Delta Outpost

Chapter 7

The rain picks up again before Delta Outpost comes into view. The last half kilometer of jungle running becomes a trudge through ankle-deep mud. Still, we push on. We haven't heard any thundering footsteps behind us, but that's all the more reason to put as much distance between that thing and us as possible.

Ashton has his hollo-deck in his left hand. A blue, flat depiction of our surroundings hovers a few inches above. "Not much further," he says. "Keep pushing."

"I can see a tower!" Peyton calls out. Sure enough, one of the tall posts of gleaming silver that make up the perimeter of the Outpost can be seen through the tree trunks. A small, red light blinks from atop the rectangular spire. We're almost home-free.

"North gate, north gate, this is Ashton Graham. Do you copy?" Ashton calls into his earpiece. "Prepare to lower the field." We reach the edge of the Outpost just in time to see the translucent, wavy field between two towers dissipate. A few steps later we're out of the mud and racing across the smooth, metal surface. "Close it back!" Ashton cries out.

As the gate closes, Maggie comes running out towards me. "Are you okay?" she cries. She puts a hand on my back and directs me away to an awning where I can get out of the rain.

I shake water droplets from my hands and breathe heavily. "God... I hate... being right..." I say. Taking a moment to survey my surroundings, I notice that pretty much the entire population of Delta is out here at the north gate. I know Ashton had radioed back to base about what happened, and I guess it was enough to stop everyone else from doing what they were doing.

"An emergency call came through," Maggie said. "Something about a... creature?"

Peyton pops up between us. "We discovered a bipedal creature approximately thirty meters in height with an impermeable exoskeleton of stone-like plating,"

"What?" Maggie asks.

"We saw a big rock monster, Maggie," I clarify.

"There's a monster?" a frightened, young voice calls out from behind me.

Shit.

I turn to see Danny standing in the doorway. He's leaning against the doorframe and looking at me with big eyes and his mouth half-open. Even though I'm shaking from exhaustion, I can tell he's shaking from fear.

"What is he doing here?"

"You said to watch him," Maggie says while gesturing towards me with open, upturned palms.

Danny runs out and grabs onto my leg. The impact of him against my body almost knocks me over. "I don't wanna see a monster," he whimpers.

"You're not going to see a monster," I reassure. "We ran away from it in the jungle and it didn't follow us so..."

An uncomfortably familiar roar echoes through the trees. Danny's grip on my leg tightens and my heart starts racing. A chorus of frantic conversations carries through the crowds of people around the gate. Another roar sounds. It's closer this time. That thing is definitely coming this way.

"It's the monster!" Danny yells. "It's gonna get us!"

It takes a moment to pry him off my leg, but once he's off I can get to a crouching position. I put a hand on his cheek and force a smile. "Look, we're going to go back to the apartment so the monster can't see you. And it can't get in anyway. Look, see those towers?" I point to the edge of the gate where everyone is standing. "They have an invisible field between them that no monster can get through. You're perfectly safe."

"That's not true," Danny sobs.

I stroke his hair and make a gentle, shushing sound. "Of course it is. Ashton showed me last night. He couldn't even throw a bottle cap through it."