Into the Void

Chapter 27

He awoke some time later, feeling rested and content. The smell of hot food wafted over to him and set his stomach to rumbling. He stretched and got up out of bed, drifting over towards the smell of food. Damon was sitting cross legged on a cot, eating steaming forkfuls of rice and meat out of a shiny foil bag. Looking around the long narrow room, Nate spotted his backpack sitting at the foot of Damon’s cot.

“You aren’t eating my rations are you?” said Nate.

“No,” said Damon. “Alliance rations are shit. I got my own.”

“I suppose yours are mostly iron filings eh? To bulk up all that synthetic muscle of yours?” said Nate with a small laugh. He reached into his pack and pulled out a foil package of his own. He flicked a switch attached to a small metal box at the bottom of the bag and waited for the food to heat.

Damon frowned at him. “You seemed pretty out of it last night. I think Onyx found a way out if you’re feeling up to it.”

Nate pulled the foil bag open, and began eating. Damon was right, the Alliance rations were garbage. All the food was a bland salted mix of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins. It did a good job of pretending to be food but it was all synthetic. “Yeah, it sounds good,” said Nate. “Man, you’re right about the rations. Never thought I’d say this but I wish I had another one of those frog-cats. They were real greasy, but at least they had some taste.” Damon eyed him warily as he ate. When they finished, Damon stood and walked briskly over to Onyx, whispering intently to the hulking Construct while Nate bent and inspected some of the decorations by the cot. There were several small faded drawings done in the broad strokes and vivid colours of a child, some jewelry and a small painted clay figurine that looked just like the alien frog cat he had eaten. He smiled and slipped the figurine into his pocket, when he got home the little alien sculpture would be a great souvenir. He sauntered over to his two teammates who were busying themselves readying weapons and inspecting their remaining equipment. Nate laughed as Damon pulled on the oversized wool cap they had taken.

“What’s funny?” said Damon.

“That hat.” Nate replied. “We come all this way from home, pilfer an ancient storeroom and all we have to show for it is the dumbest looking hat ever made.”

Damon shook his head with a small smile and patted Onyx on the arm. “Let’s get moving,” he said. “I want to get back to the rover before Nate has another fainting spell.”

Onyx led them through a twisting tunnel and out a round rusted hatch. The trio stepped out into the daylight, squinting and blinking as they were blinded by the glare of the sun reflecting off the freshly fallen snow. When his eyes adjusted, Nate saw they were standing in a sparse forest. The ground was covered in fresh white, powdery snow and the curvy, pale trees stretched up towards a clear sky, spewing streams of yellow spores from their bulbous purple tops. Except for the alien trees, the snowy forest felt like home. Nate laughed as Damon stepped out into the snow, swearing at the cold. Granted, Nate was wearing a heated exo-suit, but the heat was running on its lowest setting to conserve power, it really couldn’t have been that cold out.

“So, any idea where we are?” asked Nate. “We can't be too far from the rover.”

“I'm not sure,” said Damon. “But I think we should head this way.”

The trio trudged off through forest, walking quickly through the early morning chill. Birds trilled as they passed, filling the air with a high, pleasant, warbling tune. They strode on for hours, stopping to rest at a small stream. Damon bent and filled a canteen with a filtered funnel. Nate frowned, he had expected them to reach the field by now, they hadn’t gone very far underground. Something moved in the forest beyond the stream. Nate raised his laser gun. A ball of teeth and fur slammed into Damon, knocking him off his feet and running back into the woods. Another creature ran past, barking and snapping. Nate turned to follow it and was knocked  off his feet as another animal leapt onto his back and bowled him over. Scrambling to his feet, he fired a burst of lasers through the trees, firing at shadows. Onyx ran towards Damon, extending the heavy blade from his forearm. Nate turned to face the treeline putting his back towards Onyx and Damon. Remembering that the wolves back home preferred to attack from behind he aimed into the trees and fired a long burst. A wolf yelped and ran out of the cover of the trees, moving too fast to stop in time. The wolf sped past Nate, making a long loop towards the trees, leaving a trail of bright red blood splattered across the pure white snow. Nate turned around again. A wolf leapt from the trees towards Onyx. Time seemed to slow, the beast bared its fangs in a snarl as it flew through the air. Nate breathed out, steadying his aim, and fired a single shot. The laser screamed towards the wolf, scything through the air and burning into its midsection. The laser punched through the lean beast, erupting from the other side in a fountain of smoke and gore. The wolf went limp mid flight and slapped into Onyx, tumbling to snow and breathing a last shuddering breath.