echoed down the hallways. Footsteps hammered the metal grating somewhere else in the facility. The sounds of gunfire and return fire bounced around the hallway walls. About the only thing I could pinpoint was that the fighting wasn’t right next to me.
I ran around a corner and skidded to a halt. A woman raised her gun, aiming above my head, and fired one shot. I threw my hands up in the air and on instinct crouched down as the bullet ricocheted around the small space.
“Don’t shoot,” I said, surprising myself that my words didn’t come out in a stammer.
“Are you with it?” she said. Anger and hatred oozed from her words.
I looked up and with some hesitation stood before responding. She wore the same jumpsuit and had the same markings as the dead man. I didn’t know how to respond.
She gritted her teeth and gripped the gun tighter. An odor struck me in a wave of rotten flesh. The stench that had been haunting us throughout the facility was the colonists.
The woman edged closer to me. She cocked her head to the side and eyed me sideways. Her gaze focused on my face.
“You aren’t here to take us back?” she said.
“Back where?”
“To there,” she hissed. Spit flecked on her lips and her eyes got a wild look in them. “With Kaur.”
I shook my head. “We don’t know where she is,” I said. “We thought you could tell us.”
“No,” she said continuing to edge closer to me. “No. You aren’t here for us.”
A smile crept across her face. It dangled to one side like she’d had a stroke at some point. Her teeth were black and her gums bled. Her sclera was yellow with veins crisscrossing them. She eased herself up next to me and leaned in, smelling my neck. I closed my eyes and turned my head. Her breath made me want to retch and her body odor felt oppressive.
“No,” she said in a low tone. “You’re going to join us.” She snapped. Her teeth clacked as they hit each other, and she laughed.
The whomph of an arm cannon at the opposite end of the hall echoed down to us. A man screamed and the woman turned. She started firing down the hallway as Dell stalked around the corner.
Bullets sparked and ricocheted around him. He stumbled backwards as one caught him in the chest but righted himself and continued forward. Two shots from his arm cannon caught the woman in the abdomen in quick succession and sent her cartwheeling into the bulkhead behind me.
Dell kept his cannon pointed down the hallway in my general direction. Not knowing what else to do I kept my hands in the air. I gulped and licked my dry lips. Neither one of us moved.
A woman pounded rounded the corner behind Dell. She let loose a hail of bullets. I fell to the ground and covered my head. One whomph followed and then two thuds.
I peeked out from between my fingers. The woman lay moaning on the ground. She feebly tried to reach for her gun that was a few feet from her but couldn’t close the gap. Blood seeped through the fabric of her jumpsuit, soaking it. She stopped reaching for her gun as the capillary effect drew blood into the fabric.
A few feet from her lay Dell, face down and unmoving.
I lay on the ground and listened. The woman’s moaning stopped. No one ran to help. No one shouted for reinforcements. No one fired their weapons. The only sounds I heard were my breathing and fans in the air filtering system.
Dell didn’t move when I jumped to my feet. I sprinted over to his body and rolled him over. Blood oozed from a chest wound. It dripped through the grating and pooled underneath the walkway.
I wrenched Dell’s helmet off him. His frill popped open and his eyes stared at me without life behind them. I’d mourn for him later. At this time I needed to get off Nasee Four.
I hooked into Dell’s suit and was bombarded with information. The Omanix had hailed him multiple times without receiving a reply. There were markers on his helmet’s HUD for seven remaining lifeforms which I presumed were more Terrans. A
I ran around a corner and skidded to a halt. A woman raised her gun, aiming above my head, and fired one shot. I threw my hands up in the air and on instinct crouched down as the bullet ricocheted around the small space.
“Don’t shoot,” I said, surprising myself that my words didn’t come out in a stammer.
“Are you with it?” she said. Anger and hatred oozed from her words.
I looked up and with some hesitation stood before responding. She wore the same jumpsuit and had the same markings as the dead man. I didn’t know how to respond.
She gritted her teeth and gripped the gun tighter. An odor struck me in a wave of rotten flesh. The stench that had been haunting us throughout the facility was the colonists.
The woman edged closer to me. She cocked her head to the side and eyed me sideways. Her gaze focused on my face.
“You aren’t here to take us back?” she said.
“Back where?”
“To there,” she hissed. Spit flecked on her lips and her eyes got a wild look in them. “With Kaur.”
I shook my head. “We don’t know where she is,” I said. “We thought you could tell us.”
“No,” she said continuing to edge closer to me. “No. You aren’t here for us.”
A smile crept across her face. It dangled to one side like she’d had a stroke at some point. Her teeth were black and her gums bled. Her sclera was yellow with veins crisscrossing them. She eased herself up next to me and leaned in, smelling my neck. I closed my eyes and turned my head. Her breath made me want to retch and her body odor felt oppressive.
“No,” she said in a low tone. “You’re going to join us.” She snapped. Her teeth clacked as they hit each other, and she laughed.
The whomph of an arm cannon at the opposite end of the hall echoed down to us. A man screamed and the woman turned. She started firing down the hallway as Dell stalked around the corner.
Bullets sparked and ricocheted around him. He stumbled backwards as one caught him in the chest but righted himself and continued forward. Two shots from his arm cannon caught the woman in the abdomen in quick succession and sent her cartwheeling into the bulkhead behind me.
Dell kept his cannon pointed down the hallway in my general direction. Not knowing what else to do I kept my hands in the air. I gulped and licked my dry lips. Neither one of us moved.
A woman pounded rounded the corner behind Dell. She let loose a hail of bullets. I fell to the ground and covered my head. One whomph followed and then two thuds.
I peeked out from between my fingers. The woman lay moaning on the ground. She feebly tried to reach for her gun that was a few feet from her but couldn’t close the gap. Blood seeped through the fabric of her jumpsuit, soaking it. She stopped reaching for her gun as the capillary effect drew blood into the fabric.
A few feet from her lay Dell, face down and unmoving.
I lay on the ground and listened. The woman’s moaning stopped. No one ran to help. No one shouted for reinforcements. No one fired their weapons. The only sounds I heard were my breathing and fans in the air filtering system.
Dell didn’t move when I jumped to my feet. I sprinted over to his body and rolled him over. Blood oozed from a chest wound. It dripped through the grating and pooled underneath the walkway.
I wrenched Dell’s helmet off him. His frill popped open and his eyes stared at me without life behind them. I’d mourn for him later. At this time I needed to get off Nasee Four.
I hooked into Dell’s suit and was bombarded with information. The Omanix had hailed him multiple times without receiving a reply. There were markers on his helmet’s HUD for seven remaining lifeforms which I presumed were more Terrans. A
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