Gulping against the wall, the airlock does as it promised, explosions vibrate the walls and then nothing. A deadly silent, dark passageway and my air pump giving me another deep breath. Slowly, my glove reaches the bag, then two. The bag presses to my chest. C-can I just sit here? "Kaylin ordered me to defend this container at all cost!" Remembering the killing makes me just hug the bag tighter. I don't want to kill anyone else. That thing- Carter isn't human. He could breathe and fly in space without any issue. How do I beat something like that? The traps don't work, he's enslaved everyone- Wait- not everyone. Warehouse 7A, Container 8C. Just focus on them. Groaning, my hands grab the wall, I hoist myself up and clunk down the corridor in this heavy suit. Yellow lights dim, brighten and flicker ahead. I pull out the papers.

"Scott, if you're reading this, I'm probably dead and not worse. The ship was taken over and you got away. If you haven't met the workers that made this sector, I'm sure you will soon. Find them and they'll have maps and equipment. Whatever you do, do not expose these tunnels to ANYONE. Kill yourself if captured. It's better than what that demon will make you do."

Putting them away, I speed up. There's people that can help me. They can save this ship, so I- Ahead, among the dying and decayed yellow lighting, black dried splotches into the walls and floor. No. Don't tell me. A step forward brings another, I gasp at scattered bones. No! The Deeper I go, the more skulls and skeletons lay scattered. Gulping hard as I can, my lunch barely stays down. How long have they been down here? Shaking my head, I run and run, the yellow hues turn blue and finally fall to my knees, to a bloodied series of screens, it's O'Malley, paying them on repeat. A skeleton hangs over the screens by the skull, his feet pointing to letters written in blood. BETRAYER

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

My body trembles at such a horrid sight. He paid them, then killed them? Why? The computer- Beware the Betrayers Did he send me to die? Was he compromised from the start!? Did he destroy this ship? I scream but it quickly turns to crying. And that turns to just sitting, staring at the screens. The skeleton hanging from the ceiling stares and I stare back at my fate. I frown, that demon, Carter, my team, Kaylin, Hayley, O'Malley. He won't take my family on Kinelt.

I stand and slowly scrounge around the big room, huge cases of MRE's and water, Oxygen filters, then the controls for the screens, the computer. It keeps blinking about low oxygen. I scream at the bloodied computer as I find and fix what they had broken. My suit's oxygen light starts blinking orange as I find the maps. Pressing the print button, nothing happens, no paper. Straight, take a right, left. With a bunch of air filters and electrical tape, I march straight, right way's blocked off. The oxygen light blinks red. My head pounds with all the blood pumping from my heart. Countless corridors, twists and turns as my memory starts to want to betray me. Just at my wit's end, there they are. Breathing deep, I hobble over to the machine. I push in a filter, then another. I stumble and I see a cut wire. I slowly reach a hand out and pick it up. I raise it and the machine kicks to life and the speakers crackle Oxygen filtration online! I drop the wire and the machine dies. Wheezing, I rip at the electrical tape, fat gloves won't undo the tape. Despite that, I wheeze and with one quicky motion, the tape tears. I take the wire and set it in place, Oxygen filtration online! Wheezing, tape goes along the top of the wire. Then around and around. I let go and my arms barely raise. I try twisting off the helmet, but there's no more strength left. I look to a piece of sharp metal on the floor. I fall over and scrape it against the suit as my eyes shut.