03-20-2014, 05:43 PM
And then all hell broke loose. Pretty much literally.
Walls of fire shoved their way through the air. Invisible whips stirred long dormant dust. And mingling through it all like it had all the time in the world was the same ghostly apparition Torri saw on base.
She had the steel tank at the ready, but she knew there was only one real shot to douse the thing with liquid nitrogen. Once the bucket is tossed, you don't get another chance.
Michael's for help rippled through Torri's body like she'd been struck dumb. Her mouth gaped wide, and she made to go closer, but before she made a single step, the ground shook and the floor erupted.
Chunks of cement and underlaid piping shot through the air like Michael carried a light mortar in his pocket and happened to drop it at just the right moment.
Torri kept her footing as Michael was thrown back. The apparition blurred opaque, then took on a solid shape, much as what Torri remembered from the office. A hungry snarl over came its face, but Torri met it, canister in hand, before it took a single step toward its disoriented target.
With a yell, liquid clearer than any rain water arched at its chest. Boiling cold, it sizzled and steamed as it passed through the creature. A painful shrill pulsed through the air, and Torri threw her hands over her ears at the sound.
The next thing she knew, it was completely gone, and Michael was pulling himself up to stand.
The canister rolled on the ground and tumbled into the crater Michael created, but Torri barely noticed. She was already at Michael's side, instruments in hand, ready to check him for injuries.
Her heart raced. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. She needed to catch her breath. "Is it gone?"
Apparently he had a way of tracking it she did not. Then she noticed the alert freaking out his communications pad. "What the devil?"
Walls of fire shoved their way through the air. Invisible whips stirred long dormant dust. And mingling through it all like it had all the time in the world was the same ghostly apparition Torri saw on base.
She had the steel tank at the ready, but she knew there was only one real shot to douse the thing with liquid nitrogen. Once the bucket is tossed, you don't get another chance.
Michael's for help rippled through Torri's body like she'd been struck dumb. Her mouth gaped wide, and she made to go closer, but before she made a single step, the ground shook and the floor erupted.
Chunks of cement and underlaid piping shot through the air like Michael carried a light mortar in his pocket and happened to drop it at just the right moment.
Torri kept her footing as Michael was thrown back. The apparition blurred opaque, then took on a solid shape, much as what Torri remembered from the office. A hungry snarl over came its face, but Torri met it, canister in hand, before it took a single step toward its disoriented target.
With a yell, liquid clearer than any rain water arched at its chest. Boiling cold, it sizzled and steamed as it passed through the creature. A painful shrill pulsed through the air, and Torri threw her hands over her ears at the sound.
The next thing she knew, it was completely gone, and Michael was pulling himself up to stand.
The canister rolled on the ground and tumbled into the crater Michael created, but Torri barely noticed. She was already at Michael's side, instruments in hand, ready to check him for injuries.
Her heart raced. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. She needed to catch her breath. "Is it gone?"
Apparently he had a way of tracking it she did not. Then she noticed the alert freaking out his communications pad. "What the devil?"