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likely to bump against other objects. His blue coveralls were covered with dark stains.
    “Forget about him for a second.” Ben pointed past the approaching figure. “Is that the common area?”
    “Yes, it is,” Brown said. “And it’s crawling with meat puppets.”
    “Hey.” A young woman grabbed Brown’s arm. “Those were our co-workers, Tim.”
    “No, they weren’t.” Brown shrugged her off angrily. “We’re all contractors. They brought us up here for this project and nothing else. We were discouraged from even mixing with them, so don’t start acting like you’re all outraged – even though that seems to be your hobby.” Just as she was about to start an angry response he cut back in. “Tell me the name of that guy over there, Mendel.” He pointed at the figure in the blue coveralls, now only fifty feet away. “Tell me and you can go ahead and lecture me all you want. Till then, stick with the conversations in your head.”
    “All right, that’s enough!” Ben turned to face the group. “We need to get moving. Is there a way around the common area?”
    “Next right,” Dwight answered, pointing to an intersection twenty feet away. “Then the second left. It’s actually the same distance as going through the common area.”
    “C’mon.” Ben started toward the turn. “Might as well get there before Coveralls Guy.” He crouched against the wall at the intersection and stuck his head around the corner, relieved to see an empty hallway in front of him. With a quick glance at the lurching horror, now only fifteen feet away, he got up and led the group down the hall.
    At the second left, he went through the same drill. He was leaning his head against the wall with his eyes closed when Dwight sidled up next to him.
    “We good, detective?”
    “Depends on how you define ‘good’, Doc.”
    Dwight grimaced. “How many?”
    “Looks to be about fifteen, all clustered together just this side of the shaft doors.” He rubbed his eyes. The skin around them was an angry red and his nose was getting runny. “Any other way of getting back to the deck below us?”
    “Sure, there are, but they’re all clear across the other side of the station, and this shaft comes out right in the shuttle bay.”
    “Alright, we need this shaft.” Ben looked to make sure the whole group was paying attention. “We’re going through the common room. Everybody stay together and keep up. We need to move fast to stay ahead of these guys and we need to take that shuttle before the assault team realize we’re not still sitting in your sector.”
    He crossed over to the far side of the hallway, pulling a fire extinguisher from a recessed compartment. “First, let’s draw them away from that shaft.” He pulled the pin and stepped around the corner, hitting the cylinder against the wall.
    “That’s got their attention,” Dwight mused as he peered around the corner.
    “Yep, now let’s cover our retreat.” Ben pulled the trigger, filling the hallway with a cold white cloud. “Go, go, go!” he stage-whispered as he raced past the group of scientists, heading straight toward Blue Coveralls, who now lurched down the hall toward them. Ben swung the extinguisher as hard as he could, striking the decomposing figure on the side of its head. He was rewarded with a sickening crunch, and the stinking mess fell to the floor.
    He careened around the corner, feet pounding on the decking behind him. Ahead in the common room, the crowd looked thin enough to slip through and he angled toward the widest gap, striking down another ‘meat puppet’ at one of the worst choke points. They were starting to move toward the humans now, drawn to the promise of fuel.
    The gap was closing.
    Ben swung the heavy extinguisher, sending the top of his target’s head flying across the room. He slid a hand under the cylinder, lifting it and driving it forward to smash the end into the face of another meat puppet. Funny how quickly you start