Brusilov heard the single shots and saw the results. He knew it had to be Yelchin picking off the creatures. The man’s talent with a rifle was wasted in the engineers. When he glanced back across the room and saw the engineers were barely halfway, he observed some of the creatures splitting off from the pack below and bounding swiftly through the crop fields towards the new arrivals. His warning echoed through the room. “Chief, you have three creatures attacking from your right and four from your left. They’ll be with you in three, two…”
Nikolay halted his team on hearing the Captain’s warning. They split into two and focused their weapons on the rustle of crops pinpointing the approaching threats. When the monsters were almost upon them, bullets tore into the fields, cutting crop stems and punching through monsters flesh. One leaped out with savage claws reaching for the men. Bullets riddled its monstrous form. The men dodged its falling carcass and shot the tail head that lunged at them with gaping jaws. After a few more shots rang out to kill the remaining two, Nikolay urged them forward again.
Rozovsky shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the mouth of the monster that lunged at him from above and pulled the trigger; the beast’s head exploded, adding its blood and gore to that already covering his face and clothes. The weapon, held in one hand while the other gripped the wall beam for support, was pulled from his grasp when the creature crashed into his shoulder. Man and monster tumbled to the ground. While they fell, the tail head appeared and headed for his face with jaws spread wide. Just before it struck, it exploded in a spray of blood. The sound of a single shot chased the carnage. Rozovsky made a mental note to thank Yelchin if he lived through this. He landed on the pile of creature corpses littering the floor and slid down their blood-slick bodies. Creatures shrieked too close to make Rozovsky believe he would survive. He scrambled about for his lost shotgun, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Petroff’s pistol clicked on empty. When he holstered it and pulled out his knife, he noticed a creature below climbing the pile of corpses towards Rozovsky. He jumped from his high perch.
Rozovsky tried to free his knife, but hemmed between two dead creatures, he was having trouble reaching it. He saw the tail head and then its owner’s vicious face appear over the top of the corpse pile. Slowly it crept closer. Its jaws parted in a shriek the foulest demon would have been proud to call its own. The tail head attacked first. Rozovsky shot out a hand and grabbed it behind the jaws. It squirmed to be free. The creature attacked with claws and teeth prepared to rip and bite. Something landed on the creature’s head, slamming its jaws shut so forcefully its teeth cracked and splintered. A hand grabbed the creature’s head and yanked it back. A knife severed it throat. Blood gushed as the creature died.
Rozovsky stared at Petroff’s grinning face and held out the writhing tail-head. Petroff obliged with a swipe of his knife that parted the head from the tail.
Rozovsky slung it away and nodded at Petroff. “Thanks.”
Petroff smiled. “You’re welc…”
A creature that had leapt from the wall above slammed into Petroff and gripped the man’s head with its claws. Petroff screamed as they rolled down the corpse pile. Creatures shrieked. Flesh and clothes ripped. Petroff fell silent.
Rozovsky scrambled to his feet and, horrified by what he saw, stared at the five creatures ripping Petroff apart.
Shots rang out. Bullets ripped holes in the feasting monsters.
Rozovsky rushed over to Petroff as the Chief and his men arrived and started picking off the attacking creatures. Rozovsky stared at his friend’s body ripped open in a hundred places. Without turning his head, Rozovsky grabbed the tail-head that shot towards him and used both hands to rip the jaws from the tail. He threw both parts away.
The pale alpha male monster had remained on the high walkway observing the battle and had seen its pack mown down by the fresh onslaught. The intruders’ weapons were no match for their teeth and claws; they couldn’t get close enough to use them. A new plan was needed. When it barked a series of commands the creatures ceased their attack and retreated into the shadows.
After the creatures had moved away the men climbed down.
“Thanks, Nikolay,” said Brusilov. You and your men arrived just in the nick of time.”
The Chief smiled. “Just like in American movies.”
“Yeah, just like that, but let’s not push our luck. We’d best get out of here before they regroup.” Brusilov noticed Rozovsky by Petroff’s gruesome remains; this wasn’t the time to mourn. The creatures could stage a fresh assault at any time. “Rozovsky, it’s time to leave.”
Well aware of the danger and the need to get out of the room, Rozovsky gave Petroff a respectful nod and rejoined the men.
Wary of a fresh attack, they rushed across the room alert for danger and reached the exit without encountering any. Mikhail pulled the salvage cart out of the opening and Alexei closed the door when the last man stepped through.
“Bloody hell!” said Babinski, panting. “That was a rush.”
The men rested for a moment to catch their breath.
Brusilov glanced along the corridor. “One thing’s for certain, we’re not going any farther into the ship until we fetch more firepower.”
“Amen to that,” said Sergei.
All heads spun towards the screeching that blasted along the corridor. A mass of creatures from the crop room that had somehow cut off their retreat rushed at them.
The Chief’s men fired at the tidal wave of horror.
Blood and flesh sprayed the walls from the dead and wounded monsters that tumbled and tripped those behind, packed as tightly as they were in the corridor.
Aware that with the limited ammo they had between them they couldn’t kill them all, Brusilov took the only option open to them. “Run!” he ordered.
The men rushed along the corridor and headed deeper into the spaceship.
The monsters chased them.
CHAPTER 18
Please Don’t Let Me Die…
LUCY WAS SCARED. Frightened that at any moment something would leap out from the dense foliage. Her imagination, fueled by flashes of her nightmarish journey through Hell’s Garden, perceived every rustle of leaves or sway of leafy branch as being put in motion by a monster stalking her. Her eyes darted anxiously in all directions while her head swiveled constantly, shooting fearful glances behind and above, but she saw nothing physical, only shadows―ghosts of implied threats that accompanied her journey through the jungle undergrowth. She took a deep breath and forced her nerves to regain a semblance of calm before panic overtook her and made her to do something rash. Her hands gripped the makeshift weapon tighter as she carried on.
On reaching the edge of the jungle, she found her way blocked by a metal wall. A search along its length revealed a staircase that led up to an open door choked with undergrowth that had sought new areas to expand its creeping tendrils. She forced her way through and stepped away from the encroaching plants. Once she was past the layer of dead and rotted vegetation underfoot, she stepped onto a cold metal floor. It brought her comfort that she had at last reached a normal part of the spaceship―if anything could be described as normal on this bizarre vessel. Though a few small lights blinked on some surfaces of the strange machines and objects dotted around the room, there was no ambient light to reveal what might be lurking in its many dark recesses.