Chapter Ten: Meeting the Gatekeeper
Somehow, despite the explosion that rocked the entire missile silo, she should have been, by all rights, dead. Yet, she was lying face down on the tiled floor, shaken and nerved, breathing heavily. Sweat was rolling down her face as she felt intense heat on all sides. She could hear fires crackling all around her; hear debris and metal breaking, landing on the flaming ground.
"Attention," that same calm, cool and collected female voice began, "missile destroyed. Third Energy warhead armed."
She slowly rose to her feet, her ears ringing, her head still pounding from the explosion that occurred a minute ago. Luckily, she'd only took some minor scrapes, possibly a couple of bruises. The adrenaline coursing through her veins blocked out the pain from her wound, received by the Plesiosaur back in the underwater area of the Third Energy facility.
You know…someone's gonna pay for all this. Someone is going to pay heavily for this…now I'm pissed.
It was a scene of total ruin and destruction in the launch control room. Glass was shattered, lying in shards of all sizes along the control panels, along the floor. Looking into the silo, all she saw were large patches of bright orange and yellow flame. A chunk of ceiling fell some feet away from her. She was standing inside an oven, patches of flame all around her. She pressed a button on her intercom, but nothing happened—not even static.
Shit…radio's out.
To her left, a set of stairs led down to a door—the other door in the room was blocked by fire. She grabbed her pistol out her holster and ran down the stairwell, and opened the door, leading into a room which was in total shambles. It was a long room, and as she ran through the long stretch of oven, she could see metal support beams collapsed, walls in shambles, machinery and control panels ruined. Wires and piping along the walls were split, broken, on fire. As the walkway went to the right, she saw a massive pipe rent in two, flames shooting out the tears in the metal. She could see the door at the end of the hall, and as it slid open, she could see the door next straight ahead a couple hundred feet ahead. The walls were lined with metal drums, an empty fuel tank or two, and crates, dented. Bits of concrete lined the floor, and patches of orange flame seeped out from holes in the piping above. Behind her, she heard a crash, and she saw a beam fall to the floor, sending a wave of sparks down to the floor. She picked up her pace a bit, and when she opened the next door, a wave of cool air washed over her body, and she could see Dylan and the cowboy David on the hovercraft some feet ahead, David sitting on a box.
Dylan quickly ran to Regina. "Are you ok?"
She nodded. "Yeah. My head's pounding from that explosion, but I'll be fine."
"Good. When I heard the explosion, I thought you were a goner. We had made it out in time, and when I saw the explosion, I tried to radio you, but got nothing."
"Yeah," she agreed. "My radio's ruined. Blast took it out."
"Nothing we can do about it now," Dylan said. "Let's get out of here."
"Aww, gimme a break!" David lamented. "We're dead."
Regina shot him a look of pure annoyance. "No, we're not. However, if you like to be, I can gladly arrange that. Now, shut up!"
With Dylan leading, the others followed him into the cockpit cabin. "We have to get as far away from this place as possible. Let's go downriver." He hopped into the driver's seat, and after pressing some buttons and adjusting some controls, the craft hummed to life, and quickly they were moving down the wide fast-moving river. However, only a couple minutes passed when the three spotted a gate in the water, blocking any further access.
"Shit!" Dylan swore under his breath. He could hear Regina let out a sigh of annoyance, David letting out a groan. Dylan started to slow the craft down,
"Great, the water gate's closed! We can't go any further," David complained.
Dylan threw him dirty look. "We see that, genius."
"Wait!" Regina said. "I see a valve on top of the gate, with a ladder leading up to it. Maybe if we turn that valve, the gate will open. We'll open it manually."
"Worth a shot," Dylan replied. "Let's go, Regina."
"Whoa there!" David cut in, looking at Regina with a smug grin. "Let the men handle this." He looked at Dylan. "Let's go, bro. Wait. Hold on a sec." He went into the ship cabin, and emerged a few seconds later, a rocket launcher propped on his shoulder.
"Where the hell did you get that weapon?" Dylan asked, his facial features showing surprise.
"Found it in Edward City," David replied, grinning. "Now let's go."
Regina sat down in the driver's seat. "You boys, play nice now." As she heard the door close, she had an evil thought.
I hope some dinosaur gets you, you prick.
She could see the two of them climbing up the ladder, and could see the two having some conversation at the top. The two went in different directions—Dylan climbed up another ladder, to the top of a firing platform, probably keeping guard in case any raptors or other unwanted guests showed up, and David ran toward the valve. The walkway on top of the gate was very wide, and judging from the looks, it also served as a bridge for foot soldiers or other personnel.
With a loud grunt, Regina could see David attempting to turn the valve, but having a rough time of it. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the difficulty David was having with the valve.
So, David…let the men handle it? Riiiiiiight.
After some failed attempts, she could see him call for Dylan. He laughed as he jumped off the platform, and came to David's aid. She saw Dylan roll up his sleeves, then steel himself against the concrete floor and attempt to turn the valve. Slowly, it began to turn, and Regina could see the thick gate starting to open. She stood ready to steer the Patrol Ship through the gate, and as the gate opened more and more, she pulled a lever on the panel, and slowly moved the ship through, passing under the two soldiers. She moved the craft to the shore, then stopped it, waiting for the two to come back.
"I rule!" David exclaimed.
"What the hell do you mean, 'I rule'? I helped you!" Dylan shot back. As the two made it back to the ground, they heard a loud roar, diverting their attention behind them. He recognized the blue-skinned creature immediately—another of those pesky Allosaurus, barreling along the dirt path, its mouth open, David directly in its line of fire.
Dylan's eyes grew wide, and with a burst of speed, he dove for his comrade, screaming. "Watch out!" He slammed into the cowboy, sending him flying, out of the way of death, knocking his rocket launcher out of his hand. . He landed hard on the ground, with more force than he expected, knocking the wind out of him. As David lay sprawled on the ground, Dylan tried to get up, but collapsed to the ground again, gasping for air. The dinosaur stood over the stunned soldier, then brought its head down, and with its jaw open, snatched Dylan up in its mouth.
He let out a scream of pure terror as he could feel the dinosaur applying pressure on his body. He could feel the rows of teeth pressing against his midsection, and knew that he was done for. In a few seconds, those teeth would pierce his body and that would be it.
Regina was starting to grow a little suspicious. She had heard some noise, but was mostly oblivious as to the events going on outside, not knowing that her partner was just seconds away from a most bloody death.
"Oh, no, you don't!" David shrieked, scrambling to his feet. He snatched the rocket launcher off the ground, quickly propping it upon his shoulder, took aim at the creature's side, and fired. A plume of smoke quickly formed at the rear of the weapon, and a long, thin projectile shot out of the barrel, smoke trailing behind it as it sliced through the air, slamming into the creature's side with intense force, ripping a large, gaping hole accompanied by a shower of blood raining down on the brown earth. The reptile opened its mouth wide, roaring back in pain as it staggered back a step, releasing Dylan from its tightening grip. He landed hard on the ground.
Regina heard the explosion from inside the ship, and instantly knew something was wrong. In no time, she ran out of the cockpit, and when she turned the corner of the craft, she saw the battle in progress. She started to climb the ladder to the machine gun up top, but voices deterred her. She saw Dylan getting up, and now the angry dinosaur set its sights on Dylan again.
"I'll save ya, bro!" David yelled, and as the dinosaur was starting to move again, he slammed his body into Dylan's, sending him flying into the air, landing into the river. In the fast current, Dylan tried to swim to shore, wanting to help his comrade, but the force of the current hindered any of that. He could only watch helplessly as he saw the pissed Allosaurus grab David in its jaws, the rocket launcher still gripped in his hand.
"David! Noooooo!" Dylan yelled, his voice fading as he was moving quickly downriver. The cowboy let out a shriek of total fear, and no one could do anything. She took one step forward, possibly out of instinct, out of fear.
"David!" Regina yelled, her heart pounding wildly, knowing what was about to happen. He turned his head to Regina, and as he did, he could feel the dinosaur clamp down hard on his frail body, the sounds of bone breaking filling the air, the teeth piercing the soft organs inside. The rocket launcher fell to the ground, hitting the ground with a dull thud. He let out a shriek of pain before his vision went all red, and blood starting trickling out of its mouth, hitting the earth with a sickening splat as the cowboy soldier's insides starting hitting the ground. Regina turned away, the sight too much to bear as another wave of nausea rocked her stomach. His hat, stained with blood, came off his head, and landed softly in the pool of his own fluid. In just seconds, Regina was all alone now—David, crushed, and Dylan, floating downriver. Where he'd end up was anyone's guess. What mattered now was her survival, for she was all that she had left.
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End of Chapter 10. Yeah, a short chapter, but it was necessary, for in my notes and in the game, this would end up being probably a 10-15 page chapter. For those who've played the game, you know what's coming up next. For those who haven't, hope you're enjoying the story! Let me know how I'm doing with a review. Read on to Chapter 11!