Absolute Zero

by Phillip Tomasso

  He felt cold beads of sweat roll down his back and pool behind his knees. He had his right arm extended. The sidearm in his grip, his left hand under his right hand for balance and sustained support.

  The green laser was locked on the back of the head of the closest creature. The closer he was to it, the more deadly the shot. He wanted to press the shirt barrel into its flesh and then pull the trigger. Even armored plates, like the ones that seemed to scale the creature’s body, would be hard-pressed resisting such an up and close bolt.

  The second creature was smaller than the first. Although both lay coiled, it was easy enough to see there was a considerably shorter difference in girth and length. Taking out the bigger of the two made the most sense.

  Stanton re-gripped the butt of his sidearm. He felt the sweat on his palms. Although he’d spent eight years serving, he never saw war. There were some tense confrontations, but the situations were all diffused before firefights broke out. Mostly he’d been deployed to hostile areas as a prop; a presence. The military oftentimes used its people as a show of force, which more than not worked as a powerful deterrent.

  The smaller creature stirred.

  It lifted its head and looked around.

  Stanton stopped, standing statue-still. His lifted his finger off the button that activated the laser, and he held his breath. Inside his mind, he counted off the seconds. One. Two. Three. The thing lowered its head. Stanton stayed put, continued holding his breath.

  After a full minute, and his lungs feeling as if they’d caught on fire, Stanton sucked in air. Shallow, slow breaths. The reality before him was clear. There was a good chance, a very good chance, this was it for him.

  Even if he were to kill the first, large creature, the thing’s thrashing death would alert the smaller, equally dangerous creature. With just a sidearm, he knew he didn’t stand much of a chance. The people behind him, his commander, the lieutenant, and the doctor stood a better chance of surviving this ordeal if he at least killed one, and, if luck decided in his favor, he at least wounded the second before his death.

  That was the plan. Kill one. Injure the other.

  Die.

  Okay, it wasn’t the best plan. Stanton did not have a death wish. If there was a way out of this, if he saw one, he would take it. Naturally. He was just being practical. Preparing his mind for what might come of this mess.

  And then there was Captain Rivers.

  He didn’t want to let her down. She was trapped inside the communications room. Getting her out safely was just as important. More so.

  He wasn’t sure when he’d started walking forward again, but he was.

  He now stood over the snake-thing’s body.

  Its head, at the center of the coil, was just feet away.

  Stanton leveled his sidearm, sucked in a deep breath, and opened fire.

  Both creatures responded immediately. They uncoiled, rising; towered over him. He continued firing his weapon. The bolts sizzled, cutting through the air, the short distance working in his favor. The bolts left black scars on plated scales.

  The larger creature shrieked.

  Stanton fired a bolt into its gaping mouth. The head imploded.

  The neck and cylindrical body gyrated. It spit blood everywhere. Stanton, thrilled at the results, turned his weapon on the smaller of the two creatures. The thing moved fast. It slithered around, claws with sharp nails gripping the other creature as it scurried over the dying beast.

  Firing bolt after bolt, the creature dodged the spray.

  Stanton’s eyes darted toward the door to the communications room. He saw the smashed glass and his heart sank. Was Rivers okay?

  “Rivers?” Stanton shouted her name over and over as he backed away from the lunging creature.

  Ruiz sprinted down the hallway, slid on her knees, her sidearm raised, firing bolts at the creature.

  The thing, perhaps injured, possibly realizing it was outnumbered, let out a shrill cry, and then retreated. With its head low to the floor, it sped away. It was headed toward the storage facility. That was not good. That would be where they’d need to head next.

  One problem at a time.

  Panting, Stanton bent forward and put trembling hands on unsteady knees.

  “Are you okay?” Ruiz asked.

  “Rivers,” was his only reply.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Commander Anara Meyers guided Sandra Carter into the communications room.

  “Stand there,” Ruiz warned. She and Adam Stanton knelt beside what was left of Captain Danielle Rivers.

  Carter cried out. Shaking, her hands went to her face.

  “Sandra. Sandy, you need to get a hold of yourself,” Meyers said. She tried turning the scientist away from the carnage. Carter struggled, as if she couldn’t look the other way.

  Rivers had been shredded. The creatures had torn her apart. Stanton had the captain’s head in his lap.

  “She fought to protect this room,” he said. “She stayed behind and died defending this stupid room!”

  Ruiz touched his shoulder, and he shook the hand off.

  “We need to keep moving,” Meyers said. “We know there are more of those things. That one that got away could just be rounding up reinforcements.”

  Stanton stared at her, and it was unnerving. She saw blame in his eyes. Stanton thought Rivers’ death was her fault. Maybe it was. “Captain,” Meyers said.

  “Aye, Commander,” he said.

  She watched as Stanton gently laid Rivers’ head on the floor. He bowed his head, was maybe saying a short prayer for the woman, before he stood up.

  Ruiz tried a second time, touching the captain. This time, he allowed it. He looked defeated, deflated.

  It was how she felt.

  Ruiz scooped up Rivers’ blaster, checked the charge, and then threw the weapon back onto the floor. “We’re not getting out of here, are we, Commander?”

  “Yes, we are,” Meyers said. She heard the lack of conviction in her own tone of voice. “You’re all going to follow me. We’re going to stay close, and we’re going to move fast. We need to get through the storage area and back to where we came in for our helmets. In the bay is a shuttle. We’ll touch base with Lieutenant Weber, and then we’re gone. We’ll launch and head for the Eclipse. We’re going to do this. We’re getting off of Neptune.”

  She knew she’d made the plan sound short and simple. The thing was the plan was short and simple. They needed to get through the storage area and to the bay. Point A. Point B. Shortest distance. The problem was execution. They had driven those creatures back, which seemed like a victory. Except now, the creatures might all be holed up in one section just waiting for their return. One or two of those things could kill the four of them easily. A nest of those vipers would …

  _____

  Erinne Cohn did not mind everyone cramming into the Cutlass bridge. Aroldis D’Rukker and Weber returned with Higgs, and a weak, but awake and alert Murray Bell. Brett Serverino looked a bit battered, beaten up, but otherwise okay. Serverino was the ship’s engineer and mechanic. Between him and D’Rukker, they could repair, modify, or create anything that needed doing.

  “Erinne,” Serverino said.

  “You okay, Brett?”

  “Glorious. You?”

  Erinne smiled. “Sure. Glorious,” she said.

  “What did you find?” D’Rukker asked.

  “That geyser slammed right into the undercarriage. Clipped the wing. That mineral-rich water sprayed the engines. Doused ‘em good, I’m thinking,” Erinne said. “The excessive heat from the engines hardened the frozen water almost instantly. I could have flown, recovering from getting hit by the blast, but that’s what brought us down. The diamonds blocked gears, ruining anything and everything it came in contact with.”

  Serverino nodded. “She’s right. I put out fires in the engine room. The damage is, around here, unpreparable.”

  Erinne watched D’Rukker for a reaction. There wasn’t one.

&n
bsp; “We need to get inside the colony,” D’Rukker said. “They’ll have what we need to fix the ship.”

  “What we need is a new engine,” Serverino said.

  “They’ll have everything we need,” D’Rukker said.

  And there was the reaction Erinne expected. Denial. He wasn’t going to leave his ship stranded on this desolate planet. He would die out here trying to fix it, instead. Stubborn. The man was inconsolably stubborn. There was no point arguing with him. She doubt she’d be able to change his mind. Erinne would never allow it, though. Either they’d all get off of Neptune, or they’d all stay.

  She’d stay.

  No one could ever convince her to leave D’Rukker alone. The man wasn’t just her savior, and it came down to more than loyalty. Aroldis was like a father. D’Rukker would never leave her alone anywhere. She knew he would stand by her side always. He would never have to ask, but should know, that she would always stand by his.

  “We’re going to suit up,” D’Rukker said.

  Erinne beamed. “I managed to bring us down close to the colony, still. Maybe not red-carpet distance. But we’re not that far.”

  “That’s why I let you fly, my baby,” D’Rukker said.

  “Guys, I don’t want to speak out of turn,” Weber said.

  “And yet you are.” D’Rukker shook his head. “What is it?”

  “Remember, not that long ago? It was like, oh, I don’t know, an hour back? When my friend and I were surrounded by giant snakes with crocodile heads and these creepy claws?”

  D’Rukker laughed.

  Weber cocked his head to the side and planted fists on his waist. “Am I missing the joke?”

  “You had a Euphoric blaster and a knife,” D’Rukker said. “That, my friend, that’s what is so funny.”

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Sandra Carter, the astrophysicist, stayed sandwiched between the crew of the Eclipse as the team made their way through the compound. Although the spinning amber lights showed shadows racing across walls, they moved slow but steady. Each step brought them closer to salvation: the colony’s one shuttle.

  Ruiz and Stanton had sidearms drawn and ready, while Commander Anara Meyers still had enough charge left in her blaster rifle to inflict some serious damage should a creature cross their path.

  They reached the doors to the storage area without incident. The fact the door leading into the storage area stood open was immediate cause for concern.

  “We didn’t leave it that way, did we?” Stanton said.

  “We did not,” Ruiz said.

  “What? Those things, they opened doors? They got the door open?” Carter looked like she might start crying. Her hands shook and she held them up near her face, as if at any minute she’d start chewing away at fingernails.

  “We don’t know what they can do,” Meyers admitted. She eyed Captain Stanton, a knowing look passing between them.

  Just because the creatures were alien didn’t mean they weren’t intelligent. They might look prehistoric, but that didn’t prove anything. In fact, the way the creatures behaved was anything but primitive. The commander suspected they communicated and worked together planning attacks.

  The shrieking came from behind them. All four turned and stared down the shaft of the hallway. The first things visible were the racing shadows cast onto the walls from the spinning amber lights. Meyers counted at least three raised heads.

  “They’re coming,” Ruiz shouted.

  Meyers waved them through the door and into the storage area. Her mind flashed back to an image of the hand they’d found stashed in one of the gigantic mounds of diamonds. She pictured Captain Danielle Rivers ripped apart in the communications room. Every instinct inside her gut screamed that this was a trap. She had the feeling they were now being herded, purposely forced into the storage area. What other choice did they have?

  Stanton said, “Stay close to the wall. We’ll circle around the facility. It will be far less vulnerable than passing directly through the center. If we do that, we have to defend every side. This way, we only have to watch three. In front of, behind, and across from. Got it? Backs to the wall!”

  Ruiz took point and Carter stayed close behind. Fear gave the scientist motivation. For once, she moved with purpose. The commander had no doubt the woman’s entire body was racked with fear. Thankfully, Carter found the strength to push past it for the moment. They all had dug deep and were operating on fumes, she had to believe. She knew she was. She was hungry—starving—and thirsty, and she wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to use a bathroom.

  Meyers shook her head in an attempt to knock free distracting thoughts. She closed the storage area door and fired a bolt into the lock box. It sprayed sparks, crackled, and burst into flames. The fire died out quickly. With the sensors fried, the creatures wouldn’t be able to get into the storage area through the door. That didn’t mean they were locked out. She had noticed air ducts above. They encircled the room, one about every twenty or thirty feet. Of course, the assumption was the creatures were aware of the blueprint for the compound. She’d much rather error on the side of caution and expect them to know the ins and outs of the place. The alternative was getting caught off guard.

  “There! Up top!” Stanton pointed with the barrel of his sidearm. His laser reflected off the diamonds. He stopped using the guide and closed an eye. He lined the head of a creature in his site and fired off a bolt. Then another.

  The creature growled, jaws open, fangs exposed. The roar echoed inside the chamber. That was the last thing they wanted.

  Meyers fired off a bolt. It struck the creature in the side, knocking it over. The creature rolled down the diamonds, starting a small avalanche of gems in its wake. As it fell, it coiled, uncoiled. The claws along its body struggled for a foothold. When it reached bottom, it would pounce. “Run!”

  Ruiz grabbed Carter’s arm and took off.

  Stanton let loose several more shots. They struck diamonds, sending a spray of gems into the air.

  Meyers pushed him along. He was wasting the charge on his weapon shooting at a flailing creature. They needed to conserve ammunition as best as they could. Who knew how many were still inside the compound? How many were lying in wait? If they ran out of power charges, they’d be as good as dead.

  If they weren’t dead men walking already.

  Between two mountainous piles, Ruiz stopped and screamed. She dropped to a knee and fired ahead of her.

  Stanton yelled, “Commander, behind you!”

  She threw herself back against the wall.

  Stanton barely waited for her to be out of the way before he opened fire.

  Meyers saw one of the creatures cresting the top of the hill she stood closest to and raised her blaster.

  This was it. The last stand?

  Commander Meyers thought of her father. If the admiral were here, he’d give out a war cry and charge into the thick of the battle.

  Ruiz moved between the piles, toward the center of the storage area, and the scientist followed her. She covered her head with her hands and was screaming.

  Stanton had Ruiz’s back, following behind, but walking backwards.

  Meyers had no option but to stay close. They shouldn’t separate.

  Going into the center of the area was the worst possible move, though. It was as if the creatures knew it and were flushing them out.

  Ruiz shook her weapon. Batted a palm against the barrel, and shouted, “I’m out!”

  They were now surrounded.

  There were creatures all around them.

  Stanton pushed the scientist and Ruiz down onto their knees, and then stood over them. He pivoted around, firing bolts at anything that moved and anything that didn’t move.

  Meyers joined him, and they stood back to back.

  She felt the recoil of his shots through his back muscles. She trained her laser on targets and unleashed a flood of bolts, her finger squeezing the trigger as fast as she could.

  Their shots hit
home more than not. And a creature or two even died.

  The monstrosities advanced on them, diving into the piles of diamonds and swimming through the gems like sharks sneaking up on prey. Meyers kept expecting she’d see a dorsal fin coming at them.

  “I’m out,” Stanton shouted.

  Instinctively, Meyers checked her gauge.

  She ignored what she saw, raised her weapon, and fired on the creatures closest to them. They were everywhere.

  More were coming into the storage area through the ducts.

  The four of them were dead center in the room. There was nowhere they could run. There wasn’t any place to hide.

  She squeezed the trigger on her blaster and nothing happened. She gave the weapon a shake and tried again.

  Nothing.

  The things were so close she could see the oblong pupils of their eyeballs.

  Jaws opened. Fanged teeth bared. Taloned claws clicked and clacked on the ground. Tails whipped back and forth in a dangerous frenzy.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Aroldis D’Rukker ran through the doorway once it swooshed open. His blaster had double barrels. When he fired the weapon, lasers shot from the mouth, making the air around crackle.

  Lieutenant Weber joined in immediately. His blaster was similar to D’Rukker’s. Heavy and solid. It definitely took both hands and all of his strength to hold. The kick was severe. He knew his shoulder and forearm would be bruised when this battle was over. His bolts went wild as he struggled for control of the weapon. Diamonds sprayed up and all over the place as he hit the mounds of gems instead of the heads of the creatures.

  Beside him stood Brett Serverino. He held the large blaster in on hand and fired laser bolts with accuracy, splattering creature heads with nearly every shot.

  “Come on!” Weber shouted.

  Commander Meyers ushered everyone forward. Lieutenant Angela Ruiz guided some woman Weber had never seen. Behind them was Captain Stanton, and lastly, the commander followed.

  The four of them ran, bent forward, heads down.