The DOOM Chronicles

Chapter 08: Survivors

"So, um...did you see anyone else?" Jenkins asked.

They'd been walking through the broken glass tunnel for about ten minutes so far. Jack was silently hoping that there was nothing out here on the surface, because...well, besides the obvious reason that he didn't want to face down any more of these fucking horrors, the idea that they could survive in dead space was even more terrifying.

"No, I didn't see anyone else. I mean, I haven't checked every single hiding space, but I didn't come across anyone else from the team," he replied.

"I saw someone from Mars City when I was searching the Nuke Plant. Guy named...shit, I can't even remember his fucking name. He was just this guy who went on patrol with me once. Kinda weird, fidgety. He had bug eyes, you know? And now he's dead. Probably everyone who was here and everyone who came up before us is dead."

"We don't know that," Jack said firmly, although he had to agree with the kid. Phobos Base was so bloody and shredded that it seemed like it'd be a miracle if anyone survived at all. "What I've been thinking about," he said, trying to change the subject, "is what these creatures are. I'm having a difficult time fitting it all together."

"What do you mean, fitting it all together? It's just...crazy. This whole thing is crazy."

"Of course it's crazy, but obviously some sequence of events led up to it. They came from somewhere. They're here for something. I mean, as crazy as it all is, it's also kind of...specific. Everyone who was killed...why were they killed? How? Whatever it was, it happened really fast. So that must mean..."

Jack trailed off as he saw something up ahead.

"Must mean what?" Jenkins asked.

"What is that?" Jack replied.

"What?"

Jenkins joined him in looking. There was some kind of light up ahead, way down the tunnel. It seemed to be drifting around. It was a bright yellow light that seemed to flicker, almost like flames. For a moment, he had an image of an Imp, holding a fireball and waving it around. But that didn't seem right. This was something different. But what? How the hell was there a fire in an environment without an atmosphere?

Abruptly, his radio cracked to life.

"...zzt...help me!...omebody help...zzt..."

At that same moment, a blue-suited figure stumbled into one of the pools of light cast by the few remaining work-lights in the tunnel.

Jack cursed and started running. Another survivor! Obviously a local. Judging by the suit, probably an engineer of some kind.

"I'm coming! Keep running!" Jack said.

The man lifted his head at this. He tried to say something but it was lost to the strange interference that seemed to blanket the whole moon. The man started running towards them again, but he was still a good ways off, maybe three hundred feet down the tunnel. The two men picked up the pace, pushing themselves. Jack tried to keep an eye out for whatever threat the man was running from. All he could see was that strange yellow glow.

Only...

It was making a beeline straight for the man now, and there were more of them. And they were coming directly for the engineer as well.

They kept running towards each other. Jack had his pistol out and ready, his mind furiously trying to come up with an answer as to what in the fuck these things were. They were too slow-moving to be projectiles of some kind, at least he thought so. The engineer was close now, maybe ten meters away, but the lead projectile was now zeroing in on him. It rushed forward, abruptly cutting the distance between them down to nothing.