“Sir?”
“I need you to come to the gate with me and Captain Austin.”
Jeff put the handheld down on the table and stood up. He checked his pistol twice, then went to the alcove beside the kitchen unit to get the rest of his gear from the sled. Lieutenant Castle stooped silently beside him and picked up his own equipment. The major grabbed a portable spotlight.
Less than a minute later, they were out of the door. They had a long way to run through the dark corridors of the ship, on which they now knew without a doubt that they were not alone. Jeff was glad Major Irons was with him this time, but still he kept imagining that he saw one of the light aliens far in the distance.
The whole way to the gate, Jeff asked himself two questions over and again: Was Fields still alive? And what kind of creature had he encountered?
After what felt like an eternity, they finally turned the last corner and entered the cathedral-like corridor, with the gate at the end. A beam from a flashlight fell through the open door that led to the little room next to the gate. Jeff wanted to run straight in, but Irons held him back.
“Green! Are you there?” the major called.
Did he suspect that one of these light aliens was in there instead of Green?
“Yes, I’m in here,” Green replied.
Jeff followed Irons into the room along with Castle. Green was standing beside the hole in the wall—the opening to the tunnel, which led to the other side. His hair was soaked in sweat, his eyes were wide.
“Have you heard anything from Fields?” Irons asked.
Green pointed at the hole. “I heard a scream. I think it was Fields.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’m shit scared. Did he report to you?”
Irons ignored his question. “Where are Owens and Herrmannsson? They were supposed to join you.”
Green shook his head. “There’s nobody else here.”
Jeff pulled the handheld out of his belt pouch. “I’ll ask Joanne if she’s heard anything from them,” he said, and pressed the device up against the wall. “Joanne, we’re at the gate. Can you hear me?”
“Yes. Are Owl and Finni with you?”
“No, I was just about to ask if you’d heard from them.”
“Ten minutes ago. They got lost, I had to get them back on track.”
“OK. Any word from Fields?”
Jeff was about to repeat the question when Joanne finally answered. “No, nothing. Is Green with you?”
“Yes, he waited here. Said he heard a scream.”
“Shall I send Mac and Shorty down as reinforcement?” she asked.
“No,” Irons had come up beside Jeff and was leaning over the device. “They should just stay on standby for now. We’ll wait for Owens and Herrmannsson.”
“We’re here.” Jeff looked up. Owens was stumbling toward them, panting. A few seconds later, Mac followed.
“Where were you?” Irons asked.
Owens saluted the major. He obviously had a guilty conscience about the unreported break. “Sir, I apologize for the delay. There was a mistake on the map, and Joanne—”
“It’s OK, Private. We’ve got bigger problems.” Irons outlined the situation to Owens, Mac, and Green. The engineer turned pale when Irons described the light alien.
“I didn’t see anything.”
“But you heard a scream?” Irons asked.
Green nodded. “About half an hour ago or so. It sounded as if Fields was scared to death or in terrible pain. Then suddenly there was silence. I didn’t know what to do. I was about to make a run for it.”
“What do we do now?” Jeff asked. But he already knew the answer.
“We’re all going to go through the tunnel and look for him,” Irons said, without hesitation. He leaned down in front of the entrance to the tunnel, next to which the panel had been carelessly tossed aside. “Let’s go. Captain Austin, follow me. Lieutenant Castle will bring up the rear. Be sure to stay as close together as possible. And activate your combat suits.” He pressed a switch on the small arm console. Jeff did the same, although it would take several minutes for the reactor to start up.
“It’s too tight in here for me. I can’t go in there,” Green said, pointing at the hole.
“You are coming with us. It is not up for discussion. Get your ass in gear!”
“Shouldn’t someone keep watch?” Finni asked. Like Green, it was clear he would do anything rather than crawl through that narrow tunnel.
“No,” Irons said. “I don’t see any point, and if there really are hostile creatures on the other side, I want as many men as possible. Corporal Owens, please send a short message to HQ.” He didn’t wait for an answer. He kneeled down and crawled through the hole in the wall.
Jeff wiped the sweat from his forehead. The major was already some way down the tunnel.
“Austin, you still with me?”
Jeff crawled into the passage. “I’m coming.”
The floor and walls were made of the same dark metal as everything else on this ship. But while the floor was smooth, there were regular outcroppings on the wall, and Jeff had to be careful not to bump his shoulders. The tunnel was narrow, and they made headway only slowly. After a few minutes, they arrived at a bulkhead that protruded almost halfway down from the ceiling.
Major Irons turned on his back and pulled himself under and past it in one swift, elegant movement.
Jeff continued crawling on all fours, but didn’t stoop low enough, with the result that he banged his head on the bulkhead. If the thing suddenly came down, he would be chopped in half. The mere thought of it made him break out in a sweat, and he crawled to the other side as fast as he could.
He heard groaning behind him. Green was trying to crawl underneath the bulkhead, but his hands were so sweaty he kept slipping. Jeff held a hand out to him, which he took gratefully. Green’s eyes were very wide, he looked as if he might flip out at any moment. Jeff pulled his gasping shipmate through and then tried to catch up with Irons.
He had already reached the end of the tunnel. And pulled his gun. “What’s keeping you, Austin?”
“I had to help—”
The major cut him off with a movement of his hand. “I don’t want to hear about it. Are we all here? Rearguard?”
Meanwhile, Castle had also made it to the end of the tunnel. “Yes, Sir. I’m here.”
“Then let’s get out of here!” Irons said, and crawled out of the tunnel. A few seconds later, Jeff was standing beside him, shining his flashlight around the room. Fields had been right. It really did look as if a fight had taken place. There was furniture lying around everywhere—some of it destroyed—as well as papers, containers, and equipment. In one corner lay a charred heap of a gum-like black substance. Jeff thought he could smell burned plastic, but maybe he was just imagining it. It was impossible to say whether this devastation had occurred yesterday or a million years ago. Jeff almost expected to see charred, alien corpses.
Groaning, Green crawled out of the hole, pulled his pistol from his holster with a trembling hand, and came and stood next to Jeff. Finally, Castle crept out of the tunnel, cursing.
“Draw your weapon, Lieutenant!” Irons ordered.
Castle wiped his hand on his suit and then pulled his pistol from his holster. “Who knows if bullets are any use against this creature. If it’s a ghost, the bullets will go straight through it.”
Irons snorted. “There are no such thing as ghosts.”
“But Fields said—” Castle began.
“I don’t know what he saw,” Irons interrupted him. “But I’m sure it wasn’t a ghost. Pull yourself together. We’re going into the corridor to try and find our shipmate.”
“And if this light alien comes along?” Green wanted to know.
“Don’t even think about shooting before I do!” Irons said in a threatening tone of voice.