Extraterrestrial Invasion: Annihilation

Chapter 6: Escape

The monster, whose name was Don, taught the boys about the weapons the Extraterrestrial Beings used. He also taught them about the controls on the spaceship and how to avoid death in the hostile environment of outer space.

"We are about to dock with the mothership, the Annihilator," Don said. "When the soldiers are busy taking your friends and sorting them for experiments, we'll head to the escape pods and return you boys to Earth."

"But, how about you?" Jason asked. "Won't they kill you if they figure out you let us go?"

"For that, I have a solution," Don said. "I'm stronger than their space human soldiers, so I will kill one and take his electric sniper. When you run to the escape pods, I will tase myself and make it look like you've stolen the weapon and attacked me."

"That sounds great," Eddie said.

"Thanks for helping us, Don," Jason said. "You're saving our lives."

BEEP!

"The ship is docked," Don said. "Hurry up!"

He opened the dead-end door and they dashed through the corridor. Don hid them in a storage room when the other doors started opening and more four-legged creatures crawled out, draggingtheir victims along. Most of the people they had abducted were unconscious, while some were so badly injured that it would be a miracle if they survived.

"To get to the escape pods, you have to go to the end of this corridor, turn left and head straight.  The escape pods are round, so I think you will identify them easily," Don said.

When they heard no more sound from the outside, Don opened the door and urged the boys to run away. But he did not expect a strangle from the back.

"Wha-what?"

"Nice try, Don," a space human soldier sneered, choking the Quatrodius with the electric sniper.  "Tryin' to escape, boys?"

"Ru-run!" Don shouted at the boys.

"No, you won't," the soldier said. He blasted a lightning bolt from the sniper but Jason avoided it at the last split second.

The soldier made a mistake; he had let go of Don's neck. Don grabbed the soldier and flipped him upside down. His head slammed into the floor and he passed out. Don took his sniper and told the boys to go.

The boys ran as fast as their feet would allow them to. They followed Don's instructions and made it to the pods without hassle. Each pod could carry only one passenger, so they used two. Jason shut the opening and put on the spacesuit. He sat and fastened the seatbelt. Don had taught them about the controls, and it was still fresh in his memory.

He pressed the buttons to activate the pod and depressurized it. The spacesuit had a microphone to communicate with others, and he connected it to Eddie's.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked.

"Yep, I'm good.  Ready to go home?"

"Okay."

Jason pressed the launch button. A countdown for ten seconds appeared on the screen of his helmet. He braced himself for the launch.

BANG!

An enormous spider crashed into his pod. The hatch that was part glass did not break, but the impact shook his escape pod. The arachnid pounded incessantly on the hatch with its hairy legs.

"Open up, boy," he hissed.

Jason glanced at the countdown. Seven seconds left.

The spider hammered on the hatch. Six.