Chapter 33 – Their Final Moments

Mk23 -IRJ Droplet – Class 7 – Carpe Victoria (Wrecked)

Sector - Unknown

Planet - Unknown

11th July 2342 (BSST)

With bated breath I pressed play and waited for the file to play. It took a few moments to load, the device was a ruggedly built thing that had none of the fancy electronics - just stuff that would work in all conditions and so it sacrificed smoothness and quickness for rugged dependability, a sacrifice that I thought well worth it.

After a suitable tension building pause, the data pad started playing. I watched with rapt attention, whilst simultaneously trying to keep aware of my surroundings.

The video started out up in the treehouse, the first scene was just as George had described in Karen’s diary, the five of them discussing what to do:

James: So, we’ve got a choice to make. We can either stay here and test our luck against the monsters below. They might spot us and kill us, they might linger long enough that we become weak with hunger and thirst, or they might move off and we can come down and continue as before, thoughts?

Jenny: How risky do we think that is then? What are their chances they find us up here.

Kurt: Well, we’ve no idea but if they stick around longer than a few more days it’s gonna look a little grim for us. Ain’t it?

Jenny: Uh huh.

George: Yep

James: Yeah, more than 5 days without water and it’s trouble, the basic body-ware cant extend it much further than that.

George: So what’s the other option then?

James: Ok, so staying here is option 1. Option 2 is to make a break for it. Early morning is when they seem most lethargic. So, I think that as first light dawns we’d have a decent chance of sneaking away. We head up the cliff face and out the back and then head to new ground. Perhaps we could go up the mountain or down to the beaches. I’m guessing they hunt the animals as well so I suspect those would be the places least likely to have them. Thoughts?

Kurt: Personally I think we go for the mountain as we can get farther from the woodlands than the beach. From what we saw the beaches are only metres from the trees and I expect they’d spot us from there.

James: You’re probably right about that, the only other issue then would be food. We can’t carry what’s left of our stock so we’ll have to find food up there. If there’s a mountain lake or spring or something weight be able to find fish or snails or something. Hopefully there’s something up there.

Tom: Hold on a minute! You make it sound as if we’ve all decided that leaving’s the right option. I sure as fuck don’t want to face them. I think we should stay here. At least for the meantime. See if they don’t move off. Then we could broach the other plan later.

George: That’s good actually, we can always move onto the next plan but we can’t backtrack if leaving doesn’t work.

James: Yeah, but would we have the energy and strength to do it later? The longer we delay, the weaker we become and the less likely it is to work.

Kurt: Look, we know they roam the forests, even if they leave and we can come down, the food’s gonna run out at some point and then where are we? Same place, right. We’ll have to deal with them at some point. I vote we go now.

Jenny: Same, I think its our best bet. We can’t live in fear of them, otherwise we won’t be living at all.

Tom: Kurt?

Kurt: Sorry Tom, but I’m with them, I think it’s the best option. If we delay we cant escape them and we’d have to track through the forest at some point anyway.

Tom: George, you’re with me right?

George: Yeah, I guess. I don’t want to go down there whilst they are there that’s for sure. But on the other hand we do have to leave at some point perhaps this is the right time. How about we wait another day and then decide?

James: No, I’m going that’s for sure. I don’t think we can afford to wait. The longer we wait the weaker we get and the more vicious and hungry they get.

George: How bout you lot then?

Jenny: Nope, gotta go soon.

James: Look, I think we’re not gonna persuade each other on this. I think we’ve got to go now, so Kurt, Jenny and I will be heading off. We’d love you to join but, if not, then best of luck.

George: Without them we’d be screwed Tom, I’m going with them.

Tom: Fine, I’ll go last and see how it goes but I guess I’ll come too. We’re all gonna be eaten but perhaps its for the best.

Jenny: Let’s all get some sleep then, gotta be fresh for tomorrow.

…

The video goes black for the next 6 hours, time which I skip through.

…

When the light blooms out of the blackness the group wakes up in perfect silence. They spend a few moments gathering their things: photos, tools and materials that are easy to carry.

James: Is everyone ready? He whispered.

A round of affirmations confirmed, he swivelled round and descended, the camera bobbed down in jerky motions until he was at ground level.

The others followed suit and in a line they started to run. Tom remaining in the treehouse to assess their progress.

When James reached the top of the cliff he turned to offer a hand to Kurt. As Kurt reached for it he slipped and sent a cascading rattle of gravel down the slopes. Everyone froze, afraid. With a sharp snapping motion the humanoids locked onto the sound and sprang forwards in powerful leaps.

What was once a team dynamic had suddenly become one where it was everyone for themselves. In an instant James had disengaged his hand from Kurt - although by this point he had crested the rise as well – and started sprinting away. If he could just outrun the others perhaps he would get away.

Hearing a snarl and crash he looked over his shoulder just to see the treehouse come crashing down. The sheering ripping sound of the splintering wood but a background to the squelch as Tom was impaled by the central beam. His painful scream fading into mere echoes as his life drained away with the blood.

James could see the monsters clawing at the entrance though the wood was blocking them. Seemingly satisfied with a piece of leg it tore off after the others, having fallen behind and only gotten a tasty morsel for its troubles it furiously pursued the escaping prey, snarling and drooling as it went.

As James ran he could hear the furious, frenzied, ripping and the screaming of his comrades as they were cut off one by one. First Tom, then George followed shortly by Jenny.

It was just Kurt and James now, thundering side by side, James just a hair ahead. Though perhaps he could have saved himself by tripping the other, neither of the men considered it. Despite the fact neither would stop if the other tripped there was a sense of companionship and teamwork still as they followed each other almost effortlessly, picking up the subtle indications of their route from the other.

However this harmonious work soon ended as Kurt started to flag and fall behind, James had slowed slightly as if considering helping him on before reconsidering and picking up the pace again.

A glance over his shoulder saw Kurt being cut down, the monster stopping to feast. With new pace James eased into another gear, his legs flying over the rough terrain.

He must have run several miles by the time he could hear the panting, snarling monsters at his heels. With new pace he tried to extend the gap but to no avail as the creature launched itself at him knocking him over. He tried to roll with it but the terrain hindered him and he flailed around in a mad scramble as he tried to get to his feet. The monster jumped at him again piercing his legs with its claws as it landed. Rolling over he knocked it back with a forearm and tried desperately to scramble back away from it.

In anger at the blow it slashed at him tearing open his side.

Subdued, and in pain he watched helpless as the creature started to feast on his legs. He batted at it with his remaining arm but it had no effect. The skin on the surface had begun peeling, revealing the monster beneath, its corded muscles and tough leathery hide, a Mr Hyde to the Jekyll it had been before. As he batted at it, the monster looked up at him, its face missing eyes and patches of skin, the needle like teeth sticking out the bottom of its mutated jaw. Like a vampire fish the fangs seemed far to large for the creature.

As he stared into the black cesspools it had instead of eyes, the pitted hollows into its skull he saw something that made him gasp in horror.

On a loose flap of skin he saw something familiar. A mark, red and blotchy in the shape of a half moon. Something he was all too familiar with, he had been horrified, and looking for ways to remove it when he was born. He had located a doctor on Fresnia who would do a skin graft but now it was far far too late. His little man was gone. And now so was he.

The death rattles of his breath sounding out as the data-pad tumbled from his now limp grasp to the floor, the camera pointed down.

With a sigh I put down the data-pad and stared at the corpse with sadness welling up. To be killed by your child was terrible.