| |
Ozelon and Zella had just stepped out of the washroom, leaving the Karzonian lying on the floor. Zella glimpsed the flash of a laser rifle, and Ozelon screamed in pain. Zella shoved him out of the line of fire, and supported him, as they ran down a corridor lit by flashing emergency lights.
Zella didn’t have to ask if Ozelon was badly injured, the laser had cut through his side.
“It was the human!” Zella yelled over the alarm.
“At least we have an answer.”
“What answer?”
“They did find your blood.”
––––––––
Coulter raced across the crowded main entrance, passing shocked civilians. As he entered a hallway, a bathroom door swung open and a bleeding Karzonian staggered out.
Coulter pointed the laser rifle directly at the Karzonian’s face. “Where did the Therloxians go?”
“Do you have a Level Four Clearance?” the Karzonian asked.
Coulter pushed the green button. “Does this give me a Level Four Clearance?”
The Karzonian stared at the flashing green button and decided he didn’t want to be burned alive. “ Section Five, Level Eight,” he replied.
Coulter switched the weapon back to laser and continued moving down the corridor.
When he reached Section Five, he stepped into an elevator. If the Karzonian was lying, he was about to lose the one chance he had of catching the assassins. If the Karzonian was telling the truth, the Therloxians would probably be waiting for him. As the elevator started it’s ascent, he looked straight up, as if he could see through the building to the sky above. “God, if you’re not too busy, I could really use some help.”
When the elevator reached level eight, Coulter stepped into a corridor, across from twin, steel reinforced doors. Stepping through, he found himself in a large, open space. Some type of shuttle was parked near a hangar door.
The blow came from his left and knocked him off his feet. He fell hard, and was struggling to his feet, when Zella kicked him in the face. He fell backwards, but tucked his head in to keep from smashing it on the concrete floor. He was still conscious, and at least for the moment, the adrenaline was keeping the pain at bay.
Zella walked towards him. “I can’t believe you want to hurt two cute, furry creatures like us. Couldn’t you just give us a hug and tell us how warm and cuddly we are?”
Even though he was severely injured, Ozelon had managed to complete the start-up procedures on the Callus scout ship. Zella nodded towards the glowing engines. “I’d like to take my time and make you suffer for what you did to my life-mate, but as you can see, my ride is waiting.”
Zella allowed Coulter to stagger to his feet; it would make it easier to cut his throat open. Zella grabbled the blade hidden in her boot and slashed at Coulter. Coulter stepped inside the arching movement and grabber her right wrist with his left hand. His right hand went around her
waist, grabbing her belt. His right foot moved in front of Zella and he twisted, flipping her with a hip toss.
An experienced fighter, Zella grabbed Coulter’s clothing, bringing him crashing onto the floor with her. Coulter rolled away, Zella slashing at his legs. He felt the blade strike his left boot, but it was too thick to penetrate. If it wasn’t for the work boots they used in the mines, his arteries would have been severed.
Coulter rolled across the floor and grabbed the laser rifle. He spun around and fired the weapon. Zella dropped, the laser scorching the wall behind her. She hissed at him. “There will be another time human.”
Zella ran to the scout ship. Coulter fired again, but the Therloxian had disappeared safely inside.
Coulter remembered something Lucia had told him about the Karzonians; they’d commit suicide before surrendering. That’s why their laser rifles had an auto-destruct function. He pushed down the green and orange buttons at the same time to see what would happen. When they both started flashing, he threw the weapon under the shuttle.
Coulter ran back to the twin doors and burst into the corridor, finding himself staring down the barrel of a Karzonian guard’s laser rifle. He dropped to the floor and covered his head. The Karzonian started saying something about him violating the Sacred Laws by trying to escape, when the force of the blast sent the twin steel doors hurtling across the hallway, driving the guard into the elevator doors.
Coulter lay on the floor, covered in debris, with a gash on the side of his head. He wondered why he hadn’t heard the referee’s whistle, stopping the hockey game. Why wasn’t the coach on the ice? He must have gone head first into the boards. Which team were they playing? Probably an Edmonton team, there had always been a hot rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton hockey teams. He drifted into darkness.
––––––––
The scout ship spun in uncontrollable rotations, crashing into steel support posts. Unable to counter the powerful centrifugal forces, Zella pulled the ejection handle between the pilot and co-pilot seats. An incredible explosive force separated the cockpit from the rest of the vessel.
The scout ship’s cockpit smashed through the roof of the building, sending concrete, steel and glass flying in every direction. Sensors in the cockpit had already calculated the distance to the ground, firing retro rockets. and incinerating several Karzonians as it landed in the park.
––––––––
Coulter slowly became aware of his surroundings. He staggered to his feet and stared at an arm on the floor, the hand still gripping a weapon. Coulter released the hand’s grip and took the laser rifle.
Coulter entered the hangar. Squinting through the mixture of concrete dust and smoke, Coulter found what was left of the smoldering scout ship. The cockpit was missing and the hanger doors were still closed. He looked up and saw a giant hole in the roof. He walked across the hangar and looked through tangled metal, that had once been a window frame.
––––––––
Zella checked for Ozelon’s pulse, but found nothing. He must have lost too much blood. She couldn’t give him a proper burial, but she would not allow the Karzonians desecrate his corpse. Zella activated the Callus scout ship’s self destruct mechanism and grabbed a laser rifle mounted on the wall behind the pilot’s seat. Leaning forward, she gently kissed her life-mate’s one last time.
As she stepped out of the scout ship, Zella spotted a Karzonian guard. She fired the laser rifle, burning a hole through his left eye.
Zella dove behind a stone wall, as the cockpit disintegrated in a massive explosion. While the debris fell around her, she glanced up at the main building. The human was looking through a shattered window frame on the eighth level. Zella hoped that Ozelon’s soul could hear her. “I will see you soon my life-mate, but not until I kill the human.”
––––––––
Coulter watched as smoke from the explosion drifted across the park. It was over. Moments later he was in an elevator; heading back to the main level. From there, it would be a quick trip back to the mine, and down The Pit. There were still plenty of ways to die.
Arriving at the ground level, he found the main entrance empty. He rush into the nearest elevator and leaned against a wall. As the doors closed, he glimpsed a figure aiming a laser rifle. He dropped to the floor as the wall behind him was scorched. The Therloxian from the hangar had survived.
Coulter struggled to control his breathing. He only had a few seconds to consider his situation. Karzonian guards wouldn’t expect him to return to the mine, but there were bound to be some guards patrolling after a riot. And he was the only human; he wouldn’t be hard to spot.
Coulter had to turn right, to reach the corridor leading to The Pit; and that would force him to pass in front of the other elevator, which would probably be carrying the Therloxian. Why had they been in the hangar? Were they actually planning to steal a shuttle from the Karzonians?
Coulter looked at his image reflected in the metal panel. “So, if the Karzonians think she’s violated their Sacred Laws, perhaps they’ll kill her. All I have to do, is make sure she doesn’t leave the other elevator.”
When the doors opened, Coulter found a small, motorized carrier parked nearby. It looked like a tricycle on steroids, with a large box that held tools and replacement parts. He raced to the tool-carrier and started it. As he did, three Karzonian guards patrolling the corridor turned and fired their weapons.
Laser fire ricocheted off the large metal box behind the seat, as Coulter released the emergency brake, and aimed the machine at the elevator door. While the guards fired at the three wheeled vehicle, Coulter turned and ran towards the heavy equipment holding area.
Minutes later, Coulter climbed through the rear hatch of a Laser Boring Machine and started the engine. The giant screw began to spin, as it smashed through a concrete wall.
––––––––
As the elevator doors opened, Zella saw flashes from the guards’ laser rifles. She moved behind a three wheeled vehicle partially blocking the elevator door, and returned fire. She had already wounded one of the guards when the sound of an approaching machine caught her attention. She turned her head to see the Laser Boring Machine moving towards her. The Therloxian fired at it, with no effect. As she dove out of the way, a piece of her clothing snagged on the three wheeled vehicle.
––––––––
Coulter felt and heard the boring machine’s corkscrew grinding, as it crashed into the machine in front of the elevators. He heard Zella scream and hoped the Therloxian was dead, but he couldn’t get out and look, with guards in the corridor. He had to get out alive with the prism.
The Laser Boring Machine would be a perfect decoy. The laser fired as the machine crashed into a rock wall and began to climb. As soon as he was convinced it was aimed at a steep enough angle, he dropped out of the back hatch. Coulter expected the guards to start firing at him, but nothing happened. Hidden behind debris, he hadn’t been seen.
––––––––
The three guards watched in disbelief as the Laser Boring Machine crashed into a rock wall, increasing its angle as it climbed. They called central control, but its progress was already being tracked; the prison mine was in lock-down, and nothing was supposed to be moving.
They couldn’t believe their luck. The injured guard would receive a citation for being wounded while on duty. All three would get credit for forcing the human to make a stupid mistake; wherever he surfaced, the authorities would be waiting for him. The human would be taken alive and then he would suffer a slow, agonizing death. The entire planet would get a paid vacation, a celebration of the Sacred Laws. It would be a party for the ages; they’d get drunk and sing patriotic songs, while the human screamed on video screens everywhere.
They were still talking about the celebration, when a bloodied female Therloxian, walked up to them holding a laser rifle.
––––––––
Coulter was panting for breath by the time he reached the end-of-shift processing centre. He stared at an empty space, where the container used for collecting radiation tags should have been. The alarm must have gone off when the Karzonians were in the process of emptying the container from the previous shift.
He needed to find a replacement, something he could crawl into, but was narrow enough to reach the bottom of The Pit. He had to make sure his entire body was inside. If any part of his clothing got hooked on a root, or an outcropping of rock, he was finished. He looked to his left at the portable toilets and cringed.
“Shit!”
Coulter ran over to the closest portable toilet and opened the access door on the back. It was the right size, but the odour from the putrid mixture of alien waste was unbelievable. He grabbed the lid of the vat that sat below the toilet seat and pushed it over, spilling out the contents. Grabbing a hose attached to the wall, he sprayed the inside of the vat with water.
He knew that cold water wasn’t going to kill bacteria, but it was all he could do.
Coulter rolled the vat to the side of the The Pit. He found the electric drill used by the guards, and removed the bolts from the metal grating that covered the top. Coulter used his upper body as leverage, to flip the vat onto the edge. He pulled himself up and wiggled his way feet first into the vat.
Hearing movement, Coulter looked over his shoulder. The Therloxian was limping towards him. As she aimed the laser rifle, he leaned to his side and disappeared into The Pit.
––––––––
Zella swore by every god she’d ever heard of, rolled over the edge, and dropped into the darkness. Her life no longer mattered, all that was left, was revenge. Her blood stained the sides of the abyss, as she slid down the tunnel, following her prey.
––––––––
The vat smashed through the first unseen obstacle. Coulter had no idea what it had been, but cracks appeared in the sides of the vat. It wouldn’t stay intact forever. His odds were getting worse by the second.
––––––––
Zella howled in pain and frustration. Soon she would join Ozelon, but how could she face him, if his killer was still breathing? She kept the laser rifle pointed downward between her feet, and pulled the trigger.
––––––––
Coulter slammed against the bottom of the vat, as a razor sharp claws penetrated a crack in the side, almost reaching Coulter’s face. Even thought it only lasted for only a second, it felt like an eternity, as he waited for death.
He didn’t see the creature that had pierced the vat with it’s claws, but he heard its scream. A flash in the darkness. Was the Therlaxian still shooting? As the Creature released the vat, Coulter heard a distant scream, and began dropping again.
––––––––
The creature had also heard the scream. Now it could hear something breathing heavily but it had stopped dropping. It was a threat, It had caused the pain. The creature wanted to recoil, to hide in the tunnels, but it had to feed the young.
––––––––
Despite the alluring scent of live bodies, Sailatts rarely dug near the tunnels where the inmates worked; the sound of the machines terrified them. They never hunted on the surface, because even moonlight caused their eyes intense pain, but in the darkness, they ruled. Six legs, each with a powerful claw to dig through dirt, created the network of narrow caves where they lived. The high acid content in their stomachs digested thick hides, bones and scales. Anything that entered their domain was a meal.
––––––––
Zella was impaled, a protruding root thrust through her right arm. The Therloxian was defenseless; she had dropped the laser rifle and couldn’t reach the blade she kept in her right boot. Zella had heard guards talking about the creatures that dined on inmates in The Pit. She tried to lift herself high enough, to pull her arm over the end of the root, better to drop to her death. It was useless; her strength was gone, she had lost too much blood.
––––––––
The Sailatt could hear the creature breathing. It was no longer struggling, but it was still alive. The predator dug it’s way through the thin walls between adjacent tunnels, honing in on
the faint sounds. Discovering a corpse was not unusual, but fresh meat, that was a rare pleasure.
––––––––
The vat was suspended, a root protruding through a wide crack in the side. Coulter was exhausted; so far nothing was broken, but his body couldn’t keep taking this kind of punishment. It wasn’t over yet, he might be close enough to survive the plunge into the flooded cave. But, if he was unconscious, he would drown. Knowing he would soon pass out, Coulter slammed his feet against the side of the vat, opening up a wider crack in the side. On his second attempt, the vat split wide open and he dropped.