RAVEN FYRE

Chapter 14

A painfully loud bang shook the room, stirring up a few wisps of dust from the door frame behind them. One and then another directly behind it. The banging came to an abrupt end and was replaced with clawing.

WarFairy rushed to the computer and powered it on. "Thank the stars this thing still has power." She quickly hooked her tablet up to the computer and began hacking it for access. Every few seconds her shoulders would twitch as she jumped at the banging on the door. "Uhh guys?"

"Mm?"

"This status indicates that the base is in lockdown."

"Yeah, we can see that babe."

"The problem is that it looks to have been put in lockdown from the outside."

Ell took a couple of steps toward her but kept her weapon trained on the door. "What does that mean?"

"It means that it's possible someone was trying to contain something. And maybe that something is worse than what's outside."

"We've done this sort of thing before."

"Yeah, but not without our gear. We're not equipped. What if what they did was open another hellhole or something similar and only the first wave or so got out? What if behind those doors something much--"

"Whiskey!" Raven called to her over the loud noises at the door. "We only have two choices. This way or that way, remember? Up or down."

"We have no choice then. If we leave, that nuke could crack this base open and unleash what it's currently imprisoning." WarFairy looked around at the room, then the girls, and finally back at the computer screen with a sigh. "We would all rather die than let that happen, right?"

Ell looked at both doorways and then to WarFairy with a nod.

"Okay. I'm opening the blast doors then." She tapped away on the physical keyboard on the table that ended with a heavy index finger on the enter key. A harsh beeping noise emanated from a speaker below a red pulsing light near the door.

BANG. BANG. BOOM.

The beasts at the door behind them crashed against it harder, forming a dent and warping the metal.

"Alright. Prep for entry. Ell, you take the f--" the alarm and banging at the door made it hard to communicate. Frustrated, she shook her head before pointing hard at the wall and resorting to hand gestures.

Ell pressed against the wall on the east side of the room, took a knee, and readied her weapon. WarFairy readied hers and took cover behind the counter.

The door split open vertically. It let out a plume of black dust and an Arctic chill poured into the room with it.

Raven's blood cooled. A shiver ran up her spine and goosebumps formed over her skin.

The blast door creaked open in a most disconcerting way. Like the drooling mouth of a ferocious beast, the grooves on the door resembled teeth; with black goo substance strung between them, like saliva.

Before the doors could open wide enough for anyone to fit through them, Raven caught sight of a hideous creature. She covered her light a little. Willing to risk visibility in favor of stealth. She brought up her fist, signaling them to hold.

Soon the alarm stopped and the doors were wide open. The first thing that struck them was the smell. The second, was the fact that all the lights were either destroyed or simply not working. Raven flashed her light around, being careful not to swing it too fast.

Bang!

Raven spun around just in time to see a loose bolt hit the floor. "WarFairy, can you close this behind us?"

"Good idea, I'll see what I can do."

As WarFairy went to work on a nearby panel, Raven scanned the rest of the room. Ell stayed close to Raven as she didn't have a flashlight-watch.

Just as it was outside, everything looked to have been trashed during a, no doubt rushed, evacuation.

It wasn't long before splashes of blood and other signs of struggle became apparent. Raven traced the smears at her feet to a nearby wall. The blood was smudged in such a way that it seemed like something was dragged on the floor and up the wall. A sharp screech came from the blast doors as they sealed shut.

Raven kept her eye on WarFairy who was working beside the exit. "I hate that bloody door. That noise can't be--." Raven paused when she noticed Ell's concerned and confused expression. "What?"

Something bit her shoulder hard and pulled Raven to the floor. She let out a sharp cry, both from the pain and surprise.

"Raven!"

"What the - oh shit! Rae! Get off her you son of a bitch!"

Raven couldn't see much as she struggled to get the wind back in her lungs. The pain was blinding as the creature dragged her away. She was pulled under the security desk, past the metal detectors, scanners, and finally, around the corner.

The creature was big, fast, and strong. It's labored huffs carried the stench of a rotting corpse.

Raven found it impossible to turn her head to get a good look at it. All she could do was watch as her teammates fell further behind. She had seen it all, sill, the only thing going through her mind was a single word: Escape.

As the monstrosity pulled her around yet another corner and deeper into the base, Raven felt her hand slap against the hilt of her sword. The only hope she had was to use the sword against the creature but she knew that she had just as much a chance of slicing her own head off as she did the beasts.

Raven could feel the pain building up like a bowl being filled with water. She knew that at some point it would become too much for her to bear and she would pass out.

Everything hurt worse when she tried to move her right arm. Her heart bashed against her chest as the pain set in. She was no longer sure if her eyes were open or of it was just the darkness she was being pulled into.

The excruciating pain had only one positive effect in that it caused her brain to pump her with more adrenaline. Even beyond that, she could feel her limbs going numb and her mind slipping away as she used the last of her strength to stretch her fingers out and reach for the sword. The white noise bursting through her ears into a higher pitch, suddenly came to a sharp end. She blacked out.