Chapter Six: Rescue or Trap?

"Your team may already be dead. Are any of them responding?"

Tessa put her hand to her ear piece.

"Come in. Anyone. Answer."

There was a short silence before the small receiver responded in her ear.

"Sergeant… it broke my leg, I can't move."

"Where is it now?"

"I don't know, it ran off somewhere."

She looked at John hopefully.

"Who is it?"

"It's Jakes. He has a broken leg, can't move."

She seemed ecstatic to know at least one person from her team had survived, like a little

girl at Christmas, eyes buzzing with electricity.

"Where is he?"

She nodded, remembering that she actually had to find him.

"Where are you?"

"Erm… I don't know, near the Ark somewhere, I can see it in front of me."

"Okay, we're coming for you," she lifted her rifle ready, "hold in there Jakey boy."

"You stay behind me, okay?"

Tessa stopped mid step, turning to look at John with an eyebrow raised, her mouth open

and slightly cocked up to one side. She flicked her eyes around a few times as she

questioned his commanding over before turning back round.

"We stay level. You take left, I'll take right. Okay?"

They stuck to the walls of the corridor, flicking their rifles round each corner as they did.

John was checking each direction at high speed, more of a blur than a movement. She

glanced at him, his speed making her double take at him.

"It makes you faster too then?"

She continued forward keeping her eyes in that direction as well.

"Super strong, super fast, and I heal almost instantly."

She looked back to him with wide eyes and a slight smile on her lips.

"Well, at least some people get it easy."

He looked at her and they both smiled as their eyes met. Tessa shook her head while

smiling as she turned her attention back to the corridor ahead. John kept his eyes on her

for a moment, lingering on her looks. She had honey brown eyes that were just as sweet,

brown hair plaited to her shoulder blades, her pale skin contrasted her eyes perfectly

making both more noticeable. She didn't have huge lips both neither were they tiny, and

a dark plum pink. She was something beautiful in such an ugly place.

They slowed as the Ark came into view, becoming silent so not to attract any attention to

themselves. She could see Jake sat up against a pillar on the opposite side of the Ark to

them. Tessa's eyes sharpened on the target ahead. She looked to John and he nodded at

her in response. She took position to cover him as he ran out and over to Jakes before

following across. John knelt down next to the wounded soldier, he was covered in blood.

She stopped and leaned against the wall, looking round before crouching down on the

other side of Jakes.

"Where are you bleeding?"

Jakes looked at her slightly confused, clearly the pain was making him daze off. She

checked him over. No cuts.

"Whose blood is this, Jakes?" he looked down at himself and his eyes widened.

He looked back up at her, finally snapping out of his little dream world state.

"Where are the others?"

She looked to John and John looked at her before standing up and turning away to keep

an eye out. Tessa lowered her head then looked at Jakes.

"They didn't make it."

"I knew we should have listened to him! He knew! He knew what came threw the Ark! He knew…."

John turned and looked at her.

"Jakes, SHUT UP!"

The entire facility went silent. Tessa stood up and looked at John, he did not look at all

happy at what Jakes had said.

"Why, exactly, were you and your team sent down here to do?"

"UAC were monitoring this place from up top. Two hours ago something came threw the

Ark."

The expression on John's face sunk down to complete disbelief. I thought I'd blown the

other side of it to pieces. What the hell came threw? Even if the Ark survived it would be

useless. Tessa left him to his thoughts, he clearly needed to go threw things in his head.

She crouched back down next to Jakes.

"We're getting outa here. Now."

She stood back up as Jakes looked at her, he clearly trusted her as his commanding

officer, he just didn't trust this place, or getting out of it alive and in one piece. Jakes eye

shifted slightly to just past her head, his face froze in cold fear. The darkness behind her

started to growl deeply. The snarl drifted past her ear and the strength and closeness of

the breath made a few strands of hair blow forward. Something was waiting in the

darkness, only inches behind her.