"Oh, no," Blake said.
Entering the circular room, Richard noticed seven round doors, each leading directly into a pod dock. Access was designed to be quick and easy in an emergency.
"Shit, only one left!" Blake whispered, his tone turning more panicked.
Richard noticed Julia stepping back from him and Blake, lifting the gun, not quite aiming at him, but ready to swing it up at a moment's notice.
"You don't need that," Richard said, staring her in the eye. She paused, just for a moment. Then she backed away three more steps until she was pressed against the soft bulkhead beside the access to the remaining escape pod.
"There only designed for one person," she stated. She looked back and forth between Richard and Blake, as if trying to decide which one would come at her first.
"There are a dozen other ships in this system at any one time," Blake said. "We'll be picked up in a matter of days. It'll be cozy, but all three of us can get in there."
Julia lifted the rifle. Richard was fast, but probably not fast enough. He couldn't risk grabbing the rifle from her hands.
"Blake is right," Richard said. "It'll be tight, the launch rough, but three of us can last in there for days. You think they wouldn't give the officers enough food and water? You think they don't consider a bit of comfort?"
Julia glanced to the side and touched the panel on the wall. Her eyes were wide with the excitement of imminent escape.
"You can't leave us here to die!" Blake said.
"There are more lifeboats on the other side of the ship," Julia replied.
"But that's over half a mile away!" Blake shouted.
"Quiet," Richard said firmly, but it had already gone too far. There was a dynamic here that he hadn't perceived before. Blake's next statement exposed it.
"Don't I mean anything to you?" Blake asked.
Richard took a step forward as Julia's face dropped. She saw him, and shifted the gun barrel in his direction. Richard heard the stomping sound as one of the ailen creatures came towards them. It was obvious Julia and Blake hadn't heard it coming yet.
Richard only had moments to react. He stepped behind Blake, grabbed him beneath the arms, and shoved him at Julia. The pulse rifle boomed. Blake's body jerked once, hard, and slammed against him. He struggled to keep his footing as Blake's weight shoved against him. Exerting his strength, Richard shoved Blake once again towards Julia.
Julia staggered back against the wall with the bloodied, dying man splayed against her. As Blake slid to the floor, Julia freed the rifle and aimed it towards Richard. But he was already moving, he slapped the rifle's barrel to the side, avoiding the gunshot. The rifle clattered across the floor out of Julia's reach. A shadow danced beyond the doorway, hard limbs and deep growling.
"What the f*ck?" Julia screamed. Her eyes traveled from Richard's face, down to his torso. Richard looked down also. A bolt of pain traveled through him. Gritting his teeth, ignoring as best he could the gaping wound in his torso, he pressed his hand against the wound. But the pressure did nothing to stop the red fluid from spewing across the floor.
Taking advantage of Julia's shock, he dragged her aside with his free hand, exerting all his strength. Julia tripped over the body of her lover, before sprawling onto the floor. A massive shape filled the doorway. He didn't look. He already knew what the creature looked like. It was a giant squid like creature, completely black with many sharp and deadly tentacles extending from its base. The creature had no eyes, but sensed it's prey with sound and smell.
Stepping over the dead man's leg, Richard pressed the panel on the wall. Waiting for the door to open felt like an eternity. The escape pod's hatch spiraled open. Richard grasped the edges and dragged himself inside. Julia screamed. Richard looked behind him, and the sight he saw, he was unlikely to forget it.
With no time to waste, Richard slammed the execute button on the wall beside the door. The hatch slammed closed, as a deafening roar rendered his hearing temporarily disabled. The pod's mooring bolts blasted loose, and it's propellant ignited, sending the pod on an immense acceleration.
Smashed against the closed hatch, Richard let himself give in to the white-hot pain at last. As unconsciousness fell, he welcomed the release into blessed darkness.
***
Between blinks Richard snapped awake and reality rushed in. He let out an uncomfortable groan with every pained breath. He thought back to what happened earlier before he had escaped. He wasn't sure if he had caused the couple's death, but he consoled himself by telling himself it was self-defense. His mission for the time being was to survive.
The escape pod shook for a few more seconds before it's thrusters cut out.Weightless, Richard shoved himself slightly away from the hatch and held himself onto the seat, and fixing the strap over his shoulders. His blood misted in the air and formed into droplets, milk-like bubbles that drifted in the disturbed atmosphere.
His stomach hurt, and the gaping wound in his waist, reminded him to stay calm. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally out of that hell-hole of a ship. Taking a hard disk from his jacket pocket, his thoughts drifted to his current predicament.
He was sent onto the FFS-Javelin to obtain a data-drive containing import research. He still had no idea what was on the drive, but according to his superiors, the information was critically important to the survival of mankind. But he didn't care what the information was, he just wanted to complete his mission.
Studying the wound closely, Richard was confident that no major organs had been hit, so he would be fine for a time. He started examining the escape pod's computer and assessed its limited flight capabilites. In such a catastrophic situation it was pre-programmed to take him to the nearest planet, moon, or asteroid.
He took the time to relax his aching body and pondered over how he was to fully escape, his pod drifting along in the endless void of space.