by Ben Hammott
Lucy needed air. She swam for the surface and looked ahead. The vent opening was approaching fast. She would only get one chance. Her hands grabbed at a pipe bracket and gripped it tighter when she jerked to a halt. The parasite; upside-down with its feet pushing on a pipe to propel it forward faster, would soon reach her. A larger shape entered her vision. The Leviathan had arrived. Lucy scrambled up the pipes, snatched up her weapon and slid it between the pipes at the parasite. A cloud of pus-coloured blood seeped out, an indication her aim had been true. When she threw the spear into the vent, movement glimpsed from the corner of her eye spun her head around. The Leviathan rose above the surface twenty feet away with its jaws parted in anticipation of a meal. Lucy climbed through the opening and pulled her feet clear just before the Leviathan's head slammed into the ceiling. Lucy stumbled from the force that buckled the vent floor and sent her crashing into the side wall.
The Leviathan, reluctant to let its prey escape, fought the lessening force of the water pushing against it and held its position beneath the opening. It pressed its snout against the hole and forced it inside. Metal screeched, buckled and tore. A clawed hand snaked past the tip of the monsters head and groped around for her. When it brushed against her leg, the claw snatched at it. Lucy yanked her foot away, but it was faster. It grasped her ankle and squeezed painfully. Sensing its prey had been caught; the Leviathan backed out of the hole and pulled Lucy towards the opening. Fighting back the panic that again threatened to overwhelm her, Lucy kicked at the claw, but it held on tight. Remembering the weapon, she snatched it up and stabbed at the monster fish. The blade slid harmlessly on the hard scales covering its head as efficient as medieval armor. Lucy changed tactic when her foot entered the opening. She stabbed and sliced at the hand around her ankle. When dark blood oozed from the wounds, the grip lessened. She kicked the claw free, pulled her leg back inside the vent and scrambled away from the opening. Except for the sound of rushing water, silence prevailed.
After a few moments staring at the opening, Lucy relaxed and checked her ankle for damage. It was an angry red and throbbed painfully, but no serious damage had been inflicted. Though blood oozed from the eight small wounds on her thigh, it also wasn't serious, unless the parasite carried smaller parasites. Lucy shivered, suppressed the thought of micro-monsters crawling through her body, and aimed the flashlight into the dark, cramped passage she had sought refuge in and started crawling.
A loud boom rang out. Metal screeched. Lucy screamed when she shot into the air and collided with the top of the vent before falling onto the buckled floor. It was evidence the vicious amphibian hadn't given up on its chance of a meal. As Lucy slithered over the raised dented section, the floor in front buckled as another loud boom assaulted her ears. Fearful of giving away her position again, Lucy held back the surprised yelp that threatened to escape her lips and eyed the narrowed gap left by the dented floor. There was just enough clearance for her to slither over the raised section of warped metal. She crawled as quickly and silently as she could along the passage. Only when she had traveled past the walls of the aquarium room would she be safe from the monster. A third boom shot her legs into the air. This time the Leviathan continued to apply pressure, forcing it higher. The floor of the vent pressed against her legs. She pulled one leg free, but the other was trapped, metal cut into her skin when her leg was squeezed against the top of the vent. A trickle of blood oozed out and ran down the sloping floor.
In the aquarium room below, the water continued to rise and lapped at the edges of the vent opening before pouring inside. The ever-rising water level carried it over the first buckled area and flowed onward.
When the cold water tickled her toes, Lucy stopped struggling to free her leg. She peered through the gap that trapped her foot at the steadily rising water and then saw something more immediately life threatening than the possibility of drowning; six parasite creatures entered into the vent. She twisted her foot and pulled. Her ankle-bones scraped on the metal. The parasites surged towards her with chomping jaws.
The parasites hideous cream bodies and sightless heads were even more frightening in the confines of the vent. Unexpectedly, the pressure on her foot released with a squeal of metal; an indication the Leviathan had moved. Lucy pulled her foot free as one of the parasites lunged at her toes and scrambled away along the vent.
Lucy halted at an intersection and quickly considered her options; left, right or continue straight ahead. The water ebbed beneath her. The parasites wouldn't be far behind. Confident the right-hand turning would remove her from danger the quickest, she turned right and sped along the passage. The Leviathan struck again. The boom and screech of metal drifted through the vent from behind. She had passed the edge of the room and was out of the Leviathan's reach. That just left the parasites to deal with. She glanced back. Though the water was only a few inches deep, the parasites continued their pursuit, an indication they were just at home in or out of the water.
Thirty-feet farther, she stopped beneath a hole in the top of the vent and shone the flashlight up its length. Another side-turning about twenty feet above her might be her chance to escape the fast approaching parasites. She doubted, even with their eight clawed limbs, they would be able to climb the smooth metal sides. Lucy climbed upright, pressed her hands and feet against the vertical chute, and hoisted her body up. It was awkward with the spear in one hand and the flashlight dangling from her wrist, but she was reluctant to lose either if it was possible. She had climbed about halfway when the parasites appeared below. Their sightless, evil heads tilted up and watched her. One tried to climb the wall, but failed to get a purchase on the smooth metal. It brought Lucy a little comfort. All she had to do now was climb a few more feet without falling and she'd be safe. Well, as safe as she could be aboard the alien monster-infested vessel that constantly threw surprises at her. She didn't think it would be long before she was fleeing from another vicious, nightmarish monstrosity keen to taste her flesh.
Lucy pulled her tired body into the horizontal vent and collapsed on the floor to catch her breath. Panting heavily, she wondered when and how this nightmare she desperately wanted to escape from would end. She aimed the flashlight along the dark vent. Whatever the outcome, it would be found in that direction. When she felt rested, she continued her journey.
Power
THE MEN AT the rear of the fleeing group continued firing short bursts at the monsters chasing them. Brusilov glanced back at the vicious creatures that filled the width of the corridor, an avalanche of monstrosity that would soon wash over them. Their horrific screeches and howls increased the men's already high anxiety. Even the bravest among them feared what was coming.
The men rushed around a corner to find their escape blocked. The floor of the corridor above had collapsed. Brusilov shone his flashlight at the dark void in the ceiling above the pile of twisted metal. It was large enough for the men to fit through, but too small for the monsters to follow. It was their only chance. Shots rang out behind him as the chief's men picked off more of the monsters, but it was a battle they couldn't win.
“Climb up through the hole,” shouted Brusilov.
The barricade shifted and groaned when they climbed the precarious pile of scrap and squeezed through the small gap. As the last man scrambled up, the barricade shifted and dropped a few feet. Babinski slipped and rolled to the floor as the monsters surged ever nearer.
“Babinski,” called out Nikolay. “Jump and I'll grab you.”
Babinski glanced at the approaching monsters and jumped to his feet. He ran at the collapsed metal pile, leaped onto a beam amongst the wreckage and jumped for the chief's arms stretching from the opening. They clasped each other's wrists and helped by Obolensky, the two men pulled Babinski through the opening. The two lead monsters dived at the man's dangling legs. Their claws grabbed air as the prey was yanked from their grasp. The barricade collapsed and tangled them amongst its twisted forms when they landed on it.
The damaged s
ection of floor the men were on groaned and shuddered as it began to tilt. The men rushed away as it fell and gazed back when they reached solid ground. The sloping floor was an ideal ramp for the monsters below to climb. A few shots were fired in an attempt to deter them from following, but it failed and the men fled when the monsters rushed up the slope.
The chief glanced at the creaking ceiling as they rushed through the corridor and thought it could collapse at any moment. “The ship seems to be falling apart.”
Brusilov agreed. “It's ancient.” It felt strange giving the ship such a label with its advanced nature when compared to human technology. “It's lain dormant for thousands of years and now it's on the move the stress is ripping it apart.”
The sounds of stressed metal that had quickly increased in volume and frequency enforced Brusilov's reasoning and accompanied their hurried dash away from the monsters in pursuit. They rounded a corner and noticed water trickling from a ceiling vent. The chief placed a hand in the stream as they passed and put it to his nose. “It's not ice melt―it smells briny. I wonder where it's leaking from.”
“Does it really matter?” said Brusilov. “We can't stop it, but let's hope the sea isn't leaking in somewhere or the monsters might not be our only problem.”
A loud crash echoed along the corridor when something struck the ceiling behind them from above. The men still around the corner who had their gazes and weapons aimed back along the corridor as they fired occasional shots at the approaching monsters, saw the ceiling buckle before it fell and the wall of water that gushed through the gap. The wave picked up the lead monsters and sped towards them.
Bullets were useless now.
The men turned and ran.
The water flowed after them.
Alexei and Kolya, the two engineers at the back, shot glances behind at the tidal wave only a few yards away. A large dark shape, hazy and indistinct, surged forward and attacked the monsters desperately trying to escape the water before they drowned, swallowing them whole.
Alexei glanced at Kolya. “Did you see that?”
Kolya nodded. Though he had witnessed it, he wished he hadn't. There was something in the water.
The dark shape swam forward to the front of the wave and observed the fleeing men with its six eyes for a moment before opening its massive jaws, as if proud to display the wicked teeth within to its intended victims. Something leaped from the water and latched onto Kolya's back.
Kolya screamed and stumbled.
Alexei grabbed his arm to prevent him from falling. “Don't stop, I'll get it off.”
Alexei grabbed the alien parasite and yanked it free, ripping Kolya's skin in the process. The parasite turned its head at Alexei as its jaws chomped on a chunk of Kolya's flesh. Alexei threw it against the wall.
Brusilov's light picked out an open door ahead. As soon as he was through he searched for the door control. With a hand hovered over the button, he stared back through the opening his men rushed through and caught his first glimpse of the water rushing towards them through the corridor and the horror it brought with it.
Alexei and Kolya saw the doorway ahead. Not far now and they would be safe. The Leviathan surged forward and shot out of the water. It slid along the floor and plucked Kolya up in its mouth. Kolya screamed when the monster fish clamped its jaws around him.
Blood sprayed Alexei's shocked face. Blinded by the blood filling his eyes, Alexei stumbled and crashed into the wall as the water caught up and flowed over the giant amphibian.
The men in the doorway had watched in horror as another comrade died a gruesome death. When Alexei stumbled into the wall, Brusilov knew there was no saving him now and closed the door.
As Alexei regained his balance, he cleared his vision with his hands. He saw the door close and the guilty look on the faces of the men staring at him through the ever-narrowing gap. To save themselves he had been sacrificed. There was no escape for him now. The wave gripped him in its cold grasp, carried him along the corridor and smashed him against the door. As soon as the pressure subsided, he turned. Teeth filled his vision. Bubbles poured from his mouth when he screamed. Pain flooded his senses when the monster's mouth-claws grabbed hold and fed him into the Leviathan's maw. His blood clouded the water before his dimming eyes.
The men stared at their captain when he turned his gaze away from the door. All knew why he had done it and all knew it was a decision that would weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Brusilov glanced around at the men. Brave as he knew them to be, none were prepared for the horrors they had recently encountered. He now knew the Englishman, Richard Whorley, had not exaggerated his retelling of his own encounters with the alien monsters; if anything, he had underplayed their ferocity.
The door holding back the tons of water creaked from the pressure.
The captain glanced down the dark corridor a couple of the men shone their lights along. “Rozovsky, Vadik, lead the way,” he ordered.
As the men set off along the corridor, Brusilov glanced back at the door.
Nikolay laid a hand on Brusilov's shoulder. “To save us you had no choice, my friend. Alexei would have known this and understood.”
Brusilov looked at his comrade. “That doesn't make it rest any easier.” He headed along the corridor and Nikolay followed.
“Are my ears ringing or can anyone else hear that humming?” asked Vadik a few moments later, slapping his ears to try and clear them of the sound.
“It's not your ears, you idiot,” Rozovsky pointed his rifle at the door at the end of the corridor. “It's coming from behind there.”
The captain and the chief moved to the front.
Nikolay cocked an ear to the sound. “It sounds like machinery.”
Brusilov stared at the distant door. “We have nowhere else to go, so I guess we're about to find out.”
The humming grew louder as they headed for the door.
Brusilov looked back at his men. “When the door opens, be prepared for anything.”
Weapons were aimed at the door and when it slid open a green glow seeped out, bathing the men in eerie light.
Brusilov peered through the opening and gazed around the room before stepping through onto a walkway that crossed to a door on the far side. The men followed close behind. The green light emanated from a series of clustered, six-foot diameter transparent pipes that ran the length of the long round tunnel. Contained within the pipes was a liquid that glowed green and crackled softly. Smaller transparent cables snaked out from the larger pipes and connected to black tubes or cables that disappeared into the curved walls and ceiling. A walkway raised a foot above the pipes and cables that covered the floor led off down the center.
Brusilov glanced at his chief engineer, who roamed his eyes over the tunnel. “What do you make of it, Nikolay?”
Nikolay was fascinated by the discovery. “It could be the main power and utility conduit that feeds the ship with whatever it needs to keep running.” He pointed along the tunnel towards the main source of the humming. “I assume there's some sort of distribution plant that way.”
He turned to the captain. “It could be worth checking out. As well as weapons, its technology we're after and we might find some there.”
Brusilov nodded. “It's a good an option as any.”
The men, alert for danger, walked along the tunnel and entered the large room at its end. Tubes and cables of varying thicknesses snaked out from a large device that hummed steadily. Pieces of complex machinery, fittings, dials and small red lights covered the large machine. One of the wide tubes connected to it had pulled away from its housing on the machine, revealing thousands of smaller cables crammed inside.
Nikolay gazed at the machine that towered from a lower level to almost reach the seventy-foot high ceiling. “It seems to be a transformer, or the alien equivalent, to distribute power throughout the ship.”
The captain walked up to the rail of the balcony that ran the entire circumference of the room and pee
red over the edge. Strange pieces of smaller machinery covered the floor twelve feet below. All had cables attached that disappeared into ducts, the walls, under the floor or into the ceiling and some connected to other pieces of machinery. Though no doubt technologically advanced, he saw nothing easily transportable. “Let's keep moving.”
He led the men along the pathway that hugged the edges of the room. They hadn't gone far when Nikolay paused before an area set back from the path and stared at the banks of switches, levers and dials dotted with small green, red and yellow lights that adorned the console at the far edge. He glanced at the captain.
“I think this might be the power control center.”
When his gaze fell upon something on the wall to the left of the long console, he moved over for a closer look. Etched into the metal wall were detailed floor plans of every level and room in the spaceship labeled with strange symbols. He glanced over at the men training their rifles around the room.
“Mikhail, come take a look at this.”
Mikhail, an electrical engineer, walked over to the console and ran his eyes over the hundreds of controls and the small diagrams beside each.
Nikolay pointed at the spaceship floor plan on the wall. “Because those symbols match those labeling each of the console controls, I'm thinking they manage the power to each floor and each room on that level?”
