Chapter 25 - Them
Anna froze as the emergency lights cut out, plunging the already gloomy corridor
into total darkness. Blinking blindly, she crouched down and waited, but after a
minute she realised they weren't coming back. The desperation that had been
lurking in the back of her mind threatened to overwhelm her then, and she took a
deep, shuddering breath to try and calm down.
Calm was hard to find, though. She had so far been unable to find a way down to
the next level, and she was terrified of returning to the lift where she had
left Guy. She didn't understand it, but she had felt when he had died, and it
had taken all of her strength not to curl up and cry. It had been the worst
thing she had ever felt, and all that had been holding her together was the hope
of escape.
Naked and cold with only the flimsy sheet to cover her, Anna shuffled over to a
doorway and put her back against the closed metal door, hugging her knees close
as she fought not to cry. Where was everybody? What had happened to them? Was
anyone left to find her?
As the minutes wore on she began to cry softly, her hopes of rescue fading as
the distant thuds of explosions tapered off into utter silence. She hated him,
but she could think of nothing else except that he was gone, and how much it
hurt her.
The sound of the floor groaning made her lift her head, and her eyes scanned the
darkness frantically as she tried to work out what was happening. The groan
filled the air again, and this time she felt it through the metal underneath her
bare feet. Clutching the sheet tightly around her body, Anna stood up and slowly
emerged from the cover of the doorway.
She couldn't see anything, but it felt good to at least be doing something.
Trying to remain as silent as possible, she crept slowly down the dark corridor,
one hand outstretched to feel for obstacles whilst the other held the sheet. She
was pretty sure the groan had come from this direction...
Without warning the whole corridor began to creak, the sound of stressed metal
filling Anna's ears as she dropped to her knees and looked around frantically.
The floor began to buckle underneath her feet, and as she began to scream the
air was filled with a deafening thump. A burst of wind blew her backwards as it
tore the sheet from her fingers, sending her sliding painfully along the metal
floor for several metres.
Her screams cut off as soon as the floor settled down, but she was still shaking
like a leaf as she felt around blindly for her only cover, the white sheet. She
almost sobbed in relief as her hand finally touched cloth, and hurriedly pulled
it around her, wincing as she moved the newly bruised muscles in her back. She
knew it was silly to be so happy about a boring old sheet, but at that point it
was all she had, and she found its softness comforting.
As the ringing in her head faded, Anna realised she could hear someone
screaming. Turning, she took in the gaping hole that now blocked the entire
corridor, and the glow of light that was coming from below. She trembled as she
imagined what would have happened if she had been standing there when it had
collapsed, but she was alive, and it sounded like someone was hurt.
Making her way over to the twisted edge of the floor, Anna crouched down and
peered at the bottom, but other than the torn shrapnel of the collapse she
couldn't see anything.
"H...Hello?" she called out, trying to control the shaking of her voice. "I...Is
someone there?"
The screaming continued unabated, pausing only for whoever it was to take
another sharp breath. Anna looked around, but she could see no safe way to get
down through the twisted metal to the floor below.
"A...Are you h...hurt?" she ventured loudly.
"Quiet," hissed a male voice from close by. Anna jumped in shock, and a moment
later she saw a stern looking face pop up to her right.
"W...who are you?" she stammered, pulling the sheet closer around her as the man
climbed up onto her level. He looked at her, and then slowly crawled forward to
give her a smile.
"I'm Paul, Miss," he said reassuringly, stopping to crouch in front of her.
"Want some help?"
Anna nearly burst into tears with happiness, and threw her arms around him.
"Thank you," she choked, trying her best not to cry as he held her tightly.
"Come on, we have to get down below," he told her after a few seconds, and
gently pushed her away.
"But... I can't climb..."
"Hop up on my back, and I'll carry you down," he suggested, an edge of urgency
in his voice. Anna looked uneasy, but she had little choice. Getting a good grip
on the sheet, she shuffled forward as he turned around and put her arms over his
shoulders.
"Lock your legs around my waist," he said as he stood up slightly. Beyond
blushing, Anna merely cringed and did as he ordered. Straightening up fully and
with Anna clinging to his back like a limpet, Paul made his way over to the edge
and started to climb down.
She was too terrified to do anything but hold on tightly as they made their way
down the wall to the level below. Miraculously the sheet didn't snag on anything
during their descent, and Paul was able to place her down on the floor with her
dignity mostly intact.
Her gaze fell first on the girl lying on her side on the floor, clutching her
head and sobbing brokenly. Her shadowy figure was curled up in a neat circle of
untouched metal, outside of which the floor was buckled like a gigantic fist had
repeatedly smashed against it.
"It hurts," she moaned weakly, and curled tighter in on herself.
"I know it does, but we have to keep moving," said the man who was crouching
beside her.
"I don't want to move," the girl replied weakly and moaned in pain.
"W...what happened?" Anna whispered, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
She looked up at Paul, who shook his head.
"I don't know," he whispered back.
"You have to move, Julie," the man said, the sadness in his voice overlaying the
urgency. "They will come to investigate."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered to him. "Why?"
"Would you have wanted to know?" he asked, reaching out to put his hand on her
head. She sobbed loudly, and eventually shook her head.
"Seth, we need to move," said one of the men who were guarding the area. Anna
looked at them for the first time, noting the guns they carried. She had to
squint slightly as one of the small torches built into the top of each one was
shone in her direction, illuminating the twisted metal behind her.
"I know that, give her another minute to recover," Seth replied firmly, turning
to face the man.
"We may not have another minute," the man replied. "We will move slower with the
girls, Sir."
"I'm aware of that," Seth snapped. "And we wouldn't be alive at all if it
weren't for her. Give her another minute."
"Who says I'll slow you down?" Anna asked hotly. "Just because I'm a..." She
halted as Paul placed a hand on her shoulder, and shut her mouth.
He seemed to radiate a calm that left her unable to move as he plucked the edges
of the sheet from her hands. She had a moment where she thought he was going to
tear it away and leave her standing naked, but instead he tied the two corners
together for her, turning it into a cape. As she stood there, he moved down her
front, his careful hands tying several knots in it down to just below her waist.
"What about my..." she began, and then with a ripping sound he tore a small hole
in the side with his bare hands for her left, and then right arm.
"There you go, Miss," he said quietly.
"T...thanks," she stammered, slipping her arms through and looking down in
surprise at her makeshift dress.
"Can you stand?" Seth asked quietly. Swallowing her sobs, Julie nodded slowly,
and took Seth's hand to help her up.
"Ah, that hurts," she moaned, swaying unsteadily and squinting in the light. "It
didn't hurt... like this last time!" She made a weak attempt at a laugh.
"You didn't bring down several tons of steel last time," Seth reminded her,
feeling reassured by her smile.
"I suppose," she mumbled.
"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked with a smile.
"No," she snapped, and let go of his hand to stand on her own. "I'll walk."
"Let's go then," Seth commanded, looking around at the remaining Resistance men.
"We need to get down two more levels to the portal room, power it up, and get
out of here before we're found."
"Sounds fun," someone commented, but there was no laughter in it.
"Come, Miss," Paul said quietly as the group began to move. Still a little
nervous about the sheet covering her, Anna held it tightly as she stumbled after
them, letting Paul and two others follow behind.
Julie could feel the tiredness creeping into her body as she struggled to keep
up, reminding her of how much it had cost her to bring the roof down on the
creature. She had no idea what it had been, but her father had been right; this
wasn't the right time to ask questions like that. It could wait until they were
safe again.
They reached the stairs down in only a minute, and were soon hurrying down to
the next level. Julie and Anna smiled uncertainly at each other as they reached
the bottom together, but Seth was urging them forward before they could speak.
"We've already helped them out," Seth informed Anna when she slowed as they
passed by the giant steel doors to the tank chamber. Anna nodded numbly, glad
that the girls trapped there were now free, but her memories of being in there
still frightened her.
They reached the next level without incident, and soon they were standing in
what Seth called the portal chamber. A neat rectangular shape, the far end was
dominated entirely by the complex machinery that generated the portals, with
several sections open and their innards exposed. Whilst Seth and two others who
Julie suspected were engineers worked on it, the rest of the Resistance took up
positions around the circular dais that filled most of the remaining space. A
solid looking ramp protruded out from it towards the door, whilst above sat a
giant winch for moving goods about. Anna was uneasy, as it looked like a total
dead-end, but everyone else seemed relieved to be there.
"What's going on?" Anna asked Julie quietly as they watched the gloomy corridor
outside. The chamber itself seemed to be one of the few areas with power, its'
lights and soon the portal machinery fed by a secondary generator, were still
functioning.
"They're trying to get that machine to work, I think," Julie whispered in reply,
glancing back at where Seth was. "So we can get back home."
"Don't you... have a ship or something?" Anna frowned in confusion. "How did you
get here?"
"Well... it's... complicated," Julie said eventually.
Anna didn't look satisfied with this, but Julie was thankful she didn't pursue
it because she had no idea how to explain it. How could she say that they'd come
through holes in the air, or that by bringing down the roof with her mind, she
had distorted the fabric of space enough to erase the nearby portals and destroy
the fine machinery that had been holding them open. She hadn't really understood
Seth's extremely sketchy explanation whilst they had been running, and she had
no hope of telling it to Anna.
With a sigh Julie sat down on the edge of the round, steel dais that lay in the
middle of the room, barely noticing as Anna joined her there. Her head had
stopped pounding painfully, but she was still on a knife's edge, the terrifying
power within her waiting just beneath the surface of her mind. Seeing the...
creature seemed to have awakened it, and now she had no idea how to stop it.
The quiet was making everyone uneasy, but nobody was quick to say anything after
what had happened. The events of the last few minutes had only just started to
sink in, and Julie could feel how wary some of the Resistance were of her. She
wished she could tell them that she never asked for any of this, and that it
wasn't her fault, but she couldn't do it. She didn't want to admit she was
upset.
Every head in the room turned as a loud, metallic crash echoed down the corridor
outside, the sound reverberating through the floor. The utter silence that
followed was broken seconds later by someone whispering "Shit!" A few people
laughed nervously, but it didn't last long.
"Stay cool guys, this shouldn't take much longer," Seth called from the back of
the room.
Anna glanced at Julie, hoping for some reassurance. She was desperately hoping
that Guys' story had been a lie, and that everyone was terrified of something
other than the... things he had spoken of. She didn't want it to be true.
But Julie didn't even notice that Anna was looking at her, she was so focused on
what was happening in her head. She could still sense them, and every moment the
feeling grew as they approached, like a weight slowly growing on her shoulders.
She couldn't tell their numbers, or how far away they were from reaching the
chamber, but there was more than one... lots more.
As the pressure grew, she felt the dreaded power within her gathering itself for
another fight. The pain she knew would accompany it didn't frighten her nearly
as much as the thought of losing control again... of tearing walls down and
destroying things like she had just done.
"Not again," she breathed, gritting her teeth and clinging to reality,
determined not to give in. She felt her control slip slightly as the whine of
guns charging filled the air, followed a moment later by boots thudding against
the metal as the men ran to the entrance in preparation for their inevitable
arrival.
"Julie, what's going on...?" Julie heard Anna's shaky voice, but she couldn't
answer. Already the pain was beginning to grow behind her eyes, like a drill
boring into her skull as her body reacted instinctively to the approaching
threat.
She held her hands to her temples and raised her head to see, her position on
the edge of the dais giving her a view over the shoulders of the Resistance of
the gloomy corridors beyond. Even with the men shining the lights on their guns
into the darkness, she couldn't see what was down there, but she could feel it.
Even as it began to emerge from the milky blackness, she could feel the weight
of its presence on her mind. She knew it could sense her just as clearly, but
its rage wasn't directed at her like the first one she had killed... there was
something else.
A split second later, following mere meters behind the creature, came a second
figure almost running on all fours to keep up. His clothing in tatters and his
body covered with slowly healing injuries, there was no trace of humanity left
behind Julian's eyes as he pursued the fleeing creature. Julie felt her heart
grow cold as she sensed the raw power pouring through his mind, its force
propelling him forwards even as he used it to strike wildly at the completely
alien defences of the creature.
She watched in horror as with a screeching of claws it halted and turned its
terrifying frame upon Julian, the air seemingly burning around it as it
attacked. She wouldn't have believed it possible, but with his bare hands Julian
blocked each furious strike of its forelimbs, her eyes barely able to keep up as
he first merely defended himself, and then began to force the creature back
towards the chamber.
But where her eyes failed, her mind saw everything clearly. She could feel the
raw telekinetic energy Julian was using to enhance each strike of his fists, and
to block attacks that should have shattered bone like driftwood. His mind stuck
continually at the defences around the creature, the very fabric of reality
twisting and creating a terrifying light show that only she could see as the two
forces raged against each other. Unable to comprehend what was really happening,
Julie had only her instinct to go on, and it was screaming that this was very,
very bad.
Recovering from their initial shock, the Resistance added their own firepower to
the fray, shouldering their guns and sending flashes of energy down the
corridor. The creature was barely able to defend itself from the shots, narrowly
deflecting several before it realised it couldn't hold off two attackers at
once. Claws tearing into the tortured floor panels, it launched itself sideways
and retreated into the darkness of a side-corridor, Julian following closely
behind.
Julie was shaking visibly as the whine of the guns faded away into the receding
sounds of battle. Her violet eyes hardly saw the scarred walls and panelling of
the corridor as she watched the fight between Julian and the creature continue
out of view of everybody else. She wasn't afraid that Julian would lose and that
the creature would come for them next. What made her grow cold with fear was the
restraint she felt in his attacks... he was holding back. He had been merely
toying with the creature, and it knew it.
"W... was that...?" Anna stammered, unable to finish her question. Even in the
shadows of the corridor she had gotten a clear view of the two fighters, and she
didn't want to believe her eyes.
"Incoming! Hurry up, Seth!" shouted one of the Resistance, the last second
overlaid by the sound of their weapons charging again.
It sounded like a distant rumble at first, slowly resolving itself into the
sound of claws pounding against the metal floor plating. Unable to see anything
in the darkness of the corridor, Anna looked to Julie, and her already
worry-creased face filled with concern.
"Are... you okay?" she asked, staring at Julies' white knuckles as she clutched
her head. As she watched, blood began to well up from where the young Dominant's
nails were digging into her skin, quickly turning into a trickle down her cheek.
"They're... coming," Julie managed slowly, focusing everything on restraining
the power in her head that was straining to break free. "I won't... lose...
control..."
She felt Anna pull away in fear as the dais shuddered under them both, but she
couldn't afford to think about the other girls' reactions. They would be here
within seconds, and Julie didn't know what would happen. If they all went after
Julian they might gain a few more minutes, but if not...
As if confirming her fears, she heard one of the Resistance yell out, and the
frighteningly familiar hiss of deflected shots momentarily melting patches of
panelling. It was an effort to open her eyes and raise her head a few
centimetres so she could see the doorway.
In a blur of speed the first one was upon them, ignoring the weapons fire around
it as it caught the first defender it encountered in its forelimbs and launched
itself straight through the group, throwing several to the ground with its bulk
before landing with its prize pinned underneath it. Mere metres away, Julie
stared at him in the bright lights of the portal chamber, seeing the raw terror
in his eyes as he looked up at the creature on top of him.
She yearned to help him, to use some of the power she was so desperately holding
back, but she was too afraid of the consequences to let go. Pain raging through
her skull like liquid fire, she stared in horror as the creature leant down
close and dug its claws into his shoulders, blood spilling out onto the floor as
it sliced through clothes and flesh alike.
The next few moments as he went rigid were forever burned into her mind.
Completely ignoring everything else, she watched the veins in his bare arms
start to swell and grow dark, like a poison that was rapidly spreading through
his body. It seemed like forever before she saw the dark lines start to show in
his neck, and it was then that he started to cry.
His head lolled back limply as the creature lifted him by the shoulders, pulling
him close to its body. As Julie stared with blood trickling down over hands
still holding her head, she made eye contact with him, the silent pleading in
the dark red depths of his gaze wrenching at her chest. She knew she should do
something, but she felt paralysed by her horror, unable to do anything but be a
passive observer.
She would never forget the look of surprise that crossed his face as the
creature began to consume him. Each minute change was burned into her brain as
flesh and bone alike melted like chocolate into the body of the creature holding
him in its forearms like a rag-doll. The device on his arm, useless and made of
inedible metal, fell to the floor below, followed seconds later by his clothing.
It left nothing of him behind.
Julie was trembling visibly as the creature raised itself to its full height,
the life it had taken already forgotten. It seemed like everything stopped as it
slowly turned and focused its utterly alien eyes on the young Dominant.
She was able to meet its gaze for only a split second before her self control
slipped, and without a sound the creature was thrown across the room to land
with a sickening thud against the far-right wall of the portal chamber. Before
she knew it she was sliding off the edge of the dais, barely managing to keep
her balance as the pain nearly drove her to her knees.
"Don't... let... go," she choked, barely containing the storm contained in her
skull. With step after shaky step, she made her way towards the entrance to the
room, ignorant of the remaining Resistance defenders pulling back from the
entrance.
She could hear her father yelling at her from the open portal on the dais behind
her, but the words were lost. She was focused entirely on the bodies lying on
the floor around her, torn apart by the creatures standing at the doorway to the
shadowy corridor. She could feel their hatred bearing down on her, but there was
something else keeping them at bay... they were wary of her. The creature she
had swept aside like a bug hadn't moved from where it had landed, slumped
against the wall in a pool of dark blood.
Julie didn't know what she was doing anymore as she looked at the people lying
around her like discarded toys. Their deaths were too much for her to bear. They
had been defending her... and she had done nothing...
She looked up from the floor, seeing the three creatures standing so close to
her now. They hated her, and in that moment she hated them back.
The first one was thrown aside with enough force to create a sizeable dent in
the wall when it hit. The pain barely had time to register in her head before
she drove the second one down through the floor, metal plating bending like
paper.
With a supreme effort, she caught herself before she killed the third one.
Barely holding onto her raging abilities, she sank to her knees and falling
forward, was violently sick over what she had just done.
"I..." she choked, shivering uncontrollably as her stomach threatened to heave
again. The pain in her head faded in comparison to the horror she felt realising
she had just killed three... four intelligent creatures. It didn't matter to her
that they would have killed her just as quickly without any remorse. With the
blood from the cuts on her head stinging her eyes, she felt no better than them;
no better than Julian or Shadow or anybody else.
But the remaining creature wasn't going to wait for her to recover, and launched
itself at where she was kneeling. She felt more than saw its movement, and
barely managed to roll out of the way before it slammed into the floor, claws
raking the metal. Terror pounded through her with each rapid beat of her heart
as she scrabbled to her feet, instinctively leaping back as it sliced through
where her chest had been milliseconds before.
"No..." she whispered to herself, desperately holding back her mind from
destroying her attacker.
"I..." With a grunt, she caught the claw about to crush her skull, instinct more
than any conscious action saving her once again.
"I will..." She held its' forelimb back for what seemed like an eternity, the
agony in her head matched by the pain she felt just having its scaly limb
touching her skin. It felt like her skin was burning away, but she didn't dare
let go.
"...not..." Julie was forced to leap back again as it released her hand and
swung at her side with its opposite limb. It advanced just as quickly and struck
again, giving her barely enough time to raise both arms and block it. The impact
as it hit her palms felt like being hit by a steel beam, but her arms survived
intact.
"...kill it!" She was amazed she had survived for so long, but her luck wasn't
unlimited, and with her arms raised, her body was completely exposed to the claw
that slashed diagonally through her clothes from underneath her left breast down
across her belly to end at her pelvic bone.
Julie had no time to be surprised as the creature pulled back to strike again,
but before it could finish her off, something large slammed into its side and
thew it up and over the dais to slam into the machinery on the other side.
Julie collapsed heavily onto the floor, clutching her stomach as blood quickly
soaked her shirt. It hurt too much to scream, and the pain in her head was
already threatening to send her into unconsciousness. She drew her legs up
protectively, barely able to think through the agony as she curled into a ball
and gasped for breath.
She could feel her grip on reality slowly slipping away, but was powerless to
prevent it as awareness of her body began to fade. The pain in her head and her
belly grew remote, giving her a brief moment of detached calm at the edge of the
darkness.
She wondered whether she was going to die now. She felt strange knowing that
Julian's sudden attack had saved her from being killed by the creature straight
away, only to die slowly on the floor from a relatively shallow injury.
She felt sorry for thinking that Seth had lied about everything. The infection
he had told them about wasn't a real infection... it was the creatures. Just
like a Dominant, they could kill you just by touching. She wondered whether
Celina knew the truth about what had created the marks on her back. Had she been
hiding it too, or did she really not know?
She barely noticed as her father swept her up in his arms, and ran with her
towards the waiting portal. She just wanted to see Simeon again. Her thoughts
faded away, and she sank into unconsciousness.
--
Big thanks to slavelucy for editing this
--
