--Tattered Facility--
They had been wandering the halls again, picking up a few useful items here and there, some fairly decent tools, key cards, even a machete (Which Dalhia took an intense liking to). Trying to find something specific in this place must have been hell, especially when it was inhabited, with things being moved from place to place. Richard adjusted the strap to his satchel, the explosives nestled carefully inside it. Taking out his time piece, he took a look at it. It was already well past nightfall and into the twilight hours, Alex was probably worried about them, with the note he left for him making things worse. He placed the time piece back in his coat, it was like the captains but bulkier, his being a newer model considering, the captains was a pre-dust model, meaning it would probably fetch a fairly good price but was so unassuming that no one really cared for it. A howl swept through the halls again, the hounds were back.
Richard
"Ready up!"
Travis
"Got it, Dalhia, I need you to pick off the ones further down the halls, I'll pick off the ones that get close."
Dalhia
"Well, it's a plan, much more then we had going into this mess."
Preston
"Oh dear, again really?!"
A pattering of paws drew closer and closer, Richard checked his revolver, loaded and ready as it would ever be. He swept his eyes about, they were at a t section, meaning that there would probably be only one way back, and that would be the way they came, if that got cut off, they probably wouldn't make it. The pattering continued growing closer when something from the shadows pounced.
Preston
"Shit!"
He took a shot at it with his carbine but the creature was quicker then he was, on the ground he opened his eyes slightly, finely getting a look at his dreaded enemy, the hound was like all the others, dripping with some sort of viscous material, it's eyes were blank as if drawn into a rage, its claws digging into his shoulders, It's teeth barred at him as he stared at it, his eyes widening in terror as the realization dawned on him, he felt pain, increasingly so as the thing began tearing at him.
Richard
"Damn it! Get it off him!"
He kicked it off him before sending several shots into it, more pattering could be heard, retreating, but it was there. He took a look at his crewman, he was lucky the thing didn't go for the face but he was in no condition to continue at this rate. he torso was bleeding profusely, he would live, but he would need some serious medical attention when they got back.
Preston
"Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod I'm dead, it killed me, I won't live to see another-
He picked him up and propped him on a table as he pulled Preston's now ruined coat off as he took a closer look at the damage. It wasn't as bad as he first thought, though the damn beast left some really deep cuts in his flesh, there would definitively be some permanent scaring but at least it didn't damage anything important, though he would probably be in shock right now through shear terror. He was still in a state of babbling nonsense though and probably would be for several hours.
Dalhia
"So what's the prognoses?"
Richard
"He'll live, though he'll probably have nightmares, poor kid."
Preston
"Remind me to put out the laundry......"
Travis
"Want me to carry him?"
Richard
"No I'll do that, I need you keep that gun of yours handy as we-"
He felt a slight tug on his sleeve, he saw the younger man gripping him in support as he tried to sit up.
Preston
"Am I... Am I dead?"
He was out of it definitely, his face was pitiful as he was trying to comprehend everything.
Richard
"No no, you're very much alive, you just need to rest."
Preston
"Oh, ok."
He slumped up against him as he finally gave up trying to stay awake.
Richard
"This will be a tale for him to tell, give me a few moments."
He set about tending to his wounds as best he could using the medkit he kept on his person, making sure the wounds didn't get any worse and making sure he set the bandages properly. Finishing his work he put his coat back on him and put him on his back as he carried him off.
--Tattered Facility, yet another massive door--
Richard
"You'd think they'd have run out of these."
Travis
"Brood mother, or the nest, or both are probably through that door."
Richard
"Best be careful then."
Dalhia
"Should we leave him here? It's probably not safe for him."
She pointed to the unconscious form on Richards back.
Travis
"I'd personally wouldn't like to leave him alone."
Richard
"Lets move then."
Dalhia walked over to the control panel on the side and typed the code in again, not working, she checked the various key cards they had gathered, one of them beeped and the control panel lit up again asking for the code, she typed it in and the door opened with little fanfare.
Richard
"Right, we should move quickly and get this over with."
The group walked through the door and the wonders that awaited them, well not really wonders more like strangeness in such a way they would have been expecting it, and by strange I mean eggs, eggs everywhere.
--Inside the place of eggs and strangeness--
Richard
"Is this place getting on anyone's nerves?"
Travis
"I'm going to say yes, for both of us."
Richard
"Right, one moment."
He placed an explosive charge in the largest cluster of eggs and the nearby clusters.
Richard
"Right, I've set these for 3 hours, with this it will make it possible for us to escape this mess."
They explored further into the nest, old skeletons littered the floor, scratches in the walls ran deep and wide, scorch marks littered the halls.
Dalhia
"Place is seriously giving me the creeps."
Richard
"It's giving everyone the creeps, now lets find that brood mother, and kill it."
They continued through the infested halls, passing more offices and labs as they continued on. A door to their right some ways further was inscribed with Observation Hall.
Travis
"Going to assume this it then."
Richard
"Yup, get that chaingun on the door and be ready to shoot."
He pulled out the chain gun he'd been saving for a veritable hoard of creatures, seeing as it had a limited ammo supply.
Richard
"Ready?"
Travis
"Ready."
Dalhia
"Ready."
He slowly opened the door, it was amazingly empty considering where they were.
Dalhia
"Right, look for a control panel of sorts."
They searched around the room, finally finding a flip up terminal on a desk.
Dalhia
"Ok, let me type in the code and lets get out of here."
She typed on the, amazingly, still functioning board.
Computer
"Hello, it would appear you would like to set the self destruct, is this what you would like to do?"
Richard
"Seriously?"
Travis
"Sometimes I....... Yes, we would like to set the self destruct."
Computer
"Very well specify count down timer."
Dalhia
"Three hours."
Computer
"Very well, timer set, enjoy the rest of your stay, good day."
The computer turned off and was replaced by a timer.
Richard
"So much for that, lets move!"
They ran, they ran as hard as they could out of the nest and shut the door behind them.
Dalhia
"Right, lets get out of the labs and into the air, there are a lot of stairs to cover."
Travis
"The problem is, can we make it?"
the crew was jogging through the halls, back the way they came, or rather, following the trail of beast skeletons they had left in their wake. However their luck didn't last long as they heard a very audible howl, they were in a one way hallway, if they got trapped they were doomed.
Travis
"You remember how that vent we found was forced open?"
Dalhia
"Yeah?"
Travis
"I think, and this may sound crazy, they're in the damn walls man, game over man, game over."
Richard
"Right so that means we should-
A banging echoed throughout the hallway, they looked around, only to see a segment of wall bent and misshapen.
Richard
"RUN!"
And so they ran, behind them, the walls collapsed as a sea of creatures chased after them, strangely they were faster and managed to out run them just barely, they passed through the first massive door however the control panel was out of power and so they kept running through the lower level labs, they wouldn't be able to keep up the pace for much longer, they had enough time to stall and look back, the distant patter of paws had grown to that of a legion as they charged towards the door.
Travis
"I'll hold them off, we should probably back up slowly as we do this."
The chaingun whirred to a standby mode as the barrels spun, the legion still charging forward as they backed from the door and onto the staircase.
Dalhia
"Just so you know, it's been a pleasure."
Richard
"Pleasure's all Lorena's."
Dalhia
"You flatter me so."
Travis
"We have one shot at this."
The creatures were visible, hounds folding over each other, some bit at each other, killing a few of their numbers, though it was just a drop in the bucket. The chaingun blazed for the first time as rounds spewed forward, cutting down beast after beast, they recoiled, hesitating long enough for them to make to the top of the stairs, the 3rd and final door as they finally reached the main level. Richard pulled out his time piece, the time lollygagging had cost them nearly two and a half hours.
Richard
"We have to move, now!"
The ran for the exit, finally feeling the night air as they shut the door behind them, another ten minutes had passed. Walking over to their ship they were greeted by worried faces.
Phillip
"I saw you guys exit the door, where's Prest-
He saw the limp body against Richards Back.
Phillip
"Shit, did they-"
Richard
"He'll be fine, we need to get him looked at though."
Reynold
"Orders?"
The other two were gathering themselves as they slumped against the railing.
Dalhia
"Get us... Out of here."
Reynold
"With pleasure."
He set the engines to full as they pulled away from the dock. The facility lights came on, before suddenly being engulfed in a towering explosion, shattering the night with a brilliant flare, before subsiding. At least they had some new tools.