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CHAPTER 66 Lost in Nightmares Part V

Exhaustion, fear, anger... These and many other feelings tortured the young husky Evocanis. Everything had happened so quickly. How could his peaceful life turn in such a nightmare in just a few hours? That was not possible. Did he and his Evocanis friends do something to deserve this? Or was the universe as cruel as not being able to discern between those who walk the path of evil, and those who were naturally benign?

"I... I'm almost there, Fx." Husky whispered. He had fiercely fought against a machine that blocked their only possible escape route. Husky managed to defeat his opponent bravely, but he was now injured and getting close to the limits of his resistance.

His throat and lungs burned after inhaling that black mist that the machine had spewed as a defense mechanism. His body ached in such way that he couldn't tell where the pain came from exactly.

At a painfully slow pace, he continued his way through the maze of corridors he fought the machine at. He just hoped that Anubis made it to the hangar access since that would be the only means of salvation for Fx.

"Husky!" A very worried Anubis yelled when he saw his beaten up friend finally emerging from that chaotic mess of debris.

"I told you to keep going, Anubis!" Husky tried to yell, choking in his own coughing. "Fx's time is short..."

Before he could give another step, Husky fell on his knees. His body had enough.

"Husky, no!" Desperate, Anubis ran to aid his friend. The situation was worst than before. If Husky couldn't move on his own, what could Anubis do? He already carried Fx in his arms, and because of how delicate he was, he couldn't afford to fight or move too violently.

"Keep going, Anubis..." Husky muttered.

"I can't leave you here, Husky. We are close!" Anubis kneeled next to Husky and did his best to encourage his friend.

"Please. Save my brother..." Husky insisted on sacrificing himself. He had nothing else in is mind than to make sure his brother made it to safety. His life was not relevant to him at that moment.

"No!" Anubis yelled furiously. "The three of us will make it out of this retched place! We are a team; we are friends! Now stand up, Husky!" Anubis' words had some effect on Husky.

Husky thought on all those wonderful moments he shared with his family and Evocanis friends in the past. Somehow that gave him the strength that had apparently left his body already. They were so close to getting to the hangar and he couldn't give up just yet.

"Your brother and Hasky need you, Husky. All of your friends need you... I need you." Were Anubis last words; words that had a stronger effect on Husky.

Nodding at Anubis, Husky felt how his strength returned to him. Anubis was right; he couldn't quit. Legs shaking, the young husky Evocanis got back on his hind paws. The fight for their survival would continue as long as they had an ounce of energy left in their body.

"That's it, buddy." Anubis said much calmer. He wanted to pet his friend and hold him tight, but he couldn't for as long as he carried Fx. "Let's get out of this horrible place once and for all." He smiled. Something inside told him that Husky still had strength in him and that no matter what, he wouldn't give up.

"Let's go..." Placing his shaking hand-paw on Anubis' shoulder, Husky told him. Anubis was right. There were many that needed him alive; not just a few, but his entire race. If just one Evocanis fell, that would give the machines a reason to claim victory and that was something that Husky, Anubis or any other Evocanis would not permit that day.

Slowly, but never loosing determination, Husky and his friend walked up a ramp that according to his previous analysis thanks to the three dimensional map, it would take them to the hangar level.

The pace was painstakingly slow, but as minutes passed after taking a sip of his high electrolyte fluid, Husky seemed to be regaining his strength.

"Any idea of where are we heading?" Anubis asked. Every step made their heart beat strongly. Once they had reached the upper level of the ramp, another dark sector of the ship appeared before them. They didn't know what lurked beyond that black veil of darkness, and they were not in any condition of fighting anymore.

"There is no other place to go. This has got to be the way according to my ComPod." Husky responded. He displayed the three dimensional view of the sector beyond them and finally confirmed that it would indeed take them to the hangar. They were so close. "There should be a shaft of some sort around twenty meters beyond this point. That shaft connects to the hangar level."

"Is it an elevator? If it is, how do we know if it's functional?" Anubis said worried. And he was right. That ship was long abandoned, and the possibility of finding a working elevator was slim to none.

"We won't know until we get there. Besides, it's our only way out..." Husky affirmed. He wasn't too happy to give that response; the idea that they might hit a dead end was clear in his mind.

Facing forward, both Evocanis and their injured brother got ready to continue. It wouldn't be long before they could reach their salvation. Just one last push and they could claim their freedom from that decaying place. All their efforts wouldn't be in vain.

"What's wrong Husky?" Anubis said when he failed to hear the paw steps of his brother Evocanis. Something in Anubis' heart told him that if he turned back to see Husky, all his fears might become true. But he needed to see why Husky had stopped all of the sudden.

Gathering strength, the Great Dane Doberman Evocanis turned back to see his friend...

When would it stop?

What did they want from them..?

"Run, Anubis..." Husky said. There was fear in his voice as much as a soul shattering disappointment. Facing Anubis, his blue eyes were flooded with tears of desperation.

It didn't take Anubis a second to hear that familiar sound; that clanging noise that the older generations always spoke about with fear and anger. He understood them now as he never had before.

Almost fifty meters away from them, at the lower level of the ramp, he soon saw the source of that racket. From the door that they came from, a stream of those monsters ravaged as a furious river of blades. Floor, walls and even the ceiling was flooded by those metallic beasts.

The two Evocanis ran as fast as they could, but it almost felt as if the floor below them pulled them right back. It was exhaustion due to everything they had gone through. Husky had no energy left to fight or even run, stumbling at each step, loosing that crucial advantage that kept them far from the enemy. Carrying Fx, Anubis couldn't run as fast as he would've wanted to, but it was also seeing his friend staying back what prevented him from advancing. It was the most desperate situation they've gotten themselves into so far.

"Husky!" Anubis kept yelling at Husky. The idea of those monsters catching up on them was closer to reality second after second.

"Just keep going, Anubis! Whatever you do, don't look back!" Husky yelled back after loosing his footing when tripping over his weakened legs.

"Get up, Husky!"

"I said don't look back! And by Canis Major, don't stop!" Husky desperately yelled at Anubis. Brave words came from the young Evocanis, only betrayed by the intense fear in his eyes.

Tortured by their emotions, the two Evos ran as fast as they could. Each step they took, were ten steps taken by the furious horde of machines; the metallic clanging getting harder by the second.

"Oh no... dead end!" Anubis stopped dead on his tracks, facing at what appeared to be an elevator shaft.

Facing yet another dead end; pinned mercilessly between a cold wall and the white masks of death. Where to go?

With a quick look at his ComPod, Husky noticed something that might be a secondary shaft next to the main one. Looking left he noticed a very old door, covering what could possibly be their salvation that day.

With strength beyond his limit, Husky kicked the door, knocking it down at his first try, falling down to the ground after the effort.

"Come on, Anubis!" Husky yelled, trying to recover his strength.

Anubis ran to the other side of the door, not before looking back at where they came from. The mass of deadly assassin machines ran furiously only a few meters from them.

"Get up, Husky!!" Going against what he would've wanted, Anubis carefully placed Fx down and desperately tried to pull Husky away from the entrance of that secondary shaft. Just maybe, they could place the door again and cover their escape, at least temporarily.

One last yank and Husky was inside and that room. Anubis grabbed the heavy metallic door and placed it back in its frame.

We are not going to make it. Dreadful thoughts went inside Anubis' head. He didn't want to say it out loud, or believe that they had reached the end of the line, but from what he heard, the machines were probably just outside the door now.

"Keep pushing!" Husky suddenly appeared next to Anubis, leaning all his weight against the door. Both of them took their Lanthracit blades out and soldered the door shut. Almost half way through, they could feel a huge impact on the flimsy door. The machines had reached them and were trying to kick the door down.

"Grab your brother and get out of here. I'll hold the door!!" Anubis said.

"No! We both get out if this place with Fx!" Husky replied furiously.

The door slowly started to feel less flimsy as the soldering hardened. But it wouldn't hold for long. It was a brief moment of luck and the door seemed to have been soldered tightly, preventing the machines from entering.

"It won't hold for too long. We have to hurry." Husky said, kneeling down as he tried to recover his breath. He was right. That would only give them a temporary advantage against the machines. Enough to get to the ships. They had to keep moving.

"Let's keep moving up!" Husky said after checking his ComPod. That shaft they were in had a spiral staircase. It was intriguing to see such rustic structure inside a spaceship, but during that moment it was their only means of escaping. "Please, Anubis. Let's hurry! This staircase should take us to the hangar level." Husky said urgently.

"Husky," Anubis questioned him as he gently picked Fx up. "Are you sure this staircase will take us to our ships?"

There was a brief moment of doubt. "I don't know. But do we have more options?" True words came from Husky. Around them there was nothing but the shaft that stood almost four stories high, with that frail staircase at the middle.

The constant banging from the machines at the door made the two Evos push forward without delaying their escape a second longer.

"Go on. I'll cover your back!" Husky said as he let Anubis be the first to climb up the staircase. The structure was held by metallic cables and it was narrow enough for just one individual. Husky had to carry with the fear of being the first to be reached by those machines if they got in. But having Anubis in front of him made him feel at ease knowing that his brother was out of reach.

"The door is giving away!" Husky whispered with fear as he saw light starting to seep from the rough soldering. "Hurry!"

Both Evos hurried their pace as much as they could, but for every step they took, the hanging staircase rocked back and forth, making all sorts of distorted metallic noises.

"This thing won't hold out weight, Husky! It's too old and eroded!" Anubis yelled in desperation.

"Do we have a choice?" Husky yelled back. Every step they took, not only the staircase threatened to collapse under the weight of the Evos, but also under its own. At the same time, the door that held the machine hoard from reaching them also got closer to its fall.

They were not gaining any advantage. Both Evos were loosing their chances at the mercy of that ghost ship.

Anubis' paw met with the next step that would get him closer to safety, when the weakened structure denied him.

"Anubis!" Husky yelled; taking hold of his friend as the step fell into darkness until hitting the ground almost two stories below them in a loud bang. The whole structure rocked harder than before.

Another loud metallic noise was followed by the guardrail that they held on to giving away, uncoiling almost half way down the spiral staircase, making the whole structure even more unstable. Both Evos were now sitting on the stairs, hoping that the structure would stop moving, weakening the already compromised metal.

"You have to keep going, Anubis!" Husky told his friend.

"No, Husky. We both must keep going!" Anubis met his friend with a furious yell. He was tired of hearing Husky trying to sacrifice himself for them. He was not willing to loose any of his friends that day.

"No, Anubis. It's not what I mean! The structure is more likely to collapse if we both put all of our weight only at one side. Keep yourself a couple of turns above me and that will help distribute the weight." A clever idea by Husky. He was right, but although that would help them keep the structure more stable, it wouldn't guarantee that the staircase wouldn't collapse anytime soon.

Anubis understood the plan and went forward. Without the guardrail, it was incredibly difficult, considering that he also held Fx in his arms. Each step he took was a complete torture for Husky. The idea that the structure might collapse at any second was an idea that never ceased to haunt his mind at that moment.

"We have to hurry, Husky!" Anubis said, when a loud bang coming from bellow made him look at the door. A huge hole with those blades that machines had for limbs was now visible. Whipping their limbs furiously, the hole was getting bigger.

A burst of adrenaline made the Evos climb the staircase faster. They were probably only one story away from getting to the upper levels. But the sudden rush took a heavy toll on the staircase. Nuts and bolts were fired like ballistic projectiles when the structure finally decided it had enough.

Only a few steps to safety...

"Husky!" Anubis yelled, when he saw Husky hanging from a loose step. Below Husky, he saw how half the staircase simply gave a way, crashing so hard on the floor that they could feel a small tremor caused by it. One thing was sure; they had reached a point of no return.

After an immense effort, Anubis managed to make it to the upper level, immediately placing Fx on the ground and going after his friend who hanged two loops below.

"No! What are you doing? Don't leave my brother!" Husky yelled. His was a brave one, but the realization that he might die that day soon came to him when looking down.

Husky never asked for help, but Anubis could see it in his eyes. His friend was terrified as he starting loosing grip. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to leave his beautiful life.

"Don't worry, buddy. I won't leave you. I would never do that!" Anubis reassured Husky. But luck might've decided to betray them at that moment. Immediately after placing his paw on the staircase again, a loud crack came from the ceiling of the shaft, accompanied by dust and debris falling from it. The whole staircase dropped a couple of inches, signaling its imminent collapse.

Cruel luck...

"Husky!!" Anubis yelled desperate. He couldn't put on ounce on that staircase. He knew it would collapse. But he couldn't reach Husky who was still two loops below, hanging from the edge. "I can't reach you!!" Anubis now cried. He knew there was no possibility now.

"Just go..." Husky said muttered. Anubis couldn't hear him, but he read his muzzle movements...

Anubis dissented as he cried furiously, hitting the ground. He then looked at Husky. "You have to be strong, Husky..." That was the only thing he could do; encourage his brother Evocanis. It all depended on Husky. If he failed, either the fall would kill him, or the staircase collapsing would take him down four stories into a solid metallic floor and an imminent death.

Something happened in Husky that day. Inside him he could feel that strange anger invading him once more; that anger that had boosted his strength previously. Maybe it was his survival instinct, or the desire to reach the warmth of his brother Evocanis. Either way, the numbness in Husky's arms suddenly disappeared. His muscles flexed without hesitation, pulling up his body into the staircase again.

"That's it, Husky!" Anubis cheered his friend. "You can do it! I'll be here to grab you. But you have to be strong and make one last effort to reach my hand-paw!"

Husky was making it. Whatever the reason for his body reacting that way, he had managed to put himself into safety once again. But it was not over. After a couple of steps, another support cable snapped, dropping the staircase a couple more inches. If he didn't hurry, the whole thing would collapse with him still on it.

Looking up, Anubis noticed the support cable connectors. Three of them were left, and one of them was bending as Husky made his was up the spiral.

One more loop...

One of the two bolts holding the cable to the ceiling shot directly at Anubis. Husky loosed balance, but he was so close that he didn't hesitate.

Just a few more steps...

"Husky!" Anubis yelled desperate. A second bolt, together with the clamp snapped from the ceiling, leaving only two cables holding the heavy structure. Without that support, what was left of the staircase swung back and forth, hitting the upper level over and over. What was worst, the motion started breaking the frail cables. It was only matter of seconds before the structure fell down.

"Just a few more steps. I got you!" Anubis said. Husky was very close. If he could manage to hold him, he would be safe.

Husky didn't care anymore. He rushed through the last steps.

"That's it, Husky. You're close! We are going home, buddy!"

A strange wail suddenly made itself audible. It wasn't a wail like the one the ship normally emitted. It was something else. Anubis heard it, Husky heard it. What could this strange sound be that made them loose their concentration in such delicate moment? What was this sound that made their fur rise?

Heat suddenly was felt around them. It was if the whole ship burned in blazes. From vents and other dark corners a strange light became more intense by the second, eating away the darkness that had engulfed them ever since they entered that ship.

The wail became a soul shattering roar, progressively getting louder.

It was something. And it was getting closer and closer...

Husky could see his friend just a few meters away... He reached to him as he jumped the last steps. It was too late...

A thunderous impact shattered the very heart of the ship. The shaft were the two Evos where and all that was inside the massive vessel was shaken mercilessly...

"Husky...!" Was the last thing the young Evocanis thought he heard. A white veil was now all he saw when the staircase collapsed with him on it after the mysterious force had shaken the ship to its core. The image of Anubis trying to reach to him went like in slow motion. Anubis got further away from Husky as he fell.

There was silence. The white had turned to into black...