The greenish hellhound known as Garm growled in aggravation, eying his prey with sadistic malevolence. Adem Different stood behind Icarus Sidewinder, neither really knowing what the next course of action should be.
"Shoot him," Adem said, almost calmly.
"What?" Icarus asked, shocked at Adem's sudden insistence on shooting the creature. "Where were you three minutes ago? Did you miss the part where that didn't work?"
"It won't work if you're looking to kill him, no," Adem answered, "but what if we're only looking to escape?"
"Okay, point taken..." Icarus said, trying not to stare directly into either pair of Garm's eyes. "Still, how am I supposed to reload while I've got this thing boring into my soul?"
Before Icarus could make a move to stop the alien, he sauntered in front of the man. "Leave that to me," he said, as the nanites began working to change the alien's garb. Almost instantly, Adem was decked out in the wardrobe of a Spanish matador, complete with long red cape. "I saw this work on other such large beasts while watching a television program a few months back. Hurry and load while I provide the distraction."
Icarus stared, dumbfounded, as Adem began waving the red cape as though the hellhound were a bull getting ready to charge. "I -- you want me to..."
"Please, Icarus," Adem replied. "We haven't much time."
"Right."
As the pilot emptied his clip and searched his person for another, he recognized the dog growling more fervently. The hair on the scruff of the animal's neck was beginning to stand on end, as was it's tail... a tell-tale sign that this thing was getting ready to attack. Adem wasn't distracting the dog at all... he was only making it angrier.
"Listen... maybe you should stop that now..." Icarus said, finally finding a spare clip in one of the pockets on his flightsuit.
"Have you reloaded?" Adem asked, raising an accusatory eyebrow towards Icarus.
"Not quite," Icarus said, dropping his empty clip to the floor. The clattering of the cartridge on the metal flooring was what did it. Garm snarled as he leapt toward Adem. Without thinking, Icarus ducked to the floor, shoving the clip into his gun.
Meanwhile, as the dog leapt, Adem quickly sidestepped the animal, capturing its head in his cape, leaping onto the creature's back and pulling the cape towards himself as a means of momentarily ensnaring the beast.
When Icarus looked up, he was amazed to see Adem, sitting comfortably on the back of Garm, with a large smile on his face while his steed thrased about violently. "Hurry, Sidewinder!" Adem almost seemed to laugh.
I guess this is what passes for urgency... Icarus said, taking aim at a spot on the red cape. The gunfire echoed in the small chamber as the hellhound fell to the ground. Removing the cape from the beast's head, Adem revealed that Icarus had made a precise hit between the middle set of Garm's eyes, stunning the creature for an indefinite amount of time.
"He will not be out long," Different said, grabbing Icarus by his sleeve. "We'd better get out of here..."
The Vanguardians rushed out of the room and back the way they came down the hallway. As they ran, Icarus began to notice an eerily familiar high-pitched humming sound, coming from further up the corridor.
"Do you hear that?" Icarus asked.
"I was about to ask you the same," the alien responded. "That is not one of those hounds."
"No," Icarus shook his head in agreement. "I've heard it before. During preliminary trials for Project Icarus in the mountains of Scotland. Locals had stories about a Grey Man or something..."
"Interesting," Adem said, already deep in thought. "What brings it so far this way?"
"Damned if I..."
The pilot stopped short as he looked in front of him. Adem, a bit faster and, thus, slower to stop, skidded into Icarus, coming to a halt. Before them stood a large creature covered in short brown hair. Its size was massive, almost filling the entire corridor. It seemed to look deep within both Vanguardians... and know them well.
Suddenly, Icarus was consumed by an inexplicable, overwhelming fear. He had felt this before, in the Scottish Highlands. If only he could remember what he was told there...
Heavy footsteps began to sound behind Icarus and Adem, padding quickly through the corridor where they'd come. Turning hesitantly, Icarus beheld the snarling form of Garm - angrier than ever, a bullet hole between his eyes oozing black blood down his snout.
More than anything else, Icarus Sidewinder wanted to fly, to break free from the ship and just escape into the unknown. It was not his nature to be afraid... but, as he found himself and his colleague trapped between two ravening creatures, he found fear slowly overwhelming him.
And, that, perhaps, scared him most of all...
