Nikolas Claus, Space Explorer! Pt 2
Nik cast a glance overhead at the suspiciously distant sky. He tapped his hood.
"Am I transmitting?"
"Yes, sir." crackled his radio. "How can one be of assistance?"
"I'm underground."
"Er, yes sir."
"How deep?"
"Pardon?"
"How far underground... am I?"
"You are now at the centre of the planet, sir."
"And how far down is that?"
"Oh, about eleventy billion feet," replied his helper. "Good on you."
The radio shut off.
"What?" asked Nik, trying desperately to make sense of the situation. He had fallen to the centre of a planet. He was at least 6000 kilometres below ground. He had fallen through a hole in the ground. He was alive.
"Attention. Furnace in Sector 6F will be activating in three - two - one."
A massive gout of flame erupted at Nik's feet, forcing him to leap back.
"Attention. You're in 6F, Nikolas Klaus. Start running, very quickly."
Another burst of flame narrowly missed his face. The fully suited space explorer was unharmed by the unwelcome pyrotechnics, but they unnerved him.
He set off at a light jog, trying to avoid the heat from the flames in case of some incredibly contrived fluke that might rob him of his protection. There was a door on the other end of the massive chamber.
"Attention. Waste will be loaded into the furnace in ten seconds."
Nik's jog turned into a flat out sprint as he pelted towards the doorway. The volume of waste that this chamber could hold would crush a herd of elephants, and certainly an ordinary man-sized creature like himself.
"Three."
His eyes widened in shock. The mysterious voice had skipped a few seconds!
"Two-One-Now. Attention. Run!"
The intercom let out a devious squeal that seemed entirely unprofessional.
The chutes opened and spewed forth their loads. The results were unimpressive. Five relatively small chunks of metal tumbled to the ground beneath - small, as in, the size of small blue whales. Almost as if to forestall any sense of relief on the part of Nik, they rumbled ominously.
"Attention! Waste Processing engaged. Caution: We are required by law to inform you that the rotating blades used in the waste disposal process can be hazardous to human health. This should also apply to you, Nik." the voice sounded doubtful.
A plethora of three-foot long blades, wickedly curved and serrated sprouted forth from the floor. Nik heaved his baton through the air, smashing the ones closest to him, but the rest began to whir ominously in a few seconds. The big metal chunks began to rumble as the blades carved into their conglomerated surface. A splinter of metal flew several feet into the air and landed by Nik's feet. Several more lanced into the space where he had been standing, but he had already leaped towards the door, bringing the baton crackling down upon more of the deadly blades. He landed, and turned to face a slug of metal roughly the size of his head arcing towards him. He swung the baton and sent it ricocheting back into the increasingly finer particles of metal advancing on him. He leaped, and smashed another set of blades. A piece of metal whizzed by his calf, slicing cleanly through his suit and lightly grazing his leg. Immediately, the blades stopped.
"Attention! Are you alive, Nik?"
"It was just a scratch," he murmured. "Nothing to be worried about."
"Haha! Nik got nicked! But seriously, Nik, we need to talk. Hurry to me, ok?"
As if to emphasise the urgency of his request, the gouts of flame spouted up from the far side of the room. The shards of metal lying about on the floor melted into liquid and shot up in the air as fine ash, billowing towards him. Nikolas Klaus, Space Explorer, felt a chill of fear as he faced the superheated inferno. He backed towards the door timidly. He heard a faint shwoop. The door had closed, but not before hope exited. He turned to hammer against the door with his fists. It was a steel sheet, four foot thick, automatically operated and futuristic in origin. There was also a keyhole. He peered through the keyhole into the bright light beyond.
"Please, please let me through," he begged, closing his eyes against his oncoming death.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a different place.
"Am I transmitting?"
"Yes, sir." crackled his radio. "How can one be of assistance?"
"I'm underground."
"Er, yes sir."
"How deep?"
"Pardon?"
"How far underground... am I?"
"You are now at the centre of the planet, sir."
"And how far down is that?"
"Oh, about eleventy billion feet," replied his helper. "Good on you."
The radio shut off.
"What?" asked Nik, trying desperately to make sense of the situation. He had fallen to the centre of a planet. He was at least 6000 kilometres below ground. He had fallen through a hole in the ground. He was alive.
"Attention. Furnace in Sector 6F will be activating in three - two - one."
A massive gout of flame erupted at Nik's feet, forcing him to leap back.
"Attention. You're in 6F, Nikolas Klaus. Start running, very quickly."
Another burst of flame narrowly missed his face. The fully suited space explorer was unharmed by the unwelcome pyrotechnics, but they unnerved him.
He set off at a light jog, trying to avoid the heat from the flames in case of some incredibly contrived fluke that might rob him of his protection. There was a door on the other end of the massive chamber.
"Attention. Waste will be loaded into the furnace in ten seconds."
Nik's jog turned into a flat out sprint as he pelted towards the doorway. The volume of waste that this chamber could hold would crush a herd of elephants, and certainly an ordinary man-sized creature like himself.
"Three."
His eyes widened in shock. The mysterious voice had skipped a few seconds!
"Two-One-Now. Attention. Run!"
The intercom let out a devious squeal that seemed entirely unprofessional.
The chutes opened and spewed forth their loads. The results were unimpressive. Five relatively small chunks of metal tumbled to the ground beneath - small, as in, the size of small blue whales. Almost as if to forestall any sense of relief on the part of Nik, they rumbled ominously.
"Attention! Waste Processing engaged. Caution: We are required by law to inform you that the rotating blades used in the waste disposal process can be hazardous to human health. This should also apply to you, Nik." the voice sounded doubtful.
A plethora of three-foot long blades, wickedly curved and serrated sprouted forth from the floor. Nik heaved his baton through the air, smashing the ones closest to him, but the rest began to whir ominously in a few seconds. The big metal chunks began to rumble as the blades carved into their conglomerated surface. A splinter of metal flew several feet into the air and landed by Nik's feet. Several more lanced into the space where he had been standing, but he had already leaped towards the door, bringing the baton crackling down upon more of the deadly blades. He landed, and turned to face a slug of metal roughly the size of his head arcing towards him. He swung the baton and sent it ricocheting back into the increasingly finer particles of metal advancing on him. He leaped, and smashed another set of blades. A piece of metal whizzed by his calf, slicing cleanly through his suit and lightly grazing his leg. Immediately, the blades stopped.
"Attention! Are you alive, Nik?"
"It was just a scratch," he murmured. "Nothing to be worried about."
"Haha! Nik got nicked! But seriously, Nik, we need to talk. Hurry to me, ok?"
As if to emphasise the urgency of his request, the gouts of flame spouted up from the far side of the room. The shards of metal lying about on the floor melted into liquid and shot up in the air as fine ash, billowing towards him. Nikolas Klaus, Space Explorer, felt a chill of fear as he faced the superheated inferno. He backed towards the door timidly. He heard a faint shwoop. The door had closed, but not before hope exited. He turned to hammer against the door with his fists. It was a steel sheet, four foot thick, automatically operated and futuristic in origin. There was also a keyhole. He peered through the keyhole into the bright light beyond.
"Please, please let me through," he begged, closing his eyes against his oncoming death.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a different place.