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“This wasn't the deal!” Simon slammed his “brother” against a wall.
“‘At do ya mean this ‘asen’t the deal? Did father not fill ya in?” His brother grinned as a beeping caught Simon's attention.
Next thing he knew, his brother shoved him off, driving a knee to his core that knocked the air from his lungs. He didn't have time for this. He had to disarm them. It was supposed to be a heist, not sabotage. Simon stumbled back, giving him a second for the pain to subside before taking off toward the sound of the beeping.
“‘Et moving, Butcher! Leave those alone!”
“No!” he yelled back, scanning the hall as he ran. Come on, where is it? His head was spinning, his mouth was dry and his lungs burned, but the echo of the beeping grew louder. Please, let me get there in time. He skidded to a stop and turned down the hall toward the reactor. That's when the culprit came into view: a black box with a blinking light and a timer nested right next to the massive doors. Bingo!
He still had time, but he had to move fast. Dropping his bag, he rummaged through it for his tools: a flathead, wire cutters, and a flashlight. He popped the cover off with the screwdriver, held the flashlight between his teeth, and carefully sorted through the mess of wires to find the crucial one. The rest of the sounds around him faded as only the beeping of the timer and his heartbeat thrummed in his ears. Sweat beaded down his brow.
His breath shuddered as he froze, holding a blue wire. This is so stupid! I'm being so stupid- one wrong cut, and I mess this up. He stopped. The water tanks. Cutting the wrong wire would trigger it instantly. But if he moved the whole device to the tanks... He abandoned the wires and pried the casing off the wall.… Got it! The box nearly jumped off the wall and into Simon's arms.
Adrenaline surged, his legs pumped faster, driven by the memory of the water tank room. His chances were slim, but if this thing went off near the reactor, it'd be over for everyone, and he wasn't about to let the innocents on board Filament pay the price. He threw his body against the doors, the beeping device still cradled in his arms.
Before him stood massive, cylindrical structures. Spotting a ladder, he began his ascent, box in his left hand, hauling himself up with his right. Faster, Simon! Faster! He urged himself. The beeping got faster as he got to the top. Spun open the hatch lock and lifted it the cover shakily, nearly slipping as the metal groaned under his grip. He heaved the box over the edge and- dropped it. The device that would've damned the entire station plummeted toward the depths of the tank just as it neared detonation. Please sink faster! He watched with bated breath before remembering he also needed to get out of here.
With both hands free, he slammed the lid shut, slid down the ladder and hurried back towards the door. Behind him, the tank rumbled, its metal groaning under the pressure. A jet of water shot out from a stress fracture in the hull. He looked back just as the panels gave and rivets tore. Like a surging river, the deluge poured out violently. The flood was up to his ankles now. Shrapnel flew past him; he narrowly dodged a flying piece of metal, earning fresh cuts along his arms…
He reached the exit, but the door was sealed.
“NO! No, please, come on!” He yanked on it as hard as he could, but the water's force held it fast. He turned around and started scanning the room for anything he could use to pry the door. Surely the Consolidation would have emergency tools for a situation like this.
The ground below him shuddered. He staggered, grabbing onto a nearby pipe to keep his balance. Thunderous footsteps clanged across the metal deck, accompanied by the sharp bark of orders from the corridor. That rumble didn’t come from behind him.
What was going on?
The soldiers' voices grew louder. Seizing the moment, Simon banged on the sealed door.
“I’m in here!” He yelled. “Anyone!” He rapped his fist on the door, desperate to draw attention.
Another tremor rolled through the station, this one stronger than the last. His stomach churned. There was more than one bomb. There was more than one team of Eden Brothers on this mission. The ones sent to sabotage Filament.
“NO!” He screamed from his gut.
Suddenly, gravity shifted. He was thrown against the wall of pipes he had been holding to, the force of the next explosion slamming him back. Everything looked blurry, his head pounded and his mouth tasted like copper.
“EMERGENCY! PLEASE FOLLOW ABANDON SHIP PROTOCOL!” A robotic voice blared over the speakers.
Simon felt his eyelids grow heavy. Just as he was about to go under, he spotted a flashing sign that read “Emergency Escape Pod”. This was his chance; it was now or never.
Shaking, he pulled himself along the wall towards the Pod door. And hit the pad next to it. The door hissed open, water beginning to pool inside as Simon also crawled through. He hit a button on the interior to shut the door. Below him was another hatch.
Just like the one on the tanks, he spun the lock, pried the door up and jumped in. The port slammed shut and locked behind him.
Water sloshed around his boots, but it was the least of his worries. If anything, his whole body ached, and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth made him want to vomit as his vision swam. He stumbled towards a seat with an overhead restraint. Throwing himself into the chair, he pulled the bar down over him and locked it.
The whole cabin shook violently, worsening his nausea. It was too late to try and hold it down anymore. The contents of his stomach heaved, forcing him to bend forward as far as the safety restraint would let him. By the time he looked up, a fire extinguisher had broken free of the wall and struck him against the head
BANG!
His world went dark.
—
When Simon came to, his head pounded. He felt an immense heat and something smelled…smoky?
“Oh shit!” Part of the pod was on fire.
He struggled against the chest restraint and scanned for some sort of release switch. A glowing panel on the armrest seemed to be the key. What is with all these panels? Why not just simple switches? He brought his fist down on the panel, and the safety bar relented.
Grabbing the extinguisher that had hit him in the head off the ground, he pulled the pin, aimed, and sprayed till the flames had died.
Exhausted and in pain, he dropped the fire extinguisher. Taking stock of his surroundings, he couldn’t believe how no one had taken one of these sooner. The insides were, well, immaculate before the fire. A ladder up to his only way in or out sat in the middle of the vessel flanked by unresponsive monitors, and a secondary chair that sat right across on the opposite wall of his. The electrical box in front of him spat a small spark.
Okay. Not touching that till I have the right tools.
There was a small handle in the wall. Tugging at it revealed a closet. Inside was a tablet, a…what he believed to be a scuba suit, first-aid kit, and rations. He reached in and pulled out the tablet. The translucent glass gave a soft glow, but nothing happened. He tapped on it a few times.
[BOOTING IN EMERGENCY MODE] In a yellow box flashed.
“Fuck!” He shouted, pulling his finger back from the sparking tablet.
“Alterraaa~♫” The tablet sang as it booted back to life. The sing-songy voice distorted and crackled like bad radio transmission.
“Weird name.” Simon muttered, “I’ve never heard of Alterra. Eden’s logs never talked about this.”
“You have suffered mild head trauma, bruising and shallow lacerations. This is considered an optimal outcome.” An unfamiliar robotic voice crackled to life somewhere in the walls as Simon jumped at the unfamiliar robotic voice.
“Optimal?” Simon quipped.
“This PDA has now rebooted in emergency mode with one directive: to keep you alive on an alien world.”
“Alien?” He called back with a voice crack. The computer continued
“Please refer to the databank for detailed survival advice. Good luck.”
“Wait! What was that about an alien-” He was cut off as a shriek that was unmistakably not human.
Right. Alien.
He grabbed hold of the ladder and slowly climbed up. He spun the door lock open and surprisingly, it gave way more easily than last time.
SKREE
He ducked at the sudden noise to see a strange… creature flapping wildly in the air. It startled and flew away.
He followed the creature’s path…and stopped.
All he could see before him was ocean and the wreckage of Filament Station, engulfed in smoke and flames.
He couldn’t stop them.
His only hope was that other escape pods made it safely.