Chapter 4: Contact
Bower ran like his ass was on fire. He'd never moved so fast in his life. The thought of something inhuman biting into his flesh, clawing him to death and then eating him was enough to ignite his adrenaline and spiraled him into a new level of hauling ass.
Whatever his pursuers were, they were closing in on him.
Although he couldn't see down the main corridor when he reached it, he could hear at least one of the things further down. Bower turned the corner, spied the light stick he had dropped earlier and sprinted full bore at the bay doorway. Before slipping inside, he kicked the bright stick further down the passage as hard as he could. He didn't slow down and charged towards the tall storage units. He leaped as high as he could onto the top level bin and fought his way inside it closing the door behind him.
As an extra precaution, Bower climbed up through the open bin and into the ventilation shaft sliding behind some of the thick wiring. He embraced the darkness and the narrowness of the shaft, although it had nearly served as his coffin minutes beforehand.
Cooper's body slowly slid down out of the hatch and into the storage bin below with a dull thud.
He prayed the thump wasn't loud enough for the beasts to hear. They were still screaming and from the sound of it, they were further down the hall where his light stick had came to rest.
Sweat poured out of him. This was a fear that he had never experienced before. His whole body was shaking with terror. What the hell were these monsters? The woman was fierce, but she had been so scared of whatever these things were, they had to be dangerous.
Let me fall down another shaft, God. I'd even be willing to starve to death in here. Anything. Just please don't let these things get me.
Silence.
Bower's breathing sounded thunderous in the quiet space. He clasped a hand over his nose and mouth trying to slow his respiration. He closed his eyes.
Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat.
The vibration of the sound traveled through the room and into the shaft around him bouncing and reverberating off everything. Echolocation? Were they using sound to track him?
More silence.
Bower desperately searched the archives of his memory for what steps he had taken when he barreled through the room. Before the leap and scramble into the storage bin, he tried to remember if he had dropped anything or left behind anything that could give away his hiding spot.
Bower could hear them moving outside the locker maybe nine feet below him. It was impossible to tell how many there were but even one was too many. His mind was going wild with erratic thoughts, what the hell sort of animal used echolocation besides bats? They ate dead corpses, Christ! The bleats, growls and shrieks that the creatures were uttering were so inhuman that he feared the Elysium had been boarded by a hostile alien race.
Loud deep groans, guttural grunts and exciting shrieks filled the small storage room. Bower clapped his hands over his ears. This awful array of bestial noises was no doubt unlike the sounds that emanated from hell.
The darkness could be carved with a knife it was so thick and Bower wondered how they were moving around so quietly. A scuff here, a soft swish there was all he could detect. Then he heard sniffing: rapid inhalations through the nose like a bloodhound on the trail of an escapee. He squeezed his eyes shut again, praying they would not catch his scent.
Bower remembered the two latched doors that separated him from the monsters: the storage bin door and the maintenance hatch door at his feet. He recalled pulling the locker door shut behind him. He remembered climbing through the hatch door and into his current spot. After that, Cooper's body had fallen down through the open hatch and into the bin underneath. Open hatch, OPEN hatch. The hatch was open. You left the fucking hatch to this shaft open, you asshole!
Bower couldn't do anything about it now so he remained in his tight spot, curled into a fetal ball, eyes closed tightly. Only one small door and a few feet of space separated him from his tormentors.
The room grew quiet. He placed his hands over his mouth and nose, muffling his ragged panicked breathing.
Against his will, Bower envisioned one of the creatures bursting into the shaft suddenly and seizing him, dragging him down through the open door. The rest of the monsters fell upon him biting, clawing, gnawing his body open while he screamed and struggled to escape.
He was going to piss himself.
More sniffing.
A shriek rang out so loudly that it made him jump in fear. The locker door below him was hammered upon and torn off the hinges. He heard tearing fabric and looked down to see long, powerful, pale arms grasping Cooper's body and jerking it out of the locker.
Thank God he still had his hand clasped over his mouth or he would have let out a squeal of fright like a little girl.
One of the creatures was carrying his jettisoned glow stick and within its bright illumination he was able to see their shadows dragging the corpse out of the room. They were making excited sounds of triumph, like hunters that had just bagged a buck. He risked a peek by spreading out on the shaft floor and lowering his head down through the hatch.
In the pale blue light they looked like demons.
What in the hell are these beasts?
He didn't get a very good look because the one carrying the light stick moved out of the room and the darkness followed. One of the hunters straggled behind.
It was moving away from him but he could still see that it was pale, almost white like powder. It was man-sized, its arms were longer than a man's and it looked powerfully dangerous. Its joints were thick and strong with long filthy claws on the hands and feet. It was wearing some type of rudimentary armor with long spikes jutting from the metal plates. The monster was carrying a spear of some type. From the partial profile, the face looked human but it was completely hairless; there were no eyebrows or head hair. The jawbone was larger than a humans and he could see thick tusks from the bottom jaw jetted out between its closed lips, twice the size and length of normal human teeth. Bower's investigation ended as the light finally faded from the room and he couldn't see it anymore.
The hunters were gone within a few minutes but Bower remained laying on his stomach afraid to move. He was also struggling to wrap his mind around what had transpired. What the hell were those things? How did they get aboard the vessel? How many of them were there?
Bower's thoughts drifted to the woman. Although she had attacked him, he still wondered if she had managed to escape. Worrying about her was probably pointless because she was much more battle-hardened than he was. How strong and swift she had been. He realized why she had been so fearless towards him because compared to one of the hunters, he must have appeared as easy prey.
Once again, the memories of the lovely blond fluttered into his thoughts.
The woman had been armed with a knife and spear. Rudimentary weapons compared to the high tech firepower that was available on the ship. Why had she chosen a spear over a rifle? A knife over a sidearm?
He wished he had a weapon. Even a lead pipe was better than nothing.
Bower cautiously descended through the bin to the deck, keeping his flashlight pointed downward so he could see but it would not so easily give his position away. He crossed the boot-strewn room and risked looking out of the bay doors.
The corridors were empty.
The lovely blond.
How could he had left her? He had loved her. The strong pulling at his heart and the longing of seeing her again were telltale signs of a deep relationship. Perhaps, she had been his wife. He remembered bits of their love-making, scraps of laying in each others arms, her laugh, her smile and the way she looked at him. Guilt settled in, making him feel remorseful and saddened. If she was so important, how could he not even remember her name?
Pandorum.
The name slithered into recognition like a slimy worm.
Pandorum: it wasn't her name. Somehow he knew it wasn't. It was the name of a planet. Pandorum was where they were headed.
There was a crackle from the com-unit he had clipped to his collar and a small voice announced, "This is Lieutenant Payton of Flight Crew Five. If there is anyone out there please respond."
Payton must have just woke up. Finally! He was no longer alone in the fight.
Bower wanted to cheer. That would probably bring the murderous hunters back looking for him, so he quickly stifled his happiness.
He spoke quietly into the com unit, "Lieutenant, this is Corporal Bower. I read you loud and clear. Am I glad to hear your voice."
"Likewise, Corporal. I just woke up out of cryogenic sleep. What's our status? None of these readings make any sense." His voice was loud deep and full of confidence.
"Have you been able to contact the bridge, sir?"
"No. You're the first response I've had and I can barely read you. What's your position?"
"I'm on deck five near the storage containers. I was trying to reach the bridge on foot but ran into a serious problem that needs immediate attention."
"You mean besides the reactor exploding in a few hours, Corporal? You've encountered a bigger problem than that?"
This was going to be a little more difficult than he thought. "Yes sir. I understand your impatience but the security of the ship has been compromised. There is a pack of some sort of monsters loose on the ship. They are hunting and feeding on the crew. We have to contact the bridge."
"What are you talking about? I have been trying to contact the bridge. I already told you there has been no response. I got the security computer working with the manual power."
Bower had completely forgotten about the hand-cranked power supplies located at the security terminals. He could have powered up the computer himself. No use crying over spilled milk.
Payton was still talking, "My access is limited but the records indicate that we should have been awaken by Flight Team Four. Have you made contact with anyone?"
"Yes, the hostiles."
There was a pause then Payton asked, "Is Lieutenant Cooper with you?"
"Cooper's dead. He fell down the maintenance shaft a few days ago. Those things, the hunters got a hold of his body. They are probably eating him right now."
Another pause. "You've been in cryogenic sleep for eight years, Corporal. It's normal to have bouts of memory loss and even confusion at times. It can all get jumbled up in your head and really affect your perception and judgment. If Cooper's dead there are procedures we need to follow."
"You're not hearing me, sir. There's no procedure for this. They can't write a manual for this shit. After what I just saw, any procedure in place went right out the fucking window."
Payton's voice was impatient, "Listen, I need you to calm down. You're all we've got out there if we're going to figure this out. Let's get back to these other guys."
Bower's patience was wearing thin. "Guys? Those weren't guys. They took away Cooper's body like a pack of wolves. They're not human. We have to try and contact the bridge."
"You keep assuming that there is someone on the bridge that can help us."
Bower refused to give up, "There has to be. We can't be alone in this. I've seen at least one other survivor."
"Where is that other survivor now?"
"She ran off when the monsters showed up. I don't know where she is now. They may have gotten her, I'm not sure."
Lieutenant Payton said, "Well, alone or not, we can't assume help will be coming. Out here there is no rescue and there is no turning around. I don't think this thing was even built to return."
Bower stiffened. "What are you talking about?
"I'm saying that this is no ordinary transport. We're not out on the belt collecting data. We're not hauling cargo. We are the cargo. Sixty thousand people on a single launch trajectory."
Pandorum.