"Mr. Alvarez…"
"Let me also point out that if you die down there, you'll kill the woman behind me who has been afraid to take her eyes off of you since this began."
She stood angrily from her seat. "That's not only extremely manipulative but way out of line."
He stood his ground. "It's also true, Commander."
She opened her mouth, taking a deep breath to get some steam behind her tirade.
"He's right, Commander," McNeely cut her off. "On all counts."
She slowly closed her mouth and studied the men silently for a moment. "I'll let you know in the morning," she said finally. "At that time, I'll brook no further argument. Regardless of my decision. Right now, I could use some rest."
They nodded silently and she began to walk away.
"Commander," Reynolds said. "The entry codes have been changed, you'll need to memorize the number."
She stopped and turned to view the monitor, committing the code to memory. "Thank you, Chief. Let's keep everybody close to the door for the evening. Just in case."
"Understood," McNeely answered and she walked off slowly in Corky's direction.
Corky was leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest; Malory noted the brown eyes watching her attentively.
"Hey," she said with a grin as she approached.
"Hey," Corky replied quietly and Malory slid down the wall to take a seat next to her.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Corky said, reaching out a hand to pet the back of her head. "Your beautiful hair."
"Huh?" Malory asked, bringing a hand up to check and finding the stub of a ponytail. "Shit," she said, pulling the useless band out. "How bad does it look?"
Corky grinned and studied the now shoulder length hair. "Kinda cute actually."
"Really?"
Corky ruffled it playfully. "You look great."
Malory eyed her suspiciously.
"Really, it looks good," Corky soothed.
Malory shrugged. "I guess I'd rather lose a hunk of hair than my ass."
"Your hair will grow back if you don't like it," Corky said and then whispered. "But I want that ass to remain where it is. It looks good on you."
Malory smiled slyly. "It does?"
"Uh huh. I'd like to see it right about now."
Malory beamed. "As much as I would love to indulge you, I'm afraid our situation isn't as private as I would prefer," she said with a look around, noting more than one face watching them curiously.
Corky giggled. "I suppose that would ruin your command image."
Malory chuckled. "Pretty much," she agreed and winced.
The grimace didn't escape notice. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Corky didn't buy it and glared at her stubbornly until she reddened guiltily. "Take a deep breath for me."
Malory sucked in a gulp of air and blew it out with a triumphant smile. Corky's eyes narrowed and her hand darted forward to probe her side, receiving a sharp hiss of pain for her effort.
McNeely had been watching them for the last few minutes and turned to his comrades. "Hey, fellas," he said. "Check this out," he added with a gesture in Malory's direction.
Four sets of eyes covertly studied the ensuing scene, watching as the little doctor began to quietly scold the guilty looking Commander; eventually rising to her feet and pointing authoritatively to an adjoining room. Malory offered what was apparently an unacceptable response and the doctor bent over to pull her to her feet, again pointing to the next room. Shoulders slumping, Malory sighed and turned to walk through the door Corky had indicated.
McNeely chuckled as the women disappeared. "Looks like someone outranks her."
"I'll be damned," Reynolds said. "Are they together?"
"Yeah," McNeely admitted.
Ring grunted. "I was wondering what was going on with them."
"Who gives a shit?" Alvarez said. "I'd follow her orders to the Gates of Hell."
"You might have to do just that," McNeely said.
II
Corky pointed to a table and turned to lock the door. "Take a seat and strip off that shirt."
Malory did as she was told, sitting down on the metal worktable and pulling her sweatshirt over her head. Corky gasped from the door and rushed forward.
"Jesus, Malory," she said, eyeing the massive purple-yellow bruise covering most of her side. "Lift your arm."
Malory raised an arm in the air and tried not to wince as Corky gently probed her side, failing twice and receiving extra attention in that area.
"Take a deep breath."
"I can't."
Corky sighed. "Oh, baby. Just take a big breath and hold it for me. This might hurt a little."
Malory nodded and did as she was asked, grimacing as Corky pressed a hand against her in examination.
Corky dropped her hand. "They're not broken but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't cracked," she said with a measure of relief. "I'll need to wrap them."
Malory blew out a puff of air. "Well, that's good news."
Corky frowned at her. "No, it isn't. You're all beat up and I don't like it one bit. One side of your face looks like someone hit you with a hockey stick, you've got cracked ribs and are minus a foot of hair."
Malory brought a hand up to her hair self-consciously. "I thought you said it looked good."
Corky slapped her on the knee. "I can't believe you," she said, shaking her head. "Out of all that you're worried most about your hair? Don't be such a girl."
An indulgent smile. "I thought you liked girls?"
Corky rolled her eyes. "I do. But I love you and I don't like to see you hurt."
"I love you too, Corky."
"I was so scared for you today," she said in a small voice.
"Corky," Malory said softly. "I have to go outside in the morning."
Brown eyes looked at her sharply. "No."
"I have to."
"No, you don't!" she said in alarm. "You send someone else."
A sigh. "I can't send anyone else."
"No," Corky said, gearing up for combat. "You will send one of the other guys, you're not going," she added, stomping a foot for emphasis.
Malory reached out and grabbed her hands. "Corky, I have to go. I can't and I won't order anyone else to do it. Neither will I allow someone to go in my place."
Corky stared at her fearfully. "Then we'll stay in here until summer."
"We don't have enough food to last us the week and no matter how secure things are, these things are smart. They'll find a way in here by summer."
"Don't ask me to let you do this," Corky pleaded.
"I won't ask," Malory sighed. "Because it's going to happen anyway."
Corky's face crumbled and the tears started. "Please don't go."
Malory pulled her into her arms, embracing her tightly and ignoring the pain in her side. "It'll be okay," she whispered into her hair. "You'll see."
--------
McNeely looked up when the women emerged from the other room, noting the doctor's puffy eyes and the Commander's look of sad resolution. He knew what it meant and he nudged the napping Alvarez who sat beside him.
"What's up?" he said, coming awake instantly.
"She's going."
Alvarez looked across the room and watched as the Commander took a seat against the wall and the doctor snuggled up to her desperately, burying her face in Malory's chest.
"I knew she would."
McNeely sighed. "I did too. Think she has a chance?"
Alvarez considered silently for a moment. "Better than average."
--------
Corky slept fitfully, snapping awake several times just to make sure Malory was still in her embrace. Finally, she gave up trying to sleep altogether and just lay still in her lover's arms, listening to her heartbeat and soft breathing. She had tried frantically to get Malory to change her mind but it was all for naught. She had even considered throwing herself to the floor in the morning
and pitching a fit but discarded it reluctantly, figuring Malory would just have someone drag her into the other room and lock her inside. The fear for both Malory and their situation was making her irrational.
She sighed and opened her eyes, slowly tracking around the room cluttered with sleeping men, her entire body growing ice cold as she met another pair of open eyes staring at her from the other side of the door. Her terrified scream echoed around the room alarmingly, jolting everyone awake instantly.
Malory went from a dead sleep to standing at a rigid attention in a nanosecond, her hands white on her shotgun, eyes flying around the room frantically. "What the fu…" she trailed off abruptly as she met Coy's hopelessly insane stare.
He was standing stock still as if in a trance on the opposite side of the transparent door, his broken jaw drooping hideously.
"He's alone, Commander," Alvarez said. "Let's let him in, we can finish him quick and it'll be one less to worry about," he added and received several nods of approval.
Malory nodded to agree. "Form a firing line," she ordered and the men scrambled to obey her.
"Love… craft," Coy's voice gurgled gruesomely, his devastated jaw slurring his pronunciation.
The entire room froze in their tracks, all eyes slowly turning in Coy's direction.
Malory squeezed Corky against her tightly, her grip on her lover steady to keep her hands from trembling. Not wanting to believe she had heard the thing speak.
"Love… craft," Coy repeated.
Feigning a confidence that she didn't feel in the slightest, she let go of Corky and stepped forward. "What can I do for you?" she asked, feeling proud of the question.
His eyes focused on her drunkenly, his jaw convulsing sickeningly. "Love… craft," he repeated stupidly.
"That would be me," she said impatiently. "What is it you want?"
"Only… for you…" he struggled and coughed a mouthful of worms onto the glass that separated them. "…For you… to…die."
Malory fought back a gag, only barely succeeding. "Why me?" she forced herself to ask.
"Without…you… no hope."
"There's always hope."
"Very… little hope… I assure… you."
Malory's heart skipped a beat and her face paled as the words struck a familiar cord, her brain jumping through hoops to remember where she had heard them. It came to her suddenly and scared her so bad she took an involuntary step backwards.
"Y… yes," Coy rasped. "We… know."
"Malory," Corky said, taking a step forward in concern.
Malory raised a hand to stop her. "What is it you know?"
"Everything," he said. "You will… die… soon."
"Will not happen."
"Someone… some…thing rules… in … his place."
Malory closed her eyes. "What the fuck was in that cube?"
Coy's head twitched violently to the side several times. "S…seventh … seal," he answered and turned to stagger stiffly into the hall, slowly disappearing from view.
Stunned silence reigned in his departure and Corky came forward to embrace Malory from behind.
"Commander," McNeely said finally. "You are not leaving this room. If you try, I'll have you subdued."
Malory turned an empty glance in his direction. "It doesn't matter, Doug."
"What doesn't matter?"
"Those… things, they know everything."
"What do you mean, Commander?" Lenard asked. "What was Coy talking about?"
"He was quoting Vincent Price from 'The Masque of the Red Death'."
"Why would he do that?" Watkins asked.
"I had a nightmare just before you found the cube, I was watching that movie at the time," she explained. "I was alone."
"What does that prove?" Lenard asked.
"He knew it scared me, just like he knew I was planning to go out and seal the tunnel doors in the morning. They know everything. They know what we're thinking, what we're feeling."
"Jesus," Hanson said slowly.
"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Daly asked nervously. "About the Seal?"
Malory shrugged. "Who knows?"
"What are we going to do, Commander?" Clovis asked.
"Survive."
"How do you propose we do that?" Watkins asked.
"By taking the fight to them."
"That's suicide, they can be anywhere," Watkins said.
"We either stay here and starve or we go on as planned," she said. "Either way, I'll bet my last dollar we're not as important to them as the rescue team would be."
"Why do you say that?" Lenard asked.
"They don't want to stay here anymore than we do," she answered. "They want to travel."
"Oh, my God," Corky gasped. "If even one of them reached a city..."
"We'd be fucked," McNeely finished for her.
"Commander, come take a look at this," Clovis requested from the door.
She padded over to join him, following his eyes to the clump of worms Coy had coughed up. "Unfortunately, I've seen them up close before, Mr. Stokes."
"They're dead," he said. "They're already decomposing."
Malory spared a closer look at the grisly pile on the other side of the door as Lenard and Tanaka came forward curiously. Tanaka dropped to his knees to get a better look and hummed thoughtfully for a long moment.
"It would be my guess that they can't survive for long without a host," he said finally.
"I'm inclined to concur," Lenard added.
"Well, now we have something new to think about," Malory said and took a deep breath. "Chief, if one was traveling from here in the service tunnels, which door is the quickest one to get to and get back?"
"Operations," he answered.
"And the farthest?"
"Receiving."
"I'll need one volunteer, the Chief, the Lieutenant, and the Sergeant Major excluded."
"That would be me, Commander," Alvarez said.
"You've already got a job, as do I. We need one more."
"I'll do it, skipper," Hanson said.
She nodded. "Lose the flame unit and gear up, you have Operations. Alvarez you're on Mechanical. I'll take Receiving."
"When are we leaving?" Alvarez asked.
"Five minutes"
She turned to place a kiss on the top of Corky's head, bending to whisper in her ear. "See you in a bit."
Corky smiled bravely. "You'd better come back, Commander."
Malory beamed her best smile and turned to the crowd. "When you get your door sealed, radio in to the Sergeant Major and then get back here as fast as you can. Chief, give us a flight plan."
Reynolds stepped forward. "I assume you'll be entering the tunnels from the entrance created yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Alright," he said. "It's a straight shot for about thirty to forty yards before you come upon an intersection, Operations will be to the left. The next intersection will be to the right and lead to Mechanical. From there the tunnel curves around to the left, eventually leading to Receiving."
"Alvarez, Hanson, any questions?" Malory asked.
"Got it," Alvarez said.
"No questions," Hanson replied.
"If you succeed and are able to head back, radio your status prior to arrival," she said. "You'll have to be able to get back in here with a reasonable degree of safety for the people inside. Understood?"
The men nodded to the affirmative and she walked over to don her gear.
"Commander," McNeely said. "A quick word in private, please?"
Malory gestured to the next room and followed after him.
"Your orders, in the event you do not return?" he asked as soon as the door closed behind her.
"One way or the other, Doug. I'll seal my door," Malory said. "If the other guys succeed, clear the complex. Then at the very least, you'll need to clear the area outside of the north door so you can either leave the facility at the first opportunity or admit reinforcements in the summer."
"And if things go south?"
"If that happens," Malory said. "I want you to do me a favor."
"Name it."
"First, you cannot allow a rescue to arrive without warning. As a last resort, get someone into Operations and get the dome cleared. Even if you have to take everyone with you."
He nodded. "And the rest?"
"The rest is personal," she whispered. "If the situation calls for it, I'd like you to put Corky down so she doesn't end up a meal, or worse yet, one of those things."
McNeely took a deep breath. "Malory, I don't…"
"Please, Doug," she interrupted softly, tears hanging on the precipice. "I can't bear the thought of her suffering like that."
He closed his eyes and quickly nodded.
Malory breathed a sigh of relief and brought a hand up to wipe at her eyes. "Don't let her see it coming, okay?"
Another nod and he extended a hand. "You watch your ass out there."
She took his grip with a smile. "You can count on that."
05/11/02 - 0510 hours
Malory walked back through the door, McNeely emerging a second after her. "We ready?" she asked and got nods from Alvarez and Hanson. "Let's blow this pop stand."
She let her best cocky smile fly at Corky and shot her wink, receiving an affectionate smile in response.
"Okay," she said, cocking her shotgun and inserting another round. "Open the door, I'll take point. Alvarez you got flank. Don't stop to smell the roses."
"Good luck, all," Clovis sounded off, prompting a round of well wishing.
Reynolds nodded and came forward to punch the code into the door, shooting a glance over his shoulder. "Ready?"
"Do it," Malory ordered, taking off at a run as soon as she had enough room, pounding through the foyer and into the hall.
The quick footsteps of Alvarez and Hanson echoed behind her and within seconds they approached the missing floor plates from the last attack. Taking a running start, she slid the last few feet on her knees and dropped headlong into the tunnel. It was a longer fall than anticipated and she landed on her hands and knees with a grunt. She rolled away quickly so the men following her had room to enter and found herself face to face with the ravaged corpse of Mark Isaaks, her hand and shotgun resting in the devastation of his chest cavity. She forcibly bit down on the impulse to squeal in disgust and rolled over him with closed eyes as Hanson dropped into the tunnel beside her.
Stories by Kiera Dellacroix Page 73