The DOOM Chronicles

Chapter 10: The Gauntlet

"So now what?" Nelson asked uncertainly as the lift slowly made its way up.

"There's a utilities sector we need to pass through next," Jack replied. He was studying his holographic map. "This lift will let us out at the edge of a power distribution grid. From there we need to cut across a water control zone, and finally we need to get through a climate control center. That will let us cut through a corridor and a little repair area, which will let out onto a landing zone. Cutting across that will put us in spitting distance of the security node. Where, ideally, we might find some local forces."

"How do you know all this?"

"I have a map of Haydenfield."

"All of it? Holy shit."

"Yep, it's pretty useful." Jack dropped out of the map and regarded his arsenal glumly. His Sig-Cow was dead and he was now down to three magazines, two of which were loaded into his pair of pistols. Not a great place to be. The elevator began to slow. "Okay, get ready."

The elevator settled into its metal nest and a second passed, a second of peaceful silence, and then the doors slid open.

"Oh fuck me," Nelson whispered.

Though the short corridor ahead of them was clear of hostiles, it had obviously been subjected to some kind of brutal slaughter. Blood splashed the walls in liberal sprays, and there was a lot of it on the floor, and even the ceiling. It dripped steadily in some places.

"Steady," Jack said, and took point. His boots squelched loudly in the blood as he progressed slowly down the corridor. He listened for telltales of enemies around, and thought he could hear at least the groans of zombies somewhere nearby. Reaching the door at the end, he rolled his shoulders, preparing himself for a fight if need be, and then reached out and hit the button. He pulled his hand back quickly as the door slid up. "Oh fuck!"

The room beyond was packed with zombies and Imps.

There were over a dozen of both types and a general roar of awareness went up among them, passing over the crowd like fire in dry kindling. Jack immediately opened fire, and Nelson did so as well. Both men pulled their triggers as they fell back a few paces. They didn't have a lot of hallway to work with. Thoughts flying frantically through his mind, Jack aimed and popped off shots as fast as he could manage. An Imp was nearest and he put it down with a shot to its big, weird-shaped head. Its deep ruby blood sprayed across the others and sent them into an even worse frenzy. He popped a shot into the pale dome of a former technician, dropping him and throwing some coagulated blood into the mix, then shifted slightly to the left and repeated the action.

The sheer closeness of the monsters and former humans worked against them, and it only ignited the natural hatred that seemed to be their fuel, as those at the back began tearing into each other. As he put down another Imp, he saw a zombie begin shooting an Imp in the back, and another Imp hurl a fireball with an enraged shriek into a zombie's face. He emptied his pistol putting down half a dozen of the bastards and hastily reloaded his last spare. Slipping it in, he put a restrictive hand on Nelson's arm as the man also reloaded.

"Fall back," he said, doing exactly that and pulling the man with him.

They fell back. A zombie came in after them, as did an Imp, but the remainder of the hostiles were tearing each other apart now. They each took one of the enemies down with a well-placed headshot, then waited. Roars and screams and shrieks were all that entered the corridor for the next minute, as well as some blood, as they watched the display of destruction. In the end, a single, bullet-riddled Imp was left standing, barely, and Jack rewarded it with a blast to the face. It collapsed and they waited to see if anything else had survived.