The True Face of Danger

PFC Graham has seen what she's up against and is ready to take on more, but is she truely ready to take what's in store for her next...?

It seemed like days have passed, yet in only a few short hours Graham successfully passed every single test placed before her.  Krieger’s endurance test proved she had what it took to keep up with the rest.  Jynx’s ESP test proved she could get herself out of just about any situation without being burdened by stress.  Churchill’s test proved she could survive just about anything during a firefight.  Even though she now felt as though she could sleep for 100 years, she wanted more than anything to continue with her assignment.  For the first time since she signed up for military service, she felt the rush run through her veins.  The familiar feeling of becoming more than she ever thought she could be and Graham became thirsty with vigor to move on with the next step of her training.

“It’s been a long day.  Get some sleep and we’ll continue with this tomorrow.  Man, this is sweet.  I love not being the lowest ranking person here!”  Such irony, she thought.  Graham was no longer feeling weighed down by her fatigue; and she’s ordered to rest by a soldier with a twelve year old brain.  All things considering, the rest would do some good for her.  A soldier cannot fully operate if a soldier’s mind cannot think clearly.  “Directions to your new home have been programmed into your PDA, just follow the prompts and make yourself at home.  Your stuff should already be there.  Unless you’re anything like me, they made me buy all my stuff all over again.  Then again, you don’t seem like the type who would mess with an officer’s bathroom plumbing as a practical joke…”

Graham ignored the rest of Churchill’s story and proceeded toward her quarters.  When she finally felt like she was alone she pulled out her PDA, which still had the picture of Daniel and herself displayed.  She stared at it for a moment reminiscing of that last day with him before checking to see if the directions were actually there.  To her surprise they were, but that was to be expected since her PDA was synced with the military network upon being sworn in to the military.  She followed the prompts down the winding corridors of Atlantis until she came to doorway which closed on her unexpectedly.  Graham stood surprised for a moment not knowing what to do, until an alarm went off.

INTRUDER ALERT ACCESS DENIED UNAUTHERIZED PERSONEL SECURITY BREACH INVALID VESSEL FOUND

The flashing red lights and continuous monotone computer voice began to annoy Graham.  If that kid is pulling another one of his pranks again, she thought.  But she realized it was no prank when the computer voice stopped and another computer voice spoke out, “TERMINATION IN PROGRESS”.  Targeting lasers began searching for any possible threat and it didn’t take long for Graham to realize what they were searching for…her.  The only other door in the corridor was marked SCIENCE RESEARCH LABORATORY.  It was her only escape, and given the circumstances she was willing to take whatever she could.  She tried opening the door with brute force, but it was too strong for her to just knock down.  She noticed a keypad next to the door, but with no way of knowing the proper code she only had one option.  Graham felt fortunate of the fact no one on Atlantis asked her to remove her sidearm.

A single handheld blaster with a self recharging battery, never runs out of ammunition and is always useful when all else fails.  She lined her shot and blasted away at the keypad, hoping to short out the electronics.  Success, the door slid open slightly but just enough for her to get her hand in and push it the rest of the way.  For such a thin door, Graham didn’t expect it to be so heavy.  With the targeting lasers only inches from detecting her presence, Graham mustered all the strength she had to push the door open just enough to slide her body through.  Once inside the room, she pushed with all her might to shut the door and hopefully keep herself invisible to the sensors.    She had to act fast; it was only a matter of time until the computers sensed a breach into another secured area.  At first glance Graham found what looked like a ventilation duct in the ceiling of the laboratory.  She moved a table right under it and blasted the duct to make an opening wide enough for her to climb through.

It was a tight squeeze, but nothing she couldn’t manage herself through without too much difficulty.  Her instincts told her to pick a direction away from the corridor.  With nothing but the sound of her own breath to help guide her through the dark ventilation shaft, Graham pushed herself through every turn, drop and incline she came across until she found another opening.  She kicked it out and dropped down into a large room which resembled a deserted mess hall.  She drew her side arm and looked around cautiously.  Graham didn’t know what to expect but she knew deep down inside it wasn’t over by a long shot.

Suddenly she heard machine babble.  Graham turned behind her to see some sort of figure moving out from the shadows.  A small red light came from it and Graham took cover immediately.  “Damn tracking lasers,” she said out loud.  She remembered having to deal with them during her weapons training in basic and how it was the hardest part of training she had to accomplish.  She tried to carefully slip into the kitchen area, in hopes to avoid the infrared sensor.  So far so good, she thought to herself, now I just have to make it to the freezer…and hope it still works.  She could hear the machine moving closer to her position.  She then realized the machine could also sense the residue from her discharged sidearm.  She had to make a move fast.

Graham made a quick dash for the freezer and slammed the door shut just in time to dodge a few rounds from the machine.  It was no surprise to her that the freezer wasn’t operational, but at least the thick walls would protect her from gunfire.  After a quick scan of the area she noticed a bit of corrosion in the back of the freezer.  “Hmm, this looks weak,” she said to herself.  Graham gave it a good kick and was able to break the corroded area clean off.  Peering though revealed what looked like the internal clockwork of Atlantis.  Nothing moved, but it didn’t look particularly safe either.  “Great, stuck between a rock and a hard place.”  Almost immediately after saying that, she heard a loud bang at the door of the freezer.  With no time for weighing out options, she decided to take her chances and climbed through the hole.  The LED light she had with her from basic served its purpose well.  Graham was expecting to see gears and pistons at work, but there was nothing here except for square columns and blocks.

This place reminded her more of a crossword puzzle than it did the inner workings of a massively complex space station.  The floor was just as uneven looking as the walls and ceiling; tight and cramped in one section yet spacious and seemingly endless in other sections.  This was the last place she wanted to be stuck in, and if she didn’t find a way out soon she feared she would be stuck here for a very long time.  In the distance, she thought she could see a wall of some sort, but was unsure if a way out could be found.  All of a sudden she heard a hissing noise, almost as if something inside were powered by steam.  When she turned behind her, she saw the cubes and columns were beginning to close in on each other. 

“Oh come on,” Graham shouted and started running for the wall.  As she got closer she could barely make out what appeared to be a door.  This time in trying to stay prepared for anything, she withdrew her side arm just in case anything was waiting for her on the other side.  Only a few feet away from the exit and at the same time the path behind her was closing in closer and closer every step.  “Oh damn,” she shouted, “this is going to be close…”  Graham unloaded a few shots at the door and ran through the exit shoulder first.  She rolled into a kneeling position and held her weapon out ready to shot the first thing that moved.  Yet the room itself was empty.

“So, you survived.”

Author's Note

Again, this was uploaded moments after completion. Any critique is greatly appreciated

Reviews

[Amund Schofield]

Well upon first read, I thought of my self playing a video game, or rather this story could be easily adapted into a good shooter, well non first person.


Second read, where I begin to get picky. In the first paragraph, you use the word she a lot. It's just gets kind of repetititve.

In the second paragraph you don't say it's Churchill that is talking, until haflway throught the paragraph. Put it in somewhere that he is the one talking.

third paragraph: " She stared at it for a moment reminiscing of that last day with him before checking to see if the directions were actually there. " You missed a comma: " She stared at it for a moment, reminiscing of that last day with him, before checking to see if the directions were actually there." That happens a few places in the story.