Marooned by John Walker

Author:John Walker [Walker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-03T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Cassie followed the marines, giving them a good ten feet of room to move. She held her scanner high with her left hand and wielded her pistol in the right. Passing over the threshold, a cool breeze struck her as if the room were being bombarded by a powerful air conditioning unit. Outside, it was thirty degrees celsius but just inside, it dropped to eighteen!

Vincent visibly shivered at the transition and she sympathized. The sweat on her body instantly chilled and her ears ached within moments. Cassie wondered if the place became progressively colder the deeper they went. If that happened, the room with the power source might be well below freezing.

I’m jumping to conclusions, Cassie reminded herself. This is more likely an environmental control long ignored. I’m sure it’s totally fine. Amazing that it still works so well, but otherwise nothing to be concerned about.

Gorman took up the rear and when he crossed the threshold, they heard a deep hissing sound. The doors slid shut behind them, barely tapping as they met in the middle. Heat moved back to Gorman, examining the door before turning on the other marine with a scowl. “What the hell did you do?”

“Me?” Gorman looked at the door then back to Heat. “Walked over it? Seriously, I didn’t do anything.”

“How’d it know to close when all of us were in?” Heat turned to Gil. “Any ideas?”

Gil shrugged. “Sensor equipment I suppose. Though since it did not open when you approached, I am guessing there is more to it than that. We will likely need to find the control room to open the door and leave but we might as well focus on the task at hand. After all, leaving is less vital until the ship can depart.”

“I don’t like being trapped,” Heat said.

“Calm down,” Vincent interjected. “This place is huge and I’m sure there are plenty of ways out. We haven’t explored a single room yet so we can’t jump to the conclusion that we’re stuck in here. Let’s do as the Doctor says and make the mission our top priority. Cassie, can you guide us?”

Cassie turned away, shining her light about the room. The space was empty with a stone floor beneath them and a ceiling so high, her light wouldn’t penetrate the gloom. The walls were made of the same substance as outside but darker in color. They hadn’t been hit with the elements.

She tried her communicator, attempting to establish contact with the Gnosis. Static came through her earpiece and she sighed. The scanner still worked and insisted they needed to go to the left. She turned to the others and contemplated exactly how she should explain their current situation.

“Okay, so good news. I know we need to go to the left. That’s where the signal’s coming from. The flashlight won’t get through the dark all the way to the wall but if we stay close to this one, I’m hopeful we’ll be fine. I’m not picking up any mechanical items

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