Chapter 20: A Scream in Hell, Children from Hell

Kevin sneaked through the darkened ship, his plasma rifle at 'port arms' and ready to fire. Watching for the 'bugs' as he walked down the passageway, he came to an intersection. Stopping, he looked carefully in all four directions, and listened. Detecting nothing, he leaned down and marked the floor in the way he had come. He turned and moved to the right. Moving past a door, he looked in.

Then he heard the scream. Jerking his head up, he ran silently towards the screaming and came to another door. He looked in and saw a T'Lari reaching into a hole in the wall where it appeared to grab something. It gave a yank, and pulled a small naked child out.

It dangled the child above the ground, and said something in its language as it pulled a knife out. The child started kicking the creature so it grabbed the child's legs and swung it upside down and that was when Kevin saw it was a boy.

Pulling his pistol out he took aim and fired one round through the creature's skull dropping it where it was standing. Kevin moved in, and scooped the naked child up and held him as he whispered for the child to be quiet.

"It's going to be ok. I'm a soldier and I'm going to help you. My name is Kevin, what's yours?"

Jamie clutched the man as he sniffled and tried to catch his breath from the terror he has been running from for the last three hours. Looking at the uniform on the man, he saw it was like his daddy's and he hugged the man around his neck and started sobbing.

Kevin stood there comforting the child not knowing what to do as he felt the tears run down his neck as he whispered, "Shhh it's going to be ok, and no one will hurt you so long as I'm around. I promise."

Holstering his pistol, he readied the rifle, and moved to the door and looked to make sure nothing was coming. Turning he ran back the way he had come and stopped at the caved-in section of the ship.

Looking around again he whispered in to his com, "Tom, can you see me?"

"Yes I can, Sir, almost shot you. Who's your friend?"

"No idea. Shine your penlight for me," he said. Kevin pried the child off his neck and softly said, "I have to scout around, and I want you to do me a favor. When I get back, you can hug me all you want. Is that okay?"

Jamie shook his head 'no', then a tentative 'yes', and then said, "Okay, I will, Daddy always said I must be brave."

"Your daddy is very smart." Pointing towards the light he continued, "Do you see that light?"

Jamie looked to where Kevin was pointing and saw a small light, he replied, "Yes, I see it."

Kevin smiled at the boy, as he continued, "Good I want you to go there. You will need to stay near the wall so you can get through but on the other end of the passageway is my friend Tom who will protect you until I get back. Okay?"

Jamie looked up at the man and nodded his head, and said, "Okay, I will, but please come back."

Kevin watched the boy go and, as he watched, the boy was swallowed up in the dark. He turned and headed back the way he had come. As he got to the intersection, he heard another scream of pain and headed that way with a sigh.

Thirteen-year-old Sara Granger looked out the air vent and watched the T'Lari in the room carve up her best friend Connie. Tears slowly dried on her face as she listened to the screams of her best friend being cut up alive and the slurping of the creature as it consumed her. Muttering a prayer for her, she slowly slid back until she was in the main vent trunk where she curled up, and covered her ears and silently wept.

Coming to a doorway, Kevin looked in and his stomach heaved as he saw a T'Lari holding a naked girl down, as it cut the flesh of her body and ate it. Pulling out his bayonet, he charged and started attacking the creature with the razor sharp knife; the blade sliced the creatures back several times.

Kar'Nack whirled, dropped the bloody meat, and saw a human marine standing there. Whipping out five other knives he started attacking, the blades dance around as he moved in. With the blades whirling, he sliced the human several times.

It stepped in as the human retreated and said, "You're my meat."

One of the blades flashed toward the human and missed, striking the wall, the old blade snapped at the hilt, and he received a cut to the bone on his forearm for his ill-timed attack.

"You're dead you mother fucker, I'm going to kill you for what you did to that little girl. Humans are not food."

Twirling, Kevin lashed out with his foot, and caught the T'Lari in the chest and flung it into the wall where it bounced off it. Moving in quickly he snapped a kick at one of the other hands holding a blade, and with a satisfied smile he watched the blade go flying and the creature screamed in pain as the wrist snapped. Stepping back, he waited and watched to see what it did next.

Kar'Nack grinned and said, "You're all food. Everything is food for us."

He moved in and attacked, his remaining knives dancing through the air, and he sliced at armor across Kevin's chest but the blade did not penetrate ceramic armor.

Kevin blocked the knife that was coming towards his throat and as he blocked it, he felt another hit to his armored chest plate. In a quick attack, he brought his knife up and around.

Kar'Nack remaining attacks were blocked after the second slice and then he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down he saw the knife embedded to the hilt.

Stepping back, Kevin watched it fall to the floor dead. Looking down on the corpse Kevin spit on it as he moved to the child lying there in pain. Turning her over, he almost puked as he saw the damage done to the child. Flesh has been carved off her stomach, legs, and arms. One of her ears was gone as well.

"It's going to be ok, I promise," he gently whispered to the terrified girl. Pulling out his nanobandages, he started wrapping what he could while she lay there whimpering in pain.

Connie cried out in pain, tears running down her face and then she felt someone touch her. The pain intensified and she gasped out, "Please, no more, just kill me. Get it over with! I cannot live like this. Take Sara and go."

Kevin listened to the girl and replied, "Who is Sara?" Pressing the bandage to the bloody spot that used to be her immature breasts, the bandage quickly bonded to the skin going to work on her.

Connie lay there in pain. She was dizzy from it, but the man seemed to be really trying to help her.

"Who are you? She's in the vent. The T'Lari caught me as I was trying to get in with her. Get her out of here, and let me die. My name is Connie"

Taking the last of his bandage, he pressed it against the remains of her ear and said, "My name is Ensign Kevin Anderson, Federation Marines, stationed aboard the USS Washington. You're not going to die, I promise you this. I will get you out of here. Now ... I have bandaged all your wounds, and the nanobots in them should start working on you soon. I'm going to get your friend."

Standing up Kevin went to the air vent, looked in, and spoke.

Sara lay in the vent softly crying as she heard her friend's cries stop. She knew Connie was dead, just like her mother and sister. Covering her head with her arms, Sara curled up until she was a little ball and wept for the last of her school friends.

'I should get it over with, they will get me eventually, and why not let them do it now, ' she thought.

Then she heard a human voice and she listened.

"Sara, my name is Kevin. I'm a Federation Marine, please come out and help me with your friend, Connie. I'm going to take both of you to safety. I'm going to shine a light on my face."

Pulling the flashlight out, Kevin lit it up and shined it so his face was visible to for the young girl.

Lifting her dirty face, she turned her head, and looked to where the voice was coming from and saw a light and a human face.

"Who are you?"

Kevin smiled and responded, "I'm Kevin Anderson, Federation Marines. Come on out sweetie. Let's get you and your friend out of here, and back with the rest of my men."

Sara turned her body, and scrambled out of the vent and into the arms of the Marine and started crying.

"Thank God! Oh thank God you came."

Seeing her friend, she cried and dropped beside her and held her, saying, "Connie, we're saved. We will get help for you and then we can go home... " Sara stopped as she remembered her home was gone and she quickly said, "We will find a new home. I promise."

Kevin retrieved his weapons, and then reached down, and picked up the naked ten-year-old and adjusts her in his arms. "Connie, I'm sorry if I might hurt you, but I think it would be better if I carry you."

Connie wrapped her arms around the man's neck and hung on as he adjusted her how he wanted to carry her. His left hand cradled her butt and left hip keeping her in one arm.

"It's okay. The nanobots are dulling the pain. Thank you for saving Sara and me."

"It was my pleasure. Come on, Sara. Let's get you out of here."

Moving to the door, he looked around the corner, and saw nothing coming. He bent down and picked up his rifle with his right hand. 'Tom, I'm bringing in two more survivors, one is critically hurt; can you come out and meet me?'

'Yep, I see you now. At first I wasn't sure it was you. Oh my fucking God, what the hell did they do to her?' "Hello Kevin, come on in."

'Fucking bastard was eating her alive. I now see why this is a genocide war, and I will never question it again.' Kevin said as he stepped up to Tom and said, "Tom this is Connie in my arms, she's hurt bad, I did what I could, but Private Terence can do more for her. Girls, this is Corporal Tom Morris, a good friend of mine. He is going to watch over both of you."

Connie cried out and clutched Kevin, "No, stay with us."

Setting Connie down, he said, "Connie I can't, my friend Sammy is out there fighting the T'Lari all by herself. I need to go find her and help her. I will be back, I promise."

Sara helped Connie stand and said to her best friend. "Connie, I believe he will be back. Let him go and do his job, we will be safe now."

They all jumped when an explosion detonated in the distance and they heard the screaming of pain from the T'Lari. Tom guided the two girls into the dark tunnel and started to follow when he got a good look at all the bandages on the girl. Stopping he reached into his pouch and pulled out a huge roll of nanobandages.

"Kevin, take these, it looks like you used all yours on her," he said, as he handed Kevin the bandages.

Taking the roll, Kevin stuffed them into his depleted pouch.

"Thanks Tom. Looked after them, and get in there. 'I'll be back' as the saying goes."

Turning he headed back to where he was going. He was looking for an escape trunk to go up a level. After traveling for ten minutes and searching, he was about to start taking side tunnels when another large explosion detonated up ahead, and part of the passageway collapsed from above. Dead T'Lari tumbled down the ruins of the roof.

Kevin started to turn away when he saw a large T'Lari come around the corner. Knowing that there were a lot of T'Lari behind him he stepped into the side passageway, and started down it. He tried to work his way back to the children when he came to a room that was literally melted away, and his radiation counter started going crazy.

"Damn it, have to go back."

Turning around he jogged back the way he'd come, and got to the damaged section. Looking around he did not see any T'Lari and started to turn when he heard Sammy scream in pain. Turning back towards the damaged section, he worked his way up the debris and poked his head over the top of the pile. He saw Sammy on the floor with a T'Lari standing over her.

Ka'Nisk grinned and pressed his hand into the damaged leg making the woman screamed out in pain, again.

"Tell me human, where is your colony? We destroyed your home. Nothing will ever grow there again. I'm going to take your ship and all of you humans, to my home. I will feast on you. We are rounding up the small ones who escaped, and who are so very tender to chew on.

"You females have such tender meat. The males of your species are muscle and bone," he said as he lifted the razor sharp knife.

Sammy lay there gasping in pain as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel the tears running down her face from the pain. Looking up at the creature as it talked, she watched it use its knife, to cut the armored suit from her chest. It then used one of his free claws, to rip it off her body. As the armor was ripped away, it revealed her shirt, which was then cut away. A shiver went through her as she watched the knife travel up her body and stop at her breast.

"Yes, I think I will eat this first."

Seeing movement behind the creature, she said, "Your whole race is nothing but maggots. We will win, and we will blow your whole race to smithereens. Just like we did to this weak ass ship! In fact your race is on the run."

Ka'Nisk growled and its five-inch mandibles clicked.

"This ship was not weak! You used a new weapon on us. Nevertheless, we still destroyed your home world and all your bases in this system. When I take your ship, your computers will tell us where your hidden base is, and then we will feast on all except the ones we take for breeding stock. You humans are cattle... " Turning its head, it saw the marine coming up behind it. Whirling it brought up its rifle as the marine fired. The burst went wide as Ka'Nisk moved, but the marine continued to fire at him and he hurled himself away from the human female and started dodging the plasma beams as they lanced by him. Forced to run he backed around a corner. Stopping he started to lean around the corner to return fire when a strange metal ball flew by and hit the opposite wall. Remembering what the warrior said in the ruined shuttle bay, Ka'Nisk turned and fled down the passageway as it exploded.

Sammy watched the T'Lari run, and reached over to grab her armor. She started putting it back on over her ruined shirt, as Kevin kept her covered. Picking up her two empty plasma rifles, she recharged them.

"Thanks, Kevin, I owe you one."

Opening her pouch, she pulled out bandages and started bandaging her wounded leg. Looking at the damage, she saw it was knitting together, but there was still a sliver of metal in it. Gripping the sliver in her fingers, she yanked it out, screamed in pain as she saw it was like an arrow, and jagged.

"God damn that hurts!"

Kevin jerked as his boss screamed. He looked at her as she dropped a piece of metal on the ground.

"Jesus, Ma'am, don't kill yourself ... and no problem I'm just glad I got here when I did."

Looking at the dead T'Lari, he saw a lot of them were hacked to bits and one has an axe embedded in its skull, and a long knife in its belly. After a quick count, he determined there were at least twenty-three of them.

"Ma'am, why did you attack with an axe? Where did these T'Lari come from?"

"Yeah, I somehow went berserk. After my rifles were empty, I was in hand-to-hand combat. Get my axe and knife out of that corpse for me. This is the stern of the battleship that attacked Terra in the future, and destroyed her. Somehow, it came back in time and crashed here on Pluto."