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Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Legends #5 - Distress Signal Part 2

Part 1: [link]
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           Previously on Legends: The world’s most brilliant scientist Dr. Isaac Calu and his close friend George Richardson tested a prototype spacecraft. However, a mysterious cosmic occurrence caused them to be flung across the galaxy. Armed with only a magic sword acquired from the jungle planet they landed on, and a vessel they commandeered from a band of space pirates, the two began the long journey home. During their travels, they encountered a distress signal leading to an abandoned space station. Inside they found no signs of the inhabitants or even a struggle. Save for one bleeding alien who could speak only of a terrible monster stalking the halls. The duo decided their best course of action before leaving was to shut off the station’s distress signal so no other would come to this place. However, once they reached the bridge, Dr. Calu was attacked by the mysterious creature.
~--~
           The shadowy beast descended on Dr. Calu with its claws outstretched, ready to rend him limb from limb. Gira sprang into action quickly, dropping the alien he was carrying to the floor. The black-haired man released a burst of lightning from the Starfinder. The magic sword’s electricity arced around the scientist and struck the monster in midair, knocking it back.
           “Dear heavens,” Dr. Calu exclaimed as he jumped back towards Gira.
           “Grab the alien and run, it’s still moving!” Gira ordered as he moved in to engage the monster. The shadowy beast had sprung back to its feet and leaped onto the tiled ceiling. However, Gira simply sprang into the air with great agility and cut its front leg. The creature lost its grasp on the tile and fell back to the ground while Gira landed close by.
           Dr. Calu retreated back towards the alien, picked her up, and made a beeline for the door. The beast’s piercing red eyes locked onto this sight and bared its teeth as its target slipped away. Gira simply stabbed the creature through the chest, but even this did not stop the monster, which threw him off. The black-haired man was sent flying across the room and crashed into one of the control room’s consoles.
           “George!” Dr. Calu exclaimed, slowing down for a second to notice his friend’s predicament. The creature took this chance to pounce towards him, the claws of its uninjured leg outstretched. From the ground, Gira released another bolt of lightning, which collided with the pouncing monster, sending it back to the ground.
           “No more,” Gira pulled himself to his feet, a burning pain in his side. Fighting through the pain, he darted at the beast and lopped off its head before it could stand back up. His foe dealt with, Gira fell to his knees to recollect himself.
           “You did it,” Dr. Calu cheered as he went to check on his fallen friend. “So much for the mighty monster.” As the scientist helped the man to his feet, the alien began to rouse from her slumber.
           “Where...?” The alien girl asked.
           “Oh you’re awake, can you stand?” Dr. Calu set the alien girl down, who managed to stand while supporting herself on a nearby console.
           “You’re quite strange-looking people,” the alien girl commented, “why did you come here?”       
           “We saw the distress signal and came to investigate,” Dr. Calu explained.
           “I see, the captain must have...” The alien girl stumbled, Dr. Calu moved to help her, but she waved him off and righted herself. “Have you seen that...that monster?”
           “The monster? You mean that one?” Dr. Calu pointed to the dead creature on the far side of the room.
           “No, that’s not it,” the alien girl shook her head, “the monster was bigger than that, it had darker skin and was thornier.”
           “Then what have we been fighting?” Dr. Calu asked. “Did it reproduce?”
           “I only ever saw the one, so...” The alien girl trailed off as a chorus of vicious snarls echoed throughout the space station.
           “I guess that answer that question,” Dr. Calu commented. “Let’s shut off the distress signal and get out of here,” the scientist jumped back on the console and fiddled with the settings. “That should do it, I hope.” Gira and the alien girl nodded before quickly evacuating the room.
~--~
           The trio ran through the station’s corridors, rushing to the hangar that contained their ship as quickly as possible. The snarls, roars, and scraping claws of the mysterious creatures came from every direction, yet none of them stepped out to attack. The alien girl managed to keep up with the men just fine, but she was clearly exhausted. This fact concerned Gira as he felt the station shudder from the movement of the monsters.
           “There up ahead, the hangar,” Dr. Calu announced as they neared the doors to their salvation. However, as they pried open the doors, they were met with a horrific sight. Four new creatures, in a variety of colors, appeared, with the same razor-sharp claws as the one before. The beasts snarled at their presence and moved in to pounce.
           “Not this time,” Gira released a burst of lightning to stun the four. The sudden shock caused the quartet of beasts to slide across the ground and crash into a shipping crate.
           “Nice, let’s-” Dr. Calu began to move forward.        
           “Stop,” Gira held out his arm, “there’s a chance a few more are lying in wait to ambush us.” Gira scanned the room before noticing some shifting shadows in the corner where their ship was parked. “I’ll draw their attention, you two just run,” Gira ordered before racing off to tackle the beasts. Dr. Calu and the alien offered no protests and followed his command.
           Gira quickly cut through the four beasts that attacked initially. He wounded them enough that they wouldn’t be a threat for the moment. After that, he swiftly moved towards the ones hiding in the shadows and preemptively shot off a lightning bolt. Two creatures leaped out of hiding to attack him. One was struck by the bolt, while the other’s claws clashed with his sword. Gira released a point-blank burst of lightning from the Starbringer, frying the beast before stabbing it through the head.
           Meanwhile, Dr. Calu and the alien girl managed to slip inside the ship. At that moment, the last monster pulled itself off the ground to attack Gira. The black-haired man had grown exhausted, having overused his lightning power, giving the beast a perfect chance to claw at him. Gira held his ground until the creature rammed him with its head, knocking the wind out of the man. The creature moved in for the kill, but Gira simply held his sword forward used the beast’s own weight to stab through.
           Dr. Calu primed the ship for launch as Gira stumbled through the airlock and then into the ship proper. The alien girl stopped him from collapsing onto the ground and set him down on a nearby bed. The ship’s engines ignited, and the vessel began to lift off.
           “The door, I didn’t close the door,” Gira coughed.
           “The door?” Dr. Calu exclaimed.
           “The door?” The alien girl repeated the scientist’s words, before turning to see the open airlock door, and behind it the ship’s own cargo door closing as they took off. She moved to close the airlock, but right as she reached the door, one last monster burst into the room. The alien was knocked off her feet and landed with a thud on her back.
           “Damn it, can’t move,” Gira lamented as his body failed him while the creature moved freely through their ship.
           “Oh, no,” Dr. Calu panicked as he set the ship to autopilot. He quickly scoured through the cockpit. The scientist snagged the emergency pistol under the console and ran out to confront the creature. “Don’t you touch them,” the scientist fired the pistol. The gun produced a small laser bolt that stunned the beast for a few seconds. Dr. Calu ran around the creature, peppering it with a few more shots, trying to draw its attention.
           The beast, enraged at his assault, charged after him, tackling him through the open airlock door as the ship left the hanger. Dr. Calu moved fast, stunning the creature with the emergency pistol one last time before dragging himself out of the airlock. “Someone, open the cargo door,” he yelled as he ran for the airlock door.
           The alien girl, the only other person with the strength to stand, scrambled towards the button situated next to the airlock door. As Dr. Calu limped out the airlock door and closed it behind him, she slammed the button. The cargo door swung wide open, sending the monster into the vacuum of space. The day saved, the two collapsed to the ground and took a breather.
~--~
           Sometime later, Dr. Calu was back to piloting the ship while Gira had managed to recover enough stamina to stand. The two sat at the front of the vessel and conversed about their wild ride of a day. “So, where is she?” Gira asked.
           “Resting in back,” the scientist answered, “she managed herself well, all things considered.”
           “What I don’t get it where those other monsters came from,” Gira stated, “And where did all the inhabitants go. There weren’t any bodies or anything, and those creatures looked like the type to leave a mess.”
           “I have a theory, but it’s not a pleasant one,” Dr. Calu proposed, “did you get scratched by one of those creatures?”
           “Thankfully, no,” Gira answered.
           “Good because,” Dr. Calu began to say before a sharp cry emanated from the back. Gira ran back to find the alien girl writhing in pain.
           “She has a high fever,” Gira checked her forehead, which was burning hot, “what’s going...on.” He stared in horror as her body appeared to be changing, her finger growing into claws and her teeth into fangs. The process was slow, but it was clear what she was turning into. “I think I know what happened to everyone on the station,” Gira realized.
           “I hate being right,” Dr. Calu was equally horrified, “what do we do?”
           Gira looked back at his friend, his expression serious and focused, “We have to help her.”
To Be Continued...

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When you help someone, you might get sucked into a whole new world of problems, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't help them.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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