Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 15:28:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Skyler Subject: The Coldest Place, Chapter 3 *----------------------------* The following story, novel, or chapter contains homosexual themes and is not intended for anyone under the legal viewing age. If depictions of homosexual activities disturb you, DON'T CONTINUE TO READ! You've been warned. Do not e-mail me and complain or harass me with hate mail over this story. I will ignore you, or, if I find your message humorous enough, I'll probably thank you for the best laugh of my life. Copyright 2007 - Skyler This is my second story...take it easy. Thanks :) Mine Shadow: /nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/mine-shadow/index.html *----------------------------* The Coldest Place Chapter Three -- Which Side? James and Hillerson eased their way out of the office and into the corridor that was oddly devoid of any noise, and filled with only the dimmest emergency lights he'd probably ever seen. They barely cast a dent in the inky black shadows that threatened to swallow them up as quickly as they'd appeared. "Captain, we'll need to get to the CC as quickly as possible. If this is sabotage, then that is where they'll most likely head for." "Lead the way, Commander." Hillerson grinned at him and crouched along the wall, covering every point possible with his pistol. James hadn't noticed him carrying one earlier. He could certainly have used one, and felt a little less safe without a weapon in his hand. It was a bit too late now, he thought, but then he spied the weapons locker built into the wall up ahead. He motioned to Hillerson and pointed at the cabinet doors. The commander nodded at James and took up a position to his left corner in case an enemy came along. Once he reached the locker, he swiped his ID card across the scanner and with a satisfying hiss, the cabinet popped open and he grabbed the first weapon he found, a basic handgun. There was a box of ammunition which he pocketed, and then turned away and started back towards the commander. When he was close enough, he motioned to Hillerson that he was ready, though his heart was pounding so very loud and he could feel the sweat beading above his eyebrows. It felt like a long time since he had to maneuver on the ground and for once he was sincerely grateful for all of his training. He moved ahead of Hillerson, pointing his flashlight and handgun into crevasses as they made their way down the hall. Surprisingly, the first few corridors they navigated held no secrets and no enemies ready to burst out of hiding to pump them full of metal. Despite technological advances, on the ground, a good old titanium bullet was still the most lethal weapon around. James tightened his grip around his own gun, his muscles tensing for any attack. Hillerson made a slight hissing sound and he turned around to see the commander motioning to a lift on one side of the hallway. The darkness was still just as black as before, and he could barely make out the dim control screen by the door. It'd be an easy ride up to the CC from here, so he slowly moved closer to the input pad all the while feeling like this might be his last moments. His weapon was no less lethal than any Ascendant weapons, and it really came down to who got to shoot who first. He reached out and tapped the screen and nearly jumped 10 feet when the `Not Authorized' beep sounded, echoing loudly in the corridor. He whirled around, ready to shoot anything that moved, but no one was there. "When we lose power, or the computer believes we're under attack, you have to have an ID card for everything that isn't just a door." Hillerson whispered in his ear. James nodded. That made sense. It made it much harder for the enemy to move through the complex. He pulled out his card and swiped it on the reader, and just like the cabinet before, the doors slid open. He took one step forward and then a huge, heavy weight fell against him, knocking the breath out of his lungs and sending him sprawling to the hard tile floor. He was vaguely aware of Hillerson yelling and his ears popped when he heard the gunfire echo in the small space. His breath didn't last long once he caught it and saw what was on top of him. The pale face, the blue spiderweb of veins, and the smattering of dark red on the body told him all he needed to know. Fear and revulsion tore through him and he struggled to push the corpse off, but dead weight was far heavier than he expected. Jesus! He rolled over, panting, that primal fear of death pushing him frantically to get away, but it was as if the body had a mind of its own and wouldn't let go. Then it was gone -- just like that, and he was aware of another person, on their knees, next to him. Hillerson. He was breathing heavy, but otherwise looked normal. "Captain, it's alright. They're just corpses; Ascendant soldiers must be crawling in the ducts and stuffed these two in there. We can get their IDs later." James nodded, thickly, feeling the shame burning in the pit of his stomach. He'd acted like a rookie on his first mission instead of the seasoned officer he was. He looked down at the ground as he stood up, unwilling to meet the commander's eyes and see the disappointment he was sure would be there. It was difficult work avoiding the gaze of the commander and the forever staring eyes of the two dead soldiers, but he managed it. * * * It was slow progress without the lift, to the CC. After finding the bodies in the previous one, they both decided their best bet was to take the stairs, one by one, to their destination, and already James was regretting it. His breathing was off and his shins ached, and all he could do was muse about how out of shape he suddenly felt when he saw the commander effortlessly climbing each flight. "How do you do that, sir?" He wheezed out after finally getting Hillerson to stop for a rest. The commander only grinned and shook his head at the sight of James leaning against the railing, his face shiny with sweat in the dim emergency lights. James felt his pulse quicken a little bit more at the expression on Hillerson's face. He wasn't sure if it was lust or just concern because it was too dark to tell, but...it still excited him down below. It'd been a while since he had been so attracted to someone and he was sure the adrenaline was simply getting to him -- aggravating his natural desire. Even so, he could feel the heat from his now almost completely hard cock against his leg. Perhaps Hillerson had noticed his state of arousal because the air noticeably thickened with a sexual tension that hadn't been there before and for a moment James was out of his mind. People were dying around them -- a corpse had even fallen over him earlier, and he was contemplating this man? Then as quickly as the moment came, it vanished. It might have been the sound of footsteps above, or just the both of them realizing that this was not the place, but regardless, it was over. Still the look in Hillerson's eye told James they'd revisit this soon, and he felt a shiver deep inside. The footsteps reverberated through the metal room and although they sounded far off, they were not going to take any chances. Hillerson motioned to the door nearest to them, floor 14 (leaving 13 more flights to go on a different staircase), and they ducked through it, carefully closing the thick door behind them. "Well that just makes this so much better." James complained, and he was sure if his legs could talk, they'd be saying the same. "You could always go back up the stairs and see what happens." He grimaced. "No thanks. Lead the way." "I thought so." James felt a flash of irritation at the smug tone in the commander's voice, but dutifully followed behind him to the next set of stairs. Once inside, they both listened for any sign of Ascendant soldiers, but the stairwell was very quiet, and very dark. It reminded James of growing up on Earth in Indiana. Nighttime would be just as black, with more stars than you could count and sometimes, utter silence. He would stand outside, on an open prairie and just soak in the night, feeling like for a moment, nothing else mattered. Once, he'd brought Nick back to Earth with him and made love to him under those very stars. It was a magical experience he'd never managed to repeat. And probably never would, he mused, if the Ascendants had their way. The rest of the trip up to the top level passed in remarkable silence aside from his huffing and puffing. They heard no more noises, saw no more soldiers (or corpses), and witnessed no change in anything. If help was coming, it sure was taking a while. James couldn't be sure, but it was at least 4 or 5 hours after the attack. "Captain, up ahead are the doors to the CC. I want you to cover me as I open them. If you see anything move, shoot it first, and ask questions later." That seemed a little harsh to James, but he simply nodded and took up position behind Hillerson, who was already heading for the door controls. James held his breath and waited for the commander to enter his code, which seemed to be taking an impossibly long time, or perhaps it was all in his head. And was the commander farther away now? Time, space seemed to be stretched to him and all of a sudden it seemed so funny how the commander wasn't touching the door controls now, but rather lying on the floor. It was very funny! And it seemed darker than before, James noticed. Much darker, yes. Was he on the floor now, too? That sexy commander was staring right at him, but not moving. Something deep inside James tried to tell him that there was something wrong with that, but a moment later it didn't matter anymore. Because James was no longer awake. * * * He was standing on a hill under the dark Indiana sky, and it seemed like something was passing over his head, speaking to him, but he couldn't make out the words. It flew past him again, and he could see it was a butterfly. It got louder with each passing loop around his head, and although he kept trying to catch it, his hand was always there too late. The insect, a beautiful gold and red one, danced outside of his reach again and seemed to laugh at him. It was maddening that with all of his abilities he couldn't even catch a simple butterfly. What was it saying? He could nearly make sense of it. "Can"? No, that didn't sound right. He let it loop around him a few more times and then it thundered in his ear: "Captain!". With a start that left his heart pounding like an elephant doing a tap dance in his chest, he shot upward, smacking his head painfully on whoever had been leaning over him. He let out a gasp; half of pain, half of shock, and then looked over to see Hillerson holding his nose. James had managed to bean him right on the face. He could already see a trickle of blood oozing out from underneath the commander's immaculately trimmed fingers and winced internally. If he had a chance before with the commander, he sure didn't have one now! "Gods, James, you broke my nose!" Hillerson was already moving for the desk behind him, giving James a moment to look around and see where he was. He was in the commander's office, no real surprise there -- they'd just come down here to talk about the possible traitor when...when...James tried to think about what happened next, but his mind was a blank. "What happened?" "Besides you breaking my nose?" Hillerson tipped his head back to staunch the flow of blood while he rummaged around blindly through his desk drawer for the first aid kit. James, feeling guilty, jumped up and picked it up off of the shelf next to the desk. "It's over here, sir." "Ah, thank you, Captain. If you'll hold on a moment...mmm, there we go." The laser suture, a recent invention, came in handy for these kinds of things. At low level, they could help accelerate blood clotting and cell division. "I'm really sorry, Commander, really. I didn't mean to hit you." To his surprise, Hillerson laughed, albeit rather painfully. "It's alright, James. And I told you to call me Patrick. No saluting." He put down the suture and looked over at James. "No real harm done, see?" James had to chuckle. Although the commander's nose was fixed, there was dried and matted blood all over his lips and chin in a line from his right nostril. It looked rather comical to see him standing there, smiling like he hadn't just been hit in the face with a 40 pound head. "I must have fallen asleep. I just don't remember it." He kept trying to search his memory for what they'd been doing just before he managed to conk out, but it was just gone. The commander nodded. "I don't know what to think. I'm still getting reports, but everyone appears to have fallen asleep, myself included. I've got a team inspecting the ventilation shafts for any kind of problem." "Can anyone remember when they fell asleep?" "No, and that's what's got us stumped. It's as if the whole facility went out like a light." "I need to return to my ship, make sure it is untouched." Hillerson shook his head. "No can do, just yet, James. Everyone has to be cleared by the base physician first, before they can leave. But you can contact the Galactic from my terminal." As the commander stood up to leave and give him some privacy, it reminded James of that time when they were...when they were...when...he just couldn't remember! To Be Continued...