From Within - A Short Story

“From Within”

We landed safely.

According to the sensors, there was no major damage to the ship despite what it had just been through. Facing such a large force is never a simple affair. But this foe is week.

To retrieve the package we now had to face the enemy along with the internal defences of the colony.

-“Move out!” Shouted our captain as me and my crew mates sealed our combat helmets. Steam filled the cabin as the heavy doors of the APT opened. With a loud war cry we dove into enemy territory, guns blazing.

The idea behind their weapons was that they were supposed to shoot this gelatinous acidic matter with the purpose of melting us down for easier digestion. Unfortunately for them however, this matter’s chemical composition was completely useless against the alloys that make up our armour. Our skin was very sensitive to it but with our combat suits on, they could’ve been throwing half pounds of melted butter at us.

Their strength was in their numbers complemented by the power of their physical attacks. Those claws could rip through our armour, ironically like a red hot knife through butter, and they could secrete that gelatinous acid directly into our suit, melting us from within. Our goal was therefore to keep our distance and shoot them before they get to us.

-“Ok boys, listen up! Our mission is to retrieve a package of utmost importance. It is hidden somewhere in this colony and all we have to locate it is a beacon lodged inside. We can use our HUD to find it. We move as one team, firing at whatever moves in front of us and those in the back covering our collective ass. Simple enough?”

-“YES, SIR!”

And with that, we entered the beast.

The first thing I noticed was that it seemed like the entire structure was built with tunnels. After about thirty minutes of sneaking through tight corridors and hallways, we didn’t encounter any large room or cave. Only tunnels, filled with thousands of enemies.

They always attack in swarms of hundreds or sometimes even thousands. Our ammo can cut them down easily as their carapace is made up of that gelatinous crap, only hardened. Our bullets are heated arrowhead-shaped projectiles made up of the same alloys used in our suits. In these cramped quarters, the tunnels serve as bottlenecks and their large numbers is actually a weakness. We easily slaughtered thousands of them without suffering a single hit before reaching the first large chamber, apparently where the package was located.

A little girl.

She was about 4 years old, maybe five. Her fragile little body was lying peacefully on a metal table and some sort of steel tube was penetrating her belly.

From what we knew of the species, they reproduce by building a being from uncorrupted genetic material mixed with their own, then massively reproducing until all the individual of the previous generation are replaced. They seem to always use a young offspring of any species.

We could not allow that to happen to this child.

Our medic approached the table and examined the girl.
-“She is alive. I can feel her pulse but her body is too warm. Let’s get her out of here and put her in quarantine right away.”

His voice echoed loudly in the otherwise empty room. It was enormous, circular with the walls covered in hundreds of pods containing what appeared to be previous “victims” of other species. Our science officer would’ve kept us in here for days. Thankfully he stayed with the ship.

As our medic removed the tube from her belly the child awoke. She stayed silent and seemed very weak, pale. I wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up. She was my responsibility now as we made our way back to the ship.

The way was completely clear. We encountered no enemies.

We climbed on board the APT and everyone removed their helmets as soon as the door sealed shut.

The little girl in my arms was still very calm but she was now smiling.

As I put her down next to me I notice some dark smoke coming out of her mouth, eyes, ears and nose. She is still smiling but I need to hold her or she will fall off her seat, like a doll.

The medic sitting in front of me begins to scratch the back of his neck and he coughs. He looks at his hand and his fingernails are all bloody.

Suddenly, as the cabin fills with smoke, his flesh begins to slowly disappear, revealing muscles and bones with blood dripping on the cabin floor. As I begin to scratch the back of my neck, my crewmates begin to scream in agony, afflicted with the same condition.

I suddenly realize what is happening, as billions of enemies begin to eat my flesh.

The little girl falls to the floor, dead.

Slowly and painfully, I feel myself dropping next to her.