Ben Hammott - Salvage

“That is something we have been tasked to assist you with.”

The Admiral turned and looked at the man who had joined them. “And who might you be?”

“Wallace, sir. CIA.” He handed the Admiral a folder. “If you need someone to help your men find their way around the ship, then this person can be of assistance and will be arriving shortly.”

Thomson opened the folder, stared at the photograph and smiled. “Yes, I can see why that might be the case.”

WHEN LUCY CLIMBED to her feet, the bat creature released its grip on the rock, rolled in midair and landed feet first on the floor in a crouched position with its body tucked beneath its wings. As it rose slowly to its full six-foot height, it spread its wings and stood poised like a malevolent demon angel. For a moment it did nothing except stare at her, as if it wondered what she was.

Lucy stared back at the creature that looked as if a bat, a bird and a demon had been morphed into a single terrifying entity, complete with devilish horns on its head. Without turning away she slowly moved a foot up onto the next step.

The creature lunged at her.

Lucy swung the club with a speed that surprised her; her reactions to life-threatening situations had definitely improved.

The Demon Bat’s long head that ended in a wicked, pointed beak shot to the side with a crack of bone when the club struck. As it crashed to the ground Lucy dodged out of its path.

When more green eyes appeared in the darkness shrouding the cave roof, Lucy turned and fled up the root-covered steps that did their best to trip her. The flapping of wings from behind indicated the outcome if she stumbled a second time.

The curving steps prevented Lucy from seeing how high they reached or what they led to but she noticed the roots changing the higher she climbed. At the bottom they were relatively sparse, but now they had increased in number and were thicker. A turn around a curve in the staircase revealed they were no longer confined to growing across the steps. Roots now snaked over the walls and were covered in jagged protrusions that poked into the tunnel like the teeth of some strange creature. As she progressed even higher, the spiky tooth-like formations became longer, in more abundance and invaded the space she needed to move through. She shot a glance back when the flapping of wings faded. The abundance of spiky-roots grew too close together for the winged demons to fly through, but they weren’t thwarted yet. They landed on the steps and crawled and climbed between, over and under the spiky growths. Lucy worried that if the roots continued to increase in size and number, they would block her progress and the creatures would be upon her. The mass of green eyes coming ever closer was an eerie sight. Except for their claws scraping on the steps, roots and walls, the Demon Bats made no sound. Sensing danger close by, she turned to face it. A smaller Demon Bat’s pointed jaw stabbed at her. Lucy recoiled in fright and swung the club at its head, which exploded when the force smashed it into one of the spiky roots. She continued her climb.

The roots soon invaded the space directly above the steps, causing Lucy to maneuver carefully between their sharp barbs. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was moving through a mouth filled with teeth that would snap shut at any moment and impale her. It was a relief when she reached the top without that very thing happening. A glance back down the steps and through the gaps between the jagged protrusions revealed the Demon Bats hadn’t given up the chase. Lucy crossed a flat area and passed through a misshapen metal gate hanging askew from one hinge and rushed over to the mass of thick vines blocking the exit. After pulling aside a handful of the sinewy growths, she glanced around the new landscape.

It was hard to believe she was still on the spaceship and hadn’t been transported to a far off alien planet. Lucy glimpsed movement and focused upon the creature crouched on what seemed to be a building under a jagged outcrop of rock. Blue lights pulsed along the ribs along the building’s sides and the long, thin leg-like appendages that stretched out from the strange construction. Through its transparent walls, small green and red lights could be seen flashing and a spray of sparks erupted intermittently from one section.

The scrape of claw on rock spun her head around. Five Demon Bats crawled towards her. More were close behind. Lucy glanced back at the strange building and noticed the creature never took its eyes off her when it climbed down the side of the building headfirst and raced towards her.

Lucy only had one direction she could go―up. She squeezed through the vines and glanced above. Strange trees leaned out over the rock that formed the tunnel. She grabbed one of the thick vines and climbed. The gnarled, knobby vines were easy to ascend and when Lucy reached the top she cautiously glanced over the edge. The area seemed free of anything that might attack her. Movement rippled through the vines from below. She glanced down. Demon Bats pushed through the vines and leaped into the air. Stretched wings flapped and bore them aloft.

Lucy climbed onto the ledge and ran for the metal wall one hundred feet away, or more specifically, the door set in its base that she prayed would open. A glance back revealed two Demon Bats swooping towards her. She twisted to fight the first off with the club, but stumbled. The Demon Bat soared past above her. The one behind altered its flight and reached out its claws when it prepared to land on its prey. Lucy rolled to the side and swung the club, striking the creature’s shoulder. Bones crunched when it struck the ground and tumbled until coming to a rest. It tried to stand, but its injuries were too severe; it would fly no more. Lucy jumped to her feet as two more approached, and ran for the door, bypassing the wounded creature that stabbed its pointed jaw at her in a lackluster attempt its instincts forced it to carry out.

The door was Lucy’s only chance to get away. The first Demon Bat that had swooped past her had other plans. It landed in front of the door, cutting off Lucy’s escape. She dodged another she sensed coming up behind her by swerving around one of the trees covered in red leaves that grew near the metal wall. She paused amongst the tree trunks when two more Demon Bats landed by the door. She turned as more swooped down to the ground behind her. Wary of the club that had so easily wounded one of its kind, they had chosen another tactic; they would attack in a group from all sides.

Lucy glanced up the trunk of one of the trees. They weren’t very high and looked easy to climb, but even if she did seek refuge in its leaf-burdened branches, she doubted it would stop the creatures for very long. There was no other option. To live she had to get through the door before the other demons moved into position. She stared at the three creatures stopping her. The will to live pushed her fear aside and prompted her rush at the three Demon Bats.

Surprised by the sudden attack, for a moment the creatures failed to retaliate and one suffered a broken arm from the club its attacker swung at it. Lucy followed through with a hard kick to the Demon Bat’s stomach. It stumbled into the creature beside it and knocked it off balance. The third dodged out of the way and leaped at her. The club caught it a blow around the head. Its neck snapped and hung at an unnatural angle as it staggered about wildly. Lucy searched the handle-absent door for some way of opening it; a concealed panel or something, but there was nothing on the rusty metal wall. She stamped on the Demon Bat’s head that had fallen to the ground when it lunged for her ankle. Its eyes bulged when its skull was crushed by the force. The third creature lashed out a claw at Lucy’s face. She barely managed to pull her head back in time and felt a whoosh of claw-disturbed air caress her face as her head slammed into the wall. Dazed, she slipped to the ground. Through spinning vision she watched the Demon Bat tower over her and its open, teeth-lined beak snapping together menacingly as it grew nearer. Lucy tried to lift the club, but found it was no longer in her hand, not that it would do her any good, her arms were as heavy as lead. The Demon Bat’s warm carnivorous breath washed over her face. All she could see were sharp teeth and a pink throat her flesh would soon be sliding down. Though she willed her body to move and defend itself, it refused; it had had enough. Suddenly, the teeth disappeared, yanked from her view. In a blurred flurry of movement and excited squeals, the Demon Bat landed beside her minus its head.