MARVIN AND THE MONSTER By Rex Payne

Marvin ran without conscious intent or direction, but with unrelenting panic. He desperately willed his legs to keep moving, heedless of the pounding of his heart or the pain deep in his chest with every ragged breath. He had no idea how far he had run or for how long; such was the nature of his fear. His muscles were aching, weakening, involuntarily slowing, but then the sound of heavy footsteps drawing closer reenergized his flight, driving him deeper into the warren of dim tunnels where he sought refuge. 

The view ahead revealed rough-hewn gray walls bordering a floor of smooth rock. Overhead spotlights produced regular islands of yellow, occasionally reflecting off of stainless- steel cabinets set against the wall. The facility had once been a mine, dug deep under a lunar crater to extract usable minerals from embedded meteorite fragments. Abandoned and gone to waste, the passages were kept minimally livable by automated machinery, powered by the unfiltered sunlight far above. Ventilation was at a minimum, allowing dust to settle undisturbed until the impact of Marvin’s feet raised small, gray, low-gravity swirls. 

Marvin could smell the sweet scent of his pursuer now, hear the heavy breath. Close. Too close. And then a swipe of red claws brushed his collar, eliciting a startled cry and a reflexive lunge to avoid the grasp. Marvin stumbled, grabbed wildly for any available handhold and fortuitously snagged the handle of a passing cabinet. With a sudden jerk, his body slammed loudly into the steel surface while his pursuer plunged ahead, passing so close Marvin felt the wind of its passage, and felt its claws snag and then rip from the fabric of his shirt. 

Marvin found himself facing the opposite direction now, the bright glow of the tunnel entrance a beacon drawing him back. Using his grip on the handle as leverage he launched himself up the passage, arms and legs flailing like a drowning man clawing for the surface. A roar of pain and frustration rose from behind as the creature took stock of a splintered claw. Not bothering to look back, Marvin took advantage of the momentary interruption of the chase to put as much distance as possible between himself and the beast. 

Heartened by his small victory, he raced back up the tunnel with renewed vigor, allowing himself a quick glance backward to ensure the pursuit had not yet resumed. Noticing a side corridor he had overlooked in his panic of moments ago, he skidded on the gritty floor, feet scrabbling to propel himself in the new direction offered by the gap in the rock wall. Awakened now to the possibility of losing his pursuer in the labyrinth, Marvin was on the watch for other branches. He turned at the first intersection that presented itself, raced in a new direction, and turned again. 

Certain he had left the beast far behind, Marvin slowed to a trot, then a walk, finally stopping to bend forward, hands on knees, as he sucked in great breaths that burned his throat and made his back teeth hurt. He slowly turned, peering into the gloom in the direction from which he had come, forcing his breath to still while he listened intently for sounds of pursuit. Satisfied, he straightened and looked around. Not sure of his location in the maze of tunnels that he had only recently started to explore, he retraced his path a few steps and stopped. He looked down at the floor, and then back up the tunnel, his eyes following the disturbance left in the dust by his passage. Tracks! With a sickening feeling, he realized he had not lost the beast, only delayed the chase and its inevitable conclusion. 

He turned to resume his flight but paused as he realized the futility of continuing on this course. The tunnel disappeared into dimness in both directions, the stone walls closing on each side. He was trapped in an infinite two-dimensional cell, pursued by an adversary that had the advantage in mass and natural armament, while his own quickness and dexterity would last only as long as his rapidly failing stamina. Overwhelmed by frustration, Marvin threw his head back, closed his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh of resignation, a mental plea going out for salvation. Somebody, somewhere...; but there was no answer. Just the knowledge that in the darkness above the lights, screened by the congestion of suspended pipes, wires and ventilation ducts was solid rock. Inscrutable, immovable, confining rock bearing down oppressively. 

Marvin opened his eyes and peered intently into the dark spaces above. Standing on tiptoe and squinting to see beyond the broad flat duct that ran the length of the tunnel, he could 

make out a void between the congestion of utility conduits and the stone roof. A small space, but perhaps enough for his body, and perhaps just enough to provide a surreptitious means of traveling through the maze of the mining facility, far above the condemning dusty floor. 

Crouching, Marvin leaped, the low lunar gravity allowing him to soar up and secure a fingertip hold on the top edge of the ventilation duct. Careful not to crush the thin metal he pulled himself into the narrow gap between the duct and the stone ceiling above. He was once again facing the way he had come, another reversal of direction. Okay, he thought, backtracking is always a good strategy. Using fingers and sneaker clad toes, he inched himself forward, smiling smugly. 

He had traveled about 20 meters by his estimation, when he detected the sounds of the creature approaching. Still quite far but closing on his position. So, the beast had a rudimentary intelligence, at least enough to recognize the tracks its quarry had left and follow his path. He peered over the edge of the duct, craning his neck in an attempt to see where his tracks had ended in mid-corridor, somewhere behind his present position. What would be the creature’s reaction when the trail abruptly ended? Marvin hoped it would circle in confusion and eventually lope off in a random direction. But did the beast possess advanced reasoning? Would it perhaps deduce the direction its quarry had taken? 

He pondered a moment on the nature of the creature. Slightly larger than himself, bipedal, origin unknown. Marvin had been sleeping in the main room of the habitat section when he had been awakened by the roar of the beast, its hot breath in his face. He had bolted in panic, abandoning the habitat section to seek refuge in the labyrinthine passages of the mine. He was alone in the facility; the senior members of the research team having shuttled back to Lunar Prime on important business while he stood watch. They would not return for several hours yet. He had to hold out, find a place to hide until help arrived. 

From the first day the team had taken up residence in the isolated facility, Marvin knew there was something lurking in the mines. Having set off immediately to familiarize himself with the dim recesses he was soon overcome with unease, a prescience of some unseen, stalking apparition, waiting to catch him alone. That no one else on the team would take his fears seriously only increased his anxiety, which he combated by forcing himself to explore further into the abandoned station, hoping to find some redeeming physical evidence. 

Marvin was drawn from his reverie by another bellow, closer this time. Soon he could hear the shuffling of the great paws as the creature approached. He held his breath as it came into sight and passed below, its eyes intent on his tracks in the dust, occasionally raising its shaggy head to call out, producing a screech that echoed down the tunnel and set his teeth on edge. The beast passed from his view, continuing on the path he had taken earlier. Marvin lay inert in his hiding place until he no longer heard any sound from the creature, and then ever so carefully began to inch along the duct once more. 

For several minutes now Marvin had not heard the beast’s calls. He pictured it continuing away from his position even after the tracks disappeared, its mental faculties unable to grasp the meaning of the sudden end to the trail. He felt safe, confident in his mastery over the creature by way of his intelligence. He was thinking of the warmth and light of the habitat section and a possible hiding place above the ceiling panels while he waited the return of the other team members. He began to move faster, falling into the rhythm of pull-push as he slid along the top of the duct. Then the thin metal gave slightly under his weight, producing a sound like a bass drum that resounded the length the stone-walled passageway. Marvin froze, cringing as the echoes died away. The beast would have heard and would be returning this way. He had to move quickly now, relocate to a different part of the facility. Time to run. He shifted to the edge of the duct, preparing to swing to the floor. 

Looking down to judge the distance he found himself staring into the dark eyes of the monster. It was directly below him, perhaps had even been following his progress for some time. Stalking, waiting for a chance to pounce. He froze, not knowing what to do, while the monster slowly crouched and leaped, talons extended toward him. Marvin recoiled from the grasp, horrified to see the beast establish a grip on the edge of the duct, first with one crimson clawed hand and then the other. The metal groaned under the additional weight, sagged, and then collapsed. Marvin fell, landing in a heap on top of the creature, followed by a tangle of pipes, bundled wires, and twisted metal. The air was filled with dust, clouding the glow of the yellow 

lights for a moment before they flickered and went out, darkness flooding the tunnel. Panic took control once again and Marvin was instantly on his feet, bolting through the darkness toward the light of a distant intersection. 

Turning the corner, he recognized familiar surroundings, a passage he had traversed several times in his excursions from the habitat section. He turned in the direction that would lead home, legs churning in a desperate attempt to reach the safety of bright lights and steel doors ahead his pursuer. In his haste he passed the wide hatch of the habitat entrance and was several yards up the corridor before he skidded to a stop. Immediately in front of him was another heavy steel hatch with a small window above a spoked wheel in the center. 

This was the personnel airlock, beyond which was the featureless vacuum of the lunar surface. Marvin had observed the operation of the airlock many times but was not authorized to use it alone. He studied the dark control panel to one side with its array of buttons and digital displays. His gaze went to the three prominently displayed indicator lights above the door. The green one was glowing brightly, which Marvin knew meant it was safe to enter the chamber, that there was normal air pressure inside. There was also a yellow light that would flash as the airlock cycled, and a red light that would flash continuously to indicate a condition of vacuum inside the chamber. 

Marvin slowly turned the wheel, then pulled at the heavy door, wincing as it opened with a squeal of rusty hinges. He slipped inside when it was open just wide enough to admit his slim body, and pulled it gently closed behind him. At the opposite end of the chamber was another bulkhead door much like the one he had just entered. Marvin walked to it and, standing on tiptoe, looked out the thick glass porthole. He beheld a landscape of gray silt, furrowed by decades of excursions. Tracks that would remain for thousands of years in the windless environment. Marvin shuddered at the desolation and turned to survey the contents of the chamber. 

Along one wall was a metal bench, and above, a row of space suits hanging from a rack. There was one custom sized for him, but the suits were designed on the buddy system. It would take the assistance of another person to be able to get into it, close all the seals and activate the life support backpack. 

A muffled bellow from beyond the airlock door reminded him of his plight and with no other place to go, he stepped onto the metal bench and tried valiantly to hide behind the hanging suits. 

He didn’t have to wait long before a shadow crossed the inner hatch window, and then the door started to swing open. Another call from the beast, almost a whisper now, and the shaggy head appeared inside. Fixating on the outer door the beast rushed across the chamber and pressed its face to the porthole. Seeing his chance Marvin leaped toward the now open and unguarded inner hatch, scrambling through as the monster turned with a screech and lunged after him. Strengthened by adrenaline, Marvin swung the door closed and spun desperately at the wheel, then braced it with his right arm while his left hand clawed indiscriminately at the buttons of the control panel. The displays blazed to life, numbers counting down while the indicator lights above the door changed from green to flashing yellow. A tremendous bellow issued from inside the chamber, the monster pounding at the thick glass while a sound of rushing air grew to a crescendo, then ceased as abruptly as the thrashings of the creature trapped inside. A bloody hand slid slowly down the inside surface of the glass porthole leaving a red-brown smear. 

Marvin backed away; eyes fixed on the door. Placing one foot carefully behind the other he continued to retreat until he eventually fetched up against the cold steel frame of the habitat entrance. Keeping his back solidly against the metal, he pivoted inside, slid to the floor, drew his knees up against his chest, and began to suck his thumb. 

Hours passed, unmarked under the glare of fluorescent lights and whispering ventilation. Marvin remained as he was, immobile and unresponsive, an effigy of defeat in his hour of victory. Immutable even at the sound of human voices drifting down the garage access passage. 

“This was a mistake, moving out here,” the voices drew nearer.
 “I needed the isolation. My research...”
 “Is not the important thing right now. He needs good professional help, not isolation and 

old dark tunnels outside the back door. And this business about seeing monsters...” 

“All in his head. He’ll grow out of it. Geniuses are always creative. He just needs room to explore his abilities.” 

“Like he explored with that child back at Lunar Prime. It’s lucky she survived. I know that’s why you asked to move out here, to keep the council from institutionalizing him.” 

“They don’t lock up seven-year-olds just because of one...little accident.” 

The two adults entered the main room, their conversation left hanging at the sight of Marvin, dirty and disheveled, sitting on the floor. 

“What’s going on...!” The man stepped forward, only to be stopped by the woman’s hand on his arm. 

“Marvin, honey, what are you doing up this late? You were supposed to be bathed and in bed hours ago. And look at you, you’re filthy. Where is your sister?” 

Marvin didn’t speak, but without taking his thumb from of his mouth, he turned his head ever so slowly to stare at the bulkhead door at the end of the corridor behind him. And at the single light above, flashing red...red...red.