The Bridge: A Science Fiction Survival Story

Chapter 71

Tom pushed off the walls twice, picking up speed as others flew by.

"Help!" I shouted to them, jarring two or three into movement. "Anyone; not just soldiers!"

We whipped past the departure vessel, moving faster than I could run, wind whistling as it passed over the door we held before us. Airomem still faced the Agrarians, her back arched with pride, a stun gun in each hand, hurling threats toward Sitient as he advanced. His eyes widened as he looked past her to Tom and me, and I saw his lips form a curse, a knife appearing in his hand. With all his strength, he threw it towards Airomem, shouting with rage as she deflected it with her two stun guns, the flashing knife spinning past her without injury.

And directly towards me.

I yelped as the blade approached, taking my hands from the door to block my face, my fingers deflecting the edge. I saw blood but felt nothing in those final seconds as we flew past Airomem, her hair billowing forward with the breeze we created. Then Tom and I turned the door horizontal, sealing the hallway, and lowered our shoulders into the metal.

I felt my each of my vertebrae smash into each other as we connected with the Agrarians in a series of racketing thumps, one for each of the bodies that detracted from our momentum. My teeth chattered each time we hit and rapidly decelerated, the back of one of the bottom ones chipping, the shard digging into the back of my throat as we ground to a halt.

"Hold!" I shouted to Tom, and we braced against the walls, keeping the barrier in place. The top began to pivot, dipping downwards as an arm appeared over the top, reaching to push off the ceiling to widen the gap. Just as a snarling face rose over the ledge, the two Lear citizens that I had called out to earlier reached the door at full speed, crashing above Tom's and my grips and forcing the door back to its original angle.

The metal of the door and the ceiling snapped together, severing the arm that stretched through as its owner on the other end screamed, cutting off even the brief flow of blood that showered over us. Then the first of the soldiers arrived, his weight budging the door another three feet forward, followed by another, her sheer speed and fierce momentum driving the door another three feet despite her small stature.

More and more followed, forming a brace, their arms and legs making struts against the ceiling, walls, and floor to keep the door in place. With a new arrival, the door moved forward, but each time the distance was less, decreasing from feet, to inches, then hairs' breadths as the number of Agrarians on the other side grew.

And within minutes, each new soldier no longer moved the door forward. Rather, their momentum only slowed it down as it began to grind backwards in spurts and jolts, as the Agrarians pushed back, and the Lear began to lose ground.

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Hey everyone! 11 more chapters to go!  While you wait, check out my other story, Star Child!  It's on reddit.