Warhawk's Amnesty - Ch. 9 - Into the Inferno - Final (Patreon)

Seb’s body skidded across the broken metal floor as fractured steel beams fell behind him. He covered his head and hoped that none of the carnage rolled on top of him. When the metal thunder stopped, he pushed himself off the ground and turned around. The debris completely blocked the winding path he’d crawled through to get inside the ship.

“Looks like I’m not getting back that way,” he told himself. “At least I made it in.”

While he appreciated being inside away from the harsh elements, Seb’s entire body was on alert. He could feel the floors and walls flex from the constant barrage of the wind outside. And now that the structural integrity of the ship had been compromised, there was no telling if one wrong step would send him plummeting into a fire pit below.

Seb activated his flashlight on his comm unit and crept forward. He made sure the scorched metal beneath him didn’t flex to the point that would cause him to be concerned. The sounds that trickled through the hallway were akin to a lush jungle. The howling wind, the smoldering fire, and the wail of the metal carcass he walked through created an auditory sensory overload that made it difficult to concentrate, but he pressed forward.

When Seb decided to take his datapad with him, this didn’t just become a mission for himself, it became a mission for Dover. While he didn’t necessarily blame Captain Francisca or Toros for the officer’s death, he did blame Williams Correctional Corp. He had every intention of completing the mission as requested, which is why he didn’t drop the explosives from his chest when he crawled through the inferno. However, that would come after he backed up the data he needed to his datapad. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do with it once they got off of Inoi 3, but that was a decision best left till later.

As he continued forward, the hallway rotated to a thirty-degree angle, making it somewhat cumbersome to walk through. Eventually, the hallway stopped at a T-junction. Seb looked around the nearby walls for a location map but found nothing.

Unsure of which path to take, he opened his comm to the ship. “Nalla, are you there?”

“I’m here, Seb,” she said. “Is everything all right?”

“I found a way in, but I’ve come up to a split hallway. I need you to scan the wreckage and point me in the right direction.”

“Um . . . okay.”

The hesitation in Nalla’s voice made Seb concerned. He leaned against the waiting for her response. After a minute passed, he pinged her again. “Nalla, any luck?”

“It’s just that I don’t know much about this kind of stuff. I thought you just needed someone to talk to. Oops . . . no, that button turned on the intercom.”

Seb placed his hand on his shielded face and shook his head. “Okay, let me see if I can walk you through this. First you need to be in the chair on the right.”

“Okay, I’m here.”

“Great. Now, before I left, I already locked on the core’s signature, which I’m hoping should have the black box nearby. I just need you to initiate a new scan in the area in front of the ship, which should be an option on the holographic interface that’s already pulled up. You just need to tap the scan button and then select the area you want.”

“I think I’ve got it.”

“Do you see a little, green triangle? That should be me.”

“Oh yeah, I see you!”

“Fantastic, now I need you to lead me to the core room.”

“Oh, this is fun. It’s like a maze puzzle in a hologame.”

“Yeah,” Seb chuckled. “Only I’m the one you’re navigating, and currently I’m surrounded by shrapnel and fire. So, please go easy on me.”

“Don’t worry. Back when I worked with Barkas, there used to be this old arcade game he had in his office called Uncharted Wasteland. You would go spelunking in all these unexplored worlds with various biomes. I always held the top of the leaderboard.”

“I’m glad I’m in excellent hands, then.”

“Okay, give me a second. I think I’ve got a route for you. And . . . there. You should take the right hallway.”

“Thanks, Nalla, I’ll reach out when I need some additional help.”

“I’ll just be watching from here!”

Seb inched farther down the hallway. It bent again to his left and started at an incline. He took that as a good sign, given he started at ground level and the core traditionally would have been in the center of the maintenance rooms.

He reached the end of the hallway to a closed door. Seb pulled out his multi-tool. When he started cutting around the manual release latch, the sound of light tapping echoed behind him. Seb stopped and turned around. Twisting his head, he scanned the area with his flashlight, only to find nothing. He chalked it up to a leaky pipe and finished cutting out the panel.

With a strenuous pull, Seb opened the door, immediately filling the room with a gust of wind. He walked through the door and stopped when he reached the edge of the floor. The structure was split in half, allowing Seb to see up the multiple floors of the ship. A large gash on the side of the exterior allowed for the icy winds to seep through the makeshift cavern. The floor extended out into a metal bridge with a gap.

“Uh . . . Nalla, I think there’s a problem,” Seb said.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I made my way down the hallway, cut through the door, and now I am standing at the edge of the platform.”

“There should be a bridge there.”

“There is, but there’s about a ten-foot gap between the bridge and the other side.”

“Oh . . . it looks smaller on the screen.”

“Well next time, let me know if I’m going to have to make any future jumps.”

“Sorry . . .”

Seb cursed before he edged his way to the end of the bridge, hopping up and down a bit to ensure it was stable. When he reached the end, he looked behind him, estimating the length he had to sprint before he ran out of the room. He looked across, noticing the floor was about a foot lower than his current level. That should give me a bit more distance too, he thought.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Seb unshouldered his pack and tossed it across the chasm. He watched the bag land without issue before turning around and walking to the farthest point in the room. Seb stretched his legs, slapped his hands together, and took a few quick breaths.

“You’re going to make it,” he told himself before sprinting as fast as he could. When he reached the end of the bridge, he jumped off of one leg and landed on the other side with feet to spare. He clapped his hands together and let out a celebratory laugh before shouldering his bag and continuing through the hallway.

As he walked forward, Seb could see smoke filling the hallway while an orange glow flickered at the nearby corner. When he rounded the corner, he found the hallway was filled with flame. Exposed panels littered the floor with fire, and sparks danced along nearby pipes. With no options, Seb flipped his pack around to his chest, hunched over it, and sprinted through the hallway. He hoped that his suit would protect him enough from the heat. As he ran, he could see the shield along his face flicker while the edges of the fire reached for his body.

When he made it past the fire, Seb checked his body to ensure there were no surprise embers that managed to jump onto his pack. After he swapped its position again to his back, a familiar sound of tapping echoed down the hallway. When Seb looked up, he could have sworn he saw a shadow pull around the nearby corner. Seb grabbed the grip of his revolver as he rounded the next corner, shining his flashlight down the hallway. Again, he saw nothing.

“Seb, can you hear me?” Nalla asked.

“Yeah, loud and clear, Nalla.”

“When you reach the end of this hallway, there should be a set of stairs that go up. You’ll need to go up ten levels, then take a left. Once that walkway ends, it should open up to where the core is.”

“Sounds good. Before you jump off here, are you seeing any heat signatures nearby? Maybe some comm signals or anything that would show someone else in here with me?”

“I mean, there are heat signatures all over the place. I just assumed the whole place was on fire. But I’m not getting any comm or WICI pings like you. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, no, that makes sense. I think I’m just hearing this place come apart.”

“Okay, let me know if you need any more help.”

“Thanks, Nalla. I’ll ping you once I reach the core room.”

Seb drew his weapon while he continued down the hallway. He wasn’t sure if there was something else in here with him, but he’d rather be wrong and ready instead of right and unprepared. His head moved with his arms while he scanned the various nooks and crannies of the broken ship hallway. There were holes, vents, and shattered panels along the walls. Plenty of space for something to burrow its way into or surprise him as he passed by.

He continued his same stance up the ten floors and down the final hallway, only holstering his weapon when he reached the sealed door. Once again, he pulled out his multi-tool, cut out the panel, and pulled the manual lever. Only this time there was no gust of wind, which left him feeling at ease. That was until he continued forward and stopped at the missing floor.

Thankfully, the core room was in a lot better shape than he expected. The 150-foot room still retained its rectangular form, with the missing levels scattered in twisted metal along the bottom of the room’s floor. The cylindrical core stood in the center with no visible light shining from it, indicative of an exposed rod. He trusted the ship’s computers that the radiation levels were safe, but he couldn’t help but worry about potential radiation leak that would melt his insides.

Seb looked around the room. He attempted to get an idea of where Nalla expected him to go. However, with the floor just ending before him and the hundred-foot drop below, he needed better direction.

“Nalla, where am I supposed to go now?” he asked. “The floor just drops beneath me, and there are no additional doors around me.”

“You need to go up,” Nalla said.

“Up? There’s nothing above me. There’s only the ceiling.”

“Yeah, the crossbeams across the ceiling will act like a makeshift bridge that you can shimmy across. Once you make it to the other side of the room, there’s a ladder that will take you all the way down.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope!” Nalla said, her tone bright and proud. “I double-checked and made sure there’re no gaps this time!”

“Nalla . . .”

“What, did I do something wrong?”

“No . . . just . . . never mind, I’ll call you back.” Seb placed his hands on his hips as he looked at the crossbeams above him. They were too high for him to jump. Maybe a running jump? He looked around the surrounding area, and while half the room was gone, it still had some of its furnishings. The coffee table and desk might do.

Over the next few minutes, Seb stacked various furniture, creating a makeshift furniture tree high enough for him to reach the beam. With a plastic crate as the topper, Seb slowly climbed. Each step was a trial of balance, with his weight shifting wildly with every foot. When he reached the top of the structure, Seb felt it fall backward. He leaped, catching the edge of the metal beam as his improvised ladder crumbled into pieces.

Seb swung his legs from side to side, building up momentum to swing his hips around. He regretted bringing the gear in his bag with the weight threatening to pull him back down. With one final swing, Seb stuck his heel on the ledge. From that accomplishment, the he pulled himself on top of the beam. He lay strung along the beam while he regained his breath.

“Seb, are you okay?” Nalla asked. “You haven’t moved in quite a while.”

“Yeah, just catching my breath.”

When his breathing returned to normal, Seb grabbed on to the crossbeam above him, pulling himself up to his feet. The beam was wide enough for him to walk foot-in-front-of-foot. However, every five feet, a vertical steel pipe connected the makeshift bridge to the ceiling, requiring Seb to shimmy horizontally along the edge. He was thankful there was no crosswind in this room. Otherwise, he was certain he would have fallen to his death.

“Next time Captain Francisca wants someone to do her work for her,” Seb began, “you can tell her to go fuck herself.”

“I heard that,” the captain said.

“Good. If I don’t survive this, at least you’ll know.”

“Stop being dramatic, Seb, and finish the job. You’re almost there.”

“I liked it better when Nalla was on the comm.”

“I’m still here!” Nalla said.

Seb smiled and shuffled his way down the remaining length of the room. When he reached the end, he grabbed on to the ladder and slid his way down. He used the edge of his boots and gloves of his skinsleeve to slow his descent. He hadn’t noticed it when he was higher, but once he reached the bottom floor, there was a frequent chittering sound coming from the emptied coolant reservoir below.

“Okay, Seb, now be careful with all the fire around you,” Nalla said.

Seb froze. There wasn’t any fire around him that he could see. He turned off his flashlight and crouched down. “Nalla, there’s no fire around me,” he whispered.

“Uh . . . hold on.”

Seb could hear distant speaking across the comm before Captain Francisca’s voice returned. “Seb, there are heat signatures underneath you that look like they’re filling up the entire room. You may not be alone.”

Yeah, no shit, Seb thought. He unshouldered his bag, gently setting it on the ground, and pulled out the datapad. He hovered low to the ground, shuffling quickly to the edge of the walkway. He peeked over the edge into the reservoir. Normally, the entire thing would be shielded with coolant circling the massive engines. But now it was just a sea of horrific, dog-sized creatures.

They had six thin legs and long tails that curved into a hooked point. They had no heads, only large orifices with rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Their pale-white skin matched the snow that surrounded the structure.

Fuck me . . . there’re thousands of them. Seb pulled away from the edge and looked around the room. He hadn’t noticed the white specks sprinkled throughout when he made his climb over. Only now was he realizing that they enveloped him. He shuffled back near the ladder before calling to the ship.

“This place is crawling with these . . . things.”

“What are they?” Captain Francisca asked.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know? Just start working on a path out of here. Once these explosives go off, these things are going to be pissed.”

“Nalla’s hard at work on it. Just set the explosives, and we’ll get you out of there.”

Seb gritted his teeth and threw his hands in the air before pushing himself up to his feet. He huddled himself into a ball and shuffled across the bridge into the center of the room. He stopped at the terminals surrounding the core. It took him a minute to find the interface with the compartment box underneath, which he popped open with a quick tug.

Seb stood petrified as the noise echoed throughout the chamber. While there were a few shrieks and howls, there wasn’t the thunder of thousands of feet all charging at him. He let out his breath and plugged his datapad into one of the open ports. He started the transfer only for it to error out when he ran out of storage. Don’t do this to me now.

With a few quick taps, Seb restarted download, only pulling down the last seventy-two hours. Seb smiled when the download completed, unshouldered his bandolier, and started twisting the timer on the explosives. When he finished, he heard the faint smack of something hitting his shoulder. He waited until he heard it again. When he looked up, there was a creature hovering above him, dripping mucus from its wide-open maw.

The creature lunged, exploding into a mist of blue ooze with the pull of Seb’s trigger. Squeals and roars filled the room to deafening levels. Seb jumped up to his feet, tucked the datapad into his jacket, and ran. When he crossed the bridge, he could see the creatures crawling up the reservoir’s walls. He turned on his light and sprinted past his bag.

“Nalla, Francisca, I need an exit, now!”

“I’m working on it!” Nalla said, her voice full of concern.

Seb turned around and shot down the hallway. The massive slugs pierced through dozens of the creatures, covering the walls in blue. Unfortunately, their numbers were too great for it to have any meaningful impact. Seb reloaded his revolver and sprinted down the corridor. As he turned the corner, he realized he was in a dead end. “Nalla, I need it now, dammit!”

“There’s a ladder at the end of the hallway. Climb up to the next level, and you’re going to come to a set of stairs. Take them all the way to the top. We’ll clear you an exit.”

“Got it!”

Seb jumped on the ladder and climbed up. The top was sealed with a mechanical lock. Seb holstered his revolver and pulled as hard as he could. He could hear the screams of the creatures reverberating in the small tube. When he climbed through, he slammed the door shut, severing several creatures in half.

He let out a small laugh as the beasts thumped on the door below. When the thumping stopped, he stood and walked his way to the nearby stairwell. He turned when he felt the rumble beneath his feet. The wave of cascading fangs clawed their way down the much larger hallway.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Seb shouted, sprinting up the stairs. When he reached the top, he instinctively shielded his face as a hail of heavy caliber bullets rang down the hallway. When the ship’s assault subsided, Seb dashed down the hallway.

The Andalusian hovered at the edge of the opening. Seb pulled his weapon and fired three more shots to the creatures that were within punching reach as he continued his escape. The ship spun in place, revealing Nalla, who was standing on the edge of the cargo ramp.

“Come on, Seb! You can make it!” she shouted. Seb could hear the snap of tails and clenching jaws that barely missed him as he ran. He couldn’t look back. He had to make this jump.

When he reached the edge, everything got eerily silent. All he could hear was the thump of his heartbeat. He pressed off of the edge and reached out with both hands. It was clear it wasn’t far enough. But Nalla’s tail was right there for him. She snatched him around the waist and pulled him inside, sending him rolling through the bay.

“Seb!” Nalla shouted. A creature made it onto the ship with them. It hunched over, ready to pounce at Nalla. With a quick flick of his wrist, Seb shot at the creature as it lunged. Its body disintegrated, showering them both in a blue gore. When the ramp closed, the two slumped to the ground.

“We really need to stop meeting like this,” Seb said.

“Yeah, you’re giving my tail a workout.” Nalla said, laughing.

Seb holstered his gun and jumped to his feet. He walked over to Nalla and extended his hand, catching her in his chest when he pulled her up. She let out a surprised moan before looking up into his eyes.

“It looks like we both need a shower,” Seb said. “Does this ship have one?”

“It does, but only one,” Nalla said, her cheeks turning a few shades redder as she looked away.

“Well then . . . I guess we’ll just have to figure that out.”

“It’s easy. The score is two to one. I think that means I get it first.” Seb felt Nalla’s tail subtly graze the back of his legs, and she walked to the ladder. He followed her as they both made their way upstairs. When they reached the split in the hallway, Nalla waved goodbye, and Seb watched her enter her bedroom.

With no one nearby, he shut the mechanic’s door and pulled out the datapad. The cracked screen flickered when he turned the device on. He pulled up the data he retrieved from the black box and flipped through video after video. Eventually, he found it. Warden Williams was the man in the cryo room who released the prisoner.

Seb’s eyes went wide when he recognized Dr. Zyl Thrik. Everyone in the galaxy knew the printaghast bioterrorist known as Doctor Z. He was the man who had single-handedly killed all living creatures on the small moon of Bisick, turning it into a barren wasteland. From what Seb recalled, Doctor Z escaped the death penalty after being marked as criminally insane and was supposed to be sent to Ano Supermax. Things just got a whole lot more complicated, Seb thought.

He walked over to the secondary engine, picked up his roll of duct tape, and strapped the datapad back to the surface. He reconnected the datapad to the engine and booted up the engine instructions set. After selecting a few options, the engine roared to life, synced in sequence.

“Seb, did you do something to the engine?” Captain Francisca asked over the intercom. “The second engine wasn’t running but looks fine now.”

“Yeah, minor error on my part. I had to sync both of them. It should be fine for now.”

“Good. We’ve got a lot of flying to do, so take a load off. I’ll grab you if I need you.”

Seb moved to the mechanic’s door after hearing three soft knocks. When he opened the door, Nalla was standing there with a towel wrapped around her chest and another in her hair. The drops of water across her breasts made it difficult not to stare. She smelled like cotton candy. She extended her hands, handing Seb a folded, dry cloth.

“Here’s a clean towel you can use,” she said. “Anything you need cleaned, just leave in here. I’ll come by and throw it in the decontaminator.”

“Where’s the bathroom at?”

“Oh, just right around the corner on the right. The water normally takes about a minute to get warm, but it should be good to go since I just used it.”

“That’s if you didn’t use all the hot water yourself,” Seb said, taking off his jacket.

“I wouldn’t do that to you. Toros . . . maybe.”

The two shared a laugh while Seb continued getting undressed. When he was down to his skinsleeve, he paused. He looked up at Nalla, who was biting her lip as she stared at Seb’s lower half.

“You looking for a show? I don’t mind, but I charge by the minute.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry,” Nalla said, laughing nervously as she spun around. “I . . . uh . . . I’ll come by and grab your things when you’re in the shower.”

“Don’t get any ideas now.”

“Bye, Seb!”

He laughed as she scurried down the hallway and into her room. Seb unclasped plastic around his wrist and neck, pulling the skinsleeve from his body. He gagged as the wretched smell of death assaulted his nose, quickly reminding him of the skinsleeve’s previous owner. Grabbing the towel, he darted across the hall into the bathroom.

It was simple, with a toilet and a shower. The size was big enough for him but made him wonder how Toros managed to shower in it. When he stepped in, the holographic panel illuminated and allowed him to make his selection down to the degree. The water stung initially, but this time he could tell it was from the heat. He eased himself into it and allowed himself to relax. It was wonderful.

He stood there, rotating his body back and forth, letting the heat ease his sore muscles. The whiffs of decay moved him to begin his clean. He grabbed the bottles from the nearby cubby, flipping through the various scents before settling on one that reminded him of fresh herbs. Seb spent the next hour scrubbing every inch of his body to ensure there were no lingering smells.

Once he finished, he borrowed some mouthwash and made a mental note to grab some fresh toiletries at their next stop. When he returned to the engine room, Seb found a pallet of blankets and a pillow made for him. While he would have preferred a bed, this was close to what he was accustomed to back in prison.

Seb grabbed one of his water pouches and downed the contents while lying on his bed. He didn’t even cover himself before his exhaustion took over. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.