Soldier Dream

Commander

She was silent, but her heart beat felt like it could be heard a mile off, the way it was pounding in her chest. Sweat was sticky on her skin. The place had a feeling of tight claustrophobia attached to it's white walls, and the shadows cast by the flickering lights made her more than uneasy. It was like the horror films she used to watch as a kid, where the character is stalked by some huge scary creature- except this was real. She was getting close, and she could hear a squealing in the distance. Not a human squeal, but that of metal screeching as it was dragged along the ground.

Had something been knocked over? The Abdima were graceless creatures. Batting metal around might hurt, but it didn't exactly faze them.

She froze as something crackled and jumped as a voice echoed in the air around her. Her chest squeezed tight in alarm.

"Miss....Cereza. Four biologists are currently in the compound two floors down. I'm going to need you to retrieve them. Their minds and their work is too valuable too lose, especially now."

She spoke up, uncertain of whether or not she could actually be heard. "Where are they situated? And is this Doctor Berry per chance?"

"Indeed. They are quite deep in the compound- the deeper you are, the more dangerous the things are."

"Why do you need them out? I thought the objective was taking out the Abdima in the vivisection segment?"

"I'm afraid that that isn't necessarily true. The Abdima in the vivisection was a ploy, allowing for me to call down the best soldiers available for a rather....bigger threat."

"A big threat that's wiped out how many?" Her voice grew strained and quiet as the scraping noise echoed loudly.

"There's a question best left unanswered."

"Did my commander know about this?"

"He did. He was compliant enough, but I'm afraid.... there were extenuating circumstances."

"Oh, I'll bet there were..."

The light was beginning to hurt her eyes. She squinted awkwardly at a sign, and followed it down to a slight of stairs leading deeper down below.

"So Doctor Berry, is there a problem with the lights?"

"Actually, they're working correctly for the task at hand. The flickering confuses the creature, but unfortunately....confusion also tends to make it angry."

"So where did this creature come from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Focus Cereza."

Her eyes squinted. "How did your team focus in this damn light?"

"The team equipped had goggles designed to deal with the light pattern. Unfortunately, most of them are dead. They were too close when it got out."

To this she said nothing, and focused on moving forward.

"Back up is on it's way. But I would advise you keep moving, as I said, we can't afford to lose these scientists."

"Whatever...."

A loud clatter invaded the air, startling Cereza. Breathing hard, she followed the noise, knuckles white as she clenched her hands tight.

"Have you told them we're on our way?"

"Everyone in the lower segment can hear these announcements. They know. If they're alive, that is."

"Where are you?"

"In the control room. I've got to oversee this and make sure everything goes correctly."

She stopped outside an extremely thick, heavy looking door made of steel. To the left, a pass code panel was flashing red.

"What's the code, Doctor?"

"A moment.... I'll open it from here."