Encouraged, she 
			continued to stretch herself, scissor-kicking with her legs in an 
			attempt to work them towards the surface.  With her arms she 
			began to pull herself backwards, developing a kind of jellyfish 
			stroke in order to propel herself through the mud.  To her 
			amazement, it worked.  Gradually, painfully gradually, she 
			began to move backwards through the mud, while her body 
			progressively edged itself towards the surface. 
			
			Turning her head as much as she dared, Wendy tried to get a 
			look at what lay behind her.  Something tall and metallic 
			loomed a few yards away, and she realised suddenly that it was 
			Brian’s pod.  If only she could reach it!  With renewed 
			determination, she continued to swim backwards, and in another 
			minute she found she was lying almost on the surface of the mud.  
			The last few yards were covered in seconds.  Reaching up, she 
			grabbed hold of a metal rung that protruded from the inside of the 
			pod’s open door.  Using it as a support, she planted her foot 
			against the rock, and managed to clamber up, dripping with mud, 
			inside the pod itself. 
			
			Here she hid, and watched through the doorway to see if 
			Brian would reappear.  For a few minutes, he did not, but then, 
			with a suddenness that made Wendy jump, he came over the brow of the 
			rock and walked down to where he had dropped her. 
			
			The mud had covered her tracks well, quickly settling until 
			all traces of her progress had vanished.  Satisfied, Brian 
			walked back up the rock and vanished from view.  Wendy breathed 
			deeply.  Then she looked around the inside of the pod. 
			
			Like all pods, it was equipped with the bare essentials for 
			short-term survival in an unfamiliar environment.  There was a 
			first-aid kit, a torch, and a small tool kit, which Wendy 
			immediately opened.  Inside she found a hammer, not very large 
			but solidly built, and she clutched it with a new resolve.  She 
			stepped up to the doorway, then jumped across to the rock, landing 
			as lightly and quietly as she could.  Her mud-soaked dress 
			clinging tightly to her body, she crept stealthily up the slope, 
			keeping the hammer behind her back.  As she reached the crest 
			of the outcrop, she spied Brian sitting with his back to her, 
			talking into the radio.  Silently, she took step after step 
			towards the man she now hated with all her heart. 
			
			When she was less than four feet away, she heard Brian say 
			“Over”, and then he put the radio down beside him.  She took 
			another step, then another. 
			
			“If you’re going to creep up on someone,” said Brian, “try 
			to do it in a place that’s not quite so silent as this one.”  
			Then he leapt up, turning to face her. 
			
			Her plan foiled, Wendy merely clenched her teeth and glared 
			at him. 
			
			“So, a survivor, eh?”  Brian chuckled.  “I’d 
			better dunk you myself, this time.”  He drew back his fist for 
			a mighty punch. 
			
			The hammer blow took him completely by surprise.  It 
			was a glancing blow (Wendy’s aim was not great) but it was followed 
			up almost immediately by a kick in the crotch.  He managed to 
			grab her leg, but Wendy struck him in the head once again with the 
			hammer.  This time the blow was good.  Blood flowed from 
			his forehead and he staggered backwards.  Wendy yanked her leg 
			free of his grasp. 
			
			“You fucking, fucking bastard!” she screamed at him, and she 
			rushed forward to hit him again. 
			
			Somehow he managed to avoid the flailing hammer this time, 
			and he caught hold of her arm just before he fell backwards, pulling 
			her with him.  Wendy shrieked as they both fell from the rock 
			and landed with a splat in the mud.  She wrenched her arm free 
			and then battered his head again with her hammer.  He was now, 
			she judged, in no state to give her any more trouble, so she turned 
			her attention to getting out of the mud.  She was currently 
			buried up to her knees, but with an effort she freed her legs and 
			rolled on to her back.  The rock here was too steep to climb, 
			so she began to slide herself around towards a better exit point.  
			As she progressed, she watched Brian’s head and arm finally 
			disappear beneath the mud. 
			
			Fortunately, she found a suitable exit just around the 
			corner.  It was a fallen tree whose bizarre, corkscrew-like 
			roots were sticking out every which way from its base near the foot 
			of the outcrop.  Wendy grabbed hold of one of these roots and 
			started to haul herself up. 
			
			Before she had pulled her ankle free of the mud, however, 
			she felt something coil itself around her lower calf.  She 
			looked down and saw with horror that it was a smooth, slimy, dark 
			green tentacle about as thick around as her wrist along most of its 
			length, but tapering to a point.  She kicked her foot wildly, 
			but the tentacle held firm.  It started to draw back, 
			attempting to pull her into the mud, and she kicked at it with her 
			other foot while grimly hanging on to the tree roots with both 
			hands. 
			
			Another tentacle emerged from the mud.  This one was 
			longer and thicker, though still the same dark green colour.  
			It slid up her muddy leg, winding around it like a snake climbing a 
			branch, until it reached her naked pussy.  Here it paused 
			before sliding along the groove between her labia, and thence 
			between her buttocks.  She had half expected it to begin 
			probing her lower orifices, and was greatly relieved when it 
			continued past her anus and up to the small of her back. 
			
			It now began to wrap itself around her waist, while other, 
			smaller tentacles began to snake their way up her legs.  Wendy 
			was by now quite frantic, and was beginning to lose hope of ever 
			freeing herself.  The combined effort of seven or eight 
			tentacles all trying to pull her downwards was putting an enormous 
			strain on her arms.  Yet still she hung on. 
			
			Then the tip of one of the questing tentacles found her 
			vaginal opening.  It slithered inside, and she shuddered and 
			tried to squeeze her thighs together.  But it did not do any 
			good.  She felt the disgusting thing probe obscenely deep 
			inside her and she considered letting go with one hand so that she 
			could try to pull it out.  She knew, however, that she would 
			never be able to hang on to the tree with only one hand. 
			
			Another slender tentacle discovered her anus, and proceeded 
			to slide inwards, lubricated by its own slime.  Wendy screamed 
			with the horror of what was happening to her, and she thrashed her 
			body from side to side in a vain attempt to dislodge the invaders of 
			her body. 
			
			“Wendy, is that you?” came a voice from above. 
			
			“Dad!” she cried in sudden hope. 
			
			But it was Terry who appeared from over the crest of the 
			outcrop.  “Stay there, I’m coming!”  He quickly began to 
			descend towards her.  “What the hell…?” 
			
			“Terry, I can’t hold on much longer.  Please get them 
			off me!” 
			
			“Right, um, will do.”  Terry started trying to pull the 
			tentacles off her, though it was tricky gripping them as they were 
			so slippery.  He could not help but notice the distracting 
			sight of one tentacle lodged in Wendy’s cunt and another still 
			sliding inexorably into her anus.  He also noticed that her 
			mud-soaked dress was gaping at the front, exposing one of her 
			breasts.  Under other circumstances, he would have simply sat 
			and enjoyed the view.  But he forced himself to ignore these 
			enticing sights and worked hard at removing the tentacles coiled 
			around her legs.  Every time he succeeded in dislodging one, 
			however, it would quickly grab hold of her somewhere else.  
			“Wendy,” he said at length, “I’m going to have to get a knife from 
			Brian’s pod.  Can you hold on that long?” 
			
			Wendy’s arms burned with pain.  She shut her eyes and 
			concentrated on hanging on for dear life.  “Yes, I think so.  
			But hurry!” 
			
			Terry ran to the pod and pulled a sharp filleting knife from 
			the tool kit.  The kit not only contained mechanical tools, but 
			also items necessary for personal survival.  These included 
			equipment useful for hunting for animals and preparing their meat.  
			He returned to the other side of the outcrop and found Wendy still 
			clinging desperately to the tree.  She looked at the end of her 
			tether.  As he descended towards her, her strength finally gave 
			out and she let go. 
			
			“Nooo!!”  Terry leaped right into the mud, landing just 
			beside his friend’s daughter.  Frantically he began hacking at 
			the tentacles, which fortunately he found quite easy to cut.  
			He managed to sever the main tentacle around her waist, then had to 
			reach down through the mud to get at those around her legs. 
			
			Wendy, buried almost waist deep, suddenly felt the downward 
			pull lessen greatly.  She launched herself at the tree roots 
			and just managed to grab one.  Her arms felt like jelly.  
			As the final tentacle restraining her was cut, she found herself 
			free, and with a great effort she pulled herself out of the mud, 
			climbing up on to the outcrop before collapsing in a weary heap. 
			
			Terry, meanwhile, was in trouble.  Already more than 
			waist deep in the mud, he could feel tentacles around his ankles, 
			pulling him down.  He could not lift his ankles up in order to 
			reach them – he would only be pulling himself downwards, such were 
			the tentacles’ strength.  He knew he would have to duck under 
			the surface, alarming as the prospect was. 
			
			“Terry!” cried Wendy, as she saw his head disappear.  
			His back remained above the surface for a moment, then sank.  
			She jumped to her feet. 
			
			“It’s all right!” he said, his muddy head breaking the 
			surface again.  “Got them.  Oh hell!”  He disappeared 
			again. 
			
			Wendy watched in mounting fear.  Seconds went by, then 
			minutes.  Terry did not reappear.  Wendy put her head in 
			her hands and wept. 
			
			A distant, crackling voice brought her back to her senses.  
			She suddenly remembered Brian’s radio, which was sitting on the rock 
			a few feet away.  She hurried to pick it up. 
			
			“Dad!” she said. 
			
			“Wendy, is that you?” 
			
			“Yes, yes, of course it’s me!  Dad, thank God you’re 
			okay!” 
			
			“Wendy!  I’d almost given up hope!  Where are 
			you?” 
			 
			
			“I’m on Brian’s rock.  But Dad, I’m afraid Brian’s 
			dead.  Terry too.” 
			
			“Both dead?  Oh heavens, this is a tragic day.  
			What happened?” 
			 
			
			“The mud got them both.  Oh, but Dad, Terry gave his 
			life to save me!  I feel awful!” 
			
			“He did?  Oh sweetie, I can’t imagine what you must 
			have been through.  Are you okay?” 
			 
			
			“I’m fine Dad.  Really exhausted, but fine.  Where 
			are you?” 
			
			“Oh, I’m swinging through the trees, Tarzan-style.  I 
			figured I had to get off the muddy ground as quickly as possible.  
			I haven’t seen any rocky outcrops such as the one Brian described, 
			but I’m working my way outwards from my landing site in an expanding 
			spiral.” 
			 
			
			Wendy was puzzled.  “You’re swinging?  How?  
			There aren’t any lianas in this forest, at least not that I’ve 
			seen.” 
			
			“No, but each pod has a toolbox, which contains a length of 
			rope and a grappling hook with retractable hooks.  Very useful.  
			Ouch!” 
			 
			
			“Cool!  I didn’t know that.  What was ‘ouch’?” 
			
			“Damn bug, or something.  I just put my hand down on a 
			branch to steady myself, and I almost squashed this little 
			insect-type thing.  I got bitten for my pains.” 
			
			 
			
			“Oh dear!  Are you all right?” 
			
			“Yeah, fine.  It was no worse than a wasp sting.”
			
			 
			
			“Poor Dad.  Well, I’ll just stay here until you find 
			me, okay?” 
			
			“You do that.” 
			 
			
			It suddenly occurred to Wendy that she was sitting on 
			something, and she realised that there was an eighteen-inch length 
			of tentacle still protruding from her bottom, having been cut by 
			Terry’s knife.  She stood up, then began to pull on it.  
			It slid quite easily, still coated in greenish slime, and she pulled 
			more and more of it out of her anus.  As it continued to 
			emerge, she began to wonder just how far into her body it had 
			explored.  Inches turned into feet, and feet into yards.  
			When finally the tapered end popped out with a little wet sound, she 
			estimated the tentacle’s total length at around eleven feet. 
			
			“What the heck was it trying to do?” she wondered aloud. 
			
			She threw the tentacle back out into the mud, then returned 
			to the spot where Brian had raped her.  Tears sprang to her 
			eyes, but she forced thoughts of that awful experience out of her 
			head.  Lying on the rock were her ripped panties, and she 
			stepped into them and pulled them up. 
			
			Unfortunately they did not stay up.  The elastic was 
			torn, and no longer held the panties in place.  Regretfully, 
			Wendy took them off and threw them away.  Her bra, hanging 
			pathetically off one shoulder, was also ruined, and she discarded 
			it, too.  Now dressed only in her torn minidress and gym shoes, 
			she felt practically naked, but she consoled herself with the 
			thought that her father would be here soon to rescue her. 
			
			“Wendy?” 
			 
			
			Wendy ran to pick up the radio.  “Yes Dad?” 
			
			“I’ve spotted a large rock kind of thing.  I’m making 
			for it now.  Could you stand on top of your rock and wave?  
			If it’s your rock I’m looking at, I’ll be able to see you from 
			here.” 
			 
			
			Excited, Wendy ran to the top of the rock and waved 
			frantically.  She had no idea which direction he would be 
			coming from, so she waved in all directions.  “Can you see me 
			Dad?” she asked. 
			
			“No, I’m afraid not.  Can you see any other rocks from 
			where you are?” 
			 
			
			Wendy looked around.  “I can see another rock, a 
			hundred yards or so away.  Beyond it there’s a lake, I think.” 
			
			“Maybe that’s the one I’m heading for.  I can’t see a 
			lake, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one – I can’t see much of 
			anything from here.  I’ll be there in a few minutes, though.”
			
			 
			
			Wendy waited in eager anticipation, hardly daring to blink 
			as she watched the rock by the lake. 
			
			“Okay, I’m here.  Can you see me?” 
			 
			
			Wendy’s heart sank.  “No Dad, I can’t.  Is there a 
			lake beside your rock?” 
			
			“There is, as it happens.  But looking round the lake, 
			I can see many similar outcrops along the shoreline.  Any one 
			of them could be the one you can see.” 
			 
			
			“Well Dad, it makes sense then for you to stay where you 
			are.  I’ll have to try to get to the one I’m looking at, then 
			you should be able to see me.” 
			
			“Sound reasoning, except that I don’t want you to have to 
			leave your rock.  Can you do so without sinking in the mud?”
			
			 
			
			Wendy surveyed the surrounding terrain.  “There’s a 
			great big fallen tree that leads away from this rock,” she reported.  
			“It doesn’t exactly lead towards the other rock, but the ground at 
			the far end looks a lot firmer than round here.  It’s worth a 
			try, anyway.”  She ran down to the tree and jumped on to the 
			trunk.  Her naked breasts bounced hard as she landed, and she 
			winced.  Holding one arm across her chest by way of support, 
			she trotted along the trunk to the far end, dodging the numerous 
			branches that occurred ever more frequently as she approached the 
			top. 
			
			At the far end she climbed down carefully to ground level, 
			and stepped cautiously on to the mud.  Her foot began to sink, 
			but not too quickly.  ‘If I walk quickly,’ she thought to 
			herself, ‘I won’t sink very much at all.’ 
			
			Fixing her gaze on the nearby outcrop, she began to swiftly 
			walk across the mud towards it.  Sometimes her feet hardly sank 
			at all, while at other times one foot would sink six inches or so 
			before she got around to lifting it up for the next step.  When 
			she was less than ten yards away from the outcrop, the mud began to 
			get really sticky.  Her right foot sank almost up to her knee 
			before she succeeded in freeing her left foot, which had been almost 
			as deeply mired.  Visions of the green tentacles flashed 
			through her mind, and she redoubled her efforts to free her feet. 
			
			Her right foot came free with a great sucking noise, but her 
			gym shoe was not on it.  Appalled, she looked down into the 
			hole her leg had left.  As the mud began to close in to fill 
			it, she reached down into the hole and grabbed what she could see of 
			her shoe.  It was stuck fast.  She tried to wiggle it 
			backwards and forwards, then realised she was wasting precious time.  
			Her left leg had now sunk even deeper than her right had, and she 
			abandoned her attempt to rescue her shoe.  She now found she 
			had to lie down on the mud and alternately bend and straighten her 
			leg in order to pry it loose.  When it finally popped free it, 
			too, had lost its shoe. 
			
			Giving up on the idea of walking the rest of the way to the 
			rock, Wendy slithered along the mud on her stomach, using her arms 
			and legs as a marine turtle uses its flippers when it journeys up a 
			sandy beach to lay its eggs.  In this manner she arrived at the 
			rock without getting stuck again, and with a sigh of relief she 
			hauled herself off the mud. 
			
			“I made it, Dad,” she said, and she quickly climbed up to 
			the top of the rock.  “Can you see me?” 
			
			“Yes, yes I can!  Look to your left!” 
			 
			
			Wendy looked left along the edge of the long lake that lay 
			before her, and cried out in happiness when she saw her father 
			standing on the top of the next outcrop, a hundred and fifty yards 
			away.  She waved at him. 
			
			“Wonderful!  Now that we’ve found each other, we need 
			to tackle the next problem, which is how to find the ship.  
			Since it lies roughly to the west, it makes more sense for you to 
			come to me than vice versa.” 
			 
			
			“Okay Dad.  But … how do you suggest I get to you?  
			By the lake or across the mud?” 
			
			“I’m not sure.  Who knows what the lake might contain?  
			It might be a safer option, but we don’t know for sure.  I 
			would suggest rolling across the mud.  If you roll, you’ll 
			hardly sink at all, and hopefully whatever is in the mud won’t 
			notice you.” 
			 
			
			“That’s a good idea – I hadn’t thought of rolling.  
			Okay Dad, wish me luck!” 
			
			“Good luck!” 
			 
			
			Wendy took a deep breath, then walked down the rock and lay 
			down carefully on the edge of the mud flat.  Tucking her arms 
			in, she began to roll herself towards the rock on which her father 
			stood, or rather sat, for he had just sat down. 
			
			As she progressed, the mud grew wetter, and she began to 
			fear sinking despite her cunning means of locomotion.  However, 
			after a while it began to get drier, and her fears abated.  She 
			was thoroughly dizzy by the time she reached her father’s outcrop.  
			She lost no time in getting off the mud, though.  Her father 
			smiled down at her. 
			
			“Thank heavens you’re safe,” he said.  “But, my 
			goodness!  What happened to your clothes?” 
			
			“Never mind my clothes,” said Wendy, looking at her father 
			closely.  “What’s the matter with your face?” 
			
			“It’s nothing,” said her father dismissively.  “But 
			tell me what happened to you.” 
			
			“Brian raped me,” Wendy said simply.  She had intended 
			to sound cavalier, but even as she spoke the words, the memory 
			filled her mind and her face began to crumple. 
			
			“He did what??” 
			
			“It’s okay Dad,” she said, sniffing and wiping away a tear.  
			“But Dad, you look terrible.  Let me see your hand.” 
			
			“I’m fine,” mumbled Stuart.  “Come on, we need to get 
			going.” 
			
			But Wendy grabbed his hand and forced it open.  She 
			gasped in horror at what she saw.  In the middle of his palm a 
			large red lump as big around as a golf ball was pulsating in time to 
			his heartbeat.  The rest of his flesh was grey and blotchy, 
			even his face, which is what Wendy had first noticed. 
			
			“The sooner we get moving, the better,” said Stuart.  
			“I have no idea what kind of poison that bug had, but I would really 
			like to get to the ship as soon as possible.”  He shivered. 
			
			“Yes, yes of course.”  Wendy nodded.  “Are you 
			cold?” 
			
			“Yeah, there’s a bit of a chill in the air, isn’t there?” 
			
			Wendy frowned.  “No Dad, it’s really hot and humid.  
			This is not a good sign.  Come on – which direction are we 
			going?” 
			
			“That way.”  Stuart pointed.  “Look – we can climb 
			into the trees just on the other side of the rock.” 
			
			Together they ascended into the lower boughs of the nearest 
			tree, and began to make their way along towards the trunk.  
			Wendy, with her bare feet, was very careful to keep an eye out for 
			bugs, not wishing to accidentally stand on one. 
			
			Stuart stopped, breathing heavily.  “Wendy,” he said, 
			“I don’t feel too well.  I don’t think I’m going to be able to 
			keep this up.” 
			
			“Don’t be silly!” exclaimed Wendy, frightened.  “Of 
			course you must carry on!  I can’t leave you here!” 
			
			“That’s exactly what you must do,” said Stuart.  He 
			wrapped his arms around himself, shivering uncontrollably.  
			“This lake will be easy to spot from the air.  I’ll go back to 
			that rock – you’ll be able to find me easily enough.  I figure 
			Tahir and his crew will have the ship able to fly, at least as far 
			as here, within twenty-four hours, so I’ll expect you back fairly 
			soon, all right?  Here, take my compass.  Just head on a 
			bearing of two-hundred and seventy-six degrees and you should run 
			into them sooner or later.  Keep trying the radio – even if you 
			miss them you’ll pass pretty close to them, I’m sure.  I’m 
			sorry, sweetie – I didn’t intend to find you only to abandon you 
			immediately…” 
			
			Wendy hugged him as tears ran down her cheeks.  “Dad, I 
			don’t want to leave you!” she wailed. 
			
			“You must,” he said gently.  “Really, you must.” 
			
			“I know, I know.”  She sighed and wiped her eyes.  
			“Oh but Dad, what if I can’t find the ship?” 
			
			“You’ll find it.  But listen, it shouldn’t be more than 
			twenty miles away, so if you think you’ve gone further than that, 
			turn back.  Head back here on a bearing of ninety-six degrees, 
			and you’ll come back here.  With luck, I’ll have beaten the 
			poison and will be more able to come with you.” 
			
			Wendy nodded, sniffling slightly.  “Okay Dad, I’ll go.  
			I love you!” 
			
			“I love you too, sweetie.  Um, listen, take my jacket – 
			your dress isn’t doing a very good job of covering you up.” 
			
			“I know,” she agreed ruefully.  “But don’t be silly, 
			Dad – look at you!  You’re shivering as if you were sitting on 
			an iceberg – you really think I would take your jacket away from 
			you?  Anyway, I’d better go.  I’ll be back with the others 
			as soon as possible, okay?” 
			
			“Okay sweetie.  Good luck.” 
			
			“Thanks.  Bye Dad.” 
			
			She turned and hurried along the branch. 
			
			  
			 
			
			An hour later, she reached a point where the forest had 
			opened out so much she could no longer leap to another tree.  
			Looking at her compass, she realised that she would now have to 
			descend to the forest floor in order to stick to the bearing her 
			father had given her.  She looked down uneasily.  The 
			ground had changed somewhat in the last hour.  Whereas before 
			it had been exclusively a thick, wet, greyish-brown mud, it now 
			appeared to consist of a carpet of soft, low-growing plants which 
			were buried under a thin layer of water.  In some places the 
			water’s depth was over a foot, but mostly it was of the order of an 
			inch or so – just enough to keep the plants constantly wet.  At 
			any rate, it was hard to imagine tentacled monsters living under the 
			surface, and she did not think she would sink far into the ground 
			here, if at all. 
			
			Jumping down on to the forest floor, she soon found she was 
			wrong – she sank immediately up to her ankles.  But no further, 
			so she uprooted herself and continued in the direction her father 
			had told her.  It occurred to her that the light was fading 
			fast – somewhere beyond the perpetual cloud cover, the sun was 
			setting or perhaps had already set.  Wendy plodded on, 
			splashing through the water, until it became too dark for her to see 
			the compass properly.  She stopped. 
			
			The trees in this part of the forest were not nearly so easy 
			to climb.  Their trunks were smooth, and their branches started 
			about twenty feet above the ground.  Wendy could not see any in 
			the vicinity which she would be able to climb.  So, much as she 
			disliked the idea, she sat down in the two inches-deep water, placed 
			the compass and radio on her lap, and leaned back against a tree, 
			hoping to get some sleep. 
			
			  
			 
			
			She awoke with a start.  It was light.  She was 
			lying on her back, and her left ear was submerged while her right 
			was still above the surface of the water.  There was something 
			on her face, moving…  She reached up with her hand and grabbed 
			at something on her cheek.  Pulling it off, she stared at it 
			and cried out in alarm.  It was yellow, slimy and resembled a 
			large, flattened leech.  She threw it away, then realised that 
			there was something else moving on her, and it was weighing her 
			down… 
			
			She sat bolt upright and looked down with horror at her 
			front.  Her dress had fallen wide open, and her naked torso was 
			covered in the same disgusting yellow leech-like creatures.  
			Not an inch of flesh was visible, so many were there.  She 
			began pulling them off in handfuls, throwing them to one side.  
			When she had removed the last one, she noticed that her skin was 
			covered in little red marks.  With a shudder she realised that 
			they must have been drinking her blood.  She started to get to 
			her feet. 
			
			It was then that she felt something stir within her vagina.  
			A rush of nausea accompanied the realisation that one or more of the 
			creatures must have entered her while she slept.  She reached 
			down and stuck two fingers inside, feeling around for the horrible 
			thing.  She found two, which she managed to remove without too 
			much difficulty.  Her fingers could not find any more, but when 
			she stood up straight and began to walk, she could feel that there 
			were more inside her.  A second exploration with her fingers 
			still found nothing.  In desperation she tried to force more of 
			her hand into her vagina, stretching herself to capacity, but she 
			found it was not easy to get the requisite angle. 
			
			She lay down on her back and drew her knees up as high as 
			they would go, until they were positioned either side of her 
			shoulders.  Then, gritting her teeth against the pain, she 
			began to work her hand little by little into her cunt.  She had 
			never been stretched this much before, and she whimpered in pain as 
			her flesh began to tear.  But her desperation to get rid of the 
			parasites was greater than her fear of pain, so she continued to 
			push her hand deeper, lubricated by the slime which the creatures 
			had generated on their way in. 
			
			The last set of knuckles disappeared inside her, followed 
			shortly afterwards by the rest of her hand.  When finally she 
			was buried up to the wrist, she let out a deep breath which she just 
			realised she had been holding for the last minute or so.  
			Reaching around with her fingers, she discovered one, two, three 
			more of the creatures, which she gathered together in the palm of 
			her hand and extracted with a little yelp of pain. 
			
			Exhausted, she lay still for a moment, before suddenly 
			remembering her poor sick father.  With dismay she saw that her 
			radio and compass were lying on the forest floor under an inch of 
			water.  She picked up the radio and pressed the button.  
			“Hello, Dad?” she said. 
			
			There was no response.  Her heart sank.  ‘He could 
			just be asleep,’ she told herself. 
			
			The compass was still in perfect working order, and she 
			began to jog through the forest, heading straight as an arrow along 
			the bearing two-hundred and seventy-six degrees, holding one arm 
			under her breasts so that they did not bounce uncomfortably. 
			
			Half an hour later she slowed to a walk.  She really 
			was not as fit as she ought to be, she reflected.  The scenery 
			was unchanged here, except that the water was in general a little 
			deeper.  In places it reached her thighs, but usually it was 
			only a few inches in depth.  She continued on. 
			
			A splashing sound behind her made her turn in sudden hope.  
			Could it be…? 
			
			But her heart sank as she saw it was not her father.  
			Instead it was a creature the size of a very large dog, with a long, 
			lithe, dark green body and a short head that bore powerful jaws set 
			with an array of small, sharp teeth.  Its legs were long and 
			had pad-like feet.  It was staring at her intently.  Wendy 
			began to back away. 
			
			With a spring it leaped towards her.  Wendy screamed 
			and turned, then promptly tripped over a root and fell flat on her 
			face.  The creature was upon her in a moment, its jaws closing 
			on the side of her dress just above her waist.  The expected 
			bite into her flesh never came.  Instead, the animal began to 
			shake its head from side to side, perhaps attempting to rip off what 
			it had bitten.  Startled, Wendy did not waste the opportunity.  
			She slipped out of her dress then took off, now completely naked, 
			through the forest, leaving the creature to pick over the garment at 
			its leisure.  When she looked back, however, she saw it drop 
			the dress in disgust and set off after her.  Wendy increased 
			her pace, fear driving her on, while the splashing sounds behind her 
			told her that her attacker was following closely. 
			
			But not gaining.  In fact, when Wendy dared to look 
			back again, she saw that she had actually gained some ground on the 
			creature.  Obviously its usual prey was slow-moving, and it had 
			not evolved great speed.  But with dogged determination it was 
			still following, and five minutes later, when it was almost lost in 
			the distance, Wendy could see it was still loping steadily after 
			her. 
			
			She was desperate to find a tree she could climb.  But, 
			looking around, she saw that all the trees in this part of the 
			forest had tall, straight trunks whose lowest branches were some 
			fifty feet above the ground.  Her heart was pounding and her 
			legs were complaining with the unaccustomed effort.  What was 
			she to do?  If she did not find somewhere to hide soon, she 
			would have to stop in order to rest, and then the creature would 
			soon catch up with her. 
			
			Ahead of her, something dark began to come into view through 
			gaps between the tree trunks.  With no idea what it was, Wendy 
			continued along her bearing, checking her compass regularly to make 
			sure she was not deviating from her course.  But it soon became 
			apparent that she would have to make some kind of decision, for the 
			dark object turned out to be a long cliff face, made of a dark rock 
			that was smooth in texture.  The cliff was more than fifty feet 
			high and looked impossible to climb, which left her with two 
			options.  The first was to attempt to go around it, which might 
			take her any number of miles out of her way.  The second was to 
			try one of the many caves whose mouths gaped blackly at regular 
			intervals along the base of the cliff. 
			
			Wendy did not like the look of the caves – they looked 
			terribly forbidding, and she had no light.  It was just 
			possible that they might lead right through the cliff to the other 
			side, but for all she knew they might be the dens of creatures like 
			the one that was currently pursuing her.  She reached the cliff 
			having still not come to a decision.  She turned and looked to 
			the left.  The cliff looked like it extended forever in that 
			direction.  She turned the other way and saw a similar sight to 
			the right. 
			
			While she contemplated her choices, the sound of splashing 
			drew nearer, and she turned to see how far away the creature was.  
			To her dismay she saw that it had picked up some companions.  
			Two other animals of the same species, but both even larger than the 
			first, were now bearing down on her.  She hesitated for only a 
			moment before turning and fleeing into the nearest dark cave.  
			Behind her, the creatures stopped in their tracks, unwilling to 
			follow their quarry any further. 
			
			Wendy was not aware that they had stopped following her, and 
			she resolved to get as far into the cave as possible.  Perhaps 
			in here she would find a rock or something else that she could use 
			as a weapon.  But although the walls of the cave were rocky, 
			the floor was as wet and squishy as the ground outside.  She 
			continued on, certain that the cave would be drier a little further 
			in. 
			
			But it remained wet and squishy.  And when she paused 
			in the darkness and put her hand against the wall, she discovered 
			that it, too, was soft, yielding, and slimy to the touch.  She 
			withdrew her hand in disgust.  For several minutes she 
			continued to walk, though slowly and cautiously, penetrating ever 
			deeper into the cave.  Then she found herself walking smack 
			into a squishy wall, and some swift tactile investigation told her 
			she had come to a corner.  She turned left and continued, 
			slowly at first and then more quickly as she spotted a dim light 
			emanating from up ahead. 
			
			‘The far side of the cliff!’ she thought to herself as she 
			quickened her pace.  Hurrying forward, she broke into a jog as 
			she became ever more anxious to get out of this bizarre cave.  
			The end of the tunnel approached rapidly, and she finally burst out 
			into the bright light beyond, blinking as her eyes adjusted. 
			
			But it was not daylight, and she had not come out of the 
			tunnel.  Instead it had widened into a huge cavern, in which 
			floating globes the size of beach balls gave off a strong, 
			yellowish-white light.  But these were not what caught Wendy’s 
			eye first.  As her gaze travelled around the walls of the 
			cavern, and across its vast floor, she suddenly realised with horror 
			what she had been walking on since she entered the cave. 
			
			The floor and walls were pinkish-red in colour, and were 
			quivering and pulsating with a life of their own.  Rows upon 
			rows of tentacles lined the walls, floor and ceiling of the cavern, 
			and great bloated mounds of flesh residing on the floor heaved and 
			shuddered in response to unknown stimuli.  Wendy had, in fact, 
			entered the internal organs of a giant organism that lived in this 
			hill – perhaps was the 
			hill.  In sudden fear she turned to flee. 
			
			But the organism was apparently aware of her presence.  
			Dark pink tentacles shot out of the floor and coiled themselves 
			tightly around her ankles.  Already starting to run, Wendy’s 
			momentum caused her to fall, and she found herself being dragged 
			backwards on her stomach along the wet, slimy floor.  The 
			compass and radio, knocked from her hands, were left behind on the 
			floor of the cavern.  She screamed in terror and tried to kick 
			her legs free, but it was hopeless.  She was passed from one pair of 
			tentacles to the next, each positioned a little further into the 
			cavern, until finally she reached the middle.  Here she was 
			hauled to her feet and pulled backwards against one of the huge 
			blubbery mounds of flesh.  She yelped as more tentacles emerged 
			from here and wrapped themselves around her arms and legs, pinning 
			her in position.  She tried to struggle, but could not move an 
			inch.  Several tentacles that were absolutely dripping with 
			slime now proceeded to rub themselves over every inch of her naked 
			body.  This had the effect of dissolving and removing every 
			last vestige of mud that she had acquired the day before – whether 
			this was the organism’s intention or not, she had no idea.  The 
			result, however, was that she ended up coated in a thin layer of 
			slime, which she found disgusting in the extreme. 
			
			Two tentacles with rounded pads on the ends emerged either 
			side of her head, and the pads fastened themselves to her temples.  
			She shook her head from side to side, but could not dislodge them.  
			Worn out, she slumped in defeat, resigned to whatever was going to 
			happen to her.  She wondered what the pads were for, and 
			whether the organism was somehow tapping into her brain. 
			
			A new, very long tentacle began to emerge from a nearby 
			mound, and she watched in horror as it snaked its way across the 
			floor towards her.  It reached her feet, then slid up the 
			inside of her leg towards her bottom.  She felt its tip probing 
			at the entrance to her anus, then felt her sphincter expand as it 
			forced its way in.  Lubricated by slime all the way along its 
			length, it slid inexorably deeper and deeper into her bowels.  
			It seemed to last forever, and she wondered just how deep it was 
			going, and how long the tentacle was.  Her abdomen felt full, 
			and she was overcome with a desire to defecate, which of course she 
			could not satisfy.  However, she suddenly felt her anus forced 
			open even wider for a moment, then noticed a bulge in the tentacle 
			that travelled down away from her bottom and across the floor. 
			
			This was puzzling – was the tentacle hollow?  And had 
			it just extracted her faeces?  She watched as the bulge 
			disappeared into the other mound.  A few minutes later, 
			another, larger bulge appeared at the far end of the tentacle, and 
			this one began to make its way towards her.  She braced herself 
			as the bulge climbed up towards her anus, and winced as she was 
			forced wider open than she would have thought possible.  She 
			imagined the bulge being pushed all the way up her rectum, through 
			the many convolutions of her small intestine, and on… 
			
			A few minutes later, her stomach suddenly felt full.  
			The nagging hunger that had been in the back of her mind since she 
			awoke was now strangely satisfied.  Had the organism just fed 
			her?  If so, with what?  How would the creature know what 
			nutrients she needed?  Did it find out through the pads on her 
			temples? 
			
			The feeding tentacle, if that was what it was, now began 
			slowly to withdraw from Wendy’s intestines.  She felt it slide 
			through her anus like some kind of never-ending poo, except that, 
			five minutes or so later, it did end, and her anus closed up once 
			more. 
			
			But the deep probings were not over.  Another tentacle, 
			this one very slender indeed, came out of the flesh mound behind her 
			and slid its tip between her legs.  Wendy tried to clamp her 
			thighs together, but they were being held slightly apart and she 
			could not prevent this new tentacle from sliding smoothly into her 
			vagina.  It buried itself deep, and she could feel it probing 
			further and further into the recesses of her cunt.  Then it 
			reached her cervix, paused, and forced its way through.  Wendy 
			gasped in pain. 
			
			For more than half an hour this new tentacle explored the 
			interior of her womb.  Wendy tried at first to blot it out, to 
			ignore what was happening, but as time wore on she began to wonder 
			if the ordeal would ever end.  At length, however, the tentacle 
			slithered out of her body and retreated into the mound. 
			
			Hours passed, with nothing further happening.  Wendy 
			dozed for a while, then woke suddenly as her vagina was invaded 
			again.  This time there were several thin tentacles worming 
			their way into her, and they were strangely shaped, judging by the 
			feel of them.  Wendy winced as something moved sharply inside 
			her, then gasped as she felt her internal organs being manipulated.  
			What the tentacles were doing she had no clue, but it felt as if her 
			insides were being pulled, pushed, turned around, squashed and 
			stretched all at the same time.  It was a hideous and very 
			uncomfortable experience (if not actually very painful), and she 
			burst into tears and began to scream. 
			
			For five solid minutes she screamed without let-up.  
			But the tentacles ignored her and she eventually gave up.  
			Nobody would hear her anyway.  She wondered how her father was, 
			and whether he was still alive, and if the ship had been repaired 
			yet.  Thinking on these things was worrying, but at least it 
			helped to take her mind of the unpleasantness happening inside her 
			body. 
			
			A bulge moved up one of the tentacles and entered her cunt, 
			stretching her briefly to the point of pain.  She wondered what 
			it was that they had injected into her.  Shortly afterwards, 
			another bulge followed.  What were they doing in there? 
			
			The ordeal lasted for well over five hours, during which 
			time Wendy tried everything she could think of to stop it.  She 
			thrashed about in her bonds, which was completely ineffectual since 
			she could move only a few millimetres in any direction.  She 
			shouted at the top of her voice until she was hoarse, but the 
			organism either could not sense sound or it simply did not care.  
			She urinated, a couple of times, but the liquid merely became 
			absorbed into the slime and moisture that covered the floor.  
			More than that she could not do, pinioned as she was. 
			
			Finally, the tentacles withdrew from her cunt, and a small 
			trickle of blood ran down the inside of her thigh.  She looked 
			at it, worried.  What on Earth had they done to her?  Her 
			abdomen seemed a little bloated now, but she did not feel unwell. 
			
			Another hour passed.  She was just dozing off when a 
			squelching noise sounded somewhere off to her right.  She 
			turned her head in that direction and looked to see what was making 
			the noise.  From around the corner of the next mound came a 
			heaving mass of flesh and tentacles, moving slowly across the floor.  
			Wendy could not tell whether it was part of the Organism (as she 
			called it in her mind) or not, but at times some of its tentacles 
			seemed to extend into the floor.  It gradually approached her, 
			and she was somewhat surprised to see a large oblate eye peering at 
			her from the end of a short flexible stalk.  Its gaze travelled 
			up and down her body as it shuffled closer, then retreated into the 
			fleshy mass when finally it came to a halt some six feet away from 
			her. 
			
			As she watched with a mixture of curiosity and disgust, the 
			flesh began to peel back in one place, revealing a glistening 
			transparent globular sac that quivered and writhed as if possessed 
			of a life of its own (which, for all Wendy knew, it had).  More 
			and more of the sac was revealed, until Wendy could plainly make out 
			its contents – a vast number of small, egg-like capsules, each 
			perfectly transparent, and each containing a tiny, wriggling, 
			tentacular creature.  She shuddered in horror. 
			
			The large sac, apparently made of flimsy material, broke 
			open, spilling its contents over the floor.  Instantly several 
			short, stubby tentacles arose and began gathering the eggs together 
			in one place, forming a little pile near to Wendy’s feet.  A 
			new structure now emerged from the floor – a great fleshy column 
			that engulfed the eggs and swallowed them up as it rose to a height 
			of three feet or more.  Encased in pink flesh, the eggs were 
			now invisible to Wendy, but she could see where they were, for the 
			column bulged slightly in one place, and the lump rippled with 
			movement generated within. 
			
			A tentacle began to snake towards Wendy, originating from 
			just above the lump.  It was thicker than most of the others 
			had been – possibly as thick as her wrist, although it tapered 
			towards its tip.  It made directly for her pussy, slipped in 
			between her labia, and began to slide into her much-abused vagina.  
			Wendy gritted her teeth and tried to clamp herself shut, as she 
			always did, but it made no difference, and she felt the vile 
			tentacle probe all the way to her cervix, and then beyond, into her 
			womb. 
			
			A small, oval bulge appeared at the base of the tentacle, 
			and began to move slowly up the tentacle towards Wendy.  
			Utterly helpless, she watched as it drew inexorably closer to her 
			cunt, then disappeared inside, stretching her to the limit.  
			Another bulge appeared, and followed suit.  Then another.  
			She could feel each one move deep into her body and become implanted 
			in her womb.  She began to cry, hating what was happening to 
			her.  She wanted to die. 
			
			Bulge followed bulge, and as each made the journey from 
			pillar to womb, Wendy fancied the lump in the pillar was growing 
			gradually smaller.  Her belly, on the other hand, was growing 
			noticeably larger.  She knew exactly what was happening – the 
			horrible see-through eggs were being implanted into her womb – but 
			she was powerless to do anything about it. 
			
			The process took the best part of an hour.  Wendy 
			attempted to sleep through it, but each time one of the eggs entered 
			her, the pain shocked her back into wakefulness.  When finally 
			the eggs stopped coming and the tentacle withdrew, Wendy’s abdomen 
			looked heavily pregnant.  Tears welled up in her eyes whenever 
			she looked down at her belly, so she eventually stopped looking. 
			
			An hour later her anus was invaded by the feeding tentacle.  
			Wendy was by now quite hungry, so she almost welcomed the prospect 
			of food, though she wished they would find an alternative means of 
			giving it to her.  “I have a mouth, you know!” she shouted.  
			“That’s how I eat, not through my arse!”  But of course there 
			was no response. 
			
			After she had been fed, and the tentacle had been withdrawn, 
			Wendy fell asleep, and slept for several hours.  She was awoken 
			by the feeding tentacle, which plunged unceremoniously into her anus 
			and got several feet of its length inside her before she had even 
			achieved full consciousness.  Despite herself, Wendy could not 
			help looking down at her belly.  When she did, she frowned – 
			was it her imagination, or had it grown while she had slept?  
			She was sure it had – the eggs were obviously growing at a 
			phenomenal rate.  What would they do when they hatched?  
			Eat her alive from within?  And what were they, anyway?  
			Would they someday become giants, like the Organism?  Or were 
			they the young of some kind of creature that lived in symbiosis with 
			the Organism? 
			
			More hours passed.  Wendy tried to sleep but could not 
			– she simply was not sleepy at the moment.  She had nothing to 
			do but worry about what was going to happen to her.  And worry 
			she did.  Her belly was very definitely bigger now – she looked 
			like a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy.  It was not a 
			look she particularly liked, especially since she knew she was not 
			carrying a beautiful human baby, but a horrible horde of tentacular 
			creatures.  And just how had her womb been prepared for this 
			experiment – had it been enlarged somehow?  She could not think 
			of another explanation for how it was possible for her womb to hold 
			such a huge volume of eggs. 
			
			She was fed again.  Afterwards, a couple of extra-slimy 
			tentacles began to give her entire body a new coating of slime, 
			which she felt she hardly needed.  However, as one of the 
			tentacles strayed close to her face, she decided to teach the 
			Organism a lesson.  She grabbed the tentacle in her mouth and 
			bit down hard. 
			
			The effect was astonishing.  As a bitter-tasting fluid 
			flooded into Wendy’s mouth, the floor shuddered as if an earthquake 
			were in progress.  The tentacles binding her arms and legs 
			immediately let go and bent themselves to the task of freeing their 
			comrade from the iron grip of Wendy’s jaws. 
			
			Seizing her opportunity, Wendy pushed herself away from the 
			mound of flesh and began to run away towards the exit tunnel.  
			Immediately she felt terribly heavy, her distended abdomen weighing 
			her down greatly, and she had not gone more than two yards when a 
			tentacle emerged from the floor, grabbing her leg around the knee.  
			But she was not going to give up her advantage so easily.  She 
			knelt down on her free knee, though this was not easy owing to her 
			condition, and managed to get the tentacle between her teeth.  
			She bit down as hard as she could, grinding her teeth so as to make 
			as much of a mess of the tentacle as possible. 
			
			There was another earthquake.  Wendy got to her feet, 
			her legs wobbling with the effort, and continued to make her way 
			towards the door.  She could not run properly, but she managed 
			a kind of half-trot as she crossed the fleshy floor.  
			Strangely, no other tentacles challenged her.  Had she really 
			inflicted so much pain on the Organism that it should be so afraid 
			of tackling her now? 
			
			At any rate, she reached the tunnel entrance without further 
			molestation.  She picked up her radio and compass, entered the 
			tunnel, then slowed to a walk, using her hands to steady herself on 
			the fleshy walls.  Putting one hand under her belly to support 
			it, she walked as quickly as she could, retracing her steps of … how 
			long ago?  She had no idea. 
			
			A glimmer of daylight sent her spirits soaring.  It was 
			a hellishly inhospitable planet, certainly, but daylight anywhere 
			looks good to someone who has spent too much time underground.  
			She reached the end of the cave and stood still for a minute, 
			blinking in the sunlight. 
			
			But what should she do now?  The ship might have been 
			fixed by now and was possibly searching for her and her father.  
			Her father, on the other hand, might well be dead by this time.  
			Wendy was torn between wanting to succeed in the mission her father 
			had set her, and wanting to see her father again.  In the end 
			the latter won out, not least because she had still not figured out 
			how to get around the hill.  So, turning the compass towards 
			magnetic north, she began to walk back along the bearing ninety-six 
			degrees. 
			
			It was tough going.  Supporting herself as well as she 
			could, she walked for maybe two miles before deciding her legs 
			simply could not carry her any further without a rest.  She sat 
			down in six-inch deep water with her back to a tree trunk, and 
			drifted off to sleep. 
			
			When she awoke she was covered in the yellow leech-like 
			creatures.  They were swarming over her body like flattened 
			slugs, and she stifled a scream, anxious not to attract the dog-like 
			animals.  She got to her feet and pulled the slimy creatures 
			off her body, but found herself unable to get her hand inside her 
			cunt – her belly was just too huge and got in the way.  She 
			could feel several leech-creatures inside her vagina, but had no way 
			of removing them.  She now looked more pregnant than any woman 
			she had ever seen – how much bigger could she possibly get without 
			exploding? 
			
			She continued on her way, but was forced after only a mile 
			to get down on her hands and knees – she was just too heavy now for 
			only two legs to support her.  This of course slowed her down 
			considerably, but she had no other practical means of locomotion.  
			With dogged determination she crawled onwards, getting to her feet 
			every so often and walking a hundred yards or so before she was 
			forced to drop back on all fours. 
			
			Night fell.  How far had she come since she left the 
			caves?  Five miles?  Six?  It was impossible to tell.  
			Weary to the point of exhaustion, she collapsed against a tree and 
			fell asleep. 
			
			In the morning she had to pull more of the leech-creatures 
			off her.  Repulsive as they were, they did not seem to be doing 
			her much actual harm – the blood they extracted seemed to be of a 
			minuscule quantity.  Her belly was now so large that when she 
			crawled on all fours, it scraped along the ground unless she arched 
			her back upwards, which was not at all easy.  Her back ached. 
			
			By mid-morning the ground had turned into mud.  She 
			must be getting close to the lake – perhaps it was now only a mile 
			or two away.  But how would she reach it without sinking?  
			She decided that rolling was probably not the best method, in view 
			of her distorted shape.  Instead she adopted her initial tactic 
			of sculling along on her back.  She sank a little, but was able 
			to stay on the surface. 
			
			Her naked body quickly became covered in mud once again.  
			She was making good progress, however, and in another hour found 
			herself in the shadow of a large rocky outcrop.  She managed to 
			haul herself out, and crawled wearily to the top.  Looking 
			around, she quickly realised it was the wrong outcrop.  She 
			was, however, on the edge of the lake, and when she looked around at 
			the other outcrops, she spied one which had a small metal object on 
			the top of it.  Not sure whether to feel glad or alarmed, she 
			climbed back down, laid herself gently on top of the mud, and began 
			to scull towards the other outcrop, praying that she would reach it 
			before she got pulled under by a tentacle. 
			
			Twenty minutes later, she hauled herself out on to the other 
			rock, and recognised it immediately as the one on which she had left 
			her father.  But her father was not here.  Instead there 
			was a simple beacon, set up and ready to transmit.  She 
			switched it on and read the display.  There was a message 
			waiting, which she called up and read as it scrolled by.  It 
			said, “Dear Wendy.  If you are reading this, then we are very 
			sorry to have given up on you.  But we did, and will shortly be 
			taking off.  You will be glad to hear that your father is alive 
			– barely.  We have placed him in stasis and will make sure he 
			gets immediate medical attention when we get home.  We will 
			stay in orbit for a couple of days, hoping that somehow you manage 
			to get back to here and use the beacon.  If you get back here 
			after we leave, well, don’t lose hope.  Just leave the beacon 
			running – I’ll be back this way in a couple of weeks.  Good 
			luck!  Love, Ted.” 
			
			Wendy read all this in mounting concern, and as soon as it 
			began to repeat she hit the ‘transmit’ button.  Then she sat 
			down on the rock beside the beacon and waited.  She looked up 
			at the featureless white cloud layer that began a mere twenty or 
			thirty yards above her head.  Idly she reflected that, compared 
			to when they had first landed here, this was a clear day. 
			
			Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, then twenty.  Still 
			she scanned the sky, hoping to see the downward blast of retro 
			rockets blasting down through the cloud, or to hear the roar of the 
			mighty engines as her father’s ship descended toward the ground.  
			She waited, and waited.  Still she continued to hope. 
			
			A distant roar began to filter down through the clouds.  
			In delight and amazement, Wendy watched as the dark shape of the 
			spaceship appeared above and in front of her, descending slowly at a 
			distance of thirty yards or so.  As it came down to her level, 
			a hatch opened in the side and a walkway extended out to her.  
			Lateral thrusters propelled the ship closer to her, and soon the 
			walkway came within reach.  A figure appeared at the hatch – it 
			was Captain Harris.  He smiled and waved to her. 
			
			With difficulty, Wendy got to her feet and, suddenly shy, 
			tried to cover her breasts and pussy with her arms as she climbed on 
			to the walkway.  As the captain approached her, he stared at 
			her in surprise. 
			
			“My goodness!” he said.  “You look like you’ve been 
			through a rough time.  Come on inside.” 
			
			“I’m so relieved you were still there to receive my 
			transmission!” said Wendy as they entered the ship.  “I was 
			afraid you might have gone already.” 
			
			“We almost had.”  The captain pressed a button and the 
			walkway began to withdraw.  “We were going to leave in another 
			hour or so.  But tell me – how did you get to be so…”  He 
			trailed off, gesturing at her belly. 
			
			Wendy started to speak, but emotion overwhelmed her and she 
			began to cry.  The captain put his arm around her. 
			
			“There there,” he comforted her.  “Time enough for 
			stories later.  Perhaps you’d like to go to your cabin and find 
			some clothes.” 
			
			Wendy nodded, but as she turned to go down the corridor, a 
			spasm of pain shot through her abdomen.  “Oh heck!” she cried. 
			
			“What, what is it?” asked the captain in concern. 
			
			“Ow.  It’s these things 
			inside me.  I think they’re about to come out.” 
			
			“What things?” 
			
			Wendy shuddered.  “Horrible, tentacled things.  A 
			whole bunch of eggs were implanted inside my womb.  I think 
			they’re hatching.” 
			
			The captain looked anxious.  “We don’t have the 
			facilities for this!” he said.  “I’d put you in stasis but we 
			only have one chamber and if we take your father out, he might well 
			die.” 
			
			“Just get us back to civilisation as soon as possible!” said 
			Wendy.  “Whatever happens before we get there will just have to 
			happen.  I don’t want you to take my father out of stasis.” 
			
			“Come with me,” said the captain.  “To the medical 
			room.  We’ve lost our only crewmember who had any medical 
			training, but we’ll just have to do the best we can.”  He led 
			her down the corridor and into a small room with a flat bed in the 
			middle.  He helped her up on to it and laid her down. 
			
			Wendy began to feel an intense pressure building up inside 
			her, and she opened her legs wide and pushed hard in an attempt to 
			expel what was inside her.  Nothing happened.  The captain 
			looked down at her pussy with a mixture of fascination and disgust, 
			which he tried in vain to hide.  Then he pulled himself 
			together and headed for the door. 
			
			“I’m just going to get Scott,” he said.  “He may know 
			some first aid.  I’m certain Tahir doesn’t, and Mike’s busy 
			flying the ship.”  He hurried out of the room and ran for the 
			engine room. 
			
			He found Scott and Tahir hard at work on the ramjet 
			computer.  “Have you got a minute, Scott?” he said. 
			
			“What’s up, Captain?” asked Scott. 
			
			“Scott, I’ve got Wendy upstairs in the med. room.  
			She’s about to give birth to some kind of tentacled aliens, or so 
			she says.  I need your help.” 
			
			“She’s what?”  Scott looked sceptical. 
			
			“It’s true!  You should see her – she’s huge!  
			I’ve never seen a woman so pregnant.” 
			
			“Well if that’s the case,” said Scott in a low voice, “we 
			don’t really want her giving birth on the ship.  The last thing 
			we want is to have aliens running around the ship.  Did you 
			ever see that old movie ‘Alien’?” 
			
			“Yeah of course.  The original and
			the remake, not to mention all the sequels.  
			And I agree.  But what would you suggest?” 
			
			Scott shrugged.  “Well Captain, much as I like the 
			girl, she now represents a serious threat to our getting back home 
			alive.  We practically moved mountains to get ourselves down in 
			one piece, then up into orbit again.  I’d hate to see all that 
			effort wasted.  I think we should put her back outside.” 
			
			“Don’t be daft, man – we don’t have time for that.  We 
			need to take off in the next couple of minutes, or we’re stuck down 
			here for good.” 
			
			Scott nodded.  “I know, Captain.  I wasn’t 
			suggesting we wait for her…” 
			
			Captain Harris gasped.  “We can’t leave her here!  
			What on Earth would we tell her father?” 
			
			“That she never responded to the beacon.  Heck, we 
			nearly left before she responded anyway.  Stuart won’t know any 
			different.” 
			
			The captain was shocked, but he could see the sense in 
			Scott’s argument.  He was fond of Wendy, but could he really 
			jeopardise the lives of his remaining crewmembers for her sake? 
			
			“All right,” he said with a heavy sigh.  “Out she goes.  
			I’ll need your help though – she’ll put up a bit of a struggle.” 
			
			“Certainly.  But perhaps we can sedate her – we’ll tell 
			her it’s a painkiller.” 
			
			The captain nodded.  “Let’s do it,” he said. 
			
			  
			 
			
			Wendy screamed in pain.  Something inside her was 
			moving slowly down into the birth canal.  She took a few short, 
			deep breaths, then pushed with all her strength.  She felt her 
			vaginal opening dilate as one of the creatures began to emerge from 
			her cunt. 
			
			At that moment Scott and the captain entered the room.  
			Both looked grim. 
			
			“Looks like we’re just in time,” observed Scott.  He 
			fetched a hypodermic syringe from a cupboard on the wall, and sucked 
			up some clear liquid from a bottle which he pulled from a drawer. 
			
			“Scott’s going to give you something for the pain,” said the 
			captain. 
			
			“Okay…” Wendy muttered, sweat pouring off her brow.  
			“Hurry.” 
			
			Scott swapped her arm and inserted the needle, emptying the 
			contents of the syringe into her. 
			
			“We don’t really have time to let this take full effect,” he 
			said to the captain. 
			
			Wendy, steeling herself for another push, began to feel 
			rather drowsy.  “What’s happening?” she asked indistinctly as 
			Scott and the captain positioned themselves either side of her and 
			slipped their arms under her back and knees.  “What are you 
			doing?” 
			
			“We’re just moving you to a more appropriate place,” said 
			Scott.  “Don’t you worry about a thing.  God she’s heavy.” 
			
			Wendy tried to remain focused, but found it increasingly 
			difficult to concentrate.  It did occur to her to worry, 
			though, when she heard the sound of the external hatch opening, and 
			saw the walkway extending out over the mud towards the rocky 
			outcrop. 
			
			“What are you doing?” she repeated, in some alarm.  She 
			began to struggle feebly, but sleep was overpowering her limbs.  
			“D… don’t put me outside,” she murmured, and then drifted off into 
			oblivion. 
			
			The captain cursed.  “Damnit,” he said, “I can’t do 
			this.” 
			
			“You must,” insisted Scott.  “It’s the only way.” 
			
			“That may well be,” said the captain, “but I’m not going to 
			abandon my friend’s daughter in her time of need.  Come on, 
			let’s get her back in the med. room.  I want you to stand by 
			her and whack anything that comes out of her, okay?” 
			
			Scott shrugged.  “You’re the captain,” he said.  
			“But I think this is a mistake.  Besides, I won’t be able to do 
			anything until we’re in space.  What if she gives birth in the 
			meantime?  There’s one of them coming out of her right now.” 
			
			“Well, get rid of it and then go and strap yourself in.  
			We’ll strap her down and lock the med. room door.  She surely 
			won’t pop many of them in the time it takes us to get into orbit.” 
			
			“And if she does?” 
			
			“Well, we’ll just have to deal with them.” 
			
			Wendy was carried into the med. room and strapped down to 
			the bed.  A dark pink fleshy object was in the process of 
			emerging from her cunt, and Scott stood by with a hammer at the 
			ready while the captain returned to the bridge. 
			
			More and more of the creature emerged, and Wendy’s vaginal 
			opening widened to breaking point.  Her flesh began to tear, 
			and blood flowed.  Then the creature was out of her – a mass of 
			tightly furled tentacles that Scott immediately struck forcibly with 
			the hammer.  The hammer bounced – the creature had the 
			consistency of rubber.  Suddenly it uncoiled and flung a couple 
			of long, slender tentacles towards Scott.  He jumped backwards, 
			but one of the tentacles succeeding in grasping him around the 
			wrist.  The creature rapidly climbed up his arm to his 
			shoulder, and shot a tentacle into his ear before he could do 
			anything about it.  Scott yelled as he tried to remove it, but 
			it threw more tentacles around his head and gripped him like a vice.  
			There it stayed, while Scott crossed the room in search of a 
			scalpel.  He quickly found one, but then suddenly stiffened as 
			a stabbing pain shot through his head.  He put a hand to his 
			forehead and sank to his knees, his mind clouding over as the 
			creature attacked his brain.  A moment later he slumped to the 
			floor, and moved no more. 
			
			Wendy’s cunt expanded once again as another creature pushed 
			its way out of her.  This one came out more quickly, and when 
			it was free it uncoiled like the first.  This one climbed down 
			off the bed, scuttled across the floor, then hauled itself up the 
			wall of the room, where it settled down and attached itself. 
			
			“Hurry up Scott, we can’t wait any longer,” said the 
			captain, walking down the corridor and into the room.  He 
			stopped in his tracks when he saw Scott’s prone form.  “Oh my 
			God!” he exclaimed.  He quickly slammed the door and locked it, 
			then hurried back to the bridge.  Strapping himself in, he said 
			to Mike, “Go Mike – Scott’s dead.” 
			
			“Dead?  Wha… how?” 
			
			“Wendy’s creatures.  Just take off.  We’ll sort it 
			out in space.” 
			
			The ship blasted away from the ground and climbed swiftly 
			through the planet’s atmosphere.  A few minutes later it was in 
			space.  Mike programmed the distortion engine and waited for 
			the captain’s signal. 
			
			“Whenever you’re ready, Mike.  On consideration I think 
			we’d better leave the med. room locked until we reach Yampata.  
			How long do you reckon?” 
			
			“Sixty-five hours and seventeen minutes until we dock at the 
			station.  Will she be okay for that length of time?” 
			
			“I hope so.  But I’m not going to risk all our lives to 
			try to save her again.  I should have taken Scott’s advice – he 
			wanted to dump her outside and take off without her.” 
			
			“You’re kidding!”  Mike was shocked. 
			
			“Oh, I know it’s horrible.  But he was right – who 
			knows what we’ve let ourselves in for now?”  He sighed.  
			“I just hope the med. room can contain them.” 
			
			  
			 
			
			Wendy awoke to a fiery pain between her legs.  She 
			opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and looked around.  The 
			first thing she noticed was that the walls were pink.  Not all 
			over, but in most places.  Tentacles protruding from the pink 
			patches waved in the air.  The next thing she noticed was that 
			she was strapped to the bed.  She struggled to free herself, 
			but could not. 
			
			As she watched the walls, she saw that in fact the pinkness 
			was made up of a number of individual creatures, which had attached 
			themselves to the walls and were now spreading their pink flesh, 
			very slowly but surely, to cover the entire wall area.  Even 
			the door was almost completely covered.  Wendy writhed 
			helplessly in her bonds, feeling a strange sense of deja-vu. 
			
			“Captain Harris!” she shouted.  But there was no 
			response.  Perhaps it was because the fleshy walls were 
			absorbing the sound, or perhaps the captain was unwilling or unable 
			to respond. 
			
			As the hours passed, the room became totally pink, and 
			resembled the inside of the cavern where she had been impregnated.  
			Even the floor and ceiling were now covered in pink flesh.  
			Later still, the bed itself became covered, the pinkness sliding 
			under her body until she was lying not on a sheet, but on squishy 
			flesh.  Over the next few hours this thickened and began to 
			produce tentacles, which proceeded to rub her body all over, coating 
			it with a thick layer of slime. 
			
			By the time the ship reached Yampata, Wendy was pregnant 
			again. | |||||||||||
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