Floxham Island ~ Sinclair V-Log AZ267/M Page 6

  “Y’know guys,” I said as we prepared to split up into two groups, “the prisoners down in the cells might not actually be dead.” Blank stares greeted me alongside several frowns so I sighed deeply and explained as clearly as I could. “Prison cells are constructed tough. They are designed to keep folks inside, not to be easily broken out of, or into. We could find the prisoners still alive down there. Still alive and hungry and then we’ll have the added complication of taking care of them.” Dex and Flark looked decidedly annoyed at this.

  “Shit,” Dex exclaimed as he looked at me, “you’re right Sam. And there could be another problem too. We could find some of them still confined, as you say but some could’ve gotten out and be roaming around down there. We could find ourselves surrounded by who knows how many murderers and crazies.”

  “Look, maybe we should just stay right out of it,” Marta said, her faltering voice giving away her fear. It scared all of us and I felt sorry for her but at the same time, I had to get Nembier back. Call me a gold digger if you want, but a guy has to live you know.

  “We can’t ignore it Marta,” the blue eyed plank suddenly cut in as he went and put an arm around her shoulder and gave her his best movie star smile. “We have to take a look and see where those creatures got in so we know where to concentrate our firepower tonight. I’ll make sure you’re okay honey, you stick with me huh? Besides, Sam here is law enforcement and he’ll make sure they’re no danger to us.”

  My irritation rose several notches and I almost slapped him for that last remark before realising that he was right; everyone would be expecting me to be able to make sure not one of the hundreds of crazies and murderers held in this place would harm them, just because I had a couple of sets of handcuffs and a tag. Closing my eyes, I sighed deeply as I realised the weight my job put on my shoulders.

  Once I felt calm I glanced at Ronjo and was surprised to see him checking the gun I’d given him the night before. “Ronjo, do you want to sit this out and do Eddy duty again?” I asked but he shook his head.

  “No. Thanks for asking but I want to stop being such an old woman for a change. I’m gonna tag along on this one if that’s okay.”

  “That’s great buddy, glad to have you along,” I grinned and he nodded. It’s amazing how people find reserves of strength and courage in a crisis that they never knew they possessed.

  “I’ll stay with Eddy this time,” Kitt said as he took the boy’s hand. “I’m too old and slow to deal with those creatures anyway. I’d just hold you back and put you all in danger. We’ll stay here and tidy up a bit.” Flark nodded and I guessed he must’ve felt a little relieved not to have to baby the old guy again.

  “Okay so let’s split up into two groups huh?” Flark suggested. “Make sure each group has an equal number of competent guns okay?”

  Dex, Ronjo, Luggs and me set off towards the rear end of the building and I was pleased to have these guys in my group. There was no doubt in my mind that I’d got the best of the bunch and I felt pretty confident that we could deal with whatever came our way. The only potential weak link was Ronjo but I had to admit that he was trying his best not to be a burden. A large open space occupied the central core of the building; a short corridor at the far end leading to a small security station that guarded the entrance to the cell wings. A desk and computer console stood at one side, behind which we could see eight security vidicom screens, none of which seemed to be operational. Beyond the desk, eight doors led off in different directions, forming a semicircle like the rays of a sun in a kid’s painting. The doors were numbered one to eight from left to right. My group opted for the first four and left five through to eight for Flark’s group. Flark had a set of restraints just in case he should catch up with Nembier and I had another set in my own pocket.

  To my surprise, the doors weren’t locked and swung open with just a push. Frowning, I looked at Dex, who shrugged and shouldered his laser rifle. We stepped through into a short corridor that stretched before us and disappeared down a flight of steps. We approached the steps and peered into the gloom but could see nothing. Luggs got out a flashlight and we all groaned aloud at the sight that greeted us at the foot of the short flight of steps. The remains of the door to cell wing number one lay strewn at the bottom of the steps; each piece graffitied with deep gouges and spattered with blood.

  “Bingo,” Dex hissed.

  “Shit,” I replied.

  “Oh fuck,” Luggs added and Ronjo gasped.

  “Is there a light switch anywhere?” Luggs asked as he examined the outside of the doorway. Before anyone could reply he found a sensor plate covered in blood and smacked his hand onto it. The cell block leapt into view before us and we found ourselves staring at half a dozen sleeping creatures as they hung from the ceiling. The sudden explosion of light woke them up and we had just seconds to register what was about to happen. Dex and his military training gained my eternal admiration as he switched into autopilot, closely followed by ex military Luggs and the two of them opened fire. The cell block erupted into shrieks as the creatures found themselves under fire and dropped from the ceiling and headed towards us. They were basically bird like but their wings had skin stretched across instead of feathers and their claws were easily six inches long. Instead of a beak, they had a normal mouth with a pair of long curved fangs hanging down over the bottom lip. Another matching pair curved up from the bottom jaw and overlapped the top lip; the two pairs interlocking and giving them the ability to rip and tear rather than cut and slice. Their eyes were huge and I knew there would be no way to hide from these night creatures with excellent eyesight. Roughly the height of a grown man, they were a formidable sight as they flew towards us, their jaws open much wider than one would think normal.

  Fear brought me to action and I raised my rifle, joining my fire to that of Dex and Luggs. Within a few seconds I faintly registered a body squeezing between me and Luggs; the pop, pop, pop that followed telling me that Ronjo had found his mojo at last and was bravely standing with us, his AB11 Rookie useless against these monsters. At the speed they were flying, it would take no more than five or six seconds for them to close the gap between us and we knew we had nowhere to go to outrun them. We had no choice but to stand and fight, so we stood our ground and gave them all we had. One by one they fell until the last of them landed less than a foot from our boots. For several seconds we stood unmoving; the sudden silence deafening. As my mind began to calm I became aware of laboured breathing beside me and turned to see Dex and Luggs, staring into space as I had no doubt just been doing myself. Ronjo was shaking, his Rookie still held out in front of him, ready to fire so I put a hand on his arm and talked him out of his shock.

  “Ronjo, it’s okay. You did fantastic buddy, well done and thank you. They’re all done now, you can relax. That’s it, lower the gun. Good job,” I encouraged and slowly he blinked and lowered the weapon. “Dex? Luggs? You both okay guys?” Both sighed and blinked several times as they came to their senses and nodded. “Well done guys, we have a good team huh?”

  “The best,” Dex nodded as he turned and grinned at me. “Okay let’s see what we have inside.”

  Two hundred and fifty cells on each side of the long corridor stretched out before us and all were eerily silent. We crept forward, all of us now needing no reminding to look up as well as all around and approached the first of the cells.

  “Dex, Luggs, you guys keep watch all around okay? Ronjo, you check the cells on that side and I’ll check these ones. That sound okay?” Grunts responded immediately and we continued on. My heart sank as we reached the first of the cells and I saw the laser fences had gone down. “Shit,” I hissed and everyone looked at me. “The cells use a laser fence system which obviously runs off the same power grid as the safety net that keeps the flying creatures out. With the antenna down, the laser fences will have come down, letting the inmates out and the creatures in.”

  “Dammit,” Dex hissed with a loud sigh. “How much fucking worse can thi
s get?”

  “Ronjo,” I whispered. “You better prepare yourself buddy cos we’re undoubtedly gonna be finding the remains of the inmates somewhere around.” His eyes widened and his face paled. He gritted his jaw and nodded at me. “I just thought you ought to be prepared okay? If you need to leave, that’s all right.”

  “I’ll be fine Sam,” he replied with as much defiance as he could muster, which wasn’t much but I couldn’t help but admire him. “I’ll be fine.”

  We worked our way along the corridor and each cell held at least one body. Some lay on their bunks as if asleep but all bore the same injuries as the ones we’d seen upstairs; the abdomen split open and the contents wrenched out in an untidy heap leaving us wondering how all of that stuff could fit into that small space. The floor was awash with blood and the metallic smell tainted the air, making us all retch by the time we reached the end of the corridor to find the emergency exit door standing open.

  “So here’s one way they’re getting in,” Dex said as he pulled the huge heavy metal door closed and struggled with the cross lever that held it shut. “Help me with this would ya?” Luggs put his weight to it and together, the two of them secured the door. “Thanks buddy, that’s one down, three more to go.”

  We jogged back along the corridor and up the steps to the central hall to find Kitt and Eddy standing there with a tray of cold drinks.

  “Oh my god you’re okay,” he sighed with relief. “I heard shots and then it went quiet for ages. I was just beginning to wonder if me and Eddy were alone here. We’ve made some cold drinks for everyone, thought you might need them. Here, help yourselves.”

  “Man are we ever glad to see you,” Luggs smiled as he helped himself to a drink.

  “You obviously got some creatures down there too then?” Kitt asked and Dex nodded.

  “What do you mean us too?” I asked.

  “I heard shots from that corridor too,” he said as he pointed to door number five. “They started shooting a few seconds after you did, but they’re not back yet.”

  “Maybe we should go and,” Ronjo began but just then the door opened and Flark stumbled out, swiftly followed by Cap, the blue eyed plank and then Marta. All dropped to their knees and heaved deep breaths. Marta was visibly shaking as Kitt went up and handed drinks around.

  “Oh god,” she whispered, “I’ve never been so terrified in all my life. They were down there, hanging from the ceiling and just came for us as soon as we switched the light on.” The blue eyed plank reached out and took her hand and gave it a squeeze and she did her best to smile.

  “Yeah, same with us,” I replied. “We found the emergency door at the end was standing open. I’m guessing that when the laser fences went down, the inmates decided to let themselves out, little realising that they were signing their own death warrants.”

  “Yeah, our door was open too,” Flark nodded.

  “Shit I would kill for a cigarette,” I said. It’s been five years or so since I’ve smoked regularly but under extreme stress I do find it calms me down. Not once had I seen any of my colleagues smoking so I guessed I’d be out of luck, but to my surprise, the blue eyed plank dug into his pocket and threw a pack over.

  “Help yourself,” he said, “and light one for me while you’re at it would ya?”

  After a short break we set off down to cell wing number two, leaving Flark and his group heading off to number six. As we got to the top of the short flight of steps that led down to the door, we stopped dead in our tracks with shock. The steps were littered with bodies, all torn open as before and it looked as if the inmates had been caught as they tried to enter the main building. We picked our way down through the bloody mass of bodies and Dex put his hand out towards the sensor pad that would bring the lights up. He looked at me and I held up three fingers, then two, then one and he slapped the sensor; bringing the whole of cell wing two into view. No creatures flew at us this time but the place was littered with corpses. We could see the door at the end of the corridor was closed so we assumed the inmates had either gone out that way, seen what was waiting for them and come back inside, only to be met with creatures that had entered through the other corridors, or they had simply chosen to enter the building rather than go outside. Either way they were doomed.

  “Well it looks like this one is safe,” Luggs said as he lowered his gun and turned to go.

  “Wait a minute guys,” I whispered before they could retrace their steps and leave me there. “I have to find Nembier remember? Wanna help me out here?” Dex nodded and indicated towards the light sensor.

  “Okay Sam,” he said loudly, “looks like this one’s clear. Let’s go try number three huh?” he grinned at me and slapped the sensor, sending the place into darkness once again. We all held our breath, not daring to make a noise and strained our ears. Just as I was about to speak, we all heard a noise to our left. A scuffling, accompanied by a grunt and murmurs of disgust, then footsteps. Dex slapped the sensor and light exploded into the corridor, momentarily blinding Nembier as he stood there red from head to toe in blood from the bodies he’d hidden himself beneath. He looked at me in shock as I took aim.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you, you annoying fuck,” I yelled angrily at I took a step forward, gun aimed at his head. “Go on, tell me why.” Dex and Luggs stepped forward, guns aimed at his chest and he dropped to his knees and began to sob. Still angry at him, I lowered my rifle and dug in my pocket for the restraints and approached him. “Professor Kluvak Nembier, I am restraining you once again in connection with nine murders on Agrillia 3 and also for the murder of Jena Marks here on Floxham 4.” After I secured his wrists we marched him back along the corridor, still sobbing. Once at the central hallway I pushed him to the floor and despite my normal self control, I lost it and kicked him hard in the gut. He yelled in agony and crumpled into a heap. “She was just fourteen you sick fuck. Why in hell’s name did you have to kill a child huh? What the fuck did she do to you?” My anger burst out of me, the frustration and fear this situation caused within me, fuelling its force and I went to kick him again but Luggs put a hand on my arm and shook his head.

  “No Sam,” he whispered and looked me right in the eyes.

  “I didn’t kill anyone,” Nembier sobbed as he held his gut. “You have to believe me. I didn’t kill anyone. Not home on Agrillia and not here either. I can’t prove it but I didn’t do it.”

  “Shut up you psycho fuck,” I yelled as I grabbed him and hauled him to his feet before marching him back to the bathroom. Taking extra care, I secured him, this time with two sets of restraints, with both hands secured to different anchor points. By keeping his hands far apart, he’d not be able to pick the locking mechanism again.

  “Please don’t leave me in here alone Sam,” he begged as I turned to leave and again, the vague feeling swept into my mind that made me momentarily wonder about him.

  “If you’re not here when I get back and I have to come looking for you again, I’ll shoot you and bring you in dead next time.” His gaze fell to the floor as I glowered at him and with the last of my frustration, I thumped the wall angrily before shutting and locking the door behind me. His loud sobs followed me as I marched away to rejoin my group.

  Throwing all self control to the wind, I helped myself to another cigarette from the pack the blue eyed plank gave me and breathed in deeply to calm myself down. Before I finished it, door six opened and Flark and his group stumbled out coughing and retching. Without waiting to be asked, I lit another cigarette and handed it to the blue eyed plank, who took it and nodded at me. It turned out that they found a similar scene waiting for them in cell wing six as we’d found in number two and we all agreed that the inmates must’ve first used the emergency exit door, only to find themselves surrounded by creatures. When they had the sense to re enter the cell wing and close the heavy emergency doors, they must’ve thought themselves safe but what they couldn’t know was that inmates from other cell wings had left their emergency doors op
en, allowing the creatures inside to wreak havoc. We knew we had to get all the emergency doors properly shut before anyone could relax.

  “We’re halfway through guys,” I said to the exhausted group, “but we have to get the other four done before dark. Does anyone not want to continue?” I looked from one to the other and I will admit to assuming Marta and Ronjo might ask to sit out for a while but to my surprise no one spoke. “Okay, let’s do this huh?” Dex nodded and I turned to walk towards door number three when Kitt came walking up with more drinks.

  “Does anyone know why the door to the bathroom is locked? I can’t get in there.”

  “Oh yeah sorry that’s my fault,” I said. “We found Nembier in number two and I’ve secured him in there again and locked the door this time. If he is able to get out of the restraints again, he’ll have the door to get through too and maybe we’ll be back from clearing these cell wings by that time so I can kick his ass before he gets away again. Come on, I’ll let you in there before we do the next cell wing.” He nodded and I followed him to the bathroom and unlocked the door. My whole body ached and I was so tired I could hardly stand as I stepped aside to let him enter first before following him inside. This was the first time since we got to Floxham that something happened that I can look back on in the cold light of day and realise was a huge clue, but at the time it was weird enough for me to notice and get me suspicious but I didn’t see the whole picture. Nembier looked at Kitt as we entered and at first I didn’t see anything strange. It wasn’t until I was re locking the door as we left that I realised it was Nembier’s expression as he looked at Kitt that was weird. It was almost a smile of recognition that flashed across his face and in any other circumstance I’d expect him to ask how he’d been since they last met. As soon as he saw me though, the look vanished and he was back to his normal expressionless self and kept his eyes to the floor. As I locked the door I finally had a little warning bell go off inside my head that I had no intention of ignoring. Although I didn’t yet know why, I suddenly realised that I didn’t want to trust Kitt anymore.