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The two men didn’t have to think about what to do next. They didn’t hesitate for even a half second.
“What’s the fastest way up to the cockpit, Alex?” Casey begged.
“The elevator is fast,” the robot said. “But the moth alien is smart and might be expecting you to arrive via the elevator car.”
“How else can we get up there?” Casey pressed.
“There’s a pull-down staircase that leads to the cockpit,” Jack said. “It was engineered into the craft in case of a total power outage emergency. It leads to a hidden panel in the cockpit floor.”
“Okay,” Casey said. “You take the pulldown stairway, and I’ll take the elevator. That way, it’s possible we’ll have the cocksucker flanked.”
“What is a cocksucker?” Alex asked pleasantly.
“Never mind,” Casey said as he bolted out of the medical unit and through the open doors. When both Jack and Alex were clear of the opening, Casey punched the button that closed and secured the twin sliding doors. Taking it double time, he made his way for the elevator.
With Jack on his heels, they made their way past the crew quarters and the bunks and into the craft’s social area. While Casey went to the elevator and punched the elevator car call button, Jack made his way into the galley and opened a narrow closet door where he retrieved a long plastic stick that had a hook attached to its end. He carried the stick with him into the social area. He reached to the ceiling with the stick and attached the hook to a small ceiling-mounted circular metal piece that Casey had never before noticed. When the engineer pulled down on the stick, a rectangular piece of ceiling opened up on manual hinges and a metal ladder automatically unfolded itself.
Tossing the stick onto the table, Jack gripped his plasma rifle in one hand and took hold of the ladder’s metal banister with the other.
“See you up there, Case,” he said.
The elevator door opened.
“See ya in a sec,” Casey said stepping into the elevator car.
He punched the button that would take him up to the cockpit. Three seconds later, the elevator door opened. He stepped into the cockpit at the very same moment a floor panel located about five feet away shifted to the side creating an opening. Jack ascended to the top of the ladder and climbed out of the rectangular opening.
“Melissa,” Casey said. “Where are you, honey? Are you okay?”
“Help me,” she said, her voice as tense and tight as the security officer had ever heard it.
He glanced at Jack and shot him a gesture with his eyes and head to silently move in the direction of Melissa’s voice. Casey went so far as to extend his index finger and press it against his lips. TS Sergeant Jack Gamble got the message loud and crystal clear. The two started walking toward the cockpit console and two bucket seats mounted before it.
They only made it a couple of steps when they saw that Melissa was down on her back on the floor and that a Moth monster was on top of her. It was almost like he was trying to make love to her. Melissa saw the crew and she shook her head.
“It’s digging its claws into my side,” she said, the stress in her voice indicating the kind of pain she was in. “It keeps poking me in the face with its beak and trying to shove its tongue in my mouth.”
Holy shit, Casey thought, the fucking beast is trying to mate with her. He’s raping her. Maybe that’s one of their missions. To mate with human beings and to create some kind of super race that can thrive on Mars.
It was a long shot to be sure, but whatever AI had programmed him for this Metaverse mission made certain that his thought process came up with that one possible conclusion. Either that or the creature was simply acting on animal instinct.
Shouldering his rifle, Casey took aim.
“Take the shot, Case,” Jack whispered. “You’re a better-trained marksman than me.”
The creature’s head turned then, eyed Casey with his black eyes. It opened its mouth, revealing all its fangs and a kind of gooey saliva that dripped out onto its leathery skin. Its scream was high-pitched and rattled Casey and Jack to their very core.
Casey pulled the trigger and the Moth monster’s head exploded like a pumpkin. Jumping over the cockpit seat, Casey went to his knees, grabbed Melissa by her shoulders, and pulled her out from under the dead beast. He did it in a way so that none of the green acidic blood that was leaking out of its neck would touch her. He tossed her onto the captain’s chair and she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. She was shivering and trembling.
“Jesus Christ, what the hell is that thing?” she said.
“It’s the devil himself,” Casey said. “And there’s one more devil to go.”
He refocused on Jack.
“Next stop,” he said, “the physical plant.”