Chapter 54

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Underground Tunnel 

Jeremiah and the Gunmen finished setting charges in six of the twelve tunnels. They were working in the seventh when Langly came upon something he'd not seen in any of the others. 

"Guys...what do you make of this?" he asked, pointing to the tunnel wall just above where it met the road. 

"Looks pretty obvious, Langly. It's a hatch." 

"I know it's a hatch, but we haven't seen one like this in any of the other tunnels. Where do you think it leads?" 

"Only one way to find out," Byers suggested. "Open it." 

"Think we should?" Langly looked to Jeremiah. 

"I don't know. All the tunnels have hatches that open up to the smaller spacecraft attached along the walls, but you're right... we haven't  seen one like this in any other tunnel. Stands to reason, there's something different behind it." 

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," Frohike added his two-cents' worth. 

"That's the oyster chowder you ate for breakfast," Langly reminded him. "Does it to you every time. Why you insist on eating it..." 

"Wait a minute. What's that say?" Byers asked, ignoring Langly. 

"Where?" Langly squinted in the low lighting. 

"Right there, you idiot. Can't you read?" Frohike pointed out. 

"Only when my life depends on it," Langly wisecracked. 

"Are you people always like this?" Jeremiah asked. 

"Not always," Byers informed him. "Sometimes we're worse." 

"Seems a near impossibility." 

"It says, Do Not Open," Langly read aloud, turning around to face the group, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Sounds like an open invitation to me." 

"It's not the chowder," Frohike warned, taking several steps back towards the vehicle. 

"Well, here goes," Langly grabbed the wheel. "Let's see... lefty loosey, righty tighty," he babbled on as he turned it to his left. Nothing happened for several turns of the wheel. Then all at once, the sea exploded through the opening, spilling into the tunnel at an incredible rate. 

Langly was first to feel the impact. The force of it pushed him nearly halfway across the road. He landed hard against the pavement. 

Frohike had already high-tailed it to the truck, where he started it up. He hung his head out the driver's side window, watching Byers and Jeremiah help Langly to his feet, dragging him towards the vehicle. 

"Come on!" he screamed out the window, knowing the others were moving as fast as possible but fearful of being trapped in the rising water. 

Before they even had the door closed, Frohike punched the accelerator, pushing the engine to life. Focusing on the road ahead, which was beginning to resemble a rushing stream, he didn't happen to notice was taking place behind them. Had any of them looked in the rear-view mirror, they would have seen the wall around the hatch beginning to crumble and give way to the force of the Atlantic. Within seconds, the wall was breached. Cement and metal succumbed to the incredible force, with the breach expanding rapidly in both directions. 

When Frohike happened to glance in the passenger mirror, his jaw dropped as the tunnel wall imploded behind them. 

Main Transport Area 

Alarms sounded just as Will entered the main transport area. Soldiers were running about, some giving orders, others following them. Whatever was taking place, it involved everyone. Not one person seemed unaffected. 

The blinking red lights that outlined one tunnel's entrance flashed non-stop. Two massive metal doors had just begun to move together when a military vehicle blowing its horn came bellowing through the entry, barely missing the doors that continued to close. 

The vehicle disappeared to its right, heading back behind the body of the spaceship centered in the heart of the facility. Will gave little thought to the vehicle when it disappeared from sight. 

At the same time, a wall of water crashed against the doors when they were nearly closed, surging through the opening. Men hurried in that direction, many being swept off their feet in their efforts to reach the manual controls. 

Will watched for some time until the truck come around the opposite side of the spacecraft. It raced past him but despite its speed, he recognized its occupants - Frohike, Langly, Byers and Jeremiah. Almost as quickly as the truck had appeared, it disappeared into another tunnel. He wanted to follow, but pain entered his thoughts. His arm and shoulder hurt like crazy, and his head pounded relentlessly against his skull. The fall had been a bad one, and Will's only refuge was in this world outside of himself. Only there could he ignore the injuries he'd sustained. Only there could he continue to dream. 

Spaceship 

Skinner, Doggett and Grant ran in Sam's wake. He was the only one with the knowledge of where the heart of the spaceship was. They followed without question, feeling the hot breath of the hatchlings on their heels. 

The spaceship hadn't been built with humans or shape-shifters in mind. It was nothing more than a series of walkways, a compounded maze which led from one level to the next and as the group continued after Sam, they felt as though they'd made little progress seeing as it all looked the same. 

Sam finally slowed at the end of the walkway they were on. At least a mile below them lay the ship's central hub while above them was the central control. They had to hurry. Time was precious. 

"Now for the challenge," Sam said, slinging the M16 over his back, the strap fitting snugly at a diagonal angle across his chest. "Stay close," he ordered, reaching around the side of the wall and taking a step. 

Skinner thought for sure he was going to step right into thin air, but he quickly realized there was a ladder built into the wall of the ship leading upwards from where they were. There were no rungs like a real ladder, but there were hand and footholds carved into the wall. 

"Go on," he motioned Grant, around him. 

Grant didn't hesitate. He was behind Sam in no time at all. Skinner pulled Doggett forward to follow behind Grant, but Doggett refused. 

"You go ahead," Doggett directed Skinner. I'll bring up the rear. 

Skinner didn't think anything of it. He and Doggett were x-military. It was something you did when you faced the enemy. You covered your troops' backs. It's just the way it was, and so he started up, his fingers easily gripping the openings. It was a tougher challenge slipping his wide-width boots into the same holes as he ascended. He hesitated briefly to look down. Doggett stood in the threshold of the walkway. 

"Doggett!" he called out. "Come on!" 

Doggett ignored him, his attention trained on the mass of aliens that slowly approached him. He brought his weapon off his shoulder, steadying his aim. All this time, he'd never believed the aliens existed and here they were, making their way towards him. It seemed only fitting that he face them now. After all, it was because of him that they'd hatched. 

"Doggett!" Skinner called again with Sam and Grant glancing down to see what was happening. "Get up here, damn it! You may be immune to the virus, but you're not immune to them tearing you apart!" 

"Well now," he ignored Skinner's plea. "I guess you, Mulder and Scully were right all along. They look like aliens alright. Don't think the military would bother making something so damn ugly," he moved his trigger finger, preparing for the onslaught. 

"Doggett!" Skinner started back down, but a hand from above grabbed hold of his shirt at the shoulder, securing him in place. 

"This one's for William," Doggett looked up, his eyes meeting Skinner's. "I owe Mulder and Scully that much." 

Skinner knew Doggett was buying them time. He didn't like it. He should be the one to face the aliens, but it was too late to change positions. 

"Go on! Get out of here!" John ordered. 

"John!" Skinner called, bringing Doggett's eyes to his. "Good luck." 

Doggett simply stepped into the walkway and disappeared from sight. A second later, gunfire sounded from below. 

Grant looked down at Skinner who hadn't moved at all. He was still watching the edge of the tunnel, praying that by some chance, Doggett would make it out of there alive. As he was about to give up hope, he took one last glance quickly picking up on Doggett's bloody hands reaching shakily to grasp the end of the metal walkway. Skinner's heart surged with anticipation, but his hopes sank almost as quickly when from within the opening, John was dragged back inside. His screams reached all of them and was followed almost immediately by the aliens' hideous cries of victory. 

Skinner lowered his head. The heaviness in his heart was matched only by the burning of the seal on his chest. But he wasn't alone. Each of the remaining eleven felt just as he did. They didn't know who had fallen, but they knew a sacrifice had been made.

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