The DOOM Chronicles

Chapter 15: Beneath

Thompson showed them the entrance to the spaces beneath the surface of Phobos. Jack had an immediate dislike of it, but, then again, he had an immediate dislike of most of the things he'd encountered on Phobos Base so far. It was a service lift that looked as if someone had stepped inside and promptly exploded. Blackmore sent Jack and Thompson down first, to make sure the area was secure and to not risk them all at once.

The pair of them stepped onto the lift and Thompson hit the button. The doors closed and it began its slow descent.

"Man, I gotta say, you're like a legit badass," Jack said.

Thompson laughed. "Why do you say that?"

"You managed to survive all this crazy ass shit by yourself. And in the sewers, too. I've managed to have someone with me basically the whole time," he replied.

"I guess so. I wasn't really thinking about much, honestly. I was just...you know, going. Doing. Killing."

"What do you think about these things?"

Thompson shrugged. "Man, I've got no idea. I mean, zombies I could kind of get past. But flying skulls? Big red bastards that throw fire? Those shaved gorillas? It's nuts. I think they were doing some kind of genetic experiments or something."

"I think they come from another dimension. That's what the Phobos Anomaly is. It's a gateway that leads to another dimension, I think."

"Holy shit, like that old movie Event Horizon?"

"I'm not sure I've seen that movie."

"It's really old, like, from before the year two thousand. I like the horror classics." He stopped speaking as the elevator settled into its metal nest. "Go time," he muttered.

Both men raised their chainguns, and good thing, too, because the doors opened to reveal a half-dozen Demons pounding around in the receiving bay beyond. Jack squeezed the trigger of the chaingun and knew what it was to feel true power in his hands. Both huge silver guns spoke and began churning out rounds. The Demons roared as they were converted into piles of smoking, chewed-up meat. Bloody gore and viscera was sprayed and splattered across the bay beyond, painting the walls, floor, and ceiling in red.

When the guns fell silent, gunsmoke drifting from the twelve barrels, all was still and silent. Jack checked the ammo counter. He'd used up three quarters of the box. Damn. But wow had that been badass as hell.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Thompson said, grinning broadly. He stepped out into the bay beyond and Jack joined him.

He activated his radio. "Room's clear. We're sending the lift back up. Over."

"Affirmative. Out," Blackmore replied.

He hit the up button and stepped out, letting the doors close. While he waited for the others to come down, he studied the receiving bay they'd come to. It was a large, roughly triangular room, the wall behind him being the bottom and the way ahead narrowing towards one of three exits in the room. The doors were at least closed and looked relatively secure. Though that could change at any moment. Judging by the amount of corpses in the area, it seemed like this was another feeding area for the Demons.

He hated those things.

The elevator returned and deposited the others. They stepped out and surveyed the scene. "Nice," Blackmore said. "We need a map."

"I've got one," Thompson replied. "Sorry. Forgot to mention it. This place has got me a little fried," he added, passing Blackmore a bloodstained PDA.

The Sergeant accepted it wordlessly and studied it. Slowly, he nodded and passed it to Jennifer. "Pass it around, study it. All we've got to do is make our way through the initial complex, then, once we hit the main tunnel that connects the Military Base to the Computer Station, we'll be fine. Unfortunately, there's no direct underground route to the Phobos Anomaly. If we want to get there, it has to be across the surface," he explained.