by Ben Hammott
“Rozovsky, you're with me. The rest of you wait here.”
Brusilov and Rozovsky crossed the stench-filled room and stepped through the opening in the back wall where a ramp led down to a lower level. On hearing movement, the two men stopped halfway down, crouched and peered through the railings into the lower area. Their lights revealed the room was occupied. Nests formed from gathered crops were occupied by female creatures and their young. All stared at the two intruders, their eyes bright beacons in the reflected light. Some of the females' bloated bellies indicated they were pregnant. One creature that seemed to be newborn, suckled at its mother's breast. It was a birthing chamber. Four of the larger young creatures stepped nearer and growled and snarled up at the intruders. Brusilov indicated for Rozovsky to retreat and they slowly backed up the ramp and returned to the exit.
“No exit that way,” Brusilov informed the others as he glanced around the room. “Have any more attacked?”
Vadik shook his head. “Not yet. We've glimpsed them moving about in the shadows, but for the moment they're keeping their distance.”
A worried frown creased Sergei's brow. “Maybe they're waiting for the ones from the ceiling to join them so they can attack in a large group.”
Babinski glanced around the room at fleeting shadows too quick to target. “If they do, we won't stand a chance out in the open like this.”
“How's the ammo situation?” Brusilov asked.
“Not good,” Petroff replied. “We did a rough calc why you were away―about two mags each plus what we have loaded.”
Brusilov searched the walls for another exit. The monsters seemed too intelligent to trap themselves here; they must have a way in and out of the room. He stepped back from the wall, roamed his light along the higher reaches and noticed a high walkway. A dark opening at one end indicated it led somewhere. The thick metal columns running up the wall to support the ceiling beams would provide the means to reach it.
Vadik had seen the object of Brusilov's gaze. “We go up, Captain?”
Brusilov nodded. “There's an exit up there. Though I have no idea where or what it leads to, it's better than waiting here for the attack that's sure to come.”
“Amen to that, sir,” said Sergei.
The men spread out, picked a column to climb and began their ascent. When they neared the top, a group of monsters surged forward. Though they snarled and screeched, they made no attempt to climb up after them, as they had proved they could easily do from their ceiling maneuvers. When the men had climbed another few feet, the reason why they remained below became apparent. Followed by some of its pack, the large, paler-skinned leader stepped onto the metal walkway and peered down at them. It swiped its tongue over its hungry teeth and snarled.
The men couldn't go up and they couldn't go down.
The lead creature raised its head and barked three times.
Creatures poured through the doorway and along the walkway and the creatures below started climbing.
Weapon fire echoed through the room as the men picked off the monsters climbing towards them from both directions. Fresh cartridges were quickly exchanged for empty as their bullets rapidly dwindled. One by one the click of a firing pin striking an empty breach moved through the men. Those who had pistols, slung their rifle over their shoulders and resumed shooting; those who didn't, brought their knives into action, slicing and stabbing at any monsters that ventured close enough.
Their chances of survival had dwindled drastically.
Brusilov dodged the creature that leapt at him, almost falling to the ground in the process. While swinging from one hand and firing two shots into the creature's head, he noticed lights sweeping the dark room. He glanced at the lights at the far end of the room by the entrance. It had to be the engineering team. He shouted out a warning. “Don't let the door close. It can't be opened from the inside.” After regaining his footing on the column, he glanced across the room. “If that's you, Chief, we could do with some help here. There are monsters in the room and we're almost out of ammo.”
The lights held by the engineering team focused on the Captain's voice at the far end of the room and highlighted the monstrous creatures attacking their comrades.
Recovering from his shock at seeing the strange alien monsters, Nikolay turned to his men. “Alexei and Mikhail, stay in the corridor and make sure the door remains open. Yelchin, you are the best shot. Take position here and pick off as many monsters as you can. The rest of you come with me.”
The men followed his hurried dash through the room. Yelchin took up position by the end of a crop bed, knelt on one knee and looked through the Ak-12's sight. He focused on a creature above Vadik and fired. Blood spurted from the creature's head when it fell. He moved to the next creature and fired. It joined its dead comrades on the floor. He focused on the next.
Brusilov heard the single shots and saw the results. He knew it had to be Yelchin picking off the creatures. The man's talent with a rifle was wasted in the engineers. When he glanced back across the room and saw the engineers were barely halfway, he observed some of the creatures splitting off from the pack below and bounding swiftly through the crop fields towards the new arrivals. His warning echoed through the room. “Chief, you have three creatures attacking from your right and four from your left. They'll be with you in three, two…”
Nikolay halted his team on hearing the Captain's warning. They split into two and focused their weapons on the rustle of crops pinpointing the approaching threats. When the monsters were almost upon them, bullets tore into the fields, cutting crop stems and punching through monsters flesh. One leaped out with savage claws reaching for the men. Bullets riddled its monstrous form. The men dodged its falling carcass and shot the tail head that lunged at them with gaping jaws. After a few more shots rang out to kill the remaining two, Nikolay urged them forward again.
Rozovsky shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the mouth of the monster that lunged at him from above and pulled the trigger; the beast's head exploded, adding its blood and gore to that already covering his face and clothes. The weapon, held in one hand while the other gripped the wall beam for support, was pulled from his grasp when the creature crashed into his shoulder. Man and monster tumbled to the ground. While they fell, the tail head appeared and headed for his face with jaws spread wide. Just before it struck, it exploded in a spray of blood. The sound of a single shot chased the carnage. Rozovsky made a mental note to thank Yelchin if he lived through this. He landed on the pile of creature corpses littering the floor and slid down their blood-slick bodies. Creatures shrieked too close to make Rozovsky believe he would survive. He scrambled about for his lost shotgun, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Petroff's pistol clicked on empty. When he holstered it and pulled out his knife, he noticed a creature below climbing the pile of corpses towards Rozovsky. He jumped from his high perch.
Rozovsky tried to free his knife, but hemmed between two dead creatures, he was having trouble reaching it. He saw the tail head and then its owner's vicious face appear over the top of the corpse pile. Slowly it crept closer. Its jaws parted in a shriek the foulest demon would have been proud to call its own. The tail head attacked first. Rozovsky shot out a hand and grabbed it behind the jaws. It squirmed to be free. The creature attacked with claws and teeth prepared to rip and bite. Something landed on the creature's head, slamming its jaws shut so forcefully its teeth cracked and splintered. A hand grabbed the creature's head and yanked it back. A knife severed it throat. Blood gushed as the creature died.
Rozovsky stared at Petroff's grinning face and held out the writhing tail-head. Petroff obliged with a swipe of his knife that parted the head from the tail.
Rozovsky slung it away and nodded at Petroff. “Thanks.”
Petroff smiled. “You're welc…”
A creature that had leapt from the wall above slammed into Petroff and gripped the man's head with its claws. Petroff screamed as they rolled down the corpse pile. Creatures s
hrieked. Flesh and clothes ripped. Petroff fell silent.
Rozovsky scrambled to his feet and, horrified by what he saw, stared at the five creatures ripping Petroff apart.
Shots rang out. Bullets ripped holes in the feasting monsters.
Rozovsky rushed over to Petroff as the Chief and his men arrived and started picking off the attacking creatures. Rozovsky stared at his friend's body ripped open in a hundred places. Without turning his head, Rozovsky grabbed the tail-head that shot towards him and used both hands to rip the jaws from the tail. He threw both parts away.
The pale alpha male monster had remained on the high walkway observing the battle and had seen its pack mown down by the fresh onslaught. The intruders' weapons were no match for their teeth and claws; they couldn't get close enough to use them. A new plan was needed. When it barked a series of commands the creatures ceased their attack and retreated into the shadows.
After the creatures had moved away the men climbed down.
“Thanks, Nikolay,” said Brusilov. You and your men arrived just in the nick of time.”
The Chief smiled. “Just like in American movies.”
“Yeah, just like that, but let's not push our luck. We'd best get out of here before they regroup.” Brusilov noticed Rozovsky by Petroff's gruesome remains; this wasn't the time to mourn. The creatures could stage a fresh assault at any time. “Rozovsky, it's time to leave.”
Well aware of the danger and the need to get out of the room, Rozovsky gave Petroff a respectful nod and rejoined the men.
Wary of a fresh attack, they rushed across the room alert for danger and reached the exit without encountering any. Mikhail pulled the salvage cart out of the opening and Alexei closed the door when the last man stepped through.
“Bloody hell!” said Babinski, panting. “That was a rush.”
The men rested for a moment to catch their breath.
Brusilov glanced along the corridor. “One thing's for certain, we're not going any farther into the ship until we fetch more firepower.”
“Amen to that,” said Sergei.
All heads spun towards the screeching that blasted along the corridor. A mass of creatures from the crop room that had somehow cut off their retreat rushed at them.
The Chief's men fired at the tidal wave of horror.
Blood and flesh sprayed the walls from the dead and wounded monsters that tumbled and tripped those behind, packed as tightly as they were in the corridor.
Aware that with the limited ammo they had between them they couldn't kill them all, Brusilov took the only option open to them. “Run!” he ordered.
The men rushed along the corridor and headed deeper into the spaceship.
The monsters chased them.
Please Don't Let Me Die…
LUCY WAS SCARED. Frightened that at any moment something would leap out from the dense foliage. Her imagination, fueled by flashes of her nightmarish journey through Hell's Garden, perceived every rustle of leaves or sway of leafy branch as being put in motion by a monster stalking her. Her eyes darted anxiously in all directions while her head swiveled constantly, shooting fearful glances behind and above, but she saw nothing physical, only shadows―ghosts of implied threats that accompanied her journey through the jungle undergrowth. She took a deep breath and forced her nerves to regain a semblance of calm before panic overtook her and made her to do something rash. Her hands gripped the makeshift weapon tighter as she carried on.
On reaching the edge of the jungle, she found her way blocked by a metal wall. A search along its length revealed a staircase that led up to an open door choked with undergrowth that had sought new areas to expand its creeping tendrils. She forced her way through and stepped away from the encroaching plants. Once she was past the layer of dead and rotted vegetation underfoot, she stepped onto a cold metal floor. It brought her comfort that she had at last reached a normal part of the spaceship―if anything could be described as normal on this bizarre vessel. Though a few small lights blinked on some surfaces of the strange machines and objects dotted around the room, there was no ambient light to reveal what might be lurking in its many dark recesses.
Lucy glanced at the flashlight beam that no longer seemed as bright and wondered how much longer the battery would last. Chills ran through her at the thought of wandering blind through the monster-infested darkness. Her head turned as she listened for telltale signs of creatures that might be in the room. Though she heard no growls, sinister breathing or scrape of claws, only the groans of the ship and the protesting creaks of its stressed metal, she sensed she was not alone. When the light she swept around the room failed to pick out the object of her concern, she steeled herself for the journey and headed across the room in search of an exit.
Her feet barely made a sound as burglar-like she crept around the pieces of machinery that lay dormant, but ready to spring to life if their function, whatever that might be, were required. Cables, which hung like the limbs of an alien creature waiting to grab her if she ventured near, were offered the impression of life when the flashlight beam moved over them. There were so many tubes, pipes, cables and organically shaped pieces of machinery, Lucy worried that she might fail to recognize a monster if it remained still and silent. Her journey past them was nerve-wracking as she studied everything for the slightest movement or sign of life.
She was so intent on looking ahead that she failed to see the cable snaking across the floor. She tripped and stumbled into a mass of black tentacles that entwined her in their cold embrace. Lucy screamed. The flashlight spilled from her hand and clattered to the floor. When the beam swept across the tentacles she fought to be free from, she saw what they really were―inanimate cables stretching from the floor to the ceiling. A nervous sigh escaped her lips as she began to untangle herself, but froze. Shrieks erupted from various parts of the room as Lucy's fears came true; there were monsters in the room and they were on the move.
Lucy pressed her body deeper amongst the cables and tried to bring the spear up to defend herself if necessary, but it was caught in the cables. She was about to free it when something scraped on the floor nearby. She stared along the path that led between the machines where shadows and shapes converged. Something slightly lighter than the surrounding darkness stepped into view and turned its head to peer at the flashlight pointing off to the side. With sharp claws and teeth brandished for the kill, it approached the light cautiously. Lucy almost gasped in terror at the clawed foot that stepped into the beam of light. Her legs began to shake and thrummed on the cables. The monster's head darted at the sound and stepped nearer. Though her terror remained, Lucy somehow forced her legs to be still. The monster halted close enough for her to reach out and touch. It reeked of promised death and ancient kills. Its head swayed from side to side as it attempted to pinpoint the area the sound had come from.
Another monster that stalked the cause of the scream crawled along the top of the machines and paused to stare at the light and another of its kind below.
Lucy's monster stretched its head at the new arrival and snarled viciously. The two stared at each other for a moment before the new arrival took heed of the warning, lowered its subservient head and retreated.
A whimper escaped Lucy's lips when the vicious face swung back and looked straight at her. She turned her head away when it poked its vicious snout between the cables and sniffed her face. Lucy moved her fear-filled eyes to stare at the monster that emanated the scent of malevolence and decay. Its lips curled into a savage grin that exposed rows of sharp teeth stained with the blood of its past victims.
“Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die,” Lucy repeated, softly. Her breathing ragged with terror.
The monster snarled as its clawed hands reached out and parted the cables.
On the verge of panic, Lucy maneuvered the weapon around the cables. When it sprung free she gripped it with both hands and shoved it up into the creature's neck. Blood―black, warm and thick―splas
hed her. The monster shrieked, filling Lucy's mouth with its foul, predatory breath. Fighting the response to gag, she dodged the claw that swiped at her, yanked out the spear and repeatedly thrust it into its flesh. The monster stumbled back screeching in pain. Viscous blood oozed from its wounds. Multiple shrieks again filled the room when other hungry monsters detected the scent of blood in the air and came to claim their share.
Lucy emerged from her protective cover, grabbed the flashlight, dodged around the wounded monster and ran. As she careened around a corner she almost crashed into another of the monsters following the blood trail. She dived for the floor, rolled past and jumped to her feet. When the surprised monster turned, she thrust the sword into its side. It squealed in pain. Lucy ran.
A closed door up ahead appeared in the flashlight's erratically dancing beam as she sprinted towards it. Lucy prayed it would open. She slapped the door control and let out a sigh of relief when it moved. She looked down at her feet when cold water surged around them and spun when shrieks rang out too close for comfort. Two monsters stepped onto the path leading to the door and stared at her. One moved its head, sniffed the air and turned away to face the monster she had stabbed in the side. The wounded creature that was now prey, backed away, but it was too slow to avoid the claw that slashed open its chest. Its attacker moved in for the kill and ripped out its throat.
The other monster glanced behind at the carnage and the enticing scent of fresh blood, but looked back at Lucy when she backed through the doorway. It growled menacingly as it rushed forward. Lucy nipped through the opening and pressed the close button. She aimed her weapon at the approaching monster and prepared to fend it off, but the door slid shut before it reached her. Lucy panted heavily as she caught her breath. The sound of trickling water turned her around and the flashlight highlighted the new hell she had stumbled into. Her scream echoed through the room.