Prison Mountain

by Scott Hilkene

After getting my fill of air, we went back to the shared living space and opened another bottle of wine. This time, the ghost joined our gathering, but continued to stay silent except the occasional expression that spoke volumes.

  “So if that is the only land, why is it so tall and which mountain range is it?”

  Captain Issolar finished his drink and said, “It is no mountain range you would remember. It more or less popped up after the attacks stopped and it grew over time, over the long years. As the sea grew, it grew. The Earth is a water planet now, its land is gone forever except for the mountain that no one treads, not that there is anyone left on the planet. Nothing alive in the sea either. Now Janus, it is your turn.”

  It was amazing, but I wanted to share with the Captain and Anton everything. Something had changed in me and it was cleansing, but affirming in the way that allowed me to deal with what was happening.

  “I can't even tell you what the year was, I either don't remember or I cannot bring myself to accept it. We were fighting against the soul catchers, as best we could. We never had an official name for them, but that is what some of us, the less religious, called them. It was a night like any other, but like no other. We were taken before fear took hold of us. Those things liked to make sure we were scared shit-less before dragging people to hell with them. That night was different.

  “Everyone around me who was in the cave under my house was taken. Those things somehow widened the tunnels we made. It had to be something in the soil, but everything in that area was nothing like the rest of the world. No one could tell me why or how, but at first we were the only ones who started digging tunnels. It was by chance that we found that Earth could slow them down or stop them. Just a handful of dirt thrown and they would be frozen or phased out for a second, long enough to get away.

  “It did not matter in the end. Everyone was taken and I was alone. The evil mother captured me and made me a part something important, something I can't remember. She needed me for a...” And here I could not bring myself to say it. I would not say it.

  “A catalyst to tap into the Earth's energy?” Anton said.

  “Maybe. But it was a type of spiritual energy.”

  The Captain stood, wavered a bit, then said, “We guessed most of that when you fainted at the notion of the current year. There is a lot we understand about spiritual energy now. An example is that lovely spirit you have a crush on, Janus,” he laughed. “Was there anyone else?”

  “Everyone was gone.”

  “What did she do with the bodies of those lost?” I asked.

  “No one knows. Not one. Not in the history of the war were any of them ever found.”

  “That is horrible,” Anton said wiping his eyes.

  No one said anything for a few minutes, the silence thickened as seconds passed. Standing, I thought about thanking them, but I did not know how. I could see in their eyes as they looked at me the sadness of what I had done to the Earth. A thousand years later, no one cried over the wars of the crusades. What she did to humanity runs deeper than anything like that. What she did to the Earth really was a curse. To be able to explain it in my own mind, I rationalized that the Earth was stained through me, and so many years later, those descendants were affected, either through genetics or their spirits were scarred forever.

  But what I kept coming back to was I disappointed the entirety of humanity. I dared not share it. The thought haunted me. It was my fault. Each person alive deserves to rip out my heart and burn my body. I wished someone would rid me of this guilt. But maybe that was the wine talking.

  “Good night,” I said and took two steps before grabbing the couch for support. Realizing I had no idea how to get back to the bed I woke from.

  “Oh wait,” said Anton. “I can show you to a room. That okay Cap?”

  “Sure son,” he slurred. Then he said to me, “Ask my love to set your alarm for Earth time zero-five-thirty. We will see the sunrise together then decide how to proceed.”

  “What did he mean by his love?”

  “The ship, or the computer, whichever you prefer. It is an ongoing affair.”

  We walked back towards the med-room I was in, but all the doorways were on the opposite side. Anton caught me looking around. Apparently, the ship was symmetrical.

  “So how did you get so lucky to catch a ride on this ship?”

  Anton sighed deeply and said almost too softly to hear, “I do not remember anything before he found me. It was on another planet. I was lying face down in a desert. The ship's sensors told him there was life on the planet. There was not supposed to be. I don't remember anything except the sand, my name, and this dream I cannot leave...” Then, shaking his head, “Well, it is just a dream. We came here to explore, not out of curiosity, but because...”

  “Go on. Can't be any worse than living in a prison, with an evil that makes Satan look like the ice cream man.”

  He laughed at that, but I am sure he did not know what an ice cream man was. And I was not sure why I was feeling so open to Anton. For as long as I remember, the evil darkness that surrounded Earth had made me cold. Never had I smiled around anyone after losing them. Issolar, Anton, and the Spirit for that matter, were all a mirror image of humanity after I failed everyone, yet here I laughed with another human as if I was free of my actions, a free man who did not deserve to be called human. Had to be the wine.

  “We came here because I dreamed of the Earth and a house on a hill. I don't know. I have no memories, only feelings and emotions that are so strong, I think they may break me. It is almost like I know things from the emotion of a conversation or a sight.

  “It sounds really foolish, but sometimes I think the four of us, this ship, we are all supposed to be here, all at this very time. Something is going to happen...”

  “Look. If you believe that, and Issolar came here because he believed you, that is good enough for me.”

  “You don't have to put a pillow under my head.”

  The saying threw me.

  “Are they still saying that in the future?”

  “I don't know, remember? And this is the present,” he said pointedly, but smirking all the same.

  “Oh yeah, duh.”

  “Duh?”

  “Never heard duh before?”

  “No,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

  We talked the rest of the way to the living quarters and I enjoyed his company. Even while we disagreed on some things, we still got along extremely well. It was like I was talking to a very good friend.

  Anton led me to a room that could have been any room on the ship. They all appeared to look alike, but he said this was one of the nicer rooms before leaving me to it. It was not bad, still very metallic in decor, and comfortable to say the least. The design of the bed was exquisitely simple, contoured the shape of my body, and hovered about a foot off the ground.

  “Computer?” I said to the air, hoping to get a response somehow for this damn alarm. Nothing. I tried, “Set Alarm.” Nothing there. There was a control panel tilted at a forty-five degree angle on a pedestal next to the bed. I put my hand on the panel, but fumbled a bit. A blue hologram in the shape of a cube rose and floated above the panel. It was exactly like the one in the cargo bay. Without really thinking, my hand was already in the cube and the room left me.

  I was standing in a large, circular room that had blue, cross-sectioned walls and computer panels all around. The floor stepped down in levels that were six feet long and each level had circular rows of computer stations and monitors that looked like various portions of the ship's controls. Every station was manned by a blue figure without clothes, and to my astonishment, without a face. As I arrived, they turned their heads toward me, which was discerning, but still worked as they looked at me. Creepy.

  “Hi. Uh... I need to set my alarm for zero-five-thirty.”

  Immediately, one of the figures walked to me and I could then see it was
not solid, but a computer image of a humanoid figure, but had substance enough to interact with the room. It spoke in a pleasant female voice, “Your alarm is set. Please say alarm off when you no longer need it. Would you like me to set the alarm to occur at the same time every day from this point forward?”

  “Uh, no. Only tomorrow please, for now. Thanks.”

  “You are welcome Janus.”

  “How do you...?”

  “The Captain indicated you name when it did not come up in our database. Please use caution. Your heart rate is up and the alcohol level in your systems may cause impairment.”

  “Holy shit! How...?”

  “Please Janus, get some rest.”

  “How do I...?”

  “Close your eyes and remember where your hand is now.”

  Just as quickly as I was put in that blue room, I was back in the bedroom, my hand in the hologram, and I was still lying on the bed. The room spun slightly and I felt numb. I knew from seeing so many others that alcohol is the prime pill for forgetfulness, but I will never forget. My heart was in mourning as I lay alone, a fire somewhere blazing within me smoldered and went out long ago and I cannot find the spark to light it again. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything was lost to my dreams and my dreams left me alone in blackness. The songs of my life played against mirrors and reflected its dark blackness back onto me. The evil pushed my soul to the place where my last memories were kept, locked away until I could allow myself to dream again of the times my soul was no longer black, but filled with light and hope. For a time, I waited, alone, in peace with my freedom, but in hell with my guilt.

  ~