INTERSTELLAR NIGHTMARES - THE DESCENT

Chapter 18

   Morris and I agreed to split up, him to Kurt and me to Fredrick. I gave him a fistbump before his departure towards Kurt, who was up on the cliff. I, in turn, went for the last pipeline and ground down it until I saw Fredrick.

   I stopped, got off, and walked over to him. He was using a power drill to screw in the pipe segment, bolting down the rubber. "Good enough!" Fredrick said angrily, "I didn't expect to be a fucking plumber!" I scoffed softly, intercepting a laugh from my throat. "I see you're having a great time," I teased. "Yeah right," Fredrick sighed, "this is annoying as hell."

   "Why do you think I'm here to help?" I questioned, smirking. His face lit up with relief, yelling "Oh, thank Exen! Get over here, and let's get our hands dirty!" I laughed a bit and walked over, getting out a wrench and an oil canister with a spray mechanism on it from my bag when I reached him.

   I started tightening the large screws and oiled it if it got tough to screw further. I wasn't sure if I was doing any of it right, but if it worked, it worked. The easier/harder part was when we moved to the next segment. We pulled the rubber, albeit struggling, to the next segment and pushed it into the slot in such a way that the holes lined up for the screws.

   We were on the second to last pipe segment in a couple of minutes. "I see what you mean," I groaned, "it's a lot of work to get everything to fit right." I heard rumbling and we both turned towards the sound.

   Our flashlights lit the area, and there was a group of glyphid grunts followed by a praetorian. "Shit!" Fredrick shouted, yanking his rifle from the dangling lanyard-like strap, and shouted "William, get down!" I looked back and crouched behind the pipe as he started mag-dumping into all he could keep aim at. I shuffled over to the right a little swung my legs over the pipes, grabbed my CRSPR, and pulled the trigger.

   With the fwooooosh! of the flames, it covered the wall ahead of them, and as they stopped to turn themselves, I shifted the aim up at the bugs.

   All the grunts were on fire as the praetorian carelessly trotted over the flame, met the floor, and vomited acid towards us. Fredrick got down, but I kept firing, even if the stinging burns of the acid got through my suit. Soon enough, the praetorian itself was on fire, and it started to skitter off as I took focus on the grunts.

   "Freddy!" I shouted, "Get up here and shoot it in the ass!" Fredrick, on command, popped up, located the praetorian, and fired toward the glowing backside.

   I kept the inferno on the grunts, which soon turned to ash and armor. I then stopped firing, whipped the nozzle towards the praetorian, then unleashed a puff of napalm, leaving a soft hiss.

   Fredrick yanked out his magazine and jammed a new one in, then tugged the charging handle when I looked. I took this as good enough of a time to reload than not to, besides, he was fast. I pushed the button on the top of the back grip that popped the tank out of its socket, reached to my bag, grabbed a new tank, and plopped it in, screwing it in after.

   Fredrick was firing the entire time I was reloading, and the praetorian disappeared behind a crystal. "I got it, you continue with the pipe," I commanded as I leaped over the pipe and ran after it.

   I turned the corner and was met with the jaws of the large creature thrusting at me from the crystal's glittering surface, glowing as it refracted the light of the flare. I gasped and dove back as the beast smashed through a bit of the crystal and started to turn towards me.

   "Slow down, you ugly son of a bitch!" I heard Fredrick yell out as a metal ball that looked similar to the deep-diving suits of older days. It lit up brightly, and light surrounded me, spooking me. I got up quickly and aimed my CRSPR at the monster and tugged the trigger, releasing a wave of flame that stuck like glue. I realized only then that the praetorian was barely moving, as if in slow motion.

   It died after a couple of seconds, and it fell as if it had returned to our speed. "What is this?" I asked as I looked at the sparkling dots around me. "IFG! Or Inhibitor-Field Generator," Fredrick responded, having his hands on his hips and his rifle dangling from the strap.

   "It saved me... thank you," I thanked him, nodding softly. "Don't worry about it, you bold bastard," he smiled brightly, popping a thumb up. He cocked his head to the pipe after, adding "Now let's get back to this... job." I walked over and we both continued tightening bolts, pulling rubber, and fitting everything together.

   After a while, we finally reached the pumpjack. We pulled the rubber into the pumpjack's base, and I oiled the holes, got out the big bolt screws, and I used my power drill to sink it in, with Freddy doing the other side.

   The light on the pumpjack turned green, then the light trailed down the entire pipeline. "Finally, jeez!" Fredrick groaned, "Let's get back to the refinery! It's about tim---" He was interrupted by an announcement coming into the earpiece.

   "Good news team! All pipelines are connected to the refinery," he relayed, "but now the bad news. Something big is coming your way, the scanners lit up like a Christmas tree over here." Fredrick whined, looking down at his boots.

   "God damnit," he whimpered softly, "Why the hell do they want to come now?" I shrugged and looked at the pipe. "Whatever the reason, it's a damn good one if the swarm is big enough. Let's get moving back to the Minehead," I said sternly. We both got our boards, got onto the pipe, and flew to the Minehead.

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