‘Is that it?’ he asked himself.

  Including Commander Cloud and High Priest Rogue, it meant there were only eleven of them left, and one of them was from another House. Babylon had half expected two dozen of their men to survive the battle, but he had badly miscalculated. He attempted to dismiss the thoughts gathering within his mind, but they wouldn’t shift. How could eleven people hope to fight their way out of this situation?

  ***

  Commander Cloud watched Rogue doing his thing below. The alien beast gave out a distressed mumbled cry. It was hard to make a sound with its mouth chained up so tight. Rogue removed his hand from the creature’s head and stepped back. For one long moment, he just stood there, staring at the beast. For so long he had searched for the weapon to end the war. His intuition had been right. He had to find one of the original aliens. He had to find one that had been born from the damned world. Only then could he learn a way to stop all of this. Deep down in the core of his being was a strange spark. Rogue craned his neck up to the ceiling.

  ‘Cloud, we may have a problem,’ said Rogue, his voice came through an intercom on the wall.

  Cloud held the button down on the console in front of him and spoke into a microphone. ‘What do you sense, High Priest?’

  ‘I believe we have cursed one amongst us.’

  ‘One of us is turning?’ asked Cloud.

  ‘No. It appears we have guests.’

  ‘Have you concluded your business here?’

  ‘Yes.’ The high priest headed for the door. ‘I think it is time we leave this place.’

  ‘Thank fuck for that,’ replied Cloud.

  ***

  ‘Are you shitting me?’ cursed Hex, throwing open the medicine cabinet. Everything single shelf was empty. It appeared the place had been ransacked when the colonists that evacuated. The army medic cursed the alien bastard that had swiped his medical bag from him. He didn’t remember losing it, but one of those little fuckers must have got closer to him than he thought.

  ‘Am I fucked?’ asked Grizzly.

  ‘No, but you are not going to like the next hour,’ admitted Hex.

  He walked over to his friend. Grizzly was sitting up on the silver medical table. His left trouser leg had been cut open to reveal a wound he hadn’t even realised he had. Several white teeth were buried into the back of his calf. He had been bitten. One of the aliens had managed to get him. Thankfully, all soldiers were given zombie resistant pills before going into battle. It didn’t stop you from turning, but it did slow down the process. Hex stabbed a syringe into his friend’s thigh.

  ‘This will give you an extra hour,’ said Hex.

  ‘Okay,’ replied Grizzly, lying back.

  He was already feeling dizzy from the drugs.

  ‘This next bit will hurt, too.’

  Hex grabbed a pair of tweezers and a small silver bowl.

  ‘This fucking sucks.’

  ‘I know, partner,’ said Hex, grabbed Grizzly by the knee with his left hand. ‘Try to stay as still as possible, and we will get this over soon.’ Grizzly cried out in pain, as the tweezers were forced into his gaping open wound. It was going to hurt, but those teeth had to come out.

  ***

  Commander Cloud placed his assault rifle down on the snooker table, as he looked the young woman up and down. She appeared to be no older than sixteen years of age. The pale girl was pretty, plump and well represented in the breast department. She wore combat trousers and a dark green t-shirt. On her shoulder was the crest of the Phoenix House. Cloud looked her straight into her cold dead eyes. Red pupils were looking back at him. She had those type of eyes that could through a man’s soul. He always felt a dark chill down his spine when he saw one of the talking dead. The Phoenix House was a House of the dead. They were descendants of human’s that had been turned into zombies and then reproduced. Her people were very similar to human’s in almost every way, but there were a few differences. The Phoenix House had incredible regenerative capabilities. A limb could be hacked off, and within a week it would grow back again, like some kind of bug. The downside was that they needed fresh meat, regularly. If the dead didn’t eat, then they would return to being another brainless zombie that had plagued the planet they had once come from.

  ‘Who is she?’ asked Cloud.

  ‘This is Jasmine Vine,’ explained Breaker, standing to attention. ‘She is the daughter of Council Member Peter Vine.’

  ‘Oh?’ Cloud raised an eyebrow of curiosity. ‘You have one of the four Phoenix House Council members daughters?’

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ replied Breaker. ‘My mission was to intercept her ship and bring her back to General Mira.’

  ‘Then you got caught up in this shit?’ said Cloud, it wasn’t really a question.

  ‘I was trying to get my wounded treated when the invasion happened.’

  ‘How many men do you have?’ asked Cloud.

  Breaker glanced at Sparrow, ‘it’s just the two of us now.’

  Cloud nodded. ‘I will help you get your package off world. This girl will be good leverage for our House. Good work, Sergeant Breaker.’ Suddenly, a whirring alarm began to scream out of the internal intercom. The lights within the room switched off, as the dull red glow of the emergency lighting kicked into life. Unconsciously, Cloud grabbed his assault rifle. He could hear the sound of the automatic machine gun turrets roaring into life. Had the alien monsters already breached this far into the base already?

  ***

  Cloud and Breaker rushed through the blast door and into the corridor. Three automatic machine gun turrets were pumping high calibre rounds into the swarm of alien’s attempting to charge down the narrow corridor. The bottleneck was forcing the aliens to bunch up. The small four foot high black skinned aliens were running upon the walls and ceiling, as they came forward. The things looked humanoid in shape but were clearly the creation of a madman’s nightmare. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until the automatic guns ran out of ammo. Hex, Babylon and Joker came to their side.

  ‘What are your orders, Commander?’ asked Babylon.

  The horde of monsters was starting to progress further down the corridor.

  When one fell, four more took its place.

  These things had no fear or sense of danger.

  They didn’t even appear to value their own lives.

  ‘Fall back,’ said Cloud.

  The five of them retreated back into the main living area. Low Priest Blade rushed up with his welding tools. Commander Cloud punched in an override command into the computer terminal beside the doors. This would keep them locked, but they all knew that the gesture was futile. The aliens could cut through their armour in no time at all. Staying in the outpost was no longer an option. If they had any hope of surviving they had to make a move, and that move had to happen, right now.

  ***

  ‘You have lived for a long time,’ said High Priest Rogue, as he circled the chained up, alien creature. He stroked its body like someone petting a beloved animal. ‘You have travelled the universe. You have seen the creation of worlds and destroyed others. You have travelled space and time. You have seen experienced realms and creatures that are beyond my imagination.’ The creature tried to pull away from him, as he stepped in front of it. From an outside observer, it would appear that the alien was frightened of him. ‘I am going to free you from your pain.’ High Priest Rogue closed his eyes and exhaled deeply in through his mouth. The monster thrashed wildly, as fear and panic infiltrated its mind. Once again, Rogue breathed deep, expanding his lungs to the maximum capacity. With each exhale he chanted words in an alien tongue that had long since died. His voice was low, menacing. It sounded like numerous people were speaking all at once. Suddenly, the red warning lights began to fade into nothing but darkness. Even the darkness of the room began to disappear into a blackness that was devoid of colour. It was like the room didn’t exist. A bright blue sparkling light shone upon the top of the alien’s head. The face of the creature could be seen in the blue light. High Priest Rogue breathed in deeply, sucking in the sparkling blue light into his mouth. The monster gave out one final desperate thrash and then it fell limp. Rogue sucked up the remaining of the blue light, darkness returned. ‘Rest, my friend,’ whispered the man in black. The red warning lights returned, and Rogue headed for the door. He could sense the fear from the others above him. Something was coming.

  ***

  ‘We need pick up at outpost 124,’ said Joker, as he spoke into the microphone.

  ‘Negative. All ships are in use.’

  ‘Are they fucking kidding?’ asked Echo. He was sat in the chair behind Joker.

  ‘We have vital information that must get off world.’

  ‘Negative. You are on your own,’ said the voice.

  ‘Fuck you, too,’ growled Joker, slamming the microphone down on the console.

  ‘What do we do now?’ asked Babylon, turning his attention to Cloud.

  ‘There is a transport ship docked at the base,’ said Sparrow, he was hacking away at a console.

  ‘Where is it?’ Cloud looked over the man’s shoulder. A map of Outpost 124 appeared on the computer screen. Sparrow moved the screen to show more of the map. All Outposts on the planet were connected by a complex maze of underground tunnels. It is how the colonists travelled the planet and moved supplies around. The map moved sideways, and then an image of a ship appeared on the surface of the planet.

  ‘It is an unarmed transport ship,’ said Sparrow.

  ‘That will do,’ replied Babylon.

  ‘How long will it take to get there?’ asked Joker.

  ‘Fifteen minutes on foot,’ explained Sparrow.

  ‘Get your gear,’ ordered Cloud, ‘we move now!’

  ***

  The reinforced armoured door slid open to reveal a very long and dark corridor. Commander Cloud switched on the light attached to his assault rifle. He scanned the shadows as he stepped into the corridor. One by one the others inched in behind him. Banging and thudding could be heard from above. The alien’s had already infiltrated the command centre. It wouldn’t take them long to pick up the scent of the living and follow them down here. Joker, Babylon and Echo were the next to move into the corridor. At first glance, the coast looked clear. If that was the case, then it would be a straightforward sprint to the transport ship. Grizzly limped in behind them. He was starting to feel the pain from the bite on his leg, sweat was dripping from his brow like he had just run a marathon. Hex was keeping an eye on his friend. The medication they had wouldn’t last long, but hopefully, it would last long enough to get him into the transporter and then into the deep sleep chamber. Once they got to a starbase, they could reverse the zombie virus that was attacking his system. Rogue was next, followed by Breaker, Shadow and the female hostage they were transporting. Blade followed up the rear. The young man closed the door behind them and instantly began sealing it up with his blow torch.

  Suddenly, the crashing and banging from above them stopped.

  All heads craned up to the dark ceiling.

  ‘Why have they stopped?’ asked Echo.

  The deep booming sound of laughter echoed down the corridor towards them.

  All weapons pointed to the only way forward.

  The torchlight revealed very little, the corridor disappeared off into the gloom.

  ‘Rogue, what do we have here?’ questioned Cloud.

  ‘Why aren’t those fuckers trying to get us anymore?’ asked Grizzly.

  ‘They don’t need to come after us anymore,’ said High Priest Rogue, stepping forward and taking the lead. ‘We are being hunted by a Shadow.’ The entire group let out a frightened murmur.

  ‘You have to be fucking kidding me,’ said Sparrow, fear rattled in his voice.

  ‘I don’t joke,’ replied Rogue, ‘if any of you want to live I suggest you run.’

  ***

  The sound of boots thumping off the cold hard floor echoed through the silent corridor. The corridor was about twelve foot high and twelve foot wide. It was designed so trunks and armoured cars could move freely beneath the surface of the base. Every fifteen hundred meters was a supply station, which had a small room built into the side of the corridor filled with wooden boxes. The boxes held tinned food, basic medical supplies and ammunition. The group did a quick check at the first supply station, but it looked like the colonist had taken everything during the initial evacuation. Eleven pairs of wide eyes scanned high and low, left and right, as the group continued their journey. They had all heard stories of Shadows. They made the alien monsters they had been fighting look tame. There had been stories of a single Shadow taking down an entire battleship. They had heard of Shadows who had killed over four thousand men in a single night. Guns couldn't kill them, nothing could kill them. They were indestructible monsters that fed on the living. No one knew how many Shadows existed in the universe. The stories of them were far and few between, but there were enough stories to add credibility to their existence.

  And then it happened.

  Every single torch went out.

  It was like someone had just flicked a switch.

  The group came to a stop in the complete darkness.

  Only the dead girl from the Phoenix House could see as if the sun had risen. Her dead eyes had incredible night vision. Colours swirled in the air around her, bringing her world to life. Every living person around her had a different scent and colour, but so did the Shadow. To her, it was like a Grey apparition that moved on the peripheral of her vision. When she turned to face the creature, it was already gone. Her eyes turned to Rogue. The old man was chanting something beneath his breath, as he clasped his hands in front of his chest.

  A bone-crunching snap echoed through the air.

  Someone grunted.

  The girl turned.

  The Low Priest Blade was floating in the air in front of her.

  A grey arm was protruding from his chest, holding his bloody heart.

  The girl backed away, as the human soldiers looked frightened and confused. They couldn’t see what was happening, but they could hear the gurgling breath of a dying man. Blade’s lifeless body thudded off the floor, and the creature was on the move again. The girl tried to follow it, but it was just so damn fast. Rogue’s chanting grew faster and faster, as his voice turned into many.

  ‘Fuck!’ Breaker cursed, as he was dropped onto his arse.

  Something grabbed his leg. It gripped him so hard that it could feel his shin bones snap.

  Breaker reacted in the best way he knew.

  He opened fire with his sub-machine gun.

  The flash of his muzzle flicked into the darkness. For a brief moment, they all caught sight of the ghostly creature pulling him into the shadows. The others opened fired. Every single bullet passed through the creature without causing the slightest bit of pain or damage.

  ‘LET THERE BE LIGHT,’ roared Rogue.

  A ball of incredibly bright light appeared in the palm of his hand.

  It was as if he held a miniature sun.

  The Shadow howled, released its grip on Breaker and flew off into the shadows.

  ‘Mother fucker broke my leg,’ cursed Breaker.

  ‘Let’s move. I have this light for ten minutes and that it is.’

  ‘Sorry about this, Breaker,’ said Babylon, grabbing him by the webbing.

  Breaker looked frightened and hurt, but nodded his head as he gritted his teeth.

  Babylon yanked him up off the floor and tossed him over his shoulder. Breaker cried out in pain but didn’t once tell the sniper to put him down. Rogue offered his dead apprentice a single glance, but nothing more. There would be others that would replace him. The group were a man down and had survived their first encounter with the Shadow, but there was still a long way to go and time was now against them.

  ***

  ‘This is fucking marvellous,’ cursed Echo, as they approached the piles of crates and barrels blocking their way. They had been stacked from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall. Rogue stepped forward and allowed the light of his orb to surround the group. All eyes looked into the darkness behind them. They could feel the Shadow at the edge of the gloom, just waiting for the light to disappear.

  ‘Let’s clear this,’ ordered Cloud.

  Babylon placed Breaker down with a grunt and a groan. Hex was beside them in second, a needle was shoved into Breaker’s thigh before he even had a chance to refuse. The effect of the painkillers was almost instantaneous. Breaker’s groaning ceased, as a strange look of relaxation made a home within his facial muscles. The soldier looked off into the distance with a faraway look. ‘The drug will last for two hours,’ said Hex, ‘he isn’t going to be with us until then.’

  ‘I will guard him,’ replied Babylon.

  ‘Good man.’ Hex moved across the corridor towards Grizzly. The bearded soldier was leaning heavily against the wall, struggling to catch his breath. ‘How are you feeling, Grizzly?’

  ‘I feel like shit,’ he looked up at his friend. Blue veins were appearing on his face. Hex knew without looking that the rest of his body was covered in the blue veins too. It looked worse than it was. This was the effect of the drug-fighting off the zombie infection. Time was not on their side. Hex had to get Grizzly to that transport ship A.S.A.P, or it would be time to put Grizzly to sleep.

 

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