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Chapter 14 |  |
Stories |  |
Fun For All The Family
Bjors materialised and hit the ground
running, heading straight for the towering Beserkers in the
distance.
"Run! RUN!"
The others looked at each other, at Bjors, and then broke into a
run. The robots sped ahead, with huge strides and blurred legs.
Ship was the fastest, catching up with Bjors and pulling ahead
just as quickly.
"Why are we running?" Thjorska asked, shedding his
weapons to help him run faster.
"SNAME! Fifteen minutes! BIG EXPLOSION!"
Bjors screamed, and put on an extra burst of speed, Thjorska sped
up as well, breath thundering in his lungs. His legs were soon
racked with pain and his chest exploding with every pulse. His
heart itself was beating doubly fast in the knowledge that if he didn't
run fast enough, everyone else would be obliterated in a titanic
explosion that would destroy the whole solar system. Of course,
so would he, but, being a Jotun, his life came second to
everyone else's.
"Damn, damn, damn, damn," he cursed under his breath.
The Beserkers weren't that far away, but he felt exhausted. He
stumbled and fell, hitting the ground roughly. He pulled himself
up again and tried to keep going, but his legs felt like lead.
Far ahead, Ship glanced back and gasped. She leapt high in the
air and glided swiftly back on her wings. Without a word she
grabbed Thjorska by the shoulders and kicked on her afterburners.
She shot forward, dragging Thjorska with her, and soared towards
the Beserkers.
"Need a lift?" Ship asked cheerily. Thjorska didn't say
anything, just hanging limply and trying to regain his breath.
A few kilometres away, the counter continued counting down. Ten
minutes...
Ships dropped Thjorska onto his Beserker and swept over to hers.
The others were already scrambling up the ladders on the left leg
and leaping inside. Thjorska slipped into the controls and geared
up. His Beserker broke into a run, leapt into the air and the
limbs retracted inside the hull. Slamming the engines on full
power, he shot out of the atmosphere as fast as he could.
"Sir! The Beserkers are returning, and fast!"
Beowulf glanced up and turned to the ensign.
"Open all docking bay doors! Prepare all engines for high-FTL,"
he bellowed. "Something tells me we'll need to leave quickly."
Four minutes...
Thjorska's Beserker shot through the airlock and skidded across
the docking bay, spraying sparks. A few others skidded in behind
him. Thjorska finally found the sense to punch the comm button.
Beowulf's face flashed on the screen.
"Are we all aboard ship, Commander?" Thjorska said.
Beowulf nodded. "Then get us the shax outta here. Any
direction, just go now. NOW!"
Beowulf shouted something off-comm and suddenly the ship dropped
into warp.
Deep in the chasms below the surface of the planet, Kajiro
crawled through the rubble. Dirt, grime, sweat and blood clung to
his face. He came across the lifeless carcass of a creature, and
held it in his arms, weeping. A small motion in the corner of his
eye grabbed his attention, he scrambled over and began to dig,
moving away the large chunks of rock.
He uncovered a small, sleek box, securely attached to whatever
was underneath. On it was a counter, with little red numbers
counting down. Kajiro opened his mouth, but no noise came out,
while the box continued its countdown. Eight seconds, seven, six,
five, four, three, two... At the last possible moment, Kajiro
found his voice.
"Oh, fu-"
The End