by Dean M. Cole
Scanning the rest of the cavernous room, Jake looked right. Standing like giant macabre Academy Award Oscars, a backlit headless Argonian statue adorned each side of the cathedral's main entrance. Cracked across the top of its bound knees, the left human form had tipped across the top corner of the opening, its truncated neck precariously balanced against a glowing sconce centered over the entranceway.
They would've been twenty-five feet in height had their heads still been attached.
Victor looked back and forth between the Zox and human sculptures. "If they're to scale, these bastards must be at least eight feet tall," he whispered.
"I'm sure shotguns will kill'em just as dead," Jake said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
Casting nervous glances at the pistols in their hands, Richard and Vic returned them to their hips and drew the shotguns. All three officers cringed as a sound similar to peeling velcro echoed across the silent room.
When nothing happened, Jake pointed toward the back of the cathedral. "Let's keep moving." Turning to Richard, he pointed two fingers at his own eyes and then through the opening, giving the signal to advance and cover.
Richard nodded and squat-ran down the side to the back wall. Creeping toward the opening, he scanned the area beyond. Reaching the right side of the entrance, he took up a defensive position and nodded, giving the all-clear signal.
Jake waved Vic forward.
Lieutenant Croft nodded, took a deep breath, and scrambled along the side to the back wall. Scurrying left, he stopped next to Captain Allison.
After a quick check of their rear and another glance at the horrible icon behind the altar, Jake ran to the third row from the back. Using the benches for cover, he scooted toward the center, stopping just shy of the aisle. Shotgun at the ready and his back to the altar, he sat propped against the smooth stone face of a fallen bench.
His suit glistened with condensed moisture. The stone bench seats, as well as the walls and floors, were soaking wet. An unending staccato of drips echoed through the room.
Aiming the shotgun toward the opening, he leaned into the aisle, scanning the entrance and beyond. About twelve-foot-tall by nine-foot-wide, the entryway afforded a broad view of the area beyond. Across a twelve-foot gap, an apparent hallway's damp rock wall extended left and right out of sight.
Peering over the benches, he gave the all-clear and signaled for Richard to advance.
Richard nodded, signaling for Victor to cover him.
Vic nodded.
Richard darted across the opening, coming to a stop with his back against the left side with his shotgun aimed down the hallway to the right. His scan faltered as he lowered the weapon an inch, studying something on the floor beyond Jake's line of sight.
After a moment, he raised the weapon and finished the scan. A cutting motion across his throat and a quick point indicated the presence of a dead enemy body in the hallway.
Jake and Vic nodded.
Placing a finger over his lips, Jake signaled for Vic to move into the hall.
After a reluctant nod and a deep breath, he stepped through the opening and took position on the other side of the wall. Shotgun aimed, he scanned down the passage to the left, making the same double take as Richard. He turned and gave the hand signals for another dead alien.
Jake advanced to Richard's side, gravel crunching lightly underfoot.
Richard pointed through the opening and whispered, "Dead bogey."
Jake nodded, motioning for the two of them to stand-fast. He peered out, scanning left and right, then darted across the hallway, pinning his back to the wall, weapon at the ready.
Two bloodied corpses bracketed the cathedral's opening. Judging by their placement and ornate robes, Jake guessed they were ceremonial guards. The extent of their injuries was incredible. Their bodies had been pulverized.
"Green Blood," Vic whispered.
Both bodies lay in pools of it. Additional green splatters on the walls and ceilings marked the impact points where the guards had met their demise.
"Hopefully, the rest of the crew is in the same condition," Vic whispered.
A distant guttural roar echoed from an opening to Jake's right.
They froze.
The roar continued for a few seconds, rising and falling in pitch, but sounding no closer. The distant sound emanated from a point along the wall a few feet to Jake's right.
Lieutenant Croft looked ready to bolt.
Jake extended his hand in a bouncing settle-down gesture. "It's not coming," he whispered.
He counted their blessings. From the outset, he hadn't believed they'd make it this far or long without a firefight. He still felt they'd be lucky to survive the day. However, he also knew that perhaps no battle in Earth's history carried the import of their actions today. Failure was not an option.
After a few calming breaths, Victor seemed to settle down.
They were in a long passageway. Its slimy stone walls floor and ceiling looked more like a cave than a hall.
Inching along the wet wall toward the source of the sound, Jake came to a familiar structure. The distant screeching roar erupted again. Drifting through the ajar and crooked oversized elevator doors, the sound morphed into an impossibly deep voice ranting in an unrecognizable language.
An intermittent ceiling light flickered inside the elevator car stuck in the bottom half of the opening.
Jake realized the shaft must lead to the bridge. I hope there's some type of ladder.
With a signal from Jake, Richard took position on the other side of the opening.
Jake moved across the hall. Bracing against the far wall, he dropped to a knee and aimed his shotgun up the shaft. Vic moved to cover the elevator's right side.
Jake gestured to Richard, pointing to the watch on his wrist.
Richard held up ten fingers.
Ten minutes! Damn, this had better work.
Jake stepped to Vic, motioning for Richard to join him. Grabbing both of their arms he pulled them close. "This should lead us directly to the bridge, but it'll also make a perfect sound conduit. Be very quiet, not a peep if we want to live through this."
They nodded.
Richard stepped to the opening.
Jake held Vic's arm a moment longer, studying his eyes. The lieutenant appeared to be managing his fear. Leaning closer, Jake spoke in his left ear. "That night, before we encountered the UFO, I told you your training would kick in. You're doing a great job. I'm proud of you, Lieutenant."
Looking uncomfortable under Jake's appraising stare, he mouthed, Thanks.
Jake turned and gave Richard the go-sign.
Richard began to climb through and then slid out of site, quicker and more graceful than Jake would have guessed possible, considering his old knee injury. While Jake continued to cover the cave-like passageway. Vic haltingly followed him through and then disappeared with the same speed and finesse Richard had displayed.
Jake slid through the opening. The farther he progressed, the lighter he got. Once fully in, he floated weightlessly next to his comrades. The shaft had no gravity. Belatedly, Jake realized it made perfect sense. If you were generating artificial gravity, you wouldn't create it inside a shaft where you'd have to expend energy to counter it.
Like three kids floating in a pool, they each held onto a stone ledge. Jake looked up the long vertical shaft—though, in the no-up-reference of zero-G, it looked more like a tunnel than a shaft. At the far end, a slim bar of light from an unseen source cut through the damp hazy air.
Jake pointed in that direction, placing an extended left index finger against his lips to reemphasize the importance of silence.
Both men nodded.
Shotgun at the ready, Richard pushed off the support, starting a cautious, steady drift toward the far end of the shaft.
Vic followed him.
Jake made a quick check of their rear, still amazed and thankful they hadn't encountered any resistance.
He watched Vic,
knowing his younger wingman's adrenaline had to be maxed-out. Hell, Jake's ears still rang with all the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He hadn't felt this much of it since his first combat sortie.
He pushed off the support beam, starting his own drift toward the far end of the shaft. Above him, Richard had already covered half the distance.
Grabbing one wet structural member after another, Captain Allison slowed his ascension. Jake and Vic did the same, silently decelerating.
The source of the light drifted into view. To his relief, the shaft's upper elevator doors were jarred half open. Without the need for hand signals, Richard and Victor took up their positions, the captain below and left, the lieutenant below and right of the opening.
Richard drifted up, moving his head slowly into position to scan his field of fire.
Jake saw the thin shaft of light illuminate his right eye.
Richard froze with a shudder, horror evident in his face. He slowly pulled back out of the light and gave them a signal.
There was one live bandit in his field of fire.
Nodding, Jake turned to Victor and gave him a thumbs-up.
After a brief hesitation, he nodded. Eyes closed, he took a calming breath. Opening them, he slowly drifted up and slid his head into position. His left eye passed into the beam of light. Scanning left and right, he paused twice. Sliding back out of the light, Vic gave them the hand signals for two dead bogeys.
Giving the stand-fast signal, Jake drifted up, his entire head passing into the shaft of light. He felt totally exposed. The room beyond appeared to be the bridge. Multiple control panels lined its walls. Other stations were dispersed across its floor. Some flickered with energy, but most were dead. A large display covered the left side of the far wall. A computer-rendered targeting reticle locked on a drifting Argonian fighter. Alien digital characters scrolled next to the image.
Looks like a countdown.
Off to one side, at least two bodies laid in a tangled mess, so mangled, all points of reference were lost. He couldn't tell where one ended and the other started. At the center of the bridge, gore trailed from the neck of a disembodied Zox head.
Scanning farther right, he discovered the source of Richard's horror. Across the room, a massive Zoxyth stood with its back to them. Lieutenant Croft had been correct, the beast was at least eight feet tall. Green blood covered its dark scales. Jake hoped the monster had lost a lot of it. Resuming its ranting diatribe while pounding on an apparent control panel, it roared and spoke with an impossibly deep voice. Jake could feel its sub-aural frequency vibrating his insides.
Some movement to the beast's left drew a fresh roar. A mixture of a growl and screech, the howl devolved into a gurgling cough.
Jake shifted to see what had drawn its ire. Displayed on the bridge's large screen, he saw Vampire Squadron make another pass.
Thank god they're still keeping it occupied.
Jake and his wingmen needed to get closer. Forty-feet was too far for a shotgun engagement, and he thought pistols would just piss it off.
The monstrous alien went into a fit of rage, renewing its pounding. Then it froze.
Fearing the Zoxyth had sensed their presence, Jake held his breath.
The beast slowly turned left toward him and the open elevator doors. However, his gaze dropped to the floor. Silently, the monster stared at the disembodied head.
Beating again, Jake's heart pounded so hard he worried the demon would hear it.
As its scaled chest heaved, the monster's rattling breath echoed through the sudden silence. Razor-sharp lips peeled back from huge, dripping fangs. Angled back like horns, his long swept-back pointed ears twitched.
Jake couldn't look away from its eyes. They held an insane rage. A madness the cathedral's sculpture hadn't conveyed.
Erupting into a fresh rant, the monster screamed at the head and stormed toward their elevator.
Jake's blood turned to ice.
However, reaching the head, the Zoxyth stopped and scooped it up. Turning away, he raised it and glared into its unseeing eyes. After a moment, he roared again and started shouting into its dead face.
With the beast's renewed din echoing off the bridge's walls, Jake decided it was time to make their move. Knowing they had none to waste, he pushed back from the opening. Drifting rearward, he pointed to himself, held up one finger, and mouthed, I'm going. Pointing to Richard, he held up two fingers: Second. To Vic he held up three fingers: Third. His back reached the far wall of the shaft.
Without waiting for their acknowledgment, he pushed off, lunging through the center of the opening, timing his entry into the gravity field so he landed on his feet.
Slamming his massive fist on the control panel, the beast continued its tirade. Turning the severed head to face the display screen, they both watched as another empty Argonian space fighter exploded under the Zox's laser assault. Turning the face back to his, the beast renewed his rant, as if taunting the lifeless head.
Shotgun trained on the monster, Jake took cover behind a stony control panel a few feet from the elevator. He motioned for Captain Allison.
Richard drifted through the opening, landing feet-first just inside the bridge. The alien's unending diatribe masked any noise Captain Allison generated. Quickly crossing the open space, he took up position on the other side of the console from Jake.
Looking to Vic, he gave the all-clear and turned to watch the Zox. At first, nothing happened, Vic just sat there. Then, in his peripheral vision, Jake saw him climb through the opening to crouch just inside the bridge.
Knowing Vic was exposed, Jake waved for him to cross the open area and take cover behind him.
Lieutenant Croft nodded and stepped into the no-man's-land between the elevator and the console.
The brute chose that horrible moment to finish his rant.
In the sudden silence, Vic froze, stopping dead in his tracks.
The beast still had its back to them.
Jake waved for Vic to continue.
Lieutenant Croft didn't see him. As if in slow motion, he was turning to look at the Zox.
Jake waved frantically.
Vic gasped.
It hadn't been much, but to Jake's horror, it was enough.
The monstrous Zox's head snapped around, green blood flying from its scaly face. For a surreal frozen moment, both the beast and the severed head seemed to glare at Lieutenant Croft.
At the sight of an intruder on his bridge, the Zoxyth unleashed a monstrous howling screech.
Maddeningly, Vic stood frozen like a deer caught in the headlights, the shotgun hanging limply in his hands.
The beast charged, closing the forty-foot gap with impossible speed.
Jake and Richard popped up, their roaring shotguns adding to the cacophony, both hitting center of mass.
Barely slowed and otherwise unfazed by the twin shotgun blasts, the Zoxyth turned, redirecting his considerable might and insane rage toward the two nearer targets.
Holy shit he's fast! Jake chambered another round as the beast closed on Richard, who had just re-cocked his weapon.
The monster batted away Captain Allison's shotgun with a roar, raising a scaly arm to strike.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Alone in the shaft, Victor watched Captain Allison scramble into position. His heart raced. It pounded in his ears, even eclipsing his raspy hyperventilating breaths.
As Richard kneeled opposite him, Captain Giard signaled for Victor to advance.
He hesitated. Never missing an opportunity to berate her disappointment of a son, his mother chided him. Move, pussy! You're pathetic.
"Shut up, Mother."
Undeterred, she persisted. I can't believe I wasted nine months and gave up my good body to birth you. Just sit there, then.
"Shut up!" he growled. Not as surefooted as the captains, he climbed through the opening. Finally on the bridge floor, he stood shakily. Captain Giard waved for him to cross.
Suddenly, the monst
er fell silent.
Victor froze. Slowly, he turned toward the beast. Seeing it for the first time, he gasped.
The demon and the head in its hand turned toward him.
Paralyzed with fear, Vic couldn't even raise his shotgun.
That's my boy, his dead mother sardonically chided.
Seeing him, the monster roared. With explosive speed, he dropped the head and rocketed straight at Victor.
Captains Allison and Giard jumped up, both firing their weapons. Hit by both shots, the beast changed course, his re-energized roar eclipsing the twin shotgun blasts.
Of course! Just stand there, panty-waste.
Victor couldn't take it anymore. Raising the shotgun, he shouted, "Shut up, bitch! You're dead!"
***
As it closed on Richard, the beast extended its sickle-shaped forearm appendage. Knowing it wouldn't be enough, Jake raised his weapon. Suddenly, Victor screamed, "Shut up, bitch! You're dead!" Charging the monster, Victor fired his shotgun into the Zox. "Get the fuck away from him!" Pumping his shotgun, he fired again. Jake tried to fire, but Vic stepped in his path.
Struck right of center, the beast spun away from Richard. Jake saw fresh green blood erupt from where Victor's second shot had hit him.
The monster turned its ire back on Vic. As the lieutenant pumped a third round into the chamber, the Zoxyth warrior used the centrifugal inertia imparted by the shotgun strike to accelerate the swing of his right arm. It zipped past Victor's neck with blinding speed.
Blasting rock from a control panel, Lieutenant Croft's weapon fired wide. Victor froze, red mist exploding from his neck. The shotgun clattered to the floor. A confused look took over his face, and then his eyes glazed over. A moment later, his head rolled from his shoulders and fell to the floor. His lifeless decapitated body stood for a second, then collapsed.
Screaming with shocked rage and horror, Jake fired point-blank into the Zox's chest. The impact spun the beast halfway around but didn't knock him down.
