Rise of the Carnelians (Europa)

by Jason Gehlert

  “I’m scared.” Seth’s voice was heavy and his breathing deep and labored. “I’m sweating inside this thing.”

  Ulysses caught more of the alien-like species coming through the holes in the ice behind Seth. “I’m coming for you. Take a breath, I’ll be right there, son.”

  “I don’t see anything for outdoor lights,” Gillian said.

  “Here, try to keep him calm,” Ulysses said, running for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Target practice. Where’s the artillery room?” Ulysses asked. He then quickly searched the laminated map on the side of the wall near the exit door.

  “Down the hall,” Gillian responded.

  “I’ll be back.” Ulysses ran as fast he could to the artillery room.

  The corridor was long and winding, but Ulysses made it to the artillery room. He punched the red button on the side of the door.

  Nothing.

  The glass door wouldn’t budge. Again he slammed the button, but to no avail.

  “This is gonna hurt,” Ulysses mumbled, taking several steps back. The engineer then began a hard run at the glass door.

  Ulysses felt incredibly heroic yet monumentally stupid for trying to launch himself through the glass door. But, he kept thinking about Bruce Willis and his movies. Shit, if Bruce can do it, he could do it, too.

  Ulysses made contact, lurching through the glass, sending shards flying everywhere. The scrappy engineer landed awkwardly, but safely crashed into the gun cabinet, fracturing the wooden case. He rubbed his bruised ankle, and picked away a few embedded shards of glass from the side of his face and arms. Otherwise, Ulysses was flying so high on adrenaline, he really didn’t care about the pain.

  The alarm screeched throughout the station.

  Gillian was plugging her ears when Kaspar came running into the control room.

  “What’s going on!” he screamed over the loud noise.

  Gillian pointed to the screen.

  Kaspar took notice of Seth’s dire situation.

  “Ulysses!” he again shouted over the alarms constant dinging noise.

  Gillian pointed out into the hallway.

  “I’ll be right back,” Kaspar said as he ran to Ulysses’s position.

  Kaspar came across the obliterated door and stared inside. Ulysses was fully prepped inside his suit, armed with the gravity modified shotgun, and a precision sniper rifle.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Kaspar asked.

  “I’m going to save our team.” Ulysses cocked and loaded the shotgun. “Any more stupid questions?” Ulysses asked. He walked over to the alarms keypad and let off a vicious shotgun blast into the belly of the instrument.

  The alarm died to a pleasurable muted gargle, and order was restored for the time being.

  Kaspar excitedly brought Ulysses up to speed. “I watched some of the captain’s video,” Kaspar said while he walked Ulysses over to the chamber.

  “And?”

  “His team has encountered an alien species known as Carnelians.”

  “I’d say so. Those blue fuckers are swarming around our team out there. I fear Philene and Adrian could be next. That poor guy is all alone out there on the ice.”

  “The captain also stated that these aliens had made their way into the space station.”

  “Great. Peachy fucking keen,” Ulysses grumbled, placing his helmet on his head. “I am not leaving our team stranded out there.”

  “I am against this, but you outrank me in age and wisdom.” Kaspar slapped his friend on the side of the helmet. “If it gets too hot down there, get the hell out.”

  Ulysses gave Kaspar the thumbs up sign upon entering the departure chamber and embarked on his journey onto Europa’s surface.

  “Where’s he going?” Gillian asked Kaspar when he returned to the control room.

  “He’s going out after Seth,” Kaspar nervously replied.

  “Can he handle himself? I mean he’s an engineer.”

  “He’s got an uncanny feeling for a gun. Ulysses’s shots are almost on the same level as mine. He enjoys hunting, cards, and peeling oranges in his spare time,” Kaspar retorted with a gruff chortle.

  Gillian looked at the commander with a quirky grin. “That was your attempt at humor.”

  “Yeah, I have a dry sense of humor.”

  “I’d never guess.”

  “Ulysses will be fine. Let’s focus on our current situation in the station.” Kaspar looked around. “We will need weapons...” his sentence was interrupted by a faint clanging coming from the medical lab. Kaspar was bothered by the sound. He remembered what the captain had said in the video message about the Carnelian’s ability to make noise, such as scratching or clawing, if they were trapped.

  “You hear that?” Gillian poked the commander. “It sounded like it was coming from the medical lab.”

  His only response was his index finger pressed firmly to his lips. He raised his right hand and motioned for Gillian to follow him.

  She watched his slick movements with awe. Kaspar was acting as if he were in the field directing troops. He walked over to the map and, with a fluid motion of his fingers, he tapped the artillery room’s red square, urging Gillian to follow him with caution.

  Ulysses gauged his movements with a cautionary step, watchful of Seth’s position. Ulysses had some hunting experience, but nothing of this magnitude. He was acting on pure adrenaline attempting some measure of heroism without taking notice of any life-threatening consequences.

  Ulysses switched over to Seth’s radio frequency and opened a line of communication with the scared doctor.

  “Seth,” he called out to the young doctor.

  “Ulysses, hurry, they are approaching,” Seth warned him.

  “Calm down. I will get you out of there.” Ulysses scanned the craggy surface.

  “Alive?” Seth was starting to have doubts if he would ever see the sunrise again.

  “I can see your position clearly.” Ulysses gripped the sniper rifle. He approached a strange assortment of jagged rocks. A perfect cover for Ulysses to set up his rifle and start offering some sort of cover for the doctor’s escape.

  “I will give you cover ,” Ulysses responded into the radio, attempting to quell Seth’s frayed nerves.

  The moon’s surface was dark and gloomy, with poor visibility. Ulysses used the night scope function on the rifle to gain the advantage over the dark organisms.

  Ulysses scooted down a few rocks and placed the rifle between two and sighted in on the approaching organisms. “I can see them. Stay perfectly still.”

  “Where are you?” Seth surveyedthe surface, unable to pinpoint Ulysses’s position. Seth’s helmet was foggy from heavy breathing. He couldn’t see the aliens, but he knew they were there. “I can’t see shit anymore. I am virtually blind out here.”

  “I got your back. You are about one hundred feet from me. When you hear the gunshots, start making your way backwards to the departure chamber. I will meet you there.” Ulysses stared through the scope and finely tuned the cross-hair, zooming in on the predatory pack. Ulysses squinted his left eye (his right eye was the stronger of the two, his vision was eagle-eye perfect in the right eye). He placed his finger on the trigger and let a shot zoom off through the air. Ulysses had taken into consideration gravity and wind, and angled the shot perfectly.

  The shot found its mark. It bored its way into the pack of aliens, splattering green blood all over the gritty ice.

  Seth started to move backwards, using his hands as secondary feet, like a kid’s game at recess.

  Ulysses aimed and shot off another round and again took down a small herd of the approaching predators. Ice cascaded into the air as the bullets tore through the thick substance. He had bought enough time for Seth. Ulysses’s fingers were sweating inside the gloves and he had dropped the rifle sending off an errant shot into Europa’s twisted orbit. He took his eyes off of Seth and focused on retrieving the rifle.

  “Ulysses!
” Seth screamed into the radio. “I’m not going to make it.”

  Ulysses scooped up the shotgun and headed for Seth.

  Seth was feet away from the chamber when he felt something jerk him from behind, yanking him sharply to the right.

  “Jesus Christ, they’re not going to make it,” Kaspar muttered. He witnessed Ulysses’s video feed dissipate into a snowy field. The space station had several monitors posted throughout the corridors, necessary when the previous captain wanted to keep tabs on his team, whether they were scattered about the moon’s surface, or inside the space station itself.

  Kaspar and Gillian made their way into the battered artillery room where Ulysses had made quite the entrance moments before. “All these weapons are modified for the space station and the moon’s surface.” He reached for two 9mm guns and handed one of them over to Gillian.

  “That would make sense.” Gillian examined the gun in her hand.

  “Do you even know how to shoot a gun? I mean, you’re pretty good at firing off your mouth.”

  Gillian wryly grinned. “Tutor me, master.”

  “Click the safety off at the rear of the weapon, point, and release the trigger.” Kaspar shot off a quick wink in her direction.

  “Got it.”

  They were interrupted by another clanging noise coming from the medical lab.

  Kaspar again went into silent mode and waved Gillian to follow him.

  Step by step they cautiously made their way down the corridor. Kaspar, weapon drawn, approached the medical laboratory’s door.

  Ulysses managed to grab Seth just in the nick of time, dragging him closer to the chamber’s entrance.

  Ulysses pumped off shot after shot into the crowd of aliens that were swarming over the duo. Each shot took out a sizable number, splattering their green blood all over the craggy surface.

  “Seth, we have to go now. Tell your friends you can’t come out and play right now.” Ulysses kicked Seth in the leg, urging the young doctor into the chamber.

  Seth crawled his way in. He reached up and slammed the red button with his fist, initiating the door’s immediate closure.

  Ulysses backed in, letting off another shot that obliterated several of the flying blue organisms instantly in their flight pattern that spattered the silver doors with their entrails, and scattered their final remains across the wily engineer’s face mask

  Kaspar whirled the 9mm around the room, sweeping the area. Gillian crept up behind him and nudged him gently.

  “How many of the beds were open besides mine?” Kaspar asked her with a gruff whisper.

  “Just yours,” Gillian responded. “Why?”

  She found the answer when she had caught sight of what Kaspar was leering at.

  Another bed had been opened, with several pools of blood caught inside the whitened sheets. Gillian followed the fresh bloody trail across the floor and out the other side of the medical lab into the parallel hallway. “The departure chamber,” she said nudging Kaspar along.

  Their eyes narrowed, focusing to see in the darkness after a dormant sleep. Their species thrived in the moon’s dark caves and deep oceans. For the last million years, they had been trapped inside the moon’s icy core, until an unexpected surge of heat thawed them out. Now, they were back with a vengeance, regrouping, planning, and hunting. The darkness of the moon suited their needs well. Their instincts, senses, and even intelligence seemed heightened as they moved about in the darkness. After a million-year slumber, they were ready to feed.

  They hid within the cave’s maze-like walls and crevices. They attached themselves to the ceilings, balling their bodies into tightened fists of razor sharp claws and teeth, ready to devour prey with one swift attack. They had quadrupeds surrounded. The swarm of blue laid in perfect silence, their white teeth glowing in the darkness, covered in a slimy saliva-like residue. Their calm eyes rolled over with a murderous haze. Now was the time.

  “See? Nothing to worry about.” Philene turned around to face Adrian. “It is just the two of us in here.”

  “Jesus, be careful.” Adrian caught sight of the ledge that Philene was approaching. “Watch your step.”

  Philene had little time to heed Adrian’s warning. Her left foot landed awkwardly on the ledge, crumbling the moon rock beneath her weight, sending the French scientist tumbling down into the black hole below.

  “Philene!” Adrian struggled to reach the ledge. His leg was starting to throb and his medication was wearing off.

  “Adrian!” Her voice echoed up from the blackened pit.

  “Are you okay?” he shouted into the radio.

  “I think I broke my legs,” Philene grumbled. “I can’t move.”

  “Hold on, I’ll call for help.” Adrian attempted to find the correct frequency. “Damn,” he muttered, realizing the cave’s walls were inhibiting the radio’s frequency. “Philene, can you hear me?”

  Philene voice returned with constant static interruption. “Adrian,” her voice sputtered and clacked with annoying inconsistency.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Adrian fumbled around in his pockets. His fingers clamped around the emergency flare.

  He carefully limped over to the crumbling ledge, and sent the flare over. It briefly illuminated Philene’s position.

  Adrian stared down in horror. Philene lay in a contorted mess at the bottom of the pit. As the flare started to flicker in and out, Adrian noticed a large number of creatures no more than a foot in length rapidly approaching Philene’s injured body.

  “Philene!” Adrian screamed down to her. It was no use, his words were lost in the static. The flare died out and Adrian feared the worst. He frantically searched his pockets for another flare, and found one.

  “Come on,” Adrian said, sending another flare skyrocketing into the dwelling below. In the flare’s instant illumination, Adrian watched the creatures ravaging Philene’s decimated body. Her suit was ripped apart, her mask cracked open. Adrian caught one last glimpse of her face. Her mouth trembled. Her lips quivered. To Adrian’s surprise, one of those sinister creatures retreated from her mouth and worked its way down her throat just as the flare finally extinguished.

  “No!” Adrian bellowed. “Damn it!” His anger started to overtake him.

  He could see something climbing up from the ledge. He lowered his head to illuminate the area with his mini-flashlights.

  They silently approached Adrian, forcing him to backpedal in a meager defense.

  Adrian lost his balance and stumbled.

  The creatures attacked their bumbling prey. Lunging, they knocked Adrian over.

  Adrian felt his helmet crack from the vicious impact, sending fragments of the helmet skittering across the rocky terrain, allowing the dangerous cold air to rush over his body.

  The helmet’s lights flickered on and off, eventually returning a wave of permanent darkness across the cave.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” Ulysses huffed. “What the fuck happened out there?”

  Seth attempted to get his breath. He was hunched over, obviously in pain.

  “Seth? Can you hear me? Are you okay?” Ulysses asked the young doctor.

  Seth tried to talk but his throat swelled.

  Ulysses pressed the button on the intercom. “We need medical assistance in the chamber. Kaspar. Gillian. Anybody.”

  Seth started to stand up. He convulsed, sending tremors throughout his once healthy body. His mouth frantically danced around, his lips swirled in some sort of trembling pattern as tiny claws pried open his lips. His ears started to bleed, and in a moment’s notice, his nose started to gush as well with the dark cherry red fluid, filling his helmet with blood.

  Ulysses stared at Seth with a paralyzing parental concern. In the rear, he could hear the doors open, but was unable to immediately turn around and face Kaspar, or Gillian.

  Before Ulysses could even move a muscle, Seth’s helmet exploded, sending a spray of green and red blood flying through the chamber and affixing Seth’s remains to the nearby wal
l. His body limply fell to the floor, quivering one final time.

  Ulysses cautiously turned around and stood face to face with the faint wisp of smoke billowing from the end of a .12 gauge shotgun.

  PART III

  Lieutenant Matthew Shaw

  There was a stranger staring back at Ulysses from the door. “Lower your weapon,” he urged .

  “Why?” Ulysses asked. “You are not part of our crew.”

  “I will not ask you again,” the grizzled man said with a flick of his own shotgun. “Now, please.” His steely, blue eyes were fix on Ulysses.

  “You lower your weapon,” Kaspar said from behind the stranger.

  “I see we have a standoff here,” the man reluctantly replied.

  “I know who you are,” Kaspar mentioned. “I saw the video.”

  “The video?” the man echoed. “Tell me what you know of our team.”

  “Yeah,” Kaspar said while he coolly tightened his grip on the 9mm. “I know everything, from your team’s landing to the alien species that has compromised this entire mission.”

  “Your friend here was infected,” the man retorted. “I essentially saved your friend’s life.”

  “I understand that.” Kaspar lowered his weapon. “Let my friend Ulysses pass and we will work this out together.”

  “The young kid over there,” the man said quietly releasing his grip on the shotgun, “had one of those things crawling over his face.”

  “Come with us,” Gillian chimed in. She noticed the man’s bloodied appearance and glanced over his red and orange jumpsuit. The name Shaw was clearly visible on the right side of the uniform. Gillian guessed that Shaw had to be at least into his late forties judging from his weathered face, scruffy beard, and cobalt blue eyes.

  “Shaw, is it?” Ulysses asked, taking off his helmet to greetthe gruff man.

  “Yeah. Second-in-command of the Amity. And, the last survivor.” He turned to face Kaspar. “I was the only one not infected by those creatures.”

  Before Kaspar could get a word in edgewise, Shaw spun wildly around, pushed Ulysses back, and thrust a knife into a surging creature’s stretched mouth. With a sharp twist of his wrist, Shaw completely decapitated it.