He exited the hold, wanting nothing more than to beat the truth out of Tufty. The elevator was still soiled with Ming’s blood, Bronson felt himself on the verge of something much more than breaking noses and snapping fingers…he wanted to leave the old man in the same state he found Dozer.
***
Sheila returned to the footage of Dozer as he entered the cargo hold, knowing it would be the last recording of him alive. She stood from her seat and lifted her fingertip, hovering it above the image to touch him one more time.
“You promised you’d come back in one piece.” She said sitting back in the control board seat.
The recording continued, nothing but a still, black hallway for a stretch of time. She tried to imagine his killer, it had to be a large man, Dozer was a giant himself. Sheila was shocked when the door slowly pushed outward, long pale fingers guiding it open. What exited was something of nightmares. It had a humanoid, female body but its head was that of a creature, a long bony appendage protruded from its hind end. Sheila panicked, remembering Gonzalez worrying about mutants and alien life forms. She watched the creature as it stalked away down the long dark hallway. Time passed with no sign of the thing until Ming came hauling the cart of the dead, in the momentary illumination of the freezer light coming on she could see the shine of predatory eyes at the black end of the corridor, the young man never saw them. She didn’t want to see Ming’s attack, yet she couldn’t look away. He tried to run but the monster leapt onto his back, sinking its teeth into him. He was turned over and what followed caused her to turn her head away, vomit rose in her throat at the picture of the creature retching into Ming’s mouth, breaking his jaw with a swift, violent motion. A second figure came from the cargo hold, a flash of white hair as the man cried out, challenging the abomination. It fled with the stranger in pursuit as Ming managed to crawl into the elevator. She was terrified, her heart stuttered as she strained to see what followed…her skin rose into gooseflesh as she watched the thing tear a hole into the ventilation grate and disappear. Sheila thought she was secure behind the locked door of the control room but knowing that it was loose within the inner workings of The Maiden left her stunned with utter horror. She rose shakily, her eyes scanning her surroundings through tears that began to well up in them. The Maiden usually made sounds, as all ships do, especially the older models, each clank and creak sent Lewis jumping. She contemplated running to where she knew Gonzalez would be but she knew she had to pull up the real time view to relay to Bronson what was going on inside The Maiden. She sat behind the controls and pressed the intercom button, ready to hail her captain and tell everyone aboard that something more than stowaways were among them…something more than human. A smell invaded her nostrils it smelled strongly of iron…of blood and the faint aroma of ash.
***
Bronson opened the door and Tufty was against the wall, babbling to himself incoherently.
“I heard you screaming someone was starving. WHO?” the captain asked.
Tufty looked up at him and began to laugh. “You’ll see soon enough. You’ll meet her.”
“WHO IS SHE?” Bronson raged. “TELL ME!”
“She’s the mother of a black age.” Tufty answered and for a moment Bronson could see fear rising through the madness. The caution a thrall would exude when speaking of their master. “Selene.”
Bronson crossed the small room in two powerful strides to boot the lunatic in the gut.
“Don’t speak to me in riddles!” He raged, kicking Tufty in the side of the head, causing his gouged eye to weep blood.
“She’s ancient, we brought her back from the tomb.” Tufty gasped holding his stomach.
“She’s feeding her children. They will devour you all, and all of Cielo.”
The captain couldn’t take listening to the old man any longer, he needed to stop the jump of The Maiden…whatever evil was unleashed, he wasn’t carrying it back to the colonies, even if it killed him.
He left Tufty locked behind the steel door as he passed the second solitary room he halted. He hated the stowaway, Peter, but the man didn’t deserve to be imprisoned, awaiting to be eaten by something strong enough to rip Dozer to pieces. Bronson unlocked the door and peered inside, his stomach sank. The tick was laying on his back, his abdomen torn open.
“GODDAMNIT!!” Bronson cursed.
He stepped inside, watching the man as he writhed…his insides on the outside. Peter looked right at the captain, his mouth hanging open but he didn’t speak a word. Bronson investigated the room, a hole was knocked through the ceiling, she was crawling her way through the heart of the ship. He jumped back into the hallway as a small deformed head popped out of the gaping wound in Peter’s stomach, it was covered in thick blood…it had a muzzled with rows of sharp teeth and it was obviously ravenous. A second creature crawled out of the cavity of the dying man’s abdomen. Bronson slammed the door shut behind him as they leapt at him, their claws scraped the steel but could not penetrate it.
“They must die.” a hoarse voice spoke.
The captain turned to see a white haired ancient man, dressed like someone from centuries before. He pulled the door open and the creatures came for him, he swung a short sword, hacked one of them in half, leaving its two halves writhing and squealing. He paid no attention to it as the second gnashed its teeth into his leg. He grunted and forced his blade into its back, it shook its head back and forth refusing to release him until he tore it free with his free hand, tossed it out before him and swung his sword, severing its head from its body. He wiped his sword clean on the long, tattered tunic he wore embroidered with the sign of a cross wrapped in thorny stems. Bronson watched the stranger’s hair change from white to pale blond, his face shimmered as his wrinkles began to diminish. When he turned back to the Captain of The Maiden he was obviously younger.
“Who are you?” Bronson drawing his electro pistol.
“Sir Tristan Thorne. The oath bearer.” The ancient one answered raising a short sword before him. “It is my duty to destroy the fire woman from the sky.”
“Can you kill it?” The captain asked.
“I may be the only one who can.” The hunter answered.
The blare of the intercom caused the strange man to spin, swinging his sword at the unseen enemy as Sheila’s voice screamed over the entire ship.
“She’s coming! Help me!”
Bronson scrambled down the hallway with the stranger in tow, desperately trying to reach Sheila in time, a boom from the top deck sent him flying up the emergency stairwell.
***
Gonzalez stood beside of Dr. Cambridge holding a towel beneath Ming’s mouth as he dribbled drool and blood. The doctor managed to bandage it with a long strip of cloth that he wrapped under the dangling jaw and up to tie it on top of his head. He was administered an injection to take the edge off of Ming’s pain and three dangling teeth were removed and kept in a storage vial. Doctor Cambridge snapped a cold pack in half and it activated, he placed it at the side of Ming’s face and secured it with a second bandage that followed the same path as the first around the young man’s head. It was all he could do until the jumped back into the black and beyond to Cielo.
“I hope that eases his pain.” Cambridge spoke.
“He seems a little calmer.” Gonzalez said.
“Get better or the Cap will throw you in the shit fridge.” She whispered to her injured friend.
“I don’t know how this could happen. Do you think another stowaway did it?” he asked.
“Something in my gut says no.” Ayana confessed. “Since we landed here I could feel something, like a fist tightening around us, something evil. I think we have more than stowaways aboard The Maiden.”
Cambridge grew silent. Ayana looked to him. “You think I’m crazy, right?”
“Not at all.” He answered.
“What was it that you brought back on this ship?’ she asked.
“A statue from very ancient earth, along with some artifacts from
her makeshift altar or tomb.” He answered.
“Something evil?” Gonzalez asked.
“In her time she was considered so, yes.”
“How so?”
“Those that made the altar proclaimed that she fell from the sky in a ball of fire. That she had the powers of darkness.” He answered.
“Like a demon…or an alien lifeform?” Gonzalez asked then answered her own question before he could confirm her suspicions. “Many believe that in those ancient times, those primitive people, thought that travelers from other planets were gods or sometimes worse.”
“You are well read but we can’t confirm that since demons don’t exist and, though the colonies have searched, we have never found any other life forms other than humans.”
“So far…” she said. “Maybe that time is now.”
Lulu darted from the closet and ran from the room, Ayana stared as the hairless rat hybrid scurried quickly down the hallway. It was terrified and following its instincts to live, it made her shutter to watch it leave behind its adoring master, Ming, as if it knew he was already dead.
Ming began to convulse, his chest thrust upwards. Blood ran from his damaged mouth.
“My goodness!” Cambridge said trying to gently restrain the injured mechanic.
Ayana pushed Ming back down as he shot out of the old doctor’s hands. “Try to calm down, Ming!” she said in a panic.
Her hands could feel movement beneath his uniform shirt and fresh blood began to blossom beneath the other stains. She yanked the shirt open, popping the buttons from their threads to see a fist-sized face, deformed and predatory. It snapped its jaws at her as it tore its way free from Ming’s chest. Ayana jumped back, dragging the doctor back. She pulled her electro pistol and pulled the trigger. A flash of hot electricity flew from its barrel like contained lightning. The creature recoiled as the shot went wide, missing it. Cambridge was already heading out the door, leaving the bravery to Gonzalez and her weapon that would expend most of its energy only three times to produce a deadly charge…it was used mostly to stun and opponent. The creatures moved quickly, both crawling out of Ming and fixing their sites on the fresh meat before them. Gonzalez retreated, slamming the bunk door behind her. High pitched shrieks of defeat echoed down the hallway behind her.
“RUN!” She screamed.
Cambridge wasn’t going fast enough in the tight corridor and she slammed into his back, pushing him before her in desperation.
“MOVE IT!”
They stumbled out into the hallway, Gonzalez nearly tumbling over the doctor. They hesitated for a moment, confused as to where to go. The sound of Sheila’s frantic message ringing out over the intercom startled them.
“The control room!” Ayana said. “Let’s go!”
A sudden boom, like thunder, echoed through the ship. Gonzalez knew its significance; war had broken loose.
***
The door of the control laid across the hall, smoke hung thick in the air.
“She got out the big guns!” Bronson smiled triumphantly.
Thorne looked to the devastation around him as they entered a room with small seats around a table lined with glowing buttons. He marveled at it, wondering how long he had been dormant.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Aboard an interstellar ship, The Maiden.” Bronson answered.
“We are on a ship?”
“One that navigates the shy between the sun and stars…and farther.” Bronson said.
Thorne looked to him in amazement.
“Lewis?” Captain Bronson called.
“Over here!” she answered.
She came sneaking out of a closet in the corner of the room, the ordinance room. She gripped a bulky rifle, one strong enough to blow a man in half. Bronson kept them locked away for emergencies, his second in command was the only other person granted a key.
Her eyes fell on Thorne, she recognized him vaguely.
“He’s here to help us kill that bitch.” Bronson said motioning his head towards the stranger from another time.
She nodded, “I would like to see that.”
“Ready a few more of those. We’re going hunting!” The Captain ordered, pointing to her weapon.
“Yes, sir!” She answered.
Sheila was shaken but the hatred inside of her for the one responsible for making Dozer never come back was bordering on absolute insanity. Sheila stepped back into the miniature armory and began preparing to reap her vengeance.
“What should I give him?” Lewis asked of the weaponry the ancient one required.
“Only my sword.” He answered before Bronson could speak.
Bronson made his way to the controls and ended the countdown for launch, with only twelve minutes to go.
“We aren’t leaving until that thing is nothing but a pile of ashes.”
***
“Tell us what we’re dealing with here.” Bronson asked Thorne.
“She’s a demon of great power, she descended from the heavens in a ship of fire. She changes each time she feeds and gives birth.”
“Did you see her, Lewis?” Bronson asked.
“You mean it?” She asked as she loaded her rifle with more rounds.
“It had the head of a wolf, her body was vaguely human but covered in thick, black fur.”
“Did she have a tail?” Thorne asked.
“No.” Sheila answered. “I saw her on the recordings, when she attacked Ming. She’s different, stronger, more beast than woman.”
“She will become the creature completely after all of her children are walking free then she will be almost unstoppable.” The ancient warrior spoke.
“How long do we have until then?” Bronson asked.
“Just one, possibly two more feedings, the children she will unleash from that will be the size of wolf pups, deadly they are, she will achieve her true form then.”
“How did you manage to put her to sleep so long ago?” the captain asked.
“I cut out her heart and she turned to stone. I sealed her in the mountain temple and stood guard, bleeding out completely from my wounds sustained in the battle… we both slumbered. My oath was broken when your men opened her tomb and one of them touched her. His heartbeat drew back; her heartbeat did the same for me.” Thorne answered.
“Your blade, does it give you immortality?” Bronson asked.
“I swore to eliminate her and her kind. I drank from the chalice of life…I cannot die until I fulfill that promise.”
“You said she came from the sky in a ship of fire…that explains the long dormancy.” Bronson said.
“How so?’ Sheila asked.
“She was waiting for someone with the technology to take her back…into the black. Your oath continued because she wasn’t dead, she was waiting” He answered.
Thorne nodded in understanding.
“She’s an alien being?” She asked.
“Yes.” He said gravely. “Our boys in the fleet ships are searching for extraterrestrials and all along we had one sleeping right here.”
***
Ayana halted when she no longer heard footsteps behind her. She turned back to see that Dr. Cambridge was nowhere to be seen. She jogged back down the hallway, searching for him. She caught the silhouette of him as ran back to the guest quarters. Ayana knew then that he was going to hide, she wanted to chase after him, to call him a coward for abandoning her to go rescue Lewis all by herself but instead she turned back around and ran with all that she had in her towards the stairs to the control room. She kept repeating to herself that Sheila told her to get tough, she couldn’t let her commander and friend down. She was frightened out of her mind but she knew that Lewis would have done the same for her. She made it to the top deck to see the hunting part embarking.
“Wait!” she cried breathlessly.
“Gonzalez!” Bronson said, relief flooded him.
In his mind all he could think was that he refused to lose any more of his crew. His sorrow alr
eady tormented him and the ordeal wasn’t even over.
“Arm her!” he ordered Lewis.
“Yes, sir!” she answered smiling through tears.
“Where’s Cambridge?”
“He ran away.” Gonzalez answered.
“Coward.” The captain spat.
“That makes two places she can feed.” Bronson spoke his thoughts out loud.
“Three, if you count the corpses down in the freezer.” Sheila corrected.
“Gonzalez, you and Thorne go check up on the doctor. Sheila, we’re going to the bottom deck.” He said after a moment of thought.
“Aim for her heart.” Thorne advised.
“You got it.” Bronson answered. “Right after I blast the bitch into a thousand pieces.”
***
Cambridge slid himself under his bed, the shame of his cowardice faded with the concern for his own life. It felt suffocating as he remained motionless, praying to every deity he had ever studied in any ancient text to save him from the flesh eating creatures loosed upon the ship. The darkness was stifling, every time he exhaled he worried something was there, smelling the terror that saturated his every pore and hung before his face in a cloud of sickly halitosis. The mattress creaked and he held his breath, he felt it press down on top of him beneath the weight of something heavy. He nearly cried out as a voice spoke to him, feminine and foreign. He felt his terror ebb as she made promises to him in a mixture of dead tongues, he understood not a word but it resonated in his heart. An agreement, payable in blood. A contract promising his life in return for his fealty…he accepted and crawled out from his hiding place to pay tribute to his new master…and to follow her demand of being taken into the black expanses beyond the poisoned planet.
Galactic - Ten Book Space Opera Sci-Fi Boxset Page 153
