And they say the only easy day was yesterday, Admiral Call coldly thought from his center seat, recalling what he had just been told, sharply asking, “Are you serious? When was the last time we heard from the Odyssey?”
The long-range communications officer gave her a particularly steely, concerned look.
UNKNOWN LOCATION
Aaen landed sharply on the deck floor, struggling to control his panicked hyperventilating, ignoring his aching back and extremities while at the same time, he sharply panned his barrel-mounted tactical flashlight back and forth along the width of the corridor. He was sure he was going to have more than a handful of bruises, though toggling fight-or-flight nearly dominated his thoughts as he fretted for his physical safety - even his life. His chest felt deeply heavy with pressing anxiety—a grizzly, monstrous growl barreled down the corridor, reverberating off the neighboring bulkheads and giving Aaen excruciating goosebumps; his hands shaking from fear of seemingly imminent death; his grip on his rifle uneasy, causing the light to tremble. There was no telling what the heck was beyond, deep in the pitch-black darkness beyond the light's 15-foot reach...
Get up? Now?...Now?...Now? Aaen' questioned...What if it's out there?... What if it's behind me? Oh, shoot!
The eerie, chilly silence proved heart-wrenchingly deafening—
Aaen sharply scrambled to retrieve his communicator...his voice achingly shaking as he lighting-fast asked “Is anyone there?”...moderate, haunting, prickly static...Aaen struggled to hold the rifle up with his left hand while he struggled to keep the communicator microphone within readable distance of his mouth... Aaen couldn't help but fret and wonder in terror, 'WHERE IS THAT THING?' the only sounds were his rapid, heavy breathing, and the subtle, metallic shaking of the rifle's framework,“...Is anyone there?” The adrenaline couldn't mask some new impact pains that already proved more than noticeable— Aaen's heart nearly exploded out of his chest as he struggled to decide whether to get up or hide; getting up seemed the most immediate way to expose his presence where he seemed hidden - at least for the moment; hiding seemed the only practically desirable action, though nowhere seemed feasible; like a large round marble rolling around in his head, his thoughts gravitated to another appealing option which he struggled to focus on as he strained to calm himself...this was unreal!— “Is anyone there?”
He sensed a presence inching closer...imagining things...? He questioned...yet, something chillingly felt imminent—
A loud, blood-curdling monstrous voice pierced the darkness “IS SOMEONE THERE?”
Suddenly from some pitch-black darkness mere feet away to his right, that voice and a face!— “IS SOMEONE THERE?”
SHOCKED, Aaen snapped, scrambling to get up while violently swinging the rifle around, the voice disappeared backward into the darkness, Aaen frantically firing in the face's direction.
WHAT THE HECK? Aaen ran as hard as he could in the backward direction, holding the rifle at a shaky low-ready, focusing on getting to the large twin metal doors seemingly miles away amid helpless thoughts of being chased...hunted...
*****
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