by Ben Hammott
Chairs tipped, tables screeched across the tiles and plates, food and cutlery crashed to the floor as a mad dash ensued for the far door.
The Hunter swiped out a claw at Fitch as it skidded past, but only succeed in raking claws across the doorframe and breaking off a talon. It changed direction as it skidded and headed for the opening as shots rang out.
*****
Miller, Patterson and Sawyer rushed up the stairs and along the corridor.
When Colbert thought he had a good shot at the monster racing ahead, he raised the rifle and pulled the trigger. His two shots missed when the Hunter unexpectedly skidded to a halt and dived into the galley. When people poured into the corridor he knew he had missed his chance.
To avoid the path of scattered and fallen chairs that blocked his route to the far door, Fitch jumped onto the first of the long line of tables positioned against the corridor wall and rushed along them.
The Hunter entered and ignored the humans scrambling from the room; it needed to catch the one with the weapon. Its plan to hide and emerge when land was reached had failed, but it had noticed very few of the humans had weapons, so if it could kill those that did, perhaps the remaining humans would leave it alone. If they didn't it would have to kill them all. It jumped onto the table and bounded after the human with the weapon.
Fitch stared ahead at the doorway jammed with people and then behind at the monster that would soon have him in its clutches. He shot out the next window and dived through. The rifle strap caught on a shard of glass protruding from the frame and pulled the weapon from his grasp. He struck the wall and collapsed to the floor.
As soon as the human jumped through the window, the Hunter dived through the nearest pane of glass.
As Fitch climbed to his feet, the Hunter appeared in an explosion of glass and smashed into the wall. He glanced at the people filling the corridor behind and knew he couldn't lead the monster towards them. He rushed at the Hunter as it tumbled to the floor and jumped over it. His feet hit the floor running.
The Hunter glanced at the people running away and noticed the armed men pushing through the throng. It wouldn't stand a chance within the confines of the corridor. It climbed to its feet and rushed after the running human.
*****
Thomson sat at his desk in his cabin with a glass of brandy in one hand, a lit cigar curling thick pungent smoke in the other and a satisfied smile on his lips. Life was good. He was about to take another puff of the fine cigar when distant gunshots halted it a hairsbreadth from his lips. His head spun to the door. “Russians!”
The cigar was dropped in the ashtray and the glass slammed on the desk. He rose from the comfortable padded chair, crossed to his wall safe, dialed the combination and pulled out his pistol. He released the safety, pumped a bullet into the chamber and strode from the room.
*****
As the container ship grew closer, Jack wondered how he was going to land on the heaving vessel that rocked and rolled just as erratically as the Russian vessel. One thing he did know was that it would be a rough landing.
“Buckle up tight folks―it's going to be a bumpy ride.”
“I'm used to your bad piloting,” said Richard.
“Nice to see you again also, Richard, and you still owe me a new airplane.”
Richard snorted. “Blow me.”
Jack maneuvered the helicopter above the deck and timing his descent with the falling of the ship, he lowered the craft in the area between empty container stacks set around the edges of the ship as a wall to protect the valuable alien spaceships. As the helicopter approached the deck, a strong gust swept it to the side. It smashed into a container and dropped. The rotors sheared off and shot through the air as the helicopter crashed to the ground and settled on damaged skids.
Jack glanced worriedly at his passengers. “All okay?”
Lucy nodded.
“I think so,” said Jane, unbuckling her harness.
“That's the last time I get in a vehicle Jack's in control of,” stated Richard, adamantly.
Jack glared at him. “I hope that's a promise, because the only time I crash is when you're a passenger. You're a damn jinx.”
“Well I definitely wasn't to blame this time.”
“So you admit you were before?”
Richard smiled at Jack. “I'm admitting nothing.”
“Now, now, boys, we are all safe, so no harm's done,” said Jane.
“Tell that to Admiral Thomson when he sees what I've done to his helicopter.”
They exited the mangled craft and looked around the deck that rolled and heaved with each wave striking the large vessel.
“Strange that no one came to see if we're okay,” said Jane.
“Would you venture out in this weather unless you had to?” said Jack, pulling his jacket tighter together. “Thomson's probably pissed at me for taking the helicopter and forbade anyone to come to our aid.”
Jane grabbed his hand. “If he gives you any verbal, he'll have me to deal with. If you hadn't rescued me I'd be dead.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Before you two start kissing, let's get inside somewhere warm.” The oversized jacket the Russians lent her might be waterproof, but it did little to keep out the cold.
Jack thought about securing the helicopter, but it was already a wreck and jammed against the container, so he hunkered against the cold wind and followed the others towards the nearest door. A cup of hot coffee to chase away the chill sounded like heaven to him at the moment.
Richard reached the door ahead of the others and pulled it open.
*****
Fitch glanced behind when the monster's footsteps started up again and looked at the sliver of glass he noticed sticking from his thigh. Though blood seeped from the wound, he felt no pain. He assumed that would come―if he lived long enough―when the adrenaline pumping though his body subsided. When Admiral Thomson suddenly stepped into the corridor and aimed the large pistol straight at him, he almost stumbled into the wall.
Thomson looked along the corridor he judged was the direction the gunshots had come from. The man running towards him, who wore a mask of fear, was obviously fleeing from something. The Russians must be close.
“Get on the ground!” Thomson shouted.
Careful not to hammer the glass dagger in any farther, Fitch dived to the floor.
To his credit, the Admiral recovered surprisingly quickly from the shock of realizing the Russians were not the current threat and focused the weapon on the fast approaching monster. When the first shot echoed along the corridor, the Hunter leaped to the side to avoid the large caliber bullet. It sped harmlessly past and struck a man farther along the corridor in the center of his back. He toppled to the floor with his spine cut in two.
The Hunter avoided the second bullet by leaping onto the wall and sprung across to the opposite side and over Fitch hugging the floor like it was his mother.
The third bullet Thomson fired struck the ceiling when the Hunter crashed into him and savagely raked its talons over his face and body as they both fell. The Hunter abandoned Thomson's blood-soaked corpse when it struck the floor and bounded along the corridor. As it approached the door at the far end, cold air whooshed along the corridor when it opened.
Though Richard's mouth opened to let forth a terrified scream, it was cut off by the Hunter's clawed hand that gripped him tightly around the throat and propelled him backwards.
Lucy, who was directly behind Richard, had more time. Her scream was carried away by the wind as she recoiled from the monster that had suddenly appeared.
Jane stumbled when Lucy collided with her and fell backwards.
Jack reached out and caught Jane before she hit the ground and stared at Richard's terrified expression as the monster carried him past.
Jane stared in horror at the one-eyed Hunter as gunshots followed in its wake from the men that rushed from the doorway.
The monster turned, snarled and threw Richard at them before fleeing.
Gasping for breath from the released chokehold, Richard flew through the air, but his flight ended abruptly and painfully when the men dodged aside, and he crashed forcefully into the wall. He screamed as his leg and arm snapped from the collision and screamed again when his damaged limbs struck the deck. Mercifully, the blackness of unconsciousness swept away his pain.
Miller glanced at the three unexpected arrivals as he halted, pulled out his pistol and held it out to Jack. “Do you know how to use this?”
Jack, still dazed by what had just happened, took the weapon and nodded.
“We're going to drive the monster to front of the ship and kill it, but if it gets past us, don't let it get back inside.”
“I'll do my best,” said Jack, glancing at Richard's crumpled form. “What about him?”
“Leave him. He can be tended to later when the monster's been dealt with.” Miller turned to the two women. “Get inside and head for the bridge. Tell the captain about the monster and to ensure everyone remains inside and to turn on all deck lights. If that thing gets back inside again, I'm not sure anyone will survive the onslaught.” Miller rejoined his men and they moved away.
Jane and Lucy were still recovering from the shock of the Hunter's sudden appearance when Jack herded them towards the open door. He pushed them inside and went to close the door, but Jane grabbed it. “What are you doing, Jack?”
“I've got to stay here.”
Jane squeezed through the gap. “If you're staying, I am too. Lucy can tell the captain.”
Jack knew to argue would only waste time and relented. He glanced at Lucy. “Are you okay going on your own?”
“Alone is something I'm used to lately. Good luck you two.” Lucy pulled the door shut and turned the locking mechanism before rushing away to seek out the route to the bridge.
Jack grabbed Jane's hand and together they roamed their eyes across the deck.
*****
Miller, Sawyer and Patterson paused and roamed their weapons across the deck.
“If we can drive it to the bow, it'll have nowhere to go,” said Miller.
The two men nodded and spread out with their weapons raised and moved forwards.
Miller moved over to the crashed helicopter, which explained how the new arrivals had gotten onboard, and after checking the monster wasn't hiding inside, moved on.
Sawyer moved past the shipping containers stacked along the port side and peered around the edge of the last one. His eyes roamed the area but detected no sign of the Hunter.
Fighting against the rocking motion of the ship, Patterson moved cautiously along the starboard side. As he approached the end of the shipping container, the light ahead went dark. He flipped the night-vision goggles over his eyes and edged forward. When his boots crunched on broken glass, he paused and glanced up at the broken light and knew the Hunter was responsible and somewhere nearby.
“I have a broken light on the starboard side,” Patterson whispered into his helmet mic.
“Nothing portside, so I'll head towards you,” said Sawyer.
Patterson roamed the goggles around the deck bathed in the NVGs' ghostly green light. The constant creaks of metal the ship and the containers emitted and the windblown snow and spray that howled around him made it difficult to hear and visualize everything clearly. With his senses on high alert and his eyes and weapon sweeping across every possible hiding place the monster might have concealed itself, he moved forward.
*****
The Hunter ignored the cold spray that washed over it from below and blinked the snow from its one good eye as it watched the human pass by less than a yard away. It slowly climbed over the rail it hung from and stepped silently onto the deck. Two steps brought it behind the human. A claw reached over the man's head, grabbed the helmet and yanked it back. The human's exposed throat gushed blood when its claws raked deep gouges through the soft flesh.
As Patterson died, his finger squeezed the trigger.
Sawyer dived behind the forward anchor-winch housing to escape the bullets that sprayed around him. He peered out when they stopped and glimpsed movement in the shadows shrouding the deck. He flipped down his NVGs and saw Stedman's motionless body and the rapidly cooling pool of blood around the man's head, but no sign of the Hunter responsible for the slaughter.
He leaned into his mic and, keeping his emotions under control, whispered, “Patterson's down. It's on the starboard side.”
“Copy,” Miller replied. “I'm moving around to cut off its retreat. Hold your position and I'll drive it towards you.”
Sawyer focused his weapon on the starboard side and waited.
Miller rushed back past the crashed helicopter and around the side of the starboard container stacks. As he moved along he sensed danger and looked up. Though he saw nothing, he was certain he had heard something moving along the top of the containers. It could only be the Hunter trying to get behind them.
Miller shouldered his rifle and informed Sawyer, “It's moving along the top of the containers. I'm going up while you move to the back and cut it off.”
“Copy that,” replied Sawyer and rushed for the stern.
Miller climbed up to the top of the doubled-stacked containers and when he cautiously peered over the edge he came face-to-face with the snarling monster. Its evil gaping mouth darted at his head. Miller dodged to the side, slipped and fell. He landed awkwardly, twisting his ankle, and stumbled against the rail, pain shooting up his spine from the impact. He grabbed at his rifle when the monster landed beside him. The Hunter snarled menacingly and lashed out a claw that sent the weapon flying over the side into the sea. Miller instinctively reached for his pistol that wasn't there as he had given it to Jack and grabbed for his knife instead. Pain rippled up his spine as he retreated from the advancing monster.
The Hunter glanced at the knife Miller held threateningly and seemed to smile as it held up a claw and flexed its talons. It had a handful of sharp blades.
Miller spoke into his mic, “Sawyer, I could do with your help here. I've lost my weapon.”
Sawyer increased his speed on hearing Miller's plea that wouldn't have been made if he wasn't desperate. As he rushed through a gap between the containers and into an open area, he snapped his eyes closed as the ship's main deck lights flooded the area. Increased in intensity by the NVGs still over his eyes, the light stabbed painfully into his retinas. He swiped the NVGs up, but temporarily blinded he failed to see the angled support beam of the quick-launch lifeboat structure pointed steeply over the side of the ship he ran towards. His head struck with such force his legs shot out from beneath him and he slammed to the deck.
*****
Jack's eyes constantly roamed the deck for signs of the one-eyed Hunter. When he glimpsed movement the weapon focused on it and he barely held his finger back from squeezing the trigger when he saw the soldier appear. As he relaxed, light flooded the deck and the man crashed to the ground. He and Jane rushed over and knelt beside him.
Sawyer, dazed from the blow, opened his eyes and looked at the face waving hazily in his blurred vision. “Miller's in trouble…starboard side…lost his weapon.” He pushed Jack away. “Go help him.”
Worried about leaving her, Jack glanced at Jane.
Jane grabbed Sawyer's rifle. “Go Jack, I'll be fine.”
Though reluctant to leave Jane with the monster somewhere nearby, he figured she could handle herself and Miller might be in need of urgent assistance. He dashed away to find him.
*****
Miller backed into a metal support column and held the knife ready to fend off his attacker. The Hunter rushed at the human and barely registered the pain from the slash along its arm from the human's knife. It gripped the man's knife hand and bent it back with a loud crack of bone. Miller groaned in pain and dropped the knife when his arm snapped like a twig from the monster's strength. A hot wave of nausea swept over him as he staggered to the side and collapsed to the floor. He grabbed at his fallen knife with his
good arm, but a kick from the monster sent it over the side. The Hunter moved in for the kill with its clawed limbs either side of his pain-wracked body. Its tongue slithered over teeth prepared to rip his flesh. Miller tried one last move and kicked his good foot as hard as he could into the monsters groin area. The Hunter howled and then snarled as it moved its angry snout closer. It stared straight into his eyes and sniffed his face before widening its jaws and moving its head back slightly. Miller knew it was all over.
Three shots rang out.
The Hunter jerked from each bullet that struck. It twisted around, snarled at the human responsible for the pain, and sprung towards him.
Jack forced aside the screaming urge to flee from the terrifying form of the Hunter rushing at him and aimed the gun at the monster's ferocious face and repeatedly pulled the trigger until it ran out of bullets.
Though wounded the Hunter sprung from side-to-side and avoided all but two of the bullets. It landed on the deck when the weapon made a different sound and the bullets stopped. It loped with intended malice towards the defenseless human. Jack slowly backed away. The Hunter sprung with its claws outstretched to grasp its prey.
Gunshots rang out. Blood pumped from the row of bullet holes that peppered the Hunter's side and sent it flying to the ground. The momentum of the fall sent it tumbling across the water-slick deck, stopping a few inches away from Jack with its back legs dangling over the edge. Jack placed a foot on its head and pushed. The monster stared at Jack as it slithered over the edge. Its claws failing to find purchase screeched along the metal deck until dropped from sight and splashed into the cold sea. Jack grabbed the rail for support as the adrenaline rush subsided and looked at Miller, who sat up and looked back at him. The two men nodded at each other. It was over.