THE TITAN EXPERIMENT

CHAPTER 42 - Animalistic End

The crew hustled down two flights of stairs to the lowest level in Sector C. Phoenix took point, scanning the path ahead of them with a hitch in his step, toiling over the undeniable fact that they had left Nova's body behind. Bringing her along would only put all the survivors at risk. Besides, what would they do with her once the ship was back on course for Titan? Bury her there? The only thing that made sense was letting Nova rest on Arcturus. After all, they had named the space station after a red giant star that would one day go supernova—out with a bang. Her horrific death seemed like an alternate reality, something he didn't want to come to terms with, but would have to, similar to her supposedly life-ending encounter with the great white shark.

They covered the remaining ground of Sector C and then traversed most of Sector D, which meant they walked half of the station's perimeter. It took thirty minutes to make the trip, hampered by Luna's slow gait, with an arm slung over Ariel's shoulder.

Callisto and Sarah guarded the rear as the group neared the airlock leading to the Titan X spacecraft. Phoenix had no ills with Sarah guarding their six. She had laid her life on the line in a millisecond when it counted the most. But Callisto was another story.

Phoenix didn't get it. Why would he risk his life to save Nova on Earth, and then lay down and refuse to get up when she needed help at the most critical moment of her life? It could have been the station. Phoenix's earlier premonition of the place being sick came to mind. But maybe it was just a reaction in the heat of the moment? Fight or flight, and he froze up like a heartless piece of space trash.

A monstrous roar echoed through the corridor. Coming from behind them.

Phoenix halted ten feet from the airlock.

It seemed like they had seen the last of Sergov, but it sounded like the creature had been stalking them, waiting for the right moment to attack... right when they thought they were in the clear.

Sergov appeared—fifty yards away—through the dark gloom, visible only because of the emergency lights. He skidded to a stop and emitted a harsh throaty growl that began as a low grumble but ended in a high-pitched shriek, like a prehistoric dinosaur excited by a bloodthirsty hunt.

"Come on." Phoenix waved everyone forward, setting his case on the floor near the hatchway. "Now. The ship." Then he said to Sarah, "the code."

She scooted between Callisto and Ariel, rushed to the keypad, and started pounding out the numbered sequence. The hatch opened and Ariel assisted Luna in first.

Callisto handed his case to Sarah and positioned himself next to Phoenix. The two glared at each other, looked away, and then both men fired their Vipers at Sergov. As Sarah entered the passageway to the ship, the creature raced toward them, dropping on all fours in a long striding gallop.

A few seconds later, Sarah stuck her head out and swiped the third case from its spot at Phoenix's feet.

Sergov veered left and right, bounded off the walls and back to the floor again, dodging the electrical bursts from Phoenix and Callisto's Vipers. At the least, they were slowing his advance.

Sarah burst from the hatch into the corridor, weapon in hand. "Go, now. You're both mission critical. We lost our co-pilot. We need a pilot, and we need a mechanic."

Callisto didn't hesitate but lowered his weapon and hustled through the passageway to the ship.

Phoenix wagged his head. "Seriously?"

Sarah opened fire on Sergov, pegging him with an accurate supercharged blast from her Viper. The creature flew backwards from the pinpoint shot.

"You're vital too," Phoenix yelled over the zapping sparks of electricity, squeezing off repetitive low voltage shots at the tumbling Sergov. "You're the only one who can open the cases on Titan, remember?"