Dani struggled to find her voice before weakly managing to utter, “Did I have a heart attack?”
“Hah,” the warden chortled and stepped away from the bed. “Wouldn’t that have saved everyone a lot of trouble? No, my dear, it was just a panic attack. Though you caused such a scene I was forced to cancel the rest of visitor’s day. I’m afraid you won’t be too popular with the other inmates.”
Dani sighed and closed her eyes, trying to disappear into the lumpy pillow beneath her head. “Great.”
“Oh, by the way...,” Warden Quill spun on his heel with the grace of a bowling ball. “Your attorney notified me that your request for appeal was denied.”
Her already-dry mouth seemed to dry up even more. “So, I’ll be executed then.”
The warden’s round head bobbled as he smiled. “As soon as you’re healthy enough. In fact, you’ve been upgraded to your own cell so we can keep a better eye on you. You know, to make sure you don’t get any wild ideas about how to avoid a public execution. This will be the highest-rated death sentence fulfillment the GC has had in decades. Can’t let them down.”
Dani’s eyes watched the warden waddle out of the infirmary before turning to look at the nurse. “You should have let me die.”
The nurse offered a kind smile and shook her head. “Oh, honey, a panic attack wouldn’t have killed you.”
The words offered little condolence for Dani as she pushed up into a seated position on the bed.
“I’ll send in a guard to escort you to your new cell,” the nurse said as she slipped out the door.
Dani stepped into her standard-issue slippers and steadied herself as she stood. This just keeps getting better, said the sarcastic voice in her head.
The door opened again, a guard stepping in.
Dani made her way over to him, feeling like she had recently been hit by a truck. She took his arm as he extended it. “Thanks.”
“That was a pretty rough visit,” he said as he opened the door.
It was the same guard she had spoken with a few times. Dani had come to know his voice well. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she just grunted as they stepped into the corridor.
“There won’t be many prisoners on our path. Most should be in the mess hall for lunch.”
Dani nodded silently. She was glad; the last thing she wanted to deal with was more hate.
Jag’s anger echoed through her body, his words tearing at her mind. She never imagined he would have reacted this way. Sure, they had butted heads from time to time about some of her decisions, but she’d never seen him so mad.
“I’m guessing you heard about the appeal?” she asked, desperate to refocus her thoughts on a new topic. Even death seemed a more pleasant conversational direction than what happened in the visitor’s lounge.
“I did. I’m sorry,” he replied as they turned a corner.
Dani stopped as she saw Geneva and her band of pirates ahead.
The guard kept walking, giving Dani no choice in the matter since he still supported her by the arm.
The pirate women stopped their chatter as Dani and the guard approached. Geneva’s eyes caught Dani’s momentarily, but there was something there other than anger or hatred. It was pity.
Dani quickly looked away, staring at the floor until they reached their destination. This cell, unlike her previous cell, had a solid door rather than one made of bars. While she liked the idea of added privacy, it almost completely cut her off from the rest of the prison. It was through a second secure gate that blocked access for the general population of prisoners.
The guard opened the door and extended an arm, almost as if he were offering the cell to her.
Dani hesitated in the hall, looking into the small, plain room. It didn’t look like much, but she suddenly regretted how she’d treated Meg, the last person she’d likely meet before the execution.
“Will I still see you?” Dani asked, turning toward the guard. She had never actually seen him, as he always wore the necessary gear and helmet, but she hoped he understood what she meant.
“Not as often, I’m afraid.”
Dani nodded but didn’t step into the room. “How long do I have?”
“I can’t answer that, but I do need you to step inside.”
Dani took a deep breath and entered the cell, turning to look back at the guard. “Thanks for everything.”
The guard paused a moment and then closed the door. The loud clang echoed through the small room. Dani’s few items were in a small basket sitting on the bed. She moved it to the floor and lay down on the mattress, the gravity of her situation sinking in even further. She was going to die. Alone.
* * *
The days and nights blurred together as Dani remained locked away from the world in her cell with only her thoughts.
At first the solitude was overwhelming. Her only human contact was when whichever guard was on duty would slide her food tray into her room through a flap at the bottom of the door. She spent many hours lying with her cheek on the cold stone floor, just to catch a glimpse of another person’s feet as they walked by.
As she adapted, the loneliness became easier to tolerate and her longing looks through the door flap decreased in frequency. Instead, she resorted to other methods to pass the time. Dani was acutely aware of every inch of her room. She knew how many stone blocks made up each wall, the floor, and the ceiling. She learned which movements she could make while lying in bed to create a symphony of squeaks. Dani even made a few feeble attempts at meditation.
Her instincts had dulled in this prison, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach out and get a feel for her surroundings outside the small cell. Eventually, the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall grew to mean nothing to her. Until one day, they did.
“Devereaux, you have a visitor.”
Dani looked up from her cuticles as her cell door slid open.
“Holy moly, you’ve really let yourself go, haven’t you?” Howard stepped into her cell and shook his head, fists on his hips.
Dani laughed, overjoyed to see her old friend, and stood to hug the old man. “It’s hard to get into the spa around here.” She tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears.
Howard nodded to the guard, who stepped outside and slid the cell door closed.
“So what brings you to my little slice of hell? I didn’t think anyone else was coming.”
“Anyone else?” Howard eased himself onto the corner of her cot.
“Yeah,” Dani said, sitting next to Howard and staring down at her feet. “Jag stopped by.”
Howard pursed his lips together. “I see.”
Dani simply nodded.
Howard placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’s just angry that he wasn’t able to do anything to help you. I promise, we all really do appreciate what you did for us, but it’s difficult. None of us feel right about you being locked away.”
“Howard, there’s no reason for you to be stuck in here too. You didn’t do anything.”
“Yeah, well, neither did you.”
Dani pursed her lips and sat on the bed. “How is everyone?”
“Not great. They’re keeping a close eye on us. We’re all grounded. I’m pretty sure it’s killing Jag.”
Dani nodded. “So he said. The longest I’ve seen him on the ground was about ten days. I’m sure this has been hell on him. What about Cassia? Cruz?”
“Cruz is out of lockup, but he’s on probation. Cassia had a hard time with the whole thing. She checked herself into a psychiatric facility. I’ve been managing well enough.”
“I’m sorry, Howard. I don’t know how this all went sideways. I’ve been replaying everything in my head, over and over. I just keep thinking that if I did something differently—”
“Look, Dani, I need to talk to you about something,” Howard interrupted, lowering his voice and leaning in close.
Dani raised an eyebrow and tilted her ear his direction.
“I’m working on g
etting you out of here.”
She stared at him a moment. “What?”
“I’ve been working with some of the higher ups. There’s this project they’ve been working on and they’re not having much success. They need a good pilot.”
Dani sat back and crossed her arms. “They aren’t going to let me just walk out of here.”
“No, they’re not. The entire GC would riot. You’re going to have to die first.”
“Wait...” Dani rapidly shook her head from side to side. “What?”
“It comes down to the fact that someone has to be held responsible for what happened. You pled guilty and put that hat on yourself. They can’t just let you out. You have to cease to exist.”
“Okay...” She stared at Howard out of the side of her eye, not quite following.
“We have an ally, a friend of your father’s. He’s leading this new, top-secret GC project. The pilots they’re giving him aren’t up to snuff. He needs someone better. Someone like you.”
Dani nodded slowly. “Alright, so I just have to die and then I’ll be free to pilot again. Do you hear yourself?” She stood and walked in a circle around the small space.
“I just need you to trust me on this. Take care of yourself and keep your nose clean. I don’t need you dying before you’re executed.”
Dani scrunched up her forehead, still not completely understanding the plan. “This isn’t making any sense.”
“I can’t go into any more detail. Just please, stay out of trouble.” Howard stood and patted Dani on the knee. “I told your father I’d take care of you, and I meant it.”
“I trust you, even if I still have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” Dani stood and gave him another hug.
“I better get going. I need to keep the rest of the crew out of trouble too. Jag has been particularly difficult to manage. Lots of anger in that young man.”
“Stay safe.”
Howard knocked on the sheet metal door, and it slid open. He gave a little wave before he stepped out.
“Everything set?” Dani’s friendly guard asked Howard as he looked between the two of them.
“I believe so. Thanks for your help again, David.”
Dani’s eyes widened and she stepped toward the door. “Your name is David?”
The guard ignored her, sliding her door shut once more, but that didn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. David. It was nice to have a name to put with the man who had been so kind to her.
She walked back toward her bed and sat down, going over the conversation with Howard once more. She had found her sliver of light. Dani ballooned up her cheeks in a long, exaggerated sigh. I just have to die... sure. No problem.
* * *
Dani stood, staring in a small, polished metal mirror. Her hair was piled onto her head in a messy bun, her face puffy and raw. The hope that she’d be released prior to her execution had long faded from her mind, shortly after Warden Quill gave her notice of her execution date.
He’d stopped by her cell what felt like a week after Howard’s visit and advised they would move forward with the execution in a mere ten days.
She searched her own eyes, looking for who she used to be. The strong woman she prided herself on being had shrunken down into the shell of the woman she looked at now. The last ten days were a constant mixture of emotions. Part of her wanted to live, to be free and work for this mysterious stranger, while the other part just wanted this whole situation to be done and over with.
The sliver of hope she had gained from the conversation with Howard wasn’t enough to keep her spirits up, especially not after the execution became more real. She tried to grasp onto that measly bit of hope, but with no further visits from Howard and no sign of David, it was like grasping at a wisp of smoke.
“I feel like I should say goodbye to you,” she spoke to the reflection. “But I’m not even sure who you are anymore.”
The blank eyes stared back at her. She had never imagined that not seeing the stars for a mere six weeks would fade the sparkle from her eye. She felt lost without the celestial beings to guide her, alone without her crew, and trapped. Her cell had become a starless, dark hell each night as she lived like a caged animal day in and day out.
Her thoughts were disrupted by the clang of her cell door as it opened.
“It’s time,” Warden Quill said nonchalantly as a guard stepped into her cell and placed the familiar restraints upon her wrists. “I’m surprised you didn’t have any requests. I figured you’d at least want to see the stars one last time.”
Dani shrugged. “I don’t see the point.” She had entertained the idea of making such a request, but ultimately decided against it. The night sky always gave her a feeling of hope and purpose. She didn’t want to get that back just to lose it again the following day.
The guard and Warden Quill escorted Dani into a chamber surrounded by medical equipment and glass windows. On the other side of the panes were members of the press with their cameras and a number of protestors. Signs reading Make her suffer! and She doesn't deserve death! bobbed as the crowd booed and hissed as she was directed to her seat.
“A little different than the crowds you’re accustomed to having, I imagine.” The warden chuckled as he removed her restraints and strapped her to the chair. “Any last words?”
Dani glared at the tiny man and shook her head slowly from side to side. It took every ounce of self-control to not break free of his weak grasp and snap his bifocals in half. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, determined to not allow anger to cloud her final thoughts. She retreated into her mind much like she did in her meditation attempts in her cell. The grumbling crowd and smartass comments from the warden fell away. She began rewinding her thoughts. Howard’s strange visit, the crack in the wall, Meg’s mysterious note with the coordinates, the trial, the arrest.
She went back to the moment that she had launched off of Alaska’s Vengeance just before tumbling into the airlock on the Triak’gue. Dani took in the stars and the freedom of space. The vibrant colors of the surrounding stars, the complete silence of it all. Even the energy shot that finished off her beloved ship happened in total silence.
She lingered in that moment, relishing in the brief flash of complete freedom as the needle pierced her skin. Her veins grew hot as the machine pumped the compound into her system. One by one, the stars slowly started to fade until she was adrift in a void of nothingness. Her body and reality seemed like such an abstract idea. All physical sensations were gone. Her consciousness teetered somewhere between the plane of existence and nonexistence.
This must be what it’s like to be dead. It’s not so bad.
Dani willed her hand to wave in front of her face but realized she had no control of her extremities. A glance downward was a view of more darkness rather than her body. Maybe she had no extremities, no body, but that didn’t correspond to the undeniable itchiness that she felt where her chest would be.
The itchiness intensified.
Then pain.
A rift opened up in the dark space surrounding her, a sliver of light emerging in the blackness.
“Clear!”
A current of electricity ripped through Dani’s chest, causing her to gasp and flail. The slit of light exploded, and the stars were replaced by harsh fluorescent lighting as Dani’s eyes popped open and pain ripped through her body and she gagged and gasped for air.
“We did it. She’s back.”
To Be Continued . . .
Osirion’s Ascent
Ardent Redux Saga:
Episode 2
By
J. L. Stowers
Copyright © 2018 by J. L. Stowers
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Edition, 2018
Editing: Keri Karandrakis
Cover Art: Tiffany at Dark Matter Book Covers
Visit the author’s website at www.jlstowers.com
Dedication
For Cindy.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 1
Dani Devereaux blinked rapidly; the dark abyss that surrounded her only moments ago was replaced with obnoxiously bright lights. Her chest burned from the electric current that tore through her body and brought her back to the land of the living. Dani propped herself up on an elbow and tried to focus her eyes as she looked around the room.
The warden chuckled as a doctor checked her pulse, machines beeping and chirping all around her.
Great, I’m in hell.
“Thank goodness.” Howard breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to Dani’s side, patting her on the hand.
“Howard, you asshole!” The words creaked out of her dry throat.
“She’s back alright.” Howard’s deep belly laugh filled the room.
Dani struggled to sit up, pulling on Howard to do so. Her head throbbed, the lights still burning her eyes. She could barely make out the table of expended medical supplies next to her. There appeared to be a number of syringes and medications.
The doctor lifted a large needle and withdrew a deep purple liquid from a vial before turning toward Dani.
“Hey, stop, what is that?” She held up a hand in protest.
The doctor continued to advance. “This will help ensure your heart doesn’t stop again.”
“At least for now.” Warden Quill laughed.
Dani glared at the man, confused about his part in the charade.
Warden Quill frowned at her glare and turned toward the doctor who was just finishing the injection. “Is the paperwork in order, Doctor?”
The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5 Page 9
