"I don't know."
Yelolus said, "You better find her fast."
Trang ran to the elevator and took it down. Yelolus walked over to one of the broken computers and placed his long, rough hand on it. The pain in his left rib reminded him of how close he had come to being killed. The monster was so quick and strong. He no longer thought of that thing as a human. It was a monster who could adapt. He held up his bloody fist and stared at it. "It should be dead," he said.
“You okay?"
"That monster should be dead. I beat it until I crushed its skull."
"They've proving to be very hard to kill," Smiley said.
Yelolus' communicator beeped. "This is Captain Forrester. Someone from the Jolly answer right now."
"This is Yelolus, Captain."
"You in charge?"
"Yes, I'm in charge now."
"Good, I think it's you I wanted to talk to anyway. I have my troops ready but we don't know the ship all that well. Can you meet them in the hanger and help direct them through the ship?"
"Of course."
"Good, we're getting the shuttle ready. Sargent Jenkins will meet you over at the hanger on the Jolly. If you run into one of those things do not fight it. Run toward the hanger, we'll take care of it from there. Captain Forrester, out."
"You keep the ship in order," Yelolus told Smiley. "I'm heading over to the Jolly."
Yelolus walked into the elevator and headed toward the docking tube. He wanted to stop off somewhere to get a rifle but his ship only had a few, and one had been destroyed. He wouldn't have time to head to the armory to get another gun so he hoped not to run into anything before arriving at the hanger.
He walked to the tube and opened the first door. He closed the door behind him and looked into a window onto a hallway of the Jolly. He didn’t see anything with his limited view. He turned the wheel to the door and opened it. A whoosh of air filled the tube and brought with it a musky smell. He looked to the left, then right, and listened for anything that might alert him to the presences of another being. He heard nothing and stepped into the hallway. After sealing the door he walked quickly toward the main hanger. Every sound caused him to jump and turn. Barely contained warrior blood flowed through is system. He wanted another round with the monster, wanted to finish him off but that would do no good now. Ignore the instincts, he thought, get to the hanger.
Something drop behind him. He heard the low growl and could almost feel the hot breath from it on his back. Trang told him to run if confronted by the monster. He couldn't resist the urge to look and slowly turned.
Standing in front of him, at the end of the hallway, was another monster. Dark hair lay in patches on its larger than normal skull. Legs, shoulders, and arms were bulked up to inhuman size. Its dull gray skin looked as hard as rock. Its lumpy face still held enough features for Yelolus to recognize who this once was.
"Scrapper?" Yelolus said.
The monster growled, its head tilted to the right, then to the left as if it were trying to figure out what to do next. It moved its mouth trying to form words.
"Scrapper, are you in there?"
The monster looked behind him as if it heard a noise. It sniffed the air. When it turned back to Yelolus it nodded its head then waved him off. Barely audible, Scrapper said, "Go."
Yelolus nodded and this time sprinted quickly down the hallway toward the hanger. He pulled out his communicator. "Captain Forrester."
"Yes."
"Scrapper is here, it's one of those things but I think he's fighting for control. If we spot him please tell your troops not to shoot him."
"I can't do that."
Trang chimed in, "If Scrapper is alive you can't kill him!"
"Get off the channel," Captain Forrester said. "My job right now is to secure your ship. If Scrapper is a danger he will be dealt with. Now, keep the channel clear."
Yelolus walked into the hanger’s control room to wait. The minutes passed by in slow motion as he waited for the shuttle. He continued to glance up at the vent then back at the door. His long gray fingers twitched with anticipation of a fight. His stomach tightened as he thought about how he could kill the creature the next time they met. His shoulders lifted a few inches, a sign of arousal, at the thought of combat with the monster.
The computer alerted him to the approaching shuttle. He emptied the hanger of air then opened the door. The shuttle slowly flew in, yellow lights on the bottom spun as a warning to anyone dumb enough to be under it. It landed with a soft thud and Yelolus filled the hanger with air. He opened the door and walked out just as the shuttle opened. A man in a very impressive suit of armor walked down the ramp and greeted him. "Are you Yelolus?"
"I am."
"I'm Sergeant Jenkins, can you give me some information on what's happening? The Captain said you'd be able to."
Yelolus told the Sargent what was going on, when he finished he said, "One of them is our Captain and I think he's still in control, at least a little. I would like it if we did not kill him."
"I have to follow my Captain's orders. I'm here to kill whatever has taken over your ship. If you can't help with that then stay out of my way. As an Ulliam I'm sure you understand that sometimes you have to kill what you don't want too."
"As an Ulliam I have to control my warrior and my servant side. I understand what your orders are and I know you will follow them. I only ask to show some mercy for the Captain if you can.”
"I'm glad we understand each other. Now, let's head toward the boiler room, I want to turn the heat up as much as we can." He waved to the shuttle for the other troopers to run out. All in all the hanger filled with over twenty men, most in armor, some not.
Yelolus and the troops ran down the hallway. It felt good to have a large group of trained soldiers behind him, it fed to his warrior side and gave him a sense of purpose.
The sound of a large group of armed men had to have drawn the attention of the monster. As Yelolus turned a corner he came to a sudden stop. Jenkins nearly tumbled over him. At the very end of the hallway a white haired monster stood regarding them with a drooling snarl.
"Which one is that?"
"Professor Litchen."
His troopers all knelt down and lined their guns down the hallway. The Professor didn't move, didn't seem to understand what was going on. Yelolus stepped to the side.
Jenkins looked down his own rifle and lifted his arm. He lowered it.
The volley of energy fire pierced the hallway with a strange whining sound. The Professor lifted his arm to his head to protect him from the blasts that his tough skin absorbed. He screamed and ran away, disappearing behind a corner. Yelolus wanted to run after him but Jenkins stopped him. "He won't be going anywhere. How many hits did you see?"
"I think you all hit him."
"At full power and it only annoyed him."
"They are very hard to kill."
"Our blasters won't do it, not like this, we need another plan," Jenkins said. "Come on, let's hunt him down, we'll come up with something as we walk."
#
Trang looked into Naomi's old room hoping she might be in there. It was completely empty since Scrapper ordered everything to be jettisoned into space. "Naomi, are you around?"
She got no answer and continued down the hallway asking everyone she met if they'd see her friend. No one had, it was as if Naomi had vanished from the ship. There was one place she hadn't checked, a place she tried to avoid. She found it hard to believe Naomi might be in the lab since that's where all this started, but it seemed to be the last place she could look.
Not much had changed in the room, it looked maybe less sinister even with the dried blood on the walls and sticky floor. She looked around, the dim light from the hallway making it difficult to see into the dark shadows.
She spotted an open vent and slowly moved over to it. Trang's empathy opened and she felt a wave of gut wrenching anxiety. Was Naomi in the vent having some sort of panic attack?
Sh
e lifted herself up to the vent and saw a white cocoon, broken open, a trail of silk leading away. She jumped down and turned on her communicator. She heard Yelolus and the troopers talking. They were busy. She thought about contacting Smiley but decided against it, what could she really do to help? Scrapper was gone. There was no one left to help her. It was up to her to find Naomi, that's the job she gave herself.
How should she go about it? She pulled herself up and looked down the dark vent. She would be cramped, vulnerable, but she would be able to follow Naomi easily enough. She couldn't do it quietly and Naomi would know she was being followed. She pulled herself up and with some difficulty squeezed into the tight space. The broken silk cocoon cracked under her weight. The strands stuck to her body as she half slithered, half crawled through the vent. The walls were cold and made soft banging noises as she moved down and deeper into the ship.
She reached the first opening and found the vent covering still on it. It wouldn't make sense for Naomi to not simply knock it out so she moved on. After a few more intact vent coverings she thought she saw one open and, when she looked, she found it half way pried off.
A wave of fear and anger swept over Trang. She closed her eyes and let the raw emotions wash over her. The feelings arrived from an outside force. These weren’t her emotions she was feeling, they came from inside the vent and had a familiar feel to them. "Naomi!"
She heard a growl in response. It was a low growl, like a dog warning another dog to stay away from its food. Trang swallowed hard and moved toward the sound. "Stay there, I want to see you, I want to talk to you."
She stopped when she heard something moving toward her. She waited, her heart raced, she wanted to back out, go to the open vent, leave and never return. This creature, whatever Naomi had turned into, killed countless people on this ship. Trang wasn't safe here. She wished she had a gun but all she had was her own wits and the hope that Naomi still remembered her feelings for Trang.
The deep breathing and the sounds of metal bending grew closer. From around the corner Trang saw Naomi, or what she had become. Her head had large tumor-like bumps on it. Her hair grew out of the deformity in ragged, random strands. The bumps made her eyes sink deep into her head. The clothes she wore were ripped and dragged under her. On her hand, where her fingers had been, were now claws the tapped loudly on the metal as she crawled forward.
Trang did all she could not to gasp. She smiled an uncomfortable smile. "Hello, Naomi, are you still in there?"
The monster showed its teeth, letting out another growl. She felt a sense of dominance from Naomi. Trang's every move was a sign of something, a message Naomi picked up on. Trang needed to not be afraid and to take charge of the situation. She needed to let her senses guide the conversation. Use the one thing that made her alien to help communicate. Her life now depended on how she acted. "Naomi, I'm here to help."
Naomi's anger subsided for a moment. Trang pushed the conversation forward. "We need to get you back to lab. We need to figure out how to help you. Will you follow me?"
Naomi hesitated as the feeling of distrust washed over her. Trang held her hand up, her elbow red from her leaning on it for so long. "It's okay, we don't need to go, but I do want to help. Can you understand me? Do you know what I'm asking you?"
Naomi grunted. Understanding. Trang was getting somewhere. "Good, good. We can hang out here for a while if you want, just talk and then we can figure out what to do later. Is that okay?"
Naomi moved forward toward Trang who did her best not to feel afraid. A sense of longing fell off Naomi as she grew closer. "I'm sorry I dismissed you," Trang said, trying to feel out what the emotions were. "I really do like you. It's just that being with a human is hard for us. But, if we get out of this I'd love to give it a try." Trang hoped Naomi couldn't see past her lie.
Naomi stopped moving and tilted her head. Trang felt she could see the gears moving, Naomi trying to comprehend what was being said to her. The emotions rolling off Naomi grew complex, shifting from one strong feeling to the next randomly. It was like driving down a darkened highway at full speed without any lights to guide you.
"You lie," Naomi said then lunged forward, swiping her razor sharp claws at Trang. Trang backed up and screamed, fear gripping her heart.
She moved as fast as she could backwards. The razor sharp claws barely missing her face. The vent under her banged loudly as the two moved down it. The wall prevented Naomi from any momentum behind the swipes but the claws were more than sharp enough to do damage to Trang's face.
Trang looked behind her and saw the light from the vent. When she looked forward Naomi was nearly on top of her, her teeth dripping saliva, her breath smelling like rotting flesh.
She reached the end of the vent and tried to jump down. Just as she did Naomi grabbed her face in her oversized hand and pulled her back into the vent. Trang's scream was muffled by the palm.
Naomi slammed Trang’s head into the top of the vent sending an electric spark of pain through her body. She felt her body go limp and her mind cloud over. She couldn’t focus on any thoughts as a throbbing took over her being.
Opening her eyes she saw Naomi looking at her and she wondered why she was still alive. Naomi showed her teeth and grabbed Trang by the head again and drug her through the vent. Trang couldn't see through the palm of the hand holding her, she tried to struggle but every move send another throb of pain into her head making the cloud in her mind thicker. She couldn't think about anything other than escape.
Naomi continued to drag the limp body of Trang through the duct until she reached an opening. Naomi jumped down without letting go of Trang and pulled her down to the ground with her, then she dropped her onto the floor and stepped away.
Trang opened her eyes and found herself in a room that radiate heat. The floor was hot, the walls dripped water from steam hissing out of pipes which had been shredded by a claw. Some sort of utility closet, she thought, or a repair room. She sat up, her eyes unable to focus, and vomited on the floor. Naomi stepped back as if shocked by the vile display of sickness.
"Feel better?" Naomi asked, her voice garbled as if she were taking with a mouthful of rocks.
"No," Trang replied. "You can talk?"
Naomi shook her head as if trying to shake the words out. "Difficult to think."
"You're not going to kill me?"
"Don't know. Can't think."
"Is this what happened before?"
Naomi lowered her head and start hitting the side of her temple. "Don't remember. Don't know."
"What if I tried to leave?"
"You'll die."
"So we sit and wait until?"
Naomi lifted her head as if she heard something. Then, faster than Trang thought possible for a human, jumped into the vent and moved quickly down it.
Trang tried to stand but felt the room twist under her and she fell again. Letting the wall brace her she slide down and then held her head in her hand.
Chapter sixteen
"Trang, is everything okay?" Smiley yelled nervously into the communicator. She got no response. "Yelolus? You okay?"
Again, no answer. She knew not to contact Scrapper or Jolly, both were gone beyond where she could reach them. A pang of guilt hit her as she thought about Jolly. Why hadn't she backed her up more often? Not being close to a space station for two years wasn't good enough, she should have found a way and now Jolly's memories of her and the crew for the past two years were lost. All because of her.
Scrapper was gone too, but she couldn't do anything to help him. This was supposed to be an easy salvage mission, when did it change?
She put on the interface glove and placed it on the terminal. Most of the systems had been broken down but she kept the sensors up just in case they were needed. She waited for her hand to turn warm then interfaced with the sensors. She closed her eyes and let the images of the ship flow through her. She virtually walked down the hallway, passing human shaped red dots with the names of the crew over the
m. She could see through walls and floors. Looking around she spotted several of the crew standing around, talking. Others worked at their terminals taking them apart.
A large shadow flashed quickly across one of her cameras. She turned another camera on and gasped. Something vaguely human chased several of her crew down the hallway and toward the docking tube. Yelolus closed and locked the docking tube. Those people were going to be trapped.
My god, no one told the crew to find a safe spot. No one told them to get to safety. She felt a knot form in her gut; it was going to be her job to save the crew. "Attention, everyone on the ship, listen to me. Get to the bridge. I'll do what I can from here to stop the monster from following. Drop everything and get to the bridge as fast as you can."
She wasn’t sure about the bridge being the best place to go. It would have to take the lift to get up here and she could deactivate that once the crew safely arrived.
What could she do now to save the men in immediate danger? She found the door controls in a menu. She split the computer input in half, the right side showed the men running, the left the door control. When they passed by a vacuum door she closed it. The doors were built to withstand a hull breech, to seal in seconds so the vacuum didn't suck all the air out of the ship. They were thick and closed quickly sending a loud bang echoing down the hallways. The monster stopped at the first one and looked at it. It dug its claws into the door and pealed the metal as it were a layer of tinfoil, creating a hole large enough to run through.
She had given the crew time. She did her best to keep up with the crew, getting the timing down so the monster was always a few feet behind them when she slammed the door closed, slowing it down. The elevator was close now. The door opened wide, waiting for them to enter.
Switching from camera to camera she watched as the three crew members ran. Two more people joined the group, then three more as they approached the lift. The monster's distance grew as it tired. Smiley did her best to keep one door ahead of the monster.
The group, now numbered twelve with two more running for the lift, entered. Trang watched the monster smash through a door and run up the last door before the lift. Two more crew ran toward the lift. They would be trapped if she sent the lift up now. She waited, her mental finger on the up button. Those in the lift desperately pressed the buttons Smiley controlled. The screams of them begging her to close the door echoed through her ears but she waited, she had time, they monster was at the last door and she had time.
Scrapper's Hope Page 9