Then Aat shuddered once more, hearing a dull thud below, the eyes of the three figures widening opposite him as a scraping noise ensued, then a sickening crunch and screech of a blade, the young security officer raising a finger to his lips, swallowing nervously.
His wide eyes moved to the darkened space beside his shaking colleagues, heart pounding as he stared at the top of the stairs, fleeting red pin lights piercing the gloom, then a dull thud as an armoured boot stepped onto the lowest stair.
Deep below the South China Sea
Tony Shelley swallowed hard, nausea churning through his empty stomach as he stared into the room before him in horror. His sweating frame was shivering uncontrollably, an extended college break in Thailand having involved a considerable quantity of chemical enhancements, his body now suffering from the extreme effects of a rapid withdrawal with accompanying rising paranoia and overwhelming fear.
The lower corridor of the submerged ship was mostly dull resin grating, faint sounds of running water or liquid just beneath the walkway, low pin spot lighting glowing at ankle height the only illumination. The walls were smeared with caked dirt, dried blood and excrement intermingled with the accumulated debris gathered in crevices and hollows above, the stench adding to that of unwashed and fearful bodies.
The young man’s eyes were wide with shock, the medium sized rectangular cell crammed with people at the far end, furthest from the doorway, most dishevelled and several whimpering, their few clothes soaked and matted with dust, some heavily stained. Gasping as he realised most of the grimy inhabitants were young and shivering, he stepped forward with the others from his transport craft, two large armoured Morgon soldiers pushing the small throng of miserable captives from behind with the butts of their automatic rifles.
Glancing round in rising uneasiness, Tony swallowed once more, the chemical aftertaste still in his throat from the night before. His body shivering as he looked back, he glimpsed the seated group visibly detract in fear as the two Morgon soldiers lowered their helmets to step through the steel bordered doorway, red flickering eyes scanning the huddled fearful groups in relish at the terror. Ashen faces averted eyes downwards in subservience to avoid eye contact as the newcomers nervously began to lower themselves onto the grating before the existing human captives.
Then the black armour plated soldiers stepped back, the steel meshed door slamming shut behind them, bolts rasping across as the door was locked, the two large silhouettes moving along the other side of the grating and mesh wall, boots cracking against the steel grooved floor below as armoured claws were deliberately raked across the mesh wall, the sparks provoking the prisoners to whimper loudly.
Tony shook his head, looking across the mostly nude bodies around him, the Morgons now seeming to have visited several holiday islands in the last twenty four hours, the nationalities surrounding him representing numerous nations, his stomach beginning to churn once more in rising apprehension.
Nodding to a whimpering curvaceous blonde girl nearby, her body nude apart from a torn t-shirt, he forced a smile, winking and whispering, ‘We are still alive at least…many are not. We should be thankful for that…’
A young, lean black haired nude teenager turned next to her abruptly, his lips pursing in frustrated fear, a French accent strong, ‘Are you stupid, Englishman? These scum don’t take prisoners…they are attacking all across the globe, slaughtering our soldiers…’
Tony shrugged, licking his lips once more, perspiration beginning to form across his creased brow as he indicated to the young woman, her face turning to lower against the Frenchman’s chest, ‘I-I was just trying to cheer her up…sorry…we are prisoners…’
The black haired teenager gritted his teeth, glaring at the English student as he raised his arms, ‘Do you not realise where you are…what this corridor is?’ His arms swept around his younger sobbing girlfriend, pulling her tightly to his chest as he stared in anger at Tony, his eyes filling with emotion, ‘These are their food cells…this is the abattoir floor, the kitchens of these monsters are above. They select several every day for a morning and evening feast…you will hear their screams as they cut them up in the end room…they don’t even kill them first. It’s not water below…it’s human blood!’
North of the Nakdong River, South Korea
Gusung Shin stared into the rear view mirror of his Hyundai, his wife and two children now cowering uncomfortably in the rear foot wells, the family dog before the moved front passenger seat sat trembling at the fearful emotional reaction of his human family, his whines for reassurance going unheard.
The view in the mirror of the wide bridge behind him was terrifying, splattering rain drops blurring the rising black smoke clouds, fires in the many far shattered vehicles burning out of control as fuel and combustible fabrics ignited. Above the main imposing structure spanning the river, heavy plumes of thick acrid smoke and embers swept upwards as civilians ran in panic, deserting their cars and coaches on the south bank as they fled northwards, traffic progress now blocked. Green sludge pools steamed on the south side of the bridge, the raindrops sizzling before evaporating in the acid, soldiers nervously running past diminishing bodies in the putrid sludge, their carbines raised.
On the bridge and further along the southern motorway, South Korean marines desperately ushered the fleeing public forward, their camouflaged jackets and helmets moving feverishly to get as many people to safety as possible. Many glanced nervously upwards into the darkened forest that lined the thoroughfare, several trees still burning fiercely at the summit of the hill, Korean jets having
