Chapter 35

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   A terror-filled blood-curdling scream was heard a second later, and following that, the yelling of human voices, loud and terrified. Liam, Beth, and Kelbar were all frozen with fear, they knew how terrible that creature was.

   The whistling was so loud Beth could hardly make out what everyone was yelling. She thought she heard someone yell, "To the ship!" and another, "Run!" But most of the noise (other than the whistling) were horrified shrieks of fear and earsplitting screams.

   What brought Beth back to her senses was the sight of the monster. And to her horror, its mouth was dripping bright scarlet liquid as it made an awful snarling sound that combined with its horrid whistling. She tried not to puke from sheer horror and disgust. People ran around them, frantically trying to get to the ship. No one even took a second glance at Kelbar as they ran, everyone 's minds too occupied on getting away from the monster. After all, Kelbar, from a fleeting glance did strongly resemble a human being, despite his 8-foot height.

   Suddenly Liam grabbed Kelbar's and Beth's hands and yelled as loud as his voice could go, "TO THE SHIP!" They all started running. The monster sighted them and gained speed. It began nipping at their heels. Beth peered behind her shoulder and gave a small shriek. They were sprinting now, as fast as they could go.

   Someone fell. The monster stopped chasing them and glided towards its new prey.

   Beth stopped running and screamed, "No!" She watched in horror as the monster began devouring a young man.

   "Beth!" Liam yelled.

   She looked away and they continued running. Tears of anger and fear streamed down her face. They reached the ship and leaped inside, then the door slammed shut behind them. They were the last ones in. Beth collapsed to her knees, sobbing. Many others were doing the same. Liam put his hand on her shoulder. The touch comforted her, but the tears didn't stop.

   The whistling could barely be heard behind the ship's heavy door.

   A muffled banging began. The monster was trying to get in.

   "Don't worry, that dastardly thing will never get in! These doors were designed to withstand the cosmic vastness of space! I helped build them myself." The head engineer said reassuringly.

   The hysteria in the room diminished a little due to the engineer's words and reassuring tone. After a while, the room quieted. The only sound to be heard (other than some soft whimpering around the room) was the steady muffled banging outside.

   Liam was now sitting with Beth in his arms. She had fallen asleep, the strain of teleporting the entire ship still taking its toll. She was exhausted.

   Kelbar stood beside them, surprisingly still unnoticed. The ship's boarding area was packed with people all still frightened and huddled together. He looked around. It had been a very long time since he was around this many people. So long in fact, that he couldn't even remember the last time. All hope of ever seeing any of his kind again had diminished a long time ago. He just had memories left, quickly fading into the shadows of his mind.

   __________

   The captain sat in his office trying to retrieve files from the system computer and doing various other things. It was going to take a lot of work and responsibility to lead this new colony. He had been on the ship for the majority of that day, oblivious to the recent chaotic events just outside.

   The door slid open breaking his concentration. He looked up in frustration and was about to reprimand whoever it was, but then he saw the look on their face.

   "Captain!"

   He sensed the urgency and was up in an instant.

    Upon entering the ship's huge boarding room the Captain was startled to see so many people there. It seemed to be that everybody was in there. He turned in confusion for an explanation, but the passenger who came and alerted him had disappeared.

   "Captain, you're here! I was worried when I couldn't find you. I thought for a moment you got left outside." Said the head engineer, his voice distraught.

   "Would you mind informing me of the current situation?" The captain asked, trying to keep calm amidst the tangible tension that hung in the air.

   At that moment, Officer Carter walked up to them. "Captain!" he said with relief.

   Captain West turned to him. "Officer! What in the Sam Hill is going on?"

   "Our encampment was attacked." Officer Carter stated.

   "By what? Did you see it?" The Captain asked.

   "I caught a glimpse, it was horrible." He described it as a huge beast-like dragon.

   The captain's eyes widened in horror at the description.

   "So we obviously missed some things when the probe we sent out scanned for life forms." The head engineer chuckled nervously.

   The captain eyed him sternly. This was no time to laugh. "How many dead?" He asked solemnly.

   Officer Carter looked down sorrowfully. "At least two." He replied.

   The captain's heart sunk. These people (the last of the human race) were his responsibility. And he felt that he had let them down.

   The muffled banging could still be heard at the door. The captain noticed it. "Is that..."

   "Yes it is, but it'll never get in." The head engineer said.

   "We're hoping it'll go away soon." Officer Carter stated.

   The captain thought about the hideous monster outside. He suddenly felt like the ship was a beetle and the monster was trying to get through the tough shell to eat the meat inside.

   "We don't have any large weapons, do we? The captain asked Officer Carter.

   "I wish we did," Carter replied. "And Tasers won't do a lick of harm against that thing."

   "Well," The captain said, "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

   He made his way through the crowd towards the door, with Carter and the engineer close behind. He stopped near the door and looked around. Something grabbed his attention, a tall figure. He did a double take and blinked his eyes in bewilderment.

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