Julia ran toward him, her feet cold suddenly.
Mick squeezed off another round at the doorway. 'Wish I had another gun for you. I could use some help.'
Julia pointed. 'What about those laser guns they're using? Maybe we can get our hands on them.'
Mick nodded. 'Worth a shot.'
'If we stay here they'll pin us down.'
Mick looked at her. 'You ready?'
'Yeah.'
'I'll cover you. Run for the area next to the doorway and wait there.'
'Okay.'
Mick popped his head out and back. Another laser bolt zoomed over his head. 'Get ready.'
He poked the barrel back out and shot off three more rounds. 'Go!'
Julia felt her feet slip on the floor but then she got purchase and scrambled for the side of the doorway. Mick's gunfire poured past her. She reached wall and stopped, turned and waited for Mick to join her.
She could hear them outside the door. Moving around. She could hear chirps. Were they coordinating their attack? Did they know how to get in there without risking death at Mick's hand?
A sudden barrage of laser bolts came through the door. Julia winced at their ferocity.
Mick had ducked back down and when the lasers stopped flying past the doorway, Julia saw him fire at the doorway again and then get up and run toward her, continuing to fire as he did so.
He reached the doorway and slammed into the wall next to her. His breathing seemed only slightly labored.
Julia shook her head. 'Doesn't anything faze you?'
He smirked. 'You without any clothes on.'
She punched his arm. 'What now?'
'First,' said Mick. 'I need more ammo.' He dropped the spent magazine down into the cargo pocket of his pants and then slammed another one home into the M16. He jerked the charging handle and nodded.
'Okay. How many do you think are out there?'
'Maybe a dozen?'
He frowned. 'That many?'
'I don't think they're too happy about you coming in unannounced.'
More lasers shot past them, still aimed at the gurney. Mick smiled. 'They still think I'm pinned down there. Good.'
Julia watched him pull out a fist-sized ball from his other cargo pocket. 'What is that?'
'Grenade.'
'From the cache?'
'Yeah.'
'I didn't see any of those there.'
Mick nodded. 'Yeah, well, sometimes, it's better to have a surprise or two, don't you think?'
'How many other surprises do you have?'
'We get out of this alive, I'll be happy to tell you about all of them. How's that sound?'
'Better than dying here. Throw that thing already.'
Mick popped the pin and waited for a brief lull in the firing. He leaned past Julia and let the handle slip off the grenade and then tossed it out in the corridor beyond the door.
He leaned back and hugged Julia close. She could smell the perspiration soaking through his shirt. It smelled wonderful.
The explosion rocked the room. More shrieks filled the air.
Then silence.
No more lasers cut through the air. No more chirps beyond the door.
Mick looked at Julia and held up his hand. He pushed off from the wall, brought his gun up into his shoulder and then eased around the doorway.
After a moment, he motioned for Julia to come out and follow him.
Blood streaked the hallway. The smell of charred flesh filled the air and Julia felt like puking again when she saw the mass of entrails and torn limbs decorating the corridor. Scattered bit of dinocreature littered the expanse of the place.
Mick bent low and picked up what looked like some type of space age gun. He handed it back to Julia. 'Watch where you point that thing.'
The gun felt remarkably light in her hands. She brought the butt into her shoulder and she and Mick kept moving down the hall, Mick against the left side of the corridor and Julia hugging the right.
A dinocreature ran across their field of fire and Mick picked him off cleanly with a headshot. The creature dropped.
Julia found her breathing coming in quick spurts now. She felt nervous about potentially hyperventilating. Mick looked over once and smiled at her, which seemed to do a lot for calming her down.
They passed more doors on their left and right sides now. Julia frowned. What was this place? Where were they? All of this built into a mountain? It didn't seem possible. It was some sort of engineering feat to say the least.
A laser pulse flashed past Julia's face making her scream. Mick shouted at her.
'Get down!'
Another laser shot over her head. Julia fell to the floor and aimed the laser rifle down toward the end of the seemingly endless curving hallway. She could just vaguely see heads moving about down at the end.
Mick kept firing his gun but the bullets almost seemed to fall short of the targets. Julia found the trigger on her own gun and squeezed.
A bright pulse of laser shot out of the end and streaked down toward the end of the hallway. She heard a loud shriek and saw one of the creatures fall dead.
'Keep shooting!'
Julia took a deep breath and kept finding her targets. One after another she shot and took out each one that came into her view.
'We can't stay here!'
Julia nodded, shooting another round down. 'Where?'
Mick pointed to Julia's side of the hallway. 'There's a door about fifty yards ahead. Make for that!'
Julia got to her feet and ran ahead. She kept firing, hoping the stray blasts would take out another dinocreature or at least make them keep their heads down. How many of those things were there anyway?
She reached the door.
'Mick! Come on!'
He ran for the door.
A bright laser blast caught him high in his right arm, spun him, and he landed on the floor in the middle of the corridor.
'Fuck!'
'Mick!'
Julia ran back for him, firing another volley down at the end of the corridor. She reached Mick. The laser wound looked like it had already cauterized itself. There was black char on Mick's right shoulder. The M16 looked useless, blown apart by the laser blast.
'You okay?'
He nodded but she could see his teeth were gritted against the pain. 'Just get me to the door.'
She had to use one hand to help him while she kept trying to fire at the other end. More laser bolts came at them now.
'They're getting closer,' said Mick. 'We need to get out of here.'
The door hissed open and they fell through it. It slid shut with an equally sinister hiss.
Julia collapsed. She felt exhausted.
Mick was breathing hard next to her. 'Cripes this hurts.'
