In the darkness, Tyger landed into something wet and smelly. It smelled like human waste, covered in plastic and metal. As he got up, he realized brown liquid covered his suit, that smelling worst on his armor. He whether not realize what the stuff was.

The Star Cats and Patterson looked around inside the black tunnel. Little red lights flashed over them, and trash floated in a river of brown liquid waste.

“And I thought the hovertrain station bathroom is the worst,” said Jage, waving his hand in front of his nose.

Patterson beamed his eyes down the tunnel. “There should be an emergency hatch straight ahead. Let’s get out of here before my uniform smells like shit.”

Tyger followed behind Patterson through the waste river. It was thick like watery snow. The bottom was solid although the water reached Tyger’s waist.

“Why are those things not following us?” Rila asked while walking next to Red and Jage.

“Perhaps they don’t like the smell of poop down here,” said Red.

“Does anyone realize those aliens looked like bug people from a B-Movie?” Jage asked. “How could they look similar to ants on Earth?”

“Not similar to Earth ants as I recall,” said Maya. “Their physical trails are unknown. We cannot confirm their reasonable features without a complete analysis of their biology. Unless we could capture one, we could perform an autopsy on it.”

Jage smiled at her. “I bet you would love to do that in your creepy lab.”

“It would give me knowledge of their psychology to understand them. Furthermore, my lab isn’t creepy.”

Red chuckled. “That exactly sounds like what Victor Frankenstein would say.”

Maya turned to Red. “I am not familiar with that individual.”

Before Red explained, the team stopped when something mechanical clicked behind the walls. It sounded like grinds halting to a stop.

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“That wasn’t me,” said Red.

Jage rolled his eyes. “If you were part machine, that would make sense.”

“I didn’t know cyborgs could fart if they have metal butts.”

The sound clicked again, louder.

“I got a bad feeling about this,” said Tyger.

The right wall shook and moved. The left wall moved too.

“The walls are moving!” Rila shouted.

“We gotta move-now!” Patterson shouted and sprinted off first.

All of them dashed down the tunnel. If they don’t move quickly, the walls will turn all of them into flat pancakes.

“Can you call the janitor to stop this thing?” Jage asked.

“The garbage compactor is automatic!” Patterson shouted. “I thought you knew that!”

Jage glared at Patterson. “Hey, I don’t sleep in trash cans like most stray cats! My life is all about flying through space!”

Straight ahead, Tyger could barely see the emergency hatch under a flashing red light. At least they were getting close.

They squeezed through the walls until they reached the hatch.

“We are not going to make it!” Patterson shouted.

Maya’s blue eyes glowed. “I will assist you.”

Her hands glowed blue, and she placed her hands on the walls. Her psychic energy expanded, pushing the walls back.

The rest of the team waited until Maya pushed the walls back enough for them to continue. She remained behind as the team reached the hatch.

Patterson pulled the lever down to open the hatch, revealing a ladder inside a round chamber.

“Let’s go!” Patterson pushed himself into the tube and climbed up the ladder. Red, Jage, and Rila went up the ladder next.

When Tyger approached the hatch, he stopped and turned to Maya. She was still standing while keeping the walls back with her power.

“Come on, Maya!” Tyger shouted. “We need you!”

Maya nodded her head and lowered her arms. Her blue energy faded away. She dashed straight toward the hatch as the walls spring toward her.

Before the walls touched her, she leaped toward Tyger and hit him as they both crashed to the floor inside the tube. The walls closed behind them.

Tyger stared at Maya’s face and smiled. “That was rough.”

Maya got off him. “For the sake of survival… Indeed.”

Tyger got up and brushed the muck off his armor pants. “Let’s join the others. I am not sure how long this station will last during the attack.”

“Confirm.”