Battleground Mars (27 page)

He felt his consciousness failing, no, please God no! Don’t let it be like the last time. But it wasn’t like before, this time he was about to be torn limb from limb. This wasn’t some figment of his imagination of overheated brain, it was real. He was out of options, and he knew that he’d failed. No, quitters failed, and he wasn’t about to quit. There had to be something. He still had a free hand and his pistol in the other. He started at the face again, the thick, reptilian lips behind the breathing mask. The life support, yes, he wore a breathing mask similar to those the humans wore. Could he hit the breathing mask? If he aimed and missed, it would know what his plan was. It was a once only chance, he couldn’t miss! He had to get close, so close that he couldn’t miss. He moved his hand over to his locked hand and removed the laser pistol. The creature brought its face lower and lower, closer and closer to Rahm’s own. Then he brought up the pistol within one inch of the Tauron’s breathing mask and fired, again and again and again. At first, there was no response. Then the creature dropped him and put its claws to its mouth, as if to try and repair the ruins of its life support apparatus. Fighting to stay conscious, Rahm stepped away from it. Then the monster looked at him, even without any expression the meaning was clear. It knew it was going to die, but it would not die defeated. It started to move forwards, towards him. He jumped down from the rocks and started to run towards the crew who were still sheltering behind the vehicle. They saw what was happening and started towards him, he could see the shadow of the monster as it lumbered after him. If it got its hands on him, it wouldn’t hesitate to use its last breaths to kill him.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder, it was gaining. Even without life support, it was using its incredible strength and willpower to overtake him. He ran on, Saul was leading the crew that was running to his rescue. They would be able to use their laser rifles at short range to damage the creature more, until it breathed its last breath. They weren’t going to make it. He touched the switch that turned on the comms system in his helmet.

“I’ll try to swerve, as soon as I do, shoot the bastard.”

“Understood.” Saul’s voice was calm, strong, and competent. He saw the toolpusher stop the onrushing charge and they brought up their rifles. He had to wait, for he’d only get one chance. Then he felt the creature’s paw on his shoulder, a swipe that had been miscalculated. The next one wouldn’t be. He swerved and rolled over in the dust and sand, praying that he’d done enough.

“Shoot him, shoot the fucker!” he screamed. Even as he shouted, he heard the laser bursts hitting the Tauron. He twisted his head around to look. The bursts were still hitting him, and now that the vital elements of life were seeping out of the creature the shots were taking their toll. Cuts and then gaping wounded opened up on the body, the head, and the limbs. The creature was being destroyed piece by piece. Yet still it kept on, crawling towards him like a deranged creature of the night. Something that the young and the not so young would have nightmares about. It wouldn’t give up, not until the body’s resources were exhausted beyond the capacity of the mind to keep pushing it forward. It reached him, and as he watched a huge, iron-like claw clamped over his leg and pulled him towards it. There was a blinding flash and he looked up to see Gabi standing over them. She’d pushed the barrel of a laser rifle into its mouth and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The creature finally slumped to the ground, motionless. She knelt by his side, shedding tears inside her helmet.

“I thought you were dead, I was so frightened,” she whispered.

He hurt and ached in every bone and fiber of his body, but he reached up for her.

“I would have been if it hasn’t been for you. Thank you.”

“Thank me later,” she murmured.

He was sure he knew what she had in mind. “I will, don’t worry.”

 
The rest of his crew clustered around him.

“A good job, Rahm, but let me do it next time. You were too slow,” Saul smiled.

“Don’t worry, the job’s yours.”

A sudden thought came to him. “Saul, the engineers, Dan and Pete, are they ok? And what about that other Tauron? Who’s watching it?”

“It’s ok. I left Nathan to keep an eye on things. They’re all fine, I’ll…”

His eyes widened as a heavy burst of laser cannon fire lit up the Martian plain. The surviving Tauron was edging towards the base. Then it dropped into a shallow channel in the plain and disappeared from sight.

“Nathan, plug that bastard before he gets near enough to do any more damage,” Saul shouted. But the gun stayed silent. Then Rahm saw them, two bodies, cut down by the burst. Dan and Pete.

“Nathan, what the hell happened, what’s going on here?”

He heard a triumphant shriek that caused them to shiver.

“What do you think, Rahm? I shot them.”

He had the cannon aimed in their direction, but no more shots came.

“But why, they didn’t do anything to you, they were trying to save us.”

“That’s what they did, Rahm. I don’t want you to be saved. I want you to die, out here.”

He sounded insane. They exchanged glances. “Why, Nathan. Why are you doing this?”

“You never knew who I was, did you, Rahm?”

“No. Tell me, Nathan, who are you?”

“Christine’s brother, that’s who.”

“Christine Blake?” He thought of his fiancée, her body left broken and ruined after the raid on Earth. Suddenly, the adrenaline left him and he felt tired and drained.

“I still don’t understand. She was killed by terrorists, Nathan. I assume your name is Nathan?”

“No, it isn’t. My real name is Liam, Liam Blake, but that would have given the game away. I used a false name to get a job on your crew, it was so easy. I knew who killed her, and I knew who stood by and did nothing while the terrorists rampaged through your research station. You’re still a coward, Rahm, a coward who let my sister die. Now it’s your turn.”

“Look, what about the others. Whatever you think I did or didn’t do, it’s not their fault. Let them get back inside the base.”

“And do their best to prevent your death? I don’t think so. No, they’ll have to join you as you die out here, gasping out your last breath and knowing that it is the punishment you deserve.”

Rahm saw the Tauron again, and the creature had almost reached the base. When he stood up, they could all see that he was clutching a packet of explosives.

“Nathan, the Tauron, he’s about to blow the base.”

“Of course he is. I saw him go for the explosives and I let him do it. They’re warriors, Rahm, not like you. They don’t fear death. I know that he’ll blow himself up and finish off the base at the same time.”

“But, you’ll be finished too, you’ll die with us.”

“No. Once I’m satisfied that you’re beyond help, I’m going the same way as that Tauron. I died a long time ago, Rahm, when you let them kill me sister. Did you ever take the trouble to find out about her parents, our mother and father?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“My mother killed herself a month after Christine’s death. My father hit the bottle, within six months he was dead too. It was a broken heart. So many deaths, Rahm, and the one person behind them all is you.”

“The folks inside Mars Base didn’t do that to you,” Rahm shouted in desperation.

Nathan shrugged. “I’m not leaving them to save your skin, Rahm. It’s not what I wanted, but they all have to die. They have to.”

“Like you killed Jacques Fechter?”

He looked startled. “How the hell did you know?”

“Kacy worked it out. She went through all of the logs for the night he died. The only person who wasn’t accounted for was you. We still weren’t sure, but I guess it’s obvious now. Why Fechter?”

“I had a scheme to plant an explosive device on the buggy. I was going to make an excuse and stay inside Mars Base next time you went out, it was all so easy. He found out what I was doing. I knocked him unconscious and took him outside, then stripped off his life support gear. After that, I decided to make it more personal. I wanted to see your face when I pulled the trigger.”

“He’s mad, as crazy as a coot,” Saul murmured.

Rahm saw a slight movement, halfway between the base and Nathan’s position behind the laser cannon. The alien was returning! Apparently, it had decided that the suicide that Nathan envisaged was the path it has chosen. It was easy to forget that the creatures were incredibly intelligent, more advanced in physics than the human race. They were more than capable of making reasoned choices, of knowing how to detonate simple explosives. And how to sell their lives dearly when they knew that all was lost. Saul saw it too, he touched Rahm’s shoulder and was about to say something when Rahm shook his head. They watched as he came nearer, then the explosives detonated and yet another huge hole was blown in the side of the base. But they had neither the time nor the freedom of movement for that. Nathan still crouched behind the cannon, threatening to blast them into atoms if they tried to attack his position. They held their breath while the monster crept closer and closer to Nathan. In the distance, they could see movement around the damaged skin of Mars Base. Figures were trying to patch it, to stop any more of their precious air escaping. They couldn’t have much left now, a few hours, maybe even minutes. Then the creature sprung.

Nathan Wenders screamed as the claw slashed through the skin of his pressure suit, through his own skin and emerged dripping with wet blood.

“The gun,” Rahm shouted. “Get the gun, it’s the only way we have of getting the creature.”

Saul and Josh were running for it, whilst the creature and Nathan struggled. Rahm saw Gabi and Kacy running, powering towards the damaged Mars Base. Gabi’s voice came over his headset.

“We’re going to try and get the scrubber started, Rahm. If we can get that damage patched and the scrubbers working we might have a chance.”

“Good luck,” he called to them. He said nothing more, in his opinion there was so little air left on the planet that whatever they did, it would not be enough. He was still bruised, but he hauled himself painfully to his feet and walked over to help Saul. But they had it covered. They were running towards the cannon. While he watched, the Tauron roared and tore Nathan’s arm from his body. It was Nathans’ turn to scream.

“Rahm, stop it, for God’s sake, not this. Kill it! I don’t want to die like this.”

There were no more screams. The monster took hold of his head and wrenched it off, a bloodied, ghastly trophy. Then it looked at him, almost like a look of triumph. Saul was behind the gun, and Josh was helping him swing it around to bear. The Tauron charged the awesome power of the gun. It must have known that it was a suicidal rush. Or perhaps it was the way it chose to die. Saul fired and kept the trigger pressed down. The bullets scythed through the alien at close range, ripping and tearing its body into bloodied ruin. Then they ceased fire.

“The dome, we have to try to save it,” Rahm reminded them. They ran automatically, it was doubtful that the others had worked out how impossible the task would be. Nonetheless, it was a task, better to die trying than to quit. Kacy was frantically keying commands into a console, she turned to him.

“Rahm, we need to get the scrubbers started. Take Gabi and get out to the cave.”

“She knows how it’s done?”

His technician fixed him with a fierce stare. “She’d fucking better, or we’re all finished.”

He shouted for Gabi, recalling that he’d never heard Kacy swear before. At least she’d get a couple of good ones in before they died.

Gabi ran up to him. “Are you ready to go?” She was looking at his wounds at the same time.

“Yeah, we can take Josh’s buggy. Can you start the scrubbers?”

“Maybe. Let’s get there and I’ll find out.”

He looked into the next room. Ryles was there, kneeling in front of a makeshift altar. He was praying!

“Ryles!” he roared. The man jumped with fright and came towards Rahm.

“What is it? I’m praying for all of us.”

“Pray I don’t kick your ass all the way back to Earth. Have you got any portable scrubbers left?”

The man looked guilty. Rahm didn’t wait for a reply. He pulled out his pistol and rammed it in the man’s belly.

“Issue them now, Tobin. We’re going to get the scrubbers working! We’re not having people dying before we do. If I come back and find one person without breathing equipment, I’m going to blow your balls off. Then I’m going to send you to the Taurons for you to become their whore, Move!”

He ran off, both girls laughed.

“Would you have done it?” Gabi asked as they ran towards the buggy.

After a few moments thought, he replied. “No.”

She looked at him, beginning to grin, but he cut in.

“He hasn’t got any balls; they’d have to take him as he is.”

The leapt into the buggy and he gunned it all the way to the cave. They rushed inside and Gabi began work on the equipment, he stood back and watched.

“Do you think this’ll work?”

“I’m checking the way Dan and Pete set it up, theoretically, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t.”

She looked puzzled, though.

“What’s up?”