13 THE TRAP
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Alexis and Levi moved cautiously through Mechanical, surprised that they hadn't seen any of Palmer's men along the way. They came to a door at the end of the hall and entered the flight control pod for the deck. Alexis grabbed a chair and slid it to the door, wedging it under the handle as Levi sat in the pilot's chair.
"You’re sure you can get her going?" she asked as she sat at one of the computer consoles to start working.
"It's mostly automated. I just have to get it started and plot a course." He began flipping switches and turning knobs. "And since we don't really care where it goes…" He shrugged as he entered a set of coordinates into the navigation console. "I just have to make sure it flies away from the ship."
"Yeah, that would be good."
Levi finished prepping the flight pod for deck detachment and scooted himself away from the controls. "Time to go."
"I'm almost done," she said. "The system should start pressurization the moment both doors to the deck are sealed." She stood up and opened the door slowly, peeking outside. "It's clear."
They made their way back toward Stasis. As they entered the tunnel leading to the exit, where David was dutifully manning the door, Alexis was startled by a noise not far behind her.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
She snapped her head back and scanned the tunnel. There was nothing there, but the tapping was growing louder. Not taking any chances, she placed her hand on Levi's back and forced them into a sprint. “Run!”
Before she and Levi were able to make it to the door, a hand reached out and grabbed Alexis by the collar, choking her and forcing her backwards onto the floor. She looked up to see Palmer staring down at her.
"Hello, little rat." He poked the end of his cane into her chest. "What are you doing down here?" he asked in a playful tone as he pulled a blade from his belt.
She tried to speak, but the pain in her throat and her fear stifled her voice. She closed her eyes, anticipating that his next action would be to slice her throat, and flashes of what she had done on the agriculture deck began racing through her mind.
Maybe this is what I deserve.
"Are you the rats that killed one of my crew?"
Before Palmer was able to move or speak another word, David slammed into him with all of the speed and strength he could muster. Both men fell to the tunnel floor. Palmer's head slammed against a metal support pipe with so much force that a section of it broke off. The clanging of the pipe bouncing off the floor echoed through the corridor, and the blade was knocked out of Palmer’s hand.
Surprised by the sudden noise, Alexis opened her eyes to find Palmer no longer standing above her. She sat up and turned, watching as David and Palmer traded blows. She looked to the door to find that Levi had made it back and was holding it open for them, waving for her to join him.
David and Palmer wrestled each other to the floor and David was able to get the upper hand. He climbed onto Palmer's chest and wrapped his hands around his throat, squeezing with all of his strength. Before falling prey to the lack of oxygen, Palmer was able to land a solid jab into David's ribs. The sudden pain forced David to cry out and let go of Palmer's neck to cradle his hurt side.
Switching positions, Palmer shoved the injured David off of him. He grabbed his head and pounded it into the floor.
David, dazed but still trying to fight, reached up to Palmer's face and attempted to jab his thumbs into the maniac's eyes. Palmer swatted David's hands away and lifted his head to go another round on the floor. Before he could commit the blow, he was struck in the back of the head.
His eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor, revealing Alexis, standing over David with a broken pipe in her hand.
She bent down and helped him to his feet and they began walking back to the exit.
Just as they were about to reach the door, David noticed Palmer's blade on the floor. He bent over to pick it up as Levi opened the door fully to let them in. Alexis stopped at the edge of the door and turned to help David again, but before she could, he shoved her into the exit with enough force that she was once again knocked to the ground. Confused, she turned and looked up to see David standing just before the exit with his hands grasping the support pipes on either side of the tunnel. He fell to his knees, and Alexis shouted his name as she saw the metal tip of Palmer's cane protruding from his chest, and Palmer standing directly behind him.
"NOOOO!"
Reaching down to grab the handle of the cane he had just buried into David's back, Palmer placed his foot against David’s neck and pulled the cane free.
"I guess that makes us even, Rat."
In shock, Levi fell to the floor, and Palmer started to move towards them. Alexis grabbed the heavy door with both hands and slammed it shut. She jolted up from the floor and pressed the button to seal the exit, leaving Palmer and David locked out on the other side.
* * * *
Running as fast she could, Salazar escaped through the corridor. She could hear countless footsteps catching up behind her. When she reached the door of the stairwell she was met by Jennifer waving her through.
Jennifer slammed the door behind them and they climbed the stairs as quickly as they could. The door only slowed their pursuers for a second or two; they could hear the mob already gaining ground on them. As they rounded the last set of stairs, the door leading to their freedom came into sight. Before they reached the top, Jennifer lost her footing and fell to the floor.
“Just go!” Jennifer shouted.
Salazar stopped and grabbed her by the arm.
"If I'm not dying, you're not dying," she said, and they continued their run.
Holding the door open, Douglas was struggling to control his urge to rush in and confront the mob head on. When the mob came into sight behind the two women, he gave in and jumped into the stairwell to intervene. He kicked the first of Palmer's men who reached the top, causing the man to tumble down the stairs into the crowd. It gave Salazar and Jennifer enough time to make it through, and he followed right behind.
He slammed the door behind him but he couldn't get it to shut completely. One of the attackers had reached through and was pushing against the door.
"Help! We need to hold it shut!" Douglas yelled. Several of the crew pushed their bodies against the door, causing the man to scream.
Douglas pulled himself back and realized that the hand in the door was holding a blade, and it had penetrated his abdomen. He looked up through the gap at the man whose arm was held captive by the door, pulled the blade out of his hand, and jabbed it into the man’s eye, forcing him to recoil and allowing the door to close.
Once the door finally shut, Douglas reached to his back and removed the welding torch wand.
"Everyone look away," he said.
Sparks of the tiniest slivers of metal bounced off of his darkened goggles as he patched the door shut. Once finished, he dropped the glasses and fell back against the wall behind him.
"Are you all right?" Salazar asked, relieved and a little surprised that everyone was still alive. She reached over and placed her hand on Douglas’s shoulder.
"I'm good,” he said. “Just glad it's over."
"Thank you." Salazar stretched her other hand out to Jennifer. "Thank you both. Now let's get the hell out of here."
More hurt than he was letting on, Douglas secretly pulled back his uniform jacket, looked down at his now blood-soaked shirt, and then quickly covered it again. He got up and led the group through the tunnels.
The pain from the wound in his abdomen grew in intensity with every step through the maze of tunnels, but he never let on. Determined to get everyone to the safety of Stasis, he trudged forward with hardly a word.
Douglas was the first to step through the freshly-cut entryway. As he did, he frantically scanned the room, looking for any sign of the team he’d left behind. When he finally noticed Alexis sitting on the floor near the door to Mechanical, his relief blinded him from seeing the pain written on her face and the tears streaming from her eyes. It wasn't until he saw Levi trying to comfort her that he realized that David was nowhere to be found. Something had gone horribly wrong.
Jennifer and Salazar followed him out of the tunnel just as it hit him, and he rushed to Alexis's side.
"What happened?" he asked.
Alexis, too distraught to answer, ignored him, refusing to bring the answer to her lips. Levi pointed his eyes in the direction of the door and then turned his attention back to his sister. Palmer was pounding feverishly on the door from the other side.
Jennifer ran over and peered out of the small window at the top of the door to find Palmer staring back at her. The pounding stopped and Palmer turned to walk away.
At that moment, Jennifer, Douglas, and Salazar realized that David was dead.
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