Over the last hour Heron and Byron had discovered a route from the cool room up some stairs into an empty building with lots of rooms and corridors. They had spotted two dirtlings wandering the halls but as they were armed and in some sort of uniform, they decided to keep out of their way.

  “I wonder how the others are doing?” asked Byron.

  “We have heard some shooting in the distance every now and then,” answered Heron, “So I expect they’re doing fine.”

  Byron nodded and asked, “So, where do we go next? I haven’t actually fired any of my weapons yet, although we have discovered some pretty interesting stuff.”

  Heron looked at the map he had been compiling as they explored this building, “That cool room was operational and power is connected - as you discovered when you turned on those huge spotlights in that big room.”

  “They were bright!” said Byron, “Lucky I had my Danger Glasses on!”

  Heron nodded, remembering how long it took him to get his vision back. He had been looking directly at the huge spotlight when Byron inadvertently turned it on. The vision of Byron wearing his very dark glasses standing in front of a searing glare was burned into his memory!

  “Those dirtlings must have been security guards of some sort. They rushed towards us once the lights were on,” said Heron.

  Byron looked a little sheepish, “It may have also been the noise when I tripped and toppled that huge stack of chairs. Luckily they tripped on the fallen chairs when they rushed in and we snuck out of the far doors before they saw us.”

  Heron nodded as he moved one of his fingers along the map, “I reckon the main part of this building will be here,” he said, pointing at a blank spot on his map and looked up and pointed to his left, “Let’s go that way. I’m curious what this place is.”

  Byron nodded then changing his pose, pulled out his laser pistol, looked over his glasses and dramatically moved forward in fits and bursts. Heron could hear Byron do his soft narrator voice as he moved, “And Byron leads the way in their mission of discovery…”

  Heron smiled and followed. This hunt wasn’t too bad.

  ****

  Gerdon and his team had experienced a busy hunt. After the rats, they had discovered a ladder leading up into what seemed like an abandoned building. When they blew apart a door that was blocking their way they saw a large room covered in fallen chairs with a bright light casting everything into light and shadow.

  The doors on Dirt were stupid. The only way they had found to open them was to blow them up. One or two energy units were enough. The tougher ones were opened with door charges.

  Gerdon looked at Red who was blackened all over, with a bandage on his arm. They had learned to step back after pressing the door charge button. Very important lesson indeed!

  “Hey Gerdon, why are the lights on? The sun is shining and the windows are letting in enough light,” asked Timms.

  “I don’t know,” answered Gerdon, just go in and see what we can find.”

  The far door opened and an armed dirtling came in. Through their translator they heard, “Halt! Put your hands up!”

  Gerdon and all his team immediately fired with whatever they were holding and the shots sent the dirtling flying backwards through the open doorway in which it had entered.

  “That’s more like it!” yelled Timms as they all charged towards the door.

  Another dirtling popped around the edge of the door and fired at them.

  Blaire tripped over one of the chairs and scattered more of them as he fell. Red was hit in the shoulder and fell backwards over another chair. Gerdon stood his ground and fired at the dirtling who had already ducked back behind the doorway. Timms dived out of the way, tripping over a wire which pulled down the stand on which the bright light was attached.

  Gerdon turned to his team and quickly leapt out of the way as the bright light toppled towards him, narrowly missing his feet.

  Gerdon stood up and said, “Phew. That was close.”

  He turned as he heard a groan. Red was under the now shattered light and was looking very poor indeed.

  The dirtling stepped back around the doorway and fired another shot, hitting Gerdon in his leg. Timms leapt forward and raced at the dirtling whose eyes grew wide as he realised that what he was fighting was not a normal trespasser. This thing was an alien. The dirtling screamed and raced back through the door. Timms was delayed as he navigated the maze of fallen chairs and went out the door while Gerdon fell to the ground clutching his leg.

  When Timms raced through the doorway he fired up the corridor outside but no-one was there. The wall he had hit exploded in sharp shards and shattered the room beyond.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Blair raced up to Timms’ side and asked in a ragged breath, “Did you get it?”

  “No,” Timms said, looking warily towards the blown hole in the wall opposite, “It must have gone up either of those corridors,” he said, pointing at the the corridors.

  “Gerdon and Red are hurt,” Blaire said, “Do you want to get those dirtlings?”

  Timms nodded his head in the universal negative sign, “No. You stay here and watch the corridor. I’ll go back and see if Gerdon is OK.”

  Blaire shook his head in agreement and knelt against the doorway, using it as cover while he surveyed the corridor.

  Timms came back in and saw Gerdon using the last of his medical kit supplies on Red. “Is he OK?” asked Timms, “What about you?”

  Gerdon answered, “I’m OK. Red is pretty beat up. He has not had a good hunt.”

  Red groaned and said, “I’m fine. Let me up.”

  Timms and Gerdon helped Red up who unsteadily stood tall, “See. I’m fine.”

  Looking at Red with bandages on his arm and head and blackened all over, Gerdon and Timms warily agreed, “Yeah, you look great. Come on, let’s get those dirtlings that got us!”

  With a groan, Red followed his team as they then travelled down the corridors in search of the dirtlings who shot them.

  *****

  Byron was poking around some glass cupboards in the corner while Heron was examining some scientific equipment on the table in front of him. For safety, they had positioned themselves away from the door as they kept hearing footsteps of those security guards.

  Heron said to Byron, “Hey Byron. This is interesting. This equipment is used for looking at these samples, magnifying them to get better details.”

  Byron answered distractedly, “That’s good. These cupboards are filled with all sorts of vials and bottles. Some are very pretty colours. But the glass doors are locked.”

  Heron stood up and looked over at what Byron was interested in, “Probably safer not to unlock them. Who knows what’s in those bottles?”

  Heron and Byron both stopped still when they heard sounds of the dirtling security guards then lots of shooting.

  “Quick, get down!” Heron said.

  Byron crouched in the corner, while Heron sat with his back to the wall and watched the doorway carefully. A quick glance by anyone through the glass panels in the door would not see them.

  Suddenly the wall exploded and Heron went flying along the ground. Shattered pieces of wall, table and chairs were all around them. Some small sharp pieces of glass bounced harmlessly off Byron’s Danger Glasses. Byron looked across to where Heron had landed and he wasn’t moving. Byron stayed still as he heard the sounds of feet running outside and past the hole in the wall against which Heron had been resting.

  Once all was quiet he crept across the debris littered floor and leaned close to Heron. Heron groaned, which was good, and Byron gave a brief sigh of relief, “Heron. Are you OK?”

  Heron reached down to his side and pulled away a hand covered in blood.

  “I have been better,” he said, “Byron, help me get this out of my side.”

  Byron saw that a jagged piece of the beams that had been part of wall had speared Heron in his side. Wincing, Byron carefully pulled the beam out and Heron collapsed to the floor.

  “Surprisingly,” Heron muttered slowly, “That’s a bit better.”

  Heron paused to get back his strength. Byron waited and held two of Heron’s arms with his own.

  Heron took a deep breath, “I think I need a little rest to recover. But we can’t do that here. Or else the dirtlings will find us for sure. Let’s go back to the abandoned part of this building.”

  “The one with the boarded up windows and dusty rooms?” confirmed Byron.

  Heron nodded. Byron helped Heron up and they carefully made their way back to the older section of the building they had explored earlier. It looked like this building was partly in use and part abandoned. Byron hoped they would be safer in the abandoned part.

  He looked at his communicator. They still had a few hours to go. About ten minutes ago the shuttle had asked them if they wanted to return. As nothing much had happened they had said they would be fine until the next rotation. Matt said the others had said the same. “So,” thought Byron, “Gerdon and his friends are still OK. That’s good.”

  “If they called now I would say yes straight away!” thought Byron as he looked at the “out of range” message on his communicator.

  ****

  “Bloody Hell!” said Dave as he raced away from the multi purpose room, “They’re bloody aliens!”

  Jane didn’t say anything. She was trying to stay awake as she was draped over Dave’s shoulder. The aliens had hit her first when she challenged them to halt. She hadn’t realised they weren’t just local hoodlums that had broken in.

  Dave flicked Jane’s nose lightly, “Don’t fall asleep! Stay awake. We’ll be out the main exit soon. Hang on, here’s the security doors. Wait a sec.”

  Dave passed the large security doors and swerved to the right hand wall. He lifted a glass panel and pressed the red button contained underneath. Alarms began to blare and the large doors began closing.

  “There,” said Dave puffing slightly, “That should slow the bastards down.”

  Dave and Jane made it through the main entrance doors just before they closed with a solid thump behind them. Dave sat down and gently laid Jane beside him.

  “Right, we’ll just wait here a moment. I have to call this in,” Dave said. Before he could dial, his mobile phone buzzed. Dave didn’t recognise the number but answered instinctively.

  “Hello, Dave Amberton here, Atherton Security Services,” Dave spoke automatically.

  “Dave,” the voice on the phone began, “Were those aliens that shot you?”

  Dave pulled the phone away to look at the number and put it back to his ear, “Who the hell are you? I haven’t called it in yet!”

  “We monitored the security system and our tracking system picked up the attack,” the voice said firmly and with authority, “I ask again. Are they aliens?”

  Dave took a breath and thought he would sound stupid, “Yes. Yes I think they were. Some looked sort of like humans but others definitely weren’t. There are four of them. Armed and dangerous.”

  “There are six of them in two groups. One was hiding from you,” said the voice. Dave shuddered and looked around. There were more of them?

  “Go! Go to the security room at the front of the complex. Then get into cover. We are on the way!” the voice ordered him.

  “Who the hell are you?” asked Dave as he picked up Jane who groaned as she was lifted onto his shoulder.

  “ARRG,” the voice said proudly, “We’re here to bring the aliens pain.”

  The call disconnected and Dave struggled to put the phone back in his holster.

  “ARRG,” Dave muttered as he picked up the pace towards the outer security room, “Stupid name. But they can have the aliens, we’re gone.”

  Dave made it back to the security room and put down Jane on the lounge along the rear wall. He slammed the solid metal door shut and pushed home the security bolt. Standing on the ledge below the window facing the university, he peeked over to watch what was happening.

  Nothing. Nothing was happening. But for now, nothing was good.

  He got down and went to the first aid station and took out the supplies he needed to assist Jane. If those ARRG guys can do what they said, it will be good.

  He looked over towards the university and said quietly, “ARRG - you bring those aliens pain for me and Jane.”