“This is Corbin, do you copy me, over?”
“Squad, report, over.”
Nothing but static. I have to keep moving. I take a deep breath and bolt for the next cover. The ground all around me becomes alive with a hail of bullets. Running down one the dark alleys, I try to keep out of the line of fire. Finally with a building between me and the sniper, the world quiets again. I walk slowly and see a near intact building that has light coming from it. I take a chance and sprint to the building. The bullets whiz by as I make my way to it. I duck in and quickly assess the room. The building is some hotel and the foyer is empty. I pause to notice the sniper has stopped firing. I walk to the door and peer out. Nothing. I take a step forward and the dirt in front of me bursts into dust. I stand still as I spot the sniper’s roost. A red dot dances across me. He could have picked me off, but he’s holding. The realization hits me like ice water, he has been herding me here the whole time. I close my eyes and walk back into the hotel.
The hotel has seen better days. Its once intricate walls and lavish floors are now pock marked with bullet holes and blackened with soot. The chandelier dangles near the floor flickering. I walk slowly keeping my rifle level as I climb the central stairs. It starts out softly, and at first I don’t quite believe what I am hearing. A wailing, pitiful and long pierces the night. Dimming lights cast eerie shadows as I turn and walk down the corridor on the second floor. The screaming gets louder. A door at the end of the hall is cracked open and light spills from it. I creep slowly holding my weapon at the ready. The screams are incoherent, but I know they originate from the room. I push the door open and peer in. There is so much blood in the room, and kneeling in the center, Corporal Hawthorn is screaming.
“Hawthorn, report.”
He whimpers, but still won’t face me. I scan the room and walk carefully toward him. It seems unreal as my mind tries to comprehend what it is seeing.
“I don’t wanna see it anymore, Gunny. Please, don’t make me see it…”
His face horribly disfigured with lacerations, and his eyes are glistening empty holes. He holds up his hands to me as if to take something from him and cries softly. In the center of his bloodied palms, he holds his eyes. Something moves outside the door, I whisper to Hawthorn to stay put. I move halfway down the hall when I hear a gunshot behind me. Rushing back to the room, I close my eyes at the sight. Hawthorn lies on the floor, with a gaping hole in the back of his head and a smoking pistol in his hand. I bend over and swipe his tag.
“At ease, Marine.”
Continuing I creep down the corridors to the stairwell. Sickening laughter and mocking whispers can be heard coming from everywhere. Words written in gore adorn the walls of the stairwell. Much of it is incomprehensible; the only passages I can make out are surrounding this strange symbol. The darkness shall have dominion. Bring them forth so we may devour them. Step by step, I climb the stair. Looking up I can see brief movement and my muscles tighten. Scrambling to the fourth floor, I enter the hall. The smell of rotting lemons fills the air making me gag slightly. Entering a side room cautiously, I spot a broken PDA among the ruined furniture of the sitting room. Figures cast shadows through the double doors leading to the bedroom. I kick the doors in and aim my rifle. Bodies of dead civilians litter the floor and the bed lies haphazardly to the side of the room. To the side I spot Sergeant Davis crouched on the ground holding a young woman whose eyes are tear-stained and hollow looking. He stands up keeping a hand around the girl’s wrist as she slumps. His presence is unnatural and his eyes shine with a purple-green hue. Strange symbols are cut deep into his bare chest and his mouth is bloody. I keep my weapon aimed at him.
“Hey, Gunny. I didn’t think you’d make it.”
“Report, Davis.”
“We located the hostiles. See?” He pulls the girl up to him by the wrist, gripping her by the face. “Mission accomplished.”
“These are civilians not hostiles. Stand down.”
He looks at me and smirks, causing a shiver to crawl down my back.
“They call to us, don’t you hear them?”
“Where is the rest of the squad?”
“They were judged and found lacking, but us… we’re worthy.”
“What have you done?”
“Fear… I can smell it…taste it.”
He licks the side of the of the girl’s face with a split tongue. She recoils with terror.
“Let her go, that’s an order.”
“It’s right behind the eyes, the darkness. It slithers under the skin and we’re reborn.”
I aim the weapon carefully; this isn’t the man I knew. Davis was my best friend. He was always happy-go-lucky in comparison to my seriousness. He’d give me a soft knowing smile when we would get drunk on leave and tell each other our troubles. Beaming at me with that smile, it is like a monster was wearing his skin. Mocking what he was.
“I will use force, if you don’t comply, Marine.”
“Let us devour the light.”
He bites deep into the girl’s cheek and she screams in shock as he rips off a chunk of flesh. I squeeze the trigger hitting his shoulder spinning him into the wall. He turns cocking his head to the side; the girl scrambles away from him.
“Stand down!”
He staggers towards me and I let off another round into his chest. He reels backward as contents of his insides are painted on the wall. I can’t believe he is even able to stand again as he pushes himself up. The stench of rotting lemons is overwhelming and stings my eyes. Before I can fire again the girl screams looking behind me. I turn as I am slammed to the floor. I hold my rifle in front of me to keep the snapping jaw of Private Bruin away from my face. The skin on the lower part of his face is missing leaving bloodstained teeth in the parody of a grin. The smell from him was unbearable as his 350 pound weight pins me to the ground. I thrash beneath him and scream.
Warren awakes to the sound of whimpering. She sits up looking around the dark office. The clock says 0535, but she can’t remember falling asleep or getting on the couch. She hears the sobbing again and can finally make out a person in the corner of the room. Walking over she sees Corbin thrashing in her sleep. Weeping she calls out for mercy. Warren softly places her hand on her shoulder to wake her.
“Corbin, wake up. You’re okay.”
Corbin knocks her hand away and pushes her harshly to the ground. Straddling her, Corbin pins Warren down. Warren struggles against her.
“Get off of me!”
The futile flailing against her hold causes Warren to sob in panic. Corbin blinks in confusion as she stares into pleading green eyes.
“Please…let me go.”
Corbin releases her and backs away. Warren rises quickly holding her chest trying to catch her breath. Shame and pain crush Corbin’s soul as she holds herself. Warren watches her with uncertainty. Corbin can’t bear to look at her. Picking up her coat she backs out of the office leaving Corbin in her despair.
After a shower and a fair amount of coffee Dr. Warren heads back to the lab. The event plays in her mind as she walks through Mars City. She had never felt so confused. Her first reaction to all of it was to blame the Marine. The arrival of the Marine yesterday had infuriated her. She immediately sent an e-mail to Kelly demanding the military to say out of the lab, but the response was less than favorable. Like Ted had said they had control, even in her lab. Kelly stated bluntly that either a warm body was going to be there or a sentry bot. Mixom sentry bot’s were notorious for short circuiting due to the Mars atmosphere. Normally the bot would just stop working, but there were some horror stories about the bot firing the machinegun attached to it indiscriminately. No, she couldn’t afford that risk. The recent trend of psychotic episodes on Mars had made everyone wonder if the cause was contagious. Even Warren thought it was possible, but that couldn’t be the reason for the Corporal’s behavior. She had pulled up some information on Corbin yesterday, and found she was just transferred in. She tried to focus on what happened, but the thought of being helpless made her chest tighten. A hand on her shoulder makes her jump nearly out of her skin.
“Celeste!”
Theresa looks at Warren with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, you just startled me.”
“I’ve been trying to get your attention, girl.”
“Sorry, just have a lot on my mind.”
“Are we still on for lunch today?”
“Yes, of course.”
Theresa beams brightly, “Good, cause if you bailed again, I’d have to kidnap you. So help me, I’ll make you sociable.”
“I’m sociable.”
Theresa crosses her arms.
“I am.”
“How many times have you gone out in the last month?”
The question seemed almost impossible to answer. In truth, since the discovery she hadn’t really done anything but research the artifacts. Her friend was right, not even once had she done anything other than work. Her silence made Theresa laugh.
“See. All work and no play make Celeste a dull girl. Lunch is only the beginning, this weekend you will relax.”
Before she could protest Theresa bounded off for the EnPro plant.
“See you later.”
The rest of the morning was uneventful. When she arrived at the lab she didn’t see the Corporal though she saw the security room was lit up. The scans of all of the pillars were almost complete; however, the language program still hadn’t deciphered the text. Many theories on the use of the stones had been formulated, but without decoding the language, it was just a stab in the dark. She was in the middle of restoring a stone tablet when she noticed the time. Begrudgingly, she halted her endeavor and made her way to the cafeteria. If she didn’t show this time, Theresa would make good on her promise. After grabbing her tray she walked through the line. Still in thought, she failed to notice the person in front of her stopping, nearly spilling her tray contents on them. Betruger looks down himself for food stains giving Warren an annoyed look.
“Concentrating on other things, are we Dr. Warren?”
“Sorry about that Dr. Betruger.”
He gives a cold fake smile. “No harm done. I have heard you have finished scanning the glyphs. Have you had success in translating them?”
“Not yet, though I am quite sure it will only be a matter of time.”
Following her into the dining area he tries to look considerate, but failing.
“If you would consider my offer, our combined efforts would hasten unlocking its secrets. Your research runs parallel to my own.”
She holds up her hand to stop his speech which he has recounted to her every time he sees her now.
“Doctor, I do appreciate your offer, but I cannot undertake a merger at this time. We just finished moving everything, and the cataloging won’t be complete until next month.”
She spots Theresa and Liz sitting at a table. Theresa waves ecstatically for her.
“Sorry, I have to go.”
Before she can rush off, Betruger holds her by the upper arm, his expression turning dark.
“You may think you can continue controlling your find, but eventually the council will turn it over to me. You won’t have a choice.”
She pulls her arm away eyeing him with contempt.
“Until that happens, Doctor, I still do. The ruins stay in Beta.”
She walks toward the table in a foul mood setting down her tray hard.
“What a bastard.”
Theresa shakes her head.
“Don’t pay attention to him, he can’t do anything.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Liz looks up from her simulated-salad and glances at Betruger leaving.
“He has been commandeering a lot of resources for Delta, and the council is actually backing him.”
Warren takes off her glasses and rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration. Just another thing she has to worry about. Theresa sits back and looks at her with a waiting gaze.
“What?”
“Don’t what me. What the hell is going on? You look like you haven’t slept, and you’re preoccupied.”
“We are just finishing up the scans, which we can’t translate. We have tried everything, and now the only thing left is to do it by hand.” She stated plainly hoping to change the subject.
Theresa gives her “the look”, and Warren cringes slightly. She hated when Theresa would look at her that way. It always made her resolve crumble, and she would have no choice but to divulge the truth.
“Kelly is mandating security in the lab.”
Theresa looks slightly puzzled. “Well, after the break in, maybe you should.”
“But we already tightened security. We added new pressure doors with encrypted locking systems, motion sensitive sensors are placed all round the lab, and all of the dataholds are secured in a centralized repository. No one can get in without the proper access. Having a guard there while we work is overkill, and frankly makes the staff uneasy.”
“Does it really make the staff uneasy?”
Warren didn’t take the rumors of the epidemic too seriously until a Marine came into Section D and started ransacking the lab. She remembered noticing him standing around the obelisks. He seemed out of it and confused. She walked up to him to see why he was there, but as soon as he saw her we went berserk. It was like something in him snapped; he was foaming at the mouth and ranting about some coming apocalypse. He grabbed her and hurled her across the surface scanner. Before he could grab her again, Ted struck the man with a light pole which seemed to make him aggravated. He began to attack anyone and everything in his sight. It finally took five people to subdue him. When all was assessed, he had destroyed a datahold and five scanners and dislocated Ted’s shoulder. Not only did it unnerve everyone, but set the lab back two weeks. Warren didn’t want to admit it, but the incident got to her. She vividly remembered the murderous glare in his eyes as she tried to crawl away from him. She had never been so frightened in her life.
“Look, I can’t have a trained killer in the lab. We were lucky we were able to stop the last one. Poor Ted was out for a week.”
Liz cocked her eyebrow at her.
“Who was assigned to work security?”
“Corporal Corbin.”
“I haven’t heard of him. Did he just transfer in?”
“She transferred in yesterday morning.”
Theresa’s eyes go wide in surprise, “You mean it’s a woman?”
Liz looks incredulously at her, “Yes, there are women in the military. There have been for centuries.”
“It’s just a rare sight here. Of all the people on Mars City, there are like only a handful of females.”
“That’s due to the radiation on the surface. There’s the risk of birth defects. You’re either sterile or have an implant. Company doesn’t want to be held libel.”
“I thought they made us have implants because of all the lonely males.” She winks at Warren.
Liz rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to Warren.
“She’s new. That’s a good thing. Has she really done anything wrong?”
“Not during the shift. She mainly stayed in the security room.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
Warren squirmed a little. She didn’t really want to go into it.
“She attacked me last night. I don’t think she meant to do it, though.”
“What happened?”
“I worked late, and she had to stay. I fell asleep, so I think she ended up sleeping on the floor waiting.”
Now that she was stating what happened, she began to feel ashamed. She was being a complete bitch by staying late. She was just so angry.
“I woke up hearing her cry in her sleep. When I tried to wake her, she jumped on top of me. She let me go when she realized who I was.”
“Post traumatic stress disorder. I see it in Marines that come back from combat situations. It happens when a person has a horrific experience. One of the symptoms is night terrors. To them they are reliving the event as if it were real.”
Theresa looks at Liz with pity, “God, not only do they go through something like that, but they have to live it over and over…every night.”
“She probably didn’t realize what was going on, but I can imagine she feel bad about it afterward. It was foolish of you to try to wake her like you did. You could’ve been hurt badly.”
The memory of Corbin’s face made her feel worse. The woman was in such despair, but Warren didn’t know what to do. So she ran away. No wonder she didn’t want to face her this morning. She made a troubled person feel guilty, and it was all her fault for making her stay. Putting her face in her hands she groans in realization.
“God, I’ve screwed up.”
Liz looked over the top of her glasses and smiled.
“Not every Marine is a mouth foaming lunatic. The way things are happening here, you might need a good one.”
The rest of the conversation at lunch was steered by Theresa and her problems with Lloyd in the EnPro plant. Walking to the lab, Warren made up her mind to fix what happened. She entered the lab and marched straight to the security room. She found Corbin sitting in front of the screens; she didn’t even bother to turn around. Warren closed the door behind her; leaving her and Corbin in the small room alone.
“We need to talk.”
--- end Episode II ---