| |
Mal and Brian dashed up the passage to the bay where Forgestriker had docked. Behind them they could hear the fierce growls of the wounded creatures. Mal turned to see how close the creatures were behind. He twisted and tripped – fortunately – a rocket fired from the ship passed overhead and hit a creature in the chest. The creature roared in agony as its body exploded in flames. The substance which flowed through its skin was thrown around the passage, burning any soft tissue on contact.
Brian glanced at Mal and said, “You’re lucky, that could’ve been you.”
Mal calmly said, “If I’d been standing, Frank wouldn’t have fired and the creature would have reached the ship.” He turned to face the door which lead to the ship and waved Forgestriker away. There followed a gush of air as the seals opened. This was followed by a searing blast as the heat from the thrusters welded the outer door closed.
They looked at each other and shrugged as Brian said, “You had no choice. You had to let them go. What options are we left with?”
Mal leaned against the nearest wall, sighed and replied, “I suggest we take five. The next few minutes are gonna be hell and hell fire. I don’t know if we’ll get out of the passage, but we need to try.”
They took a last glance at the welded door frame and sighed. Brian gazed aimlessly down the passage and said, “How many do you think there are, Mal?” In the past his gaze had gone by many names from Shell shock to the two hundred yard stare. Call the stare what you like. The effect is the same; the person is unable to focus on objects close at hand and becomes a liability.
Mal’s gaze followed his friend’s as he replied, “I’m not sure. I can tell you they’re angry with us. And we’re trapped here, unless a miracle happens, and I wouldn’t count on anything happening.”
Mal recognised the symptoms and said, “Brian, you need to snap out of it. If we’re going to get out of here, I need your help. Our first job is to check these lockers and find out if we can get some ammo.”
Methodically the two men searched each locker. The heat blast had blown most of the lockers open. Those which remained closed had been warped so badly their doors took little to pry open. Mal finished his side of the passage, and turned to Brian, “Did you find anything? All I found was a few loose shells and some bandages.”
Brian finished his search and replied, “All I found was an old launcher and an empty magazine or two. I guess what happened before we got here used all their supplies up.”
The men sat down, keeping an eye open for strange shadows and ears open for noises.
Mal glanced up and down the passage and said, “You said you found out why the station got abandoned. Can you let me in on the info, as I doubt it’ll make a difference now?”
Brian turned to face Mal and said, “Sure. The general idea is the station had been attacked. The station didn’t come under attack.”
Mal took a second or two to let the information sink in. Then he said, “What about the damage, all these tears and shell holes. Surely, this is battle damage.”
Brian leaned against the wall and said, “Yes, but the difference is the station wasn’t the subject of the attack. The station was caught in the middle of the battle. Whatever happened, happened when something outside tried to take over the station and something in the area fought back. The station was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.”
Mal whistled through his teeth and sighed, “That sounds like us to me.”
Brian wiped the sweat from his eyes and commented, “It’s become a game of cat ‘n’ mouse. Whatever is down the passage knows the layout of the station, and is waiting for our move. Do you think they all got off, Mal?”
Mal glanced out of the window at the passage opposite. He viewed what he considered their target would be and replied, “I didn’t notice if Timmy’s section got out.”
Brian and Mal sat quiet. Time slowed for down and pulses calmed as they waited for the creatures to make their move. Outside, something stirred; an ominous rattling on the outer shell of the station. “Did you hear that?” Brian asked.
Mal sat still, not wanting to admit what his senses told him was about to happen, would happen. “Yeah, I think our guests have returned, but which ones?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not waiting to find out. I suggest we haul ass and get out of this death trap.”
“Copy that, Brian. If we escape we can try and find a way off this station.”
The sounds from outside the passage became louder and shriller as the creatures tore through the shell. The hull was rent by a frenzied rush of claws, teeth and talons. “We’ve gotta make a dash for it now, Mal!” Brian yelled, “Either we’ll freeze out here or we’ll end up in the middle of a war zone. I don’t fancy our chances, either way.”
“Lock and load, Brian, here’s hoping we get through.”
The next sound was the harsh click as weapons clicked in action. The men charged back to the main entrance. Both men saw the arms of the creature coming from the hub at the same time. They fired at the same target – a barrel – the barrel exploded with a gush of fire. Damage was minimal, but the confusion gave them a second or two to make a run for cover.
Down passages filled with echoes of pain they ran until their lungs hurt and they needed to stop. Mal turned to view the damage they had done. “I don’t think we did a lot of damage. But, at least we can move a little,” he said gasping for air.
“True, we need more fire power or men. Neither of which we have. We need to search for somewhere to make a final stand, Mal. I realise it won’t take those things long, so, we’d better get a move on.”
The passages echoed to the sound of a distant battle. Creatures from two disparate universes converged on D2. The men of the 7th had entered in the middle of a war. The hub area shook violently as the creatures fought to gain control.
Brian stood by what had once been a consul and glanced at Mal. “Why is this place so vital to them?” he asked.
Mal tried to think of a reason for the battle over a dead station. The only answer he could think of was. “They must have information on the area, which we are missing. What it is beats me, all I can see is nothing, black, dark, nothing.”
Brian’s thoughts returned to the central control panel at the hub. “I wonder if the long range electroscope scan can help us, Mal. They wouldn’t fight over nothing; we must be missing something vital.”
Not wanting to go back inside the hull, but realising they had to. The men set off down the passage. The noises had stopped apart from the occasional growl; the two men paused in their walk back to listen. “I don’t like the sound of that silence,” Brian commented.
Mal’s hand twitched on the gun, as he said, “Me neither. I suggest we get going before we get caught in the open.”
Torn door frames and bulk heads ripped apart slowed their progress. Progress was further slowed by having to make numerous detours around section blown apart in the blasts. Many times they had found themselves back to an area they had gone past, moments before.
Finally, they found the control hub. “Sheez, you did a better job than the fight.” Mal sighed as he viewed the wreckage of the panels before him. “Do you think you can get the scanner working?”
Brian glanced at the mess in front of him and said, “I can try.”
The wiring was burned out and the screens smashed, but he set to work. All the time he was trying to fix the wiring, Mal paced outside. He waited for the rush he thought would arrive. He had no idea what to do, or if they would be able to anything. As far as he knew, they were alone on the station.
His thoughts were interrupted by a broken voice calling out, “Is anyone left? We’re trapped on the lower pylon and need some assistance!”
Mal called into his vocilator. “Is that you, Timmy?”
“Boy, I’m glad somebody is here, Mal. When the ship went off, I thought we were as good as dead.”
Mal replied, “We got trapped in the passage. I had a choice. Either the ship went off, or we all risked dying here. How many of your section have you got with you?”
“I’m with Rick. We had to leave Matt behind. We’re searching for a way off level 4, all we came across is a mass of twisted and burned metal.”
Brian interjected with “Can you get to level 3, corridor B, Tim? From the schematic plan I have in front of me, you should be able to get around the wreckage and join us.”
Rick joined the conversation and said, “Brian, we passed the area not long ago. The connecting passage is all but blown out. We can try to get through, but I am not certain we can.”
“Do what you can, Tim, and watch your back those creatures are everywhere.”
Tim replied, “No need to tell me, Brian. We’re in a running battle down here. We had no choice Matt was left behind, he can hardly stand.”
The conversation was interrupted by a clicking noise, “Incoming!” yelled Mal, as he saw a change in the shadows. The next few minutes, all hell broke loose as he and Brian blasted at anything which moved. The fight went on until their ammo ran out, and he called out, “Forget the scanner. Run for the passage to the docking bays!”
They had no choice but trust to speed. The creatures had strength and size in their favour, but their size slowed them as Mal and Brian ran for cover.
Timmy glanced at Rick and said, “That’s our call. We’ll need to try and make this work, or we’re dead. Nobody will find us. I don’t think anybody will miss us after Gameroom.”
Timmy and Rick walked down the dark passage, their footfalls being the only sound audible. In the distance they listened to the battle raging at the control hub, and then the silence. “What do you think happened?” asked Rick.
Timmy thought and replied, “We need to get to them. I don’t know what they were planning, but I caught a glance of a shuttle. The blasts had shorted the circuits and the floor is live. The shuttle is the only chance any of us have of getting off the station.”
Timmy stood for a moment in silence, and then said. “We’re going back for Matt. I’m not leaving the station without him. We all get out, or we all die fighting. We’ve lost too many men to lose more.”
The soldiers hefted arms and made their way back to Matt’s position. At each junction they stopped and looked to see if any of the creatures had located them. Nothing moved in the shadows. They got to Matt, he was barely conscious from loss of blood caused by a blast fragment. Rick lifted him onto his shoulders and said, “If you cover our backs, Tim, we can do this.”
Tim clicked the final charges in his rifle as they started for the bays. Something was wrong he sensed. The creatures weren’t tailing them, and this spooked him. “Hold on, I’m going to go point and find out why they aren’t chasing us. They must realise we can move slowly.”
The passage was dark and foreboding. The only light shining was the faint green light from the last of his battery. Timmy’s sensed were heightened and he didn’t like the feeling they hadn’t been followed this far. He took a glance up the last passage and sighed. He returned to his men and said, “I’ve found the reason we weren’t followed. The connecting passage is blocked.”
Rick squatted in the dark corner. He was deep in thought for a minute or two, and then said, “Do you think we can blast through?”
Silence ensued as Tim reviewed their predicament. “Sure, we can blast our way out. The problem is the explosions will bring them, and I don’t think we can hold our own.”
Rick considered their options and commented, “The way it appears to me. We go for it, or get hunted down. I say go for it and hope for the best.”
Semi-conscious with the pain, Matt said, “You go on. Leave me a rifle, and I’ll hold ‘em’ off your back as long as I can. I’ll slow you down if you take me.”
Tim turned to Rick, but before he could say a word, Rick spoke. “We’re not leaving you here, so quit with the heroic last stand talk.” With a laugh he finished. “Besides, you owe me two beers from our last pool game, and I intend to collect.”
Matt staggered to his feet and leaned on a shattered piece of metal. The pain of standing was obvious to his friends. Rick glanced at Tim and said, “When you’re ready to roll, let’s light the fuse.”
Tim cocked the rifle and pulled its stack to his shoulder. After readying himself he said, “Wait for my third shot, and run down the centre of the passage. That way the cables shouldn’t be a problem.”
“C’mon soldier, on my back,” Rick said as he bent to raise Matt’s wounded body.
Tim went ahead, while Rick waited for the firing to start. “One, two, three,” he muttered. “Here we go, Matt.”
Rick ran passed Tim as the creatures charged their position, “Keep going! I’m right behind you,” Tin yelled as the men ran through the flying cables. At times the cables almost came in contact with their bodies, but they finally got to the shuttle. Rick set the limp body of Matt down on the seat at the far end. Tim dived through the closing doors and almost hit his head. Out of breath, he glanced up to see Brian watching him. “Nice to see you again,” he said as the engines started and the seals broke free with a whoosh.
The ship broke free and left the remains of D2 spinning in space. Rick took a final look at where they had been and said. “Okay, we got out, just, we’re we heading?”
Brian had been studying the star chart and replied. “Our first task is to link up with Forgestriker. After we complete that, we can make a plan.”
Mal hadn’t taken his eyes off the void outside the shuttle, when Tim asked, “Where are they?” Mal replied “Out in space, somewhere ahead of us. We have the better craft, but they have time and distance in their favour. I am not sure if we can reach them.”