by Ben Hammott
“You'll have to be quick,” stated the pilot, as the men prepared to exit. “If this wind gets any stronger I won't be able to land on the ship.”
Hopkins glanced at the dark clouds. “I assure you, this is not a sightseeing tour. It will take as long as it takes.”
The pilot shrugged. “I'm just saying.”
Hopkins followed Private Arkwright out onto the ice and across to the hole. Their gazes took in the rope tied to the pole and its trail into the hole.
Arkwright shouted to be heard over the roar of the wind and the ice pellets splattering his Gore-Tex clothing. “Jack must have already gone down.”
Hopkins dropped to his knees besides the opening and poked his head inside. “Jack. Are you down there?”
Jack had rarely been so pleased to hear a man's voice. “Yes, I'm here.”
“We don't have much time. What do you need?”
“A longer rope, this one's about fifty feet too short.”
“I'm on it,” said Arkwright, and rushed back to the helicopter.
“Is Miss Harper with you?” Hopkins asked.
“No, she fell all the way down. She was answering a while ago, but isn't anymore, so she might be injured.”
“When we have a second rope secured, I'll come down to help.” Hopkins glanced over at the helicopter and saw Arkwright heading back with a rope and an ice anchor.
The ice rumbled and shook violently.
“What the…” Hopkins threw himself away from the hole when the edges started cracking away.
*****
Because the Hunter was so close, Jane hadn't answered Jack as she was worried her voice might cause it to abandon its cautious approach and attack. Help had arrived, so if she could survive for a little longer she might live through this. She held on tightly when the ship trembled, causing metal to screech in protest and distant booms to thunder through the ship like a drumroll announcing her impending death. The frame vibrated violently, sending the Hunter that had climbed to its feet to its belly again and causing Jane to wrap her limbs tighter around the frame.
Both human and alien waited for the ship to settle before making their next move.
When Jane looked around for something that might save her from the monster, she noticed something directly above the Hunter. The large lump of ice protruding through the ship's hull shuddered and a crack formed around its base. As the vibrations faded, the ice lump fell.
Aware the ice would probably send the frame crashing to the ground, Jane climbed through and as the Hunted leaped at her she jumped for the branch a foot above her outstretched arms.
The leap saved the monster's life. Lumps of ice shot out in all directions when the ice exploded on contact with the frame that folded from the force and shot to the ground.
Lucy grabbed the branch and turned her head.
The Hunter flew towards her, its extended claws ready to receive her flesh. She tried to pull herself from its reach, but she lacked the strength. The Hunter's claws caressed Jane's jacket when it was swept aside by the large piece of ice smashing into its back. A smaller lump struck Jane's chest, dislodging her precarious grip upon the branch and slamming her into the thick tree trunk. She fell and yelped in pain when her ankle struck something hard. She collapsed and smashed her head on the branch she had landed on. Draped over the limb, through hazy vision, she watched the Hunter fall until the undergrowth hid it from her view. A shrill chattering turned her throbbing head. An Alien Squirrel appeared around the trunk of a nearby tree and bared its small sharp fangs at her. Jane would have sighed in despair if she'd had the energy. She pulled her tired body onto the branch and backed away.
The Alien Squirrel observed the still creature for a few moments before deciding it was no threat. It glanced around worriedly on hearing others of its kind approaching to investigate the disturbance. Eager to be first to feed, it moved cautiously nearer the unexpected meal.
The Hunter's frantic grabs at branches it crashed painfully into during its fall, failed to provide a firm enough hold to stop them slipping from its grasp. They did however, slow its plunge, enabling the bush it landed on to cushion its abrupt halt with the ground. Dazed by the experience, the Hunter remained on the ground and gazed up into the trees with its single good eye. When a buzzing distracted its search for the human aloft, it turned its battered head at the sound. Alien wasps exited their huge nest a few feet away. Though it was a giant in comparison to the small insect, the Hunter was aware of the danger their numbers presented. The Hunter slowly climbed to its feet and skulked into the undergrowth before it was noticed.
*****
The loud crack that accompanied the shaking ice signaled the tunnel's collapse.
Jack stared at the large chunks of ice sliding down towards him. “You have got to be kidding me.”
With no way to avoid the oncoming avalanche, Jack let go of the rope and prayed for a soft landing. When he shot from the opening and dropped, he glimpsed foliage below a split second before he was amongst it. His hands grabbed at the thin branches he crashed through and he groaned when a larger branch halted his plummet. He bounced before coming still and stared at the ice pouring from the tunnel mouth. When his brain informed him it would be a good idea to move out of its path, Jack groaned from aches and bruises as he rolled onto his knees and crawled along the thick limb.
The ice slammed into the branch behind him, swaying and bouncing it forcefully. Jack slipped to the side. He grabbed hold of the branch to halt his fall and held on. He glanced down at the thick branch beneath his feet and dropped onto it. He swayed unsteadily before regaining his balance.
A scream alerted him to Jane's position. He snatched the weapon slung over his shoulder and aimed the light in the direction the scream had come from, but the trunk of the tree opposite blocked his view. He moved to the end of the branch and crossed to the other tree. When he moved around the trunk he saw Jane one tree away and the small but vicious Alien Squirrel creeping towards her. Jack put the weapon to his shoulder and aimed at the creature. A single shot echoed through the jungle. The creature lurched backward in a spray of blood. Jack moved through the trees and knelt by Jane.
Jane smiled at her saviour. “You took your time.”
Jack grinned. “I was waiting for the most opportune moment to make my heroic entrance.” He ran his eyes over her body, noticing a few rips in her clothes. “Are you hurt?”
“A few more scrapes and bruises to add to my extensive collection, but nothing serious.”
Jack peered through the foliage at the sounds of things moving through the trees. The glimpse of another Alien Squirrel prompted him into action. “We need to move.”
Jack helped Jane to her feet and led her along the branch and onto the next tree.
Jane glanced below. “Where are we going? That one-eyed Hunter is down there. It came down the ice tunnel after me.”
Jack glanced behind. A group of Alien Squirrels jumped from branch to branch. “We may not have much choice if we run out of trees. The tunnel collapsed.”
Jack fired off a couple of shots, killing one creature. It made the others cautious, but didn't halt them.
By the time they had crossed from tree to tree and reached the end of the room, the vicious squirrels had increased in number and were converging around them.
Jack pulled aside a branch and gazed at the rock wall and the waterfall pouring from an opening at the top that looked big enough for them to take refuge in. He pointed it out to Jane. “If we can reach it the creatures will only be able to attack from one direction and will give us a better chance of defending ourselves. Maybe when I've killed a few, the others will give up and leave us alone.”
Jane admired Jack's optimism as she stared at the dark opening. Though she wasn't keen to be trapped in a space with only one exit, the squirrels had the advantage in the open. She studied the cliff the branch led to. It was rough with plenty of hand and foot holds. It would be an easy climb. “Let's go.”
The branch sagged with their weight as they moved to the tip and stepped onto the rock. A short climb brought them to the cave. Jane entered first, stepping into the cold water pouring over the lip. She pictured the creatures in the pool below looking up at her, urging her to slip and fall into their world. Jane disappointed them when she moved to the back of the six-foot deep passage where a pipe fed water into the cave. Jack followed her inside and aimed the weapon at the opening.
The creatures weren't about to be kept from their food so easily. They had numbers on their side. Attacking en mass had worked before on larger creatures when hunger necessitated the riskier attack method. They climbed the rock and swarmed into the hole.
The weapon in Jack's hand sprayed bullets at an alarming rate at the creatures highlighted in the weapon-light and muzzle flashes. They shrieked and squealed when bullets tore into them. Their small bodies, shot back by the force, slammed into those behind and knocked them out of the cave. Some splashed into the pool below and were quickly dragged into its dismal depth by the amphibious predators happy to receive them.
Jane clamped hands over her ears in an attempt to block the deafening gunfire that exploded through the small cave and shrunk back in fear of the creatures pouring into the entrance. The bullets that currently saved them from being devoured wouldn't last long at the rate they were being used. Jack seemed to reach the same conclusion, as he changed to firing short, controlled bursts.
Jane glanced around for something she could use as a weapon; perhaps there was a loose rock or a piece of metal she could pry loose. Spying nothing on the ground, she examined the walls and then the ceiling. Her gaze paused on something set in the rock―a rusty hatch. Her hands reached for it and pushed. It didn't budge. She put her shoulder to it and shoved. It moved slightly. She pushed harder. The hatch opened with a loud protesting screech and tipped back on its hinge.
She tapped Jack on the shoulder and when he glanced behind, pointed at the opening. He nodded and when Jane had climbed through he backed towards the hole while still firing. The last bullet shot from the barrel. Jack dropped the weapon, grabbed the flare gun from his pocket and fired the last flare at the vicious squirrels. As the bright light exploded and the creatures sizzled and screeched, Jack dropped the pistol and pulled himself through the opening. As soon as his feet were clear, Jane slammed the hatch shut.
Jaws
LUCY BACKED AWAY from the monster's staring eyes, stumbled, and crashed into the door she had just come through, causing the monster on the door's far side to screech and bang upon it. The amphibious creature only eight-feet away from Lucy, blinked all six of its eyes, three set in a row down either side of its monstrous head. All that separated them was the thickness of the twenty-five-foot high transparent wall that formed the circular aquarium that almost filled the room. The four, short, three-clawed arms that surrounded the monster's mouth, scratched at the transparent barrier as if trying to penetrate it to grab the prey it eyed hungrily.
Lucy altered her gaze when she noticed movement. Something, parasitic in form and about a foot long, moved atop the creature. Its head was surrounded by triangular growths of varying size; some had small spikes on their tips. It had no obvious sign of eyes, but when it halted its nibbling on the creature's skin, looked straight at her and spread its mouth, Lucy had no doubts it had detected her presence. More of the parasites fed on whatever it was they found so appetizing on the amphibious monster's large body.
When the Leviathan tapped its snout against the side of the tank, Lucy's eyes darted to the water trickling from the crack in the aquarium wall a few feet away as the increased pressure forced the fracture to spread with a splintering sound.
As if curious as to what had emitted the sound, the amphibious monster backed off and stared at the crack for a few moments, as if calculating the discovery for the first time. When it turned away, Lucy stared at its long, sleek body, which shimmered blue, red and green in the beam of her flashlight when it swam by. Some of the large parasites dotted over it body, turned their heads in her direction and opened and closed their beaked jaws menacingly. Two spiked-fins were attached to the Leviathan's back. Ribs of bone ran the length of its forked tail and protruded past its skin to form thin, sharp spikes. Lucy thought it to be about twice the size of a great white shark. After a few flicks of its tail, it vanished into the gloomy, green water.
The skeleton of a creature that seemed to match the species that had just swum away, though slightly smaller, rested on the bottom of the tank, its bones being picked clean by small, strange alien scavengers. Lucy thought she noticed another skeleton farther away, its ghostly form almost concealed by the green tainted water.
Lucy recovered from her latest fright. She had to keep moving. The monsters in the machine room she had just escaped from might be able to open the door. She was about to turn away when movement in the tank distracted her, a hazy dark shape grew larger. The Leviathan was coming back. More worriedly, it was speeding straight for the tank wall. Lucy's gaze shot to the water dribbling from the crack and guessed its intention. She rushed around the edge of the huge aquarium.
A loud boom rang out behind her.
The aquarium wall shook.
The tank splintered.
The loud crash echoing around the room was followed by the roar of escaping water.
Lucy shot a glance behind. Water gushed from the broken tank so furiously a tidal wave formed and sped along the gap between wall and tank. The large creature carried through the hole by the escaping surge, collided with the wall before the torrent of escaping water grabbed it and carried it towards Lucy. Too fast to outrun, the wall of rapidly rising water gained on her. Its front edge scooped her up and sped her forward. She kept a tight hold on the weapon and flashlight as she tumbled in the turbulent water, catching glimpses of the Leviathan growing steadily closer on each roll. She turned her head at the pipes running along the wall and checked the flashlight strap was still hooked around her wrist; she would rather lose the weapon than the light, but she'd keep both if she could. She let the light dangle, reached out for one of the pipes and used them to steer herself towards the surface while the flood carried her around the circular room. She gasped in deep breaths when her head surfaced and looked at the pipes that continued almost to the ceiling. She grabbed at a bracket fixing the pipes to the wall. Her hand slipped from the first, but gripped the second. The current swung her body on its anchor point lengthwise along the wall and she slipped between two pipes, half in and half out of the water. The Leviathan broke surface thirty feet away and looked at its prey. With a flick of its tail it headed for her. Its mouth opened to reveal the sharp triangular teeth that lined its upper and lower jaw. The frightening vision reminded Lucy of the movie, Jaws, though this was far more terrifying.
A parasite clinging to the monster's head, released its hold on its host. The current propelled its light body through the water it grabbed at with its stubby, eight-clawed limbs to steer it towards her. Lucy jabbed the spear at it. The tip entered its mouth, smashing through its teeth. When she shook the revolting parasite free, creamy blood spewed into the water.
The Leviathan approached rapidly with its clawed mouth-hands reaching out for her, their task to guide her flesh between its terrifying jaws. Lucy pressed her body deeper between the pipes as one clawed hand screeched along a pipe. Lucy prodded it savagely with the spear. The arm retracted. Aware its head was too large to reach its prey, the Leviathan's eyes glared at her when the current sped it past and Lucy watched the scaled-body of the beast glide by. Its tail flicked and smashed against the pipes. The wash from the force loosened her hold and the current grabbed her in its grasp again.
Lucy turned herself around so she faced forward. The monster tried to turn to reach its prey, but it was too large for the limited space and the parasites weren't strong enough to fight against the surging current. When the Leviathan sped away, Lucy guessed its plan was to swim in a circuit and come up behind her. She struggled to the
surface, gulped in air and grabbed hold of a smaller pipe to halt her drift. Her searching gaze fell upon the grill of a ceiling vent. She climbed the pipes free of the water and grasped the vent with her fingers and pulled. It refused to budge. She laid the weapon on top of a pipe free of the water, wrapped a leg around another and gripped the vent with both hands. The Leviathan rose above the ever-rising water fifty feet away. Horror spread across Lucy's face as she again stared into the wide open jaws that promised pain and death, and at the evil, grabbing-claws impatient to grasp her flesh. She frantically yanked at the vent. It came free as the monster leaped. Lucy screamed when she lost her balance and splashed into the water. The Leviathan spurted forward. Lucy slammed the metal grill at the vicious mouth, jamming it between its jaws. She let go and spun her body around. Aided by the current she swam away as fast as she could.
Two parasites launched themselves from the back of their host and let the current rush them toward their prey.
The Leviathan shook its head as its mouth-claws grabbed at the vent in attempts to free it. The monster clenched its powerful jaws. The metal edges bit into its skin before it folded. When the mouth-hands pulled the grill free and threw it clear, the Leviathan's tail swished and sped it through the water.
Carried by the surging current still draining from the massive aquarium and her adrenaline fueled thrashing, Lucy sped around the circular tank. Worried she'd miss the open vent, her only chance to escape the monster fish and its evil passengers, Lucy gulped down a few breaths of air and dived below the surface. The featureless circular tank had only one landmark she could rely on, the hole smashed in its side. She glimpsed it up ahead. Not far to go now. She glanced behind. Two small, pale shapes loomed up on her. One snapped at her toes. Regretting she didn't have the spear, Lucy jerked her foot from its reach. The other parasite had used the distraction to launch its attack and headed for Lucy's thigh. Lucy screamed and swallowed water when the parasite's eight sets of claws latched onto her skin. When its head moved to bite her, Lucy grabbed it and pulled it free, ripping her skin in the process. It had the revolting consistency of a maggot. She slammed it against the side of the tank and released it. She wasn't sure if it was dead or stunned, but for the moment it was no longer a threat. Its companion though, was. She kicked out at it, landing it a blow. It shot to the side and disappeared between the pipes on the wall. Though she had slowed it down, she spied the parasite swimming along the gap between two pipes.