Sorry for the delayed update. I decided to take a small hiatus to attend to some scholastic business. Anyways, here's the new chapter. This is my first attempt at horror, and the horror comes from the science which we will delve into much later.

Anyways, enough with my yapping, here's the 2nd chapter.


In the back of the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D., Numbuh 832 sat alone, getting acquainted with his new space worthy jumpsuit. It was a little awkward for him to move in. He gave each arm a flex, finding the material fighting him back.

As a KND certified Weapons Master, Numbuh 832 was expected to be accustomed to all manner of weaponry and technology the KND produced. It would be a brief learning experience for him, as he quickly tested the limitations the suit made to his movements and how much force he needed to excerpt to accommodate his otherwise nerfed abilities.

Besides the constricting lifesaving material, Numbuh 832 found the suit had much more to offer. If his fingers curled right he could trigger the suit's communicator located in his collar. Another distinct curl of his fingers activated the aerosol cans located on the suit's boots. One never could be too careful out in space.

With a satisfied grunt, Numbuh 832 turned his attention to the gauntlet on his right arm. He opened it, finding a red button. He pushed it and a hood popped over his collar. The hood folded out over his head completely. In a mix of duct tape and vacuum proof see through fiber, Numbuh 832 was greeted with an internal suit diagnostic and see through visor.

'I was wondering about the helmet.' He mused before hitting the button on the gauntlet again, causing the hood to fold back once more.

"Crew we have a bit of a problem." Numbuh 832 looked up, spotting a loud speaker overhead attached to a wall. "The Science Station isn't responding. And their hanger's doors aren't open either." Numbuh 615 was speaking. "Strap your gear down and buckle your seatbelts. We're gonna do something tricky."

Numbuh 832 heeded the warning and threw his clothes back into his locker. He walked back into the main cabin, where everyone was back in their seats. It was as if he hadn't left.

"Nice threads." Terry said jokingly as Numbuh 832 took his seat beside his friend.

"I see no one else finds space to be a hazardous environment." Numbuh 832 muttered as he looked around the crew. Not another person took the opportunity to change into a space suit.

"This ain't a Moon Walk. It's a milk run!" The boy in the climbing gear chimed in with a laugh.

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced." Vana said cheerfully

"Numbuh 89." He said happily. "But you can call me Liam."

"Numbuh 5-10. I'm Vana." Vana said in a courteous manner.

"Numbuh 202." Kimberly spoke up with a wave. She then gestured to the girl in combat armor and the boy in the turtleneck. "That's Numbuh 91 and 3.14. They're sorry about earlier." She said the last part more to Numbuh 832. Amber and Felix simply sat in their seats and looked away.

"Well you all know Josh, I guess." Terry shrugged as he jabbed a thumb at Numbuh 832. "I'm Numbuh 94, you guys can call me Terry."

It was an odd sight to Numbuh 832. When he'd left the room earlier, one could cut the tension in the air with a knife. But now, for the most part, things had seemed to settle. Maybe this was everyone just getting their heads around what they were doing.

'Still' Josh thought. 'It wouldn't hurt if they all took the time to throw on a space suit.'

"They still aren't answering sir." Numbuh 93 spoke up from behind the pilot's seat. Numbuh 615 looked over the operative's shoulder and out the viewport at the Science Asteroid.

"We need those hanger doors open." Numbuh 615 scratched his chin. "Numbuh 274 give us the Asteroid's command codes?" He asked the co-pilot, Numbuh 93's twin brother, Numbuh 92. The pilot gave a nod.

Numbuh 615 turned back to the intercom. He pressed a button and spoke aloud. "We're now about to use the command key graciously gifted to us by Numbuh 274 himself to pry the hanger doors open. I hope you're all buckled up."

"Opening the doors now." Numbuh 92 said aloud as he inputted the command onto his console.

The doors of the Science Asteroid's hanger began to open automatically. Numbuh 93 calmly piloted the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. at the opening doors. The pilot's eyes widened with fear instantly. "The ray shields! Why aren't the ray shields switching on?" He shouted, turning to his brother.

"It's a separate command, give me a sec." Numbuh 92 replied.

"Too late!" He shouted. Without the ray shields to hold in the atmosphere, objects resting peacefully inside the hanger began to be sucked out into the vacuum of space.

Soo, quietly docked within the hanger were being pulled out into space and then slamming into one another. Here were brilliant explosions and shrapnel shooting in every direction.

"Evasive maneuver!" Numbuh 615 ordered as the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. flew into the debris field.

"It's no good!" The pilot shouted as wreckage slammed against the ship's hull.

The O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. passed through the newly reactivated ray shields, slamming onto the metal flooring before coming to a screeching halt.

The crew as a whole disembarked the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. "Not that bad of a landing." Terry mused as they inspected the damage to the 2x4 ship's hull.

"Not that bad? Look at it!" Kim looked at the ordinance specialist disbelievingly as she pointed at the damage. "The Port Booster is gone! And so is the rear thruster!"

"Yeah but we didn't blow up." Terry shrugged. "That's not too bad in my book."

"There should be a Load Master around here." The girl in black combat armor, Amber, commented.

"Forget the Load Master, where's the security team?" Felix asked aloud. The O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D.'s crash surely should've acquired the attention of the Science Asteroid's security forces. Black booted GI Joes should've been swarming the hanger, waving their guns around and shouting for them to hit the floor.

"I don't like this one bit sir." Liam muttered as he handed Numbuh Amber a shotgun-like 2x4 weapon.

Seeing as we aren't going anywhere," Numbuh 615 gestured to the damages the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. sustained. "We'd better head inside and investigate. We might find a computer and find out just where everyone is."

"I'll stay out over here and begin repairing the ship." Kim called out as she began to head back inside the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. "In case this turns into a dud. We'll need the O.U.T.B.O.U.N.D. in working order."

"Good thinking." Numbuh 615 gave the Sector G operative a thumbs up of approval and sent her off. "The rest of us." He turned to the rest of the group. "Head inside. Numbuh 832. Take point."

Josh stood at attention as Numbuh 615 called his code Numbuh. He marched ahead of the pack quietly. It didn't make much sense to have him take point. If anything, it was a task more suited for the likes of Amber and her combat ready suit of armor and that shotgun she was packing. That was a decision he'd have to think about the next time Numbuh 615 gave an order.

Suddenly, Josh's thoughts draw back to his time with Sector N. People with authority, the bad kind, a teen playing dress up as a kid, decommissioned his entire team. The mission was comprised of those loyal to the KND, Numbuh 274 saw to the screenings himself. But Josh doubted everyone, including Numbuh 615 would be loyal to him. That show Amber and Felix made earlier confirmed these thoughts.

It would be safe for Josh to assume that from here on out, he'd be getting called on to do this sort of grunt work by his superior. Josh quietly trudged forward, fighting against the restrictive nature of his suit. For a brief moment, he was playing devil's advocate, thinking that that there was nothing to Numbuh 615's order, that he just called upon him to get moving. But the moment passed, and Josh no longer cared.

He was stuck on a space station with the lot of them at his back. If it made it a more bearable situation by staying quiet about his thoughts and not acting on them, then he guessed it was worth it for the time being.

Josh reached the door and his a button on the side, causing it to slide open. He stepped through, not to his surprise, finding a security checkpoint. The room was small compared to the enormous hanger. There was a walled off glass room with a single door keeping it from the rest of the room with another door on the other side leading somewhere else. There was another door surrounded by a metal detector. Aside from the benches in the center of the room, the checkpoint was vacant.

The others walked in soon enough as Josh raised his arm up giving them a thumbs up and telling them it was clear.

"Where is everyone?" Liam asked as he rounded the benches.

"I hope you didn't suck them out into space." Numbuh 93 shot an accusing look at his brother. "How did you forget about the ray shields?"

"Oh like you don't forget about those." Numbuh 92 scoffed as he took a seat on the bench.

"So what now?" Vana asked.

"This door's locked down for quarantine." Terry alerted the group as he inspected the door leading into the rest of the station.

"We did just suck all their ships out into space." Felix chimed in. "We could've triggered the quarantine lockdown. So nothing else could've been pulled out into the vacuum."

"If that's so," Amber walked up to the door and unsuccessfully attempted to open it. "How do we open it now?"

"By breaking quarantine protocol." Numbuh 615 answered simply as he pointed to walled off section of the room with glass. "There should be a console behind in that room. Numbuh 832, head over there and unlock this door."

Josh paused for a moment, looking at the door with the metal detector and then to the one leading to the walled off section of the room. He walked over and reached for the handle, only to find an electronic lock on the door. "I need clearance."

"Here." Numbuh 92 reached into his flight suit and fished out a key card. "We only have two of these so don't lose it." He said sternly as he gave the key card to Josh.

Josh walked back to the door and swiped the key card against the door, unlocking it. He pushed it open and walked over into the room, finding a computer console. He turned it on and began to get to work. "Quarantine's coming down now." Josh said loudly so the others could hear him through the thick glass.

Josh input the command, resulting in the unexpected. The lights above them all shut off and the emergency lights kicked in. Cold unrelenting air began to shoot into the room. The lights flickered and the operatives in the other room looked around cautiously.

"The hell's goin on?" Amber asked as she held up her shotgun defensively.

"Relax." Felix held a hand to the weapon. "It's just air."

The lights began to erratically shut off and then turn back on. There was banging up above them, somewhere in the vents. The lights shut off and a vent grating broke off, clattering onto the floor with a loud thud, followed by something else.

The lights were off. No one could see. Numbuh 93 reached for a glow stick in his pocket, bending it and activating the chemical properties within, resulting in a green glow.

"Numbh 832, what's the status on this door?" Numbuh 615 asked.

"Working on it." Josh said loudly over the rustling noise created by the vent. Josh hit another command on the console, unlocking the door. He looked up from where he stood behind the console, peering through the glass back into the room.

Josh's eyes widened as he noticed something large in the room with the others. "What's that?" Josh asked cautiously as he backed away from the console.

Numbuh 93 waved his glow stick in the darkness and squinted and walked forward. He suddenly felt a heavy breathing over him. He spun around, preparing to chastise whoever was behind him. He froze in his place as he found some thin figure standing behind him. His eyes widened as its yellow eyes intensely stared into his.

Numbuh 93 let out a frightful yelp as he was grabbed two arms shot forward and grabbed him. The lights switched back on, welcoming the operatives with the frightful sight of two things with goat heads in the room with them.

Josh froze behind the console as he watched one of the things pick up Numbuh 93 and fling him around. The KND pilot was shouting but they were all too much afraid by the sudden appearance of these unknown things to help. The goat headed creature slammed Numbuh 93 against the glass wall, right in front of Josh and held the operative in place.

The creature let out a ear piercing shriek and slobbered yellow liquid all over the poor boy before throwing the operative into the vent where it presumably dropped down from. The creature leapt upward right behind the boy who was screaming for his life.

"Numbuh 832 get this door open now!" Numbuh 615 screamed urgently as another goat headed creature burst out from the ceiling vent.

"It's open! Go, run!" Josh shouted as he helplessly watched one of the two creatures leap at Numbuh 92.

Amber and Numbuh 615 raised their weapons, shooting at the other creature as it attempted to run at them. "Everyone through the door!" Numbuh 615 ordered. Liam took point, opening the door and running through, followed by Felix and then Vana.

"Josh get out of there!" Terry's voice shouted over Josh's collar communicator.

Josh glanced overhead at the vent in walled off section of the room. His eyes widened with horror as the grating was forced outward. He hit one last command on the console, unlocking the door in the room with him and took off running as another one of those things began to pull itself out of the ceiling above him.

Fighting against the tugging nature of his suit, Josh powered on through and shoulder charged the door, shoving it inward. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of gun fire and shrieking. What alarmed Josh the most was neither of those things, it was the loud sounds of footsteps behind him. And they were getting closer.

Josh kept running, knowing not where this passage led. The steps behind him were quickening. Making a sharp right, Josh caught sight of salvation, an elevator. He sprinted wholeheartedly, and practically leapt to punch the call button. The doors slid open and jumped in. He automatically turned to hit the 'close doors' button on the panel. The doors began to close as one of those things sprinted at him.

Josh's eyes widened in horror as for a brief moment his mind concluded his doom. An inch away from the goat headed thing, the elevator doors shut. Josh hit a lower floor button, and then leaned back against the furthest wall from the elevator doors. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Josh couldn't help but laugh about the fact he'd gotten away.

There was a loud screech coming from above. Josh looked up at the emergency door above and glared. Perhaps he'd spoken too soon. There was a hard crash on the elevator, something heavy had just landed. Quickly, Josh looked to the digital floor counter and then to the button panel. He hit the next floor button.

The doors opened as the elevator reached its new destination. On the way out, Josh his the 'close doors' button one last time. Walking away from the elevator, Josh glanced back to see the goat headed creature break through the top of the elevator. The doors closed on it just as it attempted the run out after Josh.

Josh hastened his pace down another hallway, just in case whatever that thing was decided to be just as good at scaling walls.

Josh flexed his right hand distinctly, activating his collar communicator. "This is Numbuh 832. Everybody alright?" He asked aloud, earning only a static reply.

Josh sighed and continued forward, coming across a room with a malfunctioning door. The movement sparked caution as Josh peered inside. The room was a mess. It appeared to be a workstation operated by some scientist. There were crushed beakers, ripped apart computers and papers strewn everywhere.

Josh approached the door and pushed it open. He stepped inward, accidently stepping on a puddle of unknown liquid. Josh glanced down, finding the liquid to be a yellowish color. Recalling the similarly colored slobber that drenched Numbuh 93 earlier, Josh looked up, finding a ventilation shaft with holes in it.

Given what he'd witnessed back in the hanger, it was safe to say those things had been here and were responsible for the rooms' disorder. Josh rounded a table, he found a notebook with the number 74.239 written on it in sharpie.

Josh flipped through it casually, while at the same time glancing back to the unsettling sounds that the malfunctioning door made. He turned his attention back to the notebook, finding a bunch of scientific mumbo jumbo. Josh did his best to follow along, but it was beyond him. The best he could make out of it was the math, but couldn't fathom the use of polynomials.

Flipping to the end of the notebook, Josh raised a curious brow. It was a warning, left behind by whoever owned the notebook. It read: To whomever this may concern. Don't hide. It'll find you. Just run. To help, I've left a spare J.U.D.G.E. in my desk's right drawer. Make it count.

Josh's brow furrowed. He didn't like the tone. But more importantly, the note made it clear that there was only one creature running around. Josh and the team had encountered multiple. That didn't bode well.

As Josh himself ironically lacked a weapon of his own, he hoped the note left behind was truthful and checked the desk's drawers. There, Josh found a revolver like weapon. He held it up and measured its heft. He close and eye and aimed. He then checked the drawer for ammunition for the weapon, as it was a revolver it used bullets not magazines. Luckily, Josh found twelve extra rounds.

Thankfully, his space suit had pockets, where he stored the spare ammunition. Josh began to get acquainted with his new weapon, ensuring its barrel was clean and fit for combat, as well as practicing reloading.

Keeping the J.U.D.G.E. on hand, Josh left the room. There was noise coming from the way he'd initially came. He trudged forward. He had to get back in touch with the rest of his team. That was what he needed to do.

He was determined not to lose anyone else.

"This is Numbuh 832. Anyone there? Please someone talk to me." He spoke into his communicator.

"Josh?" It was Vana. "Where are you?"

"I caught an elevator down." He spoke aloud as he cautiously walked down the hall. "Where's the rest of you?" He asked.

"Hold on." Vana paused. "Numbuh 615 wants to talk to you."

"It's me, Numbuh 832." Spoke Numbuh 615. "Our pilots, Numbuh 93 and 92 were taken."

"Taken?" Josh questioned as he rounded a corner with his weapon raised. Up ahead was another elevator.

"Well those things chased us off. We didn't see them get killed so there's a strong possibility they're still alive." Josh couldn't help but notice Numbuh 615 sounded out of breath. "They chased us down to the infirmary. We're going to head to Station Control."

"I'll meet you there." Josh said as he called the elevator.

"No." Numbuh 615 replied immediately. "Numbuh 202 hasn't been responding to our attempts to hail her. We need you to check on the ship, make sure it's all still in one piece. It's our way home if everything goes south. Think you can handle it?"

Josh did his best not to pay attention to the almost mocking tone of the last question. The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. "I've got it." Josh said before hitting the hanger floor button. "Numbuh 832 out."


Numbuh 832 lost his Sector in his last stand alone story, or at least before his last standalone story. So I drew a lot from Dead Space for this chapter.

Now you may be asking, Alien Space Goats? The answer might surprise you. Next update is projected for next weekend. I'm going to work on some of my other works. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 'Til next time. Later Days!