Fire and Ice

Blood smeared the walls of the medical bay, streaks of crimson red lines dabbed along the expanse of the room, running as though someone had deliberately ran their fingers over the cleanliness of the sterile environment and made a statement of cherry-red over the four walls. Long divots scratched the metal walls and dug deep into the hard interior, ripping posters showing the human body and health information as damage displayed a savagery a clinical bay should never witness. Stands with equipment lay abandoned, overturned and trays played with needles and knives across the floor of the room, covered partially by towels and coats. Blood weeped from a naked wound of a man as he lay gasping for breath, his hands covering a gaping wound which stretched across his neck, reaching from one ear to the other. It bubbled and congested in his throat as he gasped for breath, as he desperately crawled slowly across to a prone body which lay next to a low black leather couch. The spreading smear extended its fingers over his clothing and stained his clinical white overcoat and as he struggled the thoughts which haunted his mind played at his thoughts as he realised with his medical training he could name every vein and artery that had been severed and now staring death in the face he knew exactly how long the human body could sustain itself at its present bleed.

A sob forced its way from his throat and spilled additional blood as the involuntary action forced his head back slightly revealing the growing scar. He gurgled in his own voice, drowning in a pool of blood as the veins continued to spew their bloodied venom across the medical bay floor. His fingers struggled and reached for the lifeless body of his nurse, who herself lay staring at the ceiling with unseeing dead eyes. She had been the first, as Nez...no the creature...no Lieutenant Nez had launched himself from the examination table and swiped a taloned hand through the material of the white medical gown and ripped through her stomach. He remembered as she looked down her body in horror as her intestine spilled from her body and the figure of the Lieutenant pulled her guts from her body and rubbed the blood across his face, that grinning manic face. His thoughts carried as he remembered as she desperately tried to push them back into her body, her tears stinging her face as she cried while blood spilt her lips...her ruby red lips...and stroked her chin. The doctor remembered as the orderly had tired to run, and with his back to the Lieutenant...no he couldn’t keep thinking of him like that...found a hand thrust through his back, his fingers curling as they forced their way through his chest cavity and clenched at his heart, dropping it where he stood with his hand still through the man’s back, then pulling his hand from the orderly, snatched at the man’s spine and held it aloft before turning and swiping at the doctor.

It had happened so quickly, so suddenly. Life ebbed from his body as he watched the creature step from the medical bay and listened to the voices outside the room. He desperately tried to cry a warning, but all could muster was the final death throws of his own drowning. As the blood seeped into the floor, the river of red ran across his plastic name tag smearing the dark lettering and gathering around the body. The doctor pronounced his own death as the final breaths left his body...Doctor Alexander MacEuell, deceased...murder, time of death...fourteen, twenty three...then nothing...

Crane leaned back in his chair from the conference table and let his gaze shift from one officer to another, stopping at their guest. “I have a question for you Reverend James. Where is your ship and crew?” he asked suddenly.

The holy man looked surprised and angry for a moment before composing himself to answer. “I assure you, I’m not the problem here, Captain. We are on the same side.” He straightened and crossed his arms rigidly but continued when he saw Crane was waiting for an answer. “My ship is small - a crew of two, myself and my ward. She dropped me near the crash site and due to the strange climatic readings she is presently residing in a low orbit above the planet.”

“That was a dangerous move considering what we have encountered so far. What kind of weapon do you have?” the captain challenged him, his gaze meeting that of the priest.

“No weapon, I travel only with my faith.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Our mission is to help, guide and advise – not fight, must I remind you captain that this is a religious mission not a military one.”

“And may I remind you that this is a military expedition and at present you are residing on a military ship and will answer any and all questions posed, do you understand? While you are on-board, you shall adhere to our regulations” he stared at the priest, then changed tact, “Did you have something to do with that voice?” the Captain almost whispered.

“What voice? A transmission?” Father James questioned.

“A voice in the jungle, it kept repeating ‘feed me’. It seemed distant yet everywhere.” Crane looked off into the distance at the thought of the voice.

“I heard it too,” Rev James admitted, “I must admit I have heard nothing like it before. There is something evil here that I do not understand as yet.”

“So, you were alone in the middle of the jungle, no weapon, no assistance, just you and your faith with evil in the air around you. Then you just walk straight into the middle of a fire fight and come out without a scratch while I lose over half my crew. I can’t believe you’re still in one piece.” Crane shook his head.

“What are you getting at captain?” queried James.

“I’m not sure yet, I haven’t decided whether you have something to do with all this or are just plain lucky. After all, we are sent here to find a lost missionary crew on a religious mission to a lost colony and we find you” he leant forward over the table and pointed toward Aston James. “I just want you to know Father, I’m watching you.”

The form of Lieutenant Nez continued to stalk Cadet Darby alone the dimly lit corridor. His rough hands clawed at his tight clothing and his talons tore into his tunic, pulling the material from his body, showing a tightly toned torso covered in muscle and hair. His fingers moved over his chest, rubbing his hardening nipples and lust rose in his groin and his hand moved slowly down his body until it rested on his groin. His eyes narrowed and small flecks of saliva dribbled from his stubble encrusted lips and clung to the hairs on his chin. He remained at a distance, hidden in the shadows as he watched the sway of her shapely hips as she bounced along the corridor oblivious to his presence. The tight blue uniform clung to her form and ran around her firm body as the contours of her body danced in rhythm to her steps. Sharp claws dug into the metal of the ship as the primordial creature followed, lust in his heart and a growing bulge thrusting through his own uniform.

Silence descended again until Sorenson spoke. “Captain, I’m receiving some interesting observations from our tracker probe. It has been circling the ship, collecting data from the jungle and the computer has formed a speculative comparison and has formulated a perspective.”

“What do you have, Sorenson?”

“The jungle is advancing at approximately ten metres a day. At the present rate of growth the ship could be engulfed within three days.”

“Is the data accurate?”

“I believe so sir”

“Tell the crew to prepare to launch,I would concur with the actions of the priest and get the ship off the ground” the Captain stood quickly and looked about the room. “All hands to position” he ordered.

“Sir, I also want to report about the local wildlife.”

“I think this is hardly the time for nature watching Mr. Sorenson”

“But, sir”

“Very well, quickly Sorenson.”

“The food chain is all wrong. There are hardly any small animals being registered on our systems. The majority are all large carnivorous creatures, at least the size of a big dog or larger.”

“Your point?”

“Sir, I don’t know what they are eating to stay alive. It doesn’t make sense.”

“If it pleases you Mr. Sorenson I’ll have a security officer kill one for the medical staff to analyse” he scoffed, “if this will help solve the mystery. Now, let’s get back to the matter in hand, get this ship off the ground”

“Very good, sir,” said Sorenson curtly as he turned back to his console to instruct the crew. His fingers wavered over the communication bank as a shrill scream echoed through the ship followed by a bellowing roar, then the sound of the discharge weapons as they fired throughout the ship.

Cadet Darby walked through the corridor, her mind replaying the fight at the crash site and the words of the Father running through her head. How didthe shooting start? She couldn’t recall what had happened, she couldn’t remember how it started. Did she actually kill some of her own crew mates? And what was that horrible voice that pounded in her head while they fought for their lives? She was afraid it would start again and her consciousness fought through the darkening corridor as shadows leapt at her. Her hands started to tremble and she pulled her weapon out and gripped it tightly as she was overcome by an unreasonable fear of the dark. With her finger on the trigger she felt like she could control the voice, keep it away. But the terror still remained. Her breathing quickened and her chest rose and fell beneath her tight uniform, sweat beaded and stained her brow and she felt a dryness in her mouth. All her senses were heightened until it seemed like the world was crashing around her. She knew she was safe in the ship, nothing could get her in here, could it?

The creature that had been Lieutenant Nez reached out a dirty taloned hand toward Darby’s shoulder and slowly licked his lips.

Darby heard a footfall behind her, slight but definitely there. She whirled round quickly to face a hideous creature looming over her, its body half naked and tense with rippling muscle. She noticed traces of blood across its torso and hands with a stain across its features...its features, was that Lieutenant Nez? It leaped at her, lips curled back from dripping fangs, eyes black, bottomless and soulless. She felt the reassuring metal of the gun in her hand as the creature pressed its body against hers and felt a surge of panic coarse through her veins as the hot breath from its rancid mouth tainted her nostrils. The momentum and force of the creature into her body, thrust Darby against the wall of the ship and she fumbled with the weapon, losing the grip on the handle and letting the small metal gun to rebound off the wall and bounce along the cold hard floor out of reach. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the creature as she felt it press her body against the wall, its clawed hands pushing roughly at her uniform. The figure that used to be the form of Lieutenant Nev grinded his body against the delicate shapely frame of Cadet Darby, gaining its own sexual pleasure from its movement and revelled in the horror crossing her face. Darby tried to move, but the sheer weight and force of the creature was to much and she released an involuntary gasp as she felt the material of her uniform tear revelling her laced black bra. Rough hands pushed her breasts from the cup and she shuddered as it fondled and rubbed her soft breast, pinching her nipple roughly between enlongated fingernails. Tears threatened to push their way onto her face, but she bit her lip and forced the image of the creature from her mind, even as its hands wandered across her semi-naked torso, tracing a line from her bosom to her belly button, where she felt a sharp point of a fingernail make small circles against her skin. She grimaced as the creature placed its face next to hers and sniffed her neck, still make grinding motions with its body, thrusting its groin against her own.

Darby forced her eyes open and almost immediately regretted it as she stared into the baleful soulless eyes of the creature and instantly became lost in the inky black depth of its lost heart. She could see the inviting lure of her weapon, laying on the floor as though mocking her from its reclining position. “Please” she sobbed to the inhuman form which thrust its body against her own. She was aware of shouts in the distance and wondered whether they would reach her before the creature killed her...or violated her, at this point she didn’t know which was worse. She preyed silently for it to be over quickly, either way. The hands of the creature moved across her body and gripped her buttocks, one hand on each of her cheeks and she felt herself lifted from the floor and sobbed as she thought, this is it. Her body moved quickly through the air, then slammed hard on the floor, striking her back and head firmly against the metal gantry of the flooring. The shouts were louder and closer, but still the pounding in her head blotted out their meaning, and all she could concentrate on was the rhythmic pounding against her body as the creature contorted its own body to match hers. She stared defiantly into the creatures face as it raised its body from her torso and spat into its face...its grinning leering face. The creature seemed to revel in the action and tore her clothing further from her body, ripping her uniform from her torso and her naked breast to her groin. Small slivers of saliva fell from its mouth as its eyes wandered from her free bosom to her small lace knickers and she turned her head as she felt its fingers run along the edge of the material.

She could feel the growing bulge of its own groin as its sexual excitement heightened and glanced down at the beast towering above her. It threw its head in the air as it ripped its own clothing from its fur crusted body and she grimaced at the sight of its genitals as the creature moved it toward her groin. She could see small glistening pearls forming on the tip and sobbed as the creature fell on top of her consumed with lust. Her eyesight caught the glint of metal close to where she had landed and she peered at the butt of the gun, just out of reach. She stretched her hand in its direction, her fingertips grasping desperately for the object...just...out...of...reach. She felt sure this would be it.

The shouts and yells were inaudible, but the suddenness of the creature as it sprung from her body almost took Joanne Darby by surprise. Her senses began to kick in as one by one, they realised she had been saved, not just her life, but her sexuality as well. She listened to the sound of gunfire over her head as shots rang out across the corridor. The sound of laser fire mixed with the roar of the beast and the sound of screaming, ripping of cloth and tear of flesh. She could almost taste the iron in the air and blood was spilled, not from the creature but from the security guards who were attacking the creature. It felt like the end of a bad dream, but Darby forced herself onto her side, her body screaming with pain with every movement her body made. Her eyes fell on the blaster, discarded where it had fallen and she felt an overwhelming sensation of anger run through her body. Her fingers curled around the barrel of the weapon and pulling herself slowly to her feet surveyed the image before her. Bodies were laid bare across the corridor, guts spilling from torso’s and blood streaming from vast wounds. A head lay staring through dead eyes at the carnage as its body writhed from its violent death. She could see the creature forcing a security guard against the wall, its fingers thrust deep into the man’s body and she could hear his screams as his intestine was unfolded from the wound, while the beast held him firm against the wall by his neck, slowly choking the life out of him while he bleed.

She moved silently across the floor and raised her weapon, pressing the cold metal of the weapon against the back of the creature’s neck and fired shot after shot into the base of its head. Tears flowed freely as she saw the creature’s head explode in a savage blast as shot after shot smeared its brains against the wall of the corridor. Chunks of cartilage mixed with soft brain tissue and crimson liquid as the corridor flowed with the blood of Lieutenant Nez. Darby screamed and staggered backward allowing the gun to drop to the floor and the creature slumped forward, sagging on its powerful legs, then rocking against the wall with a sickening thud. She let out a final wail as she attempted to pull the remnants of her tattered uniform over her naked body and she finally allowed her eys to drink in the carnage before her. The corridor resembled the inside of an abittoir, with carcases strewn across the floor, blood seeping through the flooring into the bowels of the ship and various body parts and internal organs littering the ship. Only a small handful of personnel remained and from their crouching positions picked their way through the devastation.

Captain Crane moved through the charnel house and stared down at Darby as she pulled her uniform over her breasts. He looked her up and down for a moment, but said nothing simply nodded in her direction, then turned to look at his fallen crewmembers and the body of the creature. “What the hell was that?” he asked to no-one in particular. “It looks like its wearing a uniform...” his words trailed off as he stared down the corridor.

“Sir” called Sorenson from the other end of the corridor.

“Ah, yes” stammered Crane, “Sorenson, very good. Call for the medical team”

“That’s just it sir” replied Sorenson staring into the medical bay, “It looks as though it got in here as well”

Another crewman pushed through, “Sir, there are more casualties in medical. The doctor is badly injured.”

“Anyone with first aid training, report to medical,” Crane ordered looking around the floor at the mass of bodies, shaking his head. “The rest of you form a group and search the ship – every piece of it. Stick together – no one works alone, we don’t know how many more of these creature’s there are on board. Understood?” Crane waited until each person acknowledged. “Now tie this thing up in case it’s still alive and lock it in a holding cell, it would seem as though you can do your analyse after all Mr. Sorenson” Crane remarked dryly. “And put Darby in another cell for now...just in case of infection” he added glancing toward her.

“With all due respect captain” insisted Reverend James, “but this woman needs medical attention not to be placed in a cell with god knows what!”

“May I remind you Father, that this is my craft and you shall adhere to my rules. Do you understand?” snapped Crane, “Sorenson!”

“Captain?”

“As soon as possible, get this ship in the air. We’re not letting the jungle conquer us. I want a full statue report within the hour!”

“I’ll start powering up sir,” and Sorenson hurried off to the bridge without looking back.

James watched the scene briefly and bent close to Darby, placing his hand beneath her chin and raised it slightly to look into her eyes. “Are you alright my child?” he asked softly. Darby nodded, but refused to speak as she returned his gaze, she could see a kindness within him and smiled. “Did he...” the Reverend trailed off as he looked down her body unsure how to pose the question. She blushed, understanding the implication and shook her head, “Good, good” he said quietly.

“Excuse me Father” interrupted Crane, “but we still have much to discuss, and I am keen to leave this planet”

“We still have an obligation to our duties captain” countered James.

“But not at the expense of my crew!” snapped Crane, “we shall decide what recourse to take once we are in orbit”

“So you’re not leaving” queried James, “simply retreating”

“A tactical manoeuvre Father, nothing more. I shall not be beaten by this planet, a few plants of vines shall not beat me!” Crane snapped and turned on his heels, pointing toward Darby as he stalked down the bloodied corridor, “and make sure she’s locked firmly away!”

Reverend Aston James stood watching then clasped his hands and closed his eyes. “I think the jungle has won the first battle, Captain.”