Into The Void

by Ryan Frieda

  Captain Steele used his gun as a brace to get up.

  “Jamie what the hell is going on and how do I get out of here?”

  “Take a right, then run straight. There is another hole in the object I have piloted the ship to.”

  Captain Steele started to run and fell back down. He got back up and quickly fell down again. Threat indicators were everywhere. He had to make it. He got up and ran for it. As he made it to the first hallway a large creature came around the corner and swung itself at him. He ducked and kept on moving.

  “Jamie, what the hell is that thing?”

  “It is the creature that was being worshiped on the diagram that was on the floor.”

  The creature was very large, probably about 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide, running on three massive hind legs with two massive arms in front. It had two eyes with eight pupils. Its teeth were about 3 feet long and looked as if they could easily cut through reinforced steel.

  Captain Steele ran as fast as he could but the thing was faster than him. He turned around and fired several shots at its massive body hoping to slow it down. As the bullets were about to hit the creature, part's of the body disappeared and reappeared.

  “The creature is a holographic species. It is a physical creature but it also has the ability to remove all or part of his body from the universe temporarily. It can also change forms,” Jamie said.

  “How the crap does it do that?”

  “John it was a natural ability. The files do not say what happens when they become holographic and where that body part goes.”

  “How am I suppose to kill it then?”

  “We can't.”

  “How did others kill it?”

  “With weapons beyond our comprehension. They made them early on in their evolution.”

  “Get me out of here Jamie!”

  “Head left at the next hallway.”

  Captain Steele ran checking over his shoulder to see where the creature was. As the creature was almost on him he turned around abruptly, pushed hard off the ground using the DSSM suit's strength amplifier causing him to slide towards the creature, and fired several more rounds at the creature only to see that part of the creature's body disappear and reappear where the bullets would have hit. The creature took a swing at him as he was sliding under it and just barely missed. Captain Steele fired more rounds as he was sliding underneath the creature but no luck. He then stood up. The creature then turned around just as fast as he had and swung it's large arm at him. The hand of the creature struck him in the chest knocking him several yards back and causing him to hit the floor sliding on the ground for several more yards.

  “Need a game plan Jamie!”

  Captain Steele ran away from the creature hoping to buy enough time for Jamie to come up with a plan. The creature ran at him and he fired a full magazine at the creature and the creature just kept charging at him with the small parts of it's body disappearing and reappearing as each round passed through it. Captain Steele reloaded and ducked as the creature swung at him again barely missing him. He ran away from the creature again and it turned just as fast and made another swing for him hitting him in the back with such force that it knocked him several yards forward causing him to slide across the floor several more yards. The pain was already more then he could bare and with this thing knocking him around it was only another hit until he was out cold.

  Captain Steele wondered if the creatures holographic nature could be used against itself. He got up and let the creature run towards him. As the creature approached it's swinging distance Captain Steele readied himself to jump and hold onto its fur. The creature stopped just short of him, raised its hands up and swung downward. Captain Steele took a step back just as the creatures hands hit the ground. The force of the creature hitting the ground caused a miniature earthquake in the area that the DSSM registered at a 17.5 magnitude.

  The force knocked Captain Steele up into the air for a split second as the creature swung at him. The creature's hand hit him and he went flying into the wall cracking the wall he hit. The DSSM gave Captain Steele a “shock call” awakening him from the coma that the shock of the pain put him in. He saw the creature running straight at him at a high rate of speed. He leaned to the left at the last second as the creature swung at him hoping to smash him between the wall and its fist. Captain Steele grabbed the creature's arm as the creature pulled it's arm back.

  Captain Steele held on as the creature swung it's arm back with all its force. His DSSM registered he was taking 100 times Earth's Gravity. He was used to high gravity environment training but 100 g's was more than he had encountered at a second's notice. His DSSM used it's gloves to hold on to the creatures massive arms with well over 50,000 pounds of force. He then took his rifle and fired several rounds into the creatures arms. The rounds hit just to the left of his hands successfully striking the creature. The creature roared causing his suit to register sound levels at 4,000 decibels, 25 times the amount needed to rip apart an ear drum. His DSSM was able to cancel most of it out, even with the broken face plate, but the sound still came into his suit and the pain was so intense that his suit gave him another shock call.

  Captain Steele fell off the creature as he came to. The creature grabbed Captain Steele's leg and swung him up into the air where he took another 100 g's. His suit gave him another shock call and he took his rifle and open fired at the creature's arms and it hit. The bullets caused the creature to let go of Captain Steele. As Captain Steele fell to the ground the pain medication wore off and his suit gave him another large dose. He picked up his rifle and fired more rounds at the creature only to have the bullets miss because of the creatures ability to disappear and reappear.

  Captain Steele started to get up as he was reloading when the creature slammed his hands on the ground causing another miniature earthquake. The creature then swung it's hands back at Captain Steele causing him to be thrown into the wall causing the wall to crack. His suit gave him another shock call. No one has every lived past more than four shock calls in four hours and he was at four shock calls.

  Captain Steele grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and moved to the right as the creature swung at him. The creature missed by inches and Captain Steele grabbed the creatures arm and placed a grenade it it's hand. Captain Steele timed it just right so that he could cook the grenade and ride the creatures arm long enough to be thrown far enough away from the grenades explosion. The creature threw it's arm back and Captain Steele let go and took only 50 g's this time as the grenade went off. The grenade sent an electrical, flammable, and biological liquid along lines of electricity in a nanosecond with a plasma thermonuclear implosion causing flaming fragmentation spewing everywhere as the creature's arm blew straight off.

  Captain Steele looked at the creature as it took a second to look at it's own blown off arm. The stump from the arm then started to spew a clear liquid sludge that had a neon glow around it. From the stump another arm started to grow.

  “Oh sh-”

  Captain Steele opened fired hoping that it would hit the creature. As the bullets hit the creature's stump it spewed more clear neon glowing liquid sludge. Captain Steele quickly reloaded and fired some more before the creature turned towards him, roared, then coughed up even more clear neon glowing liquid sludge before falling to the floor.

  Captain Steele unloaded another magazine into its head to make sure it was dead. This time the bullets went into the head. He paused for second.

  “I can't believe it. We did it. We killed it,” Captain Steele said.

  Captain Steele laid back and took a deep breath.

  “I can't believe it. I can't believe I won that fight. I thought I was done for.”

  Captain Steele's suit then indicated over 20 more threats that were exactly like the creature he had just killed that heading his way.

  Captain Steele got up as fast as he could using the wall to help. With 20 more like that coming this way he was going to die unless he got out of there
now.

  “I need an extraction now Jamie. Blow a hole open in the hull.”

  “I can't John. That creature's Earthquake didn't even cause a crack in the outer hull. If we had fire power like that we would be using it all.”

  “Get me out of here. I can barely walk and I got 20 more incoming!”

  “Straight and to the left John.”

  “That's where their coming from! I need another way.”

  “Hurry. It's the fastest way.”

  Captain Steele ran as fast as he could using the wall for support. He was about to pass out.

  “How much further Jamie?”

  “500 feet.”

  Captain Steele hurried. He could hear multiple roars echoing down the hall from those creatures.

  “300 feet.”

  He was moving as fast as he could and the sound was becoming louder.

  “200 feet.”

  He thought he saw the small opening and hurried to it. The roars became louder and louder. The foot steps of the creatures sounded like an army of billions coming up against him. Their foot steps echoed off the walls. The sound was deafening. Each step he took the pain was just at his threshold even with the DSSM's help. He could see them running at full speed just ahead and he was moving one foot every coupled of seconds. At that rate they would be on him.

  Captain Steele picked up the pace hoping that he could survive the pain and that the DSSM's last shock call wouldn't kill him. The creatures form's could be made out running down the hall, their roars causing his bones to vibrate causing intense pain. Their foot steps were making everything louder. He then felt a sudden desire to give up. He remembered his mission and how futile it was. He knew he was going to die slowly and alone but this way he could die in a second. He stopped just short of the opening. He thought for a second and remembered that he just killed the coolest thing he has ever seen. He remembered that he is the best of the best, numero uno, the top dog, the one his friends and family are depending on. He was given an honor that no one has ever attempted. He pushed forward as the sound became unbearable. The pain was intense. He reached the opening and climbed into it as the creatures ran by. He continued to crawl just a short way before the pain was to much. He saw the creatures appear to talk to each other and reach for him.

  Captain Steele knew he had to leave fast. He crawled around with each step becoming more painful. He took one last step before reaching a small hole. He looked down the hole and went feet first into the hole. He fell down to a large hallway with support beams along the sides. He looked down both ways before hiding behind one large beam. The creatures then suddenly crashed through the ceiling. The dead creature's body was thrown into the hole as several other creatures jumped down the hole. They then made another hole and repeated the process, throwing the dead creature's body down the hole before jumping down with it.

  Captain Steele watched from behind a support beam before carefully moving over to the hole. He peered down the hole and saw that after about 20 floors it opened into space. The creatures where giving it a burial.

  “Wow. You see this Jamie?” Captain Steele asked.

  “I do. That's interesting.”

  “Yeah, guess who gets to bring home a trophy.”

  Captain Steele looked down the hole. There where about 20 decks before hitting space.

  “Jamie bring the ship around. I'm jumping into space. With my broken faceplate and broken armor I will immediately feel the effects of space on a human body. Open the door, and be ready, big game trophy hunter is coming home tonight!”

  Captain Steele jumped from the current deck hoping that he wouldn't hit any other decks on the way down. As soon as he passed several decks he saw one creature eating another that was still alive but submissive. He looked down and saw blackness below him and took a deep breath. He hoped that the cold of space wouldn't knock the air right out of him causing the water in his lungs to freeze permanently. Jamie brought the ship flying around the corner and opened the portside airlock as Captain Steele grabbed the creature's corpse and landed in the air lock. The air lock shut and pressurized. He then dragged the creature in before falling to the ground.

  “John, we need to get that thing contained before we look at you.”

  Captain Steele used a lift device to pick it up and take it to storage where there was a secure lock up. He put it in there and went to med bay.

  “It will be fine for now Jamie. I killed it once, I can do it again.”

  “Fine,” Jamie said.

  Captain Steele went to the med bay where Jamie scanned him for injuries before telling him what damage was done to him..

  “You have broken all your ribs, five of which are open outside the skin, a punctured lung, one broken shoulder, two broken forearms, one broken thigh bone which is outside the skin, two broken shin bones both of which is outside the skin, a broken pelvis, a broken knee, massive internal and external bleeding temporarily stopped because of the DSSM, two severely damaged ear drums, severe shock, severe brain trauma, massive deep lacerations across your body, five times the lethal amount of radiation, some kind of biological agent inside your system of alien origin, and enough medication to kill a herd of elephants.”

  “The DSSM suit does its job.”

  “That it does,” Jamie said, “Sit tight, we will have you fixed in a couple of days.”

  Chapter 8

  A Time Long Past

  Captain Steele awoke after four days and headed to the lab to do the video log.

  “Captain Steele, log 92, year 4010, month 5, week 3, Standard Milky Way year.

  “I have been doing these for sometime now. Life has been hard, really hard.

  “The other day I came across an object out here that was of alien origin. I came across some kind of alien and it almost killed me. I've never had so much fun in my life. I will upload the videos of the exploration of the object when I'm done with this log. There are a lot of unanswered questions about it and I do not recommend a team to move out here and look for more answers.

  “The time out here has been rough but I think I am adapting to it. I think I have become okay with the emptiness. When I went onto that object, there was something different about it, something crazy. The creatures had a holographic nature and their bodies shifted based on your viewing angle and would disappear and reappear as needed.

  “All the data recorded from my DSSM will be attached to this log. There is extremely sensitive data that was previously sent. Make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands. Captain Steele, out.”

  Captain Steele walked over to his bunk. He looked up at the dead creature's head that he had killed on the object. He ended up stuffing it so he could display it. He was really beginning to like this cozy ship. He liked it even more now that he had his stuffed alien's body.

  Captain Steele went over to his computer to watch the videos that where taken from the console back on the object. He opened the first one.

  “John, these are extremely graphic.”

  “I know but I need to see them.”

  He opened the first one. He saw what he assumed were scientist working around a large device. They looked at the camera and were speaking.

  “Jamie, what are they saying? Can you translate it with the data we found?”

  “I can now and I will. Done.”

  Captain Steele hit the play button again to start watching.

  “This is a test of a black hole. We have found the ability to create a small black hole and we are able to contain it. We will start the test now. This video is a recording of it,” a scientist said.

  One creature walked over to a console and touched it. The camera then focused onto a test chamber. There was a bright flash of light, a loud sound, then the light was being distorted into something. You couldn't see where the light was going but it disappeared into a black in color object. The light itself was having colored ripped from it. At times the camera would show a view looking at the black hole from above and looking at it from th
e left and from the right of it.

  “As you can see, the light is being ripped apart. As you know, light is just a wavelength and that is why we can see it and other colors. Here its wavelength is changing due to the black hole. We figure that because sometimes things disappear from our sight that happen to be behind the space we are looking at, we assume that the light's wavelength is changing to a color that our eyes can not perceive and therefore cause the object disappears from our sight.”

  The video showed the black hole from the top view camera and you could see to the left and to the right of the black hole that there was a green box. Then the camera showed the view from both the right and left sides of the black hole while looking at the black hole. At times the footage from the camera looking at the green boxes on each side of the black hole would suddenly change color. It was like looking through a clear yellow, green, or blue glass so that everything changed to be yellow, green, or blueish in color. At other times the footage from the cameras looking at the boxes would see the boxes just disappear and there would be nothing there but a giant flashing blur of clearness.

  The area around the black hole were also moving. It was like looking at something through a heat wave. Both concepts hurt Captain Steele's head to watch.

  “As you can see, we have successfully created a black hole. We can maintain this for any length of time. We can even increase and decrease the size of it. We also have the ability to kill it so it ceases it's existence.”

  One scientist hit a button and everything returned to normal and the black hole was gone and the video ended.

  “John, that was the first public showing of a black hole. The next video is where it starts to get graphic. Are you sure you want to see it?” Jamie asked.

  “Yes,” Captain Steele said as he hit the play button again.

  “This is a test of how the black hole affects living creatures. Here we have a large animal in a cage. We will move the cage closer to the black hole to see what happens to it,” a scientist said.