Free Pilgrim by S.J. Bryant Page B

the
light in a bright glint.
    The creatures didn’t respond except to move
closer.
    Hearing more people in the tunnel behind
her, she darted right and slammed her palm into a creature,
knocking the dark figure back. She managed to get past and made a
break for the ship. Stomping feet sounded right on her heels. She
risked a glance over her shoulder. The glowing eyes were catching
up.
    In her quick glance, Nova saw human-like
faces except that the eyes were double the size of her own. They
bulged out of the creatures’ heads like tennis balls. Their teeth
were sharpened to a neat points that gnashed as she ran away.
    They looked like demons leaping through the
dark caverns after her. Cold sweat broke out across Nova’s forehead
and her legs felt like jelly beneath her. The sound of her breath
was like a choked bellows as she fought to stay in control. The
darkness and the sounds of pursuit pushed her closer to the madness
she struggled so hard to resist and soon other voices and shapes
were joining those of her chasers.
    She gritted her teeth and blinked hard,
using the pain thumping through her right foot to push the visions
away. They faded in the face of the very real threat at her
heels.
    The sight of her pursuers put fire into
Nova’s feet and she sprinted the remaining distance to the ship.
She breathed a sigh of relief when her light shone on the jagged
entrance, and she dashed inside, turning right she sprinted back
past the controls and buttons.
    She got to the door with the keypad and
madly typed in the code. As her fingers worked she looked back and
saw the approaching horde. Whatever they wanted it certainly didn’t
seem friendly. They snapped their teeth at her. In order to get up
the steep incline of the tilted ship they grabbed hold of the
passing equipment.
    Entire sections of machinery torn right out
of the ship. They rolled down the inclined floor and smashed
against the wall some distance away.
    She finished the code and the door slid open
she dashed through it and slammed her palm against the close
button. She whipped in a circle but there was no sign of more
attackers in the tech lounge.
    “C’mon c’mon!” she said, begging the door to
close faster.
    With a hiss, it finally obeyed and the noise
of chomping teeth was silenced.
    She drew in a few deep breaths. “Always nice
to meet the locals,” she said. “Cal, are you back online yet?”
    Static filled her ears.
    She turned away from the door and came face
to face with an open mouth. She was so close that she could see
each individual tooth and the spittle which connected them. The
stench of rotten meat flowed over her as the creature bellowed into
her face.
    She dived to her right just as the
creature’s jaw snapped shut on what would have been her face. The
humanoid turned to face her, shambling forward with jerky
movements.
    “I don’t want to kill you, but I will. There
are only so many times I can put up with having people trying to
eat my face,” Nova warned. She scrambled to her feet and levelled
her gun at the creature.
    Her stomach clenched as a rush of blood
poured through her veins, feeding adrenalin into her already
exhausted muscles. She’d had enough of being captured and of
strange people trying to eat her. It made no sense, and she
couldn’t get off of the planet soon enough. Even the promise of a
warp converter was less appealing with every encounter she had.
    The creature paid no attention to her words.
It took another step forward and gnashed its teeth. It wore
tattered rags for clothing that only just covered its waist. The
rest of his body was covered in dirt and grime along with tiny
scratches and scars.
    The vacant eyes and gnashing teeth reminded
Nova of some of the drug addicts she’d encountered in the outer
planets. They had the exact same crazed expressions and the
similarity made her hold back, despite her fear, until the creature
whipped out its hand and took hold of her left wrist, and then she
let fire.