Chapter 3: Ruins
"Sir, I think we found something. There appears to be a maintenance access tunnel in this power relay station."
"Excellent work, have we moved in?"
"Not yet, sir. We were waiting for the word." Lieutenant raised an eyebrow, "Corporal, the word is given, get to it."
"Yes, sir!"
A team of Marines frantically began looking for the proper method of entering the hatch as the three Privates had earlier. It had now been an hour since their disappearance. It hadn't occurred to anyone to continue searching the relay station, it appeared to be nothing more than a dead end. It was blind luck that a Marine happened to see cracks in the wall that gave the impression of a doorway. Four troops discussed the possibilities, "There has to be a switch, I refuse to believe they would have to pry it open."
"I don't see anything, how about you?" Nothing. It's such a small entryway, it has to be for maintenance. So maybe something has to go wrong for it to open?"
"It's near the pump. That pump must lead to something. What can we do?"
Three of the Marines jumped as a gunshot rang out, piercing a pipe nearby. A yellow liquid spilled out onto the floor. One soldier yelled, "Oh good work, asswipe! You really bring meaning to the term 'grunt', don't you?"
The Marine who made the shot smiled and pointed at a blinking red light on the pump. He said coldly, "Try the button, dipshit."
As one of the soldiers went to press the button, he readied his pulse rifle, prepared for anything. The button was easy enough to press, easily lifting the bulkhead to allow access on hands and knees. Before entering, one stood back up and asked, "Should we go in alone? For all we know, those three died in there."
"Lieutenant gave the word, that's all I care about, get in."
They each crawled in slowly and cautiously, aware of any possible danger ahead. Before them was a vast cavern that appeared to be an underground cave. A catwalk extended far out from the hatchway over a yellow liquid far below. One troop stated, "That's the same liquid that came out of the tube. They must use this for some sort of energy source, you think it's some kind of fuel?"
"Not necessarily, it could just be pumped into smaller hydroelectric generators, there seems to be enough of the damn stuff to last them awhile if it was fuel though."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter, keep moving." As the Marines pressed on, they heard the bulkhead door close behind them. The loud bang of the bulkhead falling into place signaled mixed emotions from the solders, "Shit," one stated, "it got real dark real fast in here."
"Stop your whining, let's just find these assholes and get out of here. Caves give me the God damned creeps."
The other three laughed lightly as they moved down the catwalk. A strange odor began to saturate the air. The catwalk made a cold, metallic sound with each boot slamming down on it. The sound echoed throughout the expansive cavern. A hole as small as the one the Marines treaded over was hardly noticeable without close inspection, but the melted edges of the metal called for attention as the soldiers moved into the darkness. Without warning, the lead Marine stopped and stood perfectly still. He stared down at the section of the catwalk in front of him, he let out a tinny groan before adding, "Fuck."
As Reeds approached the pump at the end of the hall he heard several of the Marines present yelling loudly, many had their rifles held in combat positions, pointed directly at the door. He walked quickly and demanded the respect he deserved instantly, "Marines! What the Hell is going on here?"
"Sir! Four of 'em went in there, we hear them yelling, I think they're okay, but they're running back, and we can't open the hatch!"
"We have radio contact?"
"Yes, sir."
Reeds lifted his transceiver and called out, "Private Anderson, do you read?"
"Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Private, what the Hell is going on in there?" I don't know, sir! Just get us out, this walk is covered in blood!"
Reeds eyes widened a little in surprise, "Did you find any of our men?"
He didn't receive the response he hoped for, "Open the door! Now! Son of..."
The transmission went dead. Reeds kept attempting to raise Anderson, "Anderson, do you copy? Come in, Private. Private Anderson, are you there? Report!"
To his surprise, another trooper replied back, frantically yelling, "They just got Anderson, open the door! A red button, press the fucking red button!"
Reeds ordered a search for the red button. He watched as his troops moved as quickly as possible to aid the survivors on the other side of the hatch. Lieutenant Reeds now distinctly heard gunfire on the other side of the door. Pulse rifle shots spattered out in a frenzy, as if his solders were facing one hundred enemies. He was relieved when a Corporal called out, "Got it!"
The bulkhead lifted steadily. Reeds was the first to jump through, pistol in hand. As he finished crawling through, all he saw was the face of one of his Marines dragged off the walk. A trail of blood led from the dull expression to the door as bloody handprints glistened on the catwalk railing. The Lieutenant didn't have time to identify the attacker, he merely shot. After emptying his clip, he had heard a high pitched screeching noise. It was a horrible sound that sent shivers down his spine. When he realized the Private's body was still on the walk, he ran to him as quickly as possible. Reeds pulled the man up to discover his legs had been completely severed. Bloody stumps now took their place, distracting attention from the huge gashes across his chest. Reeds ran his hand over the gashes in the Private's chest and cried out as his hand began to burn. He heard a sizzling noise and noticed the Private's armor slowly melting away. He hurried to take the armor off before realizing there was no life left in the body. Empty eyes stared into the dark distance as any traces of life faded from the Private. Reeds gathered his emotions, held the bile in his stomach down, and called for his troops, "Get out of here!"
"Sys-check is coming out with only minor hull damage. The injectors can't be the cause, or else we'd know about it. Something just roughed up the surface. Though I have no idea what could have done it like this, the edges are burned or something."
Hayes explained, "Not burned, it looks melted, like somebody torched it or something."
"I don't know and I don't really care, "Canter replied, "but it needs to get fixed before we take off. It could easily start a malfunction and send us straight to Hell."
"Good idea, let's get it taken care of. I'm sure we can find some torches in the compound somewhere."
Canter and Hayes walked towards the cargo door that led into the compound. As they passed the grounded dropship turned prisoner transport, they heard a gruff Private yelling for on e of the mercenaries to be quiet. Hayes asked, "Problem, Private?"
"No, sir. Just have a mercenary complaining."
"Complaining about what?"
"Heartburn or some sh..., heartburn, sir."
"Heartburn? Then get the bastard some of that pink stuff I always see in the commercials."
"Yes, sir."
"Unless you can't find any, then feel free to gag him."
"Yes, sir!"
Hayes noted the excitement in the last response and he smiled to the Marine. "Carry on, Private."
From in the dropship, Hayes heard a loud voice shout, "I think I'll puke if I don't get something!"
The body of Private Anderson fell with the loud thud onto the cafeteria table. Three Marines hastened to remove his clothes for the best medical analysis they could perform. The armor of the Marine had been slashed repeatedly, but one set of slash marks made a distinct impression on all who saw. These scrapes were lined with melted bits of the durable material that composed the armor. Small blotches of melted material dotted the area around the slashes themselves. Upon removing the armor, the Marines noted burn marks in the same pattern as the slashes that had melted through the armor. His skin left a horrific smell in the air, causing one Marine to vomit profusely. Those who could stomach it long enough managed to patch the body well enough to block most of the smell. There wasn't much to determine from the corpse. It was quite apparent the reason for death was found in the missing half of his body.
Reeds had called a full evacuation from the site and readied his men for combat instantly. He posted two guards to watch the entrance to the cavern, but not to open it. The rest of the Marines had now taken strategic defensive points near the cafeteria and were keeping watch over the area. The event had quickly turned their period of waiting into a combat situation. He moved into the back corner of the cafeteria and approached the other Lieutenants, "Well what the Hell do we do now?"
"What's our personnel count at?"
"We've lost seven now, seven damned deaths that weren't necessary. We probably have some fucking mercs running around inside with laser cutters or knives. I shot one, he probably fell into that liquid below, I want to send in a team to retrieve the body. All we need is a..."
"Lieutenant, we aren't sending a team in there until we get a heavier weapons set. I want smartguns and at least one launcher ready to go," Falkner spoke with a strong sense of leadership, "We aren't taking further risks in there."
Lieutenant Janice Falkner felt as though the situation would soon end up on her shoulders. It wouldn't be the first time an operation had crumbled and became her responsibility to solve. She had risen to the occasion more than once in her military past and had little doubt it would happen again. One particular event had brought her to her present status. During a particularly bloody operation, her unit was ravaged by an enemy that used severely effective guerrilla tactics. It was foreign territory to the Marines, and her Lieutenant was killed in a most gruesome method. She took command instantly and led her troops to victory. The operation was a success and Falkner was immediately promoted to full Lieutenant. She was assigned her own unit and received an assignment the following month. Despite the difficulty of being the first woman to serve as a full Lieutenant, her unit quickly grew to like her, but more importantly to respect her. She demanded absolute precision and discipline from her troops, but she rewarded them equally as well.
She had lost many troops during this operation. Each unit was composed of sixteen troops, she had lost seven. Such a number seemed small compared to the sixty-four dropped in total, but she had never suffered such a heavy loss. Her loss was small compared to the other units, however. Reeds and Penning had lost ten and eleven respectively. These numbers didn't include the various men lost in the past two hours. She could see Reeds losing his patience and professional attitude. No Marine had ever risen to the rank of Lieutenant with such an impressive record.
Lieutenant Thomas Reeds was the officer that every other officer looked to as a professional guide. His attitude towards the job regarded the well-being of his men in a perfect balance with the objective of a mission. The soldiers under his command admired him as a commander, yet found him as a friend in their times of personal need. Superior officers waved his record in the face of new officers in training and spat at their feet telling them they would be surprised if they amounted to half the man Reeds was. His rise to command had been more typical than Falkner's. Working his life through the enlisted ranks, Reeds quickly assumed the rank of Corporal and then began Officer's Training at the recommendation of his Lieutenant. Reeds went through the schooling without trouble and was given his first mission before his unit was fully assembled. Earning the nickname Titans, Reeds's unit crushed all that stood in its path. Their operation on Agorax was testing the limits of his command, however. Reeds had lost too many good soldiers, his demeanor had become dark and cold since the second drop on the moon. Now the death of Anderson had only worsened his mood. Reeds looked off into the distance, unaware of the commotion escaping the muffled speaker of the Marine radios.
"Lieutenant. Lieutenant!"
Reeds jerked to his left to see Corporal Dyson staring at him, "What is it, Corporal?"
"Word is out, sir. Sergeant Grant saw a bogey move through the halls, we're tracking. Lieutenant Penning asked if you would come with him to check it out."
Reeds laughed, "Dyson, my boy, bogey is a dogfighting term."
""Very well, sir," Dyson's posture stiffened, "Sir! Unidentified personnel have been found in Junction 12-A! Reporting for orders, sir!"
Laughing again, Reeds commanded, "Very good, Corporal. Suit up, let's move this party out!"
"Son of a bitch! This fucking hurts!"
The mercenary jostled in his seat, tossing his body around as much as possible. Hayes put his hand on the man's shoulder and attempted to calm him down. He spoke caringly and with a false sense of concern for the mercenary. In truth, the captain's only goal was to end the senseless noise. The other prisoners were becoming angry and unruly, factors which could make prisoner transportation a definite problem. Hayes called to one of the guarding Marines, "Private! Do we have any narcotics, anesthetics?"
Private Ramis replied, "We have a small bit with our medic, I can get it if..."
"I'll take care of it, Private," Hayes said gruffly. He looked at the Marine from head to toe and noted her natural beauty. It was foolish of the lieutenants to post a woman of such beauty near a collection of rowdy prisoners. There was little time for worry at this point however. They had not made any aggressive moves in several hours, there was little reason to suspect any now. The only task at hand for the moment was calming this mercenary down. Hayes began to walk away from the prisoner briskly when he heard a horrible noise. The sound begged his attention away from the drugs, allowing him to see the patchy spots of blood that appeared all over the prisoners directly behind him. He felt sick as he watched the mercenary enter a convulsive state, foam dripping from his mouth, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and head shaking violently. Hayes saw no blood from the man's mouth, but instead on his chest. The sound of ripping organs echoed through the dropship body, followed by what sounded like cracking. Hayes watched in horror as something pushed its way through the mercenary's shattered ribcage. A small knob began to appear from underneath the merc's skin, his chest rose in an unnatural way, and the final sounds of internal destruction followed. The knob quickly forced its way through the merc's chest and caught its first touch of air. Hayes watched, his jaw agape, unable to respond in any way. His body was frozen from both fear and amazement. The mercenary's last breath left his body as his life ended abruptly, transferred into whatever creature now rested in the cavity of the man's torso. It appeared snakelike, no visible arms or legs, no eyes, only a mouth. The mouth was what caught every eye in the dropship. Effortlessly opening and closing, the mouth fully displayed its impressive set of sharp, pointed teeth. The creature opened its mouth wide and let out a high pitched squeal that sent horrible sensations down Hayes's spine. Hayes saw a distinguished head, smooth and organic in appearance. Despite the creature's impressive collection of teeth, it was the lack of visible eyes that stunned Hayes. There were only some organic tubes that ran under where the eyes should have been. To his surprise, against the logic of the situation, the creature twisted itself and faced directly towards Hayes. Its lips, if such a term were applicable, curled up, baring the creature's long teeth. Squealing again forced a choking reaction from the creature. It forced up a surprising amount of blood from inside its body. The creature had purged itself of any ingested yet unwanted material in its stomach.
Screaming several times, the creature gently rose from the dead man and freed itself from the gory mess. A long, slender body became visible as the creature completely emerged from the merc's body and escaped before anyone was able to stop it. A glistening trail of blood left a distinct trail on the dropship plating along the creature's path of escape. Not one sound came from any of the people present, all eyes had locked on the last bit of the blood trail leading out of the dropship. Hayes closed his mouth and looked around, taking in the events that had just transpired. He looked down and quietly addressed the expired body in the dropship, "Can we get the body out of there? Let's bag him up and get him buried. We don't bring the body, it's too much of a biohazard."
Several of the mercenaries looked to the captain in protest of this action, but none said anything. The mercenaries looked to each other for answers to the questions swimming in their heads. Only one face stared straight forward, his eyes unmoving, his face unexpressive. Slowly he turned his head and smirked slightly before hanging his head towards the floor. He looked at the metal floor of the dropship and commented to himself, "We're fucked."
Reeds turned the final corner and saw the troopers all standing in small clusters surrounding a closed set of double doors. Nodding quickly at Lieutenant Penning, he barked out, "Somebody give me a report!"
"Sir, unidentified movement led to this room. Doors were closed by the time we got here, we have not proceeded in."
"What's stopping you?"
"Just give the word, sir!"
"Word."
Instantly, a soft hiss signaled the opening of the doors. Three troopers entered in a triangular formation, waving their rifles back and forth in the darkness. Reeds blinked as the troopers activated their shoulder lamps and illuminated the room. Reeds entered with the escort of two privates and looked around, squinting at areas with poor lighting. He saw beds, lined up like a military bay. They were not tidy, many had sheets and blankets strewn on the floor or at the foot of the bed. Something troubled him, he asked, "Why does a bay door make a hissing noise like that?"
"Sir, the door was locked, we had to force open the locking mechanism."
"Pressure locks? Why would you put pressure locks on the entrance to a sleeping bay?"
He looked down the lengthy room and heard one of the marines beckon, "Sir, you're going to want to see this."
Reeds allowed Penning to enter the room before he began walking towards the far wall. The marine looked surprised, perhaps a little frightened. Reeds quickly understood the reasoning. A large hole had been burned into the wall, the edges of the bulkhead appeared jagged and unclean. It wasn't a hole meant to be there, and that was all Reeds could establish from his initial impression. Signaling for the trooper to help him, he peered into the hole. As the marine's lamp lit the passage, Reeds's eyes opened wide and he stood up quickly. The hole led straight into an air duct. He turned quickly and yelled, "Son of a bitch, the fuckers are in the air vents. I want schematics, somebody tell me where this vent leads. I want three here, I want two with me, and I want a damn gun, now!"
A marine gave the lieutenant a questioning look before Reeds realized he was holding his own pistol already. Reeds holstered his weapon and stated, "I want a better gun."
The marine smiled and nodded, handing Reeds his own pulse rifle. He looked at the rifle and noticed words etched into its scratched surface. He asked the marine, "Who is Anne?"
"Just a figment of my imagination, sir."
Reeds unknowingly squinted in confusion at the marine's response. The trooper glanced at him again and walked away. Reeds caught a glimpse of the marine's armor and made sure to remember his name, Watts. His unit patch indicated that he was one of Sanders's troops. Quickly turning towards the open hall, he filed the information away in his brain for later, there were more important goals to accomplish.
The metallic clang of the troopers' boots hitting the floor echoed through the cafeteria, announcing their return to Falkner. She approached Reeds and Penning asking for a report.
"Unidentified subject moving through air ducts. That's probably how he, she, or they got the jump on our boys in that cavern. We're working on getting some schematics right now for the duct system, I want to track these bastards wherever they are. Do we have any turrets?"
"No, we didn't think we'd need them. This wasn't supposed to be an occupation, just a grab-and-go. They're all up in storage on the cruisers."
"Damn. Oh well, we can manage. I've posted three near the entrance to the ducts in the bay we found it in, I want to take a few more with me and move on to the control center. We know where that is, right?"
"Affirmative, we logged the control room already, it was dead."
"Circuitry damaged?"
"We don't know," Falkner replied, "everything was just turned off. I felt no need to work on anything at the time. We should have been out of here hours ago as it is."
"No kidding," Penning added, "I hate this shithole."
Falkner looked to her troops and sent two with Reeds. He called for Dyson, who responded quickly, "Sir, yes sir, let's get us some..."
"Lieutenant!" A nervous voice blasted down the halls, startling the marines. "Lieutenant!"
Reeds watched with curiosity as a very frightened Captain Hayes ran towards them. He looked at Falkner and Penning, asking, "What's this all about?"
Dyson swallowed hard as a bit of bile rose from his stomach into his mouth. He closed his eyes and tried not to breathe. The smell of the body had become overpowering, giving reason for Canter having the marines unload the mercenaries. They now stood, huddled together in a group, looking at the open dropship. None of the prisoners had attempted to run. Canter knew this would be the case as soon as she saw the body. Fear was now the primary reason to avoid leaving the marines. Their pulse rifles now very well stood as a sign of protection rather than lockdown. All four lieutenants now stood inside the dropship, inspecting the scene as best they could. The mercenaries heard the captain explaining the situation as best he could.
"And then the damned thing just jumped out of him, ran away and vanished. We have no idea where it went."
Reeds kept looking at the massive hole that had formed in the man's chest, unable to move his attention elsewhere. He heard Penning leave the ship, making slight gagging noises. Falkner stared as intently as Reeds, not saying anything. Sanders broke the silence, "It looked like a snake?"
"No, no," Captain Hayes replied, "I don't know what the fuck it looked like, but it was shaped like a snake. With arms. It had arms."
"It just came out of him?"
"He started going into convulsions, like he was in a lot of pain. The thing probably had to force its way out, and look where it did it. It had to go through is lungs, maybe his heart, and even his ribcage. The thing had to force its way through his ribcage. What the fuck can do that?"
"Something I hope we don't see again," Reeds answered.
Their attention was drawn to shouting outside. The marines had all raised their weapons, some running away from the group of mercenaries. Falkner shouted, "Report!"
A marine near the dropship replied, "Prisoner escape, sir! He ran from the crowd, took off towards the compound. I think we... they got him. He's down."
"Dead?"
"No, sir. Quite alive."
She smiled at Reeds, "Somebody knows something."
Reeds looked at her and asked, "How do you know?"
"Women's intuition."
Falkner left the dropship and approached the fallen prisoner. Sanders looked at Reeds, "Doesn't that only work with kids?"
Reeds smiled and followed Falkner.
Sarah Canter watched the marines disappear beyond the crowd of frightened mercenaries. The prisoner who had been so eager to make his escape was in for a serious interrogation. Lieutenant John Sanders was well known for being able to get information out of people, through whatever means he deemed necessary. A small number of black spots appeared on his military record in the fashion of misuse of weapons and unnecessary force. He never laid a hand upon his own troops, but the enemy was almost always taught a lesson when they were made prisoners of the lieutenant. The prisoner would talk, it was a question of how slurred his words would be when Sanders had finished with him.
Canter rested her hand on her belly and gently massaged it. Her thoughts drifted to her home back on Earth, her husband, and her life in general before this mission. Everything had been easy and set forth for her. The situation was becoming foreign and frightening to her now. Her hand slowly glided up to her breast. She pushed against the ribs underneath and felt their firm integrity. Nothing should ever break those bones, she thought. Her memory faded into a gory glimpse of the creature bursting from the mercenary within the cold, sterile walls of the dropship. Biting her lower lip, she suppressed the small urge to gag and began walking away. She approached the Hellbird and gazed at the hull. Canter complimented herself on the quick yet effective repair job she had done. Two small steel plates were now welded across the back hull, sealed with a thick paste used for insulating APCs. The wounds in the hull were covered, but the mystery behind them was all that Canter could focus on. The gashes in the hull weren't caused in any battle. Weapons fire would have left deep, penetrating, and straight cuts into the hull. These were unclean and awkward slices taken from the metal. The connection to whatever thing had just emerged from within a man's chest now seemed obvious to Canter.
Yelling in the distance beckoned for her to turn her head slightly to see Hayes walking away from the marines. His walk was uncertain and full of terror. Canter had a great deal of respect for her captain, despite their friendly bickering and derogatory comments towards one another. She often looked to him for the support she needed to accomplish a mission without trouble. Now his confidence was lost to the events taking place. His face appeared stern and frightened, as if he knew the outcome of this mission. Captain Hayes had always been an eternal optimist. For him to behave the way he was now behaving put a deep worry in Canter's mind. Things were not going to turn out well at all.
Canter walked instinctively towards the hatch that opened into the cockpit of the Hellbird. She climbed inside and approached the primary pilot's seat. She reached over the chair and felt the cool metal on her hand from the frame of the chair. Canter slid her hand along the metal until she felt a leather case with a small strap held by a button. Unfastening the button, she pulled the contents away from the case. The pistol was light, but it would certainly protect her if it became necessary. Canter recalled the last time she had held a pistol, it had been four years ago, on one of her more dangerous missions. It had been even longer since she had fired a single shot. Despite her involvement with the United States military, Sarah Canter despised weapons. She found them to be creations designed to remove life, not prolong or protect it. It was necessary, however, for the people of Earth to defend themselves. It was now time for Canter to defend herself. She loaded the pistol with its ammunition and slipped it inside a holster attached to her flight suit. She noticed a slightly more confident step in her walk as she left the Hellbird and prepared to check over the repairs.
"There's only one thing to say."
"Do share."
"Go fuck yourself."
The mercenary's words rang through Reeds's ears before being overcome by the spit launched at his face. The lieutenant blinked hard and allowed the saliva to run past his eyes before opening them again. Falkner grabbed the merc by the collar and lifted him up. Reeds successfully overcame the urge to show his surprise at her physical strength. He grunted softly and turned away slightly. He looked at the group of prisoners, intent on watching the minor interrogation. The merc was completely caught off guard by the fist pounding into his chin. He fell to the ground and coughed up a small bit of blood before being jerked to his feet once again by Falkner. This time his hard gaze was met not by a fist, but by the open face of the lieutenant's pistol. Reeds said gently, "I won't ask you again."
The mercenary merely laughed uneasily and turned his face away from Reeds. A loud crack signaled through the air, fading into the sound of the mercenary screaming. A trail of blood dripped down the shin of his left leg informed the lieutenant that he had been shot. The merc called out, "Okay, okay! Jesus fucking Christ! You fucking shot me!"
Reeds was as surprised as the mercenary until he noticed the faint trail of smoke rising from Lieutenant Sanders's pistol. Sanders moved in close to the merc and spoke softly, "Lieutenant Reeds isn't going to put up with your shit anymore, get me?"
He looked at Sanders's mouth out of the corner of his eye and nodded quickly. There would be no more argument from his lips. Again, Falkner lifted the man to his feet. Sanders aided her, despite his personal wishes. Reeds recovered from his minor score from the gunshot and asked again, "Now, what the fuck was that thing and what are you all doing here? Don't tell me it's some hotshot illegal ring of space fighter manufacturers. I know there's more than that going on. You're the only one who isn't scared shitless of whatever that fucking snake was. Now fucking tell me."
The mercenary looked around and finally met the eyes of the impatient lieutenant. He quivered his lower lip quickly before forming the words he searched for. He quietly asked, "If I cooperate, will you keep that fucking gun away from me?"
"I guarantee it."
The officers moved the man indoors and prepared to question him away from the rest of the mercenaries. Reeds left several marines outside in case other prisoners attempted to escape. Any of their knowledge could prove to be equally valuable. They moved into a small room that appeared to be designed for quick breaks from daily routines. Reeds whistled, saying, "Quite a place you got here, impressive for a bunch of ratfucks."
The mercenary rolled his eyes and quickly retorted, "You don't know the half of it you fucking grunt. You don't know what this place really is."
"Educate me, then."
"This compound is for the creation of starfighters. These people made them and they sold them to the highest bidder."
"What are you, some technician?"
"Hardly. I was asked to come here to check on something they found. I heard a couple of your boys stumbled into the drainage caverns?"
"Yeah?"
"Any of them alive?"
Sanders shot forward, "You shut your mouth you greased-up shitstick."
Reeds motioned for the lieutenant to sit down before asking, "Any information you'd like to share with us?"
"Gladly. We're fucked if we don't get out of here, now. I had no idea those idiots were going to shoot your ships down, and if I did I would have told them to hold their god damned glory for another day."
"Get to the fucking point," Sanders shouted, "before I finish what I started." He nodded towards the bleeding wound in the mercenary's leg.
"Save it, meathead. I'm not one of those damned mercenaries so eager to kill you and all your men. I don't give a shit who lives and who dies.
"Okay," Reeds sighed, "what the hell are you doing here then?"
"Some guy your boys whacked named Donnson, he was in charge here. He was the one who got the contract to build all those damn places and send them off to some cult or something, I don't know, it doesn't matter. He had a bunch of his men work under the facility and get some sort of makeshift hanger bay going or something. I'm not exactly sure what he intended to do, but he had some big plans for some kind of underground launching area."
"Okay."
"Anyway, they dug straight into some huge cavern, and I mean massive. Square miles maybe, it was huge. It wasn't natural either. The walls were roughly the same degree or arc on all sides, they were made to be there and fashioned a certain way. It was dark and real, real warm down there. But whatever, he sent some boys down to find out what the fuck it was, and they never came back. Later on, a couple more went down and they found something. A couple of mounds, I guess is what they described them as. They were about a meter high and pretty oval shaped, looked leathery and pretty organic."
Reeds raised an eyebrow, curious as to where this story was going.
"That's when they called me. They knew it was some sort of biologic, so they sent out the word for some scientists to come check things out. Not having anything better going, I came. I wish I had known what exactly was going on, but I'm here now, so it's too late for ifs, ands, or buts."
"You're a scientist?"
"Yeah, a scientist. With a real education and everything. Specifically I'm a student of exobiology." He looked to Sanders and said, "That would be the study of living stuff off of Earth."
Sanders sneered and looked toward his pistol again, eager to find a reason to pull the trigger again. Reeds said, "Continue, please."
"Right. Well anyway, I told them I wanted to see these things, so they were going to bring a few up. Well I guess during the move, one of those things opened up and something attacked one of the soldiers. Attached itself to his face or something. I headed down there as quickly as I could and tried to take it off. We killed him doing so. The thing fucking ripped his face right off with it. Donnson ordered for further study, so I asked for a few to still be brought up. We put them in stasis lock until I had a chance to check them out. Then you people showed up."
"What did we do?"
"You destroyed out power relays and the stasis lock was lost. The fucking things got out. I don't know what the hell they do to anybody because I never got a chance to see them up close, but I sure as hell would bet money on a connection between that thing that popped out of that soldier and those creatures I was going to look at."
"That thing came out of his chest, you said they attached to his face."
"The thing that came out of his chest was nothing like what I saw on that man's face before. I don't know what exactly is going on."
"I want three things out of you. Access to the computer libraries, because I know you have it. I also want the location of the entrance to this cavern, and finally, show me the room that held whatever you brought up from the cavern."
"Lieutenant Reeds, is it?"
"Yes."
"I can do two of those, but I'll go nowhere near that stasis room."
"Because of those things?"
"In a word."
"Very well, show us how to get there, we'll take care of the rest."
"Once I give you access to the computer, you'll know everything about this place. It has maps and everything."
"I also want to speak to this Donnson."
"He's quite dead, Lieutenant. Your men killed him in your raid."
"Yeah," Sanders said, "shit happens."
Reeds quickly asked, "And your name would be?"
"Magnuson."
"Got a first name there, Magnuson?"
"Magnuson will do just fine, Lieutenant."
"Very well," Reeds stood tall and barked, "Private Haskins, Private Carpenter, please escort this man to the computer interface and have my information within twenty minutes."
Two salutes ensured his orders were understood as Magnuson was led away by the two privates. His limp was quite obvious, but the man would easily live through the wound. They had already treated for infection and patched the wound. Sanders had been merciful, the bullet grazed the scientist's leg, not striking any bone or vital muscle. Reeds stood still for a few moments before looking towards Falkner and asking, "DO we check this cavern out?"
"Do you have to ask?" she responded.
Reeds grinned and looked towards Sanders laughing, "I can't believe you shot him."
Sanders smiled in return and replied, "Oh come on now, I didn't shoot so much as... warn. He'll be fine."
"Yeah, but I bet he'll have a few remarks to make to our superiors when he gets home."
"So what? You think they'll side with some cash-in-hand merc?"
"True, true. Still though, let's avoid any further shootings if possible, right?"
"Right."
Lieutenant Penning walked inside to and nodded to his peers. They stood still for some time before Penning broke the silence with an expected question, "So, what did he have to say?"
"There, Lieutenant. Full access."
Magnuson was moved from the interface by two privates, allowing Reeds to move in and begin working. He asked for Dyson, his favored technology buff, to access the drives. Dyson sat quickly and began working. His skill with foreign computers was well known throughout many units. Dyson had often been able to access databases encrypted with over dozens of code lines. A homemade hacking device offered efficiency and speed. Reeds was proud to have received him for a corporal in his unit. It was only a few minutes before Dyson called his superior with good news. He called up the plans to the facility and quickly relayed the information to Reeds. The stasis room was not far and the entrance to the cavern was only a small distance away. Vertically, the entrance would prove to be much farther than it seemed, but for the time, Reeds was concerned about the stasis room. He pointed to each soldier as he spoke, "Haskins, Carpenter, Ramis, you're with me. Dyson, keep going through here see what you can find. Vasil, you're with me, bring some people."
Sergeant Dimitri Vasil was the executive trooper who normally functioned as battlefield commander under Reeds. He was a good man that got the job done. Under the present circumstances, however, Reeds had quickly implemented his own hands-on approach and gotten involved directly since the death of the privates searching for the power relays. Vasil pointed to a few marines and motioned with his hand to follow him. There was no argument from any of the other commanding personnel, they were all in this together.
Lieutenant Penning entered the room just as Reeds was about to exit, stating, "I'm going too, can never hurt to have a few more men."
Penning pointed at a few of his own troops to follow, then took a place behind Reeds. He looked at their small team and noted a total of eight soldiers, including Reeds and himself. Reeds nodded and moved on.
The stasis room was two levels down. A dimly lit sign informed those present that they were on Sub-Level 2. The stairs that the soldiers had moved down appeared to extend on for quite a distance. Reeds estimated there had to be at least eight more floors below them. A pressure door opened and gave the marines access to the darkened halls. Without issuing an order, the marines behind Reeds and Penning fell into a defensive posture and moved out into the hall beyond the lieutenants. Weapons drawn, they turned on their shoulder lamps and began searching the corridor. There was absolutely no light to be found other than the random movement of the shoulder lamps. Not a single sound echoed through the empty hallway. The marines walked as quietly as possible to avoid making any noise. Private Haskins motioned with her hand and drew the lieutenants out of the stairwell. The smell was the most obvious difference Reeds noticed. There was a strong, unique smell oozing from the walls themselves. It wasn't an undesirable scent, merely one he had never experienced before. Reeds walked slowly and drew his pistol, though he maintained its position along his leg. The marines scurried about him in a vain effort to mentally map their surroundings. Doors creaked slightly as the troopers opened them to peer inside. Reeds spoke into the mouthpiece on his helmet, "Dyson, why the hell is it so dark in here?"
A few moments of silence, then, "Magnuson says the sublevels were sealed off in case of an emergency. When we showed up, the mercs sealed all the doors and stairwells. Nobody was probably... what?"
Reeds could hear a voice in the background, Magnuson's, speaking. He asked, "What is it, Corporal?"
"Sir, I guess the door swings as well as locks both ways. When they sealed it off, the people on those levels were locked down there."
"They couldn't get out?"
"No, sir. Not according to Magnuson here."
"When did Mr. Magnuson feel compelled to share this information with us?"
Silence. Reeds shook his head and moved on. His radio crackled again and Dyson's voice filled the silent void, "Sir, I think I can restore power down there, just give me a couple seconds."
A few moments passed until a loud click sounded through the hall. A hum grew as a series of bright lights began to illuminate the dark hall. Private Carpenter jumped and pointed his gun down the hall, "Did you see that?"
"What, Private?"
"The walls, they just god damned moved."
"Excuse me?"
"Sir," Vasil said, "I saw it too, something is up there. Or was."
Reeds looked to Penning and ordered his troops forward. Carpenter and Haskins made broad sweeps along the hall to get a view of everything ahead of them. The corridor was very well lit now, allowing the marines to work more confidently. As they moved down the hall, a dripping noise in the distance held the marines' attention. Reeds watched as Haskins moved forward beyond the other troops until she stopped and looked towards the ceiling. She spoke softly, "What the fuck?"
Reeds was eager to see what she had seen, and moved quickly to her position. As he arrived, he saw what Haskins was concerned about. The walls were covered with black material. It had a rough border along the standard, metallic hallway plating, informing Reeds that this was either not meant to be here or not completed. A transparent liquid slowly dripped from the material. Haskins brushed her hand against the wall and pulled back instantly. She looked to Reeds and said, "It's warm, really sticky too."
Reeds put his hand against the wall. The material felt strong and sturdy, but it was covered in whatever liquid was dripping from it. A thick ooze was left on his hand after he pulled it away. He looked at the liquid and could feel it becoming hard as it contacted his skin. He began to wipe it off quickly as a soldier called out, startling him, "Sir, Lieutenant, we found the stasis room."
"Good," Reeds replied, "Dyson, what can you tell me about the other sub-levels?"
"Looks like most of them are just storage. In fact four through ten, they aren't even completed yet. You won't find much down there. The entrance to the cavern Magnuson was talking about is on nine though. It should be right out of the staircase."
"Thank you, Corporal, we're going to worry about this stasis room for now."
Reeds moved into the room and immediately noted how clean it was. It was certainly meant to be a sterile room. The room was roughly eight meters long and five meters wide. Several small cases were mounted to the wall, all opened. In the far corner, a small computer screen blinked rapidly. Carpenter moved to it and read aloud, "Warning, cryo-stasis interrupted. It says there's twenty pods compromised. Then nineteen specimens absent."
"Twenty pods and nineteen specimens? Uh oh"
"Uh oh sounds right, Private," Penning said.
The soldiers began searching around the room. The room was poorly lit, making it difficult to see. Vasil brought several marines out into the hall to maintain defense, leaving Reeds, Penning, Haskins, and Carpenter in the stasis room. A high pitched scream alerted them to Haskins discovery and they quickly approached her position. She was standing near a typical office chair. Above her was an air duct opening that appeared to have been melted open, similar to the condition the wall had been in the bay upstairs. Haskins eyes were not up, but down. Reeds looked down to see a human body contorted to a horrible position. There was a large hole in his chest and a pool of blood underneath him. Reeds stared at the body saying, "Fuck. I think we know there's a connection."
His eyes caught a faint glimmer of light off in the corner. Something was reflecting Haskins's shoulder lamp. He told her to point it in the corner and jumped back as he saw the creature there. It was a very dull yellowish color, with long, slender legs and a tail at least three times its body length. The creature was on its back, the legs curled up like a fist, and the tail in a very loose coil. The soldiers pointed their weapons at it as Carpenter prepared to lightly nudge it with his foot. He did, with no response from the creature. Penning said softly, "Whatever it is, it's dead now."
"This must be one of the things that attached itself to the merc's face, the thing that Magnuson was talking about," Haskins said.
Reeds nodded and said, "It must be. So what the hell? It attaches to his face and then what?"
"There wasn't one on the merc's face in the dropship," Penning said nervously, "maybe it puts that fucking thing inside of you."
"What?"
"Well look. It attaches itself to your face, then it probably shoves the damn thing down your throat, into your lung or something."
"So you get some damn snake growing inside your chest until it's ready to come out. That's fucked."
Penning laughed and said, "Nobody said birth was pretty."
The soldiers didn't respond to his poorly timed humor. They merely stared at the creature in the corner. Reeds's radio crackled again and the room was filled with Vasil's voice, "Sir, I think you better come see this."
"Doesn't look like it belongs there."
The grouped personnel responded with nothing but tinny breathing and awkward glances. Penning looked to the corporal and replied, "No shit, jackass. The edges are fucking melting."
The troopers stared at the large hole in the floor. The steel grating was uncleanly cut into a circular shape, easily capable of allowing a human to fall through. Beads of moisture slowly dripped from the edges of the cold metal. After overcoming minor hesitation, Vasil quickly tapped the surface with his bare finger. Realizing it was not hot metal, he attempted to collect more of the substance. It felt cold and thick in his fingers. Grunting, he felt the liquid quickly harden and form a crust on his hand. Working with visible effort, he pulled the substance from his hand. Thin layers of skin came off with the crust, revealing the soft tissue underneath. Muttering indistinctly, Vasil stood and gently massaged his soft hand. The other troopers followed suit, taking moderately defensive stances. Penning looked to the soldiers and asked, "Advice would be greatly appreciated."
"Let's see where it goes."
"Fuck that, I say we get out of here now. To Hell with this, fuck stasis rooms, fuck face-sucking animals, and fuck moving walls, let's go!"
"Moving walls?" Reeds asked, "what are you talking about?"
"Those walls, they were all shifty before, let's get out of here."
"Calm down, Private," Reeds replied, "I want to see where it goes. We're armed. Just... cover your face."
The material covering the corridor's walls had become thicker and more intricate as the marines moved closer to the stairwell near the stasis room. Slowly, they moved down floor by floor, briefly checking to see if the hole was still apparent. They finally found the end point on Sub Level 6. The soldiers fanned out quietly, weapons drawn and should lamps fully lit. The lighting on the level was exceedingly dim, blending into the dense fog that had formed in the chokingly humid air. Severed steam pipes hissed in the darkness, drowning out any noise the soldiers made as they moved through the hall. Reeds looked around quickly and stated, "Forget it, we don't do this until I get proper lighting. Withdraw, now!"
The soldiers closed their formation and moved back to the stairwell. With short, yet relived gasps, the soldiers began to relax as they watched the door seal them safely within the stairwell. The light from the stairwell was comforting when compared to the dark corridors of the sublevels. Penning began moving up the stairs, waving for his troops to follow. He remained in one place and patted each of the soldiers as they moves past him, including Reeds, who gave him a reassuring smile. Penning said, "It was a good idea, that place was giving me the creeps. Let's just get out of here and send a science team to check it out when we get back. We don't get paid by the hour, after all."
Reeds laughed and lightly hit his comrade on the arm. He turned and continued up the flight of stairs. The horror of what he saw took several seconds to fully register within his brain, only allowing him enough time to react. A thick, black rope swung directly from the wall. The material that covered the wall through every sublevel they had seen suddenly began to shift and change. Reeds was able to duck under the swinging rope as it hurtled towards him. The reaction left Penning open and unprepared. A sharp pain rippled through his body as the rope quickly hit him. He looked down and saw a deep cut forming horizontally across his chest. He coughed quickly, expelling blood as the rope swung back around. He arched backwards and felt his spine give out. He watched as a large knife seemingly edged its way through his back and out his chest. He felt his body lifted from the floor before he lost consciousness. The sight of Reeds screaming to his troops was the last vision Penning's eyes would hold.
Gunfire erupted from the soldiers closest to the area of attack. Three marines joined Reeds in filling the small stairwell with quick burst of light and hot casings tinking on the metal floor. Bullets ricocheted off the wall and made quick strides over the stairwell. Reeds began running down, following his peer as best he could. More screams from above prompted him to look above and see the soldiers firing upwards as well. Blood dribbled down the stairs, falling onto the lieutenant's face, making him nauseous. Indecipherable screams filled the air, confusing the soldiers even further. Small bits of the material along the walls began to burst open. It didn't take long for Reeds to establish a solid understanding of what was happening. The walls were not only moving, they were a cleverly disguised assailant. Yellow liquid began to spray across the stairs, spraying soldiers in various places. The pain wasn't immediate, but quickly resulted in burning and stinging feelings. Soldiers fell to the ground, still shooting, trying to grasp their arms and faces.
Sergeant Vasil watched as one of the privates under his command was lifted straight upwards from the floor. Black arms protruding from the wall itself snatched the soldier from right before him. He shot upwards and hoped to hit his target, whatever it was. His line of sight became interrupted when a strong force struck his head. He felt immense pressure, realizing he had now been grabbed as well. Long fingers gripped him without mercy, covering his eyes and the majority of his mouth. He screamed, but found it difficult as his stomach was hit so hard he lost his breath. Blood trickled down, informing the sergeant he had been impaled. He dropped his weapon and maniacally felt the wound. It was deep, but not life threatening, at least not immediately. A glimmer of hope swept through him, until he felt the pressure on his head tighten again. He felt himself being lifted into the air. Vasil could vainly see the walls around him sinking, confirming his feeling of being lifted. The light began to fade and Vasil realized he had been taken from the stairwell. The movement was less fast paced now, but he struggled to remain awake. Tunnel vision began to cause dizziness and nausea, but Vasil remained as attentive as possible. After a short journey, he felt the pressure relieve itself and he was tossed to a cold surface. Struggling to see in the darkness, he could only hear various noises around him. A short groan signaled the presence of another human nearby, giving the sergeant hope. Again short lived, his hope faded when the same pressure grabbed his left leg. Sergeant Dimitri Vasil forced out one last scream as he felt his thigh muscles being ripped apart and the bones below crushed. His eyes fluttered a few times, giving him a quick view of an oval shaped object nearby. His energy drained from his body as quickly as the blood from his leg and he felt the coldness take him.
Lieutenant Reeds's eyes gently opened, the light was bright and directly in his face. He repeatedly blinked and finally found himself able to strain enough to see around him. Several of the troops surrounded him, all watching his every move. Sensing the confusion, Lieutenant Falkner quickly asked him, "Do you remember what happened?"
"No. Where are we?"
"We managed to bring you back to top level, but it wasn't easy."
"What happened?"
The tone of urgency began to infiltrate his voice. Falkner looked away and answered, "We lost a lot of people. We managed to get you and Watts back."
Reeds looked at the marines around him and counted a total of five. He asked, "Is this all that's left?"
"Not quite..." she sighed, "Private Ramis is outside watching the prisoners."
"Six. Six soldiers. Seven with me? What the fuck happened?"
"We sent down some people to try and..."
Reeds screamed, "What happened?"
Falkner flinched heavily and looked him directly in the eye. Her gaze was piercing and informed Reeds that his question was invoking an emotional response.
"Apparently those creatures are a bit nastier than we anticipated."
Reeds closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and leaned back, feeling his head on the cold metal table he had been laid on. The mission was quickly turning worse every moment that passed.
Falkner looked to Private Carpenter and instructed him to go find Captain Hayes. She looked back to Reeds, "We know a lot more about them now. We've got a couple corpses if you want to see what they are."
"How did you find so much out?"
"We've had some decent time to figure it out."
"How much time? How long have I been here?"
"It's been about eight hours since you were ambushed in that stairwell."
"Eight hours? Son of a bitch, I need to go see these things."
As he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the table, he found his muscles wouldn't support his weight. Reeds fell to the floor and was quickly lifted by two soldiers. Falkner shook her head lightly and motioned to his legs. Deep cuts had been dressed and covered. He looked back to Falkner who spoke before he could ask, "They completely destroyed your leg muscles. You won't be able to walk for a long time, Tom."
Placing his hand on his leg, he felt small, scattered burns in his skin. He remembered the yellow liquid that sprayed everywhere. He remembered the burning sensation that followed, and the eventual unconsciousness. The pain had become too overwhelming. The burn had covered most of his legs, a small portion of his arm, and his face. Reeds's hand darted to his face, he stroked the left side of his cheek up to the temple. The same scattered burns were there, deep indentations made by the burning liquid. He moved his hand upwards and felt burned skin where there used to be a healthy patch of hair. Brushing against the side of his head further back, the realization that half of his ear was no longer there surprised him more than anything. Near the back of his head, he felt more bandages. As curious as Reeds was to know what damaged had been done there as well, perhaps it was better to leave some of the shock for later. This had been taxing enough.
Focusing on the mission at hand, Reeds knew he would be able to better adapt to the situation. His work had often been able to take his mind off of other problems. He looked to Falkner, taking his hand away from his head. "Janice, I want to talk to three of the mercs. Find me the three mercs that seem to be next in their line of command, if such a thing exists with those pricks."
"What for?"
"Military reinforcements won't be here for another ten days at least."
"So?"
"I want some now."
"Sir, I think we found something. There appears to be a maintenance access tunnel in this power relay station."
"Excellent work, have we moved in?"
"Not yet, sir. We were waiting for the word." Lieutenant raised an eyebrow, "Corporal, the word is given, get to it."
"Yes, sir!"
A team of Marines frantically began looking for the proper method of entering the hatch as the three Privates had earlier. It had now been an hour since their disappearance. It hadn't occurred to anyone to continue searching the relay station, it appeared to be nothing more than a dead end. It was blind luck that a Marine happened to see cracks in the wall that gave the impression of a doorway. Four troops discussed the possibilities, "There has to be a switch, I refuse to believe they would have to pry it open."
"I don't see anything, how about you?" Nothing. It's such a small entryway, it has to be for maintenance. So maybe something has to go wrong for it to open?"
"It's near the pump. That pump must lead to something. What can we do?"
Three of the Marines jumped as a gunshot rang out, piercing a pipe nearby. A yellow liquid spilled out onto the floor. One soldier yelled, "Oh good work, asswipe! You really bring meaning to the term 'grunt', don't you?"
The Marine who made the shot smiled and pointed at a blinking red light on the pump. He said coldly, "Try the button, dipshit."
As one of the soldiers went to press the button, he readied his pulse rifle, prepared for anything. The button was easy enough to press, easily lifting the bulkhead to allow access on hands and knees. Before entering, one stood back up and asked, "Should we go in alone? For all we know, those three died in there."
"Lieutenant gave the word, that's all I care about, get in."
They each crawled in slowly and cautiously, aware of any possible danger ahead. Before them was a vast cavern that appeared to be an underground cave. A catwalk extended far out from the hatchway over a yellow liquid far below. One troop stated, "That's the same liquid that came out of the tube. They must use this for some sort of energy source, you think it's some kind of fuel?"
"Not necessarily, it could just be pumped into smaller hydroelectric generators, there seems to be enough of the damn stuff to last them awhile if it was fuel though."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter, keep moving." As the Marines pressed on, they heard the bulkhead door close behind them. The loud bang of the bulkhead falling into place signaled mixed emotions from the solders, "Shit," one stated, "it got real dark real fast in here."
"Stop your whining, let's just find these assholes and get out of here. Caves give me the God damned creeps."
The other three laughed lightly as they moved down the catwalk. A strange odor began to saturate the air. The catwalk made a cold, metallic sound with each boot slamming down on it. The sound echoed throughout the expansive cavern. A hole as small as the one the Marines treaded over was hardly noticeable without close inspection, but the melted edges of the metal called for attention as the soldiers moved into the darkness. Without warning, the lead Marine stopped and stood perfectly still. He stared down at the section of the catwalk in front of him, he let out a tinny groan before adding, "Fuck."
As Reeds approached the pump at the end of the hall he heard several of the Marines present yelling loudly, many had their rifles held in combat positions, pointed directly at the door. He walked quickly and demanded the respect he deserved instantly, "Marines! What the Hell is going on here?"
"Sir! Four of 'em went in there, we hear them yelling, I think they're okay, but they're running back, and we can't open the hatch!"
"We have radio contact?"
"Yes, sir."
Reeds lifted his transceiver and called out, "Private Anderson, do you read?"
"Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Private, what the Hell is going on in there?" I don't know, sir! Just get us out, this walk is covered in blood!"
Reeds eyes widened a little in surprise, "Did you find any of our men?"
He didn't receive the response he hoped for, "Open the door! Now! Son of..."
The transmission went dead. Reeds kept attempting to raise Anderson, "Anderson, do you copy? Come in, Private. Private Anderson, are you there? Report!"
To his surprise, another trooper replied back, frantically yelling, "They just got Anderson, open the door! A red button, press the fucking red button!"
Reeds ordered a search for the red button. He watched as his troops moved as quickly as possible to aid the survivors on the other side of the hatch. Lieutenant Reeds now distinctly heard gunfire on the other side of the door. Pulse rifle shots spattered out in a frenzy, as if his solders were facing one hundred enemies. He was relieved when a Corporal called out, "Got it!"
The bulkhead lifted steadily. Reeds was the first to jump through, pistol in hand. As he finished crawling through, all he saw was the face of one of his Marines dragged off the walk. A trail of blood led from the dull expression to the door as bloody handprints glistened on the catwalk railing. The Lieutenant didn't have time to identify the attacker, he merely shot. After emptying his clip, he had heard a high pitched screeching noise. It was a horrible sound that sent shivers down his spine. When he realized the Private's body was still on the walk, he ran to him as quickly as possible. Reeds pulled the man up to discover his legs had been completely severed. Bloody stumps now took their place, distracting attention from the huge gashes across his chest. Reeds ran his hand over the gashes in the Private's chest and cried out as his hand began to burn. He heard a sizzling noise and noticed the Private's armor slowly melting away. He hurried to take the armor off before realizing there was no life left in the body. Empty eyes stared into the dark distance as any traces of life faded from the Private. Reeds gathered his emotions, held the bile in his stomach down, and called for his troops, "Get out of here!"
"Sys-check is coming out with only minor hull damage. The injectors can't be the cause, or else we'd know about it. Something just roughed up the surface. Though I have no idea what could have done it like this, the edges are burned or something."
Hayes explained, "Not burned, it looks melted, like somebody torched it or something."
"I don't know and I don't really care, "Canter replied, "but it needs to get fixed before we take off. It could easily start a malfunction and send us straight to Hell."
"Good idea, let's get it taken care of. I'm sure we can find some torches in the compound somewhere."
Canter and Hayes walked towards the cargo door that led into the compound. As they passed the grounded dropship turned prisoner transport, they heard a gruff Private yelling for on e of the mercenaries to be quiet. Hayes asked, "Problem, Private?"
"No, sir. Just have a mercenary complaining."
"Complaining about what?"
"Heartburn or some sh..., heartburn, sir."
"Heartburn? Then get the bastard some of that pink stuff I always see in the commercials."
"Yes, sir."
"Unless you can't find any, then feel free to gag him."
"Yes, sir!"
Hayes noted the excitement in the last response and he smiled to the Marine. "Carry on, Private."
From in the dropship, Hayes heard a loud voice shout, "I think I'll puke if I don't get something!"
The body of Private Anderson fell with the loud thud onto the cafeteria table. Three Marines hastened to remove his clothes for the best medical analysis they could perform. The armor of the Marine had been slashed repeatedly, but one set of slash marks made a distinct impression on all who saw. These scrapes were lined with melted bits of the durable material that composed the armor. Small blotches of melted material dotted the area around the slashes themselves. Upon removing the armor, the Marines noted burn marks in the same pattern as the slashes that had melted through the armor. His skin left a horrific smell in the air, causing one Marine to vomit profusely. Those who could stomach it long enough managed to patch the body well enough to block most of the smell. There wasn't much to determine from the corpse. It was quite apparent the reason for death was found in the missing half of his body.
Reeds had called a full evacuation from the site and readied his men for combat instantly. He posted two guards to watch the entrance to the cavern, but not to open it. The rest of the Marines had now taken strategic defensive points near the cafeteria and were keeping watch over the area. The event had quickly turned their period of waiting into a combat situation. He moved into the back corner of the cafeteria and approached the other Lieutenants, "Well what the Hell do we do now?"
"What's our personnel count at?"
"We've lost seven now, seven damned deaths that weren't necessary. We probably have some fucking mercs running around inside with laser cutters or knives. I shot one, he probably fell into that liquid below, I want to send in a team to retrieve the body. All we need is a..."
"Lieutenant, we aren't sending a team in there until we get a heavier weapons set. I want smartguns and at least one launcher ready to go," Falkner spoke with a strong sense of leadership, "We aren't taking further risks in there."
Lieutenant Janice Falkner felt as though the situation would soon end up on her shoulders. It wouldn't be the first time an operation had crumbled and became her responsibility to solve. She had risen to the occasion more than once in her military past and had little doubt it would happen again. One particular event had brought her to her present status. During a particularly bloody operation, her unit was ravaged by an enemy that used severely effective guerrilla tactics. It was foreign territory to the Marines, and her Lieutenant was killed in a most gruesome method. She took command instantly and led her troops to victory. The operation was a success and Falkner was immediately promoted to full Lieutenant. She was assigned her own unit and received an assignment the following month. Despite the difficulty of being the first woman to serve as a full Lieutenant, her unit quickly grew to like her, but more importantly to respect her. She demanded absolute precision and discipline from her troops, but she rewarded them equally as well.
She had lost many troops during this operation. Each unit was composed of sixteen troops, she had lost seven. Such a number seemed small compared to the sixty-four dropped in total, but she had never suffered such a heavy loss. Her loss was small compared to the other units, however. Reeds and Penning had lost ten and eleven respectively. These numbers didn't include the various men lost in the past two hours. She could see Reeds losing his patience and professional attitude. No Marine had ever risen to the rank of Lieutenant with such an impressive record.
Lieutenant Thomas Reeds was the officer that every other officer looked to as a professional guide. His attitude towards the job regarded the well-being of his men in a perfect balance with the objective of a mission. The soldiers under his command admired him as a commander, yet found him as a friend in their times of personal need. Superior officers waved his record in the face of new officers in training and spat at their feet telling them they would be surprised if they amounted to half the man Reeds was. His rise to command had been more typical than Falkner's. Working his life through the enlisted ranks, Reeds quickly assumed the rank of Corporal and then began Officer's Training at the recommendation of his Lieutenant. Reeds went through the schooling without trouble and was given his first mission before his unit was fully assembled. Earning the nickname Titans, Reeds's unit crushed all that stood in its path. Their operation on Agorax was testing the limits of his command, however. Reeds had lost too many good soldiers, his demeanor had become dark and cold since the second drop on the moon. Now the death of Anderson had only worsened his mood. Reeds looked off into the distance, unaware of the commotion escaping the muffled speaker of the Marine radios.
"Lieutenant. Lieutenant!"
Reeds jerked to his left to see Corporal Dyson staring at him, "What is it, Corporal?"
"Word is out, sir. Sergeant Grant saw a bogey move through the halls, we're tracking. Lieutenant Penning asked if you would come with him to check it out."
Reeds laughed, "Dyson, my boy, bogey is a dogfighting term."
""Very well, sir," Dyson's posture stiffened, "Sir! Unidentified personnel have been found in Junction 12-A! Reporting for orders, sir!"
Laughing again, Reeds commanded, "Very good, Corporal. Suit up, let's move this party out!"
"Son of a bitch! This fucking hurts!"
The mercenary jostled in his seat, tossing his body around as much as possible. Hayes put his hand on the man's shoulder and attempted to calm him down. He spoke caringly and with a false sense of concern for the mercenary. In truth, the captain's only goal was to end the senseless noise. The other prisoners were becoming angry and unruly, factors which could make prisoner transportation a definite problem. Hayes called to one of the guarding Marines, "Private! Do we have any narcotics, anesthetics?"
Private Ramis replied, "We have a small bit with our medic, I can get it if..."
"I'll take care of it, Private," Hayes said gruffly. He looked at the Marine from head to toe and noted her natural beauty. It was foolish of the lieutenants to post a woman of such beauty near a collection of rowdy prisoners. There was little time for worry at this point however. They had not made any aggressive moves in several hours, there was little reason to suspect any now. The only task at hand for the moment was calming this mercenary down. Hayes began to walk away from the prisoner briskly when he heard a horrible noise. The sound begged his attention away from the drugs, allowing him to see the patchy spots of blood that appeared all over the prisoners directly behind him. He felt sick as he watched the mercenary enter a convulsive state, foam dripping from his mouth, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and head shaking violently. Hayes saw no blood from the man's mouth, but instead on his chest. The sound of ripping organs echoed through the dropship body, followed by what sounded like cracking. Hayes watched in horror as something pushed its way through the mercenary's shattered ribcage. A small knob began to appear from underneath the merc's skin, his chest rose in an unnatural way, and the final sounds of internal destruction followed. The knob quickly forced its way through the merc's chest and caught its first touch of air. Hayes watched, his jaw agape, unable to respond in any way. His body was frozen from both fear and amazement. The mercenary's last breath left his body as his life ended abruptly, transferred into whatever creature now rested in the cavity of the man's torso. It appeared snakelike, no visible arms or legs, no eyes, only a mouth. The mouth was what caught every eye in the dropship. Effortlessly opening and closing, the mouth fully displayed its impressive set of sharp, pointed teeth. The creature opened its mouth wide and let out a high pitched squeal that sent horrible sensations down Hayes's spine. Hayes saw a distinguished head, smooth and organic in appearance. Despite the creature's impressive collection of teeth, it was the lack of visible eyes that stunned Hayes. There were only some organic tubes that ran under where the eyes should have been. To his surprise, against the logic of the situation, the creature twisted itself and faced directly towards Hayes. Its lips, if such a term were applicable, curled up, baring the creature's long teeth. Squealing again forced a choking reaction from the creature. It forced up a surprising amount of blood from inside its body. The creature had purged itself of any ingested yet unwanted material in its stomach.
Screaming several times, the creature gently rose from the dead man and freed itself from the gory mess. A long, slender body became visible as the creature completely emerged from the merc's body and escaped before anyone was able to stop it. A glistening trail of blood left a distinct trail on the dropship plating along the creature's path of escape. Not one sound came from any of the people present, all eyes had locked on the last bit of the blood trail leading out of the dropship. Hayes closed his mouth and looked around, taking in the events that had just transpired. He looked down and quietly addressed the expired body in the dropship, "Can we get the body out of there? Let's bag him up and get him buried. We don't bring the body, it's too much of a biohazard."
Several of the mercenaries looked to the captain in protest of this action, but none said anything. The mercenaries looked to each other for answers to the questions swimming in their heads. Only one face stared straight forward, his eyes unmoving, his face unexpressive. Slowly he turned his head and smirked slightly before hanging his head towards the floor. He looked at the metal floor of the dropship and commented to himself, "We're fucked."
Reeds turned the final corner and saw the troopers all standing in small clusters surrounding a closed set of double doors. Nodding quickly at Lieutenant Penning, he barked out, "Somebody give me a report!"
"Sir, unidentified movement led to this room. Doors were closed by the time we got here, we have not proceeded in."
"What's stopping you?"
"Just give the word, sir!"
"Word."
Instantly, a soft hiss signaled the opening of the doors. Three troopers entered in a triangular formation, waving their rifles back and forth in the darkness. Reeds blinked as the troopers activated their shoulder lamps and illuminated the room. Reeds entered with the escort of two privates and looked around, squinting at areas with poor lighting. He saw beds, lined up like a military bay. They were not tidy, many had sheets and blankets strewn on the floor or at the foot of the bed. Something troubled him, he asked, "Why does a bay door make a hissing noise like that?"
"Sir, the door was locked, we had to force open the locking mechanism."
"Pressure locks? Why would you put pressure locks on the entrance to a sleeping bay?"
He looked down the lengthy room and heard one of the marines beckon, "Sir, you're going to want to see this."
Reeds allowed Penning to enter the room before he began walking towards the far wall. The marine looked surprised, perhaps a little frightened. Reeds quickly understood the reasoning. A large hole had been burned into the wall, the edges of the bulkhead appeared jagged and unclean. It wasn't a hole meant to be there, and that was all Reeds could establish from his initial impression. Signaling for the trooper to help him, he peered into the hole. As the marine's lamp lit the passage, Reeds's eyes opened wide and he stood up quickly. The hole led straight into an air duct. He turned quickly and yelled, "Son of a bitch, the fuckers are in the air vents. I want schematics, somebody tell me where this vent leads. I want three here, I want two with me, and I want a damn gun, now!"
A marine gave the lieutenant a questioning look before Reeds realized he was holding his own pistol already. Reeds holstered his weapon and stated, "I want a better gun."
The marine smiled and nodded, handing Reeds his own pulse rifle. He looked at the rifle and noticed words etched into its scratched surface. He asked the marine, "Who is Anne?"
"Just a figment of my imagination, sir."
Reeds unknowingly squinted in confusion at the marine's response. The trooper glanced at him again and walked away. Reeds caught a glimpse of the marine's armor and made sure to remember his name, Watts. His unit patch indicated that he was one of Sanders's troops. Quickly turning towards the open hall, he filed the information away in his brain for later, there were more important goals to accomplish.
The metallic clang of the troopers' boots hitting the floor echoed through the cafeteria, announcing their return to Falkner. She approached Reeds and Penning asking for a report.
"Unidentified subject moving through air ducts. That's probably how he, she, or they got the jump on our boys in that cavern. We're working on getting some schematics right now for the duct system, I want to track these bastards wherever they are. Do we have any turrets?"
"No, we didn't think we'd need them. This wasn't supposed to be an occupation, just a grab-and-go. They're all up in storage on the cruisers."
"Damn. Oh well, we can manage. I've posted three near the entrance to the ducts in the bay we found it in, I want to take a few more with me and move on to the control center. We know where that is, right?"
"Affirmative, we logged the control room already, it was dead."
"Circuitry damaged?"
"We don't know," Falkner replied, "everything was just turned off. I felt no need to work on anything at the time. We should have been out of here hours ago as it is."
"No kidding," Penning added, "I hate this shithole."
Falkner looked to her troops and sent two with Reeds. He called for Dyson, who responded quickly, "Sir, yes sir, let's get us some..."
"Lieutenant!" A nervous voice blasted down the halls, startling the marines. "Lieutenant!"
Reeds watched with curiosity as a very frightened Captain Hayes ran towards them. He looked at Falkner and Penning, asking, "What's this all about?"
Dyson swallowed hard as a bit of bile rose from his stomach into his mouth. He closed his eyes and tried not to breathe. The smell of the body had become overpowering, giving reason for Canter having the marines unload the mercenaries. They now stood, huddled together in a group, looking at the open dropship. None of the prisoners had attempted to run. Canter knew this would be the case as soon as she saw the body. Fear was now the primary reason to avoid leaving the marines. Their pulse rifles now very well stood as a sign of protection rather than lockdown. All four lieutenants now stood inside the dropship, inspecting the scene as best they could. The mercenaries heard the captain explaining the situation as best he could.
"And then the damned thing just jumped out of him, ran away and vanished. We have no idea where it went."
Reeds kept looking at the massive hole that had formed in the man's chest, unable to move his attention elsewhere. He heard Penning leave the ship, making slight gagging noises. Falkner stared as intently as Reeds, not saying anything. Sanders broke the silence, "It looked like a snake?"
"No, no," Captain Hayes replied, "I don't know what the fuck it looked like, but it was shaped like a snake. With arms. It had arms."
"It just came out of him?"
"He started going into convulsions, like he was in a lot of pain. The thing probably had to force its way out, and look where it did it. It had to go through is lungs, maybe his heart, and even his ribcage. The thing had to force its way through his ribcage. What the fuck can do that?"
"Something I hope we don't see again," Reeds answered.
Their attention was drawn to shouting outside. The marines had all raised their weapons, some running away from the group of mercenaries. Falkner shouted, "Report!"
A marine near the dropship replied, "Prisoner escape, sir! He ran from the crowd, took off towards the compound. I think we... they got him. He's down."
"Dead?"
"No, sir. Quite alive."
She smiled at Reeds, "Somebody knows something."
Reeds looked at her and asked, "How do you know?"
"Women's intuition."
Falkner left the dropship and approached the fallen prisoner. Sanders looked at Reeds, "Doesn't that only work with kids?"
Reeds smiled and followed Falkner.
Sarah Canter watched the marines disappear beyond the crowd of frightened mercenaries. The prisoner who had been so eager to make his escape was in for a serious interrogation. Lieutenant John Sanders was well known for being able to get information out of people, through whatever means he deemed necessary. A small number of black spots appeared on his military record in the fashion of misuse of weapons and unnecessary force. He never laid a hand upon his own troops, but the enemy was almost always taught a lesson when they were made prisoners of the lieutenant. The prisoner would talk, it was a question of how slurred his words would be when Sanders had finished with him.
Canter rested her hand on her belly and gently massaged it. Her thoughts drifted to her home back on Earth, her husband, and her life in general before this mission. Everything had been easy and set forth for her. The situation was becoming foreign and frightening to her now. Her hand slowly glided up to her breast. She pushed against the ribs underneath and felt their firm integrity. Nothing should ever break those bones, she thought. Her memory faded into a gory glimpse of the creature bursting from the mercenary within the cold, sterile walls of the dropship. Biting her lower lip, she suppressed the small urge to gag and began walking away. She approached the Hellbird and gazed at the hull. Canter complimented herself on the quick yet effective repair job she had done. Two small steel plates were now welded across the back hull, sealed with a thick paste used for insulating APCs. The wounds in the hull were covered, but the mystery behind them was all that Canter could focus on. The gashes in the hull weren't caused in any battle. Weapons fire would have left deep, penetrating, and straight cuts into the hull. These were unclean and awkward slices taken from the metal. The connection to whatever thing had just emerged from within a man's chest now seemed obvious to Canter.
Yelling in the distance beckoned for her to turn her head slightly to see Hayes walking away from the marines. His walk was uncertain and full of terror. Canter had a great deal of respect for her captain, despite their friendly bickering and derogatory comments towards one another. She often looked to him for the support she needed to accomplish a mission without trouble. Now his confidence was lost to the events taking place. His face appeared stern and frightened, as if he knew the outcome of this mission. Captain Hayes had always been an eternal optimist. For him to behave the way he was now behaving put a deep worry in Canter's mind. Things were not going to turn out well at all.
Canter walked instinctively towards the hatch that opened into the cockpit of the Hellbird. She climbed inside and approached the primary pilot's seat. She reached over the chair and felt the cool metal on her hand from the frame of the chair. Canter slid her hand along the metal until she felt a leather case with a small strap held by a button. Unfastening the button, she pulled the contents away from the case. The pistol was light, but it would certainly protect her if it became necessary. Canter recalled the last time she had held a pistol, it had been four years ago, on one of her more dangerous missions. It had been even longer since she had fired a single shot. Despite her involvement with the United States military, Sarah Canter despised weapons. She found them to be creations designed to remove life, not prolong or protect it. It was necessary, however, for the people of Earth to defend themselves. It was now time for Canter to defend herself. She loaded the pistol with its ammunition and slipped it inside a holster attached to her flight suit. She noticed a slightly more confident step in her walk as she left the Hellbird and prepared to check over the repairs.
"There's only one thing to say."
"Do share."
"Go fuck yourself."
The mercenary's words rang through Reeds's ears before being overcome by the spit launched at his face. The lieutenant blinked hard and allowed the saliva to run past his eyes before opening them again. Falkner grabbed the merc by the collar and lifted him up. Reeds successfully overcame the urge to show his surprise at her physical strength. He grunted softly and turned away slightly. He looked at the group of prisoners, intent on watching the minor interrogation. The merc was completely caught off guard by the fist pounding into his chin. He fell to the ground and coughed up a small bit of blood before being jerked to his feet once again by Falkner. This time his hard gaze was met not by a fist, but by the open face of the lieutenant's pistol. Reeds said gently, "I won't ask you again."
The mercenary merely laughed uneasily and turned his face away from Reeds. A loud crack signaled through the air, fading into the sound of the mercenary screaming. A trail of blood dripped down the shin of his left leg informed the lieutenant that he had been shot. The merc called out, "Okay, okay! Jesus fucking Christ! You fucking shot me!"
Reeds was as surprised as the mercenary until he noticed the faint trail of smoke rising from Lieutenant Sanders's pistol. Sanders moved in close to the merc and spoke softly, "Lieutenant Reeds isn't going to put up with your shit anymore, get me?"
He looked at Sanders's mouth out of the corner of his eye and nodded quickly. There would be no more argument from his lips. Again, Falkner lifted the man to his feet. Sanders aided her, despite his personal wishes. Reeds recovered from his minor score from the gunshot and asked again, "Now, what the fuck was that thing and what are you all doing here? Don't tell me it's some hotshot illegal ring of space fighter manufacturers. I know there's more than that going on. You're the only one who isn't scared shitless of whatever that fucking snake was. Now fucking tell me."
The mercenary looked around and finally met the eyes of the impatient lieutenant. He quivered his lower lip quickly before forming the words he searched for. He quietly asked, "If I cooperate, will you keep that fucking gun away from me?"
"I guarantee it."
The officers moved the man indoors and prepared to question him away from the rest of the mercenaries. Reeds left several marines outside in case other prisoners attempted to escape. Any of their knowledge could prove to be equally valuable. They moved into a small room that appeared to be designed for quick breaks from daily routines. Reeds whistled, saying, "Quite a place you got here, impressive for a bunch of ratfucks."
The mercenary rolled his eyes and quickly retorted, "You don't know the half of it you fucking grunt. You don't know what this place really is."
"Educate me, then."
"This compound is for the creation of starfighters. These people made them and they sold them to the highest bidder."
"What are you, some technician?"
"Hardly. I was asked to come here to check on something they found. I heard a couple of your boys stumbled into the drainage caverns?"
"Yeah?"
"Any of them alive?"
Sanders shot forward, "You shut your mouth you greased-up shitstick."
Reeds motioned for the lieutenant to sit down before asking, "Any information you'd like to share with us?"
"Gladly. We're fucked if we don't get out of here, now. I had no idea those idiots were going to shoot your ships down, and if I did I would have told them to hold their god damned glory for another day."
"Get to the fucking point," Sanders shouted, "before I finish what I started." He nodded towards the bleeding wound in the mercenary's leg.
"Save it, meathead. I'm not one of those damned mercenaries so eager to kill you and all your men. I don't give a shit who lives and who dies.
"Okay," Reeds sighed, "what the hell are you doing here then?"
"Some guy your boys whacked named Donnson, he was in charge here. He was the one who got the contract to build all those damn places and send them off to some cult or something, I don't know, it doesn't matter. He had a bunch of his men work under the facility and get some sort of makeshift hanger bay going or something. I'm not exactly sure what he intended to do, but he had some big plans for some kind of underground launching area."
"Okay."
"Anyway, they dug straight into some huge cavern, and I mean massive. Square miles maybe, it was huge. It wasn't natural either. The walls were roughly the same degree or arc on all sides, they were made to be there and fashioned a certain way. It was dark and real, real warm down there. But whatever, he sent some boys down to find out what the fuck it was, and they never came back. Later on, a couple more went down and they found something. A couple of mounds, I guess is what they described them as. They were about a meter high and pretty oval shaped, looked leathery and pretty organic."
Reeds raised an eyebrow, curious as to where this story was going.
"That's when they called me. They knew it was some sort of biologic, so they sent out the word for some scientists to come check things out. Not having anything better going, I came. I wish I had known what exactly was going on, but I'm here now, so it's too late for ifs, ands, or buts."
"You're a scientist?"
"Yeah, a scientist. With a real education and everything. Specifically I'm a student of exobiology." He looked to Sanders and said, "That would be the study of living stuff off of Earth."
Sanders sneered and looked toward his pistol again, eager to find a reason to pull the trigger again. Reeds said, "Continue, please."
"Right. Well anyway, I told them I wanted to see these things, so they were going to bring a few up. Well I guess during the move, one of those things opened up and something attacked one of the soldiers. Attached itself to his face or something. I headed down there as quickly as I could and tried to take it off. We killed him doing so. The thing fucking ripped his face right off with it. Donnson ordered for further study, so I asked for a few to still be brought up. We put them in stasis lock until I had a chance to check them out. Then you people showed up."
"What did we do?"
"You destroyed out power relays and the stasis lock was lost. The fucking things got out. I don't know what the hell they do to anybody because I never got a chance to see them up close, but I sure as hell would bet money on a connection between that thing that popped out of that soldier and those creatures I was going to look at."
"That thing came out of his chest, you said they attached to his face."
"The thing that came out of his chest was nothing like what I saw on that man's face before. I don't know what exactly is going on."
"I want three things out of you. Access to the computer libraries, because I know you have it. I also want the location of the entrance to this cavern, and finally, show me the room that held whatever you brought up from the cavern."
"Lieutenant Reeds, is it?"
"Yes."
"I can do two of those, but I'll go nowhere near that stasis room."
"Because of those things?"
"In a word."
"Very well, show us how to get there, we'll take care of the rest."
"Once I give you access to the computer, you'll know everything about this place. It has maps and everything."
"I also want to speak to this Donnson."
"He's quite dead, Lieutenant. Your men killed him in your raid."
"Yeah," Sanders said, "shit happens."
Reeds quickly asked, "And your name would be?"
"Magnuson."
"Got a first name there, Magnuson?"
"Magnuson will do just fine, Lieutenant."
"Very well," Reeds stood tall and barked, "Private Haskins, Private Carpenter, please escort this man to the computer interface and have my information within twenty minutes."
Two salutes ensured his orders were understood as Magnuson was led away by the two privates. His limp was quite obvious, but the man would easily live through the wound. They had already treated for infection and patched the wound. Sanders had been merciful, the bullet grazed the scientist's leg, not striking any bone or vital muscle. Reeds stood still for a few moments before looking towards Falkner and asking, "DO we check this cavern out?"
"Do you have to ask?" she responded.
Reeds grinned and looked towards Sanders laughing, "I can't believe you shot him."
Sanders smiled in return and replied, "Oh come on now, I didn't shoot so much as... warn. He'll be fine."
"Yeah, but I bet he'll have a few remarks to make to our superiors when he gets home."
"So what? You think they'll side with some cash-in-hand merc?"
"True, true. Still though, let's avoid any further shootings if possible, right?"
"Right."
Lieutenant Penning walked inside to and nodded to his peers. They stood still for some time before Penning broke the silence with an expected question, "So, what did he have to say?"
"There, Lieutenant. Full access."
Magnuson was moved from the interface by two privates, allowing Reeds to move in and begin working. He asked for Dyson, his favored technology buff, to access the drives. Dyson sat quickly and began working. His skill with foreign computers was well known throughout many units. Dyson had often been able to access databases encrypted with over dozens of code lines. A homemade hacking device offered efficiency and speed. Reeds was proud to have received him for a corporal in his unit. It was only a few minutes before Dyson called his superior with good news. He called up the plans to the facility and quickly relayed the information to Reeds. The stasis room was not far and the entrance to the cavern was only a small distance away. Vertically, the entrance would prove to be much farther than it seemed, but for the time, Reeds was concerned about the stasis room. He pointed to each soldier as he spoke, "Haskins, Carpenter, Ramis, you're with me. Dyson, keep going through here see what you can find. Vasil, you're with me, bring some people."
Sergeant Dimitri Vasil was the executive trooper who normally functioned as battlefield commander under Reeds. He was a good man that got the job done. Under the present circumstances, however, Reeds had quickly implemented his own hands-on approach and gotten involved directly since the death of the privates searching for the power relays. Vasil pointed to a few marines and motioned with his hand to follow him. There was no argument from any of the other commanding personnel, they were all in this together.
Lieutenant Penning entered the room just as Reeds was about to exit, stating, "I'm going too, can never hurt to have a few more men."
Penning pointed at a few of his own troops to follow, then took a place behind Reeds. He looked at their small team and noted a total of eight soldiers, including Reeds and himself. Reeds nodded and moved on.
The stasis room was two levels down. A dimly lit sign informed those present that they were on Sub-Level 2. The stairs that the soldiers had moved down appeared to extend on for quite a distance. Reeds estimated there had to be at least eight more floors below them. A pressure door opened and gave the marines access to the darkened halls. Without issuing an order, the marines behind Reeds and Penning fell into a defensive posture and moved out into the hall beyond the lieutenants. Weapons drawn, they turned on their shoulder lamps and began searching the corridor. There was absolutely no light to be found other than the random movement of the shoulder lamps. Not a single sound echoed through the empty hallway. The marines walked as quietly as possible to avoid making any noise. Private Haskins motioned with her hand and drew the lieutenants out of the stairwell. The smell was the most obvious difference Reeds noticed. There was a strong, unique smell oozing from the walls themselves. It wasn't an undesirable scent, merely one he had never experienced before. Reeds walked slowly and drew his pistol, though he maintained its position along his leg. The marines scurried about him in a vain effort to mentally map their surroundings. Doors creaked slightly as the troopers opened them to peer inside. Reeds spoke into the mouthpiece on his helmet, "Dyson, why the hell is it so dark in here?"
A few moments of silence, then, "Magnuson says the sublevels were sealed off in case of an emergency. When we showed up, the mercs sealed all the doors and stairwells. Nobody was probably... what?"
Reeds could hear a voice in the background, Magnuson's, speaking. He asked, "What is it, Corporal?"
"Sir, I guess the door swings as well as locks both ways. When they sealed it off, the people on those levels were locked down there."
"They couldn't get out?"
"No, sir. Not according to Magnuson here."
"When did Mr. Magnuson feel compelled to share this information with us?"
Silence. Reeds shook his head and moved on. His radio crackled again and Dyson's voice filled the silent void, "Sir, I think I can restore power down there, just give me a couple seconds."
A few moments passed until a loud click sounded through the hall. A hum grew as a series of bright lights began to illuminate the dark hall. Private Carpenter jumped and pointed his gun down the hall, "Did you see that?"
"What, Private?"
"The walls, they just god damned moved."
"Excuse me?"
"Sir," Vasil said, "I saw it too, something is up there. Or was."
Reeds looked to Penning and ordered his troops forward. Carpenter and Haskins made broad sweeps along the hall to get a view of everything ahead of them. The corridor was very well lit now, allowing the marines to work more confidently. As they moved down the hall, a dripping noise in the distance held the marines' attention. Reeds watched as Haskins moved forward beyond the other troops until she stopped and looked towards the ceiling. She spoke softly, "What the fuck?"
Reeds was eager to see what she had seen, and moved quickly to her position. As he arrived, he saw what Haskins was concerned about. The walls were covered with black material. It had a rough border along the standard, metallic hallway plating, informing Reeds that this was either not meant to be here or not completed. A transparent liquid slowly dripped from the material. Haskins brushed her hand against the wall and pulled back instantly. She looked to Reeds and said, "It's warm, really sticky too."
Reeds put his hand against the wall. The material felt strong and sturdy, but it was covered in whatever liquid was dripping from it. A thick ooze was left on his hand after he pulled it away. He looked at the liquid and could feel it becoming hard as it contacted his skin. He began to wipe it off quickly as a soldier called out, startling him, "Sir, Lieutenant, we found the stasis room."
"Good," Reeds replied, "Dyson, what can you tell me about the other sub-levels?"
"Looks like most of them are just storage. In fact four through ten, they aren't even completed yet. You won't find much down there. The entrance to the cavern Magnuson was talking about is on nine though. It should be right out of the staircase."
"Thank you, Corporal, we're going to worry about this stasis room for now."
Reeds moved into the room and immediately noted how clean it was. It was certainly meant to be a sterile room. The room was roughly eight meters long and five meters wide. Several small cases were mounted to the wall, all opened. In the far corner, a small computer screen blinked rapidly. Carpenter moved to it and read aloud, "Warning, cryo-stasis interrupted. It says there's twenty pods compromised. Then nineteen specimens absent."
"Twenty pods and nineteen specimens? Uh oh"
"Uh oh sounds right, Private," Penning said.
The soldiers began searching around the room. The room was poorly lit, making it difficult to see. Vasil brought several marines out into the hall to maintain defense, leaving Reeds, Penning, Haskins, and Carpenter in the stasis room. A high pitched scream alerted them to Haskins discovery and they quickly approached her position. She was standing near a typical office chair. Above her was an air duct opening that appeared to have been melted open, similar to the condition the wall had been in the bay upstairs. Haskins eyes were not up, but down. Reeds looked down to see a human body contorted to a horrible position. There was a large hole in his chest and a pool of blood underneath him. Reeds stared at the body saying, "Fuck. I think we know there's a connection."
His eyes caught a faint glimmer of light off in the corner. Something was reflecting Haskins's shoulder lamp. He told her to point it in the corner and jumped back as he saw the creature there. It was a very dull yellowish color, with long, slender legs and a tail at least three times its body length. The creature was on its back, the legs curled up like a fist, and the tail in a very loose coil. The soldiers pointed their weapons at it as Carpenter prepared to lightly nudge it with his foot. He did, with no response from the creature. Penning said softly, "Whatever it is, it's dead now."
"This must be one of the things that attached itself to the merc's face, the thing that Magnuson was talking about," Haskins said.
Reeds nodded and said, "It must be. So what the hell? It attaches to his face and then what?"
"There wasn't one on the merc's face in the dropship," Penning said nervously, "maybe it puts that fucking thing inside of you."
"What?"
"Well look. It attaches itself to your face, then it probably shoves the damn thing down your throat, into your lung or something."
"So you get some damn snake growing inside your chest until it's ready to come out. That's fucked."
Penning laughed and said, "Nobody said birth was pretty."
The soldiers didn't respond to his poorly timed humor. They merely stared at the creature in the corner. Reeds's radio crackled again and the room was filled with Vasil's voice, "Sir, I think you better come see this."
"Doesn't look like it belongs there."
The grouped personnel responded with nothing but tinny breathing and awkward glances. Penning looked to the corporal and replied, "No shit, jackass. The edges are fucking melting."
The troopers stared at the large hole in the floor. The steel grating was uncleanly cut into a circular shape, easily capable of allowing a human to fall through. Beads of moisture slowly dripped from the edges of the cold metal. After overcoming minor hesitation, Vasil quickly tapped the surface with his bare finger. Realizing it was not hot metal, he attempted to collect more of the substance. It felt cold and thick in his fingers. Grunting, he felt the liquid quickly harden and form a crust on his hand. Working with visible effort, he pulled the substance from his hand. Thin layers of skin came off with the crust, revealing the soft tissue underneath. Muttering indistinctly, Vasil stood and gently massaged his soft hand. The other troopers followed suit, taking moderately defensive stances. Penning looked to the soldiers and asked, "Advice would be greatly appreciated."
"Let's see where it goes."
"Fuck that, I say we get out of here now. To Hell with this, fuck stasis rooms, fuck face-sucking animals, and fuck moving walls, let's go!"
"Moving walls?" Reeds asked, "what are you talking about?"
"Those walls, they were all shifty before, let's get out of here."
"Calm down, Private," Reeds replied, "I want to see where it goes. We're armed. Just... cover your face."
The material covering the corridor's walls had become thicker and more intricate as the marines moved closer to the stairwell near the stasis room. Slowly, they moved down floor by floor, briefly checking to see if the hole was still apparent. They finally found the end point on Sub Level 6. The soldiers fanned out quietly, weapons drawn and should lamps fully lit. The lighting on the level was exceedingly dim, blending into the dense fog that had formed in the chokingly humid air. Severed steam pipes hissed in the darkness, drowning out any noise the soldiers made as they moved through the hall. Reeds looked around quickly and stated, "Forget it, we don't do this until I get proper lighting. Withdraw, now!"
The soldiers closed their formation and moved back to the stairwell. With short, yet relived gasps, the soldiers began to relax as they watched the door seal them safely within the stairwell. The light from the stairwell was comforting when compared to the dark corridors of the sublevels. Penning began moving up the stairs, waving for his troops to follow. He remained in one place and patted each of the soldiers as they moves past him, including Reeds, who gave him a reassuring smile. Penning said, "It was a good idea, that place was giving me the creeps. Let's just get out of here and send a science team to check it out when we get back. We don't get paid by the hour, after all."
Reeds laughed and lightly hit his comrade on the arm. He turned and continued up the flight of stairs. The horror of what he saw took several seconds to fully register within his brain, only allowing him enough time to react. A thick, black rope swung directly from the wall. The material that covered the wall through every sublevel they had seen suddenly began to shift and change. Reeds was able to duck under the swinging rope as it hurtled towards him. The reaction left Penning open and unprepared. A sharp pain rippled through his body as the rope quickly hit him. He looked down and saw a deep cut forming horizontally across his chest. He coughed quickly, expelling blood as the rope swung back around. He arched backwards and felt his spine give out. He watched as a large knife seemingly edged its way through his back and out his chest. He felt his body lifted from the floor before he lost consciousness. The sight of Reeds screaming to his troops was the last vision Penning's eyes would hold.
Gunfire erupted from the soldiers closest to the area of attack. Three marines joined Reeds in filling the small stairwell with quick burst of light and hot casings tinking on the metal floor. Bullets ricocheted off the wall and made quick strides over the stairwell. Reeds began running down, following his peer as best he could. More screams from above prompted him to look above and see the soldiers firing upwards as well. Blood dribbled down the stairs, falling onto the lieutenant's face, making him nauseous. Indecipherable screams filled the air, confusing the soldiers even further. Small bits of the material along the walls began to burst open. It didn't take long for Reeds to establish a solid understanding of what was happening. The walls were not only moving, they were a cleverly disguised assailant. Yellow liquid began to spray across the stairs, spraying soldiers in various places. The pain wasn't immediate, but quickly resulted in burning and stinging feelings. Soldiers fell to the ground, still shooting, trying to grasp their arms and faces.
Sergeant Vasil watched as one of the privates under his command was lifted straight upwards from the floor. Black arms protruding from the wall itself snatched the soldier from right before him. He shot upwards and hoped to hit his target, whatever it was. His line of sight became interrupted when a strong force struck his head. He felt immense pressure, realizing he had now been grabbed as well. Long fingers gripped him without mercy, covering his eyes and the majority of his mouth. He screamed, but found it difficult as his stomach was hit so hard he lost his breath. Blood trickled down, informing the sergeant he had been impaled. He dropped his weapon and maniacally felt the wound. It was deep, but not life threatening, at least not immediately. A glimmer of hope swept through him, until he felt the pressure on his head tighten again. He felt himself being lifted into the air. Vasil could vainly see the walls around him sinking, confirming his feeling of being lifted. The light began to fade and Vasil realized he had been taken from the stairwell. The movement was less fast paced now, but he struggled to remain awake. Tunnel vision began to cause dizziness and nausea, but Vasil remained as attentive as possible. After a short journey, he felt the pressure relieve itself and he was tossed to a cold surface. Struggling to see in the darkness, he could only hear various noises around him. A short groan signaled the presence of another human nearby, giving the sergeant hope. Again short lived, his hope faded when the same pressure grabbed his left leg. Sergeant Dimitri Vasil forced out one last scream as he felt his thigh muscles being ripped apart and the bones below crushed. His eyes fluttered a few times, giving him a quick view of an oval shaped object nearby. His energy drained from his body as quickly as the blood from his leg and he felt the coldness take him.
Lieutenant Reeds's eyes gently opened, the light was bright and directly in his face. He repeatedly blinked and finally found himself able to strain enough to see around him. Several of the troops surrounded him, all watching his every move. Sensing the confusion, Lieutenant Falkner quickly asked him, "Do you remember what happened?"
"No. Where are we?"
"We managed to bring you back to top level, but it wasn't easy."
"What happened?"
The tone of urgency began to infiltrate his voice. Falkner looked away and answered, "We lost a lot of people. We managed to get you and Watts back."
Reeds looked at the marines around him and counted a total of five. He asked, "Is this all that's left?"
"Not quite..." she sighed, "Private Ramis is outside watching the prisoners."
"Six. Six soldiers. Seven with me? What the fuck happened?"
"We sent down some people to try and..."
Reeds screamed, "What happened?"
Falkner flinched heavily and looked him directly in the eye. Her gaze was piercing and informed Reeds that his question was invoking an emotional response.
"Apparently those creatures are a bit nastier than we anticipated."
Reeds closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and leaned back, feeling his head on the cold metal table he had been laid on. The mission was quickly turning worse every moment that passed.
Falkner looked to Private Carpenter and instructed him to go find Captain Hayes. She looked back to Reeds, "We know a lot more about them now. We've got a couple corpses if you want to see what they are."
"How did you find so much out?"
"We've had some decent time to figure it out."
"How much time? How long have I been here?"
"It's been about eight hours since you were ambushed in that stairwell."
"Eight hours? Son of a bitch, I need to go see these things."
As he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the table, he found his muscles wouldn't support his weight. Reeds fell to the floor and was quickly lifted by two soldiers. Falkner shook her head lightly and motioned to his legs. Deep cuts had been dressed and covered. He looked back to Falkner who spoke before he could ask, "They completely destroyed your leg muscles. You won't be able to walk for a long time, Tom."
Placing his hand on his leg, he felt small, scattered burns in his skin. He remembered the yellow liquid that sprayed everywhere. He remembered the burning sensation that followed, and the eventual unconsciousness. The pain had become too overwhelming. The burn had covered most of his legs, a small portion of his arm, and his face. Reeds's hand darted to his face, he stroked the left side of his cheek up to the temple. The same scattered burns were there, deep indentations made by the burning liquid. He moved his hand upwards and felt burned skin where there used to be a healthy patch of hair. Brushing against the side of his head further back, the realization that half of his ear was no longer there surprised him more than anything. Near the back of his head, he felt more bandages. As curious as Reeds was to know what damaged had been done there as well, perhaps it was better to leave some of the shock for later. This had been taxing enough.
Focusing on the mission at hand, Reeds knew he would be able to better adapt to the situation. His work had often been able to take his mind off of other problems. He looked to Falkner, taking his hand away from his head. "Janice, I want to talk to three of the mercs. Find me the three mercs that seem to be next in their line of command, if such a thing exists with those pricks."
"What for?"
"Military reinforcements won't be here for another ten days at least."
"So?"
"I want some now."