Note that action and fighting scenes are not my strong point!
The banging and scratching accompanied by hissing and crying and general animal noise continued. Clearly, there was more than on attacker but their assault seemed uncoordinated with the sounds coming from all directions.
"They're trying to get in", Charce assessed the situation. He was already in the entrance area of the Astra when Ulgar and Luca arrived.
"Surely they won't be able to, though?", Quitterie asked, Aries appearing next to her. In contrast to Charce, her voice did not hide her fear. "Zack is in no condition to pilot the Astra. We can't leave here."
Ulgar held his gun tightly. He had quickly thrown over his uniform, the zipper still open. "What if they damage the hull? We need to go out and get rid of those beasts." Easier said than done though. The black-haired teen had no idea how to defeat the monsters roaming on Nemesis.
"In the past, people used fire to scare off wild animals", Charce suggested. "Running away from fire is a learned response. If they have already encountered it before, they will know how dangerous it is. If not, the animals should back off once they come into contact at the very least."
Luca thought about the items they had on board. There was oil in the storage unit and sufficient cloth they could burn. "I can make torches, but it will take a while", he concluded finally.
"I will go out and buy time", Ulgar said firmly. As the one holding the gun, he was the most likely not to die immediately. Maybe he could just about manage to survive long enough. If only Kanata had not eaten the dye fruits…
Charce put a hand on the other's shoulder. "I'll go with you."
As the group split, Luca went to fetch the oil. Quitterie and Aries had agreed to help him and collected materials they could burn. The fabric Aries had found, towels and spare sheets. They knew they had to work quickly, otherwise Ulgar, Charce and the Astra were doomed. Hastily, the cloth was soaked in oil and attached to their wooden spears.
"We can use the cooker to set them on fire", Luca explained having brought the makeshift torches into the kitchen.
While Luca was fiddling with the torches, Aries looked around. The Astra did not have any weapons as such, but if used correctly, many things could be repurposed. "What if we use these", she said pointing at the kitchen utensils. "Maybe be can scare them off with a frying pan."
"You're right", Quitterie agreed. The knives were not very sharp, but if thrown, they would still present a serious threat. "Let's gather this stuff just in case."
It had been so long since Ulgar and Charce had left. Too long. What if they were already dead? Luca ignored Quitterie and Aries collecting kitchen items and focused on lighting the torches. Only a little bit more…
A second later Luca was drenched and the fire alarm sounded. The sprinklers had turned on, crushing any hope of ever igniting a fire on board of the Astra.
"The torches", Quitterie exclaimed in panic. Wet as they were now, they would never catch fire.
Aries grabbed the bag containing pans, pots, cutlery, plates and whatever else they had managed to find. "Quitterie and I will buy more time. Luca, you figure out to light the torches. There's got to be a way!"
Luca could only nod as the two girls left. He punched the kitchen counter so hard that his hand hurt. Why had he not thought of the damn fire alarm? It was a basic safety mechanism every ship had. Standing in the rain, the alarm drowning out any noise, Luca thought of Ulgar. He would die. And nobody would escape Nemesis. Now the purple-haired teen wished he had kissed Ulgar one more time. Consequences mattered little to the dead.
But his friend had not gone out to sacrifice himself, Luca knew. Ulgar had more determination than anyone, paired with a strong instinct for self-preservation. After all, his goal was to become a journalist, Luca remembered. It was what he liked most about Ulgar; the relentless pursuit of his goal. A trait completely alien to Luca. Living into the day, his future was still a blank canvas. Indecisiveness, his state of mind reflected by his gender.
Luca hit the counter once more. There was no denying that he was in love with Ulgar. And he would not let him die.
xxx
Ulgar was not sure what to expect when they exited the Astra. It was dark outside, the moon hiding behind thick clouds. An eerie silence awaited the two guys, the wind blowing over the vast plain being their only companion. Was there really any living being out there?
"Maybe they have left", Charce surmised. In one hand he held a spear, in the other a flashlight. The light emitted by the Astra was strong enough to illuminate their immediate surroundings but could not penetrate the darkness beyond. Pointing the flashlight into the dark revealed little more. Grass, still wet from the rain, was all they could see.
Ulgar looked at Charce bothered by the disappointment in the other's voice. If the animals had indeed withdrawn, it was a lucky night for them. It meant they would live to see the daylight.
Suddenly, Charce stopped moving the flashlight and instead turned around. Something was wrong. A feeling of imminent danger that grew stronger every second. They were being watched. It was Ulgar who was the first to react pushing Charce aside as a giant shadow leaped towards them from behind.
Ulgar swirled around the gun ready in his hands. However, the speed of the animal caught him by surprise. All of a sudden, pain was coming from his cheek as he fell backward landing in the grass. He could taste blood in his mouth. In less than a split-second, the beast's attack had nearly killed him. Ignoring the pain, Ulgar jumped back up. Where was the beast? Where was Charce? It had all happened too fast.
The black-haired teen heard his teammate scream; he was still close by. The monster in front of him. Ulgar took aim with the gun, but the animal moved too fast, too unpredictably. A sudden sound to his left, he turned around. Another monster. This time he could see it more clearly.
Standing on two legs, the animal flashed its razor-sharp claws. It was not the teddy he had encountered in the woodland but that did not mean Ulgar could relax. Standing at two metres tall, its main weapon was agility rather than raw strength. Nonetheless, those claws measured a good five centimetres and its fangs were surely not just for show either. A dinosaur turned reality.
"They don't look like they're related to reptiles though." Charce was suddenly next to Ulgar and appeared to have read the other's thoughts. There was still no fear in his voice, only curiosity. "Its snout is more characteristic of mammals. Or could it be something entirely different? I'd love to dissect one of them."
As if it had understood Charce's words, the animal hissed and jumped forward. The second one appeared next to it. Ulgar shot without hesitation. There was only a metre in between him and the beast so despite its unpredictable movements, the laser hit.
The animals froze, but to Ulgar's dismay, it was more surprise than pain that had stopped their attack. Never having seen a laser beam before, the beasts were now more cautious. In the darkness, the black-haired teen could just about see the wound his gunshot had caused. It was small, certainly not lethal, but at least it proved that the beasts were not as invincible as he had first thought.
Then all of a sudden, a third animal appeared. It was smaller than the others, perhaps a cub. However, its youth also made it more careless. Ignoring the gun, it launched itself at Ulgar, too fast for him to dodge. In less than a split-second, it had overcome the distance between them and the black-haired teen knew he was as good as dead.
"Ulgar!", Charce shouted and threw his spear into the eye of the attacker. Because he had been so close, the spear hit the animal with full force. Not having anticipated any resistance, the animal cried and shook his head. Charce lost grip of the spear and was hauled into mid-air, defenseless.
As the two older animals approached him, elegantly evading Ulgar's gunshots, a sudden noise disturbed the scene. For a moment, nobody moved. "It's the alarm", Ulgar shouted, confused. Something must have happened inside the Astra. Luca! He hoped his friend was safe but he did not dare to turn around and look at the spaceship.
"They're startled by the sound", Charce replied, using the chance to pick up his spear. And indeed, the beasts withdrew a few metres, now appearing subdued. However, they did not run away. "The sound is not gonna hold them off for long."
Ulgar hated that Charce seemed to be always right. A moment later, the animals began to attack anew. The smallest hissed at Charce, ready to get revenge for his eye. The two older ones approached Ulgar, clearly recognising the danger the gun posed.
Ulgar held the cold metal tightly, aiming at his opponents' eyes like Charce had. Yet it was a game he had lost from the start, the beasts were almost impossible to hit and only took minor damage from the few times he managed to graze them. It was not long until the sharp claws hit his arm and the gun was knocked out of his hands. The black-haired teen now directly stared into the eyes of one of the beasts, which looked back at him defiantly. There was intelligence in his its eyes, Ulgar noted before he jumped sideways to evade its attack. Landing in the wet grass, oddly enough there was a saucepan next to him. A kitchen knife landed next to it, nearly hitting him.
"Stupid monsters!" That was Quitterie's voice. "We're not gonna let you have the Astra!" That was Aries. Ulgar noted only now that the alarm had stopped. The two girls had disembarked with two big bags at their side. From this, he noticed, they were throwing the most random items at their attackers. But where was the fire they so desperately needed? And where was Luca?
"They're huge!", Quitterie exclaimed as she and Aries left the Astra. The girls had not expected to encounter two-metre-tall monsters looking like they had escaped some prehistoric film. For a moment, they felt unable to move. "Somehow I doubt the Astra's kitchen equipment will help us… ."
Aries suddenly noted movement. "There is Charce! And Ulgar!" The two guys were obviously struggling to stay alive. Charce's spear was broken and Ulgar was empty handed with the gun nowhere to be seen. Both were wounded and breathing heavily.
"We have no choice, Quitterie." Aries tried to sound confident and threw a plate at the attacker that was closest to them. It fell several metres short and landed in the grass. The girl had never been good at PE.
Quitterie admired Aries' courage. The monsters clearly would not be hurt from random kitchen items. Her instincts told her to run away and hide inside the Astra until it was over. But how could she abandon her friends now? Out of options, she joined Aries and began throwing whatever she could find at the beasts.
A pan hit the youngest animal at the head. However, it simply bounced off and landed on the ground. Charce managed to use the opportunity to jump back, gaining a tiny bit more distance from the beast. With his spear being useless, he had managed to get hold of a pot lid which he now used as a shield. Yet suddenly the animal seemed to lose interest in him. Instead, it lowered its head, distracted by the shiny silver of the Astra's cutlery that reflected the moonlight.
"Let's regroup!" Ulgar grabbed the blonde's hand and dragged him away from the beasts.
Charce looked up and nodded. Despite their situation, he was surprised. It was rare for Ulgar to speak to him. "Where's the fire?", he asked the girls. Clearly, the beasts would not be distracted for long and lose interest in the Astra's kitchen inventory.
"The fire alarm…", Aries began just as their attackers started to close in again. "Luca is still working on making torches." She threw the last item, a frying pan, at the beasts.
Ulgar looked at the group. His gun was now their only weapon and he would have to find it first. Heck, he had hardly managed to defend himself while holding it and without the girls' help, he would have been dead already. Why did Luca take so long?
Just as the group was losing hope, a light appeared behind them. It was small, yet gradually expanded. It was Luca, a torch in each of his hand. "Hi", he smiled. The fire illuminated his face and dispelled the darkness. An angel.
Reviews are appreciated!
