Colony by Benjamin Cross (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗

he stood up and prepared to squeeze himself through, he made the mistake of glancing through the screen. The creatures were out there. Five or six of them at least. They hung, wraith-like, in the water, their collective gaze glued to the Centaur. They were expecting him, he could tell. They looked like dark angels, waiting to escort him into the next world. Only problem was, he wasn’t ready yet. His grip tightened around the shaft of the harpoon gun.

As he moved to pull himself up into the chamber, his foot kicked into the side of the console, and the cabin came alive with the clicks and whistles of the fleeing narwhal pod that he’d encountered earlier; the hydrophone was programmed to make an automatic recording whenever it was engaged, and he must have kicked it into playback.

An idea clicked and whistled into his head. If the internal hydrophone speaker was still active, then perhaps there were other residual electrical functions. It was a long shot, but it might just work.

He lowered himself back down into the cabin and hit the button for the external speakers.

Outside, the creatures began searching around frantically. Thrown into confusion by the sudden explosion of sound, they abandoned their harrying positions and formed a defensive huddle, only metres from the Centaur’s nose. Panicked by the invisible pod, they then scattered into the murk.

Peterson’s elation was tempered by the possibility that they could return at any moment. Sure, they were gone. High five. But for how long? He dragged himself up into the specimen chamber, grabbed his equipment, and affixed his mask and respirator. Not wasting another second, he took hold of the internal door handles, braced himself and cracked open the chamber door.

The trickle of water became a torrent as he edged the door open wider. The power of the deluge forced him back against the wall. It was deafening, and he could do nothing but hold on tight and wait. In less than a minute, the cabin below was entirely flooded and the water had begun filling the chamber cavity. There was no going back.

He closed his eyes.

The sting of icy water on his face, Peterson forced the door all the way open and wriggled through.

Outside, he scanned around. The water had quickly shorted out the hydrophone. But still the creatures were nowhere to be seen. He looked to the seabed. It was subtle, but beyond the impact scar left by the sub as it touched down, there was an obvious gradient; both his experience and his instinct were telling him that if he followed it, it would lead him ashore.

He checked the respirator gauge. Ten minutes of air remaining.

With his bag tethered to his waist, and the harpoon gun in hand, he kicked off from the Sea Centaur and swam like hell for Harmsworth.

3

The machine’s horn tore through the air. The front hatch creaked open and a man’s voice called out in Russian. Other than the frequent expletives, Callum had no idea what it was saying. But the gist was loud and clear: Get in the cabin now!

He helped Darya up onto the machine’s track, then hoisted himself up and leapt into the cabin after her. The screen slammed down behind them, and there was more shouting in Russian before a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and began pulling at him.

“You stop him operating the control!”

Callum could see that his leg was blocking the joystick-like handle mounted at the front of the driver’s armrest. He clambered out of the way and perched himself on the narrow ledge behind the chair, back-to-back with Darya.

The cabin sat a good couple of metres off the ground. As the three of them peered out through the windscreen, a shadow stalked from the mist. It was followed by three others.

One by one, the creatures stopped before the machine. Their heads seemed to cock in unison as they assessed their super-sized quarry. One of them dipped its neck and sniffed at the pulverised remains of its companion. Then it turned to the others and let out a loud rasp. Screeching in reply, they rushed over to see for themselves, dipping their snouts into the mush of blood and feathers.

“What do they do?” Darya said.

“I’m not sure,” Callum replied. “I don’t think they know what to make of us.”

“Do you think they are afraid?”

“No,” he said. “I think they’re angry.”

There was a sudden whirring sound as the soldier flexed the mechanical arm, attempting to ward the creatures off. With incredible agility, they bounded backwards out of reach. But rather than turning to flee, they split up and charged the machine from multiple directions.

Callum was thrown over as the cabin span clockwise. The outstretched arm collided with one of the creatures mid-leap and batted it from view. The driver shouted out in triumph as the cabin then swung back the other way. This time the arm shaved past its three remaining targets, two of which leapt up onto the tracks, while the third bolted underneath.

The driver slammed his foot into the pedal and the machine bucked and then rolled forward. It felt painfully slow, but while the creature on the right-hand track jumped clear, the other lost its footing and crashed to the ground. With a roar, the machine accelerated and Callum felt the cabin tilt as the track drove straight over its body. Its screeches were audible even over the engine. Then they stopped, replaced by the crunching of its bones.

Three down, Callum thought. He shared a look with Darya. After feeling so vulnerable for so long, he could tell that she too was revelling in the sudden sense of power as they ploughed over the uneven ground.

“Does he know where we’re going?”

Darya spoke to the driver then relayed, “He thinks so.”

“He thinks so?”

“Yes, he thinks so.” She pointed ahead. “This way is the compound. You have better idea?”

There was a sudden crash overhead, and the next thing Callum knew they were spinning again. Only this time they weren’t