Part 5: The Cross
Confused and overwhelmed, Captain Davies’ mind had not yet processed everything she had just witnessed. She stood in silence as the synapses in her brain fired into overdrive trying to make sense of everything. Suddenly, a thought hit her like a ton of bricks, she knew what she needed to defeat the creature…
“The cross!” she shouted loudly. “But where is it?”
“A cross? What do you mean, a cross? What the fuck is that thing?” Adamson continued to scream frantically.
“There was this cross in the back of the helmet and when Gibbons pulled it out…” Davies started to break down in tears as she thought about the skeletal creature ripping his throat out. “...It wasn’t moving at first, maybe, that cross has…I don’t know, some sort of power over it or something?”
“Oh, fuck a cross! I say we launch that thing out of the airlock!”
“And how the hell are we supposed to do that?” Davies was the captain of the ship, she knew all the ins and outs, she knew there was no way possible to open the airlock. “It needs to be activated from the outside and besides, we would have to both be back there messing with those switches while that thing raged around.”
The two sat perplexed, uncertain of a remedy to their dire situation. The creature was locked behind 3 inches of solid steel so they were safe in the cockpit. The problem would be leaving the cockpit. They decided their best bet was to send out an SOS and hope that the military would be able to help them deal with the monster.
Davies radioed for help on the normal communications band, but was met with only static. She switched frequencies to the emergency band, but still the sounds of static were her only response. She tried channels reserved for the Russian space station and the Chinese space station, she tried back channels used by smugglers and commercial channels that the tourist ships used. Static, just static. She tried every channel she knew but no one responded on any of them, although she did get a response from the back of the ship.
“Oh Miranda, is there something wrong with the radio?” Beyond this thick steel was the impossible voice of Gibbons. The two women froze. The sound of a gentle yet sharp rhythmic tapping of fingers on the other side of the door began echoing throughout the cockpit as the voice continued to call to them. “Miranda, please my darling, my love, let me in. I can help fix the radio and get us to safety.”
“That’s Gibbons, he must have survived and fought that thing off…” Adamson rushed to the hatch to open it but Davies stopped her in her tracks, “...what are you doing? We have to let him in?”
“That ain’t Gibbons” Davies said quietly, “no one calls me Miranda and no one calls me darling. It’s that creature!”
“But how is it using Gibbons’ voice?” Adamson began to remove her hand from the hatch and slowly back away.
“I have no idea, but I know that ain't Gibbon’s back there, I saw him get ripped apart-”
“And I'll rip you apart too!” The beast screamed and began pounding on the heavy steel door. It’s voice began shifting from a snarling, guttural growl to Gibbon’s voice and to that of an old Russian man as it continued to pound on the thick steel hatch, “through the centuries my evil has reigned supreme! Do you tiny women think you can overcome all that I am? You cannot keep me locked in here forever, your fallen comrade gives me strength! Strength to rip this door from its hinges! Strength to rule upon the earth again!”
“It can’t get through that hatch...can it?” Adamson nervously asked as she backed away as far as she could in the tiny space. Suddenly the cockpit lights went dim, a loud warning siren began to ring out and many of the numerous lights on the control panel began to flash red.
“What now?” Davies asked, frustration breaking through her words. Along with Adamson they quickly turned away from the hatch and the creature behind it, bringing their attention to the output screens. Frantically they began typing into console windows, flipping switches and hitting buttons as the lights on the console began to blink faster with every passing second. “...I’m getting some strange readings here! Give me a status report Adamson”
“Captain we’re losing pressure from the rear hatch. There’s a breach in the hull!” Adamson screamed back over the sirens which grew in number as the tiny ship began to shake and tremble. “I think that thing is trying to claw its way out! Hull stabilization is critical and pressure is dropping so fast, if we don’t do something drastic we’re going to reach reverse pressurization”
“…that means…”
“The ship is going to fucking explode!”
“Give me options Adamson!” Davies screamed over the sirens and alarms as she instinctively began to strap herself into the pilot seat.
“We need to get the pressure neutralized,” Adamson joined her in buckling up and preparing for the worst, “we need to get the pressure inside the ship and outside the ship to be equal otherwise we're all gonna get sucked out into space.”
Adamson was always calm, cool and collected, the perfect person for the role of captain. She had a keen ability to never lose her cool during a stressful situation and her crewmates could always look to her to make the right decision, no matter what. Now, with a centuries old hell beast trapped in the rear of her ship, which was on the verge of exploding, she had to make the most drastic decision she had ever made. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a small golden necklace with a silver ring hanging from its end. She brought the ring to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss before placing both hands on the guidance control sticks of the spaceship.
“Do you trust me?” She asked, looking at Adamson across the cramped cockpit.
“Ye-yeah, I trust you.” Adamson replied nervously before reaching out her hand and placing it gently on Davies’. “I just want to let you know, with everything going on, if I don’t get another chance to say it...if this is the last moments we spend together, I just want to tell you that I love you and I always have…”
STAY TUNED FOR PART SIX ON MONDAY!
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