by Merita King
Kitt eventually persuaded Eddy to let him take him to the bathroom to clean up, so the rest of us headed back to the canteen. The thought of all those bodies that surrounded us worried me; not because I’m squeamish or anything but because I guessed the smell of all the blood and guts would be an attractant to the creatures outside. Why no one else had thought about this amazed me but then I reminded myself that these folks are just civilians and don’t have the kind of common sense that fifteen years in this business has given me. A tap on my shoulder made me jump and I turned to find the dark skinned military guy standing behind me.
“Hey buddy. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Sgt Simmia, 43rd Garrison, Unit Seventeen, Hecklorian Defence Corps. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He extended his hand and shook my own.
“Sam Sinclair,” I replied with a nod. “Freelance Law Enforcer, Tagged. I’m real pleased to meet you buddy. I’m beginning to feel lost here amongst these civilians. By the way do you have a first name or would you prefer me to call you Sergeant?”
“Oh sorry, the name’s Dexter. I’m originally from Earth but my family emigrated to Heckloria when I was eight after my uncle married a Hecklorian woman. Call me Dex.”
“Good to meet you Dex. I’m from Sigma Prime.”
“Sam, can I ask you something in confidence?” he whispered suddenly and leaned in towards me and I nodded conspiratorially. “Am I the only one who thinks we should maybe clean the place up a little? You know, the bodies I mean. It makes me more than a little uncomfortable knowing they’re just lying all around us and the smell must be like a dinner siren going off for those things out there. Surely it would make sense to get rid of em? Put em outside or something or even burn em maybe. What do you think?”
Well, to say I was relieved would be putting it mildly; I was so happy that someone was thinking along the same life preserving lines as me, I could’ve kissed the guy. Being in this situation was bad enough but being here surrounded by nice but useless survivalists made me think I’d been given the bum’s rush, so the fact that Dex was now mirroring my own thoughts was both a relief and a delight. My relief must’ve showed as he smiled when I nodded frantically.
“Hell yeah I agree with you. We should definitely get them outside as soon as possible. Animals work off smell don’t they? I know that hunchbacked thing that almost got us at the shuttle has bad eyesight so it obviously uses smell or sound or both to compensate. Besides, it’s better to be safe than sorry huh?” Dex nodded and I was pleased I had one ally on whom I could depend. For the first time since landing in this hell, I thought just maybe I might survive. This lifted my spirits a little so I decided that as no one else had taken the lead, I might as well, so I spoke up.
“Hey guys can I have everyone’s attention for a minute? Guys? Hello, guys please. Thanks. Umm my name is Sam Sinclair and I’m a Tagged Freelance Law Enforcer. I used to be in the military and I’ve been in law enforcement for fifteen years now and although I’ve not been in exactly this situation before, I’m clued up about survival techniques and have had to live by my wits on one or two occasions. My pal here is a Sergeant in the military and he and I have been discussing what’s happening here and we both agree that if we’re going to remain here any longer, we need to clean this place up.” Murmurs went around the group and I groaned inwardly; this wasn’t going to be easy.
“Well hey honey, I’ll fetch you a broom,” Luggs retorted and everyone grinned.
“Very funny,” I glared; disappointed that as ex military himself, he should know better. “Now listen you idiot. All of those corpses with their guts hanging out will be giving off a very distinctive and inviting smell and every meat eater for hundreds of miles will be on their way for a free feast. Me and Dex here know that we should move the bodies outside of this building to help ensure our own safety.” The grins had dropped from the faces now and I sighed inwardly as the truth of my words began to sink in.
“He’s right,” Luggs suddenly announced. “My apologies Sam. All that blood will be sending out a very clear signal and we’d be fools not to do something about it.” His quick apology shocked me and I again found myself contrite at the speed at which I initially judged him by his appearance. Shit, I was beginning to like the guy.
“I agree,” Flark joined in, “and although I only have authority over the shuttle crew amongst you, I would urge everyone to agree that this should be our next task.”
“Why can’t we just get back to the shuttle and leave?” Ronjo asked all of a sudden and my heart sank. It was too soon for this question and I hoped that the revelation the answer would bring could be delayed until we’d at least made ourselves relatively safe and comfortable here.
“Because the liner isn’t due back here for three days and the shuttle doesn’t have enough fuel to maintain an orbit for that long,” Flark explained.
“Then why don’t we call them up on the comms?” Marta cut in.
“They’re already out of range of the shuttle comms,” the blue eyed plank pilot replied. “The shuttle isn’t designed for the long haul so there’s no need for it to have long range comms. I’m afraid we’re stuck here until the liner returns so we have to make the place as safe as we can.”
“I really don’t think I could face handling the bodies,” Ronjo admitted. “I’m really sorry but I’m not military or anything and although as a minister of religion I’m used to dealing with the dead, actually handling mutilated corpses isn’t really part of my resume. I’m more than willing to do anything else though to make up for it; you have only to ask.”
“That’s okay Ronjo. You’ll pull your weight buddy, don’t worry and thanks for your honesty,” I smiled and couldn’t help but admire the way he was handling this situation. That smile was also for me as I gave myself another pat on the back for the way I’d expertly summed him up earlier. He was obviously not a man of action so I’d labelled him as thinker guy and now I knew why; he was religious. “Does anyone else object?” I threw out the question, hoping no one would say yes and sighed with relief when no one did. “Okay then I reckon we should start at the top and work our way down. Ronjo, since you can’t do the dirty work, perhaps you’d stay here and keep Eddy company and maybe keep up a supply of hot drinks for us?”
“Of course, I can do that,” he nodded, “and I’ll see if I can come up with some buckets so the floors can be sluiced down to at least try and wash away the blood. There may even be some cleaning chemicals hidden somewhere around, this place must’ve employed cleaners don’t you think?”
“May I ask a question?” Marta cut in and everyone looked at her. She reddened a little but held her head up defiantly. “The bodies are all torn to pieces, with their guts hanging out and everything. Could we maybe find something to wrap them in first? I don’t fancy having to carry armfuls of people’s guts down four flights of stairs.” Everyone nodded and I have to admit, the thought didn’t exactly excite me either.
“There must be tablecloths or something around here,” Cap replied as he went to a door at the rear of the canteen, “or bin liners; anything to make the job easier. Hey look here guys.” We all rushed over to find a large storeroom containing all sorts of stuff, including a huge pile of tablecloths.
“Fantastic,” I sighed, happy that at last something was going right for us. “Okay folks, grab a couple each and we’ll leave the rest of the pile at the foot of the stairs.” My smile turned to a frown as I turned to see Ronjo looking upset. “Ronjo? What’s up buddy?”
“I’m sorry guys, it’s just that to put them outside to be eaten by those things just seems a little, well a little, well y’know?”
“Yeah I know,” I nodded. It seemed just a little callous to me too but this situation demanded we act to preserve our own lives and sentimentality would get in the way. Then I had an idea. “Would you feel happier if maybe, as a minister, you said a few words before we begin?” He brightened immediately and I noticed Dex wink at me for my quick thinking.
“Yes I would feel better,” he nodded, “if everyone would be okay with it.”
We gathered at the bottom of the stairs and Flark called for quiet. Ronjo spoke quietly but his voice was unwavering as he beseeched and his wisdom found its way into all of our hearts. I’m not a particularly religious guy but I do believe in some greater consciousness somewhere that hopefully knows the content of my character and my heart and I do hope for an afterlife of some sort when I die.
“Almighty Creator, we ask that you open your arms and receive the souls of all those of your children who passed from this life here in this place. We ask that the pain and torment of their passing be forgotten as they travel to whatever afterlife they seek for themselves and we ask forgiveness for that which we are about to do to their bodily remains. What we do is not done in anger or disrespect, but with hope that these lives that are left may continue until you see fit to bring them home to your side. Amen.” Marta dabbed at her eyes and I smiled as I noticed Luggs sniff loudly and wipe his eyes on his sleeve.
“Thanks Ronjo,” I smiled. “Nice words buddy.” He nodded back in thanks. “Okay folks let’s get it done shall we? All stick together now and we should be finished before you know it.” We climbed the stairs once again and worked our way around the offices methodically. It was a fairly quick job and we got the top floor done in twenty five minutes. We took a moment to stretch our backs before heading down to the next floor and the process began again. Two hours later we headed back down to the ground floor to find Ronjo and Eddy sorting out buckets and chemicals he’d found.
“Eddy and I found a second storage room through the back of the canteen,” he told us proudly. “We have a dozen buckets and enough of this chemical to float the Sally B.”
“Great job guys,” Flark responded. “Who wants to volunteer to sluice the floors down?” he looked around and three hands went up. The blue eyed plank pilot, Marta and Kitt grabbed the buckets and headed back up to the top floor.
“I’ll ferry the containers of chemical up,” Ronjo offered as he grabbed a couple and started to climb. My back was sore and I was longing to sit and relax but I grabbed three and headed after him. We divided the containers between the four floors and I did a quick mental calculation. There was more than enough so I urged them to be generous with it and headed back down to help clear the ground floor. Luckily there were only two more bodies and we had them out within ten minutes. Once the whole group were gathered back in the canteen, exhausted and dirty with blood, Ronjo surprised me again with his resourcefulness.
“Eddy and I also found some overalls in the store room so anyone who needs to, can change their clothes.”
“Great job Ronjo,” I nodded as I took one and held it up. “Anyone with blood on them should change, just to be safe. They’re not glamorous but we’re trying to stay alive here okay. Marta, you can use the bathroom first.” She nodded and grabbed an overall and left the room. Ronjo made hot drinks and broke into the auto snack and we had ourselves a veritable feast. It was only as I was beginning to relax that I suddenly realised Nembier was still at large here somewhere and Marta was in the bathroom alone. My drink crashed to the floor as I leapt up.
“What’s up Sam?” Dex asked.
“Oh shit,” I hissed. “I forgot about Nembier and Marta has gone to the bathroom on her own.” Dex’s dark brown skin visibly paled a couple of shades and together the two of us raced from the canteen and headed for the bathroom. My heart was in my throat by the time we got there and I almost went rushing in but Dex stopped me just as I reached for the handle, so I banged on the door and yelled. “Marta, are you okay in there honey?”
“Yes I’m fine thanks,” came the reply. “Why what’s up?”
“Jeez thank god for that,” Dex sighed and I nodded.
“Dex and I are gonna wait out here for you, just to make sure you’re safe okay? Don’t worry. Take your time.”
We worked out a system so that everyone who left the main group had a competent gun with them and within another hour, we were washed and changed and back in the canteen. We were exhausted but our spirits were surprisingly high considering what we’d all been through and as the sun came up we worked out a watch rota so that everyone could get some sleep safe in the knowledge that at least two guns were keeping an eye on things. My whole body ached but I settled down as comfortably as I could and decided that as soon as I woke up, I had to find Nembier again.
Six hours later I was awake and standing at the nutri vend with Dex, wondering what to choose. These machines offer various hot and cold foods and drinks but although the taste may be acceptable, the appearance is anything but. Whatever you choose, you get a coloured gelatinous goo that looks and feels disgusting, but if you close your eyes and ignore the feel of the stuff, the taste isn’t all that bad, depending on your meal choice of course. There’s one on my ship and I live off the stuff for months at a time.
“So what’s it to be Dex?” I asked. “Most of it will taste pretty okay, although I wouldn’t recommend the Yamelian Pie to anyone but my most hated enemy.” He laughed and nodded and I knew that as a soldier, he’d know all about the nutri vend and this infamous substance. Yamelian Pie is famous galaxy wide as being the most disgusting substance known and no one I’d ever met liked it, but still those damn nutri vends insist on offering it. “Y’know I’d like to end my life having met just one person who actually likes that muck. Do you think I’ll get my wish Dex?”
“Not a chance in hell Sam,” he laughed and I was forced to agree; the chances of that happening were slim to none. As we ate, we discussed our situation and traded ideas as to how we might improve our chances and better our living standards. Suddenly Flark entered with the blue eyed plank, panting as though they’d been running.
“Well we now know how the creatures were able to get across the trench,” Flark announced and everyone looked up. “It was Chip here who saw it first,” he indicated the blue eyed plank pilot. “Chip?”
“Yeah well umm, it seems as though a landslide filled in part of the trench over at the north end and formed a sort of bridge, enabling the creatures to cross. I was on the top floor scoping out the area through one of the windows and saw it. I could even see a couple of those hunchback things strolling across it.”
“What about the flying ones?” Ronjo cut in. “How the hell did they keep those out?”
“We can answer that too,” Flark said as he spread out the plans of the complex and pointed to a small square on the perimeter of the island. “It seems that this hut is actually an entrance to an underground room that contains the power grid for the whole Island. It has a mag field antenna on the top of it, which collects power from the planet’s magnetic field and uses it to power the complex. It’s an old fashioned system but reliable and gives an unending supply of power directly from the planet itself. A lot of these types of communities still use the system. Anyway, the antenna has probably broken, cutting off the power grid but more importantly, cutting off the laser shielding net.”
“Umm, can you say that again in layman’s terms,” Marta asked apologetically.
“Sorry, yeah of course,” Chip said as he flashed her a smile. “There is a net of laser beams in a dome that covers the whole island, to keep out the flying creatures I guess. When the antenna broke, the power to this net shut down, allowing the creatures through.” He gave her another smile and she nodded.
“But we’re not without power,” Ronjo said. “We have some lights working and the nutri vend and auto snack are still operative.”
“There’s bound to be a system of back up generators somewhere,” I offered. “We’re obviously running off some kind of emergency power system in here.”
“Umm, I’m sorry to put a dampener on things,” Marta said suddenly, “but something has been bothering me. This may be a silly question but umm, how did that creature get into this part of the building?” Silence ensued as we all turned the question over in our minds. “When we arrived,” she continu
ed, “the main door was closed and we’ve not discovered a single broken or open window, so how did it get in? Don’t you think we need to find out before more come in the same way?” My heart sank as the truth of her words hit home. Just as I was getting to the point of believing that all we had to do was find something to occupy our minds until the Sally B returned to rescue us, we were back with the realisation that we could all still be eaten alive.
“She’s right,” I said, breaking the tense silence at last. “We must find how and where it got in, even if it just means we know which part of the building to avoid, but we have to find out. And I have to recapture Nembier too, especially now he has another murder on his hands.” Everyone looked at me in shock and I sighed. “Jena Marks’ body wasn’t in the same state as all the other bodies here, and if she was killed by one of those things, how come Eddy was unhurt? No, it must’ve been Nembier. The only thing I can’t for the life of me understand is why he would kill her.” Everyone ate the remainder of their tasteless lunch in silence as we pondered our coming mission.
Okay folks I’m going to break the report here temporarily. I’m getting a bit dry mouthed with all this talking so I’m going to get something to eat and I have to change this vidicom lens too. V-log reference AZ267/M, data log reference point 2458712/6541.
*****
CHAPTER FOUR
Hang on a second while I readjust this new vidicom lens. There was an unfortunate incident a couple of weeks ago when umm, oh never mind that’s another story. Okay there we go, now where was I? Oh yeah, V-log reference AZ267/M continuing report. Data log reference point 2458712/6542.
Well as I said earlier, we all ate our lunch pretty quietly and I think all of us were further unsettled when we realised we had to go searching for how and where the creatures gained entry to the prison and I was more than a little irritated that I also was to be chasing Nembier all over again. At least we all knew we weren’t going to have to search the upper floors again, which narrowed things down quite a bit but it also meant we couldn’t avoid venturing into the cell wings. This was something I was hoping we wouldn’t need to do, but we all knew there was nowhere else to go looking without going outside so we decided to split up into two groups this time. This would help ensure safety as much as possible and cut down the time it would take us to search all eight cell wings. We tried to steal ourselves for the carnage we fully expected to find in the cells, but then something occurred to me.