Nasferas: The Begotten

26

"One of us has to go in first and shut the blast doors." Davidar's hand hovered over the button to the Transfer Room.

Treylor's gargantuan gloved hand wrapped around Davidar's shoulder. "I'll do it."

"You don't have to."

"I want to go first."

Always and forever ... the hero.

"Hey." Treylor lifted his visor and looked Davidar in the eyes. "That's not my cousin in there. Let me do this for you. I'll shut the door and cover his body. You don't want to be in there."

Davidar sighed. Seeing Tranz smeared all over the floor wasn't on his to-do list. "Okay."

Treylor dropped his visor. "To be safe ... lock yourself in the Settle Room. I'll let you know when the door's closed.

Davidar nodded and sullenly crept into the room across the hall. This time when he closed the door, it didn't take much strength.

"I'm heading inside," Treylor said.

"Copy that," Ranloo replied from the Flight Room. "Good luck."

Pins and needles spread through every nerve in Davidar's body as he waited for Treylor to check back in. His breath fogged the inside of his visor. An immediate blast of air cleared the mist.

The ship vibrated for a moment as Treylor closed the doors. It meant his sister's boyfriend hadn't exploded. Still, every second Davidar hadn't heard from him, grated his nerves even more.

"Blast doors are successfully shut. It's clear for you to join me, Davidar."

"Copy that." Again, he wondered what might be happening with his mother and Fladir. Technically they had decided to appease Fladir by venturing outside the ship.

Davidar opened the Transfer Room door and walked in. To his right, under the window into the hall, he saw a large canvas blanket covering a lump. Under the blanket would be the body of his dear cousin. The leftovers.

"Here. Put this on." Treylor handed him what looked like the insoles of a pair of shoes with some canvas-type cloth attached to it.

Davidar took the folded-over pile from Treylor. He then realized Treylor wasn't wearing the same blast suit he had entered the room in.

"It's safe to take off both suits and put this on."

"What is it?" Davidar finagled the items in his hand, attempting to find the way in. He wasn't familiar with this style. He had never seen one before. Had it been modified?

"You have to turn it over first," Treylor said. "Otherwise, it won't work." He took the suit from Davidar and splayed it open in front of them. "Now, strip down, step into the boots, and relax. Took me some time to sort it out."

Davidar pulled off his suit. Even in his new naked form, he couldn't feel a chill, other than the one which crawled up his neck. The soles cushioned his bare feet. Once they set, a tingle shot up the back of his leg. An unknown material zipped from around the perimeter creating boots. It then crawled up his body, sculpting to his perfect form. The black material had silver highlights at the shoulders, knees, elbows, and knuckles.

"Comfortable isn't it?" Treylor quietly laughed.

The metal plate across his crotch pinched when he moved. "Is there a helmet?"

"Yeah. That blinking light on your collar. Touch it and the helmet will wrap around your head. Once that's done, you'll be able to breathe freely through the rebreather apparatus. It's genius."