"So I'll get this out of the way quickly... Do you want to tell us why you looked and were so mad while fighting the Frighters?" Rita asked Ryan while everyone looked on, expecting him to blow up at her. To their surprise, he only sighed and began to tell them why.
"When I was 6 before we were in the same classes and met each other, I had a sister. "She was 16 when she went on her first mission, so a year older than us right now. On that mission, she and her team had to go invade the Frighter colony that was about a mile down from the entrance of the bunker. She went in, and never came back out."
"Wow... sorry..." Denny said while everyone else looked at him sympathetically. Ryan then held up a finger to signal he was not done, much to the dismay of everyone, since they were starting to see where this was going.
"Once the colony had truly been defeated with only a few left behind that could easily be taken care of later, they found her body in a back tunnel..." Ryan began to sob, "there was a Frighter feeding on her, probably the same one that disarmed her in the first place. There was almost nothing left of her. The monster didn't just infect her, it went and killed her, then cut her up out of spite. I have only one keepsake of her, and her hand was holding it to the end... A little necklace she had as a good-luck charm. She never told me what the picture was, and didn't want to show me. The picture was of a 5-year-old me. The necklace and picture inside of it was soaked in her blood." he finished, pulling the necklace out of his front pocket. Everyone gaped at the necklace in shock. Nobody knew what to say, the story had taken everyone's breath away.
Hailey then started to wake up, "Wha? What happened?" she asked groggily.
"Long story short, a Frighter stabbed you in the thigh with its claw, you passed out from the pain, Grey distracted it, and Ryan beheaded it," Rita explained.
"YOU WHAT?" she exclaimed, "That used to be a real human that you beheaded!"
"Here comes momma Hailey again." grumbled Grey, "You'd think she'd be more grateful about her life being saved."
"Yeah whatever happened to be polite and grateful, Hailey?" Rita asked.
"He beheaded the thing!!" Hailey exclaimed again. Ryan's face twitched.
"Uhhhhh, Hailey? I wouldn't say these things right now, Ryan isn't in his best emotional state at the moment." Nicky whispered in an urgent tone.
Yet Hailey paid no attention and continued on rambling, "Ryan you didn't have to behead it!! There are other more dignified ways to kill some-"
Ryan cut her off, "WOULD YOU RATHER I HAVE LEFT YOU FOR DEAD OUT THERE ON THE MOUNTAIN? WOULD YOU RATHER I HAVE WENT AND, OH I DON'T KNOW, GO AND ASKED THE FRIGHTER POLITELY TO DIE? 'OH UM MISTER FRIGHTER SIR? COULD YOU PLEASE DIE SO MY FRIEND DOESN'T COMPLAIN LATER ABOUT ME BEHEADING YOU?' THIS MISSION HAS ALREADY MADE ME RE-LIVE THINGS I WISHED WOULD NEVER SURFACE AGAIN AND HERE YOU ARE COMPLAINING THAT YOU'RE ALIVE AND A FRIGHTER IS DEAD VIA BEHEADING BY MY AXE! YOU DO KNOW THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY GET RID OF A FRIGHTER RIGHT? BE GRATEFUL YOU'RE ALIVE AND NOT IN SOME MAKESHIFT GRAVE UNDER THE SNOW! Some friend you are." With that, he walked out of the common room and slammed the door behind him to the pilot's cabin.
Hailey looked as though she might cry, she also seemed to be frozen to the gurney.
"I tried to warn you, and you didn't listen." sighed Nicky.
"Well, that makes me feel better!" Hailey shot back.
"Don't go blaming Nicky, Hailey, this is on your shoulders, not ours. Nicky tried to warn you and you paid no heed." Gray said and then went up to check the guns. Nicky went inside the navigator cabin closed the door and started turning on her instruments. Rita then grabbed the gurney, rolled it through the walkway to the second trekker, closely followed by Denny.
"You're going to have to get in the wheelchair. The gurney isn't going to fit in the nav cabin." Rita said gruffly.
"Okay," Hailey replied in a small voice then got in the wheelchair with more than just one grimace. She got no sympathy from either Rita or Denny. Rita locked the wheels so if they were on inclines, Hailey wouldn't get flung around. Denny then went into the pilot's cabin and closed the door behind him and Rita went back to the gunner's station
YOU ARE READING
The Calm Before the Storm
Science FictionRyan Tillerson and his friends live in a bunker under the Rocky Mountains where they are safe from the frighters who have taken over the majority of Earth's population. When one of the defense points near bye goes silent, they must journey outside o...
