Chapter 4

For the fifth time 'Space Oddity' by David Bowie plays, I know the lyrics by heart. Kaid belts it out perfectly as well as we check engines and ready the guns.

"Prepare for liftoff," the PA crackles cutting out the song, but as soon as it quiets the guitar solo starts.

"buckle up kids," I mutter, sitting in a seat and immediately sinking into the scratchy leather.

5...4...3...2...1...

The engines roar furiously to life, making everything vibrate violently. Kaid grins and yells, his voice vibrating along with everything else. Despite that he looks incredibly nervous. Once the engines stabilized, everything gets quieter, the sound of the rumble the only thing I hear besides my shaking breath. 'Starman' starts on the radio and Stone appears in the door, "we are flyin!"

As soon as I manage to unbuckle myself and admire the view of the shrinking planet, an alarm screams overhead. A jerk of the ship throws anyone standing to the ground.

"Breach in Section 5! Goddammit-" Stone yells into her radio and it yells back as we are tossed around like confetti. "Glass! Zangels! Go check the bay doors!" Stone pushes me out of the room and Kaid behind me. Once we hit the metal grates of the hall, the rumbling ceases. Alarms flash red on the walls, the noise becoming a headache.

"How fuckin' conveinent for this to happen on the first fuckin flight!" Kaid spits as we near the bay door marked by a large yellow 5. Beyond the thick plated glass is the dark hall, lit only but the sporadic yellow lights. Kaid puts his face to the glass and sighs. He turns to me and shrugs, "I don't see anything, must be a faulty engine"

He trudges past me and stops when I don't move. My eyes stay trained on a moving object, my ears start to ring. The noise gets louder until it makes my ears pop and I gasp, touching a finger to my ear.

"Cece...don't move...there's something behind you..." Kaid's eyes go wide and he falters as he steps back slowly. "That's no engine."

I turn slowly to see a row of teeth on the other side of the door, two small eyes open, just milky white with the hint of a pupil training on me. The yellow lights show the rest of its hideous body, large spike the size or my arm protruding from its back and a whip like tail to compliment it's horror. The creature raises a claw to the glass and sniffs. In a flash movement it pierces the glass with its tail and I scramble back.

"Oh what the fuck," I grab Kaid and we run, the snarling of the beast follows down the hall as we return to the control room to find nothing there.

"Where did they go!?" He turns to the large bay window and freezes behind me as i inspect what looks like blood on the console. "Ceceilia..."

I turn back at the sound of utter fear in his voice and my jaw drops. A ship looms above us, looking just as grotesque as the beast we left behind. A lump rises in my throat as I grip Kaid's forearm. "I guess I jinxed us all," I manage a smile and he shakes his head.

Behind us the growling has gone silent, I turn to the hall lit by red lights and tense. The shadow of the monster travels along the wall and I pull Kaid's arm slowly and silently down the hall. Once I spot the control room door I know where we're going. Kaid follows closely and we barricaded ourselves inside.

"Nebulus 5, this is control, we have lost your position, come in"

My gaze goes to the radio as Kaid gapes at the ship above us. The ringing in my ears had dulled but steadily gets louder with the passing seconds. I snatch up the radio and press the button. "Control, this is Nebulus 5, we are under attack by...aliens?"

Silence

"Nebulus 5, this is control, we have lost your position, come in goddammit"

My shoulders fall in defeat and I toss the radio aside, on the radar is a large red blip above us. As i reach out to check diagnostics of the ship, the ringing explodes in volume again. Kaid yells something as i sink into the panel. The door shakes and dents with the force of something behind it, Underneath me on the radar, another smaller blip appears. It moves at incredible speed towards us and I watch with dread as the ringing continues. Kaid is yelling beside me and I look up with the world spinning to see something bright coming towards us. Something much smaller than a ship. Something is placed on my head and I look up to Kaid frantically strapping a helmet on me. He's saying things I can't hear and casting fearful glances back at the door.

The door groans with the force and is finally throw off its hinges. I twist around just as the beast we'd met before steps in slowly. Kaid and I freeze like deer in headlights and the beast stops.

"I don't think he can see us if we freeze." Kaid whispers harshly.

Despite the need to rip my brain from my skull I keep my gaze on the monster and breath heavily. A light behind me grows in luminosity, the beast lets out a horrible screech and launches itself towards us, breaking out the window. A scream escapes my throat as Kaid and I go out with it. The ringing fades as we hurtle through empty space now, i get a glimpse of the ship, now in total ruins. More of those beasts leap from piece to piece with large gliding wings and I feel sick. Ready to die out in space just like my father.

Everything gets very very cold, but something warm envelops me, the bright light blinding. I feel pressure around me that could be arms and I'm sure I'm about to get eaten by one of those things destroying our ship. I feel my lids getting incredibly heavy but I've stopped reeling, I've stopped being warm or feeling anything. So I close my eyes and give in, falling into a void of nothing.