2AFTER
The two men quickly rushed inside and slammed the hatch shut. They scurried downstairs and huddled in the tight crawlspace beneath the pressure capacitor. Panting heavily, they desperately tried to catch their breath.
"I don't believe this," Dave muttered, his voice shaking, "This is simply impossible!"
"What were these things?" Vincent whispered. His fear had helped him run pretty fast, despite the pain in the knee. "What is wrong with the sky?" he added.
"I don't know, man," Dave frowned, "It's like someone opened a huge hole in heaven and poured pure evil through it. Man, did you see those landing craft, or whatever the Hell they were? And the things coming out of them? How could this be?!"
Vincent simply shook his head and remained silent. He had always believed in the supernatural, but the creatures that walked outside in that moment were too much for him to handle. He could bear the sight of the smaller beasts, but the big hulking monstrosity with the metal leg was too much for his nerves. He just turned around and ran, just ran – without a clear direction. He managed to come to his senses only after Dave pulled him back inside the relative safety of the "sinkhole" and shut the hatch behind his back.
As they sat in the darkness, the two men tried to avoid thinking about whether they were safe or not. The creatures they saw seemed strong enough to force their way into the sinkhole. If they could open gateways in the sky, they could hardly be stopped by a rusty old hatch. They couldn't get the image of the fiend with the metal leg out of their minds. If it found out they were hiding in here...
"Look, we can just cower in here and wait," Dave started quietly, "If we want to survive this, we'd better pull ourselves together and do something."
"Sure, why not," Vince sneered, "Survival seems easy in those zombie apocalypse movies. Just give me a shotgun and a chainsaw, and let's go!"
"Try to take this a bit more seriously, pal," Dave snapped, "This is not a movie. It is happening. And it's happening to us. So clear your head and let's think of a way to get ourselves out of this mess."
Vincent took a deep breath and tried to focus. "The most logical thing would be to wait for the space marines, but I suppose they've got their hands full elsewhere. So we have to evacuate. What about the spaceport? They must have evacuation ships in there – like those supercarriers that have been docked there for the last few months."
"You probably didn't notice it," Dave sighed, "Bu the whole launch pad was enveloped by some fiery barrier. It must have been brought by the invaders. As long as it's there, nothing can take off. Besides, I think that pretty boy with the metal leg is lurking somewhere in that area."
"Well, bummer," said Vincent, "If we can't leave the planet, then we can at least hide somewhere, hoard some supplies and hope for the best. At least that's what we would have done if this was a zombie movie."
"And get some weapons too," Dave added. "These visitors don't seem like the friendly sort."
It was easier said than done. The two technicians started rummaging through the sinkhole, yet the aging facility hardly had any usable supplies in it. The old stimpack was the only real asset they possessed, yet it was hardly enough. They had no real weapons to speak of, though Dave had always claimed he could rig an improvised plasma gun from several discarded neutrino burst injectors, yet there was no guarantee it could work.
They searched the place for half an hour and then met back in the crawlspace.
"This is it?" Vince groaned, "I swear, if I live through this, the first thing I'll do on my new job would be to have a hidden survival kit somewhere close."
"Smartest thing you've said for the day," Dave smiled, "It's not much, but it should help us get to a place that has more stuff. Now, let's go."
They got up and headed towards the main chamber. The plan was to find the nearest entrance to the irrigation canals and use them to sneak towards the farmlands to the west of the city. Once there, their chances seemed better.
As they were about to climb up the ladder and open the hatch, a scratching noise was heard from the outside. Dave raised his hand and gave Vince a sign to stay quiet. The scratching stopped and for a second the two men through it might have been a scared animal. A second later they were blinded by a green flash, immediately followed by a small explosion. The hatch was blown away and the entrance was now gaping open.
The two technicians quickly crawled under the floor grating and hid in the shadows, nervously waiting to see who (or what) was coming down the stairs. The footsteps that echoed in the room were unusually loud and ominous. Dave desperately hoped the intruder was human, yet the sight of the two legs that appeared dispelled this illusion.
Strong and muscular, covered with rough hair, irregularly shaped, ending with solid hooves. As the creature came a little lower, they could see its torso as well – muscular, covered by skin with a dull brownish hue. Then they saw the face and could barely resist the urge to scream in horror – a face twisted by undiluted hatred and cruelty, glowing red eyes and large horns. This was no mere alien creature – it was a real demon, in the flesh! *
The hooves hesitantly clanked across the metal grating. The creature stopped and sniffed the air, then it growled with irritation – perhaps the sinkhole's toxic atmosphere prevented it from detecting the scent of the two hiding humans.
Vincent, however, was not convinced. He slowly started to inch towards the back of the crawlspace under the grating, hoping to run towards the facility's deeper tunnels. Dave desperately gestured to him to stand still, but his colleague was now too terrified to think clearly.
Vincent sprang out and headed towards the southern junction. His injured leg slowed him down quite a bit, yet it was too late to go back. The demon heard the commotion and turned around, its eyes glowing with the anticipation for a fresh victim. The clanking was now heading quickly towards the poorly lit junction. For a second, Dave saw green light dancing around the creature's fingers.
When Vincent realized he had taken a wrong turn, it was already too late. He was supposed to take the corridor that led to the backup stairwell – too narrow for that creature to fit in, but instead he was now standing in front of a pair of high-voltage switchboards. The man turned around and faced his pursuer.
The creature seemed even more terrifying when it towered over him. It reminded him of a huge fist that was preparing to crush an insect. And now he got to play the role of the insect... Just as Vince was convinced he was history, Dave appeared behind the creature and threw a heavy wrench at its head. It didn't even scratch it.
"Hey, freak, over here," Dave yelled at the top of his lungs, "Come and get me, you overgrown space goat!"
The creature reacted immediately – it turned around and the green glow around its hands became stronger. It made a throwing gesture with its hand and Dave was barely able to dodge the ball of green fire that flew towards him. This thing could shoot! And now it was chasing Dave.
The man rushed through the sinkhole, praying he wouldn't make a wrong turn and enter a dead-end corridor. He could hear the heavy sound of the hooves behind his back, relentless and coming ever closer. He took another turn... and ran straight into Vincent. Dazed by the sudden collision, the two men stumbled to the floor.
"What the... what are you still doing here, you fool?" Dave muttered. "You were supposed to sneak out while I was distracting the freak."
"I... I... I couldn't leave you," Vince stuttered again, "We... we can only survive this if we stick together."
Survival won't be an issue in a few seconds, pal Dave thought bitterly and turned around the face their impending doom. And there it was – the demon towered above them and the green light was once again growing stronger around its hands. The tempting ray of daylight from the broken hatch was so close and yet so unreachable, as there was no way to go around the creature. It was way too fast and did not seem to get tired. Dave and Vincent closed their eyes...
...And were deafened by a mighty shotgun blast. The demon screamed with pain and staggered. Green blood sprayed Dave's face – it was scalding hot and he frantically reached to wipe it off with his sleeve. The demon tried to turn around and face its attacker, but another shotgun blast made it kneel on the floor, oozing blood and disgusting slime from its numerous wounds. It made one final attempt to throw a ball of green fire before the third shotgun blast shattered its skull into a hundred tiny fragments.
The two maintenance workers blinked against the light, trying to discern the figure of their unexpected savior. The newcomer stepped forward and they could finally see the details – filthy boots, pants torn in many places, a blood-stained green uniform, clutching a smoking double-barreled shotgun in his hands, and wearing the kind of helmet that they had only seen on TV and in the movies.
A space marine.
He took his helmet off and they could now see his face – a man in his early thirties, and he looked very tired, as if he had not slept for days. His eyes, however, were still alert and full of vigor. He was still ready and quite willing to fight.
"You guys are very lucky," the man spoke with a firm voice, "If I was just a few seconds late..."
Dave had finally overcome his shock by this unexpected turn of events and stood up to greet the marine properly.
"Thank you, sir; your arrival was most timely. I am Dave and this is my colleague – Vincent. We are just maintenance staff here at the sinkhole... I mean, at this waste processing hub. We were just about to leave this place when this thing surprised us."
"Nice to meet you," the marine said with a slow nod. "By the way, do you have any stimpacks?"
Dave quietly pointed towards the small white container that was lying on the floor. The marine quickly took it and unpacked its content.
"Yes, that's definitely better," he murmured after injecting the package's content into his arm. His face didn't appear so tired anymore.
Vincent had finally managed to stand up and calm down, and he was now eager to join the conversation: "Thank you so much, sir! If you had not shown up, we would have been toast! Anyway, what are these creatures? Are they invaders from another planet?"
"Another planet, hmmm, well, not exactly," the marine replied hesitantly, "They come from... elsewhere." Something in the way he spoke the last word sent chills down the spines of the two technicians.
"If you're here, then the rest of the Marine Corps is on its way as well, aren't they? Aren't they?" Dave asked with renewed hope.
The marine grabbed his helmet and pressed a few buttons on the inside. He listened intently for a few moments, then shook his head.
"No, they are not. I've been trying to reach them ever since I came here. All the channels are dead silent and this could only mean one thing – they've been wiped out. I could find a few stragglers here and there, but that's pretty much all. The invaders have the upper hand for the time being."
He remained silent for a few moments, allowing the news to sink in.
"How do you know all this? Are you a member of the regional defense force?" Dave asked.
"Not quite," the marine replied with apparent reluctance, "I am the last survivor of the task force sent to the Phobos base when this whole mess began. The team went in and I was left to guard the ship. They are all dead now, but I continued the mission."
"Phobos?!" Vincent gasped, "But this is so far away. How did you get here?"
"Well, let's just say I took an unexpected detour," the marine winked, "I managed to learn a couple of things about our visitors and I know just how mean they can be. We shouldn't stay here – let's move!"
They climbed outside through the charred remains of the hatch and looked around. The eerie red portals in the sky were gone, yet the city in the distance was ablaze and there were occasional explosions among the buildings. The spaceport seemed dark and lifeless, and the entire launch pad was still under the cover of the unholy barrier that was cast over it. The situation seemed hopeless, yet the marine was unusually calm.
"Can we beat them?" – Dave was surprised to hear these words come out of his mouth.
"Of course we can," the marine replied quietly, "They bleed. They die. And I am sure their brute strength is no match for some good old-fashioned space marine training."
The marine finished surveying the horizon and turned to face the two men.
"You cannot come with me – I am going to the spaceport and I will find a way to lift that barrier. You should have plenty of time to sneak to one of the evacuation ships and get on board before they take off. Just keep your eyes and ears open. Avoid people that behave weird, especially if their eyes seem to glow. They are former humans and they will hunt you down without mercy."
"Wait, so you're just going to leave us," Vincent could hardly believe this.
"There is no other way," the marine replied grimly, "Your best chance is to get to the evac ship. As for me – I am a marine. I have a job to do. Perhaps we will all live long enough to meet again and remember about this day... or perhaps not. Anyway, it's time to go."
The two technicians reluctantly agreed. They grabbed whatever supplies they had managed to salvage from the old sinkhole and headed off towards the besieged launch pad. Just then, Dave stopped and faced the mysterious marine one last time.
"Hey, just one more thing," he yelled, "What is your name?"
The marine stopped and remained completely still for a few seconds. Then he smiled and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
"Does it really matter? It's not like someone is ever going to interview me or something..."
And then he disappeared in the haze...
THE END
* Did you recognize it? It's a Hell Knight.
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of Hell on Earth through the eyes of two ordinary guys. Before and after.
Twenty years since Hell first came to Earth. I believe Doom 2 is the most popular (and most played) part of the Doom series, however the heart and soul of the series can be found in Ultimate Doom, especially the original three episodes.
More fan fiction – coming as soon as I manage to do it. And you can be sure there will be quite a few sleepless nights, since this is the best time when I can concentrate and really get things done...
Until then, folks!
