[Jacob Samples]

Synopsis: Derek must face the horrors in the mining and research center alone and afraid.


"The damn doors won't open Derek! They just won't open!" Gerry yelled at him from the control panel to the right of the huge double-doors.

"Hang in there bud. We'll get you out of there. You'll be fine, just hang on." Derek cooed to the dying man on the other side of the door.

The crack was a little wider, but Gerry wasn't able to open it all the way. Derek pushed futiley on the doors, trying to open the with brute strength even though he knew it wouldn't work.

Derek sat there, staring at the miner he didn't know on the other side of the door as he died slowly, painfully. All of a sudden, the most hideous figure appeared right behind the dying miner, completely silent.

It looked sort of like a man, only it's skin was completely black, along with its teeth that were now sharp, like a lions teeth. Flesh was missing from different places along his face and body, and inside of the wounds the flesh and blood was a dark green that almost glowed in the dim light of the mine past the door. He wasn't wearing anythign besides pants. The same pants the miners wore.

Derek yelled out in terror as the thing grabbed hold of the miners head, and tore it completely off his neck. Blood splurted all over visor of Derek's helmet. The thing then turned to the side, and ran off, still holding the head. Derek fell back onto his haunches, on the verge of tears form the spectacle.

"Gerry...stop. Just stop. He's dead. Something tore off his head...and then ran off with it...."

"Wha...what?" questioned Gerry as he slowly walked over to the opening. He looked in, and vomit poured out of his mouth, filling the earthy smelling mine shaft with the putrid smell. He stepped back, and tripped over Derek's leg, and fell to the ground hard, blubbering incoherently in fear.

"Get up Gerry. We have to go tell someone..... the receptionist...she can call it to Sarge.... and the surface. We can get out of here, don't worry." Derek reassured Gerry.

They both rose to their feet, and without thinking about it, turned off the safetys of their pistols, and drew them. They ran through the huge room made of red rock under the Martian surface, and reached the door leading to the red hallway that would take them to the research facility halls and elevators. Safety.

But the door wouldn't open. Derek tried to open it by inputing his name and password into the small box to the right of the door, and it squeeled in protest as it began to open. Halfway it stopped, and a loud screech echoed through the room made of rock. It was like a man was having his voice box torn out by hand.

Derek turned around and looked for the source of the noise as Gerry began to try to squeeze through the opening. Derek saw the monster thing in the crack of the huge doors on the other side of the room, trying to get through desperately. Derek lifted his pistol, and lined up the sightings as the huge doors began to open slightly as the thing pushed on them.

How was that humanoid opening those doors with nothign but his arms... Derek took no time in trying to figure it out. That thing wanted to kill them, and he was obviously stronger than them. Derek pulled the trigger three times, and the shots rang out loudly in the round room. The shots hit the humanoid in the chest, right where the heart should have been. The thing cried out in pain and rage, and finally squeezed through in a massive burst of strength, and began to sprint amazigly fast towards them.

Derek took another approach to it. He aimed higher, and fired twice. The first bullet burst through the top of the thigns skull, blowing off the whole top of his head. The second shot blew through its left eye, blowing off the left side of its head. Since it still had a lot of momentum, it's body fell forward as it's legs still ran, and did a few rolls before coming to a stop, blood and goo oozing from the holes in its head, showing it was dead.

"Come on Gerry, Hurry through the door, we have to get out of here!" yelled Derek.

Finally, Gerry was through, and Derek began to squeeze through also. When he was almost through, he looked back into the huge red room. His visor signaled a heat source. He got through, and the door began to close. With just a crack of viewing area through the closing door, Derek saw 2 miners blow a hole around the huge double-doors, and run through it. His visor found 26 unknown life forms, signified in green through his visor. Humanoid monsters began to jump, run, and crawl through the hole behind the 2 miners. Those miners were going to die... no matter what.

Derek and Gerry ran through the metal hallways and came to a door, which opened for them. Facing them was 3 more guards like them, pistols drawn and aimed at them. Derek and Gerry immediately lifted their hands into the air, showing they meant no harm.

"Say something! Say somethign or I'll kill you! Show me your still human, please." one of them yelled.

"It's alright! It's alright! We're human, we're friends!" Yelled Derek. The other three guards lowered their weapons, so Derek and gerry lowered their arms.

"What's the status down here. How many hostiles are there." said the lead guard in front of them.

"Last I saw when the door closed, there was 26 of those...those things, and 2 miners running from them." answered Derek.

"Alright. 28 hostiles then, lets go, we need to get to the surface."

"Wait, I only said 26." corrected Derek.

"I know, but you also said there was 2 miners running from them. Upon direct contact from the hostiles, it causes immediate infection, and eventually the one infected becomes one of the hostiles, now lets go."

The 5 men ran up the slightly slanted hallway towards the elevator, and was met by 3 scientists, cuts and gashes covering them. As they approached them, all three of them dropped to the ground, and before their eyes, they began to change into the humanoids. Black blotches formed all over their bodies, and began to slowly spread. Flesh began to decay and fall off, and their teeth grew and sharpened. The 5 men began to run from them, towards the elevators.

They reached them, and the three new guards entered first, then Derek and Gerry following in last. As the doors began to close, the three monsters appeared on the other side. One grabbed hold of Gerry's arm, and pulled him halway out of the elevator. Derek and another guard shot at the thing, blowing off the arm and head. However, the thing had made a huge gash along Gerry's forehead.

Gerry collapsed to the ground, shaking, suddenly extremely cold. Derek cradled his head in his arms, rocking back and forth slowly in denial. "Come on Gerry, your fine. It's only a scratch, I've made bigger wounds than this on you before. You'll pull through."

"He's going to turn. We have to kill him, it's already beginning." said the lead guard of the other three men.

"No. No. He's going to be alright. He's gonna be fine." Derek yelled in stubborness.

"Diamond, Fitzy, grab him." the other two guards stepped forward and grabbed Derek by the ars, and pulled him away from Gerry.

The other guard took out his pistol, and shot Gerry's now blotchy face. It exploded, sending bits of skull and brain all over the door of the elevator. His body twitched once, then stayed still.

Derek began screaming. He screamed and screamed until the elevator suddenly stopped. The three guards forced the doors open, and found that the top half of the door was open to level 8 of the facility. They crawled out, but Derek stayed behind, kneeling over his best friends dead body.

"This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't of forgotten his helmet....he would still be alive...." Suddenly Derek heard human screams. He jumped to his feet and withdrew his pistol and looked out through the small opening at the top of the elevator door leading to level 8.

Five of the beasts were feeding on the bodies of the three now dead guards. He was alone. All alone in this hell hole. He lifted himself through the opening and stood resolutely in front of the doorway.

"Come on you stupid bastards. Still hungry?" He watched as all five of them looked up, blood dripping from their mouths.

He lifted his pistol and aimed it at the face of the closest beast and fired, showering it's companions in blood.

"I can go all day mother fuckers, let's get this over with," Derek said through gritted teeth.

He pulled off his helmet and dropped it to the ground. He would reach the surface before these things.... he had to. All life on the surface of Mars depended on him.

[Sith Lord Jim]

"open the with brute strength" - also should be a comma after that.
"Derek cooed to the dying man" - cooed doesnt seem to fit.
"along with its teeth that were now sharp" - were they once not sharp? This sentance doesnt make sense.
" wearing anythign " - anything
"form the spectacle" - from
"nothign but his arms" - nothing
"the thigns skull" - things
"Since it still had a lot of momentum, it's body fell forward as it's legs still ran, and did a few rolls before coming to a stop, blood and goo oozing from the holes in its head, showing it was dead." - feels like a clumsy sentance "The momentum carried it's dead carcass foward as it's legs continued to propel it" something similar to that might work better than saying the since it still had momentum.
" Derek by the ars" - arms
They were all just small mistakes you would have missed when you wrote it. No big deal. I really enjoyed that chapter. I look foward to reading more.
Yours truly Jimmy