Acheron Chapter 15 – Must Stand and Face the Hounds of Hell

A/N- The safety is now coming off, all those lovable characters you all enjoy are now fair game, just thought I would warn you. May God have mercy upon their souls, in nominee patris et filii et spiritus sancti, Amen. Side note there will be 51 aliens once all the bovine give birth.

With the warning alarms blaring, the colony was rudely awakened from their short rest, some to a monstrous sight entering their rooms, a few to already missing loved ones who were snatched from their beds. Those who were not already in danger ran into the halls and down the corridor towards operations, as a few of the creatures came out of an open air duct to chase after them. Running along the ceiling, screeching and hissing at their prey as they ran them down, tackling the stragglers to the ground, immobilizing them and carrying them with ease back into the duct system. Nat and Ed along with two others stood guard in the second floor corridor that led toward operations, Nat now brandishing a shotgun instead of the flamethrower, taking aim and firing at the insect like creatures that ran along the ceiling. Doing what they could to protect those who fled for their lives away from the carnage that ensued around them, their nerves on edge with each scream that came echoing down the halls.

Edd and Kevin with three others stood sentry on the first floor next to the stairwell at the other end, with the last visible survivors now behind them both groups of men picked up the flamethrowers beside them and let out a fiery stream down the halls. Screams of pain came from the grotesque creatures as the wave of heat and flame came roaring down the halls at them, causing them to scatter for safety, then regroup and try again. For ten minutes they tried to pass the wall of flames that blocked their path, for ten minutes the men were able to stave off their approach. Slowly Nat began to notice the creatures falling back on the second floor as did Edd on the first floor. Nat points the barrel of his weapon to the floor and calls out to his rattled friend who was still firing jets of flame down the hall, "That's enough big guy, their gone." Slowly Ed released the trigger, "That's it, calm down," Ed points the barrel to the floor, "Come on let's get back. Signaling for the other two men to stand watch Nat and Ed walked toward the door to operations as Kevin and Edd walked up the stairs at the far end of the hall.

It happened quicker than anyone could see, one second Nat was standing next to Ed as they walked toward operations, the next he was being snatched up into the air vent above him. "Nat," Ed screamed as he reached up for his friends kicking legs. Dropping to the floor as they disappeared into the vent and out of sight, his screams for help the last thing that was heard from him before going quiet. With his shotgun pointed at the hole in the ceiling Kevin led the way to where Ed was collapsed on the floor shaking.

"Come on, get up," Edd bellows at the tall man as he tugged on his arm to elicited a reaction from him. The man was in shock, that could have been him easily, if he had been standing six inches to the right he would now be in that vent instead of Nat. Pulling his hand back Edd smacks the man across the cheek, "Get the fuck up," Ed blinked at the pain and looked around, seeing Kevin standing with his weapon pointed at the ceiling Edd imploring him to move. Getting to his feet he obliged the young doctor and ran for the relative safety of the operations room, followed close by his two saviors.

During the panic, two individuals who had been cut off from joining everyone else were now heading in the opposite direction toward an exterior hatch. Hitting the wall beside the door, Lee asks, "Eddy, what the fuck are we doing?"

"Getting the hell out of her, doll," he said as he entered his access code to open the door, "Fuck this shit, and fuck this place, let them deal with it."

"I don't know Eddy," the lady was trembling as the door slide open, "They may have a plan."

"Plan, each one of their plans have gone to shit," he looked around the landscape and did not see anything moving, good as he thought all those things were in here. "Trust me, I'll keep you safe."

He grabs her hand and pulls her out the door and into the open world, "At least close the door," she said yanking her hand out of his and hitting the button to seal the entrance. Running they made their way toward the landing platform, coming to the back hatch of the shuttle Eddy punches a few buttons on the panel beside the hatch and the gangplank lowers. "How do you have that code?"

"With the right amount of money, you can get anything doll face," he said and smiled reassuringly at her. Climbing up the ramp once it had descended, he pushes the button to close the hatch and the two of them walk up to the front of the shuttle.

Closing the door to the cockpit, he sits in the piolets seat and starts engaging the engines, "You never told me you knew how to fly one of these things," Lee sits in the seat next to his.

"I use to do some smuggling back when I was younger," a red light catches his attention, "That's funny."

"What?"

"Nothing major, but could you go back and make sure the ramp is closed," he could have sworn he closed it.

"Sure, anything else you want while I'm gone? Coffee? Cigarettes?" She stands once he waved off her smart ass comment and exits the cockpit heading toward the halfway opened hatch, pushing the close button again the ramp seals.

Up in operations, the survivors were licking their proverbial wounds, "How many did we lose?" Marie leans over the console that displayed the PTD information as the officer on duty got a confirmation on how many dead or near dead the display now showed.

"Twenty-five ma'am."

"Damn," she breathed out as she could hear a mother asking behind her if anyone has seen her child, Timmy, as other colonist mourned their lost loved ones.

"Ma'am," her attention was brought to the com's officer, "We have an unauthorized departure of the shuttle."

"Patch me in," she ordered and the officer opened a channel.

Aboard the shuttle Eddy had just gotten the bird into the air and was now flipping a few of the switches, priming the engines to break the gravity of the planet and achieve orbit. "This is Hadley's Hope calling the shuttle Tiberius, come in Tiberius," Marie's voice came over the communications channel.

"Fuck you," he said closing the channel and flipping on the internal PA, "Lee, get up here and strap in." No response, "Lee," the door behind him slides open and the beast was upon him before he even knew what had hit him, knocking the controls out of his hands.

In the complex, they watched as the shuttle traveled away from them, suddenly lurched its nose down and tilted to the side, slamming against a rocky outcropping, tumbling in a fiery hep of metal and detonating a half mile out. "God Damnit," Marie yelled as she kicked a nearby chair out of her way, "Close the shutters."

"Well that's fucking great," Rogers says harshly with a noticeable undertone of fear in his voice.

"And what were you planning on doing with it?" Stevens asks, "Leave us behind like they tried to do?"

"No, but we could have used it to move to the other side of the planet," he replied in an irritated tone.

"And do what, starve as we wait for a rescue that is probably not coming?" The room erupts in a clamor as they all wondered if they were going to get any help from the company that put them there.

"Shut the fuck up," Marie screamed over the noise, "All of you."

"Why haven't you contacted someone for help," one person asked, and others joined in, asking the same question.

"I have contacted the company, and they are trying to find a ship close by to send our way," she didn't want to lie to them, but she also didn't want them despairing on their plight either. Several of them asked how long that was going to take, "They said it might take some time."

"Time ain't something we got sister," a visibly shaken Ed stated, and the look in her eyes agreed with him.

"What's done is done," was she really saying this, "What we need to do now is come up with a way to outlast them until help arrives."

Kevin comes up to her and whispers in her ear, "I don't want to add to the pile of shit you have to deal with."

"Just spill it already," she replied noticeably irritated and turns away from the colonist.

"The flamethrowers are almost out of fuel, and I agree we need to figure out how best to secure our location," his voice was determined and trying to stay calm for her sake.

"Where's the extra fuel containers?"

"The supply depot, in the garage, along with the welding equipment we'll need," her eyes told him that she understood the situation they found themselves to be in.

"Fuck," she was just as much to blame for not counting on the creatures getting into the complex, but now they were facing a threat in their very home with barely any ammo left. "Alright we need to put a small team together to get what we need," turning around she spots the person she needed, "Ang," and waves her over. When the woman joined them, she looks her in the eyes as she spoke, "We need you to put a list together of anything we might need that is in the depot."

"Welding, ammo and explosives of any kind," Kevin added.

"And anything else you might spot that we might need," Marie continued, "But keep the list small, we're only sending out a few people."

"Alright I'm on it," she turns and walks away picking up a data pad she sits and beings her work.

"Now to get volunteers," Kevin stated.

"It'll probably be best to do it by lottery, I don't think anyone is going to volunteer for this," she looks the red head in the eyes, "Exclude yourself from it, I need you here to help plan out our defenses." The two of them turn back around and she gives a short speech to the remaining colonist, explaining the situation to them, and their need to go and get the supplies that they required. That they would be drawing from a lottery to decide who would be going to the garage, but that the lottery would be excluding Nazz, herself and Kevin due to certain needs. This exclusion was met with opposition and downright decent from a few of the colonist who thought all should be included. "Nazz is our only doctor, and will not be put in jeopardy, and as for me and Kevin, we will be working over the floor plans while the supplies are being gathered, so that we can get this place secured once they return." She stares sternly at the group who had issue with the exclusion, "You have anything else you want to bitch about," they did not respond, but instead wilted under her gaze. "Good, now put your name in the fucking hat so we can get this shit started."

With everyone's names upon slips of paper, she drew out ten of them from the hat, Edd was the third name drawn, Big Ed was the fifth called, Major Hadley was the eight and Ang took the place of the last person drawn. She volunteered because she knew where everything was, and that knowledge would speed this little mission up considerably. With the names drawn, the team assembled and geared up with the list in hand they were ready to make their three-hundred-and-fifty-meter round trip journey in what now felt like cramped dark unfamiliar corridors.