The Wilted Planet

Chapter Seven: The Hunt

Caleb and his companions ran down the hall as fast as they could. The echoing thumps of the Hunters ramming the steel doors following them as they did. Caleb hoped that his trap would stall them for at least a few minutes. But from the sounds of the armored giants hitting the metal doors, he doubted it would.

The small group turned corner after corner. The sounds of the doors being rammed becoming more and more strained. "What do we do if they catch up?" Dean asked. Caleb stayed silent trying to think of a decent answer. "It's not if it's when. And we need to get to somewhere more open than this. We're dead if we can't maneuver around them." He finally answered.

The sound of the doors being broken through echoed down the halls. The high pitched squeal of metal on metal. Caleb picked up his pace dragging Rose along, Dean bringing up the rear. "Is your little gift going to go off Cal?" Dean called up. Caleb ran trying to calculate when it would go off. Doing the math in hus head he grinned. "Yeah it should go off right about.."

A defining sound blasted down the hall signaling the toaster had worked. "Now." Caleb finished. Dean chuckled behind him. "You're too good Cal. There's something wrong with you." He said with a snort. Caleb felt Rose's grip loosen as she grew weak again. "Hold on Rose. Just a little further." He said trying to encourage her. Caleb felt her grip tighten slightly as she tried to keep pace with him.

Roars of anger and confusion rolled down the hall sounding much clearer than before. "Oh frick that didn't sound good." Dean said huffing slightly. Caleb tried to focus on running as they turned another corner. The red emergency lights flashing above them. "I know I know." He murmured quietly.

Screeches could be heard behind the roars of rage following them as they entered a large garage. Waurthogs lined up in a row stood facing a large door that was sealed shut. Sadly none appeared to be combat models with turrets attached to them. Light from outside flooded through windows above. Cement barriers ran along the edge of the far wall facing the doors they had come through.

Thinking fast, Caleb ran straight across the room and unslung his pack, throwing it behind one of the concrete slabs. "Close the doors and try to seal them! Buy us some time!" He commanded motioning to Dean. Dean complied slamming the steel doors and bolting them shut. He looked around for something to block it and cursed.

"There's nothing to barricade it with!" Dean shouted helplessly. Caleb groaned internally. "Well so much for stalling." He said and turned to where Rose had wandered over to a indented part of the wall. She was pushing against what looked like a small door almost above her. Caleb ran over to her. "What are you doing?" He asked confused.

Rose looked at him and pointed at a keypad beside the sealed opening. "There's weapons in there." She explained. Caleb's mind raced with excitement. He checked the keypad seeing she was right and grinned. "Stand back." He said and pulled out his pistol. Rose moved out of the way as he aimed it at the pad. Caleb squeezed the trigger firing a few shots into the keypad. The light on the screen flickered and then died.

The door opened allowing a gun rack to slide out in front of them. Guns ranging from assault rifles to dmrs lay on their respective racks. Caleb smiled and grabbed a shotgun checking to make sure it was loaded then grabbed another. "Dean! Get over here!" He yelled urgently. Dean came sprinting over and cheered. "We might somehow survive this." He said taking the shotgun Caleb offered him.

Caleb laughed and scanned the other weapons carefully. "Hopefully." He agreed. Dean pocketed a few frags and extra ammo. "What do you think she can fire?" He asked him. Caleb frowned and glanced at Rose who swayed where she stood. "I wouldn't trust her with a gun right now. She can hardly stand. She'd probably hurt herself or even us." Dean looked at her and nodded. "True."