18
Delta
Cameron’s group moved to the next station. Body parts and pieces of flesh littered the cave floor.
“What happened here?” asked Peter.
Cameron answered, “Looks like the rebels ran into some Crightents.”
There was a train parked in the station, “Is there any chance this might run?” Allisha questioned.
“Nope.” Blare replied quickly.
“Yes it will, every train has a back up battery incase the tracks break,” Salleedin contradicted.
“Boot it up then,” Cameron said.
“It’ll take awhile to warm up, about twenty minutes.”
“Step to it!” he commanded.
“Yes,” Salleedin ran to the control room to start the warm up procces.
“Cover him.” Cameron stated as they formed up around the room.
“How much longer, Salleedin?” Blare demanded.
“Fifteen minutes, if I had another conductor it might speed up the procces a bit.”
“Where?!” Allisha wanted to know.
“There,” he pointed to a dark room, “in the supply room.”
Cameron sighed, “Allisha, with me.”
“That’s a death trap!” she exclaimed. Cameron didn’t reply. She sighed and followed him into the room.
“Okay, a conductor,” Cameron spoke to himself.
The door swung shut leaving them in total darkness, “Ah Cameron, did you do that?”
“Nope,” he came back
“I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”
As if on cue, a Crightent jumped and impacted on Cameron. He grabbed his combat knife and pulled it out before he hit the floor, “You piece of crap!” he stabbed it and it flailed around, “Open the door so you can see to shoot it!” he yelled struggling with the demon.
As Allisha opened the door Cameron shoved the thing off himself and Allisha pointed her pistols at the creature, Boom! Boom! She got it.
“Thanks.” she helped him up.
“Don’t mention it,” she told him.
Cameron rested his hand on a shelf, “I think I found the conductor.”
“Let’s get out of here,” she dashed out of the room.
They ran over to Salleedin and he handed him the conductor, “Here.” he took it and attached it under the control pannel.
Cameron noticed that Peter and Blare had their own Crightent confrontation, “We got two.” Peter exclaimed.
“Good work, we had a close call in the the supply room.”
“Seven minutes left, no reason for us to stay here, let’s get on the train,” Salleedin ran out from the control room.
The squad heard the sound of hissing and claws against stone, “Let’s not dilly-dally,” Peter hurried ahead of them all.
Once they all were inside Cameron wished, “Pray they don’t smell us in here.”
“No, they already smell us, that is why they come,” Salleedin crushed Cameron’s dream.
“Oh dear,” Peter moaned.
Crightents flooded into the station, “We can hold them off till we get moving.” Blare stated bravely.
“How much longer?” Cameron demanded of Salleedin.
“Four minutes,” he replied.
Demons crawled over the transport searching for a way in, “Be still,” Cameron whispered.
“Three minutes.”
Allisha noticed that one creature was tugging at a window latch.
“Two minutes.”
The Crightent pulled harder.
“Sixty seconds.”
Allisha slowly pulled out her 50 caliber pistols and aimed at the creature. She waited uneasily as the window began to crack. How would they make it through this one?
“Ten seconds.” the transport began to move.
“Cameron!” Allisha shouted as the window shattered, Bam! Bam! Bam! She fired at the Crightent that was now swinging into the car. She hit the demon’s arm, knocking it to the ground. Then she killed the creature by shooting it in the head, shattering its face. “Get to the next car!” Cameron commanded as Crightents poured into the transport, “Go, go!”
Blare and Peter ran ahead and jumped the gap between the two cars. Allisha and Cameron followed suit, “Salleedin!” Cameron called.
Salleedin was close behind, but as he jumped, a Crightent grabbed him in mid air. He hit the ground a few inches away from the edge of the car, “Help! Help!”
Salleedin was about to be consumed by the flood of white scaly bodies, but Cameron extended his hand towards him and he took hold, “I got you!” He pulled as the demons began to attack him, “Peter, Blare, someone, shoot these things!”
Peter got a bead on one creature, but as he pulled the trigger, another demon leaped from the first car onto him driving Peter to the ground, “Get this thing off of me!”
Blare shouted toward at Allisha who was in a state of shock at the current event, “Allisha, a little help here!” Allisha didn’t reply.
Blare fired upon the creature that had hold of Salleedin, then shot at the rest of the hoard that was trying to kill them. Cameron pulled with all his might and jerked Salleedin into the uninfected car. “You saved my neck,” Salleedin thanked Cameron.
Cameron was occupied with unhooking the first car and letting it roll away. Once he had finished that task he pealed the demon off of Peter, “Get it off me! Agh! It bit me!” Peter grasped his bloody neck as Cameron shot the head off the creature then kicked it off the transport. It hit the ground and was gone.
Blare ran over to Peter and gasped, “Oh no!”
“How bad is the wound?” he asked panting.
“If it’s not treated soon, fatal,” she answered propping up his head.
“I knew this was going to happen one of these days.” he replied.
Cameron came over and knelt down beside him, “Hey man, you’ll make it.”
Peter shook his head, “Not this time.”
“Dude, you will,” Cameron tried to say with as much confidence as possible, “Don’t be like Sparx.”
“I can feel it now,” he grasped Blare’s arm tightly, “the Crightent is already taking over.” he grabbed Blare’s side arm and she knew what he wanted her to do.
“No, I can’t.” she sobbed.
“Make it quick before it’s too late.” Scales slowly started to grow outward from the bite on his neck. He turned to Cameron, “I’m sorry, I tried to follow orders best I could, comrade,” he took a breath, “I have failed.”
“No, you did the best any commander could ask for.”
Pater closed his eyes, “Blare, before it’s too late.” scales covered the hand that was holding hers and she dropped it.
Peter started to foam at the mouth as he opened his eyes that were now pupil less, Boom! Allisha fired a single shot that ended it all.
Blare stood up with tears steaming down her cheeks, “I couldn’t do it, Cam, I’m sorry.”
“I understand,” he lifted Peter’s head up and took his dog tags and placed them on his neck, “Rest easy brother, rest easy.”
“What now?” questioned Allisha.
“We get off this horrid piece of rock. Salleedin, how long till the next station?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
The transport came to the surface of Delta and Allisha noticed first, “Check this out.”
“What the?”
The surface was shrouded in darkness and fires broke out in the artificial living environments, “What happened?” asked Blare.
“The Crightent plague, we wanted to release it later but we couldn’t contain it.” Salleedin said.
“What!?” Cameron demanded.
“We were experimenting on Delta with a small battalion of rebels; so if we lost control, like we did, it wouldn’t kill all rebels forces.”
“Akin is smarter than I thought,” Blare stated.
“Akin? Did I miss something?” Allisha asked.
“Akin Dorgan is the leader of the rebel Fist, he was overseeing our Crightent project himself,” Salleedin answered.
“So you were planning on using the Crightent as a weapon to control the star system?” Cameron said.
“You little rats!” Allisha stated.
“Most of us didn’t want to, but once the Fist took over our colony, every man had to serve the Fist or die.”
“How did you grow the Crightent? Is that what why you kidnapped all those people?” Blare wanted to know.
“Yes.”
“What about Marcus, I mean if he’s still alive,” Allisha asked
Cameron sighed, “I know, alright, we got a new objective. First we find Marcus then get off this colony.”
The train skimmed along the surface then plunged back into the asteroid. The tunnel lights went out and they were surrounded in darkness. “What now?!” demanded Cameron.
“Power’s out, the Crightents must have gotten into the main power generator.” Salleedin noted.
“What happens if there is something on the tracks blocking the train?” Blare asked, “We won’t be able to stop.”
Crash! Shriek! The transport collided with something unmovable. It was a blessed thing that they were traveling at such a slow speed.
Cameron gasped picking himself up off the floor, “That’s what happens. Is everybody okay?”
“I think so,” they came back.
Blare switched on her gun light, “That’s better.” They could now tell that they had run into a stationary transport car.
“Looks like we’re walking from here,” Cameron stated, “Let’s go.” The group stepped out into the dark tunnel, and Cameron asked Salleedin, “Do you have a flash light?”
Salleedin felt his cloak for one, “I don’t think so, oh wait,” he pulled one out and handed it to Cameron, “here.”
“Thanks.” He slung his bull-pup over his shoulder and pulled out his Sig-Sauer, “B, take point.”
“On it, Cam,” she walked to the head of the group and procceded onward toward the next station.
Allisha followed Blare, then Salleedin, and Cameron was picking up the rear. He checked their rear to see if any threats were present and none were so he turned around and followed after his group.
The group moved on the tunnel floor for sometime, then they came upon a set of three steps leading up to a man made walkway, “We are close to the station,” Salleedin pointed out.
A quick, sharp, screeching noice was heard, and the two flashlight bearers shone them around jerkedly, but nothing was to be found, “Good, this place is freaking me out.” Allisha admitted.
“I’m not sure that the surface will be any better,” Cameron said.
Blare walked up the stairs as did the rest of the team. As Cameron was about to go up after his group, a white scaley hand reached out from under one of the steps, “Look out!” he exclaimed to himself. He was about to fire but the thing brust out from under the steps and was upon them.
Bam! Cameron shot once and the creature vanished into the darkness. Blare gulped, “Where is it now?”
A roar rang out. Cameron jumped up on the walkway, “Keep moving.”
They moved at a faster pace than before the Crightent attacked. The trek was filled with agony, for they did not know where the demon was or if more had come to the sound. The group flinched at every noise that could have been a Crightent.
Out of the shadows came the station, illuminated by Blare’s barrel light. “Yes, there it is.”
A terrifying scream came from the shadows behind. A scream that made ones blood turn to ice, a cry that only a Crightnet could make, “There it is.” Cameron gasped turning around. He shown his light upon it as it leaped through the air, Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Each bullet impacted in the chest of the creature shreading it. The lifeless carcass landed on Cameron knocking him to the ground. At first he struggled aginst the body but then found that it was dead.
Panting, he got off the floor, “That was close.”
“Cam, are you okay?” Blare stepped towards him.
“Yeah B, I’m just a bit shook up.”
“Before more come, let’s get to the station!”Allisha put.
A few of the stations lights were on, but dim, “Where is everybody?” Blare asked.
“Most likely evacuating,” Salleedin answered.
Cameron turned to the rogue rebel, “You need a weapon before we go to the surface.”
“Are you seriously going to trust him with a weapon?” Blare demanded angrily.
“I have to,” he shot Blare a look, then turned back to Salleedin, “Where can you get a weapon?”
“Kill a rebel,” he answered
“Well, if you find one I’d be happy to kill it for you.”
“I can hear one breathing, it sounds like he’s going to die,” they all held their breath to hear the dying rebel breathe.
“There,” Cameron shown his light over in the shadows. The bloody rebel reached for his Skorpion that was lying beside him, Bam! “Got him.”
Salleedin ran over to him and picked up his weapon and ammo, “Thank you.”
“Let’s move!” Cameron commanded and they ran up a flight of stairs to the surface.