The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #9, Rebirth
Page 18
At length, we came to a huge gash that cut through the hull. Its outside right edge was bent against the outside of the ship. The left was smashed inwards. All the edges looked singed. There was a definite burnt smell to the area.
Nurse lady reported our findings while I tried to see if there was a way to climb into it without getting hurt. In the beam of my flash light, I saw wreckage. Twisted metal was everywhere. The only thing that didn’t appear damaged were the blast doors and the bulkhead into which they were built.
The doors presented a problem and a hope. The problem was ‘how do we open the doors?’ The hope was, perhaps, the ship was undamaged on the other side of the doors. In any case, I could see no safe way to get to the doors from where we were. After showing Nurse lady, we decided to continue along the side of the ship.
We found several more openings into the ship. But only one looked promising. This opening looked like it might have ripped open along a seam. There was no burnt smell to it. There was less twisted metal. The cavity beyond the hole opened into a room that seemed to be mostly intact. It was a mess with stuff dumped everywhere but it was recognizable as someone’s office. Better yet, the door to the hallway beyond stood open.
The hole would not permit us to slide down the hull wall. It was too far up along the curve. We would have to drop into the interior. Most likely, the distance would be close to three meters. That was a long way to fall without a rope. Also, once in, we would be trapped inside until we could find another way out.
After reporting in, we were soon joined by Derrick and Older man. They had a rope. Derrick made the line fast to a bared strut and we carefully climbed into the room. Shortly all four of us stood on the ceiling of the office. We walked up the slightly inclined ceiling and climbed over the lintel of the interior door.
We stood in the hallway. Both directions led into darkness. Here, just within the ship, all was silent. I pulled out my flashlight again and switched it on. Its beam didn’t seem to pierce very far into the blackness.
Nurse lady and I headed down the hallway to the left of the office door while Older man and Derrick went to the right. We passed several sealed doors. Without power, they were just as solid as walls – unless Older man knew how to manually override them.
We decided to continue down the corridor. We hadn’t gone far before we started noticing structural damage. Dents in the walls, fallen struts and ripped sheeting became common. The debris made forward progress more difficult but not unsafe. That is until we turned the next corner. The hall was completely blocked. It looked like the ceiling had been smashed into the floor.
We turned to return the way we had come when a slithering sound came from behind us. We whirled about and I caught a huge snake-like creature in mid strike. Its gapping mouth heading for Nurse lady’s shoulder. She saw it and screamed. I grabbed her hand and jerked her toward me. She stumbled in my direction. The movement was, thankfully, fast enough so that the creature missed her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her along with me as I turned away and ran.
We dodged the obstacles, my flashlight beam bouncing along ahead of us, as we raced the creature. We could hear it slithering along behind us. Occasionally there was a thudding noise like it hadn’t entirely missed an obstruction in the hallway. Presently, we returned to the office door. I boosted Nurse lady over the barrier into the room beyond. I joined her as quickly as I could.
Once in the office, I looked around for a weapon. I would have preferred a gun. But all I could find was a makeshift club. I pocketed my flashlight and put my back to the wall next to the door. I held my weapon ready while Nurse lady radioed Derrick and Older man.
Over her warning message, I could hear a quite slithering sound approaching the door. The sound resembled the noise wind makes when it rustles dry leaves. The creature was hunting us...
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Watch for the “Colony Ship” coming in September 2017
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Copyright © 2017 by Andrew Beery. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher. First Electronic Edition: June 2017
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