by RD Hale
'There they are. Get them!'
'Damn it. Back!' I shriek.
We rush back to the ladder and Mila climbs first, scrambling two rungs at a time. Grasping metal rails I hurry behind her, knowing we will be lucky to have seconds until we are neutralised. One level up we reach a gridded floor with another ladder which we have no choice but to ascend because our pursuers are climbing below.
At the next level we set foot on a solid floor and a dark corridor leads us to a catwalk with a balcony encircling a souvenir shop where tourists whimper below the deactivated lighting rig. Upon spotting a maintenance shaft I rip the cover from the wall.
'Quick, in there,' I instruct.
Shoving Mila into the conduit, I crawl in backwards and carefully replace the cover with a tilt which could be noticed by sufficiently observant stalkers. Footsteps can be heard nearby as we proceed with my partner's sense of touch guiding us along like a star-nosed mole. Reaching another grid, Mila bashes for a few excruciating seconds until screws capitulate and we enter a duct. A ladder leads down to an exit where we guardedly emerge into the night sky.
'The forcefields in the mutant section could be down. We have to continue through the old section. It should be safer,' I suggest.
'But the leopard...' Mila whimpers.
'There's one leopard and a few guards that way. The other way... I don't want to find out. Let's just keep our heads low and move quickly,' I insist.
Mila and I duck and run through the old section, glancing through the fencing of a giraffe enclosure to see figures with a greenish tint to their clothing, prowling on the far side.
'Er, that way,' I gasp, sneaking between a Reptile House and Kids Cove and coming to a dead end at the rear of the buildings. Breathlessly bending over, Mila and I gaze at one another like we are both awaiting the suggestion of our next step. Out of answers, we are forced to accept there is no safe route out of this maze.
'We've got you now, you little brats,' a voice growls.
My face drops because there is nowhere to run and no way to fight. All of our efforts and our close scrapes were for nothing but this is what we get for mixing ourselves up with terrorists. We stand face to face with a pair of flabby middle-aged morons whom I would happily take on in a fist fight but the fact they are armed gives us no hope. Then to my amazement I am offered the fair fight I was praying for as one of them foolishly sheaths his phaser and cracks his knuckles. My semi-healed fist clenches as I prepare to fight like so many times before. Eyeing him up, I see he is only slightly bigger than I am which in my language means he has no chance. And I calculate the timing to take him out with one beautifully judged shot as he takes a step and ROARRR!
A crimson and black blur sends the guard tumbling to the ground and the frenzied attacker is determined to feast on human flesh as his partner stumbles back. A phaser drops onto mud, landing midway between us and the deadly struggle as the guard's hands reach up in desperation. Snarling jaws throttle his throat as I scurry towards the dropped weapon and the other guard shoots the leopard moments too late.
The unconscious feline slumps on top of its victim who lies lifeless in a pool of his own blood; his throat horribly shredded. As I clutch the phaser the guard turns towards his now armed enemy and within a nanosecond I squeeze the trigger. White sparks fizz out of my weapon and engulf his slumping body.
'Grab his phaser,' I yell at Mila and with both of us now armed we head for the zoo exit - ready to shoot at the slightest threat. But we are forced to rethink our options when we reach a disordered scene where guards are struggling to control civilians stampeding into a bottle neck.
'Order, order!' The guards attempt to chaperone the traumatised and aid the wounded.
'There's no way we're getting out that way,' I mumble and we spin around to see a solitary guard emerging from an enclosure. Mila expertly stuns him from one hundred yards, before he has the opportunity to recognise enemies. 'Nice shot,' I mutter.
Detecting further patrols Mila and I sprint to the mutant section as phaser fire whizzes by, only to discover death lies in both directions. A flock of terror birds run through a plume of smoke like gigantic headless chickens. We stoop low, tracking their indistinct outlines as we creep behind a bush. 'What now?' Mila whispers as the guards materialise and scan the surroundings, determined to capture a pair of clueless mercenaries.
'Where did they... Oh shit!' At once the flock rampage towards the unwitting guards and bursts of phaser fire incapacitate several beaked monstrosities, but others hurdle their subdued counterparts. Soaring like arrows the terror birds overwhelm the screaming nitwits as human flesh is torn and bones are crunched. But the voracious raptors flop to the ground in flashes of light as more shadowy figures charge.
'Do these guys ever give up?' I ask.
'Of course not, we're wanted terrorists. Keep going,' Mila orders.
Huge fishbones bulge from the wall of a building, below a sign which reads: Inguesh Tank. Surrounded by hostility, we leave tree cover to dart across open ground and seek refuge inside the building. Carefully closing the door I struggle to make out the interior details until I activate my holowatch. Aquadynamic shadows prowl behind a viewing window and I hear voices coming from outside.
A door leads to the far side of the inguesh tank where I focus on smelly buckets of fish until my foot catches a rubber pipe. Treading with more care I peer through the glass for any sign of entry as coral glimmers and scaly beasts drift into view bearing teeth. 'Nasty looking things,' I whisper.
Someone says, 'Let's check in there,' so I immediately deactivate my holowatch light and we sneak into an alcove, readying our phasers as the door swings open.
My hand trembles as our pursuers shuffle around, aiming flashlights at the public side of the aquarium. Mila and I tread up narrow stairs as a creaking is followed by a sudden increase of light, prompting us to sprint, but I trip on the top step and the phaser skids from my hand, splashing into water. As I slip and slide over the wet surface, Mila fails to notice my predicament and vanishes around a corner.
'I have you now,' a gruff voice growls as boots clank upstairs and I twist onto my backside to face torchlight which is too dazzling to perceive the menace standing behind.
'You're coming with me,' my invisible assailant snarls as my feet struggle to grip dampness and the guard could squeeze the trigger within a sliver of a second but I am not ready to give up hope. My girl will save the mission.
'Mila! Mila!' I yell.
Torchlight spins around and out of darkness a half-naked man propels his thickset body towards the guard. Bare feet smash into my enemy's chest, plunging him into the pool with limbs splashing and his screams are muffled by water. The torch sinks and predatory fish remorselessly swarm until the pool calms and turns opaque. My head turns to my rescuer and these disbelieving eyes strain to distinguish his unusual features - a sloping forehead, excessive body hair, enlargened teeth, he... Is he a neanderthal?
'You okay?' he grunts.
'You speak?' I reply, startled.
'Yes, a little. Can you get us out?' he asks.
A straggle-haired female emerges in the light of my reactivated holowatch; her stooped posture bearing resemblance to a medieval peasant. The male places a protective arm around her shoulders and I am struck by a cautious gratitude. We scan the building for any sign of backup for the fish food, but there are no additional searchlights and as my nerves settle Mila runs around the corner.
'Arturo, you clumsy idiot! Are you hurt?' Mila gasps.
'Don't shoot!' I yell.
'Oh my goddess, the cavewomen!' Mila squeals.
'We're trying to get out too. We can help each other,' I suggest.
'Yes, that would be good,' the male says.
'It talks!' Mila shrieks.
'It?' the male replies.
My soggy sock squelches through damp patches as we pass through a short corridor to another tank, or possibly a continuation of the same one. We hurry downstairs and I peer fro
m a door, feeling additionally vulnerable without the protection of my phaser but ready to embrace danger with a beautiful sharp-shooter and a pair of impressive allies.
'The area is clear,' I advise and we head for bushes to crouch out of sight, but far from safe in the middle of this carnivore-packed microcosm. A strange new confidence fills my senses and my ears tune into the environment to ensure nothing will get close without my advanced awareness. Our allies appear powerful enough to fight against any natural predator but we must give the mutants as wide a berth as possible. And now my eyes have adjusted the lurking beasts are large enough to be spotted even in the blackness, which at least gives us a chance of escape.
'You... We see you before. You nice people?' the male says.
'Nice people? Nah, we're just people,' I reply.
'No, you show respect. Not many do. You nice people,' the male insists.
'Do you two have names?' I ask.
'They call us Ahran.' The male points hairy hands inwards. 'And Chiara.' He points fingers towards the female.
'I'm Arturo. This is Mila. Nice to meet you.'
'Hello,' Chiara whispers.
As the introduction is completed, I recognise a heaving shadow in the distance as the expanding and contracting torso of a massive slumped creature. Its apparent slumber does little to offer encouragement and I point to a smaller, but no less daunting threat as further torches emerge - our pursuers either foolhardy or terrified of disobeying orders.
'We need to subdue the animals, they're valuable. And keep your eyes out for the fugitives, they may still be around.'
'Quick, through here,' I whisper.
Swiping through bushes I almost tumble off an unseen ledge, before hanging and dropping into a basin of willows with inert cable cars and footbridges overhead. The others plunge into this grassy void, but my bold leadership proves to be reckless because a booming is accompanied by branches breaking within charging distance. The wall is too sheer to climb so we must either move quickly or become a mutant's supper.
'What's that?' Mila whispers, trembling.
'Get your phaser ready,' I reply.
The perimeter leads us to a clearing where loud snorts come from the direction of glowing dots, probably light amplifying eyeballs. I perceive the hefty frames of hopefully slow-moving and herbivorous creatures because beasts of this size could do unthinkable damage. More trees stand not too far away and remaining here is not an option, nor is turning back. My hands tremble as we sneak swiftly and silently across open ground to avoid alerting the herd.
'We seriously need to get out of here,' Mila whispers.
Despite fraught nerves we reach tree cover without consequence and the protection offered is limited, but still very much welcome. The booming has ceased and we continue in uneasy silence to another opening which contains a building with spotlights on the roof, maybe a hundred and fifty yards away.
The coast appears to be clear so we scramble in the direction of the shelter, but at the precise moment we are most vulnerable to attack the land quakes. An apocalyptic roar almost knocks me off my feet as oaks part to reveal a tower of black feathers with steak knives glistening at its summit and claws instead of wings.
I squeeze Mila's hand and every ounce of strength in our legs propels us towards the safety of the building, because this bipedal monster is way too immense to be affected by a puny phaser. My shoulder slams into the door but I rebound in pain, so I kick one, two, three times and still it does not budge. Even Ahran's tremendously powerful thrusts prove to be insufficient and the beast is lumbering progressively closer on its ostrich-like legs.
'Mila, shoot that thing!' I instruct.
A continuous burst of fire antagonises the giant into a deafening roar as its black feathers smoulder only a few giant strides away. A blast of noxious gas and saliva hits my face with the smell of rotting flesh and a slobbering tongue writhes in jaws which will soon devour us.
Seconds from mastication we are granted a reprieve as the ravenous tyrant turns in the direction of a deeper roar. A horned quadruped charges, engulfing our attacker with its white hot breath.
'A dydongo!' I gasp.
The mass of burning feathers lurches as the dydongo bites its underbelly with arm-sized lower canines. Retaliatory jaws sink into the dydongo's spiny back, but another dydongo emerges and I seize the chance to run and jump, climbing onto the single-storey building. The neanderthals effortlessly do the same and I pull Mila up to the roof, then take a moment to spectate as fire-breathers tear limbs from a felled giant.
The adjoining periphery wall is now reachable and we clamber up to escape from this basin of miscreations. 'Over there,' I yell, pointing to steps which lead to a rope bridge and we rush to the closest thing we have to a safe option.
Hurrying up the steps, we sprint over the creaking rope bridge, traversing another basin with lumbering movements in the shadows below. Midway across I finally spot an exit from the most treacherous place on Eryx, but stampeding mega-fauna are escaping into the woods so the fun and games may not be over yet.
'Looks like that is our only way out,' I say wearily.
We reach the steps at the far side of the bridge and I activate my holowatch for additional light, but it makes virtually no difference as we utilise our vantage to scan for threats. Flashlights still shine in the distance, but there is no sign of nearby movement. Potential ambush points are plentiful and the possibility of being eaten alive is now an accepted hazard.
'Do you think it is safe to go?' Ahran asks.
'No, but now is as good a time as any.' I gulp, but fear becomes an afterthought as we strive to the egress, grateful for the chance to escape which minutes ago seemed implausible and we depart through open gates, reaching external woodland. Thorns dig into my foot but I hardly feel pain due to the anaesthetising effect of the adrenaline as I activate my holowatch satnav for guidance through barely visible trees.
'So it's back to the city. That's a looong walk,' Mila sighs over crunches of bracken.
'Have you always lived in the enclosure?' I ask our new friends, bumping into a dark figure and stumbling. 'Sorry, didn't see you, there.'
'We were kept elsewhere with others, but they separated us years ago. We've not seen them since,' Ahran replies, unruffled by my clumsiness.
'How do you know how to talk?' Mila asks, her voice coming from the opposite side to where I had assumed she was walking.
'How do you?' Ahran asks in reply.
'Are you not cold? You're hardly wearing anything,' Mila asks.
'No, I'm not cold. Are you warm?' Ahran sounds puzzled by the mini-interrogation.
'What are you two gonna do? Do you wanna come with us?' Mila asks.
'Come? I don't know. You have home?' Chiara replies.
'Yes we do, you're coming with us. Wait till the others see us bring two cavewomen home!' Mila insists.
'Cavewomen? I'm man... We are going to your home? Is it safe?' Ahran asks.
'Safe? I'm not sure if that's the correct word, fun maybe. Wait till you see the city. We live in one crazy world,' I reply.
'Shh, d-did you hear that?' Mila whispers, swivelling her head. 'There it goes again. Now it's coming from that direction.'
A sudden, swift rustling among black trunks is followed by silence and gut instinct suggests we are being hunted. As this phantom awaits the opportunity to pounce our best chance of survival lies with a girl's shooting ability. We spin in a state of whimpering sightlessness as the nocturnal predator closes in fast and a thud is followed by vicious snarling, then a horrible dragging sound.
'Oh my goddess, what was that? Is everyone okay?' Mila yelps.
'I'm okay,' I reply.
'CHIARAAA! Reurgh-Argh!'
The light shining from my wrist is too weak to depict this mortal struggle so I tread towards the commotion. Arhan is constricting the neck of an indistinct creature, maybe a leopard, which is slashing frantically in retaliation. Although this should be a mismatch in terms of s
ize, the adversaries display equal strength which would shred us to mincemeat if we came between them.
'Shoot it with your phaser, Mila!' I yelp.
'I'm trying, it's not working!' Mila replies.
Desperate measures are required to tip this evenly poised death match in our favour, because if our protector loses we are defenceless. Bouncing on toes, I await the opportunity to strike but I can barely distinguish the entangled pair. A swinging tail blurs as Ahran and the creature twist from side to side and my foot lashes at a shifting backside. 'YEARGH!' Arhan roars and I am unsure who I struck, but I kick in a frenzy until a spirit crippling growl comes from another direction.
'Ar-Arturo, I think there's another one,' Mila whimpers.
A hysterical hiss is accompanied by a rapid sideward streak which causes me to hold my breath. Ahran, who is back to his feet, swipes with the back of his fist and a second predator crashes into foliage. Although Ahran is valiantly braced to fight, two invisible carnivores is a step too far even for the neanderthal so we are left with one option.
I sprint in the hope the others will follow, sticking to open areas to avoid tripping hazards. As I progress alone the prioritising of speed over stealth proves to be ill-founded because my shoulders are forcefully, sickeningly thumped. Thrusting a defensive arm back, I pull my head away from the inevitable killer bite as I tumble to the forest floor.
Crashing down with rib-crushing force I desperately reach for the neck of the hunter pinning me in the undergrowth. Claws sink into my chest and I call upon all of my strength to resist but my energy is quickly depleted. My arms bend against every ounce of my will and vicious fangs are just inches from my nose. Angrily glowing eyeballs fixate mine as foul breath chokes my already breathless lungs, but these concluding seconds are interrupted by a swishing and my limbs are engulfed by a sticky substance.
