Covenant

by Jim Miesner

  He pulled her lips aside and Sam tried to jerk her head away but he pulled it back around and laughed.

  “I wonder what would happen if I sprayed this into your mouth? What do you think it tastes like?”

  Sam wiped the tears from her eyes. “You tell me.”

  He cocked his head in surprise before she dug her knee in between his legs and he dropped to the ground. The spray tumbled away. She crawled over him and grabbed his helmet as he took one of his hands out from between his legs and grabbed her by the neck. She fought through the tears as he squeezed and she could feel her windpipe collapsing. Stars circled around her and then the helmet finally came away with a click. His hand let go, and he grabbed his own mouth now as his eyes bugged out and he coughed and heaved along with the others.

  Sam wheezed in shallow breaths and grabbed her throat as air whistled through her windpipe. She closed her eyes a moment and opened them just in time to see the man grabbing the red wand from his belt. Without hesitating, she grabbed the spray from the floor and jammed it into his mouth.

  His eyes went wide and as soon as she pressed the button, blue liquid shot out of his nostrils as he convulsed on the ground. She wasted no time and pressed the release on his chest. The top half of the suit curled up and peeled away from his body, and she pulled the lower half off. Tossing the suit along with the straps outside the cell, she slid the door closed behind her. The men’s gags slowed as they wheezed and each tried to catch their breath. They watched their friend spastically shake and there was something else on their faces now. Fear.

  She slipped her legs into the suit before she pressed the button again and the top half curled up and enveloped all of her except her head. She looked down at it. It was loose and awkward even as the inner lining tightened to fit her body. She still could smell the stink of the man’s sweat in it. Picking up the helmet, she shook the vomit from the visor before she put it on and clicked it into place.

  “You killed him,” whispered one of the men. “You killed Hawks.”

  Sam looked down as the others continued to cough but the man who she had sprayed lay motionless. His chest wasn’t moving, and he lay in a puddle of blue liquid that still dripped from his red swollen nose and lips. She stared at his lifeless body before she picked up the straps and peered into the de-con room. It was empty except for the fog still on the glass. Hitting the holographic menu, the doors slid open for her.

  “Hey, where are you going?” one of the men yelled. “Hey!”

  Sam stepped inside and hit the button again. One of the men yelled something right before the doors slid closed and cut off his screams. There was no time for compassion in war.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  There was a click as her feet stuck to the floor and she felt her suit lock in place. The floor pulled her forward, and the mist dropped from the ceiling. She couldn’t turn, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the huge nozzle arm as it revolved around her body. She felt the force of the water stream over her, a sprinkle of purple and blue against her helmet, followed by what felt like large brushes rubbing over her, then another blast from the revolving arm as it came from the other direction. The whole process repeated twice more. Finally, a blast of hot air pushed the droplets of water backward over her visor. It shook the whole suit and when it was over, she watched as a light blinked green. The suit loosened to the point she could move her fingers, hands, arms, then at last her legs, and she heard the magnetics in her feet click off.

  “Decontamination complete. Thank you,” said the computer.

  The doors slid open and the other guard sat on a bench. She froze as he zipped up into the standard white security jumpsuit. She hadn’t expected him to be right there.

  “I don’t know about you but I’m ready to get home and hook back up to the refresher,” he said as he looked down at the zipper.

  Sam nodded and tightened her grip on the spray in her hand. She knew there wasn’t much left and if she wanted it to be effective, she would need to get as close as possible. On her helmet display, the man’s name came up under his face. It read Donaldson - District fourteen. It wasn’t far from the district Sam lived in. Had lived in.

  “I was thinking we would be out here forever.” He looked up. “You ever wonder if we’re… What are you doing with that?”

  He cocked his head and acted like he was just getting up nonchalantly, but Sam watched as he held his breath and leapt for the door. She sprayed the cylinder, but he sprinted down the hall. One hand feeling along the wall as he ran. If he got to the cockpit before she did, she would be locked out, all of this would be for nothing.

  She sprinted after him but the suit weighed her down and even blinded and breathless, he was too fast. He rounded the corner for the cockpit. He was almost there, as he neared it, he looked back at Sam through watery slits, pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall and hurled it at her. Sam ducked out of the way just as it shot past her, landed on its handle and a thick cloud of white powder filled the hall. He had missed her but in an instant, there was zero visibility.

  Panic told her to run and find him before it was too late but she knew the sounds of her footsteps would only tip him off. The suit was equipped with heat tracking but she had no time to figure it out. She had to use her ears. The wait was agonizing but then she heard the softest of footsteps and the hiss of a door slide open. Moving toward it she heard it begin to close again. She thrust out her hand and felt the door clamp down on her arm before rolling open again. Moving into the cabin, she saw a man's outline through the powder. He placed a respirator over his face. A wand in his one hand now.

  “Return to quarantine,” he said and held it out toward her as it glowed blue.

  The powder dissipated, but it still encircled their feet like they were standing on some kind of cloud. He stared at her with bleary red eyes. His nose must have been running because instinctively he wiped at the mask with his arm.

  “Return to quarantine. I won’t ask again.”

  Sam dropped the spray to the ground. She still had the straps though and found herself swinging them in the air. With all of her energy, she swung the metal buckle at the wand. As soon as she let it go, she knew it was way too high to hit the intended target. A moment later the buckle glanced off Donaldson’s skull, and he fell to the ground. The wand skittered across the floor and stopped at Sam's feet.

  “I guess that works, too,” she told herself and picked it up.

  Donaldson touched the cut on his forehead. He tried to get to his feet before Sam dug the wand into his shoulder and he dropped back to the ground. She held it there for several seconds before pulling it away. He groaned on the floor and didn’t move as she looked over to see the pilot who was hurriedly putting an emergency air mask over his own face, before putting his hands in the air.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  Taking the straps, she tossed them at him. “Wind these around his wrists and feet.”

  He grabbed them and did as she asked. Halfway through, Donaldson attempted to kick his body around with no more danger than a fish flopping on the floor.

  Sam picked up the spray and put it back in her holster. After attaching the wand to the other side of her belt, she twisted off the helmet.

  “Why are you doing this?” the pilot asked through the mask. On his uniform pocket was the name Reynolds.

  “Turn it around.”

  Reynolds laughed. “The ship? Are you crazy? I can’t. It’s on auto.”

  She pushed him back against the panel.

  “Then find a way or I cut the power and we see who survives a crash.”

  “Are you nuts?”

  She pulled the respirator away from his face and raised the cylinder toward it. “Probably.”

  Whether there was or wasn’t any spray left, didn’t matter, it had the effect she needed. His eyes began to tear up as she held it there.

  “Okay. Just stop pointing that at me.”

  Sam lowered it and he turned aro
und toward the control panel, putting the mask back over his face. He went through menus. The controls of the ship she had taken with Jenny had been simple, this wasn't. He scrolled through the menu settings as screens blinked from one to the next, too fast to read.

  “Slow it down. You try anything, send any message, and I’ll make sure no one ever finds us.”

  He took a breath and went through the menu slower now until he came to the override settings. A joystick popped up out of the console and red lights lit up around it.

  “Entering manual override,” said the computer.

  The main screen lit up with a terrain map and an icon of the ship on it. Sam watched as the little ship curved around. Gravity gently pulled her to the side now, and she held onto the console.

  “We’ll be there soon,” he said. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Why am I doing what?”

  “Fighting. You have to know there is no chance of victory. How can you expect to beat them?”

  She looked out on the landscape with the mountains and the lake on the horizon.

  “You’re going to get us all killed.”

  She turned to him and looked him right in the eyes. “Probably.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Sam walked back down the ramp where the lake once again stretched out in front of her. John’s body bobbed a little farther out from the shore. She looked up to the sky and squeezed the little yellow tubes in her hand as she wondered what she would tell them when they woke up.

  Marlena and Emmanuel were still motionless on the beach. A vulture hopped around Emmanuel and as Sam ran toward him it squawked and took off. Overhead more giant birds circled in the air. She rolled Emmanuel onto his back and felt for a pulse. A sense of relief flooded over her when she felt a steady beat. Brushing the sand from his beard, she pulled the darts from his arms and chest before she moved onto Marlena and did the whole thing over again.

  There had been three in Marlena and four in Emmanuel. Sam held the yellow tube a few inches from Marlena’s neck and watched a smile wink across her face as her eyes fluttered behind her eyelids. She was dreaming and Sam was about to wake her up into a nightmare. She wasted no time and pressed it into her throat. Marlena’s back arched, her eyes shot open, and she screamed out a gasp before she coughed.

  “What? The Coven,” she said and rolled to her side. “They’re here, we have to…”

  Getting to her hands and knees she tried to use Sam for support to stand.

  “Marlena, stop. They’re gone.”

  She looked around again and blinked as if she didn’t understand where the voice had come from. Sam took advantage of the pause and pressed the other tube into Emmanuel’s neck. His eyes shot open as he gasped too and a moment later, he began to cough. He put his hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples.

  “What happened?” he asked. He grabbed Sam’s shoulder enough to pull his head up. “The Coven?”

  “They’re gone,” Sam said. “Most of them.”

  Emmanuel rubbed his eyes before he rolled over and got to his knees. “Where’s John, Daniel, and Jenny?”

  A tear rolled down Sam’s cheek and her voice wavered as she spoke. “They took them. John tried to stop them, but…” Her gaze turned toward the lake.

  She watched the color drain from Emmanuel and Marlena’s faces as they looked out on the water. John’s body still floated in the small patch of the lake where the sun’s glimmer reflected on the surface. They both crawled forward. Emmanuel was the first to stand and stumble into the water. He splashed through the water with four giant steps. When he was a little over knee deep, he dove in and swam out to him. Reaching John, he picked his old friend’s head up and treaded water while Marlena stood frozen at the shore.

  “John?” he said. “John?”

  “Which one of them did this? Which one was it?” Marlena whispered.

  “Councilman Card.”

  Emmanuel grabbed him by the arm and towed him back. When he could stand again, he dragged his body the last few feet until Marlena took John’s other arm and helped pull him up onto the beach. They laid him down as if he was still alive, taking care to make sure his head didn't smack against the ground. When he was all laid out Emmanuel touched the red skin on the right side of his face where his beard had been. It was smooth and shiny. So was his arm and most of the right side of his body. Emmanuel pushed his eyelids closed.

  “What did they do to him?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  Something caught in Sam’s throat as she tried to speak and his head snapped toward her. She wasn’t surprised he was upset. His flock had been slaughtered, his son kidnapped, his best friend killed, his people tormented, all for what? For two strangers they hadn’t even known a few days ago? For a split second, the fire in his eyes reminded her of the councilman.

  “What did they do to him?”

  “He got one of their weapons, took cover in those bushes.” She pointed. “He demanded they leave Daniel and Jenny… Card burned him out, then shot him full of tranqs before he drowned him.”

  Marlena stroked John’s hair and kissed his forehead before Emmanuel stood up and stormed down the beach. He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Ah,” he screamed and thrust his balled fists out at his sides.

  He turned around, then back again, then around again, he looked around for something, anything to hit, but there was nothing and all he could do was take it out on the sand by kicking it. He glanced at Sam with his fist still balled tight. They locked eyes and then he glanced at the ship again and back to Sam.

  “Who’s in there?” he asked and pointed.

  “No one important.”

  He stormed toward the ship.

  “Emmanuel, no,” she said and followed after. “Stop.”

  Emmanuel stormed ahead and disappeared through the hatch. Sam was almost to the ramp when she heard Reynolds yelp.

  “Please. No. Not out there,” he said. “I can’t.”

  A moment later he was tumbling end over end down the ramp until he landed in the sand. Emmanuel followed right behind him, holding Reynolds’ mask in his hand. Reynolds looked back at him as he covered his mouth and then ran toward Sam before he tripped.

  “I can’t be out here. I’ll get sick. Tell him,” Reynolds yelled. “Tell him I need to be back on the ship.”

  He crawled behind Sam at the sound of Emmanuel’s footsteps. Sam waved her hands in protest.

  “Don’t do this,” she said. “We need him.”

  Emmanuel sneered at her. “How do you know what I need?” Then he grabbed Reynolds by the collar, ripped him away and dragged him toward the water as he kicked and screamed.

  “Please, not the water. I can’t. It’s even worse than the air. Animals defecate in there.”

  “You should have thought about that when you let your friend kill John.”

  “Please. No. Stop. I’m sorry about your friend. I’m sorry about your son. I wasn’t a part of it.”

  Emmanuel threw him into the water and he landed on his hands and knees before getting back to his feet. He looked at his wet hands with dread as if he had landed in toxic waste.

  “Do you want your son back? Whatever it is you want I can help you get it.”

  “Lies,” Emmanuel said and pushed him.

  Reynolds’ eyes pleaded for help as he looked back at Sam. “Please.”

  Emmanuel grabbed him by the collar and slammed his body down into waist-deep water.

  “Your people killed him,” Emmanuel said and pointed to John.

  “I’m just a pilot. What am I going to do?”

  Emmanuel picked him up and slammed his body down into waist-deep water as Reynolds’ arms and legs flailed to keep his head above the surface.

  “Ack, I got… some in my mouth. Stop.”

  Emmanuel tightened his grip on his collar and lifted him back up again as he stared into his eyes.

  “I’ll do whatever you want. Please. What do you want?”

&
nbsp; Emmanuel pressed him under again but this time he held him there. Reynolds’ arms and legs kicked out in surprise. His legs going sideways as he tried to right himself. His hands struggled against Emmanuel’s grip. The muscles in Emmanuel’s arms flexed as Reynolds' eyes bulged just below the surface.

  “Stop it,” Sam said.

  If Emmanuel heard her, he didn’t show it.

  “Stop it!” Sam yelled.

  She ran forward. Emmanuel’s head turned a hair before she slammed into him. He let go and put his hands out to brace himself from falling. Reynolds’ face broke the surface gasping for air before he got to his knees, scrambled out of Emmanuel’s reach and put his hand to his neckline where he felt the stretched-out collar of his uniform. He coughed and looked around as if he couldn’t believe he was still alive.

  “You want someone to drown?” Sam asked. “I’m the one you should hold under water. All of this is my fault. All of it! This is what they want. They want us to fight with each other. Anything to keep us from doing whatever it takes to get those kids back. To keep us from standing against them.”

  Emmanuel took a long deep breath. Water dripped down his face and chest. “We’ve tried before. We can’t win. What’s different now?”

  “You have me,” Sam said, “and him.”

  Reynolds crawled his way to the shore as he hacked and a long stream of spit extended from his mouth to the sand.

  “I can feel it in my stomach,” Reynolds whined. “It’s in my stomach. Fecal matter. It’s in my stomach.” He spat in the sand again. “Fish piss. Do you know this whole lake is basically fish piss?”

  Emmanuel walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. “Where are they taking them?”

  His eyes darted between Emmanuel, Sam and Marlena. Emmanuel held up the mask and waved it in the air and Reynolds reached for it as he pulled it away.

  “Where are they taking them?” Emmanuel repeated.