Warblegrub and the Forbidden Planet Read Online Free Page B

ordered to take a detail and investigate, and received a reprimand for failing to salute. Warblegrub shed a tear as he watched them set off; he had sensed that the Sergeant was a compassionate man and the one most likely to question the Colonel’s orders. Soon after they began the ascent to the summit, the Sergeant and his party were lost in the clouds, and soon after that their radios, cameras and monitoring equipment began to malfunction.
    395 tested the radio again. “Are you receiving me?”
    “Receiving you, over.” But the Sergeant’s reply was faint, almost lost in static, and 395 needed to plug in a headset to hear him.
    “Testing cameras.”
    The picture from the Sergeant’s camera was also poor and his companions were barely visible. At a touch, the screen divided into six similar views; at another, the pictures were replaced by wavy lines and fluctuating numbers, but the screen kept flickering.
    “Vital signs – signal also weak but confirmed.”
    “What are the lines and numbers?” asked Warblegrub.
    “Heart rate, blood pressure and so on,” 395 explained as they flickered on and off, then stabilised again. “They show the strain on the body. Every member of the company’s monitored here….”
    “What’s happening!” interrupted the Colonel. “Is it the cloud?”
    395 shook his head. “Cloud wouldn’t cause this much interference.”
    “Show me the Sergeant’s camera again,” the Colonel snapped, but the image was even more vague than before. After a heavy burst of static, the screen went blank and both radio and radar died.
    “What’s going on?” he asked Warblegrub.
    “You’re not welcome here.”
    “What’s that creature doing?”
    “It’s not doing anything – you’re making him angry!”
    “But how’s it interfering with our equipment?” asked 395.
    Warblegrub shrugged. “You’re the scientist!”
    The blackout continued for a quarter of an hour then, just as the Colonel was about to send out a search party, gunfire echoed round the mountainside and the radio crackled back into life. 395 was unable to hear the Sergeant clearly, but he caught the panic in his voice. Snatching the headset, the Colonel tried to talk to the Sergeant but his reply was inaudible.
    “Repeat that, over.”
    Suddenly the Sergeant’s voice came through loud and clear, and all those nearby heard it as never before – shrill with fear.
    “4129’s gone, Sir!”
    “Gone?”
    “The creature in the mist….”
    Another burst of static was followed by silence and despite 395’s efforts there was nothing more from the Sergeant. He checked the vital signs and, when the screen stopped flickering for a moment, confirmed that Private 4129 was no longer alive.
    “Where are they?”
    “Hard to tell, Sir – radar’s still down. On a ledge below the summit, I think.”
    The Colonel quickly sent ten more soldiers to the Sergeant’s aid but before they were out of sight, the radio came back to life.
    “It’s hunting us!” the Sergeant whimpered.
    “Hunting you?”
    The Sergeant began to curse but his voice was drowned out by gunfire.
    “He’ll kill you all!” Warblegrub warned, as the company gazed in horror up into the white shroud that veiled the mountaintop and hid their comrades.
    “Fall back to a better position and wait for reinforcements!” the Colonel ordered the Sergeant, and moments later rocks and boulders appeared on the tablet, seen through the thinning mist.
    As the Sergeant’s detail descended, scrambling down a steep rocky gully, the signal stabilized and the images became clearer. Back among the trees, they reached an outcrop of weathered rocks and the Sergeant called a halt. Exhausted and terrified, the company took cover on and around the rocks, and their laboured breathing was loud and clear over the radio.
    “What was it?” asked 395.
    “Some kind of animal,” the Sergeant whispered, “extremely hostile!”
    “Feline, canine?”
    “Something else – I can’t