Part 86

"There!" cried Theo as he pointed to the end of the room, his finger shaking with a strange mixture of fear and relief. At the near corner of the room, the wall had fallen in slightly, a large hard object had come through the wall, but very kindly left a gap under its body only just large enough for person to squeeze through. Theo limped over to the hole and flashed a light through it to check outside, Solomon scratched his unshaven chin and thought about the security flaw in the room walls design. The hole was in the wall that Solomon guessed on its position came from the utility closet just a quick left turn from the very door the creature was smashing its mighty body against "It's clear. I think." came Theo's voice in no more than a whisper, and slid through the gap with ease. His dirty torn brown clothing disappearing into the darkness, Solomon thought of the void of space as he gazed into the severe lack of light inside the hole. Another metallic moan from the structure of the door frame as it gave way a little more against the savage bombardment of the creatures brutal slammings. Solomon acted quickly, moving with professional accuracy, he slid his legs into the darkness and pushed his body through the hole, only to be stopped by something. Breath taken away from his lungs with the sudden compression against his chest, his thoughts immediately darted to the large object falling upon him and killing him, but it was sturdily jammed in place. And then the bridge door came slamming into the wall across the room, followed by a red skinned creature growling as it forced its way into the bridge.

'Designed to withstand thermal warheads fired directly at it.' he had been told about the bridge door when he came aboard his first space vessel, and this, held against the creature for no more than five minutes.

The thing was haunched over on four limbs, its back seemed curved unnaturally, as if forced together making an outward curve. It hungrily searched the room with its eyes. Like a hunter searching for prey, the eyes darted from dark hiding spots to terminals furthest away from it first. Solomon saw these precious few seconds as a saviour. He knew it would soon search the area of the room it had just come through. He fumbled a little more, trying to squeeze himself through the gap, only to be stopped by a metal clink. His breastplate harness. His blood froze when he realised the growling had stopped.

The creature had heard the metallic noise too, and fell silent. Slowly it turned its massive cranium to face Solomon who lay on his back, only his upper body visible. His hands working quickly to release the harness of his breastplate. The creature moved slowly, taking great care where it placed its monstrously mutated arms. Savouring the build up. Solomon knew what it was doing. And it certainly was. The hunt was over. The prey was caught, and even better, the prey was trapped, and still alive. The thing came within a few feet of Solomon, still struggling with his harness, it greedily sniffed his skin. He felt the warm air flow across his face and under his armour. Suddenly, he jolted across the floor, towards the creature. He felt Theo's hands grabbing his legs and pushing him out of the gap, and felt the man's fingers grasp his legs ready to pull him back in. this sudden movement startled the creature and it jumped back with a yelp, which it very quickly showed embarrassment over, and returned to Solomon with new and greater hatred. This movement had given Solomon the space he needed to fix his breastplate clasps and as Theo pulled his body back into the hole, the armour fell away, and into the jaws of the advancing creature. Slipping through the hole and into the utility closet, the cold stale air was fresh against his skin. The creature's disappointment was clear as it let out another roar and very quickly it's claws came thrashing through the gap. "This way." said Solomon as they set off down the corridor, only catching a glimpse of the blood and carnage the creature had left of the pirates. Their bodies had been dressed in a dark grey metallic material, supporting a pattern of hexagons over the entire body of it, only to stop where the creature had torn away the flesh and bone.

The pair made a plan to use the stairs to reach the lower levels where Lyra and the two Gryph remained hidden. They needed ammunition and Theo needed a better weapon, so they made the plan to stop off at the first companies armoury. This did not take long. The route was surprisingly clear. They came across no living creatures, only their bodies.

Soon Solomon came across the familiar sight of his company armoury door. It lay half open, a spark could be seen flashing hungrily with the abrupt crack of discharged electricity. Solomon ventured inside first. Checking the room with his flashlight, feeling exposed and vulnerable without his breast armour. He became very aware of his ever increasing heart rate. Theo followed, and made a direct path to the weapons. The room carried the familiar smell of gun oil and metal polish. Across the far wall stood many personal lockers, most standing with open doors and their contents strewn out at their feet. Bits of rubble littered the floor, and then to Solomon's surprise, the light flickered to life when he pressed the switch, enlightening the room. As Theo went through the various weapons that now lay on the floor, and finding ammunition that went with each one, Solomon found his way to his personal arming chamber, where he kept ammunition for his weapons in locked draws, in the hope that most vigorous movements wouldn't dislodge the draw and spill the ammunition out. He found a messy station, but the draws were indeed closed. He slid his key into its slot and opened it. To find another five magazines for himself. And a photo. The picture showed the familiar faces of a young soldier that Solomon had grown attached to, sweaty and red faced, next to General Ken's daughter. Decius and Sandra. With a sniff, and the build up of grief ever rising, he found a sharp small length of metal to act as a nail and tacked the picture to his wall of lost family. Decius and Sandra both stood tall and proud, smiling with a future of high hopes, much like every other brother and sister that found their way to his wall.