Floxham Island ~ Sinclair V-Log AZ267/M

by Merita King

  “Oh no,” Luggs sighed.

  “Shit and fuck,” Dex hissed.

  We were in a small square reception area. Two doors led off to our right, another two on our left and ahead of us, a short corridor led to another door. Both doors on our right stood open and one of those to our left. The screech came again followed by another and we all knew what was coming. Out of the corner of my eye I saw shadows through one of the doors on our right.

  “To the right guys, they’re in there.” The nearest door on our right suddenly burst off its hinges and the creature struggled to get through the gap; its huge leathery wings getting in its own way and giving us valuable seconds. We opened fire and its head burst open, spraying blood over its companion who was also struggling to get through the narrow doorway. We kept firing and it dropped to the floor on top of its headless companion. A crash from the adjacent office caught our ears and we looked toward the open door. Another crash and a thump followed in quick succession and then it stepped into view.

  The humanoid must’ve been nearly eight feet tall and stood looking at us. Clearly a male, his long brown hair smelled strongly of unwashed armpits and sweaty crotches and I noticed his eyes were pale grey. His nostrils twitched as he sniffed the air, as if he was trying to figure out what we were. We were mesmerised into silence as we stood there, looking at him looking at us. I was about to speak when the smallest of shadows right behind him caught my attention. I shifted my gaze to his left and saw the large blocky head and gaping jaws of another fat bloated creature creeping out from over the pile of dead flying things. It must’ve smelled the hairy guy, as it turned towards him and growled menacingly. Without thinking I opened fire and blood gushed from an artery in its neck as it fell to the floor behind the hairy guy, who spun around in shock and looked at the creature lying dead at his feet.

  “Guys,” I whispered as calmly as I could. “Move away from the door so he can leave; I don’t feel comfortable shooting him.” My companions nodded and I heard Luggs grunt in agreement as we all shuffled out of the way, leaving a clear route to the main door. The hairy guy continued sniffing the air and kept looking towards the door; his eyes flitting from the door to us and back again. Once, when he looked right at me, I did something so instinctive and natural that it wasn’t until afterwards that I realised how significant it was. He looked right at me and I nodded towards the door and then smiled at him. It seemed so natural that I almost spoke to him but managed to stop myself just in time. He let out a snort and took a tentative step towards the door, his eyes on us all the time. We shuffled back as far as we could and the hairy guy snorted again, before stomping towards the door and out into the sun. We ran shut the door behind him and sighed heavily.

  “Come on,” I encouraged, “we have to check out the other offices before we can relax and we should get these carcasses outside too.” Twenty minutes later we sat in what we found to be a small kitchen and tried to calm ourselves. Talk was about the hairy guy and what a weird experience it was meeting him. Everyone agreed it made us very uncomfortable being near him. Not because he was dangerous because we all reckoned he wasn’t. It was his unsettling sameness to ourselves while still effectively being a wild animal that freaked us out so much.

  The fact that we were now enjoying a hot drink assured us that the lab did indeed have a working power supply as Dex confirmed when he discovered a solar generator in a small cubby hole. This was the first time I felt something had gone right for me and I sighed with relief and hoped that whatever happened during the next few hours, the solar cells on the roof of this building remain intact long enough for my DNA sample to be processed. Dragging myself to my feet, I got up and went into the main lab and examined the array of equipment and machinery within. Most of the stuff was unrecognisable to me but I’d watched samples being processed a few times so I knew what I was looking for and was confident I could work the machine. Thankfully I eventually found the sample processor at the far end of the room and switched it on and watched as lights flickered and a faint hum could be heard. Closing my eyes, I thought back to the last time I’d watched a sample being processed. It was a pretty straightforward procedure but I wanted to avoid any mistake so I went through it in my head a few times before I got out my mobile sampler and connected it to the docking plug on the top of the machine. A red light appeared on a panel at the front, which flickered a few times before turning to orange and eventually, to green. To say I was relieved would be putting it mildly and I sighed now that my device had been recognised and accepted by the machine and watched the digital screen as a display of my name, tag number and sample log numbers popped up. Then just a tap on the display screen to process the appropriate sample, wait for the beep and the whirring noise that would tell me the machine was working and I could relax. Once I was satisfied I went back to the kitchen and sat down with the guys.

  “Everything okay Sam?” Flark asked and I nodded.

  “Yeah. The sample is working up now. We just have to sit tight and wait for it to finish.”

  “How long will it take?” Luggs asked.

  “Several hours I’m afraid,” I shrugged. “It’ll be dark before it’s finished so we’d best resign ourselves to spending the night here.”

  “We’d better barricade ourselves in don’t you think?” Stitch remarked and Dex nodded.

  “Yeah, let’s get all the desks out of the offices and pile them up against the main door.” He stood but I raised a hand.

  “There’s loads of windows here though Dex,” I said, “and those things could easily break in via any of the offices here. How about we barricade the main door as you said, but then we do the same in the main lab. There’s no windows in there and there’s lots of desks, tables and heavy machinery we can make use of.”

  “Yeah, good idea,” Flark nodded. “We can take the nutri vend from here and anything we find in the cupboards too so our night can be relatively comfortable.”

  “It’s a shame the laser net isn’t working,” Hank sighed and scratched his chin.

  That’s one thing we all agreed on and I nodded. If that thing was working it would be a breeze surviving here for the next few days. “Hell yeah,” I agreed, “that would be wonderful. Once we killed everything we’d have no problems surviving here until the liner comes back.”

  “Well there’s no point wasting time wishing for something you can’t have,” Luggs remarked as he stood and headed towards the door. “Come on then, let’s get these desks moved.”

  “But that’s just it,” Hank continued. “It’s not impossible.” We all turned and looked at him questioningly. “I know I’m a prisoner here like all the other guys. I’m here because I stole money from the company I own, or rather the company I used to own.”

  “So?” Dex asked.

  “So before I came here,” he smiled. “Before I got found out that is, I had my own company that manufactured and installed security systems. Laser security systems to be exact.” We all looked at him open mouthed. Dex, Flark and I looked at one another in amazement.

  “You did?” Dex replied and Hank nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  “So do you reckon you could get this one working again?” I asked.

  “Well I don’t know,” he sighed. “You see, my company installed mainly small stuff. Y’know, residential and small companies. Nothing on this scale but the principle is the same. A laser is a laser. It’s just how you use it that’s different and the set up for a security system is basically the same whether you’re installing at a small house or huge company headquarters. It’s just the initial groundwork that’s difficult; the logistics of working out the grid patterns needed to cover the area you want covered. Once that’s been done it’s just a case of wiring up the power supply and switching on.”

  “The island uses power from the planet’s own magnetic field to power itself,” I remarked and Hank nodded.

  “Yeah I know and I wouldn’t have a clue how to set that up.”

  “Shit,�
�� Flark exclaimed.

  “But don’t you see?” Hank said. “All the initial workup has already been done when the island was built. The only thing that’s happened here is that it’s gone wrong somehow. Maybe the antenna has broken or a wire has come loose, whatever, but the thing is it should just be a repair job not a full installation.”

  “If the antenna has broken, how can we fix it?” Boy asked.

  “Well,” Hank replied. “The antenna itself is just a metallic tube about ten feet high. The important bit is the laser generator at its tip and the magnetic field receiver at its base. The mag receiver collects power from the planet’s magnetic field, as you already know. It sends that power up to the laser generator nipple that must be perfectly aligned with the receiver below in order for the power to flow around to the laser transmitters that will no doubt, encircle the entire island. If the tube itself is broken but the laser generator and mag receiver are intact, then we can just repair the tube or even stick a new post in the ground and re align the mag receiver with the generator nipple and it should automatically switch itself back on. In theory anyway.”

  “And how do we make sure it’s aligned perfectly?” Cap asked, his engineering brain already working on the same wavelength as Hank’s.

  “There should be a sensor on the mag receiver that fits over the mouth of the power outlet. Another one sits over the generator nipple and the two of them will only link up and connect when they can both see each other perfectly.”

  “So how do we do that?” Luggs asked, his voice now slightly higher in pitch that signalled his rising annoyance.

  “We look for the little blue lights,” Hank smiled.

  “Blue lights?” I remarked with a frown.

  “Yeah,” Hank nodded. “The sensors will light up blue when they’re properly aligned and the power should begin to flow automatically around the whole laser network and the net will be back up to full working power within seconds.”

  “So you mean we just jiggle them around until we see blue?” Carl asked and Hank nodded.

  “Well yeah.”

  “So what are we waiting for?” Bud grinned.

  “Wait guys, wait,” I said, holding up a hand as Luggs stood and headed towards the door. “Look outside.”

  “Huh?” Luggs remarked and I nodded towards the windows beside the main door.

  “Look,” I repeated. “It’s already late afternoon. It will be dark here within a couple of hours and I really don’t want to be outside there in the dark. We should wait until the morning and think about doing it then. We’ll have the whole day on our side and none of those flying things to worry about.”

  “Aww c’mon Sam,” Luggs grinned. “Don’t go all limp on me now buddy.”

  “He’s right,” Hank said and Luggs’s smile fell from his face. “It’s a job that can’t be done in a few minutes and remember this isn’t really my bag. Although I know the principle of it I’ve never actually done something like that on this scale under these conditions. Even if everything goes perfectly to plan it’ll take over an hour and then we have to get there, hope there’s some tools, do the job while fighting off creatures and then get back.”

  “And remember as it gets darker and darker, there will be more and more creatures and they’ll get bolder and bolder,” Boy added.

  “And there may be creatures we haven’t met yet,” Grelly remarked. “Worse ones.”

  Between the twelve of us we hefted all the desks we could find from the offices and piled them against the main door. By chance I found a couple of brooms in a cupboard and propped them under the handle and Luggs burst out laughing.

  “Well Sam,” he guffawed. “Thank god you found those brooms. For a minute there I thought we were mincemeat.” The little reception area was filled with the sound of twelve men laughing their heads off and I had to admit, it was funny.

  “You can laugh guys,” I tutted at them with a grin, “but if these things prevent those things from getting inside here, you’re gonna be awfully red faced in the morning.”

  “Yeah okay,” Luggs replied between guffaws. “Come on then guys, let’s get into the lab and secure the place huh?”

  Baz and Hank shifted the nutri vend into the main lab while the rest of us began shifting tables and desks and everything heavy we could find. Grelly came running in with a bin liner full of snacks he’d discovered in one of the cupboards and an empty 5 gallon can that once contained something blue.

  “What’s the can for?” I asked.

  “We’re in here all night Sam,” he grinned. “Maybe you can wait till the morning to take a piss but I sure as hell can’t.”

  “Oh sure,” I grinned. “Yeah, of course.”

  “Hey guys,” Carl called out. “If anyone needs to take a shit, can you go do it now?” The lab was again filled with the sound of twelve guys laughing their heads off.

  We spent a relatively quiet evening barricaded inside the lab. We passed the time by exchanging life stories and the guys got me to tell them of some of my more memorable adventures chasing the various criminals and crazies I deal with. The guys told jokes and we laughed till our sides ached and for the first time in ages I felt like one of the guys. It then occurred to me just how long it had been since I’d been able to just chill with some guys and have a laugh and I felt sad that it took such an awful situation to make it happen again. We agreed on a three hour watch rotation and half of us settled down to sleep on the cold floor of the lab. In my dreams I woke up and found myself alone except for hundreds of hairy humanoids all accusing me of wasting all those years of evolution and telling me how ashamed they were of what I’d done with my evolutionary advancement and when Flark shook me awake for my turn on watch, I felt worse than when I’d gone to sleep. I must’ve looked it too.

  “You okay Sam?” he asked with a frown. “You don’t look well buddy.”

  “Huh?” I yawned and rubbed my hands through my hair. “Oh yeah I’m fine thanks. Just a nightmare I guess. Anything exciting happen?”

  “Nope,” he said and shook his head. “Just a few growls and screeches in the distance and a couple of times we heard something thudding on the main door but I don’t think they’ve broken through, yet. Must be those brooms of yours.”

  “Okay,” I grinned as I got up and headed to the nutri vend for a hot drink. Several times during our three hour watch, we heard haunting howls from somewhere outside that creeped us all out and a couple of times we heard thumping from the main door. The last time we heard the thumping, it was followed shortly by what could only be the clatter of wood on a stone floor. Luggs burst out laughing so hard he spilled his drink and soon we were all in tears of laughter. Just as the end of our three hour watch was drawing close, we all heard the unmistakeable cry of something huge right outside the main door. The cry was accompanied by several loud thumps on the door and although I couldn’t explain it, something about it made me stand up and head for the door of the lab.

  “What the fuck is that?” Luggs said as the cry and the accompanying thumps came again.

  “It sounds like something huge,” Grelly added.

  “I know this is gonna sound weird guys,” I said, “but something about it makes me want to go and take a look.”

  “What?” cried Boy. “You’re crazy.”

  “Maybe,” I replied as the cry came again, “but it sounds like someone in pain don’t you think? I wanna go take a look anyway, humour me huh? Now help me move all this junk will ya?” We managed to make enough room for me to squeeze through into the reception area and I crept towards the main door. Suddenly the door was thumped violently and the remaining broom fell to the floor but this time I didn’t laugh. The cry came again and I was certain it sounded like someone in pain. There was just something desperate about it that got to me. Gingerly I peered through the glass at one side of the door and gasped in shock at the scene that greeted me. Outside the door was a huge male hairy guy thumping for all he was worth on the door. Beside him, on the ground l
ay a screaming and obviously heavily pregnant female. Movement caught my eye and I looked into the gloom behind them to see three hunchbacks lumbering towards them. My mind snapped into action and I didn’t wait to debate with myself as to whether I was crazy or not, I just went into auto mode.

  “Guys,” I screamed. “Guys, get out here quickly and help me please. Guys, guys?” The six of us hastily moved the barricade enough for me to open the door and I reached for the handle.

  Luggs put a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure Sam?” he asked. His hesitation was understandable but I hesitated for no more than a second before yanking the door open and stood looking up at the hairy guy. Our eyes met and for a moment, time stood still. After just seconds the spell was broken and I beckoned to him to come in and stood back as he lifted the female to her feet and stomped into the building with us. We rearranged the barricade and I replaced the brooms before turning around and sighing. This was the first time I wondered what the fuck I’d done but it was too late now, they were in there with us and we had to hope my hunch was correct.

  “Come on guys,” I said as I led the way, “let’s get back into the lab huh?” We moved towards the lab and I continued to beckon to the hairy guy. He looked at the lab door, then back to me, then down at his female who gave another loud cry, before lifting her up and following us. The commotion woke the sleeping guys, who all nearly fainted when they saw the hairy guy lumbering in behind us.

  “It’s okay guys, relax,” I said, trying to sound confident. “He won’t hurt us. His female is in labour, at least I think she is. Does anyone know how to deliver a baby?”

  “I don’t believe this is happening,” Dex said rubbing a hand over his face and sitting on the floor.