Star Runners: Dark Space

Chapter 7

7

Josh squeezed the trigger, the rifle spitting bolts toward his target. They struck without effect, the armor glowing as the creature charged. Standing, he held the gun to his belt and unleashed everything. Blasts disappeared into the protective field around his target. Other shots deflected and exploded into the rocks, erupting into sparks.

The rifle ran dry. He hurled it to the floor and yanked out the revolver. Aiming, he fired. The gun exploded like thunder in the confined space, kicking his arm back with more power than the rifle. The bullet struck the shoulder, spinning him around, the shimmering energy wave surrounding the armor vanishing.

His enemy, its yellow eyes full, lifted its arm and fired twice. The first gel burst zipped by Josh’s head, crashing into the rocks with a hiss. But the second struck his right forearm with blunt force, sending him staggering backward. The gun fell from his grip. His heel caught a rock, and he stumbled onto his back just as the gel covered his bicep, scalding his skin and eating through.

He screamed, the smell of burning flesh filling his nose. He tried to wipe it off his arm, but only burned his palm. Arching his back, he shrieked as the substance melted his skin.

His wounded foe came to a stop and loomed over him, the wrist cannon trained on his face. Drawing on his anger, Josh spat at it and knew, dimly, it would be the last thing he did in this universe.

A blade pierced its chest, spilling blood onto its armor as its eyes bulged. A human male materialized behind it and twisted the sword, opening the wound. He shoved the creature to the ground and turned down the corridor, spraying machine gun fire from a weapon in his other hand.

Josh glanced at the dying thing. It smelled like a rotting corpse and wheezed for an instant before it remained still.

The stranger turned halfway around and tossed a blue rubber mat onto Josh's chest, his close-set eyes colorless.

"Use it on the wound until I get back," he said in a cold voice, "or you'll die."

Without waiting for a response, Josh’s savior sprinted down the hall, his machine gun firing. More of those things shrieked, followed by the distinctive clunk of their gel weapons.

Taking the blue mat and feeling its slimy texture, Josh pressed it on the wound and held it there, allowing the cooling sensation to penetrate his arm. The wound tingled, stinging as he tried to rise to his feet. More machine gun fire popped, mixing with what sounded like swords clashing and fierce struggles punctuated by the cracking of bones or slashing of blades upon flesh.

"What happened?" Matta asked, running over the uneven surface. She recoiled at the sight of him. "Are you okay?”

"No!" he snapped, standing as his head continued to spin. "You're supposed to stay in there."

She lowered her gaze. "I couldn't stay in there with this happening." Peering down the corridor, she added, "What's going on down there?"

He shook his head. "A man saved me from those … things. One of yours?"

"Everybody's gone."

Three quick bursts from a machine gun echoed, followed by silence. Josh and Matta remained by one another, motionless for a pair of heartbeats.

"What’s that?” she whispered, raising her laser pistol slightly.

Josh gently placed his hand over hers and lowered the weapon. "You're not going to need that."

"You smashed or something?"

He winced as the pain in his arm rippled. "Energy weapons definitely don't work on them."

"We'll see about that."

"This isn't time for pride," he shot back. "Their armor takes the laser bolts."

Matta frowned. "What you mean 'takes' it?"

"It absorbs it somehow."

She stared at the body lying between the rocks, nudging the corpse with her toe. “That armor do that?"

"I guess," he said, clenching his teeth. "I unloaded an entire pack and didn't do a thing."

"We might need to take some," she said with a tight smile. "How you stop it then?”

Ignoring the pain, he reached down and grabbed the revolver. "With this. Projectile weapon slowed him down long enough to allow our new friend to begin his work."

Matta sighed and stared down the corridor. "Who is he?"

Standing upright from the wall and taking a deep breath, Josh said, "Let's find out."

They moved forward, each step taken with caution. As they progressed toward the main hangar, two more bullet-riddled bodies littered the floor. Missed shots from the gel blasts still smoked on the walls, filling the air with their sharp odor. Josh lingered over the second body. The once glowing yellow eyes had darkened to a dull gray like smoldering coals in a dying fire.

"I've read about DNA manipulation," he breathed, his attention drawn by the dead creature. "You think that's what this is?"

"I dunno," she said, turning around a few paces ahead of him. "I think we got other things to worry about at the moment."

Nodding, he continued forward. Another creature had fallen on the dining table, a comrade on the floor reaching toward the ceiling in an eternal gesture. Bullet holes pockmarked the walls, flanked by more burns from the mysterious liquid weapons. He slowed as he approached the opening to the hangar, wondering if the intruding ships had left the area as well.

Two more bodies had fallen on the hangar deck, but their ships had vanished.

"Oh, no!" Matta screamed, holstering her weapon and sprinting across the deck.

"Wait!" he shouted, but it was too late.

He traced her path leading to the vessel he had just returned to her, and then he understood. Smoking remains of the gel blasts covered the canopy, melting the surface and twisting its shape. He doubted it would ever be spaceworthy again.

"Matta," he called, sweeping his revolver across the hangar, "we need to be careful. We still don't know where that man is."

"Right behind you."

Josh spun around, bringing the revolver up.

"Ah, ah," the man sneered, the machine gun aiming at Josh's head. "One more move and I end your little adventure right here."

"Hey!" Matta yelled, running toward them. She stopped and raised her weapon when she saw the gun on Josh. "You do him, and you're gone!"

"That may be so," the newcomer said, his lips barely moving when he spoke, "but you'd better be a good shot. Something tells me you're not too confident, so let's drop the pistol and have a conversation."

Josh swallowed, lowering the gun. "But you saved us."

"I need information. Then I decide if you live or die."