The DOOM Chronicles

Chapter 21: Into Darkness

Jack didn't want to leave the tram.

Mainly because this time, as they rolled into the new station, he could see an ugly green glow waiting for them. The platform itself was clear, but one glance down beyond it into the maintenance area below was enough to inform him that there had been a massive toxic waste spill. There had to be six feet of the stuff pooled down there.

"Thank God we found these suits," Jennifer murmured as she joined him in looking.

Jack sat there for a long moment, staring out the Plexiglas windows of the tram, not wanting to move. Neither of the other two said anything, clearly not eager to get back out there. He didn't blame them, he was right there with them. After another few seconds, Jack forced himself to stand up, because if he didn't, he'd just keep sitting there and this would be as far as they made it. Part of him wanted to give up so desperately, wanted to just stay in the safety of the tram and never leave and wait for someone else to come along.

But he knew the chances of that were somewhere between infinitesimal and forget it. When you were a Marine, or really, if you wanted to be successful in life, you don't wait for things to happen, you make them happen.

You do it yourself.

He hefted his shotgun and made his way back out of the cockpit, down half the length of the first tram cart until he came to stand at the sliding glass-and-steel doors. He raised his arm and pressed the button. His limbs felt wooden. He was tired again, a bone-deep exhaustion that was beginning to permeate through his whole being. Trying to shake it off, Jack stepped out onto the platform. It was at least steady.

The trio progressed silently across the metal deckplates. They hit the far door without incident and Jack could feel tension mounting on the air like an invisible, odorless gas. When he opened the door that granted them entrance into the Refinery, he knew why he felt this. The way beyond was pitch black. Sighing heavily, he activated the flashlight at the end of his shotgun barrel and pointed it into the way ahead.

The reception lobby looked like a tornado had ripped through, after an earthquake had hit, but he hadn't expected any different.

"Do the lights really have to be dead?" Jenkins groaned.

"Apparently," Jack replied as he moved into the next room. He played his light slowly across the walls, hunting for enemies, but that strange, vague combat sense that kept him alive told him that there wasn't anything around. He spent a few minutes confirming it anyway, his flashlight revealing broken, bloodied furniture, a scattering of spent shell casings and dead bodies laid out in the gloom. Finally, his light fell on a non-digital map on the wall. Thank God to whoever thought that up. Technology was a huge crutch nowadays.

All it took was one good EMP, one good blowout, and a whole base could be plunged into chaos. Plus, in a place like outer space where there was no atmosphere and it was damn near absolute zero, it could mean death.

"Okay," Jack said slowly as he studied the map. "If we can get doors open, we should be able to cut a fairly straight path through the Refinery and get out the other side to the next tram. All we really have to contend with is the darkness."

"Yeah, just the darkness," Jenkins muttered morosely, looking around.

"We'll be fine," Jack said, but he wasn't so sure.

He'd never liked the dark but he'd made himself get over it. But here, where actual, genuine monsters lurked...

Well, it was a bad place to be.

"Let's get it over with," Jack said, holding his shotgun closely. He moved over to the door that would take them deeper into the Refinery. It was open, which was nice since it meant they wouldn't have to deal with the manual release. Jack hated screwing with those things. He pointed the barrel of his shotgun at the dark opening, revealing an antechamber with several more doors. He stepped inside, clearing the room with a sweeping arc of his weapon. Still nothing, although in the stark silence he thought he could hear something shift, distantly.