T-Plus 18

The feeling of disappointment flickered across Esther’s face for a moment upon glimpsing the metal alien’s brief visage. However, memory of the danger it posed to them wiped away any discontenment from its lackluster appearance. At a glance, the new variation was definitely sturdier than its previous iterations, and the past evidence of its lethatlity was obvious. Hearing its body scrape along the metallic floor, the screeching caused from the friction echoing down the corridor to them in an almost whisper, reconfirmed its presence. Its lankier shape meant it had a longer reach than its predecessors. Dealing with the rocky underlings surrounding it was already an arduous task, but now they had to contend with an even more difficult solid.

“Do we know how far out it can sense us?” Esther asked as Vaughn and Bacon trailed the metal alien with their lights.

“About 25% more than the rock ones,” Bacon replied, moving her beam away to mark the approximate distance. “Somewhere right here.”

“It senses us sooner, spits metal fragments at us faster, and never moves alone,” Audrey confirmed, a quiver to her usually confident tone. “When it attacks, the stone ones attack right after it, so it’s a constant onslaught.”

The Navigator’s spine shivered every time the light showed the full appearance of the metal alien. Eventually, she had to sit down, fully hiding behind the pile of rubble while rubbing her arms to ease the goosebumps.

“If anything, it seems the rock aliens take a longer time to prepare their ammo,” Bacon clairified. “So the rhythm is along the lines of metal, rock, metal, blank, metal, rock. There may be some minor differences between each rock alien, but that’s the general timing of it.”

“Which means we can use the blank period to do something,” Vaughn said, still training his light on the one metal alien they’d caught sight of from the beginning of their discussion. “So, would you rather beat it up or run for it?”

“Whichever is more feasible,” Esther replied, leaning forward as much as possible to see if she could hear another set of scraping noises coming from further down the corridor.

The answer was no. Either there really was only one metal alien, or they were too far out to catch any signs or noises from it.

“What’s our goal in case we get separated again?” Johnson asked.

“The next closest rooms we have access to are in Sector 1A,” Hensley said, pointing to himself. “My room’s there and so is Daniel’s. You remember where they are?”

The other technician nodded, giving the correct room number. The others committed it to memory as they all stood up again. They had discussed it earlier. Audrey and Lucky would be the last ones over, and the Navigator would warp the two of them after everyone made it through the aliens. First through would be Vaughn and Esther, followed by Bacon, Johnson, and Hensley. Johnson had already set Lucky down from his back, leaning her against the wall beside Audrey. Once he made sure his partner was secure, he offered a shoulder to the other injured technician, giving a thumbs up to Vaughn and Esther.

Their job was to break through first, hopefully leaving the next group a chance to make it through during the chaos. There was no need to worry about Audrey and Lucky, unless the Navigator was forced to make three warps instead of two. Bacon traded roles with Vaughn, keeping her flashlight steady on the metal alien for them.

“Do you have an idea how to make it through?” Esther asked the scientist.

“Theoretically, the best time for Hensley and Bacon to cross is during the blank period. For us... well, we’re just here to learn and observe. When was the last time you had to do field work, Emerson?” the scientist laughed.

“A few years now,” Esther answered seriously. She muttered to herself as a reminder as they moved slowly forward, trying to register the exact edge of the metal alien’s perception range. “One shot from the metal alien, multiple shots from the rocks, another shot from the metallic one, an unconfirmed grace period, one shot from metal.”

They inched forward, pausing behind the next shallow pile of rubble. This area of the corridor wasn’t too cluttered, which was probably the reason why there wasn’t a high concentration of aliens. The number before them could actually be counted with ease. The piles they ducked behind came as high as Esther’s calves, while the taller sections came as high as her thighs. Continuing forward, the rest were about the same height. They could only duck behind them as cover temporarily. Esther glanced at them, measuring how many times they could be used before the aliens blasted a hole through them.

This was the last one set of cover they could use before they could reach the rock aliens’ perception radius. Add some distance before that, and they would trigger the metal alien’s awareness. Esther took a deep breath, shouldering her bag as she nodded to the scientist beside her. He nodded back, doing the same thing as he stood again and took another step forward.

He took several more steps, pausing between every couple. After the next set of steps, the entire atmosphere of the corridor in front of them changed. The metal alien that had been heading away from them toward the opposite wall, turned with a loud scratching noise that pierced the ears. Within fifteen seconds, the time in which it took Vaughn to dive at the pile of rubble Esther pulled him behind, the alien spat a solid sphere of metal in his direction. The impact echoed loudly in the corridor, almost like cannonfire, and a bit of shrapnel scattered once the sphere hit where Vaughn used to be standing.

Some of the metal shards pierced through the rubble pile they were hiding behind. A few pieces clung to the scientist’s cloak, and the rest littered the open space of the corridor. Some even pierced through the rock aliens nearby, giving them small headgear that distinguished them from the rest.

“That... is dangerous,” Vaughn remarked after a brief moment. “I guess that’s what got Lucky.”

As they hid behind their slightly shifted pile of rubble, the rock aliens that huddled beside the metal one, turned and blasted the rest of the pile with more of their own rocky bullets. The duo took the chance during the rocky onslaught’s lull and raced to the other pile, ducking behind it just as another sphere of shrapnel decimated the remainder of the rubble they had been behind.

They tensed behind their current hiding spot, waiting for another rocky firing squad only to be met with a few pattering of unsettled stones. It was the blank period they’d been waiting for. Just as Vaughn poked his head out to confirm, he pushed himself and Esther to the ground. The sound of the metal alien’s sphere colliding with the rubble in front of them blew Esther’s ears out, causing them to ring with pain and making her eyes tear up.

“Run!” came the muffled voice of the scientist as he grabbed her sleeve.

The scientist dragged her forward, and she stumbled after, the rocky onslaught just missing her boots by centimeters. She regained her footing, chasing after him as he pulled his variety of bottles from his backpack. Bacon’s flashlight, although shaky now, kept itself on the metal alien. Two other lights had joined it, keeping most of the corridor lit enough to see where to avoid.

With their assistance, she managed to keep herself from tripping over her own feet as Vaughn yanked her arm in the direction he thought was the safest. The aliens spanned most of the corridor, although there was a small break in their line near the other wall, since they’d drifted toward them after every attack. With each step, they came closer to the aliens, leaving them less room to dive, hide, or roll out of the way. More and more shards and pebbles found their way to them. Some brushed her with as much force as a finger flick; others hit her with as much pain as when she rolled down the stairs.

For some of the more dangerous situations, Vaughn stepped in front of her. There were several shards of shrapnel stabbing through his lab coat, although the scientist hadn’t started limping just yet. There was one piece jutting out from his shoulder, and another seemed to be sticking out of his boot. There were various scrapes and scratches on both of them, and they hadn’t made it to the line of aliens yet.

They arrived at the aliens during the next grace period, and Vaughn let go of Esther. The closest rock aliens reached out for them, their tendrils jabbing at them. The scientist kicked at the nearest one, causing it to tilt over and topple itself and its neighbor. As he distracted them, Esther ran through to the other side, finally turning on her flashlight to light the way forward.

If she didn’t have Vaughn right behind her, shouting at the top of his lungs to make it through her still ringing ears, she would’ve stopped in her steps at the shock of the sight before her. Sitting on the remaining few piles of rubble that dotted the darkened section of the corridor were evolution pedestals. Although they weren’t as numerous as the other part of the corridor before Sector 5A, there were just enough to impede them even if they tried to skirt around them. From what she saw when she flicked her flashlight across the corridor, there were at least three.

Snapping out of her reverie, she ran toward the nearest pile that didn’t have a pedestal on it. Luckily, it was the closest one to her, and she ducked behind it right as the metallic sphere smashed into space between her and Vaughn. A moment after the sound landed, the scientist appeared by her side. His entire left side was splashed with red, the blood from the shard in his shoulder dripping down his sleeve. Another shard had lodged itself near his elbow, rendering that arm completely useless for the foreseeable future. There was a long scratch above his right eye, just missing his eye completely. Any further down and he would’ve lost his vision alongside the use of his left arm.

“Do you need a moment?” she mouthed, knowing his ears were probably deafened.

The scientist waved his still good hand, tossing his now broken flashlight into his bag. As he zipped the backpack up again, she noticed more shards jutting out of the fabric where it had taken the brunt of the shrapnel aimed at him. Behind them, the chaotic thrum of rocks pelting into their shelter shook the rubble and wall.

The two ducked their heads again, using their currently sturdy shelter to take a breather. Another sphere shook the top of the pile, and Esther pulled Vaughn a bit away as rocks were dislodged from their original homes. They stood, and Esther caught a glimpse of the next group using the grace period to make their way through the corridor. The aliens’ attention was mostly on herself and Vaughn, so the trio had an easier time going from pile to pile.

Esther kept her working flashlight pointed toward the ground, revealing the thin net of bulging tendrils in the floor. With her in the lead this time, she guided them toward the more spaced areas, giving a wide berth to the pedestals. She’d already calculated they wouldn’t be able to make it to the next “safe” area by the time the metal alien aimed at them again, but she had an idea. Whether it’d work or not was all dependent on her budding hypothesis about these pedestals.

As the lull of the rocky aliens’ onslaught happened, she rushed behind one of the rubble piles, but there was no time to duck behind it before she heard the muffled sound of the metal alien’s cannon fire.