THE TELL TALE HEART… ALL OVER THE WALL

CHAPTER 2

Bradley lowered Sarah down onto a ledge in the main air conduit. Sarah dusted her pants off and pulled the gun from her belt. Bradley dropped down beside her, looking around.

He leaned over to Sarah, speaking lowly. "Ok, there should be an access panel to turn off the air circulator."

Bradley typed into a mini computer, bringing up the station's schematics. Sarah leaned over the edge, looking down. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw the three spinning fans. They had to be 20 feet in diameter each. Sarah began to feel uneasy. "We aren't going down there are we?"

Bradley looked up from his pad. "Would you rather go back and deal with that thing? Huh, no? I didn't think so." Brad returned to his screen, and cycled through different levels, until he came to the ventilation structure. Brad traced his finger down the large shaft, stopping at a small blue symbol. "This should be easy." He whispered to himself.

He pulled a cable out of his backpack, attacking a claw like device to the wall next to him. The claw clicked, sending a small metal tube into the wall, which locked, securing itself in place. Brad gave it a few tugs to make sure, and then fished through his pack for the belt clamp.

After attaching the clamp to his belt, he turned to Sarah. Brad put his arm around her, holding her tight. "Hold onto me." He said.

Sarah slipped the handgun halfway in her pants, and tightened her belt to hold it in place. Then she reached around his neck with her right arm, grabbing onto his uniform. With her left she grabbed onto his shoulder and then wrapped her legs around him tightly. Sarah couldn't help but think this would be the end of her.

Bradley stepped off, and began to repel down the side of the vent shaft. He lowered himself down to a panel in the wall. Brad reached down, locking the rope in place. With his now free arm, he grabbed his motion tracker from his pack.

Bradley pushed the motion tracker into her hand. "Watch this. If it makes any noise or if you see anything, let me know immediately."

Sarah fumbled with the device, looking it over curiously. She held it out, examining the various knobs and buttons. If nothing else, it would take her mind off the fact that they were dangling above three twirling blades that could easily turn them to paste.

The panel swung open when Brad pushed the release button. He reached in, fidgeting for a moment. "There's no switch. No button or anything in here." He turned to Sarah. "You don't know how to rewire a ventilation system do you?" He laughed to himself.

Sarah sighed, reaching into the open compartment. She grabbed a fistful of wires and gave them a tug. The wires broke free spewing sparks, but they soon died down. Sarah smiled to Brad, who stared at her bewildered.

The main conduit jolted, and the clamp on Bradley belt came loose. They fell rapidly toward the spinning fans. The three blades grinded to a halt as the two fell closer. Brad grabbed the rope firmly, only to burn his flesh. He let go with a slight yelp, shaking his hand in pain.

They reached the end of the rope and came to a painful, sudden stop when the safety knob hit the clamp on Bradley's belt. Sarah sighed, laying her head against Brad's shoulder. He looked down, seeing the service elevator beneath the fan structure. "It's not far now." He brushed her hair out of his face, "All we have to do is take the elevator to the..."

He was cut short as a sound came from above. He looked up, seeing something in the shadows move. Seemingly from out of nowhere, a creature materialized, and stood from its crouched position. Sarah looked up, gasping "What the hell is that thing?"

The creature pulled a circular object from its side. It examined the disk for a moment, and then returned its gaze to them. Bradley looked at Sarah in distress. "This can't be good!"

He reached for his pulse rifle but it was too late. The creature reared back and slung the disk forward toward them. It sliced through the air, and cut the rope.

They plummeted to the ground, narrowly missing one of the halted fan blades. Sarah let go of Brad, as she hit the air cooler unit. She rolled off, hitting the steel grated floor below. Sarah turned onto her back, and reached up to her injured shoulder. "Shit!" she cried out in pain. 'It must be dislocated' she thought. Slowly she began to climb to her feet.

Bradley looked around. He had fallen into the coolant compartment. His entire arm was covered in a freezing blue liquid. Brad wiped his arm off, and rolled over, climbing to his feet. He looked for his rifle, but it was nowhere in sight. He jumped out onto the grated floor, and found Sarah.

"Are you alright?" he questioned.

Sarah shrugged, replying, "I'm alive if that's what you mean.

Bradley put a hand in the small of her back, guiding her forward. "We have to get out of here."

Brad pushed the button on the elevator. He looked up the shaft, seeing a car start lowering. "Come on!" he shouted. He backed into the shadowed corner, looking for their attacker. Sure enough he had followed them. The creature was crouched on the fan casing, peering down. It appeared to have some kind of long shaft in its hands.

The creature leaped down onto the grate with a thud. It stood slowly and the light from the elevator hit its face, revealing a mask with two glossy eye slots. Strange objects hung from its head resembling dreadlocks. Odd devices clad its entire body, and there were weapons strapped to every inch of its green armor. Brad's eyes widened in horror as the realization came to him. "It's a… a hunter!" Sarah turned to him, with a perplexed look.

The creature walked forward, scraping the end of the long metal spear against the wall. It held the tip forward toward them, as it neared. Sarah closed her eyes, clinging to Bradley. Bradley held her close, shielding her from their foe.

A loud clang came from behind as the elevator reached the bottom level and the doors opened. The creature rushed forward trying to catch them before they could escape. Bradley and Sarah ran into the elevator, both slamming on the numbers on the control panel. Bradley looked up, watching the creature close in on them. The doors finally closed as the hunter thrust its spear forward.

The spear went right through, nearly impaling Sarah. She looked down, touching the sharp tip of the spear. The elevator rose and the spear was violently torn from the door. Bradley looked at her and smiled nervously. "One more inch and you would have lost your appendix."

Sarah grabbed onto the railing as the elevator jolted. The car began to lean to the right. Bradley looked at her and whispered, "It's on the lift!"

He searched through his pack, looking for a weapon. He pulled out a half eaten sandwich, tossing it aside. Sarah shook her head. He rummaged around some more, finding a grenade. Brad looked to Sarah with a grin. "Let's kill this fucker!"

Brad jammed the grenade between the wall and the rail, and pulled the pin. He held the spoon in place until the car stopped. The doors opened revealing a long corridor with a sign pointing to the docking bay. He let the spoon go and grabbed Sarah.

The two ran forward out of the elevator, leaping into an open doorway. The grenade exploded, jolting the car free from the cable. It fell from sight, down the shaft, and landed with a loud crash. Brad walked forward and peered down the elevator shaft. The car was mangled at the bottom level, covered in flames. Bradley turned around with a satisfied smile.

Suddenly Bradley midsection thrust forward, spewing blood. Sarah screamed in shock as two blades came out of his chest. The hunter swung onto the floor from the elevator shaft, lifting Brad up with the two blades attached to his wrist.

Bradley squirmed, trying to get away, but to no avail. The creature pulled the blades from Bradley's back, and dropped him onto the ground. Bradley looked up at the hunter. It pulled a long knife, almost a sword to a human, from its back. The blade was three feet long, and the metal carried a strange blue tint. The handle had a leather type grip, and the hilt possessed some odd design.

Bradley tried to crawl away, but the creature grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him up. The hunter brought himself face to face with Bradley. The creature rear back, letting out a ferocious roar as it plunged the sword into Bradley's chest. Sarah watched in shock, unable to move. Bradley's body shook violently, but slowly stopped moving. The hunter cut his head off, pulling it free from the body. The blood fell onto the floor as he latched the severed head to his side.

The hunter turned to Sarah, cocking its head. Sarah turned to run, but collided with something behind her. She fell back, hitting the floor hard. Her gaze traveled up, to another hunter. This hunter wore red armor, and was differently designed that the first. It reached down, grabbing her.

Sarah squirmed, flopping around like a fish, trying to get away. The Red hunter threw her behind him, and she gently slid across the floor. The red hunter turned to the first, roaring at it. The first hunter returned the roar, beating its blade against its green chest armor.

Sarah cocked her head in confusion, and continued to watch. She was unsure of what was happening, but she was glad that the attention was off her. She watched as the red hunter pointed back at her, and then roared something to the green hunter. He seemed particularly upset.

The green hunter ran forward, kicking the red one in the chest. As he fell, the red hunters spear came free of his armor, sailing through the air. The spear extended, impaling the metal wall only inches from Sarah's face. The red hunter looked back at his weapon, then back at the green hunter. He tried to climb to his feet, but the green hunter kicked him in the chest with tremendous force.

The red hunter skidded across the floor, into the wall Sarah was crouched against. Sarah crawled back as the green hunter ran forward. The red hunter took his chance. Springing from the wall in a powerful pounce, the red hunter extended his wrist blade toward the green hunter's chest.

Unfortunately for him, the green hunter had anticipated this. He grabbed the red hunters arm, swinging him around into a door. The red hunter fell to the ground, dazed. He looked up as the green hunter raised its blade, readying a strike.

Sarah didn't know what the red hunter would do to her, but she knew that if the green hunter won this battle, her life would be next. Sarah grabbed the spear in the wall, and without thinking, charged the green hunter. He turned his head, but a moment too late. Sarah ran the spear through the green hunter's chest, nailing him into the wall.

The wounded hunter roared in pain, swinging at the tiny human who was only inches out of his reach. He looked down to his chest, touching the wound. Green glowing blood poured from it freely. He grabbed the spear with both hand, but could not pull it out. Sarah watched the hunter as he reached up to his face.

The green hunter slowly removed his mask, revealing his Yautja features. He stretched the four mandibles jaw surrounding his jaw, roaring loudly. Sarah cowered back in horror. Just the sight of the creature's face was enough to make her cringe. Anything with four claws for a face had to be some sort of demon killing machine. 'What is this thing?' she wondered.

The red hunter looked over to her, astonished at a move like this, from a human no less. The green hunter laughed, periodically coughing up blood. He reached over to his left forearm, pushing a few buttons on a mini computer attached to his armor.

The red hunter saw this, and jumped to his feet. He grabbed Sarah and slung her over his shoulder. Then he reached down, grabbing the blade of the fallen hunter, and ran down the corridor. Sarah beat on the red hunter's back, screaming at the top of her lungs. 'Where was he taking her,' she wondered.

She looked over his other shoulder watching as he ran toward a strange ship in the docking bay. This was no human ship. Its outside was curved and had designs she had never seen before. It was almost as if the ship was a piece of artwork. At least it was in comparison to the metallic boring ships she had ridden in.

The hunter clicked something on his left wrist, and a ramp descended from the ship. The hunter did not wait for it to hit the ground. He leapt almost 10 feet into the air, hitting the hard desk of the alien ship in a sprint. He raced through corridors and passageways within the ship. Most were plane architecture, but Sarah noticed one wall as they traveled through the ship.

This wall was covered with skulls of many creatures. Some she recognized, other were as foreign to her as this creature carrying her. There was one in particular that caught her eye. This skull was in some sort of canister, as if it was more important than the others. It was a long rounded shell, black as the night. 'Strange, no eye sockets,' Sarah thought.

The creature turned a corner and dropped her into a large chair. The chair seemed to swallow her whole, as it was built for a bigger body than a human's. 'Hard,' Sarah thought, 'but comfy.' She turned to look at the hunter.

It ripped its helmet off, throwing it aside. The hunter grabbed the controls, pressing a few buttons. He yanked back on what appeared to be the steering device. The ship flew backwards out of the docking bay at an extreme speed. Sarah almost blacked out from the G-force of the sudden movement. She raised her head watching the ship bust into pieces instantly. The wreckage slowly subsided into a soft blue light.

Sarah began to feel dizzy. Her chest became heavy, as she attempted to find breath. Something was wrong. Sarah grabbed that arm of the hunter. He quickly snapped his gaze to her, with a curious expression. Sarah jumped to her feet. Grabbing her chest, she sputtered. "I…I, can't…" Sarah suddenly fell to the floor. Her eyes rolled back, and all was silent.