Chapter 6. No way out.
There was a new noise in the service tower now, a gentle echo that reverberated around the walls of the shaft. Muffled footsteps, scratching, it was difficult to describe but the source was both above and below them. Gwynzer crouched down to check on Ati as Samzi continued to try and treat him.
“Whats with his chest?” He asked, eyeing the bulbuous mass moving under the skin.
“I don’t know, it’s some kind of fluid. I’m trying to sample it now.”
Samzi already had a syringe with grey gelatinous liquid inside, drawn from Ati’s strange affliction. He scanned it with a portable medi-pad and frowned over the results.
“Looks like some kind of virus, but I don’t understand why I couldn’t detect it before. I’ve never seen anything like it, I’ll need better facilities to study it. Where’s Blind?”
“Dead,” Answered his Squad Leader, “Thomas attacked him and tore his throat out. He was… eating him.”
“What?” Samzi stared at Gwynzer, “Ate him? But Thomas was dead.”
Gwynzer shook his head, “I know I know but that’s what I saw. He tried to attack me to, I had to shoot him.”
“Boss, that’s impossible. He was dead. No life signs, I even checked his pulse myself in case it was a scanner malfunction.”
“Samzi, I know what I saw ok. Whatever happened to him probably affected the Imps too and by the sounds of it they’re coming to get us next.”
Something clanged from above, then again a little closer. Whatever it was it was falling from an upper level, striking against the walkways. It flashed past them, smacking against their platform as it continued down, a blur of white and red. A dark wet bloody smear indicated where it had hit and the two men glanced at each other.
“I think that was a Stormy.” Gwynzer said and Samzi nodded in agreement. Ati interrupted their thoughts with another sudden coughing fit, his chest rising up as his body went into spasm again. Samzi’s med pad shrilled a warning alarm. He was dead.
“Push him off the side.” Ordered Gwynzer, already grabbing the arms of his dead squadmate and pulling him to the edge.
“What?”
“I’m not taking any chances, Thomas was supposed to be dead too and he died of the same thing, now get him over the side.”
Samzi panicked, what if he wasn’t really dead? Maybe he could still help Ati. “Boss just wait, if he isn’t really dead then maybe I can do something. Maybe the virus shuts down the vital organs temporarily but leaves enough brain function to reanimate him.”
Gwynzer shook his head, still trying to drag the limp corpse to the side and down the central shaft. “He’s dead, whatever that thing is inside him has killed him alright, then it... I don’t know what it does but when he comes back it’s not Ati.”
Something clattered above, maybe a level or two over their heads and howled. The things that had them trapped joined it, a cacophony of shrieking chilling screams that made the walls tremble. Gwynzer and Samzi did too. The darkness didn’t help, Samzi’s small glowrod wasn’t enough to tell them what was up there. The medic made his mind up and stepped forward, helping Gwynzer roll Ati’s corpse over the edge and they both hurried back to collect their equipment.
“Don’t take anymore than you need,” whispered Gwynzer, “Medpack, blaster and some power packs we may need to act fast and I don’t want to be weighed down.”
Samzi nodded, already packing away what he needed and throwing off anything superfluous. Gwynzer activated another UAV and checked the rest of the equipment available.
“Ok, I’m going to take some detpacks, the frag nades and the Bowcaster. That should give us enough firepower for anything we meet up there.” Gwynzer hefted the heavy Wookie weapon, trying to gauge its weight.
“This should make anything think twice.” He grunted. “You ready?”
Samzi nodded. “Lets get out of here.”
The UAV pinged. Then again, and again. Gwynzer checked the readout, whatever was coming for them was now registering on the sensor but he couldn’t make out exact numbers. A mass of red dots shifted and surged as he studied it and in the confines of the service tower there was no way to distinguish between those coming from above and those climbing to reach them from its dark bowels.
“Start climbing!” he ordered. Samzi didn’t need to be told twice and started at a brisk job at the ramps, Gwynzer hot on his heels. They only cleared the first corner when something pounced, jaws open and salivating. Both men opened fire, a rapid reflex born from instincts honed in combat. The thing tumbled swung from the impacts and dropped over the side. They saw enough of it for Samzi to believe everything Gwynzer had told him. No matter what the UAV scan told them, that thing should have been dead.
“Boss, how many of those things are there?”
Gwynzer shook his head, “Can’t make it out.”
“I hope these power cells hold out,” answered Samzi “theres no way out of this thing except through them.”
“I know,” came the reply, “but I have an idea.”
Gwynzer began rummaging through his kit as another ear splitting scream lunged at them through the darkness. “I’m going to blast a hole in the wall, maybe we can climb over the cliff face.”
“A detpack? In here?” Samzi wasn’t sure about the idea, “We got enough room to get away from it?”
“It’s either that or try and get through those things.”
The crushing steps were closer now and occasionally something else would clatter past them through the central shaft. Pieces of Stormtrooper armour, clothing and even bloody dripping limbs. Gwynzer slammed the explosives hard against a wall, the timer lights flashing an eery green in the closeting blackness.
“Come on,” he said grabbing Samzi, “up two more levels then hit the floor.”
They ran, counting silently in their heads trying to judge the right time to hit the cold metal floor and cover their ears. “Now!” they both cried dropping instantly and throwing their arms over the heads. The blast rocked the walkway and hot fiery air blasted up past them, dieing back as quickly as it passed. Thick smoke still clung to the confines of the heavy chamber and for a moment the brilliant light left them blinded.
They weren’t far off now perhaps two or three levels above them, slurping and grunting towards the two soldiers ears as the ranks of ravaged men advanced. The explosion seemed to excite them and the pace appeared to quicken as another scream challenged the night. Samzi and Gwynzer stood and groping the wall made their way back to check the location of the explosive charge.
A large jagged hole had opened in the side, smoke pulling out and in to the starry sky and through it they could make out the grey craggy face of the cliff.
“Think we can make it?” asked Gwynzer.
“I’d rather try that than go through those cacking monsters.” Samzi answered, already hoisting one leg through and checking a foothold. A blaster shot pinged from the wall and Gwynzer spun to track the source. One of the monsters had reached them ahead of the others and held a pistol in its arm. Its only arm. The other ended in a stump at the elbow, red angry muscle draping from it like ribbons while the remaining bone protruded in sickening contrast.
It raised the pistol and fired again missing widly. Gwynzer raised his bowcaster and aimed, bellowing at Samzi, “GO! NOW! I’ll cover you!”
Samzi continued clambering out, reaching for foot and hand holds as his Squad Leader disappeared from sight behind the towers walls, green light flashing as he opened fire against the former Imperial.
“Samzi, I’m coming through!” Gwynzer backed down the corridor towards the hole, sweeping his weapon up for more of the slavering beasts. His foot caught something soft, giving way temporarily beneath his weight before resisting and rolling off. He glanced down, it was an arm, still wet and sheathed in standard issue Alliance uniform. He spun round in horror but it was too late, he couldn’t bring the bowcaster round in time as Blind lunged for him, fingers scrabbling over his face and groping inside his open mouth. They felt cold and wet, he could taste the blood that coated them and Blind loomed over him, mouth open wide, teeth flared and saliva dripping from them.
The Rebel Squad Leader screamed. A primeval single cry as Blind reached forward and bit down on his shoulder, Gwynzer could feel the teeth sliding through muscle and jarring against the bone. He arched up trying to throw Blind off but it seemed to encourage him to bite harder, twisting his head from side to side in an effort to rip Gwynzers flesh away. His head arched back, he could make out more of them now descending down the ramp, footsteps heavy against the metal walkway as they fell on him, snarling and hungry, arms reaching out and grabbing limbs, pulling joints away from sockets with an agonising pop.
The last thing Samzi saw as he looked back through the hole was Gwynzer’s terrified eyes rolling back in their sockets.
Bite my shiny metal Tie Fighter!
Closed Alpha Test & Deth..
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