Peligia is wet, soggy…
And God's the mud!
HQ - Peligia
~~*~~
The soggy archaeologist fought his way through the thick black mud of the compound, rounding rows of tents as he fought to keep his books under his jacket in an effort to keep them dry. Not that anything would ever stay dry in that place. The rain was insipid, seeping into everything and everywhere. Churning the ground into mud that sucked with every struggling step.
The tent where Doctor Casey was working was brilliantly lit in golden light shed by the string of bulbs she had rigged herself. And despite the rain's relentless deluge, she seemed content to move from work table to her computer, tapping in commands with precise fingers, lost in concentration.
Murphy entered the tent, shaking the rain from his thick hair as he pulled the books out and slammed them down on the metal workbench he usually claimed as his workspace. "I hate it here," he announced in annoyance over his bedraggled situation.
Casey was wearing just the fleece of her dragoon jacket over top of her expedition clothes, chewing on a stylus as she tapped some notes into her PDA, "mmhmm," she murmured absently.
"Between the rain, bad food, and the fact that we can't get out and explore this stuff…" Murphy complained flipping open his laptop and booting through the Denver '12 start-up window, listening to the god awful chimes of what was widely considered the worst operating system ever designed. He sat on his stool, kicking his legs up under him as it swung round to face her. "You look busy."
"Yep," she answered walking back to the collection of still photographs she had taken of carvings in the Kule mine.
"Well we could always just ask Doctor Roberts to join us," Murphy mused. "Maybe a fresh perspective will do us some good."
Casey paused in her work, "Darien doesn't want her working too closely with us."
"She has an U'acht," Murphy insisted. "A research tool like that would make cross-referencing Kule script easy…"
Casey's eyebrow arched, "I like to do the translations, and it makes me feel useful."
"You are useful," Murphy answered her, apologetically. "I didn't mean that you weren't. I just thought… well there's so much else you could be working on."
She eyed him sceptically as she set her PDA down on the edge of a table. "I'm sorry, I guess I've got the same issues you do. Being cooped up in camp so close to the ancient wonders of Peligia, it's frustrating. But Darien must have his reasons."
"Dangerous xeno-phobic aliens and psycho-neo-communists?" Murphy sighed as he lifted his glasses, pushing the balls of his hands into his eyes to rub away the lethargy that soaked into him. "It's like he has spent so long in getting here and now that he's here he doesn't know what to do…"
"Warlord Taine isn't infallible, he had no idea what to expect when we jumped here," Casey opened a thermos of tea and poured two cups. "He's taking things slowly because he has to, we're stuck here for god knows how long. We have to survive, and he's got all these lives to look after and…"
"No direction," Murphy answered accepting the tea gratefully.
"Which is why we need to find something in these engravings," Casey said tapping the photo-stills. "Anything that will give him an idea of what he has to do. Our job is to guide him, and we need to figure things out in order for him to make the right choices."
"Then get Roberts in here," Murphy insisted. "She, at lease, can give a fresh perspective… and the U'acht…"
"Circular arguments don't become you," Casey snipped.
"And only narrow minded scientists fail to use every resource at their disposal to find the truth," Murphy shot back. "I'm right, you know I'm right. We need help here, and she's the only person who can offer it."
Casey blew out a long sigh of frustration, reaching up to tap the TAC-link tucked into its shoulder pocket. "Doctor Roberts, can you come to the expedition tent, I need your help."
Roberts entered a short time later, brushing the rain from her soiled duster, pounding out her Tilley hat as she scowled at the two scientists. "It's two AM, in the middle of a monsoon, and you two pick now to need me?"
"Gratitude," Murphy said swivelling his chair around in a broad circle. "You want in on this stuff or not, your choice Doctor."
"Help the tweedle twins, or spend a decent night asleep in bed," Roberts mused as she put her hat back on. "I think I'll choose sleep…"
"We found a Kule mine," Casey broke in hurriedly.
"So?" Roberts folded her arms, looking over at the Asian linguist. "It's common knowledge that the Kule had access to Peligian technology, and it stands to reason that they would have come here…"
"They have a Gorean chained up in the mines," Murphy added. "Living off of liquid flowing from roots…"
"…and a squad of marines," Casey added.
"Mostly vegetarian Gorean…" Roberts chuckled. "Betcha that has to be one for the annuals of Xeno-biology Today. Imagine if Karin was overrun by them instead of the carnivorous ones? My god, there wouldn't be a leaf for miles…"
"We're trying to figure out what we're supposed to be doing here," Murphy cleared his throat and gestured to the stills. "Your help would be nice."
"My help isn't going to do much good," Roberts replied. "Peligia is useless without the Key. Only with the key can you open the Celestine gate and gain access to the city of O'nii."
"The what now?" Murphy blinked at Casey.
"Jesus," Roberts slumped into a seat. "You're joking. You're telling me you came to Peligia without doing research into what exactly you were getting into? I thought Warlords were supposed to be smarter than this. You know, 'look before you leap' kind of stuff."
"How were you able to get the research?" Murphy challenged.
"I had access to the whole Imperial museum's reliquary and library," Roberts replied. "perks of working with the despotic el-supreamo, it means that currently I'm your only source of information on Peligia." She gave a wolfish smile. "Oh now this is an interesting turn of events isn't it? Especially considering that you two have been bumbling around in the dark for the past few weeks, refusing to share anything with me."
"Ok, smug smarminess isn't going to make you any friends," Murphy replied folding his arms. "Share what you know and we'll share what we know."
Roberts slid the flat black crystalline device out of her pocket and held it up, "Polian U'acht's are particularly useful devices. They act as scanners, communications devices and as a portable archive." She turned it over in her hands. "Of course the Polian archives are inaccessible to anyone but a Polian. And I doubt we have a computer capable of decrypting their encryption keys. So not the most useful on that front. However," she held up a finger, "I did take the liberty of using it to load all the data archives I had on me, and the books here. So at least we have all the Imperial information on Peligia in one conveniently accessible location."
"Not everything," Casey said, producing the twin books Darien had recovered from Geldan VII.
"Oh," Roberts pursed her lips in delightful glee. "Now we are sharing aren't we? Anything else tucked away that you might want to show me?"
"How does it work?" Murphy asked, nodding to the U'acht.
Roberts stood up, walking to the worktable containing the stills. She set the U'acht down and motioned for him to place his hand down upon it.
"I will walk you though it," she said, her voice even. "It's physically taxing to spend a lot of time in the mindscape, so I'd actually rather someone else do it, keeps me fresh for later.
Murphy paused when his eyes passed over the U'acht, and in a sudden burst of insight he placed his hand flat against its glassy surface.
He was standing within what Roberts had called the mindscape; a place the U'acht drew a person to whenever they initiated full contact with it. It was a place within his own mind, and he was still aware of the world around him. It was like the U'acht projected what it wanted him to see overtop of the real world.
It was almost disconcerting at first, like he was swimming in a sea of data. But the U'acht was intuitive, an intelligent device. It locked onto the stills resolving them and quickly used a data recognition program to map the characters onto a flat surface. Accessing digital libraries it quickly projected an English overlay ontop of the original characters. Instantly transliterating the passages.
Roberts was speaking, and Murphy tried to concentrate on her, but he was already deeply engrossed in what he was seeing. Images and memories opened up before him. The conversation with the Gorean, which the U'acht identified as a Demi-wyrm, a sub-species of Gorean that were the result of cross-splicing DNA of both the Higher and Lower Gorean species.
Off to one side played the death of the Marine, running through the final few moments, repeating the death on a loop.
Murphy touched a hand to his head as he tried not to be sick, the world shifted as the memory windows spun, detailing someone else's memories, showing the red rain from the ceiling of the cavern and illustrating a small black crystalline device held in the hands of the former Chancellor Enarbrem Sul'Rikard.
[Select a Codex] the golden lettering scrawled across his vision, as three books appeared before him. He could read their labels, Libra Archeolgis, Hazrods guide to Peligian Objects and another one labelled simply: Curio. He chose the latter.
The book leapt to life of its own accord, the pages stirring and turning rapidly like a strong wind carried them. It eventually stopped and the words and diagrams on the page cleared naturally translating before his eyes into English.
[The Bloodroot Crystal]
He blinked not quite following, without prompting another book appeared automatically cross-referencing for him, the pages turning till he had a definition. The U'acht read his mind and responded him like the efficient tool it had been designed to be. The Bloodroot Crystal was an alien device Rikard had used to create the Immortal Emperor. It was infused with a chemical substance matching what he had seen in the cavern. The book snapped shut and vanished, and he returned to the main text.
[Bloodroot alters the blood chemistry of specific hosts designed to be receptive to the effects of the poison. Deadly to any not thusly designed, bloodroot causes significant and widely unpredictable side effects such as…] Murphy scanned down the page till he found the sentences he needed.
From what he understood from the text, bloodroot was the reason for the Immortal Emperors, it was also the reason for the Marine's insanity… and judging by what he read. If the Gorean Demi-Wyrm was subsisting off of the substance, then it was a very deadly creature indeed.
He released the U'acht, fighting the nausea that swept over him in a wave as the world suddenly righted itself. He sank into his chair and breathed raggedly, noticing the other two doctors staring at him.
"That was…" he began.
"A trip and a half," Roberts nodded. "It takes time to get used to. It's like being a part of knowledge, a conductor in a symphony of data. Addictive, considering the possible data it can contain."
"What about the translations?" Casey pressed.
"They're nothing," Murphy replied sitting upright at last. "Warnings and the like. The key is the Bloodroot."
Roberts hissed, "what?"
"The liquid the Demi-wyrm drinks. It's bloodroot."
"That means the Kule had access to bloodroot," Roberts said absently as she wandered towards the edge of the tent, looking out at the dark camp. "They might have transcended…"
"I don't think so," Casey said pushing through the stills. "These warnings wouldn't have been carved there if they believed bloodroot could transcend them…"
"Well," Murphy sighed. "I don't know, but the U'acht said a person has to be designed as a receptacle for the Bloodroot, or else it's a poison. If the Kule didn't know this, and they came into contact with it…"
"They'd meet the same fate as Private Cole," Casey replied. "Well that's a start, I think. We need more though, like what this key thing is, and what the city of O'nii is."
The Underworks - Peligia
~~*~~
"Lauren!" Wojciech narrowed his eyes in a desperate attempt to make out the shape of his slightly eccentric companion. Why was she just standing there? It was like watching a deer caught in the headlights, transfixed by its oncoming, fluorescent doom.
He really didn't like this…
Wojciech's finger found itself slowly inching towards the safety switch, knowing that the powerful weapon wouldn't be very effective in the damp environment they were trapped in, but he had to do something to help the transfixed Lauren escape.
And then, of course, all hell broke lose.
Without warning, Lauren sprung into life as an echoing splash came rumbling through the tunnel after her as she bolted towards Wojciech. She skidded to a halt, sending a spray of the foul water into the air as she nearly collided with him. One of her hands shot out and locked around his wrist like a vice and for a brief second, Wojciech feared the sound of cracking bone might come splintering from it.
"Run and don't look back." Her face loomed in front of his as Lauren exhaled the warning in one fluid breath. She took off, practically dragging Wojciech with her for the first few steps before her hand slipped away, leaving him to fall flat on his ass. From this new perspective, he was able to witness their pursuer come skidding past the corner Lauren had been standing at only seconds before. It slammed into the opposite wall with the force of a freight train, sending a small tremor up the tunnel.
The thing was huge.
Just catching a glimpse of the creature was enough to get Wojciech moving again. He scrambled to his feet as it let out a bestial cry of either frustration or pain pulling itself from the wall, taking most of the plaster with it. Its war cry filled the tunnel as the confined space amplified the bulls roar. Wojciech slammed his hands over his ears in a vain attempt to block the sound out as he ran head long up the tunnel. With blind faith, he chased the ever-fading shadow that was Lauren but the distance between the two was slowly growing.
Their pursuer had begun to move again, at slow lope at first but it quickly began to speed up until it was pounding after them at a crazy tempo. To Wojciech, it sounded as though he was being chased by a small elephant that was bent on tearing him apart.
To his horror, Wojciech found that he was starting to have trouble keeping his pace. The sound of his ragged breathing filled his ears the shoulder that he had injured in his fall was begging to throb like a heart beat. The muscles in his legs were starting to tire and he'd lost all sight of Lauren. In the darkness, the passage appeared to stretch on forever, offering no means of escape.
Up ahead, a crease split the shadow like a tiny cut. At first, Wojciech dismissed it as his over tired and under-fed brain finally cracking under the strain of all the insanity around him but the line of dim light refused to disappear. On the country, it was growing wider.
'It's that legendary light at the end of the tunnel…'
Wojciech would have laughed if it weren't for the fact he was being chased by a mass of rabid meat that was quickly gaining on him. His calves were now screaming at him to stop and the pain in his shoulder was almost blinding. He could feel the hot, sticky breath of his pursuer condensing on his neck into a heavy blanket of moisture. Wojciech closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself for searing pain as it lunged at him, impaling him with unimaginable, long horns. Instead, there was an enormous crash as the gargantuan creature lost its footing on the slick floor, collapsing into the dingy water that seemed to flood the tunnel with noise.
Wojciech didn't dare look back to see what had befallen it and used the last of his strength to put on an extra burst of speed. The crease of light had expanded into a rectangle as Wojciech neared the open door. His foot caught on the step that rose out of the water, sending him sprawling through it and brought him to the floor. He lay there, desperately trying to refill his wheezing lungs. He didn't care that his face was lying in a thin layer of crusty grime or his cloths were being slowly soaked, he was safe. If he ever had to run again, it was too soon.
"Are you going to lie there all day or are you going to help me?!"
Lauren's stretched voice filled his head, bringing him crashing back to reality. He sat up to see the Imperial officer struggling with the heavy iron door that stood between and their pursuer, who was drawing closer with every second.
Wojciech jumped to his feet, nearly slipping on the slick tiles as he rushed to join her.
"Glad to see you up and about!" Lauren grunted through gritted teeth as she pressed her shoulder to the door that was closing far too slowly. Wojciech glanced out of it as he helped push it too.
"Oh shit! That things going to be in here any second." Wojciech announced in shock.
"Really?!" came the sarcastic retort as she fought with the door.
The door finally gave, grinding shut. Lauren barged past Wojciech, pushing him aside as she rushed to the over-sized bolt and went to push it. She'd barely laid a hand on it when the door erupted.
The bolt was ripped free as the creature threw itself at it, obviously not bothering to slow down as it approached the end of the tunnel. The pair were sent flying as the door was torn from its hinges and landed painfully on the less than forgiving floor. Lauren felt the wind rush out of her, leaving her lying on the floor gasping like a fish. Wincing she brought her head up, she took her first good look at the creature and hoped (not prayed, she'd given up on that road a long time ago) that it wasn't what she thought it was.
She obviously must have done something to piss fate off.
"What the fark is that thing?" Came the cry from Wojciech as he struggled to his feet, wide eyed as he tried to comprehend the unspeakable horror that stood before them.
"It's a Polian…" She trailed off as she slowly prepared herself for the imminent conflict that was going to be neither pretty, nor pain-free.
To Wojciech's mind, the word Polian conjured up near mythical images of a romantic Imperial past. Ancient creatures with three arms, and bull horns protruding from a vicious helmet that glowed like molten metal, the shin guards in the water caused it to bubble and steam. It resembled a pit-fiend from the seventh circle of hell.
Its sides scraped the doorframe, as it tried to force its way in which wasn't helped by the fact the Polian was the size of a small car. It looked like a demon covered in articulated metal plates and pumped with enough steroids to make a professional body-builder blush. Almost all the flesh was missing from its over sized head but a pair of dull eyes rolled wildly in a sunken pool of sagging skin. The Polian's powerful jaw snapped angrily at the prey that dared to deify it, displaying to Wojciech's dismay, a set of teeth that reminded him of a bear trap. Strands of thick, viscose saliva clung to its fangs like runny chewing gum.
Due to the lack of skin on the beast, Wojciech could see the fibres of large muscles in the beast's leg contract and strain as it forced one of its shoulders into the room, bringing with it a hand armed with a triad of wicked wrist blades, that reminded Wojciech of the trio of scars on Darien's face. He felt his stomach turn to water when he saw that one of them had turned back on itself, impaling its arm. The creature seemed oblivious to the wound as pus lined it, becoming a raised, furious blister.
He'd begun to slowly backing away from the monstrosity that was trying to drag itself through a door too small for it. He managed to catch his balance as the floor disappeared from underneath his foot as he slid it further back. He snapped his head over his shoulder and felt the small flutter of hope that had kept him from falling.
"We're trapped." He uttered flatly as he stared at what lay behind him. Wojciech hadn't noticed the sound of rushing sewage before but now it came all too clearly like a mocking laugh.
The tiles fell away to form a pool that stretched out to the other side of the room. At first glace, he could be mistaken to believe that he could walk across its surface as it was so stagnant. Little colourful swirls of oil speckled the thin brown crust that lay across the still, dead water like a rotten epidermis, only braking where sewage cascaded down in a mini waterfall from a rusting pipe.
A wave of panic rose up in him as he turned back to the wailing freak. It had managed to get a second leg through the door but still seemed to be struggling, not caring if it injured itself on the jagged doorway. Wojciech was surprised that it still couldn't fit, now that its wide shoulders (which were now covered in weeping scratches due to the Polian's forcible entry) were in the room.
While Wojciech just goggled in horror at the behemoth, Lauren had swung the DT-09 from where it rested across her back. Wojciech was snapped back to reality when the familiar 'chu chck' of the weapon being cocked reached his ears. His military training snapped in, as he realized what was about to happen.
Lauren raised the firearm, aiming down the long barrel of the gun although in the small space, she probably didn't need to worry too much about missing.
The shot tore trough the air, drowning out the Polian's cries. In the small space, it sounded more as though some one had let off a small bomb in the room as the explosion resonated from the weapon. Wojciech flinched, his hands slammed down on his ears in some self-preservation reaction.
The golden light of the Polian's shield snapped up, rippling like water as the bullet compacted against it uselessly. Dropping to the floor with a clang. Even if it could penetrate the shield, there were still the molten metal plates of the Polian's armour. It was going to take a lot more than a bullet or two to penetrate the many layers of protection.
The beast howled and lurched towards the pair, its top half threw itself back, dragging one of its wrecking ball fists back with it as it picked up momentum.
Wojciech took a step back as the creature stumbled towards him, gnashing its great fangs at him. He didn't see the fist coming at him until it was too late. From the corner of his eye, he registered the mass of tan and off-white looming up but by the time he'd turned his head, the fist smacked into him with the force of a bulldozer. Wojciech felt his feet leave the ground as the momentum carried him up for a moment before the laws of physics took over and he collided with a wall, hitting it hard enough to send a wave of pain to every nerve. He was barely aware of slumping back to the floor as the world swam about him, shifting in and out of focus.
Lauren watched in horror as Wojciech smacked into the wall, back first. There was no way of shooting at the Polian now without hitting the now motionless man as it prowled towards him, towering triumphantly over the figure that lay crumpled on the floor.
Her hands fell away from the DT-09 and locked on to the combat knife's hilt. With a violent yank, the wicked blade was free of its scabbard and she was running towards the beast that was already getting ready to pummel into Wojciech with its gargantuan fists.
This was probably going to be about as successful as taking on a tank with a peashooter, but then, she'd been in much uglier situations than this.
Stonehenge - Peligia
~~*~~
Darien was wrapped up in his dragoon jacket, his ball cap pulled low on his head as he fought his way through the mud and entered the expedition tent that Commander Durnham had set up for his command post.
The tent was open on the four sides, really little more than a roof to keep the rain off, and the electrical equipment had been waterproofed against the near constant rain storms that whipped across the peninsula of the island. The chill air was worsened by the cold damp that settled on everything, and Darien ignored the water beads that were dripping off of the brim of his cap each time he moved his head.
Commander Durnham was standing, projected to full size in the confines of the command tent, leaning over a technician's shoulder watching as the youth tried to configure a control program for the five silent black stones that sat higher up the hill in a perfect circle.
"Report Commander," Darien said, accepting a cup of tea one of the crewmen handed to him, to help him warm up.
Durnham looked up from his work, fiddling with his glasses absently as he considered the question. "In my frank assessment, it is going to take weeks to get these Propylons operational, sir. Considering the equipment we have, and the number of technicians…"
Darien nodded, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, unzipping the jacket a little so that he could sip the tea. "Damn," he murmured frowning out into the storm.
"Indeed," Commander Durnham responded, the hologram flickering as the jerry-rigged holographic system fluctuated in time to a flash of lightening. "I am trying to interface crystal computers with our own, I am inventing computer code as I go, and trying to use what we learned from our own Propylons under Mister Firlotte and Lieutenant Elias… however it is still slow going. These aren't our Propylons… they're a different model… kind… make… like using Sony drivers to run a Mitsubishi product."
"What?" Darien asked absently, his face lit by the blue computer screens as he watched the work.
"Mega-corps, both bought by Denver Corp sometime in the first twenty years of the Empire. They made similar products, however they each required different software to operate. Very frustrating when it came to finding replacement parts for the Excalibur, choice at times can be a bad thing." Durnham folded his arms standing beside the Warlord, falling silent as they both stared up at the Propylons.
"I contemplated borrowing your nine-iron," Durnham said, raising an eyebrow. "A primitive organic response, I suppose, to being frustrated. But therapeutic."
"I hear you," Darien replied sipping the bitter tea, some local leaf that had been discovered as a solution to the caffeine withdrawal problem threatening the Warlord's sanity. "I've got a few of the crew working on ideas to reach the surface of the planet below. Maybe hike to the Excalibur crash site…"
"Impractical," Durnham dismissed. "This island's been drifting on air currents for weeks. And we have no stable point of reference to find the Excalibur again… besides dropping someone off on the planet surface and expecting them to hike would be like dropping them off in China and telling them to hike to France. We're talking planetary distances here, on foot."
"Then we're stuck," Darien gestured with his mug. "Dependant on getting these things operational."
"How is Lauren faring on her trek?" Durnham inquired turning away from the view of the Propylons.
"So far, no word," Darien responded. "I don't have the men to spare to go and look for her. If Wojciech's set a trap for her…"
"He doesn't seem the type," Durnham answered.
"He didn't seem the type to betray us on the Excalibur," Darien pointed out.
"True," Durnham replied. "But orders are orders, you know that. You've ordered your men to do similar missions, sending Dragoons all over the Hegemony on sabotage missions, coordinating Fida'i spies. Under the circumstances, we should consider allying ourselves with the Republicans."
"They have nearly a hundred armed men," Darien responded. "We can't risk them inside our camps. And if we start to share our supplies… then…"
"It's not going to matter much if I can't get the Propylons working," Durnham responded. "I'm sending a marine team to the Black Tower, to see if there is anything salvageable there that I can use… but I urge you to consider the Republicans, they are in a similar position to our own, and given the Polians out there… it might be in our best interests to start co-operating just to survive."
"I'll consider it," Darien responded tightly, focusing on his tea.
He turned, a rare moment of weakness in his eyes as he looked at his old friend. "I had no idea this would happen when I made this plan."
Durnham paused in his work to look at the great leader, weary and on the verge of being beaten. "Your arrogance, my lord, is what has kept us alive up until now. We're all survivors, we'll live. As they say, there are no saints on battlements.
The Underworks - Peligia
~~*~~
Wojciech felt something warm seeping through his closed eyelid as it refused to open.
'Not like it matters…'
He could see well enough with just one. The Polian dwarfed him, like some living monolith. Even if he couldn't see, he'd know it was standing inches away from him just from the smell. The thing reeked of damp must. When Wojciech's brother had shot that dog, he'd pleaded with his little brother to help him hide it. The only reason why he'd agreed to help Ignaty was because his brother was cold enough to threaten Wojciech with blackmail. So the two boys hid the dog under the porch. It was only a few weeks later when that horrible stench of rot and decomposition began to waft up from underneath the house that they were discovered.
When Wojciech's father could no longer stand the repulsive odour, he had pulled up the wooden planks that made up the porch. The smell of the corpse hit the man like a heat wave; Wojciech remembered all to well how he'd gone running down the steps that led to the house cursing till he was blue in the face.
The snarling abomination smelt just like the explosion of gasses that escaped when the wooden planks were ripped away by his inquisitive father.
He tried to shy away from it as the Polian stood motionless, staring at him with those vindictive eyes. Waiting for the final blow was even worse than receiving it. From where Wojciech lay, he could see the muscles in the body tense up as it prepared to swing one of its mammoth arms into him.
A roar tore through the air, but despite its inhuman tone, it did not originate from the Polian.
Lauren landed on its spindly back and somehow managed to keep her balance. Its head turned, a look of surprise was almost visible in the almost human eyes. The girl continued to scream as she let the knife fly in a smooth arc, interrupted only by the spindly neck of the monstrous face.
Wojciech heard the sleek grate of metal as the blade severed tissue and bone before the knife remerged from the other side of its neck.
Yet still the beast stood and time seemed to stop as it stared at Lauren.
That was, until Lauren dropped away from the knife hilt, hitting the floor hard as she pushed her way back, away from it.
A scream of pain erupted from its huge mouth, shattering the stillness that had enveloped the room like fog.
The trio of arms thrashed weakly, but due to their horrendous weight, that was all they could do. The Polian screamed again but this one was filled with an uncontrollable fury and it bucked violently. Lauren ducked in a desperate attempt not to be slammed into the nearest wall. Wojciech was barely able to roll out of the way as the over-sized alien ploughed into the wall, oblivious to whatever damage it was causing to itself. The beast grated along the rough tiled surface, many of the ancient ceramic slabs were torn free as they caught on its side.
Wojciech watched in horror as it charged like a mad dog towards the stagnant pool. He truly believed that the creature would go flying from the ledge and into the murky water as the distance between the Polian and the pool's edge rapidly closed but it was not to be. Despite its tremendous mass, their tormentor was able to stop on a dime, skidding to a halt on the slick floor, powerful digitigrade legs compressing. With a cry of surprise more than anything, Lauren was struck by a backhand from the Polian as it spun and she went flying.
Unable to do a damn thing, Wojciech watched as Lauren was propelled through the air before smacking into the water and was swallowed by the stinking mass. The only evidence of her short flight was the black hole in the water's crust and the ripples that lazily expanded from it.
For a moment, the over-sized monstrosity looked at the water in fascination before snapping its dumb gaze onto Wojciech who had now risen to his feet, a look of sheer loss plastered across his visage. It hung there for only a moment before rage clouded over it like a storm. He was sick of being chased and hunted like an animal. Seeing the hungry look in the Polian's eyes just pushed him over the edge and his fear was consumed by the desire to cause whatever the hell it was in front of him some pain.
"Hey Сукин сын, you hungry?"
It laboriously turned and lowered its head in preparation to charge. This little creature was beginning to become a pain.
"Chomp on this!"
As the Polian leaped towards him, Wojciech pulled the carbine up from its tether and began to fire wildly. A volley of purple beams sliced through the shield, digging themselves deep into the metal armour. One whizzed past its head, taking a strip of skin with it. By sheer luck, one managed to find the creature's fleshy throat, tearing through tendons like paper.
Its war cry shrank to a strangulated warble as the Polian lost its footing while a shot carved its way through its brain. Even though the Polian's journey had been a short one, it still had enough momentum to hit Wojciech like a speeding car. He dived out the way as the mass of flesh and muscle slammed into the wall with a bone-splitting crack as its hardy skull splintered on impact.
Wojciech gasped, taking deep gulps of air as he watched the Polian's hind legs feebly paw at the ground before finally giving up and collapsing in a heap. The adrenalin rush was starting to die down, replaced by a deep repetitive thud in his ears and…
"Lauren!"
He ran to the water's side, calling her name but the only answer he received was from his distorted reflection and the never-ending spillage of water from the rusting metal pipe.
Was this all Peligia was good for, inflicting loss after loss upon him? He felt like screaming until the flesh of his throat became raw but somehow, he just didn't have it in him.
The water beneath his feet exploded in a torrent of muck and sewage, soaking his already sodden trousers and something threw itself most of itself on to the ground. Violent coughing erupted from her mouth as Lauren began slipping back into the murky water. For a second, Wojciech was too dumbfounded by her entrance and almost let her torso fall back into the pool. He grabbed one of her arms, pulling the choking figure to their feet but she instantly collapsed again in a fit of retches. From the way she was going, it sounded as though she was going to cough up her lungs. Her body heaved and there was a wet splat as Lauren vomited the contents of her stomach on to the already filthy floor, Wojciech would have been more than happy to help but he had no idea how she'd take it.
Finally, the coughing subsided and Lauren shakily rose to her feet. Her clothes sagged, hanging off her and giving the girl the appearance of a drowned rat.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked in concern.