Fragment by Paul G Swanson (me reader .txt) 📕

extinct, why try to destroy what little was left? Perhaps there was some hidden underlying cause.
It seems whatever the cause behind it, that they had made a beast that they had lost control of its containment, or released it (which seemed the most likely, but least popular theory), which can multiply itself rapidly. To top it off, every time the things breed they expand their gene pool. Now that it had begun to assimilate human DNA, who knows what might happen. Would they begin to take human form, perhaps learn how to communicate amongst themselves, even worse yet, become even smarter than human beings and gradually begin to wipe out everyone systematically like cattle?
It was about time Psylix felt that someone shut these two maniacs up. "Shut up! That's just too much information all at once! I don't need to know all that crap! I just need to know one thing."
His mind was reeling with all the strange events that have happened lately. Mysterious bands of energy forcing them to relive the past, enhanced humans attacking them, giant chimera lizards, and a passenger with psionic powers he himself didn't even know about.
He actually considered quitting and just walking away. In fact, he probably would have if the colony wasn't being threatened with extermination. He knew human race was too thinly populated as it was, he didn't want any more people to have to live the way he had.
Most of them deserved a home, and not just this metal ball that they currently inhabited, they deserved a terrestrial home. The kind that they could actually touch and the kind that rained every now and then.
He had his stolen from him at a young age, and he had suffered from great loneliness. Now with his mind up he only needed to know one thing.
"What do we need to do to save these people?" The vehicle was still accelerating and had left a hundred and ten far behind. Psylix estimated that they had put almost twenty miles between themselves and the dock. Just how much farther could they go?
"First we are going to need a large ship-"
"Ours can house at least seventy people."
"Then we need to get them there. And fast!" Gren slowed the vehicle until it was just until forty. "We're here. John do the honors please."
Tio amazed at how much the once calm city seemed like a war zone. They had driven past places that he had once been inside. Now he was barely able to recognize them due to the heavy damage and scattered bodies. If the evidence wasn't sitting there in front of him he wouldn't have been able to believe it.
Strangely a quiet calm had swept over him, nor did he pity the dead. A normal person should be freaking out or panicking after seeing the mass of bodies crowding the roads. His lack of speech during the ride was less due to shock and disbelief than it was full of wonder and surprise.
The vehicle turned into a small conclave. The floor seemed to be a different color, whether it was simply a trick of the light, no one cared. Grendal parked the vehicle in the center of the platform as John hopped off and walked to a corner. He stood at a platform and simply waved his hand over the console.
The floor rumbled quietly and then fell a single inch before it began to descend at a steady speed. "Why fast?" Psylix pressed, he understood the immediate danger of the Sanbe Tanago, but that was no need to rush.
"To put it simpley, the colony is going to freefall onto a nearby planet within the next few hours. Once the chimeras had started their infestation, the control room was practically the first place they went for." John calmly told the group around him. "Almost like a target." His tone had become more serious.
"Free fall?" Sarah managed to gasp, that shouldn't of happened. The colony was built with a free running navigation system that changes course whenever it approaches a known obstruction. "There's just no way."
"Normally that would be true. This normally, would not have happened if people knew about it, they would have known to fly the thing around and avoid it. Just our luck it's a undiscovered planet." Grendal told them. Under different circumstances, that way Grendal and John traded off lines might have amused Sarah, but right now it just annoyed her.
"Then how the heck do you know about it, when they didn't?" Sarah asked skeptically.
"Cause we work with rocket scientists." John said matter-of-factly.
"How much farther can this thing possibly go down?" Seth asked trying not to appear perturbed.
"Only a bit farther, about another minute." John told them as if he had done this elevator ride a thousand times. He hopped back on the turret and strapped himself in. "The rough part of the ride is about to happen, brace yourselves."
The walls of the elevator began to rush by faster and faster as if it had no intention of stopping. Tio was making his best guesses on how long it would take them to all die on the falling elevator. Seth strapped himself in just as the walls opened up into a large shaft.
The corridor was about the width of a highway and littered with construction equipment. Now the distance from them and the floor was about forty feet and the gap was quickly shrinking.
Grendal revved the engine repeatedly as the floor loomed ever closer. Thirty feet.
Twenty feet.
Psylix was bracing for the worst and wondering why had gotten himself mixed up in all of this. Moumoru, that's why. If he had just never taken this job, he would not have been falling down a dark elevator shaft in a colony infested with gigantic chimera lizards. He wondered if his body would ever be found.
Ten feet.
The vehicle under them jerked forward and leaped into the air. They all felt the jerk of the tires as they bounced on the road surface. Behind them, the elevator platform crashed noisily in a heap of dust and metal.
Wondering if his death was painful, Psylix opened his eyes and saw the tunnel still rushing past them, but this time rushing behind them, not up.
"Sorry about that. The platform brakes just don't work." Grendal told them as if nothing had just happened. He gave it a moment and then added, "Sorry, should have warned you sooner."
"You think?" Psylix yelled at him.
"Well we're fine aren't we? Just shut up, we're almost there, so just sit tight." John told him with authority.

* * *

Zeke's ship collided with the corner of the Orion's docking bay and cart wheeled about twenty feet before flipping and crashing into the wall at the end. The cargo followed it closely and just slid toward Zeke's ship. The inertia slowed it just enough so that it stopped after gently bumping Zeke's small spacecraft.
He opened his eyes and fumbled in the darkness for the hatch that was just above his head. He found it, but the hope faded when it would not budge. He unclipped a flashlight from his belt and shone it upon the hatch. The crash must have warped it; he saw that the door was actually partially inside of the seal. Those edges should have been outside the ship.
"Crap", he mumbled. Well he could always go through the glass dome. All he would have to do is shoot it with the gun he hid in here. Now all he had to do was find it. No telling where it was now, the crash had dislodged everything and left dents in odd places. The clip for the radio's MIC snapped and it swung back and forth in front of his face. He ripped it clear out of the radio in frustration.
He felt behind his seat where it should have been. The sleeve for the weapon was there, but the gun was not. He unclipped the belts the kept him in place during the wreck and climbed into the back. It was cramped, the size of a small car but if he wanted to find the key to his escape.
He bumped his head on an outcropping that was not originally there. First he checked the very back near his small contained engine, perhaps it had slid underneath, or maybe even off to the side. The natural illumination his small light was vastly inadequate. It was frustratingly slow work.
Once or twice, he saw something that might have been the firearm but when he got a grip on them, he was able to discern both objects were made of lightweight plastic. Upon further study, he realized they were just CD holders, and promptly tossed them behind him. Not what he wanted.
He turned around and saw it just sitting there, just laying on the floor. The sleek black firearm, his wonderful magnum. He swiped it and pointed it at the glass. He did not want to waste any shots so he aimed directly into the center.
Hopefully this would completely blow out the window all at once. There were no guarantees. Then an idea sparked inside his mind. All he would have to do was increase the pressure inside. He jumped back into his pilot seat, and found the small valve next to him. This was going to hurt, a lot.
With one hand, he twisted the valve and with the other held the gun. He felt it immediately, his ears pressed inward and his nose began to bleed. He wanted to scream, but instead focused that energy toward aiming the gun. His eyes went blurry and high-pitched squeals rang in his ears.
He pulled back the trigger and felt the recoil shoot into his arms. Much to his relief the glass dome exploded outward into a million tiny fragments. The pressure instantly equalized, and the pain and noise was gone. He screamed painfully and wiped the tears out of his swelling eyes and slowly climbed out through what was once his shield against space. His nose was bleeding profusely, he could feel it running down his chin. He didn't doubt even for a second that his eyes were probably bleeding as well.
Zeke had to hold himself up with the side of the ship as he walked toward the stairs that left the hangar. He nearly made it to the first step before his knees buckled and felt himself fall. In his blurry vision, he saw someone rushing toward him and felt arms catch him.

He came back to his senses and was now just standing at the top of the stairs wondering where Zeke could have gone to. It had been only been about five minutes