Ben Hammott - Siberia

Stanislav scoffed. “I doubt it’s that intelligent.”

“Oh, my God!” Krisztina pointed through the glass wall at the snake creature.

The tube and front of the snake’s expanded head sucked into itself and then shot out, stretching forward. When small missiles of Black shot from the tube, the snake’s tail began to shrink, providing fodder for the missiles it spat out.

Unaware of what was happening behind him, Vadim’s only thought was to reach the chamber and exit from the far door safely. His first inkling that something was amiss was when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A turn of his head revealed a small black splat. Taps across his back signaled more hits. Buttons pinged to the floor when he ripped his white coat open. As he scrambled to remove it, the splat on his shoulder formed into a small worm and leapt at his head. Vadim screamed in fear when it slithered across his cheek and crawled up a nostril. The other splats became worms and leapt for his head. Vadim threw the coat on the floor and rushed for the far door. It closed before he reached it. He jerked his head at Stanislav in the control room.

“Stanislav, you bastard! Open this…”

Observing the worms crawling over Vadim’s face, Stanislav pressed a button on the console. “Sorry, Vadim, you are contaminated. We’ll do all we can to help you, but…”

Seeking out orifices, the worms crawled into Vadim’s ears, nose, mouth and eyes. Vadim screamed when Black ooze seeped from the pores in his face a moment later. The hands he put to his face to claw at the burning pain sunk into his melting flesh, covering them in blood and scorching Black. Stricken with agony, he rushed erratically around the room, crashing into walls.

The snake, reduced in size now, slithered into the room and observed the human that collapsed to the floor. It turned its tip at the door closing behind it and then crossed to the writhing human. It crawled up the man’s trouser leg and started feasting.

Coming to his senses, Stanislav screamed, “The cameras, the cameras, switch them on!”

Stricken by shock at their colleague suffering an agonizing death, the two women ignored his request.

Cursing their unprofessionalism, Stanislav switched on the two cameras attached to the ceiling above the console. Aimed into the containment room they would record every stage of Vadim’s demise. The Black’s method of killing and devouring its victims was something his superiors would want to see. After checking the red recording lights were on, he resumed watching the Black consume his colleague. History was being made. He sighed and rolled his eyes when one of the woman behind him screamed. He turned to order them to silence and froze. A Black column rose from the floor and spread out over the glass wall. It seemed Svetlana may have been correct after all. While the snake had distracted them, the bigger creature had crept up on them. It can separate. More information to add to his research. He could almost taste his fame and promotion.

“It can’t get in, can it?” fretted Krisztina, stepping back from the wall.

“I doubt it, but neither can we get out,” said Svetlana. “It’s turned the table on us. We’re the ones trapped.” She looked at Stanislav. “Still doubting its intelligence, Director?”

Though concerned by the unexpected turn of events, Stanislav was confident the creature couldn’t reach them. What went on down here, back then, depended on airtight seals in every room to stop contaminants spreading. No, they might be momentarily trapped, but they were safe.

Stanislav turned to Svetlana. “However intelligent it is, we have the greater intellect. We need to put our brains together and come up with a plan to defeat it. As I’m sure we will.”

Svetlana huffed. “Our first two plans didn’t work out so well, did they?”

Stanislav found it difficult to argue with that. His mouth dropped open when three faces appeared in the Black spread across the glass. He shifted his gaze to each in turn. The faces were perfect facsimiles of Krisztina, Svetlana and himself. He reached for one of the camera controls and turned it to face the creature. His superiors would never believe him if he didn’t back up his report with hard evidence.

“How is that even possible?” uttered Krisztina, staring into her greasy black face looking back at her. Her human face reflected in the alien facsimile was a creepy effect that was also fascinating.

“It’s alien and for the moment beyond our comprehension,” stated Stanislav, enthralled by the creature’s abilities.

Svetlana approached the wall and laid a hand against the glass. All of them watched in fascination when an identical hand formed in the Black. She pulled it back and made a fist. The black hand copied her. She flexed her fingers. The black fist didn’t change but instead pulled back and shot at the glass. The transparent wall shook with the force. Svetlana staggered back. Though she had witnessed it forming into different shapes, creatures, them , she had assumed its form was still soft, malleable.

Svetlana looked at the others. “It can make itself solid.”

“It’s remarkable,” uttered Stanislav.

“How’s it going down there?”

Stanislav crossed to the intercom. “Luka, though I’m reluctant to say it, we need your help.”

“Damn, you must be desperate. What’s the problem?”

“We underestimated the creature. It killed Vadim and has us trapped in Control Room 2.”

“Vadim’s dead?”

“Yes, but let’s not dwell on those beyond your help. You need to come up with some way of rescuing us.” To avoid holding down the talk button, Stanislav switched the intercom to conference mode.

“Are Krisztina and Svetlana okay?”

“We are fine but also trapped in the control room,” answered Krisztina.

A slight pause, then, “I’m not sure how I can help? Do any of you have a plan?”

“Maybe you can distract the creature and lure it away,” Stanislav suggested.

“Sounds dangerous to me,” replied Luka. “Wasn’t that Vadim’s job, to distract and lure? Look how that turned out.”

“He was careless,” lied Stanislav.

“Anyway, how can I help stuck up here? The elevator’s the only way down.”

“There’s another way,” explained Stanislav. “An emergency ladder located in Storeroom 9 at the end of the hall leading past the elevator. Open the floor hatch and climb down. It leads to the main generator room down here.”

“Let’s get this straight, you want me and Pechka to…”

“Um, he didn’t mention me, only you,” interrupted Pechka.

“If I’m going, so are you,” argued Luka. “You still there, Kommandant ?”

Stanislav ignored the slur. There would be time for repercussions later. “I have nowhere else to go.”

“Let me get this straight — you want us to come down there and what? Wave and yell at the creature to get it to chase us so you can escape?”

“You,” argued Pechka.

“A less grandiose plan than I envisioned, but it might work,” replied Stanislav.

“I was being sarcastic,” stated Luka.

“I know, Comrade, but unless you have something else…”

“There might be another way,” offered Krisztina.

Stanislav looked at her expectantly.

“Let’s open the containment room door and see if the creature enters.” She looked at the pulsating mass of Black smothering some parts of Vadim. “There’s part of it in there, so it might enter to be reunited or feed. If it does, we close the door, trapping it.”

“I like that plan a lot better,” enthused Luka over the intercom.