Max shot a glance behind. “Move!” said Max fearfully. “That thing will be upon us in a minute.”
Hoping his nerves were responsible for creating the sound, Theo chose the route directly ahead and led them on. He glanced into both side turnings and saw only cobwebs.
When Max crossed the intersection, a shuffling noise from the vent on his left, directed his frightened gaze into the gloom and cobweb-crammed tunnel. The shuffling grew louder. Something sprung through the cobweb barrier. Max screamed in terror at the vision of the monster caught in his light. Its sharp-clawed hands grabbed him.
Henry’s head spun when the scream echoed through the vent. He glimpsed Max’s terrified expression and the vicious Web monster dragging him into the side tunnel out of sight. Max’s screams continued. The metallic tang of blood filled the confined space. Henry shot toward the opening. He was halted when something grabbed his leg. He turned. Theo was responsible. “What are you doing? Let go.” Henry struggled to free his leg. Theo held on tight. Blood oozed from the intersection. The gruesome sounds of the monster feeding upon their friend were loud within the narrow vent. The screams fell silent. Henry stopped struggling. Max was dead.
Theo released his hold on Henry’s ankle. “You couldn’t have done anything to save him, Henry.”
Angered by the man’s actions, Henry glared at Theo. “But I could have tried.”
“And gotten yourself killed in the process. Come on, it’s not safe in here anymore, we need to move.”
Henry glanced at the vent that concealed the monster feeding on his friend. Though he knew Theo was right, he might have also been killed, the death of another team member weighed heavily upon him.
A screech from back along the tunnel reminded them of the other threat. The monster was gaining fast. They needed to get out of the vent before it caught up with them.
Henry turned and followed Theo’s hurried dash through the narrow tunnel. The monster, Max’s terror-filled eyes, his screams, and the stench of blood would forever remain with him.
The Hunter in pursuit warily approached the intersection. It sensed another’s presence and smelt the appetizing aroma of fresh spilt blood. With its gaze directed at the darkness shrouding the creature it sensed within, it paused at the crossroads to lap up the tasty red pool. It did nothing to quench its hunger. Wanting more, it continued its rush after the fleeing creatures.
Jane and Jack slowed their sprint along the corridor and listened. They heard no sounds of anything in pursuit and assumed correctly that the Hunter monsters were busy feeding on the Clickers Jane had killed.
They paused at an intersection to ponder their next move.
“We have to go back for Lucy,” said Jane, breathlessly.
Jack rested his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. “I know, and I promise we will, but not yet. It’s too dangerous while those monsters are back there. When they’ve finished feasting, they should move on. Until that happens, I suggest we meet up with the others and try to fashion some weapons from the gear we left in the cavern, and then we come back for Lucy.”
Though reluctant to leave her friend alone on the ship even for a brief time, Jane knew Jack’s plan made sense. “The others are probably already outside as they took the most direct route.”
“Then let’s go find out.” Jack’s head throbbed, his chest hurt, he was tired, hungry and desperately needed a beer. “I’ve had enough of this place.”
They headed off in a direction they thought would lead them to the back of the ship and the engine room.
Richard paused to catch his breath, cocked an ear back along the corridor and was he relieved when heard no sounds of pursuit—only the creaking ship and his rapidly beating heart. He glanced around at his surroundings. He was even more lost than before. His blind rush through the ship to escape the monster had left him disoriented, and now he’d no idea which direction the engine room was, or even the back or front of the ship.
Disheartened that he might never escape, he leaned back against the wall to rest. Startled by the door sliding open beside him, he backed away. Though he expected some nightmare creature to leap out, none did. He noticed the button beside the door and realized he must have leaned against it.
The headlight aimed inside the dark room revealed a shelving rack bent at an angle and leaning forward slightly. Objects that had fallen from the shelf were scattered across the floor. Curiosity moved Richard nearer and he peered inside. Metal racks, stocked with strange items, were laid out in neat rows that ran the full length of the room. Temporarily forgetting his predicament, Richard smiled. He’d hit the jackpot. There had to be something technologically advanced in here he could smuggle out and sell. It would be back-up in case the small alien died, or he failed to smuggle the creature out of Antarctica. He stepped inside to inspect the merchandise on offer.
Richard’s eager eyes roamed over the array of strange items, of which there seemed to be an eclectic mix. Food canisters labelled with strange words and images of their strange contents, material that might be clothing or bedding folded neatly and stored in what seemed to be clear plastic wrapping, canisters of what might be chemicals, unusually shaped objects fashioned from various materials, and many other items whose use he couldn’t guess. He ignored all of these. He desired something technical. Advanced weaponry, communication devices, medical equipment, or something he couldn’t even imagine.
He ignored the first two racks filled with items that held no interest for him. It was in the third row he found something that might suit his particular specifications. He snatched the strange, curved triangular object from the shelf. A handle slightly too large for a human hand to grip comfortably, protruded from the base of the unit. The small screen and the few buttons around its edge informed him immediately that this object, whatever its function, was suitable for his needs.
A type of screen, contoured to the shape of the triangular device, filled most of the top area. Below the screen were three, small, round, red buttons etched with strange symbols. Positioned on the right side was a slightly larger square button. Believing the square button might be an on, off, switch, Richard pressed it. Immediately an image faded into view on the screen. Green thin lines of light glowed brightly against a ghostly grey background. It seemed to be a simple map of some kind. When he moved the device he was amazed to find the image altered. He swept it toward the door. The image changed to show the new position of the walls, shelves and doorway. It even depicted the outside corridor and parts of nearby surrounding rooms ahead of the device.
It must be a scanner of some sort.
To find out what the buttons below the screen did, Richard pressed the one on the left. The image zoomed out to reveal a slightly larger area of the ship. It now depicted rooms, corridors and nearby stairways. One more press achieved its maximum reach. He could now see the layout of the ship a few rooms distant from his position. He turned in a circle and viewed areas of the ship on all sides of the store room. He paused when red dots appeared. Two close together―one behind the other―moved through a small tunnel. Another, a short distance away in a side turning, was motionless, and a fourth was moving toward the other dots in the small tunnel.
It didn’t take long for Richard to work out the dots represented things moving through the ship—monsters and his companions, though it was impossible to tell what dots belonged to which. He continued directing the scanner around and again paused on seeing a collection of dots near a doorway. Other dots, both singularly and in groups moved through various parts of the ship within the scanner’s reach. Two dots moved quickly along a corridor not far from his position. He thought they might be two of his companions, possibly Jack and Jane. He aimed the scanner in the direction they headed. Caught in the far edge of the readout was a large room containing the outlines of strange shapes, including rows of circular objects—the engine room. Richard traced a route back to his position and found it free of any dots.