prisoners and the monster. When you get to the eastern bay, there will be a hover ship waiting to take you to safety—let them know of the situation, okay?”
We hesitated, looking at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. The monster was still out there, hiding and waiting, so none of us were really keen on just walking out there carelessly. I walked up to Shanna and helped her up to her feet, my eyes still locked onto Maxx. He stood a few feet from me, with his fist clenched, looking at me with utter distaste.
“We have to go,” Shanna said, her hand wrapped around my shoulder. “These two are Special Forces from the Planetary Government Defense Sector. I am sure they can handle it.”
“Okay, I guess,” I nodded, turning away from Maxx as we moved towards the hole. “Let’s go, everyone.”
A few of the younger kids lifted the unconsciousness man, carrying him out of the compartment, following a few yards behind us. The tunnel was dark and humid, the air growing stale and thin. Claw marks covered the ground and walls, leading all the way to the other side. Shanna took out a scope light and raised it in the air, shining it brightly around us.
“We have to hurry,” I said, glancing at the wet ground. “One or more of the water regulators must have burst under the pressure and destruction. So if we don’t hurry, we might end up drowning.”
We were definitely in deep trouble, when everything was taken into consideration. The whole planet was being invaded by powerful monsters, six dangerous criminals were a few meters from us, and there was nothing we could do to stop any of them. Loud gunshots came from the compartment we had been taken hostage under—a mixture of roars and screams shaking us all to the core.
“Looks like they won’t be able to hold them off,” I chuckled, trying not to look back.
“Den, this is not a joke,” Shanna whispered, massaging her neck with a soft cloth. “All of our lives are at stake here.”
“I know, sorry.”
My jokes may not always be intended, and to some people, they may appear inappropriate—but it was my way of coping with a bad situation. Being miserable, angry, and silent was something I could never do, even under a great deal of stress. But putting all that aside, none of my coping mechanisms were helping me adjust with these non-linear events taking place right now. I pushed forward in my dirty, soaked boots, going against the current of the sewer water. The smell of the water was strong enough to make my nose scrunch in disgust, and to make things even more uncomfortable, we were moving towards its source.
“The monster is coming,” one of the guys, in the back, yelled.
The floor trembled in resonance to the loud roar from one of the unknown creatures; the clashing of metal in the walls making an irritating sound. I paced even further ahead, creating more distance between us and the incoming creature. Turning around quickly, I saw the creature finally make its unwanted appearance from the left corner of the dark tunnel. I could see its long, blue teeth dimly, reflected against the light from Shanna’s scope. The monster made an abrupt run for us, its mouth opening widely, targeting the people behind us. The horrifying screams that followed created an unsettling feeling of fear inside of me.
“I don’t want to die,” I screamed, pushing Shanna and myself further, not caring for the others.
Our small group was cut in half in less than a minute, and the worst was not over. Upon seeing one of the men fall, a few feet from me, I realized something disturbing. The creature wasn’t hunting us down to devour us, but it was doing it for sport. None of these attacks had anything to do with starvation, so it was clearly an invasion, with emphasis on wiping out every living thing on earth. Finally, I noticed another hidden latched door, again on the left, with solid dense coverings, and a small com pad lock. I helped Shanna get close enough to it, and left her leaning against the wall, turning to face the monster. What was I thinking? This monster was going to devour me and I was just standing there for no reason.
Frozen in my steps, looking like a complete idiot, I watched as it rushed one guy into the ground, finishing him off with its large, slick end tail.
“In here,” Shanna screamed to the younger boys close to her. “Run now.”
“Move,” I whispered to myself, shifting my body to force movement, but terror froze me.
Shanna suddenly reached for my left shoulder, grabbing my leather shirt, and pulling me into the new tunnel. One of the younger boys still standing closed the hatch door, trapping the creature on the other side of the tunnel. We heard loud bangs against the door, the bolts on each side of the door starting to loosen out.
“That door won’t hold it back for long,” I said, facing Shanna.
“I know, but we are almost outside,” Shanna replied, putting her right arm on my shoulder. “If we keep moving in this direction, we shall hit the west exit sewer line. After that, it will be a quick run for the hover ship, and.”
“Provided the monster doesn’t get to us first, right?” a younger boy interrupted her rudely, his gaze turned towards the breaking door. “I just watched my best friend fall right in front of me, lady, and I am not about to put my faith in some of your optimistic crap.”
“Watch your mouth, kid,” I rattled at the youngster, pointing at him with authority. “She had nothing to do with all of this.”
“Oh what, old man,” he yelled back at me. “Are you going to hit me?”
“Tempting, but no,” I sighed, controlling myself.
We finally reached the end of the tunnel, turning left towards the west exit. Oh man, the smell was even worse than the before. We were walking in foul water, halfway to our knees, feeling disgusted and fearful at the same time. The hatch door broke apart, but we were already too far ahead for it to catch up—besides, the monster was going to have a hard time moving through this small tunnel.
There was a light in front us, moonlight to be specific, shining brightly through the metal rails guarding entrance from both sides. As we reached it, Shanna reached into her pocket and pulled out a laser pliers—she handed them to me quickly, before turning her back away from me.
“Keep them safe,” Shanna whispered, moving back. “I will hold the monster for as long as I can.”
“What are you talking about?” I reached out and pulled her left hand. “If you stay here, it will kill you, Shanna, and I can’t let you do that to yourself.”
“I am just doing my job, Den,” she replied coldly, her back still turned away from me. “Use the pliers to cut the metal rails and take everyone to safety.”
“No, I won’t leave without you.”
“Why do you care, Den?” she finally looked back. “You barely know me.”
“True, but I can’t leave you to your doom, so I am sorry for doing this,” I spoke, retracting my right hand back, and hitting her on the chin.
It was not exactly the most gentleman thing to do, but under these circumstances, it was justified. Leaving Shanna behind to escape for safety was something that would eat away at my conscience for the rest of my life, despite the fact that we had just met. And no, I didn’t love her or anything like that; I just didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. As she was about to fall backwards, I reached for her, wrapping both of my arms around her body, her soft breath hitting against my left cheek. I gently placed her on my back, and turned around to face the rails, extending my free left arm outwards. I activated the laser pliers, and within a few short seconds, I was able to cut a hole big enough for all of us to go through.
“Let’s go,” I yelled to the remaining survivors. “Freedom awaits us.”
With that said, I took the first leap, walking out of the large sewer tunnel and into the cold dead night. It was now three o’clock in the morning, the darkness still lingering menacingly all around us.
I heard gun shots, a few hundred yards away from our positions; the roaring of numerous hover ships engulfing the very sky above us. No buildings were left standing in the area—everything lay in ruins of a great blazing fire. How and wh
y this was happening was beyond me. The creatures were rabid, they were tearing the foundations and peace our forefathers had a hard time creating. On the left side, over a hill, a large hover ship was parked, with two armored soldiers guarding it.
“Come on, we need to go,” the guy in the green armor yelled to us. “There isn’t much time left.”
He walked a few yards towards us, just to make sure nothing was following us, before raising his gun up high. We all ran like our lives depended on it, entering the hover ship quickly without order. As I placed Shanna by an empty seat, and strapped myself in a seat next to her, I turned my head left, looking through the fiber glass at the amass anarchy and destruction. This city had been my home, but now, it was a pile of ash and ruins.
Without warning, the monster broke loose, wreaking havoc through the debris. The man in the yellow armor intercepted it, using his flight system to attack it from the sky. He was using high tech gear, far beyond anything I had ever seen. Shifting his weight to the left, he rear-ended the creature from the side, sending it flying to the other side of the city. He proceeded to finish his devastating attack with barrage of proton bullets, using his high level assault rifle.
“Go now,” he commanded the pilots, “I will hold them off for as long as I can, and help as many people escape as possible.”
With that said, the hover ship