Out of Space

She felt a piercing headache as she slowly gains conscious. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she reaches up to touch the source of her pain, finding her fingers sticky with blood. Ow, what happened? She slowly recalls the events earlier.

"This is amazing!" She stares up at the crumbling moss covered tower. "There is an actually an intelligent species here! Look at these markings!" She brushes away at the moss to reveal several scratches etched onto the walls. "Joe, look, I think these are their language."

"Come on, relax, Krist!" Joe grumbles as he sets down his day pack on the floor. "These ruins aren't going to run away."

"Hey guys, over here. I think I found a way in!" Dan called. "I walked around the tower but the entrance seems to be totally caved in. But guess what? Look here!" He leads the rest into a side building where the roof has collapsed partially. "That looks like the way in," Dan shines his flashlight at a small opening at a pile of collapsed stones.

"I don't know, it doesn't look very safe," Joe muttered. "We better get the marines to scout it out for us."

"Hahaha, what you think there's a giant wolf inside?" Kristine jokes, "Come on, I studied this in university! Finally, I get to use what I learn!" She turns and smiles at the rest, her back towards the hole.

"Well, I think we should tell the marines first," Dan also cautions. "We don't know what could be in there."

Suddenly Kristine heard something behind her like something scraped against the wall. She turns and from the light of Dan's torch, a hideous creature appeared out of the hole, grabbing her foot. She remembers falling face down at the floor before darkness consumes her.

"Hey, you awake?" A voice sounds next to her. Kristine tries to nod her head but gave up after a wave of giddiness made her gag. "Take it slow, you got a nasty bump."

"What happened? Where am I? WHY AM I NAKED!" She shrieks out the last part.

"Woah chill girl!" Karl backs off. "You got caught by those green skins thingies. You nearly became supper."

"What?" Confused with her surroundings, she glares around the hall. Seeing the spread of dead all over the floor, her brain slowly catches up to her sense of smell and reason. "Urghhhhh..." She vomits over the side and wipes her mouth with the clothing draped around her. She realized that the clothing is what the marines usually wear. "Thanks," she said in a small voice.

"Ha, don't thank me," Karl smiles and jerks his head towards another person crouch over what looks like a huge pot. "Cpl James there rushed in to save you and gave you his shirt," Karl reaches out with a hand to help Kristine up.

"Thank you," Kristine said to the marine poking around at the contents of the pot after she buttoned up the marine BDU, while Karl looks away.

"No problem, it's my job." The marine said before standing up. "You better? Let's go then."

"So what's inside that cooking pot?" Karl asks as they re-entered the passageway.

"Carr-ato, pieces of some kind of meat and bones, some kind of herbs and the liquid seems to be the blood of some animal. And of course, plus 1 human girl." He laughs along with Karl as he said the last part.

"Wait, you mean I was inside that pot?" Kristine asked in surprise.

"Yup."

"Yucks! That's ... that's disgusting!" Kristine suddenly felt her whole body was sticky.

"Hahahaha, if Mills was here," James grins, "He probably has a joke or two for this kind of situation."

"Hey Corporal," Karl stopped suddenly, "You hear that?"

They all stopped and strain their ears, "I think it's some kind of rumbling? Kristine guessed.

"I don't know about you, but it kind of sounds like boots, marching boots," James said.

"No, not boots. It's drums." Karl turns and looks at them. "Lots of drums."

"Go!" James pulls Kristine, "Go back to the surface!" And the trio starts running.

As they about to reach the intersection, Several glowing lights appear in front of them, blocking their way out. "Shit must be the green skins!" Something strikes the wall beside them, "An arrow?" James looks in surprise, "Back to the hall."

They ran back, over the bodies and stood next to the overturned pot. "Where to now?" Kristine asks, looking at the other passageways leading out of the hall.

"We can't go in those, we don't know where they lead to." James said, "We make a stand here." He points to a door at the end of the hall. "I checked it out earlier. Seems like some kind of storeroom for the green skins."

They entered the room, finding it piled with stuff and without any other ways in or out. Karl taps the double doors and whistles, "Some kind of metal. Pretty solid."

"Karl, on me, we move the pot into the room to help block the doors. Kristine, grab some torches from the walls to use as a light source and see if there is anything useful." James ordered.

Over the constant rolling sounds of the drums, Karl and James roll the pot into the room. It barely fits through the doorway and Kristine slots a couple of torches onto the wall torch holders and drops several unlit torches on the floor. Just as they close the doors, they spot dozens of screaming green skins bearing torches storm into the hall.

Lifting the heavy cauldron till it seats on its mouth, both Karl and James exhausted themselves. Just as they rest against it, the metal door clanks loudly as dozens of tiny hands slam against it. "Quick! Push it to block the door!" The door swings inwards and several snarling green skins could be seen trying to squeeze their way into the narrow gap.

James pulls out a grenade from his pouch and lobs it through the door gap while pulling Kristine into cover behind the pot. "Fire in the hole!" He yells. A loud blast, followed by shrieks of pain and the pressure against the door ceased. "OK, PUSH!"

Finally with the huge upside down pot acting as a door stopper, the doors were blocked, preventing the green skins from forcing the doors open, and the humans in the room, slump down against the pot to catch their breath.