For Your Eyes Only

Things remained silent as we continued down the unknown path, a small grace I was quite glad for. Starch had finally stopped murmuring, but seemed to have become worse. His actions seemed stiff, as if he was moving only on impulse. I made a note to myself to keep an eye on him.

There were more open doors along this stretch of hallway, and I found myself moving slower, gazing into them. They seemed as if a tornado had hit them, beds flipped over, papers everywhere. The researchers had done a number on the rooms they had searched, but this was entirely different. It was as if something had gone out of its way to destroy anything not attached to the floor.

Broken glass crunched under my hooves as we walked along, the only sound aside from our breath. I looked behind me, and saw that the Sergeant had stopped. I tapped Ironside, and stopped as well, the others behind us following suit.

“What do you see, Sergeant?” I called quietly.

“Movement.” He said, still looking into one of the rooms.

I nodded at Ironside and made my way to the waiting Sergeant, the Private at my side. I glanced in the room, which was in as bad of shape as the others, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Are you sure?” I asked, not bothering to look at the Sergeant.

“I’m sure.”

I pulled my mouth blade from its sheath, the Sergeant doing the same. He nodded at me, and made his way into the room. Glass moved closer to us, attempting to shine some light into the darkened space. I moved in behind Sergeant Flathoof, scanning for any signs of life. A metal grate dropped from the ceiling above between the two of us, and we heard the sound of something scrabbling across thin metal from above, moving away. We glanced at each other, and then began to back out of the room, our eyes still focused on the now open hole in the roof.

When we had retreated back to the hallway, I reached up searching for the small raised button on the doorframe. A small click rang out, and the door slid into place.

“They’ve been following us.” The Sergeant said, taking his place at the back of the group.

“I’m not surprised. We’re on their turf.”

I stepped back to the front of the group and waited for Ironside to take his place beside me, before calling out “Leg blades out. Be ready for anything.”

We continued down the hall, the skittering sound following us from within the seemingly empty rooms. They were keeping a close eye on us now.

I had no idea how long we had been in that place. There was no way to get a sense of the passage of time. Hours? A day maybe? My stomach growled softly, and I cursed myself for not using our down time to get some food in us.

Before long we found ourselves at another corner. This place was huge, but didn’t seem to have any intersecting hallways through it. It seemed like a waste of space to me, but I was somewhat relieved. It would mean less to search. I took the vial of ink out and uncorked it, making the same X on the wall as before.

“Two down. We’re at least halfway there.” I said, returning the vial to my pocket.

The sound of something scrabbling over thin metal was the only reply I received.

I was about to call for the group to move on, when a loud clattering sound rang out from one of the nearby rooms. Starch jumped, startled, and started backing away.

“Don’t move, Private.” I whispered, looking for the source of the sound.

Starch continued to back slowly away, staring ahead. He had almost passed an open door when something reached out and grabbed him, dragging him into the shadowy chamber. I only saw it briefly. Pale, elongated, twisted. The skin seemed waxy, and almost translucent, reflecting the green glow of Glass’s light. It was visible for just a moment before retreating back, taking the Private with him.

A muffled scream came from the room, and we ran inside to see him disappear into one of the holes in the ceiling, being dragged by his hind legs. The look on his face stays with me to this day. It was the same one Private Twigs had.

I stood there, staring at the murky opening in the ceiling until the Sergeant spoke “Sir, we have to move.” It was then that I realized I still had my mouth blade out; biting down on it so hard my teeth had begun to ache. I returned it to its sheath, slowly backing away from the fissure that had claimed Starch.
I walked out into the hallway and sat down, my stomach complaining loudly. My breath echoed in my ears, my heart throbbing.

I stood up slowly, looking over those who still remained. Eight left, including the scientists. We had started with eighteen. I hoped to myself that the three I had left back at the camp were safe. With those three, we were eleven. My knees began to shake slightly. I had lose seven already, and we were no closer to leaving. Seven. The number repeated itself in my mind, seeming to taunt me, and I found myself sitting on the floor again. The Sergeant walked over to me and put a hoof on my shoulder.

“Sir, we can’t stay here.” He said softly. “We have to keep moving. There’s a chance we may find him still.”

Slowly, I looked up at him. I rose to my feet and turned to address the group.

“Alright. We move single file from now on. Stick to the wall, and don’t go anywhere near any of the doors. If you see anything, call it out.” I said, trying not to let my voice shake.

“Thank you.” I said quietly to the Sergeant, before taking my place at the lead.

I took a breath and steeled myself, beginning to move forward. I was glad to be at the front. At least nobody could see my face. My eyes were wide as I stared ahead, moving slowly. I scanned for movement, and tried to see if we were nearing another corner.

After a few minutes, I stopped. We had found ourselves at an intersection, a new hallway leading off to the right. There were no doors along this hallway, only a straight line leading into the darkness. I motioned the Sergeant forward, saying “We appear to be at a crossroads. Any suggestions?”

“It’s your call, sir.” He replied.

“That’s all well and good, but I asked you what your opinion is.”

The Sergeant contemplated silently for a moment before speaking. “We don’t seem to be making any progress on the outer perimeter, sir.” He paused. “My only worry is that there are going to be more of them down there. It seems like the logical place for them to hole up.”

“The inner sanctum, as it were.” I agreed.

“Still, if that’s where they live, it stands to reason the exit would be nearby. Why would they make the only way out too far from their home?”

“I think we have our decision, Sergeant.” I said, turning to face the others. “We’re taking the path to the right. If what the Sergeant believes is true, things will likely get hairy again soon. Be on guard.”