Pandora

by Joshua Grant

  It’s enough.

  Julian levelled the shotgun at the giant’s ugly face. It had managed to pry its upper body free of the crushing set, dragging itself with its massive meat hook claws that tore gouges in the already wrecked stage. It was trying to free its legs when Julian aimed. The giant let out an enormous roar, its milky eyes fixed on him with a hatred that scared him more than anything in his life.

  It was that fear that squeezed the trigger, the stock kicking him hard in the shoulder, almost knocking him back a step. He was still trying to get used to that. Shooting monsters, on the other hand, was something he’d never acclimate to. The buck shot pelted the giant in its snarling face, its mouth and jaw immediately imploding, ground teeth and bone exploding out the back of its skull.

  But like all things on this terrible ship, the monster didn’t react as expected. It didn’t die like it should. Instead, the hole in its face widened, tearing down the middle, becoming two separate jaws like a Venus fly trap sewn from flesh. Julian was too shocked at first to pump a second round. He watched in horror as the headless monstrosity jerked at its trapped legs, pulling with the force of a tow truck. The flesh and muscle at its waist began to tear, spewing black sludge all across the base of the mock townhome. It cried out, either in pain or anger, the sound of it coming through the thing’s split face alien and warbling, but it didn’t stop.

  In fact, it pulled harder and something finally gave way. The giant’s enormous torso slithered free and its jagged spine fell wetly to the stage, sliding behind it like an apocalyptic tail.

  “Back-back!” Aubrey called, retreating further onto the stage.

  Julian was already shuffling backwards, pumping the shotgun as he went. How the hell were they supposed to kill this? Its tree trunk arms clambered at the smooth stage, propelling the torso forward leaving a long black streak in its wake. The strange jaws pulsed making soft sucking sounds. Julian chose to fire at that.

  BOOM!

  The blast kicked up in his unsteady hands, peppering the giant’s muscular shoulders instead. Blood sprayed and it squealed in its inhuman way. Julian pumped again but the creature wasn’t about to stand still and let him shoot it all day. Sensing the danger to itself, it tensed its arms and flung itself into the air coming right at his face!

  Gah! Julian threw himself backwards as it vaulted clear over him, droplets of blood pelting him like hellish rain as it passed. WHAM! It smashed into the stage somewhere behind him.

  Aubrey, no!

  But the doctor wasn’t its objective this time. Julian rolled to see it fling itself into another jump, this one carrying it clear over the crumbling audience chamber. It latched onto one of the balcony support pillars and began to climb, its claws digging in to give it grip.

  Julian traced the pole up to see the boy standing there, backing from the railing’s edge, scrambling for an escape, Mac nowhere in sight. Panic swelled in Julian’s gut. It’s going to kill him!

  “Gabe run!” Aubrey screamed, already leaping into the audience and running for the pillar as if she might tear the giant off with her bare hands alone.

  Even if she somehow developed super strength in the next five seconds, she’d be too late. The giant was already up over the railing. Julian didn’t want to watch. The balcony was out of range for the shotgun and there was no time to switch to his sidearm.

  No you sonofabitch, don’t!

  Gabe cried out, the pure panic in it tearing Julian’s heart into mulch, as the giant snatched him up with one meaty claw. No, dammit, no! It squeezed, Gabe’s scream dwindling into a weak choking sound, and for one horrible moment Julian thought it had crushed his ribcage entirely. Nausea swirled in his gut, and rage. A deep rage he hadn’t felt since his mother passed. His grip tightened around the shotgun handle—

  --as Gabe coughed, kicking at his captor. He was still alive! There was still time! Time to do what? Julian’s brain furiously worked out the scenario searching for something he could use, something he could do, searching and coming up empty.

  Shit!

  And just like that, like a cat that had grown bored of playing with its food, the giant tossed Gabe to the side like a weightless ragdoll. The boy smashed into the railing, toppling over the side, his flailing limbs somehow grabbing hold of the metal. He dangled there, legs kicking, a full story above the safety of the audience chamber below. Julian could hear his weak coughs even over the monster’s weird sucking sound. He looked like he was in danger of passing out.

  “Hold on Gabe! I’m coming to get you!” Aubrey cried, her voice guttural and desperate, fists pumping furiously as she traversed the treacherous pile of debris that was once an audience.

  Julian shifted his focus back to the monster. It appeared to have completely forgotten the kid existed. Instead, it bounded over the railing, crashing into the audience and bouncing into a second leap that carried it back to the stage.

  Julian braced himself, tugging the shotgun up towards the creature, but this time it didn’t seem like he was its focus. Its hideous caved-in head was pointed just to his side. Julian glanced briefly that way and was startled to find Mac coming at him. The tech was sporting an enormous rubber glove, the kind that lighting or stage mechanics used. Where he got it and what the hell for was beyond Julian. Something was trailing behind him, long and thin and black.

  The hell?

  Julian heard it then, a low hum like God’s cellphone set to vibrate, and the pieces started clicking into place. The monster must have known what was coming as well. That’s why it left the kid alone. Good thinking Mac.

  He tore his gaze back to the beast. It dragged its rotting carcass across the stage—

  --as Gabe slipped from the railing just beyond it. Julian’s heart plunged into the acid well of his stomach. Dammit no! But he didn’t have any time to worry about that as the monster reared into his view, ugly and horrible and about to be pumped full of lead. Its shoulders tensed and in a blink it was sailing through the air, coming to deliver a death blow to what it had deemed the biggest threat in the room.

  Julian dove to the side hoping to God that he was out of range, smacking into the stage, looking up just in time to see Mac hurl the heavy wire at the incoming monster. The black rope had once fed life-giving electricity to the powerful stage lights, at least 700 Watts of deadly power, enough to give any giant a nice wake up call. Now it flew at the creature like a viper coiled to strike, ready to pour all that raw venomous power into the dilapidated beast. And hopefully fry the living shit out of it!

  Julian forgot to breathe as he watched, silently praying for the wire not to miss, completely praying for the thing to burn in hell—

  --and the two connected in midair, a brilliant flash assaulting Julian’s retinas. Monster and metal exploded away from each other to the tune of sizzling meat and sparks. The giant spasmed backward into the stage, its muscles popping with the invisible heat that snaked through its tortured body, the deadly wire whipping wildly across the stage behind it before falling lifeless once more. Julian was bombarded with an oily aroma, the greasy sweet scent of cooked flesh that made his stomach crawl.

  He was on his feet and next to Mac in an instant, both staring down at the smoldering monstrosity. Some of its blackened muscles still quivered slightly but otherwise it lay still. The encounter with the livewire had shaken it so harshly that it had snapped its own spine. More fluid seeped from the severed chord—

  --as the beast suddenly reared up, its flabby jaws snapping at them!

  Julian’s muscles thought for him, faster than the speed of light. They levelled the shotgun, muzzle practically sticking down the thing’s black hole throat, and fired. Bits of singed meat exploded everywhere as the opening widened twofold, a crater in the battered torso. Mac’s machine gun implanted hot lead into the gaping orifice making the thing’s body dance madly backwards again. Julian pumped another shell and fired it into the limp cadaver.

  The creature didn’t get up again. Both stood there staring, Mac stil
l squeezing the trigger despite his ammo being spent, the soft click of it permeating the silence as they watched.

  This time the creature was dead, Julian was sure of it. It had to be. Because if it wasn’t, Julian would lose all hope of ever leaving this ship alive. And someone had to get out. They had already lost too much.

  He reached a shaky hand up and placed it on Mac’s gun. “Ease down,” he said evenly. “It’s done. Ease down.”

  Mac blinked as if coming out of a trance, his eyes meeting Julian’s, and then nodded, lowering his weapon. He looked tired. Hell, they all did.

  And Gabe--!

  A fresh pang of anguish sliced through Julian’s throat. He swiveled and forgot how to breathe. Aubrey approached them carrying a small body curled in her arms.

  “He’s okay,” she reassured quickly, tears streaming down her face. Gabe swiveled his head to look darkly at the pulped creature.

  Julian thought he was going to collapse. Since when had he gotten so soft? He glared at the charred corpse. Since I met true evil I guess. His vision fluttered up to the woman who held the kid so tightly. And true good.

  “Kid weighs a ton though.” She smiled wryly. Gabe made a face back.

  “You caught him?”

  Aubrey smiled wider. “Yeah, right out of thin air. He kinda fell on me actually. Guess today’s my lucky day.”

  Julian snorted and looked at Mac, waiting for the inevitable sarcastic comment. The man was normally the bastion of humor and snappy one-liners, but now he looked like he had seen a ghost. Hell, he just killed one. But his worried expression was just another reminder that they were still miles away from safety.

  There’s just never enough time to stop and smell the fried monsters.

  Julian cleared his throat. “Look, there’s a lot you guys need to know…and we don’t have a lot of time.”

  Chapter 25

  Deck 5, Down in Front Theatre

  Aubrey blinked as Julian laid out the whole grizzly encounter with Konesco. Every word drove her adrenaline-fueled heart deeper into a panic. Just give us a damn chance will ya! she beckoned a god she was just beginning to trust again until now. Conspiracies? Jet fighters that were coming to sink an already sinking ship? If they got out of here, she’d have to forgo the steak dinner her body so desperately craved so she could track Carver down and put a bullet in him. When—when we get out of here.

  The others seemed to be taking it pretty well. Gabe stared at Julian mutely, his thoughts as much a mystery as they always were. His feet back on the ground, he still huddled close to Aubrey. The giant encounter shook him pretty bad.

  Mac, on the other hand, didn’t look at Julian at all. His sullen gaze was fixed on Gabe.

  Aubrey felt sweat prickling on her neck and held the boy a little closer. Mac’s expression was dark, fueled by something other than bad news. What the hell was his problem? And why wasn’t he there for Gabe when the creature came for him? She thought she might ask when Julian suddenly dropped his next bombshell.

  “This thing, this Watcher, was manmade.”

  Mac blinked in surprise, all evidence of his hateful reverie erased in an instant. “You mean the company engineered these things, as what, some freaky theme park ride gone wrong? Look out Mickey Mouse, It’s a Small World just got a Walking Dead makeover.”

  Aubrey was relieved to have the old Mac back again. She decided she’d forget about his hateful stare for now. She was getting a little paranoid, but who could blame her? “No, not the company, or Organization or whatever Konesco and Carver are a part of. The ancient scientists of Atlantis,” she clarified.

  Mac actually laughed. “Right Doc, Noah’s berry-picking ancestors built a super weapon to kill us all.”

  Julian stepped in. “Not a weapon. They were victims of their own hubris. They wanted to become immortal. Instead they created the worst disease that ever walked the earth…largely because it’s the only disease that actually walks the earth. Between what Konesco and Aubrey found, it checks out.”

  Silence hung over them once more, a silence filled with the question they’d been asking all night: what now? Aubrey was beginning to wonder if they’d ever have an answer. She looked down at Gabe.

  “We’re screwed,” he said dismally. “That’s what you’re saying right?”

  Aubrey’s heart did a barrel roll.

  “No, we can still jump,” Mac cut in. “Cold water or no, we should be close enough to shore by now to give us a fighting chance. I’ll take that any day over him.” He nodded at the mass of torn flesh laying too close for comfort on the stage.

  Julian held up a hand. “There’s something else, something good for a change.”

  “Oh, this is the part where I wake up,” Mac clarified.

  “No, next best scenario though. There’s another way off this ship. I found a security memo that talked about two escape pods that were recently installed. They weren’t in the manifesto so almost no one aboard knew about them.”

  Mac stared at him, his face suddenly burning into a smile. “You’ve got to be shitting me! Those sons of bitches actually did something smart! You’re talking about the XR94!”

  Aubrey and Julian exchanged glances. “Care to share with the rest of the class so we can all go to looney town together?”

  “The XR94,” he said as if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. When he realized everyone was staring at him he added, “It’s my design. I figured it’d be nice to have an auxiliary method of escape when the aquatic crap hit the turbine.”

  “You would,” Julian muttered but his smile was broadening too.

  Mac continued without pause. “Didn’t know they had a working model though. This is amazing! You say they’re aboard?”

  “Yeah, up top in the smokestack.” Julian’s expression creased with worry. “So this will work? It’s not just another wild goose chase?”

  Aubrey didn’t blame him for being pessimistic. They’d all had their hopes dashed continuously this evening. But something else seemed to be bugging him. She waited for Mac to speak, praying, hoping against hope.

  Mac’s smile didn’t falter but she saw the tired worry in his eyes too. “Just one catch. I designed the XR94 to launch only when the ship suffers a major catastrophe.”

  Aubrey gestured to the room around them. “Right, sure, no problem.”

  Mac shook his head. “No, I mean they have to be submerged in water in order to launch.” His smile slowly bled away into tightly pressed lips. “I mean we have to sink the ship. Completely sink her.”

  Everyone stared at him mutely. Suddenly jumping from multiple stories into a freezing ocean didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

  Aubrey felt the well of emotions that had been building for the last few hours finally geyser out. “And just how do you expect us to do that?” she burst. “The crew already tried to sink her, and I don’t think Julian’s shotgun is going to finish the job.”

  “No-no, wait,” Julian interjected. “It’s not as crazy as it sounds.”

  “It’s not?” Mac asked.

  “The crew has already started the process. We’re just not sinking fast enough. If we were to cause another major rupture in the hull in another place such as, say—“

  “—the engine room!” Mac agreed. “We blow the engines there and the whole ship should flood. Easy peasy. If nothing else, it’ll stop our noodly friends from reaching shore before the boys in blue blast em down to Davy Jones. Two stones with one bird.”

  Aubrey felt a faint hope swelling in her once more, but she couldn’t cultivate it completely, not yet. “That’s all great, but how are we going to do it?”

  It was Julian and Mac’s turn to exchange glances. “That bag you saw B Squad carrying contained, along with its bomb disposal equipment, a small amount of C4”

  Aubrey’s eyes widened. “You brought explosives on a rescue mission?”

  Mac smiled. “Used to destroy explosive devices on site but it never hurts to have around. Be prepared and have a sh
it ton of bombs. It’s the Boy Scout motto.”

  Aubrey turned to Julian. “But how do we know the pods are even still up there? If the creature launched all the lifeboats to trap everyone here, what’s to say it didn’t do the same to these? And why wouldn’t it use them itself?”

  Mac looked at Gabe, his sullen expression returning. He was no long the friendly harmless man he always came off as. He was dissecting the kid, a sick scientist looking for something and it made Aubrey’s skin crawl.

  “I have a few theories about that,” Mac said darkly. “It never needed the escape pods until now. It was able to somehow scramble the search radars just as it jammed our communication equipment. Only when someone aboard got a message out did we know the ship was still out here. Now planes are coming to sink her. It knows it’s threatened.”

  Mac looked back at Aubrey. “The pods are wired to eject only when the ship is sunk, Doc. So they’re up there waiting for us…and Watcher probably is too. Looks like it’s a race to see who gets them first.”

  Aubrey swallowed hard, trying not to look him in the eye, hoping he didn’t notice her discomfort. “Right, so if they’re up there, and if B Squad’s explosives ever made it to the engine room, and if we’re able to blow up the engines and somehow escape that mess alive, this might just work. Lot of ifs.”

  “Can’t hurt to take a look,” Julian assured. “We head up to the Lido. If the pods are broken then we can still jump. What do you say?”

  Aubrey looked at Gabe who shrugged. “Beats the alternative. I’m in.”

  She exhaled. A crappy plan was better than no plan. And either way they were almost home free, free of monsters and grime and fears that Mac was going to go apeshit any moment. She opened her mouth to throw in her support—

  --when the lights died with a loud industrial click, casting them all into pitch black. Aubrey was suddenly very aware that they were all too close to the corpse of the giant creature. Was it really dead? If it wasn’t, they were all about to be. She held Gabe close and erected her freshly loaded pistol, aiming at God knew what.