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STORY
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Geoff: "Elevator swept and clean. Bring her on down."
Mr. Samsa: "Copy that."
The lift lowered like a great tongue, prepared to invite me into its rancid mouth. As the platform fell below our heads, it drew a deep breath to adjust for pressure. It came to our feet, and the platform was still.
Mr. Samsa: "How are you guys doing on ammo?"
Geoff: "Doing fine."
Mr. Samsa: "Define fine, Geoff."
Geoff: "Got everything, except for the clip I used to sweep the lift."
Mr. Samsa: "Alright."
I stared up into the shaft. All I could see was the border of steel, and a great blackness lingering high above.
Mr. Samsa: "Jack, it's time."
I took one step inward. I took another. In this way, I eventually found the center of the elevator, sooner than I'd hoped to.
"Sam-"
The doors clasped shut behind me.
A dreadful echo rose up through the walls, trying to find its way out. Somewhere in the darkness, it died alone.
As the lift began to climb, an unreal dizziness set in. Perhaps it was the artificial gravity, or my lack of sleep, or the wear on my brain from what I'd seen so far. I could feel my heart beating behind my eyes, and the blood seeping through my arms.
Though I knew the lift was rising, something in my soul told me otherwise. I felt as if I were dropping. Being taken down, to someplace I'd rather not be.
"Samsa..."
Mr. Samsa: "Yes, Jack?"
"How do you handle this?"
Mr. Samsa: "One Sixteen, Jack."
"...What?"
Mr. Samsa: "Maxims and Interludes, one sixteen."
"......Roger."
I reached the top.
The doors opened to a mess. An eerie silence lingered about the structural collapse, loose cables and debris. The only illumination came from a small, flickering light embedded on the ceiling, struggling not to die in this forsaken pass. While only glowing for a moment and then failing for several seconds, it was obviously losing the battle.
My eyes rummaged through the shadows. Neither Geoff, nor Soda, nor Tony, were anywhere to be found. This did not come as a surprise. I could feel something wrong here, and it seemed just as well that they were consumed by the place itself.
I cautiously inched my way forward through the alleyway. It banked right, with a small notch in the wall to the left. I couldn't tell if it was a vent or not, but as I approached, my spine told me it was unsafe.
I'd reached where the hallway began to turn, and where the dark pocket sat against the wall. I looked at it for a long moment, trying to decide if it was just a large shadow or some kind of space. My mind wasn't very attuned. In my tired stupor, I stuck my hand into the nick.
Something shot out and grabbed my arm. Before I could react I was pulled in, my feet throwing out from under me. Something covered my mouth.
Geoff: "Gun first. Always."
His voice was a hoarse whisper. I pulled his hand away from my mouth and regained my footing. Geoff had been crouched in the cavity of the wall, hidden behind the shadow. He must have watched my entire approach.
"You scared the shit out of me."
Geoff: "Good, one less potty break."
My nerves were already shot to hell, and having my arm grabbed in the dark didn't quite help. Whatever relief I found from finding Geoff barely kept me from going blissfully crazy.
"Now what?"
Geoff: "Now, you keep your head low and follow us."
Geoff moved out of the corner and over to another breakdown of wires and grating. The hallway stretched on after that. I heard him whispering with someone hiding in the wreckage, but I couldn't make it out over my own heartbeat, or the re-looping motivation tape socketed into my brain: You're not going to die, you're not going to die, you're not going to-
Geoff: "Boom, get over here."
I quickly moved to join him at the cave in. Now I could make out both Tony and Sodapop. They were crouched in among the debris, keeping surveillance on the hallway.
Geoff: "Listen. There're two lefts, and then there's a right after a fallen beam. We want to take the right, so we have to go by the two lefts."
"...What?"
Geoff: "Look."
Geoff pointed down the hallway. A light glowed from around the bend of two left-turning passages. After that was a dislodged beam, protruding from the ceiling like a broken bone. Somewhere beyond it, a faint light shown on the right.
Geoff: "Do you see?"
"Yes."
Geoff: "Soda is going to be taking the left point. Tony's next, then you, and then me. Then Soda will take the right point. Repeat the same process. Ok?"
"Ok... wait."
Geoff: "What?"
"There's two left points."
Tony: "God..."
Geoff: "Yes Boom, but they spill into the same tunnel. Look at your map."
Tony: "It's called 'architecture.'"
Geoff: "Shut up, Tony. Ok, same as before, except we've got Boom Jacket now. You ready, Sodapop?"
Soda did not respond verbally. Instead, he tapped the clip of his light machine gun twice with the back of his hand. It made a "ting, ting" sound.
Geoff: "Alright. Let's do it."
Sodapop made a dash down the corridor. He dropped to a crouch at the corner of the left hall, covering it with his lmg. He then made another dash past the two turns, and took camp at the further corner.
Soda smacked his clip twice again, harder this time. "Ting, ting," and Tony made for Sodapop. He took position alongside of him, but watched the right passage beyond the beam.
Geoff: "Go, Boom."
I stumbled out from the wreckage, almost falling on my face. Thankfully, I did not, and made it past the two left passages. I turned to watch Geoff approach. He had a pistol drawn, unlike the other two. He waited for a confirmation "ting, ting," and proceeded towards us.
Just before Geoff reached the first turn off, Sodapop did something unexpected: Shoving me and Tony to the side, he thrust himself out of view from the left turnoff, his back against the wall, and smacked his clip once.
Geoff stopped in his tracks, and took position up against the other end of the turnoff.
I opened my mouth to ask what he saw, but Sodapop covered my mouth faster than anything. Then, slowly, his hand formulated into a point, and he directed at his ear.
I listened.
"...........................click..........click...click......"
There was that quiet sound I knew from before: The soft, sickening tap of a skulk's footsteps.
Sodapop slowly began pushing Tony and I towards the right exit. Sodapop remained intent on the sound coming from the left pass, as did Geoff. Tony, though knowing where the obvious dangers lie, kept his mark on the right exit.
"Click...click click click..."
I nearly yelped as my back came in contact with the obtruding beam. I made my way around it, walking between Tony and Sodapop towards the right passage. Geoff continued to remain where he was.
"Click......click click.........click................................."
A shadow loomed from around the bend, followed shortly by the perked snout of a Kharaa. It inched forward, sensing the air and the ground, as if it were blind.
We froze in our step. The creature gradually emerged, its ugly muzzle becoming more and more visible. It looked preoccupied.
Geoff waited just to the skulk's left, his pistol ready. The skulk seemed to know he was there, but it either wasn't sure or was waiting for something. It was slowly moving closer to the corner, and soon they would see each other.
Something else....
I saw a looming shadow of a beast suddenly appear behind Geoff. It was larger than a man, and bared gory lances in place of arms. It was about to strike him.
Butcher....
"Geoff!"
The skulk suddenly turned its attention on me, locking his yellow eyes with mine. It leapt forward, and in a scream of sound collided with my chest, knocking me to the ground.
I was surprised when I found Tony tugging at my arm, and Geoff shouting "Go, go!" The skulk rolled dead onto the floor. Not sure what had happened, I came to my feet and plunged down into the right passageway.
I turned, expecting to see a nightmarish fiend at my back. Instead, I saw Geoff butting the collapsed beam with his pistol, freeing it from the ceiling. He abandoned it on the dead skulk, and ran to catch up with us. We proceeded around the corner into a large room. There we stopped, pressing our backs to the wall for cover.
"What just happened!?"
Tony: "Geoff, you just killed a skulk in mid-air with your pistol!"
Geoff: "Shut up!"
The silence swept over us once again. We listened intently as not one, but many sets of clicking aired around the bend from where we had just come. I held my breath.
There was a long hush, and then the clicking pursued once again. Slowly, it faded away, until we could hear them no more.
It was a good thirty seconds before Geoff spoke.
Geoff: "So... that was fun."
Tony: "Fun? That was fucking awesome! Bishop, you are a god."
Geoff: "Don't call me that."
Tony looked over at Sodapop. He was watching down the corridor we had just run down, making sure no Kharaa double backed.
Geoff: "At least they don't know that we're up here, yet."
No, that wasn't right. I'd clearly seen another Kharaa behind him, about to cleave him in half. Or... had I? He'd be dead now if I did. No, I must have seen wrong... Still, we killed one of them. Shouldn't that tip off the Kharaa?
"Didn't you just kill one of them?"
Geoff: "Yup, but I broke off part of that beam and set it on top of it. You know, to make it look like it fell on him."
Tony: "That was some quick thinking, Geoff."
Geoff: "Thank you."
"But... won't they notice that it was shot?"
Geoff: "I Doubt it. They're pretty ugly. Can't tell a live one from a dead one, except that the dead ones don't try to eat you."
"What about bullet holes you might have left in the walls?"
Geoff: "I'm not worried about that."
"Why not?"
He reloaded his weapon.
Geoff: "Because I don't miss."
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Disclaimer
Monster is © Edan Koch. The Universe in which it takes place is based upon Natural-Selection. All characters and locations are fictional. Any association with actual persons or places is coincidental.
Natural-Selection and all artwork, screenshots, text and code associated with it are © Charles G. Cleveland, 2001.