The Hermes Endeavor

Chapter 8 - Stephanie

The rumble of noise above her head made Stephanie feel suddenly very claustrophobic. 'The facility is being bombed,' she convinced herself as she prepared for the ceiling of the conference room to cave in, burying her alive. The walls shook slightly, but the structural integrity remained intact. She scanned the room, and all eyes were looking up – including those of her alien warden.

That was when her eyes locked with Janice's. She saw something in them, but it was not the fear that seemed to be consuming everyone else. It looked more like determination. The look did not sit well with Stephanie, and a strange new uneasiness rose in her belly.

"You need a chance, and I'm going to give it to you," Janice said in a voice loud and clear enough to get everyone's attention. The rest of the survivors turned their focus to her, sharing looks of confusion. "Stephanie, Jared, get everyone out of here. Don't hesitate and don't look back." She took one more deep breath as Jared's face changed from confusion to dread once he came to the same conclusion as Stephanie. Janice took one more deep breath, and then said, "It has been an honor working with you all."

Before Stephanie had a chance to respond, Janice was on her feet and sprinting through the door. The agility possessed by a woman roughly the same age as her mother took Stephanie off guard. The alien was caught unaware as well, and reacted a millisecond too late as its blade swung ineptly at the air just behind her.

"What the hell is she doing?" Andre said in a loud whisper as the alien exited the room in pursuit of the fleeing woman.

"Giving us an opening," said Jared as he sprung to his feet. "Run!"

Stephanie was up almost as quickly as Jared was, and out the door by the time the last of the survivors gained their footing. She glanced quickly to her left, and her heart sank as she saw Janice doing her best to stay alive while being trapped in another room with the killing machine stalking her. Stephanie vowed she would not let her die in vain though, and without hesitation dashed to the reception desk to her right.

She grabbed the edge of the desk as she skirted by, swinging around behind it. She looked back for just a moment to ensure the remaining captives were right behind her before ducking down to flip up the manual locking mechanism and open the small door. By the time the first captive turned the corner to join her, she had it opened and hastily crawled inside. Directly to her right ran thick bundles of wiring and PVC tubing; to her left was a steel ladder. She looked up into the darkness above her, then grabbed the rungs tightly and began her ascent.

The remaining survivors began filing in after her. Rich was in first, followed closely by Lacy and Andre. Stephanie looked down to see Jared starting to crawl inside, then turn abruptly and start yelling.

"It's coming, Bill!" he yelled out. "Get in here now!" Stephanie heard screams from below, then Jared yell something incomprehensible as he swiftly moved completely in the shaft and then jumped up the ladder. Just below his feet, the torso of an alien crashed through the wall and into the crawlspace with them. It flailed about, madly slashing wires and the interior walls mere inches below Jared's legs. Sparks shot from exposed wires as the alien tried unsuccessfully to force its way in.

"Keep moving!" Stephanie yelled down at the people below her as she continued her climb. She looked back up, but darkness completely filled her vision. Screeches echoed off the tight metallic confines of the shaft from the infuriated alien unable to pursue them. A few moments later Stephanie banged her head into something above her. It sent a sudden surge of pain through her, and she nearly lost her grip of the top rung of the ladder. Out of breath, she pushed up on the trapdoor above her, which opened with a loud groan.

For a second, Stephanie froze with fear. 'What if they found out about this and were already in there?' she thought to herself. In her head, she saw alien killers lurking just above her waiting to hack at the first thing to emerge. 'It's too late for doubt now,' she lamented as she hoisted herself out of the shaft. The room was dark and dead silent. She expected to hear the humming of fans set to keep the servers cool, but it appeared the power was out.