Ice Rift - Siberia

by Ben Hammott

  Svetlana had never known such fear. Though her senses screamed at her to flee, terror rooted her to the spot and forced her to witness the dreadful event framed in the vent opening. The greasy, viscous, flat snake-like head that grew from the creature and stretched towards the opening, wavered when it changed to mimic Alexei’s features. When the black lips opened and screeched, Svetlana pushed herself away. When her shoulder knocked against the extinguisher, she reached back and dragged it onto her stomach. She aimed the nozzle at the creature and pressed the trigger. A whoosh of cold CO2 condensing in the air shot past her feet and sprayed Alexei’s Black-mimicked face in white frost.

  EV1L dodged back from the freezing blast and fell to the floor, taking the body of the human it was still absorbing with it. The frozen part of its body writhed to be free of the cold, white covering until the crystallized residue fell away. Eyes formed and stared at the vent it heard the human female escaping through. It had forgotten how devious these humans were. But the memories were returning with its strength; they had almost killed it once. It wouldn’t let them do so again. It slithered off the partly digested human, stretched up and poured into the vent.

  Pushing the extinguisher in front of her, Svetlana slithered through the duct. She should have listened to her senses and never entered the vent that might end up becoming her coffin if there was anything left of her after the creature had finished feeding. She shivered at the thought. Alexei’s pain-wracked screams had indicated it would be an excruciating death. Though shocked and saddened by her friend’s death, it wasn’t the time to grieve. Her one thought was to escape the same fate.

  Though her worries were many and she barely held panic at bay, her major concern was the duct would narrow, trapping her. She couldn’t go back. When she reached an intersection that led left, right and straight on, she turned her head and shone the flashlight behind. Her worst fear was realized. The Black was in the vent and flowing towards her like an oil slick. Creepily, it made no sound. Even creepier was the single eye protruding from it on a thin stalk that looked at her. She needed to slow it down. Arriving at a crossroads of options, she slithered into the right turning she believed headed towards the storage rooms on this level and quickly squirmed backward into the left tunnel. She had to hurry before the silent menace was upon her. With the nozzle aimed at the slithering monstrosity, she sprayed a twenty-second burst. As the cloud of freezing vapor whooshed along the duct, Svetlana shot along the right-hand passage.

  Sensing the cold creeping through the metal, EV1L halted and abruptly backed up in a wave that tumbled back on itself until the frigid air had dissipated. Though the degree of coldness wasn’t enough to cause its demise, it did bring unwelcome pain. It observed the white coating of frost on the vent sides until it had faded and then shot forward. The human female would not escape its wrath so easily.

  Breathing heavily from the effort of moving through the constricted passage, Svetlana turned a corner. The surge of hope she experienced at the sight of the grill along the passage waned when something thumped into the side of the duct near the intersection behind her. The light she aimed at the sound picked out the Black mass filling the void. A long-snouted face belonging to some alien beast she found difficult to comprehend, formed and spread jaws wide to reveal sharp ebony teeth. Moving too fast to waste time bringing the unwieldy extinguisher to bear, she rushed for the grill. It was her only hope. As soon as she arrived, she dropped the flashlight, gripped the grill and pushed. It didn’t budge. A harder shove produced the same result. When she noticed the sharp tips of the four screws protruding through the corners of the frame, she realized escape wouldn’t be so easy.

  Her gaze shot back along the duct on hearing the slithering grow nearer. It seemed the creature had abandoned stealth in its rush to reach her. Caught in the flashlight’s glow, the creature appeared out the turning she had recently vacated. It smashed into the side wall in its haste to reach her. The long snout forced into the mass on contact, appeared out the side facing her and snarled. It would be on her within seconds. She grabbed the extinguisher and smashed it into the grill; it buckled, freeing one corner. The second hit sent it clattering into the room. She dropped the extinguisher into the room, grabbed the flashlight and dived through the opening.

  A tentacle stretched from the mass. The claw that formed grabbed at the human’s leg but swiped only air. Without stopping, EV1L followed the human through the opening.

  Svetlana rolled when her hands touched the cardboard boxes stacked against the wall and groaned when her back struck the floor hard. Using her momentum and ignoring the pain as best she could, she jumped to her feet. The flashlight picked out the maze formed of Stalinist-era document boxes, shelf units, and cupboards. On hearing the creature crash into the boxes behind her, she dashed along the tight passage between the plethora of stored secrets detailing the cruel acts of Russia’s long dead paranoid and power-mad dictator.

  EV1L formed into a vicious four-legged beast it had absorbed long ago and bounded after its victim.

  Confident her reward for negotiating the maze successfully would be the exit door she could rush through and slam shut behind her, trapping the creature in the room, Svetlana dodged left and right as she raced to escape it. Though puzzled by what was making them, she knew the Black was responsible for the pounding footsteps chasing her. If she survived, she would have gained some knowledge about the creature; it had the ability to change its form. The way it had mimicked Alexei’s face was staggering.

  The wall of boxes ahead of her exploded, toppling the shelf unit opposite. Svetlana glimpsed a movement of Black amongst the cardboard mountain, a claw searching for stability to pull its body free ripped cardboard and shredded secrets. With her way blocked and no wish to backtrack and re-enter the air duct, Svetlana rushed up the tilted shelf unit, scrambled over the top of a wide, wooden cupboard and dropped to the floor. Her flashlight picked out a door a short distance away. Praying it wasn’t locked, she sprinted for it, grabbed the handle and turned. The door opened inwards, spilling light from the corridor into the gloomy room. A shriek behind spun her head. The Black-formed beast leaped from the top of the cupboard. Svetlana rushed through the doorway and slammed the door shut. It juddered when the creature struck it. The door held. She almost cried. She had done it. She was safe.

  At the sound of scratching on the door, she turned to face the small glass panel set in the door. The creature’s evil gaze stared at her. An evil grimace formed and faded when the Black changed, causing Svetlana to gasp at a copy of her own face staring back at her. Her eyes shot to the door handle when it moved. She staggered back when the door opened. An exact, but Black, copy of herself stepped into the doorway. It was like she was staring into an evil, malevolent mirror. She threw the flashlight at it, turned and ran.

  EV1L caught the flashlight and glanced at it briefly before releasing it. Before it struck the floor, EV1L raced after the fleeing human. Finding two legs inadequate, it changed. As it dropped to its hands, it morphed into the four-legged beast again and bounded along the corridor.

  STANISLAV HALTED HIS pacing across the room and looked at Krisztina sitting on the chair she had wheeled from an adjoining office. “What’s taking them so long?”

  Krisztina inwardly sighed and glanced at her watch. Stanislav was the most impatient person she had met. “It’s only been twenty minutes.”

  Stanislav raised his bushy unkempt eyebrows and glared at Krisztina like an owl would a mouse. “Are you certain?”

  Krisztina nodded.

  “Humph! I’d swear it was longer.”

  “I’m sure they are going as quick as they can. It can’t be easy for Svetlana. I wouldn’t want to crawl through an air-duct with that thing in there.”

  “It’s a defenseless black blob, not a tiger,” argued Stanislav. “All they have to do is chill it with the fire extinguisher, put it in the container and bring it here. How hard can it be?”

  “You could always give them the
benefit of your expertise and go help them.”

  Stanislav glared at Krisztina for signs of insubordination. Recognizing none he could be certain of, he strode to the intercom and stabbed the button with a finger. “Alexei, what’s going on? Do you have it yet?” He released his finger and when the reply he expected didn’t materialize, he tried again. “Damn you, Alexei. I need an update, now!”

  Krisztina stood and headed for the door. “I’ll go find out what’s happening.”

  “No, stay here, they might be on their way down,” ordered Stanislav.

  Krisztina returned to the chair.

  After a few moments brooding silence, Stanislav spoke into the intercom again. “Luka! Stop whatever unimportant menial task you are doing, and go check on Alexei and Svetlana. Update me ASAP.”

  After a few moments, Stanislav’s finger heading angrily for the button was halted by Luka’s reply. “Yes, Herr Kommendant. Your orders are my only joy. Going there now.”

  Krisztina grinned.

  “Less of the sarcasm, Luka, and do as you’ve been ordered. Be assured your attitude has been duly noted and will go in my report.”

  “Sarcasm, sir? I don’t understand. When you make your report, could you also mention it’s only fair with all this extra work I am doing that an appropriate recompense should come my way?”

  Stanislav fumed. “Don’t worry, I’ll ensure you get an appropriate reward. Ten years hard labor in a Gulag. Now stop fucking about, or I’ll have you taken outside and shot.”

  “I think that’s a bit harsh, Kommandant. Both the Gulag and the shooting bit. However, I am now going to carry out your orders as ordered with no hint of sarcasm or insubordination, sir.”

  Fuming, Stanislav turned to Krisztina. “The man’s an idiot.”

  Inwardly smiling, Krisztina replied, “Yes, sir.”

  LUKA HEADED FOR THE animal room. Though he knew it wasn’t wise to goad Stanislav, it was an entertainment he found hard to resist. The man was a moron who only worried about advancing his own career without any remorse for those he trod on in the process. He glanced through the viewing panel set in the door before entering. Worried by the silence that greeted him, he glanced into the empty cages he passed. The damn creature had eaten them all. He halted at the gruesome sight that waited for him at the far end of the room. Though no features remained to identify the man, the brown shoes identified the mass of liquefied and half-eaten flesh as Alexei.

  Fighting down the bile that threatened to spew forth, Luka gave the corpse a wide berth and pressed the Level 4 intercom button. “Alexei’s dead!”

  Stanislav answered promptly. “Dead! Are you certain?”

  “I’m staring at his partly devoured corpse, so yes, I’m damn well sure he’s dead.”

  “What about Svetlana?”

  Luka glanced around the area. “There’s no sign of her, dead or otherwise.”

  “She went in the air duct.”

  Luka gazed at the opening in the wall. “Why would she do that?”

  “They thought the creature escaped from the room through the duct. Is she in there?”

  Luka climbed onto the bench and peered along the dark passage. “Svetlana, are you in there?” After no reply, he called out again with the same result.

  He jumped off the table and crossed to the intercom. “Negative, Svetlana is not in the vent.”

  “Well, she must be somewhere, search the level,” ordered Stanislav.

  Luka glanced at Alexei’s remains. “What about the creature that killed Alexei?”

  “Yes, find that, too, and bring it here.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” argued Luka.

  “I know, but do it anyway. That’s an order.”

  Sighing, Luka headed for the exit.

  Luka stepped from the room and anxiously turned his head at the sound of footsteps running towards him.

  “Run!” screamed Svetlana.

  Luka was about to ask what was wrong when an unearthly black creature appeared at the end of the corridor. Fear gripped him as he took in the creature’s monstrous details. Four powerful limbs tipped with three claws propelled the bounding monster nearer. A deep rumbling growl came from jaws spread impossibly wide to reveal a long, pointed tongue and teeth designed for chewing flesh. Antler-like spikes protruded from around its thick neck bulging with sinews, reached past its jaws and would be first to impale any victim it felled. Its eyes—small, evil and piercing—locked with his own terror-filled ones. A second warning from Svetlana who was drawing level with him snapped him from his terrified trance and prompted him into motion. He ran.

  “What is that thing, and where did it come from?” he shouted to Svetlana close on his heels.

  “A demon spawned from Hell!” was her reply.

  Luka though it was a fitting description. Praying the elevator was still on this floor, he stabbed the button. The doors slid open. Svetlana followed him inside. He pressed the up button. The beast rushed for the doors’ narrowing gap.

  EV1L leaped for the closing doors and struck just as they met. Its form spread out like treacle thrown from a bucket and flowed to the floor. Rising into a pillar of Black, it formed Svetlana’s effigy and stared at the doors while it contemplated its next move. Having expelled much-needed energy during the chase, it decided to return to the corpse it had abandoned to pursue the human female. After it had feasted, it would track down the rest of the humans. Svetlana’s mimicked face and the front of her body melted through to its back, and it retraced its steps along the corridor.

  TREMBLING FROM THE close encounter, Luka relaxed slightly when the elevator started moving, Luka turned to Svetlana. “What the hell just happened, and where did that thing come from?”

  Shaking from the fading adrenalin rush brought on by her harrowing experience, Svetlana briefly explained what had taken place. “The thing, that black blob that attacked Waldemar, has grown, transformed. We were searching for it in the animal room when it killed Alexei and chased me through the vent. I managed to reach Store Room 7, but it followed me out and then I ran into you.”

  Luka scratched his head vigorously, a sign he was anxious. “But how could it have changed so drastically from a small blob to...that beast?”

  “For the moment I can’t see that matters. We need to warn the others and come up with an alternative plan to capture or kill it.”

  “Killing it gets my vote.”

  When the elevator halted they stepped out onto Level 1 and headed for the primary workshop.

  CHAPTER 7

  The New Plan

  “What do you mean it’s changed?” uttered Stanislav in disbelief.

  After informing Vadim and Pechka about Alexei’s death, Luka had appraised Stanislav of the situation, and they had all crowded into the security office to work out what they should do about the creature.

  “I don’t know how to put it more clearly,” stated Luka, staring at the CCTV screens and lingering on the view from the camera in the animal room. Thankfully, Alexei’s corpse wasn’t in shot. “The creature that chased Svetlana, and later me, bore no resemblance to the small blob that attacked Waldemar. It’s bigger, faster and as vicious as a rabid wolf. Trust me, there’s no way you’ll be able to scoop it up into a bucket, though I’d like to see you try.”

  Stanislav glared at Luka before speaking to Svetlana. “Is this true?”

  Svetlana nodded. “Unfortunately. I don’t know how it does it, but it has the ability to change its form and mimic things—me, for instance. I tell you, it’s damn creepy looking at yourself replicated by that monster.”

  Stanislav shook his head. “I can’t understand how it has grown so rapidly. One minute it’s a relatively harmless blob, then it’s a ferocious murderous beast running amok on a killing spree.”

  “I imagine eating Luka’s animals had something to do with its growth rate,” offered Krisztina.

  “It also ate Alexei—well, part of him,” added Luka grimly. He found it hard to suppress the menta
l image of the poor man’s gruesome corpse.

  “From what you’ve described of its eating habits, it most likely absorbs its victims into its mass rather than eating and digesting them as an animal would,” said Pechka. “So perhaps the more it eats, the bigger it grows.”

  “And now it’s eaten all of Luka’s pets, we are the only food remaining on the menu,” stated Vadim ominously.

  “Which doesn’t bode well for our survival,” added Svetlana. “It can open doors. It followed me from the storeroom.”

  Luka sighed. “It just keeps getting better and better.”

  “Although it didn’t follow us up in the elevator, so maybe it hasn’t worked out how to use buttons.”

  “Yet?” added Luka. “But the way our luck’s going, it soon will. We should leave and call the army in to deal with it or blow up the facility with that nuclear bomb sitting below us.”

  “We’ll be doing no such thing,” stated Stanislav, glaring at Luka. “What we will do is capture this unique creature and then study it. We have all been presented with a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We will be the first scientists to examine an extraterrestrial species, and if we do it correctly, fame and fortune will follow.”

  “That might apply to you lot but not me. I’m basically a janitor and now my animals have been eaten, my job is done,” argued Luka. “I’m leaving, and I strongly advise the rest of you to leave with me. If Kommandant Stanislav wants to risk his life capturing the vicious alien, let him.”