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Chapter Ten
Anvil
The screams ... they keep on and on and on. Last time I heard something like that I was screaming ... but those aren't my screams now. It's not my flesh that is being tortured ... The silicates have brought me some food and I can hear someone just across the corridor. There's another cell with people in it. I could hear them speaking ... a man and a woman ... But now everything is silent ...
Perhaps they have just given up ... but I won't. I know it is important! I will never give up on me again ...
T.C. McQueen cocked his rifle to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. For twenty, long-lasting minutes he and West had waited for their crew-mates to arrive and he had to fight the urge to give up on them. Ever since they had encountered the Chig patrol he had thought that they were dead. Or that they had somehow managed to kill each other in one of their unnecessary hustles. He watched as Chambers and Hawkes crossed the wide clearing, keeping close to the shadows of the trees.
"Thank God," he heard West whispering beside him and McQueen shot him a stern glance.
"What did you expect, West, they are Marines!"
West was about to point out that Chambers wasn't exactly a Marine but he held his tongue. Ever since McQueen had taken out the Chig patrol almost single-handedly, he had been wary, almost afraid of the Colonel. But then again the young man knew what In-Vitroes were capable of. Cooper had proven that again and again on many ground Ops.
Immediately, after Chambers and Hawkes had reached the Colonel and West, Cooper showed them about what they had found. McQueen was silent after that and the Marines waited.
He felt relieved that at least one of the Marines had made it safely to the planet's surface and yet he feared what the Chigs had done to the Marine when they had found either Vansen or Damphousse.
Or both, he added to himself. Perhaps they had made it out here alive and perhaps they were hiding somewhere, though that was out of the question. Their O2 supply would have run out by now.
"Alright, we're going in, "McQueen said and checked his rifle. "Chambers and Hawkes, you're team B, West and I are team A. As soon as we're in the bunker, we split up. SAR estimates that there are two corridors running along each side of the bunker connected through air vents. They also think that there is enough O2 inside, so save your supplies and take off the rebreathers. We comb the area for the MIAs and as soon as we have them we gonna get out, understood?"
Each Marine nodded solemnly and they all checked their gear again.
"Sir, perhaps West and I should team up," Hawkes said suddenly and three pairs of eyes watched him.
"You got a problem with Chambers, Lieutenant?" the Colonel asked in a cold voice, challenging him.
Yeah, I got a problem with keeping my hands off her, Cooper thought but he remained silent and shook his head.
"Sir, no, Sir!" he replied.
Careful, not to draw any attention to the patrolling Chigs, they made their way to a side-entrance of the bunker. The structure was almost hidden behind great trees, obscuring the view even more with hanging lichens. Two Chigs were standing at the side-entrance and McQueen gestured towards Hawkes and West. He pointed towards the two guards then at both men and the Marines edged forward slowly. Silently, both Marines crept up behind the Chigs and took them out without a sound. West cleaned his K-bar on his battle suit and watched Hawkes. The IV had attacked the Chig without a weapon, killing him with his bare hands.
For a moment Nathan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. After all those months being friends with Hawkes he still had to come to terms with the fact that the In-Vitro was a genetically created killer. He shrugged off the bad feeling creeping up his back and gave the sign for all clear to the Colonel and Chambers.
After they had entered the bunker, the teams split up and West followed McQueen through the dimly lit corridor. Communicating only with signs and gestures they methodically searched the air vents and doors leading off from the corridor. West wondered why the place looked so deserted when his thoughts were disturbed by screams coming from further down the corridor. McQueen stopped dead still and Nathan almost barged into the Colonel from behind.
"It's almost over," the Colonel said and turned towards Nathan. "If someone screams like that it's not going to take long anymore before they break down ..."
Nathan shivered at the cold, matter-of-factly voice but he knew that his CO talked from experience.
Slowly, they advanced towards the open room where the screams were coming from and from what the Marines were able to detect from their hide-out, two silicates were standing around a stretcher in the middle of the room.
"I don't want to hurt you, Marine ..." Elroy's voice drooled and Nathan felt his hairs stand on his neck.
"Just tell me what you know and all will be fine. Did you want to destroy the Alien's hatches? It isn't very humane to destroy a whole race in infancy, you know ..."
"I don't know what you mean ..." the prisoner said.
McQueen's head snapped up and he exchanged a glance with Nathan.
They had both recognized the voice.
"'Phousse ..." Nathan whispered and McQueen nodded.
"Let's get her out of here!"
There is a commotion outside, I can hear them coming. But it doesn't sound as if they are silicates ... Yesterday I had a strange dream. Images floated by and I couldn't make hand or foot of it. But I remembered some faces again and at least I could name them. Vanessa Damphousse ... yes, and Nathan West, with his phototag around his neck, and Cooper, the big tank. But I still can't figure out why I'm here or what the other names and faces mean that keep coming up in my mind.
But it doesn't matter at the moment. What matters more is that I was not tortured for at least two days as far as I could estimate. A Chig came in yesterday or the day before, and tended to my wounds. Why did he or it do this? The Chigs are my enemies ... and yet one of them helped me.
Why? - They 're coming, I can hear their voices ...
Hawkes looked back over his shoulder and watched as Chambers advanced to his position on the far side of the corridor. When she had reached his point, she nodded and Hawkes pried open the door. Rifle ready, she rushed into the room beyond. Megan stopped dead-still in her track when she had reached the prisoner. In shock she stared at the Marine.
Lord, she thought, as she slowly went over to the prisoner. That cannot be! When Cooper heard no sound coming from the cell, he cocked his head into it.
"Chambers?" he asked. "You alright?"
"Yes, Coop, but I need your help," he heard Chambers say.
Megan was squatting in one corner of the small confinement. When he advanced into the cell he could see that she was kneeling in front of something which looked like a pile of clothes. When he came to a halt beside her, he was able to see that the clothes moved and a smudged face appeared from inside of them.
"Jeez," Cooper exclaimed and slid off the back-pack. He almost couldn't believe his eyes. He shot Meg a glance and he could see that she was as shocked as himself.
Megan closed her eyes for a moment, then she slowly reached out a hand but stopped immediately when the Marine flinched at that.
"Shh, it's alright. It's me, Meg Chambers and this is Cooper ... We don't want to hurt you," Meg said. "We are your friends ... Don't you remember?"
The Marine looked at them and then suddenly a faint smile of recognition appeared on his face.
"Yeah, I know you ..." he whispered. "You're the Cards ..." The Marine closed his eyes and tears streaked his cheeks. Then he took Cooper and Megan into a tight embrace and laughed and cried at the same time. "I remember ... everything ... I'm Joker ... GOD, I know who I AM. I'm Lieutenant Paul WANG, 58th squadron, US Marine Corps ..."
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