Re: Intense Struggle Season 2! (Round 1: Training Facility ONX)
07-27-2010, 01:43 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by GreyGabe.
He didn’t feel the need to mention that if they couldn’t figure out some way of attacking their abductor, they’d probably have to try to kill one another.
Marcus limped along for a while longer, silently regretting not getting not shelling out the extra money for the enhanced combat armor with reinforced joints, impact dampeners and an integrated medical system. Then again, that stuff cost as much as small cruiser. Ugh.
Suddenly, Marcus noticed something warm and sticky coating his hand. He sniffed quietly.
“You still bleeding?”
Sarika shifted slightly, and groaned quietly.
“Yeah, a bit. It may be a little worse than I thought. I’m not going to die any time in the near future, though.”
Marcus stopped suddenly, sighing and shaking his head as if to clear it.
“Yeah, that might have been useful a while ago, now.”
“It may seem kinda--” Marcus stopped as he realized he had been interrupted again. He clamped his mouth shut and made a show of ignoring his cargo for a moment.
Sarika shook her head slowly and groaned again as one of her mini-headaches took hold. “Okay, okay. Sorry. Please, continue.”
“It may seem kinda stupid on my part,” Marcus began again, smiling faintly, “But I do have a med-kit. Have had it since the beginning.”
“Yeah, that might have been useful a while ago, now.”
Marcus shrugged. “It’s nothing extravagant, just some basics. Bandages, disinfectant, mild painkillers, that kind of thing.”
Sarika sighed, smiling wearily. “Don’t suppose you can do anything about my leg or my rib, huh?”
“Nope. Not in the dark at least. If I could take a good look at the leg I can at least set it and bind it with bandages, maybe put together a makeshift splint if I can find some stuff. Try to do it in the dark, and I’d probably do more harm than good. I had emergency first aid training like every Armada Marine, but it was never my specialty. Although I was always better at it than--”
“Ssh!”
Marcus went silent instantly, straining his senses. He couldn’t hear anything but his and Sarika’s breathing, and he couldn’t see much of anything in the dark.
Several tense moments passed. Marcus heard a quiet, hissing noise from behind them. It was disturbingly close. Finally, there was a quiet scuttling noise that gradually grew quieter and quieter until it was gone.
Finally, Sarika spoke.
“Okay… I think it’s gone.”
“What was it?”
“Uh… it sounded pretty bad. We… we didn’t go quietly.”
“Ah.”
“We should keep moving, then?”
“Yeah.”
Marcus moved on, trying to keep quiet. The steady squishing sound of the goop under his boots seemed very, very loud. His leg loudly reminded him of its displeasure at his continuing insistence on movement. It didn’t feel like a break, anyway. Probably a sprain. He hoped it wasn’t too serious. Something told him anything that impeded his movement was going to be very unwelcome in the not so distant future. They continued on that way for some interminable amount of time, Marcus resolutely ignoring his traitorous limb as its cries for attention grew slowly but undeniably louder. He was so focused on his leg that he almost missed it. Stopping suddenly, he backed up a few steps. He stood perfectly still for a moment.
“What is it?”
The only answer was a slight, cool draft, blowing in from the right.
“There’s a tunnel leading off to the side here.” Marcus slowly walked towards it, ready to retreat if Sarika saw anything… er… heard anything. He took a few tentative steps in. Though his boots were still coated in goop, he could tell that the floor in here was definitely cleaner, and almost certainly man-made.
“Must be a maintenance tunnel or a ventilation shaft, or something like that.”
“Why just here, though? Shouldn’t there have been more openings, if that’s what this is?”
Marcus considered for a moment. “Maybe… there were other entrances, and we just missed them. Or they got covered over by debris. Hell, maybe I’m wrong and this is some sort of burrow. Only one way to find out. Also, if we keep following the amazing goo tunnel, we might run into whatever made it. Just think how fun that’d be.”
Sarika was silent for a moment.
“Well, nothing kills us in the next few minutes, anyway. Let’s go.”
Marcus nodded and proceeded down the tunnel slowly. He hoped that they could find someplace relatively safe to stop soon. He wasn't sure how long his leg could hold out. He did note, with cautious optimism, that the tunnel seemed to slope upwards slightly. Maybe they'd make it out of here after all.
It watched as the two creatures proceeded into the side tunnel. Perfect. Soon it would feed on them, tear their flesh, crunch their bones, drink their blood. Eat their hearts. It writhed in near ecstasy just imagining it. After a few moments, it recovered. Mustn’t let the prey escape, no, no, no. It slipped to the floor silently. Oh, how it had fooled them. They believed it had left but now it followed them once more. Pale, luminous eyes narrowed and thin, slit-like nostrils flared as it inhaled their scent, flesh and blood, laced with fear and pain. Silently it began to stalk them.
He didn’t feel the need to mention that if they couldn’t figure out some way of attacking their abductor, they’d probably have to try to kill one another.
Marcus limped along for a while longer, silently regretting not getting not shelling out the extra money for the enhanced combat armor with reinforced joints, impact dampeners and an integrated medical system. Then again, that stuff cost as much as small cruiser. Ugh.
Suddenly, Marcus noticed something warm and sticky coating his hand. He sniffed quietly.
“You still bleeding?”
Sarika shifted slightly, and groaned quietly.
“Yeah, a bit. It may be a little worse than I thought. I’m not going to die any time in the near future, though.”
Marcus stopped suddenly, sighing and shaking his head as if to clear it.
“Yeah, that might have been useful a while ago, now.”
“It may seem kinda--” Marcus stopped as he realized he had been interrupted again. He clamped his mouth shut and made a show of ignoring his cargo for a moment.
Sarika shook her head slowly and groaned again as one of her mini-headaches took hold. “Okay, okay. Sorry. Please, continue.”
“It may seem kinda stupid on my part,” Marcus began again, smiling faintly, “But I do have a med-kit. Have had it since the beginning.”
“Yeah, that might have been useful a while ago, now.”
Marcus shrugged. “It’s nothing extravagant, just some basics. Bandages, disinfectant, mild painkillers, that kind of thing.”
Sarika sighed, smiling wearily. “Don’t suppose you can do anything about my leg or my rib, huh?”
“Nope. Not in the dark at least. If I could take a good look at the leg I can at least set it and bind it with bandages, maybe put together a makeshift splint if I can find some stuff. Try to do it in the dark, and I’d probably do more harm than good. I had emergency first aid training like every Armada Marine, but it was never my specialty. Although I was always better at it than--”
“Ssh!”
Marcus went silent instantly, straining his senses. He couldn’t hear anything but his and Sarika’s breathing, and he couldn’t see much of anything in the dark.
Several tense moments passed. Marcus heard a quiet, hissing noise from behind them. It was disturbingly close. Finally, there was a quiet scuttling noise that gradually grew quieter and quieter until it was gone.
Finally, Sarika spoke.
“Okay… I think it’s gone.”
“What was it?”
“Uh… it sounded pretty bad. We… we didn’t go quietly.”
“Ah.”
“We should keep moving, then?”
“Yeah.”
Marcus moved on, trying to keep quiet. The steady squishing sound of the goop under his boots seemed very, very loud. His leg loudly reminded him of its displeasure at his continuing insistence on movement. It didn’t feel like a break, anyway. Probably a sprain. He hoped it wasn’t too serious. Something told him anything that impeded his movement was going to be very unwelcome in the not so distant future. They continued on that way for some interminable amount of time, Marcus resolutely ignoring his traitorous limb as its cries for attention grew slowly but undeniably louder. He was so focused on his leg that he almost missed it. Stopping suddenly, he backed up a few steps. He stood perfectly still for a moment.
“What is it?”
The only answer was a slight, cool draft, blowing in from the right.
“There’s a tunnel leading off to the side here.” Marcus slowly walked towards it, ready to retreat if Sarika saw anything… er… heard anything. He took a few tentative steps in. Though his boots were still coated in goop, he could tell that the floor in here was definitely cleaner, and almost certainly man-made.
“Must be a maintenance tunnel or a ventilation shaft, or something like that.”
“Why just here, though? Shouldn’t there have been more openings, if that’s what this is?”
Marcus considered for a moment. “Maybe… there were other entrances, and we just missed them. Or they got covered over by debris. Hell, maybe I’m wrong and this is some sort of burrow. Only one way to find out. Also, if we keep following the amazing goo tunnel, we might run into whatever made it. Just think how fun that’d be.”
Sarika was silent for a moment.
“Well, nothing kills us in the next few minutes, anyway. Let’s go.”
Marcus nodded and proceeded down the tunnel slowly. He hoped that they could find someplace relatively safe to stop soon. He wasn't sure how long his leg could hold out. He did note, with cautious optimism, that the tunnel seemed to slope upwards slightly. Maybe they'd make it out of here after all.
It watched as the two creatures proceeded into the side tunnel. Perfect. Soon it would feed on them, tear their flesh, crunch their bones, drink their blood. Eat their hearts. It writhed in near ecstasy just imagining it. After a few moments, it recovered. Mustn’t let the prey escape, no, no, no. It slipped to the floor silently. Oh, how it had fooled them. They believed it had left but now it followed them once more. Pale, luminous eyes narrowed and thin, slit-like nostrils flared as it inhaled their scent, flesh and blood, laced with fear and pain. Silently it began to stalk them.