CHAPTER 1
Gerald bounced along the corridor. The floors curved upwards ever so slightly reminding him were he was, even though he had never forgotten he was on Freedom, the reduced gravity still mad him queasy. Through the rectangular windows along the outer wall he could see distant stars twinkling and the bilious blue orb of the Earth.
He reached the Cargo Bay door and pressed the switch. There was a hiss of hydraulics and the door whooshed up into the bulkhead. He stepped into the vast hall and greeted the other workers rummaging at the shelves and marking clipboards.
He continued to the very back of the room and began his stock take. Pulling boxes out, reading the labels and putting them back was his job. And it bored the hell out of him.
After two hours when his shift in the cargo bay was nearly over he came across a strange metal container. Carefully picking it up he took it to the entrance to show the other guys.
"Hey, check this out." He said.
"What is it?" asked his friend, John, as he dropped slowly to the floor from a scaffold.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before."
"It looks airtight to me." Said the third guy.
"Why don't you open it?" Said another.
"I don't think you should, Gerald," John warned him, "What if causes a biohazard?"
"If it were dangerous they wouldn't have put it in here with all this other stuff." The third guy retorted. They all examined it for another moment.
"Is there a label?" John asked. Gerald turned it in his hands, wiping a thick layer of dust from it.
"Yeah, it doesn't say anything, just has a weird picture on it."
"Looks kinda like an … umbrella." John said.
"Stand back, boys. I'm going to open it." Gerald waved his arms making the men take a step back. Gripping the top tightly he grunted, struggling with the tight cap. Everyone looked on as he strained against the ancient seal. Suddenly there was a whoosh and a gust of air breathed out of the container. "What's that smell - gackk! Argh!"
Gerald fell to his knees gasping, the container clattered to the floor. The colour drained from his face, his eyes became red and puffy. His colleagues looked on in horror as his body expanded, tearing his overalls. Thick red and purple veins popped up under his skin. His screams echoed through the room, changing from high-pitched terror, to the deep, threatening roar of a Tyrant.
The other men dropped next, convulsing on the ground, their bodies began to change. The sound of breaking bone and tearing flesh emanated from them. Their hair fell out, their scalps split and their brains expanded outward, obliterating their eyes, shattered their skulls. Hands and feet exploded into bundles of bony grey claws. Their teeth grew quickly and their tongues snaked out of their mouths to slash the air.
The newly formed monsters staggered around the cargo bay, taking in the new surroundings and testing each other's tempers. The Tyrant walked through the door into the corridor and stomped off. The Lickers jostled around and went off their own way.
The grey metal canister rocked on the hard floor. An invisible cloud of germs wafted around the room, floating upwards and being sucked into the ventilation intake. The contagion swept through the station like wildfire, spreading death and destruction in one of the most dangerous environment there is. Space.
Gerald bounced along the corridor. The floors curved upwards ever so slightly reminding him were he was, even though he had never forgotten he was on Freedom, the reduced gravity still mad him queasy. Through the rectangular windows along the outer wall he could see distant stars twinkling and the bilious blue orb of the Earth.
He reached the Cargo Bay door and pressed the switch. There was a hiss of hydraulics and the door whooshed up into the bulkhead. He stepped into the vast hall and greeted the other workers rummaging at the shelves and marking clipboards.
He continued to the very back of the room and began his stock take. Pulling boxes out, reading the labels and putting them back was his job. And it bored the hell out of him.
After two hours when his shift in the cargo bay was nearly over he came across a strange metal container. Carefully picking it up he took it to the entrance to show the other guys.
"Hey, check this out." He said.
"What is it?" asked his friend, John, as he dropped slowly to the floor from a scaffold.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before."
"It looks airtight to me." Said the third guy.
"Why don't you open it?" Said another.
"I don't think you should, Gerald," John warned him, "What if causes a biohazard?"
"If it were dangerous they wouldn't have put it in here with all this other stuff." The third guy retorted. They all examined it for another moment.
"Is there a label?" John asked. Gerald turned it in his hands, wiping a thick layer of dust from it.
"Yeah, it doesn't say anything, just has a weird picture on it."
"Looks kinda like an … umbrella." John said.
"Stand back, boys. I'm going to open it." Gerald waved his arms making the men take a step back. Gripping the top tightly he grunted, struggling with the tight cap. Everyone looked on as he strained against the ancient seal. Suddenly there was a whoosh and a gust of air breathed out of the container. "What's that smell - gackk! Argh!"
Gerald fell to his knees gasping, the container clattered to the floor. The colour drained from his face, his eyes became red and puffy. His colleagues looked on in horror as his body expanded, tearing his overalls. Thick red and purple veins popped up under his skin. His screams echoed through the room, changing from high-pitched terror, to the deep, threatening roar of a Tyrant.
The other men dropped next, convulsing on the ground, their bodies began to change. The sound of breaking bone and tearing flesh emanated from them. Their hair fell out, their scalps split and their brains expanded outward, obliterating their eyes, shattered their skulls. Hands and feet exploded into bundles of bony grey claws. Their teeth grew quickly and their tongues snaked out of their mouths to slash the air.
The newly formed monsters staggered around the cargo bay, taking in the new surroundings and testing each other's tempers. The Tyrant walked through the door into the corridor and stomped off. The Lickers jostled around and went off their own way.
The grey metal canister rocked on the hard floor. An invisible cloud of germs wafted around the room, floating upwards and being sucked into the ventilation intake. The contagion swept through the station like wildfire, spreading death and destruction in one of the most dangerous environment there is. Space.