Colbert glanced at the floor crawling with creatures and realized they had nowhere to go. He shot the creature that crawled from the top of the cocoon nearest the bed, shouldered his rifle and shouted loud enough to be heard above the speedily approaching ruckus, “Ramirez, follow me.”
Ramirez turned as Colbert leaped onto the cocoon. His weight swung it away from the bed. When it was within reach, he climbed onto the next one. Ramirez kicked away the creature that jumped on the bed before it could attack and leaped as the mangled pile of beds, skeletons and creatures tore the one he stood on away. Trying to ignore the things moving about inside, he moved around the grotesque sack, and climbed onto the next one when it swung into reach. He grabbed his pistol and shot the creature that poked its head out the top and glanced at Colbert, two cocoons away when he dropped to the floor. He glanced down. The creatures ignored them and swarmed after the beast like rats drawn to the Pied Piper. Ramirez dropped to the floor and rushed after Colbert towards the exit.
Cleveland pointed. “Here they come.”
“Where’s Brody,” asked Sullivan, gazing behind them.
No one answered. They knew the commander wouldn’t have abandoned Brody if he still lived. Stedman and Sullivan slid the doors closed when Colbert and Ramirez were safely through.
“Brody?” questioned Sullivan.
Colbert shook his head sadly and glanced at the door at the end of the short corridor. It looked intact and would take them back onto the route to the armory. He didn’t think mentioning he ended the man’s suffering with a bullet would boost their morale, so he skipped past it and forced the men to concentrate back on the mission. He glanced at the tool in Cleveland’s hand, pleased the man had kept hold of it. “Let’s get that door open and find out if the corridor’s clear.”
When the door had been forced open, Cleveland stepped through. The barricade of debris ended a few feet away. “It’s clear.”
Keen to keep the men moving and their thoughts, for now, off the brother they had lost, Colbert urged them onwards.
As Talbot and Richard sprinted through room away from the foul pool, Talbot slowed to let Richard catch up. “I suppose I should thank you for saving my life.”
“Yes, you should, but give me your rifle and I’ll consider the debt repaid.”
Talbot smiled. “Not going to happen. I know it’s the only reason you rescued me.”
When a loud, piercing shriek echoed through the room, they turned. The Slug Monster emerged from the tunnel and turned its gaze upon the fleeing men. Its tentacles reached for the ceiling, pulled its bulk from the ground and as fluidly as any chimpanzee swinging from branch to branch, swung through the room towards them at an amazing speed for its bulk.
Richard sighed. “What is it with these aliens? They never give up.”
“Probably the scarceness of food has something to do with it, but what surprises me more is how is that thing is still alive. You gutted it and I shot it.”
The two men fled the pursuing monster that quickly gained on them. Its excited shrieks growing ever nearer filled the men with dread.
Talbot’s weapon-light fell on a door a short distance ahead. It was neither open nor closed. A small gap in its center provided their only means of escape. They rushed for it. Richard glanced behind and wished he hadn’t. The monster was barely twenty feet away. Globules of white pus dripped from its body wounds and its teeth chomped menacingly.
Talbot didn’t slow when he approached the door, but dived and passed smoothly through the hole barely wider than his shoulders.
Richard looked on in dismay as Talbot’s feet disappeared through the small opening. He was a terrible diver. Though he had practiced when he was a teenager, so he could impress the bikini-clad girls at his local swimming pool, he had failed miserably. Every dive had turned into a clumsy and extremely embarrassing belly flop; the chances of him diving through such a small hole without hitting the side was something he thought impossible. A tentacle appeared beside his face and seemed to look at him. With doubts he would make it, Richard dived for the hole. His arms and shoulders went through smoothly, but his knees struck the edge painfully, causing him to crash to the ground. Panting heavily, he remained where he fell to catch his breath.
When the monster smashed into the door, Talbot aimed the weapon at the bulbous skin that filled the hole briefly before moving away. Though its body was too large to fit through the small opening, its tentacles weren’t. They snaked through the opening and whipped out erratically in all directions in an attempt to snare their prey. Talbot prodded Richard with a foot. “I suggest you move.”
Richard rolled onto his back and glanced at the tentacles reaching ever nearer. He climbed to his feet, ducked beneath one and moved until he was out of their long reach.
“We’re safe now,” said Talbot.
Richard snorted as he examined his scraped knees. “Safe! Nowhere aboard this damn ship is safe.”
Talbot roamed the light around until it settled on something fifty feet away. “What do you make of that?”
Hoping it wasn’t another monster, Richard dragged his gaze away from the wavering tentacles to find out the reason for Talbot’s question. Though large and unexpected, it wasn’t anything alive. He gazed at the thing perched on a thick rail that ran along the center of the floor. “Well I’ll be damned―it’s a train.”
Talbot nodded. “The crew must have used it to move through the ship. Which stands to reason, I suppose. The ship’s so large it would take ages to walk back and forth.”
Though two carriages had dislodged from the rail, one was still connected to the train. The other had broken free, slewed across the platform and smashed against the wall. Dim yellow lights lined the sides of the tunnel and led off into the distance.
While Richard headed for the train, Talbot climbed onto the wide platform beside it and looked down the side of the carriage that had struck the wall. He glimpsed two doors as buckled and dented as the wall. Even if they could move the twisted wreck, he doubted the doors would ever open again. He glanced along the platform dotted with seats, columns and walls adorned with alien posters and information signs, but saw no other exits. He glanced at Richard climbing onto the platform and walked over.
Richard placed his face against the window of the first upright carriage and peered inside. “I wonder if it still works.”
“It wouldn’t do us any good if it does.” Talbot pointed the weapon behind him. “The way out is back there. We need to go up and head for the back of the ship.”
Richard looked at the carriage leaning against the wall and the tip of the door tops it blocked. “Good luck with that. In my experience aboard this vessel, it’s never that simple. If you see a handy exit, point it out and I’ll gladly follow, but failing that, I’m going to search the train. There might be weapons aboard.” Richard increased his pace.
“Or monsters,” Talbot added and smirked when Richard’s pace suddenly slowed.
Richard turned. “As you have the only weapon, it’s best you lead.”
“Not true, you have the knife.”
Richard glanced at the knife in his hand. He couldn’t imagine fighting any monster in such close proximity to be able to use it. He held it out to Talbot. “Swap it for the rifle and I’ll go first.”
Talbot strode past Richard. “I’m fine, thanks.”
They passed two more carriages before they found an open door. Talbot shone the light inside at the obvious neglect and deterioration. Two rows of large, facing seats lined both sides of the compartment. Tuffs of spongy filling poked from the many rips in the orange padded seats, evidence that sharp-clawed creatures had been inside. When they were confident it was free of danger, they entered and cautiously made their way through the train.