Read Bones Burnt Black: Serial Killer in Space Online
Authors: Stephen Euin Cobb
The snake in Mike’s throat began sliding up from the
depths of his stomach. It brought up—clinging to its surface—the most horrible
taste. He winced as it scraped out across his teeth. When able to, he spat
several times in rapid succession.
As soon as the medsys released his arms, Mike
pushed-off gently and stopped himself at the pod. Grabbing a sooty handhold, he
eased closer to Kim and was about to call her name when Bob held up his hand to
cut him off. Mike looked at Bob but the man glanced at him and gave his head
one small quick shake.
Kim’s eyes slammed shut and remained tightly squeezed
as though hiding themselves from sunlight too painfully bright. Her whole body
jerked, then her eyes came open, her hands came up and she yelled, “Miiiieeeek!
Where are you?”
“Here I am!”
She pushed-off from the pod with both legs and grabbed
Mike’s chest in a powerful hug. Her momentum sent them both spinning away from
Bob and out into the hangar’s open air.
“Mike! Mike! Mike! Don’t leave me again!” She pressed
her vacuum suit against his, but with all the gear on their chests and the
layers of thermal insulation between them, this felt no more romantic than
hugging the side of a motorcycle while wearing a parka. “How could I have
forgotten how much I love you? How could I have treated you so cruelly?” She
kissed him on both cheeks and then on the lips.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “It was the amnesia.”
“Can you ever forgive me?”
“Of course. Of course. It’s already forgiven.”
“You’re an angel.” She kissed him with such enthusiasm
he barely noticed when they bounced off the large hangar door and began
coasting—much more slowly this time—back toward the hangar’s center.
When the kiss ended Mike’s head was filled with
thoughts of passion but he knew there were things that had to be done. Forcing
his mind to return to the business at hand, he cleared his throat and spoke
loudly but without taking his eyes away from Kim’s. “Captain, we captured
Corvus’s saboteur. She’s the one tied-up in the pod. She’s killed seven people
that I know of, some with little more than her bare hands, and I doubt she’d
show you and your people any more mercy than she showed them. The woman is
clever and ruthless. I recommend keeping her sedated until you can turn her
over to the authorities.”
“No offence,” the captain said, “but how can I be sure
that she’s the saboteur and not the both of you?”
“I have the audio of her confession in my pocketsize.
I’ll transfer it to your ship’s computer as soon as I get a new battery; mine’s
dead. Also, her personal computer—a headup—is in her thigh pocket. She used it
to trigger explosive devices. It should contain evidence of her crimes. But be
careful; it may be booby-trapped.”
“Mister Marcus,” the captain said, “lend him your
pocketsize battery.”
Bob pulled out his pocketsize, removed its battery and
tossed it, tumbling, across the hangar.
Mike caught it, pulled out his own pocketsize and
replaced the battery. The familiar picture of him and Kim French-kissing
appeared. Kim noticed and hugged him gently.
“Pocketsize?” Mike said.
Its sultry feminine voice responded: “Yes?”
“Upload the confession of Rebecca Dozier to—” Mike
looked at the captain. “What’s the name of this ship?”
“Aquila.”
Mike completed the instructions: “Upload it to Aquila.”
“Transferring data now,” it said.
The captain said, “Ship?”
From the captain’s breast pocket, a voice of
indeterminate sex said, “Yes?”
“The confession you are receiving: I want you to
analyze it for authenticity.”
“Aye, aye.”
Mike’s pocketsize said, “Mike, the ship is requesting
all information and evidence in my possession concerning the Corvus incident.”
“Give it everything it wants.”
“Some of that information will violate your fifth
amendment rights.”
“Give it everything.”
“As you wish.”
“Captain,” the ship said. “Mister McCormack is correct.
His female prisoner is both a murderer and a saboteur. She is single-handedly
responsible for the murders of at least seven people and for the destruction of
the spaceship Corvus.”
“How can you be so certain the information you were
given was not concocted?”
“The quantity of video and audio is far too great to
falsify. Less money, equipment and time would be needed to make a major motion
picture. Also, I concur that she should be kept in a semiconscious state until
such time as she can be turned over to the proper authorities.”
The captain nodded. “I understand.” He looked at a
medsys. “We’re scheduled to dock with the SpaceGuard Cutter Carter in
thirty-seven hours; I want you to keep her sedated until we can turn her over
to them.”
The medsys asked, “Shall I bring her up to medical?”
“No. Once she’s sedated you can untie her and get her
out of that vacuum suit, but keep her here in this hangar. Even sedated, I
don’t want her near the passengers.” He raised his voice slightly. “Oh, and
ship?”
“Yes?”
“After we leave, lock the doors to the hangar and the
control booth. I don’t want the prisoner to have any unscheduled visitors;
whether they want to harm her, help her or just stare.”
“Aye, aye.”
The captain turned to Mike and Kim. “In the meantime,
you two will probably want to shower and change clothes.”
“Definitely,” Kim said.
The captain smiled. “You shouldn’t have any trouble
finding your way around the ship. Aquila’s decks are almost identical to those
of Corvus. And since we have only forty-two passengers at the moment, I’ve been
able to assign you adjoining cabins: 2-B and 2-C. I’ll have someone bring clean
uniforms to your rooms.” The captain’s smile widened. “I’d be pleased if you’d
join me for dinner this evening, after you’ve had a chance to freshen up and
get some rest.”
“Thank you,” Kim said. “That would be nice.”
“Yes,” Mike said. “Thank you.”
_____
Pushing-off from the control booth door, the two
coasted hand-in-hand down the horizontal hall toward the door to the vertical
hallway. As they coasted, Mike turned to Kim and pulled her around to face him.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while.” He hesitated for just a
moment. “Even before the incident.”
Tilting her head to one side, she glanced down to the
metal ring around the base of his neck to which a helmet could attach. “I
know.”
He drew back and studied her face. “What do you mean,
you know?”
She did not respond. Instead, she just looked him in
the eye with a tight little smile growing at the corners of her mouth.
He tried again. “How could you know?”
“I don’t know
how
I know.” She shrugged. “I just
know.”
Though confused, he pressed on. “Well then, what do you
say? Will you marry me?”
She slapped his cheek playfully and giggled. “You know
the answer is, yes.” Then she grabbed his head with both hands, pulled him
close and kissed him. While they were thus preoccupied, the door to the
vertical hallway drifted by unnoticed. When their lips finally separated, Kim
said, “You can have 2-B; it’s a little bigger than 2-C.”
“No, no,” he protested. “You can have it.”
“You should have it,” she said. “You’re larger than I
am. You can use the extra space.”
“But—”
“We could argue back and forth all night,” she said.
“I’ll tell you what: first one there gets to pick.”
“No fair,” Mike said. “You’re faster in zero-g than I
am.”
“OK. When we get up there, I’ll arm-wrestle you for
it.”
Mike smiled. “And on the way, I’ll race you to see who
gets to say:
Go!
” He flipped himself around, pushed-off from a doorway
and headed back toward the vertical hall.
“Hey!” Kim flipped around and pushed-off too but was
nearly three seconds behind him. “Cheat! I wasn’t ready.”
Mike laughed. He led by twenty feet all the way to the
vertical hallway door. Even so, she passed him as they coasted up toward their
rooms on deck two.
The End
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this novel. If you did, and if you
happen to be in the mood to do so, please consider letting others know by
jotting down a brief review on its page at Amazon.com. It needn’t be long; Amazon
will accept as short as a single sentence. Reviews—even brief ones—can be
powerful. They let people know if you think something is worth reading.
Thanks for your help.
Your friend,
Steve
Additional Novels by Stephen Euin Cobb
Skinbrain:
Secrets of the Rolling Head Tormented by the Ocean that Chases its Moon
Plague
at Redhook: Life Extension Without End
Nonfiction by Stephen Euin Cobb
Indistinguishable
from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the two people who have had a
more profound influence on who I am and what I have accomplished than any
others.
It was they who created me from DNA of their own
bodies; who formed the original cell from which I grew; who fed and clothed me
when I didn't know how to feed or clothe myself; who loved me when I was cute
and loveable, which was rare; and still loved me when I was not, which was
often.
This book is dedicated to my parents: Jewel Caroline
Cobb (maiden name: Hoover) and Melvin Euin Cobb.
I am proud to be their son. They will never know how
proud because human languages contain no words strong enough to say it.
Thank you, Mom and Dad.
I love you,
Stephen
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the little circle of proofreaders
and critics which I have been fortunate enough to draw from my somewhat larger
circle of family and friends. Their insights and observations have helped to
make this a stronger book.
They include:
Terri Jolley
Kenneth Phillip Doyle, II
Michelle Ann Turner Ghant
Stuart “Stu-Babe” Martin
Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for
his work as an author, magazine writer, futurist, and award-winning podcaster.
A contributing editor for
Space and Time Magazine
;
he has also been a regular contributor for
Robot, H+, Grim Couture
, and
Port
Iris
magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing
editor for
Jim Baen’s Universe Magazine
.
Since 2005, he has produced over 400 episodes of his
weekly podcast,
The Future And You
, which explores, through interviews,
panel discussions, and commentary, all the ways the future will be different
from today.
His SF novels include
Plague at Redhook: Life
Extension Without End
,
Skinbrain: Secrets of the Rolling Head Tormented
by the Ocean that Chases its Moon
, and
Bones Burnt Black: Serial Killer
in Space
. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is
on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. He is also the author of
nonfiction books:
A Brief History of Predicting the Future
as well as
Indistinguishable
from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science
.
Learn more at:
Curious about the Future?
The
real
Future?
The one you are going to live in?
Do you wonder about life extension,
ways to make yourself smarter,
and what’s to come with robots,
the internet,
and wearable computers?
Stephen Euin Cobb does a weekly podcast in which he
discusses every aspect of how the future will be different from today. If you
want to know what’s changing, and what changes are yet to come, listen to
The
Future And You
.
Learn more at Stephen’s website: www.SteveCobb.com
A Little About...
A runaway teenaged girl, sleeping under bridges and in
the dusty basement of an abandoned church, is learning to scrape out a living
in the alleys of the largest city on Big Sandy: one of several dozen human
inhabited planets. Calling herself Leather, she falls for a successful thief
and runs off with him straight into an assorted gang of mostly alien criminals
who are struggling to steal advanced alien weapons technology. One of these is
a weapons dealer—a human named Peter—who lusts after her and dreams of securing
her to his torture rack, which at the moment holds an alien physicist he’d
kidnapped weeks earlier, and from whom he’s been extracting valuable
information. Peter plots to kill all the other gang members and capture Leather
alive and undamaged so that he can damage her slowly and repeatedly for his
morbid enjoyment.
A Little About...
Exploration of the newly discovered Earth-like planet
Redhook stops when—for sixteen days—sleeping explorers refuse to wake, angry
ones never calm down, and one lust-filled woman chases everyone. Discovering
it’s caused by an alien-engineered nanoplague, the military places the planet
under strict quarantine and, terrified it will spread to other worlds, consider
using thousands of nuclear warheads to destroy the plague by annihilating the
entire biosphere of Redhook, along with all forty-seven infected explorers. But
this artificial disease provides quirks, problems and surprises that defy human
solution.