Ben Hammott - Siberia

Luka finished tethering the bewildered cow to the elevator handrail, shoved its large smelly rump inside, and stepped into the corridor. Pechka removed his hand preventing the doors from shutting and watched them automatically close against the short length of wood he had placed in the entrance. The doors came to a stop against the obstruction and slid open again. The process would repeat until the wood was removed. The cow mooed in protest at its strange surroundings and the sounds of the sliding doors.

Luka stared at the length of string Pechka held, its other end tied to the wooden batten blocking the doors. “I expected something a bit more technical than a piece of wood and string.”

Pechka shrugged. “I could have rigged up a remote device, but I neither had the time or the inclination to do so with that form-changing alien on the loose. It could turn up at any moment.”

“Good thinking,” agreed Luka. The sooner this was done and dusted, the better he would feel.

“One good thing with keeping it simple is there’s nothing to go wrong,” added Pechka confidently.

“The string could snap,” said Luka, helping Pechka lay the mat over the string so the creature didn’t notice it, or get it tangled around its feet, if the form it arrived in even had feet.

“How do we know it will come?” asked Pechka, glancing nervously along the corridor.

“If the noise of the doors doesn’t bring it to investigate, then hopefully the large mooing hunk of steak will.”

Satisfied everything was in place, they entered the room opposite and closed and locked the door. While Pechka knelt on the floor and checked the string leading under the door moved freely, Luka grabbed a fire extinguisher from its wall bracket.

Pechka glanced at him. “You won’t need it.”

“I’d rather have it handy and not need it than need it and not have it.”

Pechka rolled his eyes. “Let me know when it’s in the elevator.”

Placing the CO 2extinguisher beside him, Luka placed an eye to the small hole he had made in the sheet of paper he had used to cover the small glass viewing window in the door. He had a perfect view of the elevator entrance.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Worried the alien might be able to escape in its liquid form, Svetlana and Krisztina checked the seals on the two doors leading from the containment chamber were still in good condition after their years of abandonment. If they could hold back gases and bacteria, they should hold back liquid. Satisfied they would still form an airtight seal, Svetlana turned to Stanislav in the control room and gave a thumbs-up sign.

Stanislav pressed buttons to swish the doors open and closed a few times. They worked perfectly. His voice came over the room-to-room communicator. “Krisztina, take up your position by the elevator control, and as soon as we’ve been informed the creature’s inside, bring it down.”

Krisztina nodded and headed for the corridor exit.

“Krisztina.”

She turned to see Vadim returning from the lavatory; his nerves were playing havoc with his bowels.

“Don’t hang about. Press the call button and run as fast as your lovely legs can carry you to the control room.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be hanging about. Make sure you do the same with your less shapely legs.”

Vadim smiled. “I will.”

Krisztina headed across the hall to the elevator.

Worried the man might panic and freeze when the creature appeared, Vadim went to speak to Stanislav. “Don’t be too hasty closing the doors. Make certain it’s fully inside first, but more importantly, ensure I’m out.”

“You worry about your part, and leave me to worry about mine. I can press a couple of buttons.”

“I hope so,” Vadim mumbled, heading for the corridor.

When he passed Svetlana heading for the control room, she whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

Reassured by her words, Vadim took up his position a short distance from the confinement chamber. The creature would see him when it arrived and hopefully chase him inside. He briefly wondered how appetizing he looked to a vicious hungry alien but quickly pushed the gruesome thought aside. He put a hand to his churning gut; he wasn’t used to all this stress. Hoping everything went according to plan, he stared at the elevator doors and waited.

On the level above, Pechka scrunched forward and placed an ear to the door. “I think I hear footsteps,” he said softly. “They’re moving fast.”

Luka altered his viewpoint to try and see farther along the corridor, but the small hole limited his vision. “I can’t see anything, but get ready,” he whispered.

Pechka moved back into position and held the string ready to yank free the piece of wood obstructing the elevator doors.

When something moved past outside, Luka nudged Pechka with his foot and placed a finger to his lips to warn the man to keep silent.

Luka pressed his eye to the hole in the paper. Whatever had arrived, it had stopped directly in front of the door but was too short for him to see more than a dark shadow. He pictured it looking at the cow. Urging it to take the bait, he waited. When the shadow moved nearer the elevator, Luka saw it wasn’t the creature but Boris.

He grabbed Pechka’s shoulder. “Relax, it’s Boris.”

“What’s he doing?” whispered Pechka.

“Nothing, just staring at the cow.” Luka reached for the handle to call Boris to him but froze. “Oh, oh!”

Pechka tilted his head at Luka. “What?”

“I think Boris has sensed something. He just jerked his head along the corridor.”

“It has to be the alien.” Pechka stared at the gap beneath the door worriedly as he imagined the alien oozing into the room. Trapped, they would be at its mercy, something which he was certain it lacked.

Luka stared at Boris, willing him to flee.

Suddenly Boris turned and loped out of view.

Luka sighed with relief and tensed when something dark entered his view. He tapped Pechka’s head and mouthed, it’s here , when he looked up.

Returning his eye to the viewing hole, Luka watched the alien horror move away.

Sensing the evil creature, the cow mooed fearfully. It strained against its tether and kicked out a rear hoof that shook the elevator when it struck the side.

EV1L observed the large creature for a few moments, noticing its lack of claws, spikes, sharp teeth or armor. It had rarely encountered such a defenseless beast. Even the weak humans had weapons, this had nothing. Taking in its generous size that would provide abundant nourishment, EV1L moved in to feed. Though the wide-eyed cow panicked, shook its head and kicked out, it was no match for its attacker.

Luka observed the attack with emotions a mixture of fear, fascination and disbelief. The upright alien creature approached the cow and then seemed to melt from the head down, becoming a tower of liquid that bent forward and flowed over the unfortunate beast until it was completely covered.

The cow’s death screams sent a fearful shiver through both men in the room.

Pechka tugged Luka’s trouser leg and whispered, “What’s happening?”

Brought back to his senses, Luka looked down at Pechka. “It’s inside, do it!”

Pechka yanked the string.

Luka watched the wood slide from the door, curling up the edge of the rug. A face, little more than slits for eyes and a mouth, morphed into existence in the black devouring the cow. It looked at the wood, the rug and then straight at the hole in the paper. Luka gasped in fear from the malicious stare.

A tentacle shot out and wrapped around the wood, holding it in place.