Beyond Hades: The Prometheus Wars by Luke Romyn Read Free Book Online Page A

happiness couldn't exist. A lot of the guys fell apart before we even encountered anything threatening. I don't know if it was just our own fear playing against us, but there were some hugely brave men who went into that place, who crumbled without even seeing conflict. I'll always remember the ground - it was like walking on a huge tongue - and I kept thinking we were inside a massive mouth or something. It's hard to explain. Several other issues emerged, but we managed to overcome these before encountering... it ."
    "What?" asked Talbot.
    Captain Benedict swallowed heavily again, memories of the horror threatening to engulf him like a firestorm.
    "It started out quite small, and some of the men laughed when they saw it, thinking we'd been worried over your brother's warning for nothing. Once it attacked, however, nobody laughed. I vaguely remember men screaming and blood spraying. But for the most part I was too busy shooting at the damn thing."
    Chuck drew a deep, shuddering breath. "It grew as it attacked the men around me - some fifty battle-hardened marines - and none of our weapons had any effect. We might as well have been using paper pellets for all the good they did us."
    "What was it?" Talbot asked, his eyes widening.
    "It was Cerberus," Chuck replied simply, too simply for something so incredibly powerful. The howls of the beast would haunt him forever.
    Thomas had warned them it would be one of their toughest obstacles, but the three-headed puppy which had emerged through the gates as they approached had struck them as clumsy and comical. The three heads had even raised a few jokes, as did the serpentine tail.
    "Cerberus," muttered Talbot, pronouncing it with a hard 'C'. "Was it as bad as Thomas thought?"
    "Worse. Much worse." The captain shuddered, his voice haunted. "It began by physically tearing the men to shreds, killing half the advance squad in moments."
    "How did you escape?" asked Talbot.
    Chuck dropped his gaze once more, shame coursing through him. "Your brother saved us."
    "Thomas? How?"
    The captain shook his head. "Damned if I know. He screamed at us to get out of there, and then started chanting in that strange language. Whatever he was saying, Cerberus was distracted long enough for us to retreat. Only four men made it back to the rift. Your brother wasn't one of them."
    "So you left him behind?" demanded Talbot.
    "We thought he was with us, sir, I swear it. Nobody realized until we were back at the rift. And then we heard the scream."
    "What scream?"
    "At first I didn't even recognize it as human, but it was definitely your brother. The ground began to quake, and we escaped back through the rift. It's not something I'm proud of."
    Talbot rose ponderously from the table, gazing down at the captain with measured disdain.
    "So," he intoned, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion, "my brother is dead because you ran away and abandoned him."
    He stalked off toward the front of the cabin, leaving Chuck alone, a hollow burning gnawing within him.

CHAPTER 3

    The thermo-carrier began to slow and Talbot snapped to attention. Were they there, or had something else happened? Without windows in the main cabin, it was impossible to see what was going on outside. He felt hesitant to approach the cockpit; he didn't want to pass so many accusing stares again.
    "Time to go, sir," said Captain Benedict and Talbot jumped slightly. They hadn't spoken since the captain had told him about his brother, and he felt unsure of how to proceed.
    Captain Benedict suffered no such difficulty, it seemed. He casually shouldered his M-16 and motioned for Talbot to follow him. Talbot rose, attempting to conceal his apprehension as they moved toward the rear door, avoiding the glances of the rest of the passengers.
    Once the carrier came to a complete stop, Captain Benedict hit a button beside the door, causing it to slide open, a ramp dropping down to seamlessly integrate with the docking platform.
    Talbot followed the captain