Terra Vitae - 4. Chapter 4

Jenson bent down quickly to catch his captain before he fell into his own vomit. Seeing that he had lost complete consciousness, he gently hoisted him up into his arms and carried him to a corner. He laid him down and turned around to scan the elevator for any dangers it may present. Shocked to see that there were headless hanging from the ceiling with hooks protruding from each of their necks. Eyes drawn to a glaring red light in the back of the large lift.

 

A noise from behind distracted him from this strange light, he spun around to see Silas lifting himself off the ground and balancing on a wall. And then another noise, only this time in the form of a loud crash that cause the emergency gate to shake violently. Both Silas and Jenson jumped as the gate shook again, Jenson grabbed Silas and roughly pulled him into the elevator and jammed his hand into the sealed emergency operations terminal, which caused the blast doors to close with a resounding thud.

 

“Fuck!” Silas screamed, grasping his right wrist delicately, drawing the attention of Jenson immediately. He stepped closer, and delicately pushed his hand away from the injured wrist to examine it closely. Eyes widening at the unnatural position that the wrist was setting in. Countless holographic images and references flew by his eyes as he surmised that it was sprained. Immediately he started gathering items for a makeshift brace, grabbing sturdy bits of metal and tearing his own shirt for more material.

 

It wasn’t long until he has secured a crude splint around his captain’s wrist, who glanced up at him with a grateful look in his eyes. Then he looked back down to his lap and continued to stare. Jenson assumed he was now okay to leave alone for a moment and he decided to investigate the red light that had drawn his attention.

 

Making his way to the light, he stopped to get a closer look at the corpses.He noticed that every single neck have been beheaded at the same angle.The only explanation was that they were all either simultaneously decapitated at once, or that the one who had done this had ridiculous precision and skill. Though, another thing that caught his interest was the position of the hooks. They were all pierced in the same place, through the back of the neck and out where you would find the adam's apple. His eyes traced around the rest of it, finding no residue or even the a struggle or blood. Blood, it was another element he did not detect here, there was no blood anywhere within the room. He pulled out his knife and experimentally dragged it across the vein that ran down one the corpse's arms. Once it pierced the skin and vein he expected vital fluid to slowly ooze outwards, but nothing came out.

 

Clicking his tongue, he locked this discovery away in his memories and returned to his trek toward the light. Once he was within three feet of it, he stopped. He tensed and felt something wasn’t right. He turned around to glance back at Silas to see that he was still resting, then his eyes were once more drawn to the strange light. Taking a couple of steps forward, he then reached his hand out to it. When it made contact his biometric sensors alerted him that there was an organic life form directly above him. At first he thought it was an error, until he heard the labored breaths.

Shoulders tensed, and he began backing away from the light. Scanners now on full alert for the second time in the last twenty-four hours. A large figure landing where he stood moments ago still catching him off guard. It stood on two legs at full height, its head hidden behind the mass of hanging bodies. It showed that it was tall, extremely tall, measuring at the very least at eight feet tall. The bodies began shifting as it pushed through them moving slowly with heavy footfalls, Jenson grabbing and readying his knife began his waiting game. The laborious breaths grew louder as it closed in on his position, the sluggish movements of its body becoming more noticeable as it approached.

 

Tensing up he prepared for the worst, his knife held tightly in his hand. The movement halted, just as his sensors flared up again showing more organic lifeforms in the area. Eyes nervously scanning around the room seeing that there were now more of these figures creeping forward throughout the area. Slowly he began to back away to where Silas was resting, keeping his eyes on all of these things that he possibly could at once.

 

His back hit the wall within seconds, and he made his way toward his captain. He moved slowly until he reached the sleeping man, and then bent down picking him up and moving towards the door. Realizing though, that the door was now locked tight, he turned around and eyed the red button once more. Deciding it is better than sitting around and waiting for these creepy giants to reach them, he bolted for it. He dodged each one of them on his way, then rammed his elbow into the light. After this, a whirring sound resounded through the room as the lights sprung to life and all of the interfaces with them. This of also revealed what these lumbering figures looked like, which was not an easy sight to take in. Mechanical chassis with transparent tubes filled with a blood like substance pumping through them, the entire body resembling that of a mining drone, but most the shocking part was the jawless and eyeless human head attached to it.

 

Jenson tightened his grip on Silas protectively upon seeing these creatures. Scanning the area as quickly as possible he found the control panel. Once more he bolted through the creatures to the other side of the room. Once he reached the terminal he remotely interfaced with it. He began calculating how long a human could survive the vacuum of space, then activated the airlock doors closest to the creatures. As if realizing his intentions the creatures emitted a high-pitched screech and began charging toward them, it was then that he hit the button.

 

Just as the sound of the creatures’ screeches reached his ears, it stopped and his magnetic locks initiated. To be fair all the noise halted, he watched as they struggled to gain a grip on anything in sight as they were forcefully dragged into the vacuum with all the precious gases in the room. It took around nine seconds for the room to clear. He closed the doors and began the process of pressurization. He released the automatic magnetic locks in his feet, then looked to Silas hoping that he had not killed him. He saw that as the room was finishing the process that his chest began to slowly move.

 

Relieved at this sight he placed the smaller man back onto the ground. Immediately he began scanning for any of those creatures, but came up with nothing. He sighed, then punched in the command to lower the elevator to the surface into the console. Once it began its slow descent he sat down next to his captain and stared out into space.