S69Q_1

by Aline Riva

  He looked up from his drink.

  “I am listening, Mack!”

  Then Mack drained the last drop from his glass and set it down heavily, casting an odd glance at Jinx, who hadn't seemed quite right since he had arrived back home from his long trip.

  “Listening to what?”

  Jinx froze. The voices were still talking – in his head, Mack and Cora.

  Mack?

  But Mack was sitting in front of him...

  His hand shook as he set the glass down on the table.

  “I'm not over the long flight. And I still get ringing in my ears sometimes, it was a nasty whack on the head.”

  “And that was months ago. You should be okay now. I think Jody should take a look at you, I'll go and fetch her.”

  “No, you don't need to do that -”

  Mack had left the room.

  Jinx looked down at Sin with a flicker of panic in his eyes.

  “Did Neve say I might get any side effects from having the memory wipe?”

  Sin shook her head.

  “What about after the surgery? Did she mention any lasting damage or problems?”

  “No, why?”

  Jinx shook his head.

  “Never mind...forget I said it. It must be this place, coming back here, reminding me of...something.”

  “What are we going to do, Jinx? I know we need to lock them up on the ship...But what's the plan right now, what's next? We could be trapped here like this for days!”

  “I'll lure them over one by one,” Jinx told her, “Don't worry – no one will touch you, I've told Mack you're entirely mine. I'll start with Zeke...but I'm not sure where to find him, I can't recall.”

  “The kitchen,” Sin said, her face pale as she dreaded the thought of entering that room and seeing the cannibal meals being prepared.

  Jinx got up from his seat.

  “Then we'll start right now – the kitchen...” he paused for thought, then as a vague recollection of where it ought to be came to mind, as Sin got up from the floor he briefly grasped her hand, then he left the room and headed for the kitchen as she followed, nervously glancing behind her as they went down the hallway, but so far there was no sign of Mack or Jody.

  Mack had gone upstairs and found Jody on the balcony of their vast bedroom. She had smiled as he slipped his arms around her and stood behind her, placing a kiss on her neck before speaking softly into her ear.

  “He's home. Rik is back.”

  “I saw the ship come in to land,” she replied, leaning back against his shoulder as she looked up at him and smiled, “It's better when we're all together, it never feels right when one of us is missing.”

  As he held her and they looked out across the rolling hillside, Mack felt that creeping suspicion of something not being right as he recalled how Jinx had seemed different some how since his return.

  “Rik doesn't seem right...”

  “In what way?”

  “I'm not sure...he said he had a head injury while doing some maintenance to the ship. But he also said that was months back. I told him to ask you to check it out, but he refused. He just seems a bit shaken up, quiet...then he's same old Jinx again.”

  “What about Sin?”

  Mack chuckled.

  “He's got her under control very nicely. She's absolutely passive, he's broken her in well.”

  “I bet he has!”

  “I can just imagine what he did to her in all those months he was away,” Mack said softly, kissing her neck again, “I wish I'd been there to watch.”

  She turned around to face him as her eyes sparkled playfully.

  “Don't get any ideas about turning me into a sex slave!”

  “I wouldn't dream of it!”

  “Well you can dream,” she teased, “But that won't ever be a reality!”

  “I do love you,” Mack said softly.

  She leaned in and replied with a kiss, then he let go of her again.

  “Let's go and welcome Jinx home properly,” Jody said, “I'm sure Zeke can come up with something special for dinner tonight!”

  As they linked hands and walked from the bedroom, they turned for the upper hall that led to the staircase.

  “Do we have any heads left?” Jody wondered, “Something with brains might be nice.”

  “I think we had the last of the heads three days back,” Mack replied as they began to make their way down the stairs. He paused to rub his sore hip, “Shit, it's catching me again. I should have remembered my cane, I left it downstairs.”

  “You'll be okay,“ Jody replied as they headed for the ground floor, “I'm still thinking... what can we give Jinx that would mean a lot to him? I'd even let him have the last of the eyeballs if we had any heads left!”

  “You'd give away the last of the eyeballs? That is generous, eyes are your favourite!”

  They reached the bottom of the stairs and Mack rubbed at his hip again, then as the pain radiated to his back Jody stepped closer and placed her hand on his lower back, rubbing through his clothing in a gentle circular motion.

  “Better?”

  “Much, thank you,” Mack replied, but his mind was still turning over thoughts on dinner, “Heads.. that reminds me, I thought something was missing!”

  “Missing?”

  “Rik's tooth necklace. He wasn't wearing it.”

  “I hope he hasn't lost it!” Jody exclaimed, “That was from his first kill. He really enjoyed pulling those teeth, too!”

  “He's not been without it, not since the crash on S69Q-1... I just can't see him parting with it. I'll ask him about it.”

  As they walked slowly along the downstairs hallway, their conversation carried on.

  “Maybe we could have a barbecue tonight!” Jody said excitedly, “I fancy spit roasting a thigh!”

  Mack put his arm around her waist and paused to kiss her fondly.

  “Let's put all our ideas to the chef and see what he thinks,” he replied.

  Jinx and Sin had already reached the kitchen. There was a couple of large pots simmering on the hob and the smell wasn't revolting – the fact that it didn't sicken him turned his stomach as Jinx recalled this smell was associated with craving, a craving too strong to resist and an incredible high afterwards. Of course they all felt euphoric, it was the parasites reward... He was glad the lids were on the pots, he didn't want to see what was inside even if it looked like diced meat.

  Zeke had greeted him with a smile and then hugged him fondly like an old friend. Then he had stepped back, noticing at once that something was missing.

  “Your necklace is gone! What happened to it?”

  “No idea,” Jinx replied, “I was wandering around a market place and I suddenly realised I'd lost it.”

  “You must be devastated,” Zeke sympathised, “Your first ever kill, you pulled those teeth one by one. You polished them, I had to boil them up to get rid of all the soft tissue. I remember you drilling each one to thread it...that necklace suited you so well.”

  Jinx felt his stomach turn over again.

  “I was upset,” he lied, “But I had my lovely slave here to console me.”

  Sin stood there silently, looked to Zeke then Jinx and looked down at the floor.

  “I married her,” Jinx added, “She's mine, all mine. No one touches her but me, understand?”

  Surprise registered in Zeke's eyes.

  “As if I'd do that! I remember when you and Cora became exclusive – we all knew the score, Rik!”

  Jinx could feel his mind ticking over, somewhere in the excuses department of his brain where he was desperately searching for a reason to lure him away from the house.

  “I'd like you to come over to the ship,” he said, “I want you to have a look at the oven for me.”

  “The ship? She's a luxury cruiser, you shouldn't be having problems in there for a long time!”

  “Any ship can have an appliance develop a fault,” Jinx replied, “And you're so good with anything kitchen related. W
ould you come with me now, have a look at it?”

  Zeke glanced back at the pots.

  “I'm actually watching the stew...Maybe later, this is the last of the meat from yesterday – we have to make it last until we restock, can't waste anything... unless you remembered to bring in a shipment?”

  “It slipped my mind!” Jinx exclaimed, “I've been four months solid fucking this beautiful slave of mine...Sorry, I can be selfish sometimes. I'll make the run tomorrow.”

  “Who are you going to collect the cargo from this time?” Zeke asked.

  Jinx froze, feeling stuck for an answer.

  Then a name popped into his head and he hoped his altered memory and recently healed brain had come up with something convincing.

  “Mr Wolf,” he replied, “He's my supplier.”

  “No...” Sin whispered, but as she glanced at him, Zeke noticed and the whole scenario struck him as very odd – certainly odd enough for alarm bells to ring...

  “Wolf?” Zeke repeated, looking intently at Jinx, “Are you sure?”

  “I said Wolf,” he replied, hoping whatever he had messed up on would be easy to iron out with a lie or two.

  “But you shot him dead four months ago.”

  “I hit my head a while back, I keep forgetting things,.,”

  Zeke slowly shook his head.

  “I'm cooking your favourite stew. Diced breast with herbs and that white sauce you love so much – you should have been straight past me and reaching for a spoon. You would have ate it out of the pot while it was still simmering if everything was okay – which it's not – Sorry, Jinx, you know we keep it tight around here, I'll have to tell Mack. You're just not right, you have to be detained.”

  Zeke's expression had changed to one of deep mistrust. He was reaching for a long, sharp blade set into a knife block. As he heard footsteps, he spoke up.

  “Mack? I need your help in here – something's not right -”

  “Fuck it,” Jinx snapped, reaching for his blaster.

  “No!” Sin said in alarm.

  He hit Zeke with a shot he didn't see coming, the force of it punched a hole through his side and flung him to the floor where he lay bleeding heavily.

  “What have you done?” yelled Jody as she entered the room.

  His finger moved a fraction on the trigger, the same time he saw Mack follow her in, as he fired and she was slammed against the door frame and blood sprayed from her mouth, Mack yelled No and ducked out of sight, heading back down the hallway to fetch his rifle.

  Jinx looked to Sin in panic.

  “I didn't set out to kill anyone! I was trying to save them!”

  “We need to get out of here before Mack finds his rifle,” Sin said urgently, “You shot Jody...I think she's still breathing but he's going kill us for this!”

  He looked to Jody who was slumped to the floor, bleeding and pale with her eyes closed. Zeke was on the other side of the kitchen, a heavy wound and much blood suggested he was most likely dead or dying.

  The back door was open. Jinx grabbed Sin's hand and ran.

  As they dashed across the green expanse of lawn, Sin looked back to see Mack duck out of sight, heading down a hillside.

  “He could meet us at the ship!”

  “No he won't!” Jinx said breathlessly, running for the ship in the distance as he looked to the hillside, knowing Sin could be right – he had taken a path that would lead around to the open hatch of the ship...

  On finally reached the ship, Jinx paused to get this breath back as Sin looked fearfully to the treeline down the hillside.

  “If he's beat us to it, we're both dead!”

  “I've still got this,” he reminded her raising the blaster, then as he grabbed her hand once more he led the way pressed tight to the hull of the ship, making his way carefully and quietly around to the other side where the hatch was wide open.

  Then it happened again:

  The world flashed white and he saw Cora's face, then her form shimmered as she stretched out her arms, hands reaching for him.

  “It's okay,” she said, “I know you can see me. Just don't let go this time...”

  She took hold of his hand, he felt her other hand close about his wrist and he pulled away from her, his grip on the blaster faltering as he trembled.

  “Leave me alone, you're dead!” he yelled.

  Sin looked at him in alarm and her expression was all he needed to see to know that maybe after all he had been through, he was still insane, just in a different way to how he had been mad before...

  “Who are you talking to?”

  “Cora.”

  “Me.”

  He shot Sin a look of utter confusion.

  “No, I said, Cora! Why am I the only one who seems to know what's going around here?” then he shook his head, “Let's just get in the ship and leave...this has gone wrong, I never wanted any of this to happen, I just wanted to save Mack!”

  “And everyone else.”

  He had the other side of the ship in his sights, looking around the corner, the way was clear and he saw no sign of Mack lurking nearby.

  “Did you just say that?” he asked.

  “About saving everyone? Yes, I did.”

  “You sounded like her for a moment.”

  “Who?”

  “Cora.”

  Jinx gave her no chance to reply as he rounded the corner, heading for the steps that led up to the hatch.

  Mack stepped out from behind the steps, blocking his path as he raised his rifle, holding Jinx directly in his sight. As he raised the weapon, Jinx raised his blaster and the two men stood there, face to face, weapons trained on one another as the former close friends regarded each other as enemies for the first time.

  “Put the gun down!” said Sin, pleading with Mack but powerless to intervene.

  Both men stood there, guns raised, regarding each other coldly as murder shone in Mack's eyes.

  “I don't know when you lost your loyalty or forgot where you belong, but I do have to kill you, Jinx...”

  His hand shook as he kept his own weapon trained on Mack.

  “Listen to me, Mack – we got infected! I can prove it, there was a parasite inside my head. You have one so do Zeke and Jody! It makes you insane. Makes you do terrible things!”

  “He's telling the truth,” Sin said as she stepped back from the two armed men who were aiming weapons at each other, “Mack, listen to me, the parasite is preserved, we have to take it back to earth and warn them! If soil from S69Q-1 ever leaves the planet, it will infect everyone who handles it, the colony research team are already dead because of it!”

  “Since when did a sex toy have an opinion on anything?” Mack said dismissively to Sin, and then his eyes darkened as he fixed a cold gaze on Jinx.

  “You killed Jody. That's fine! I'll have Sin and your ship in exchange. It's over Jinx. You're a dead man.”

  Mack pulled the trigger, as the weapon discharged, Jinx did the same. He saw a flash from his blaster, heard a boom and felt a bullet punch into his chest. Then he was falling and the sky turned a brilliant shade of blinding white...

  “Am I dead?”

  All around him the word was silent, then he was aware of the hard ground beneath him and the soft embrace of Sin as she knelt cradling him. His vision was slowly returning, misty and blurred as he felt sure there ought to be pain but all he felt was heaviness and as hard as he tried, it was impossible to move.

  “Am I dead?” he said again as fear crept into his voice, “Is this what it feels like?”

  “No, you're not dead,” Sin said gently.

  “Then I'm dying...I must be... Mack shot me...Oh fuck, I shot Mack, I killed my best friend!”

  He gave a sob and tears blurred his eyes, he felt sure this and the fact that he was still breathing meant he was not dead – but the pain of knowing he had killed Mack was too much to bear.

  “I wanted to save him!”

  “He's not dead.”

  Jinx blinked.


  “What?”

  “He's not dead,” Sin repeated, then she stroked his cheek and her touch felt warm.

  Jinx gave another sob.

  “Yes he is...so is Cora...they're all dead!”

  “No one is dead.”

  Slight movement was coming back now, creeping through his body and still he felt no pain. As she took hold of his hand he clung to it tightly, hoping she could keep him here, stop him from slipping away.

  “They all died! I know what happened...cannibals, murder...we all went mad...you know what I did, I was insane! Don't lie to me about Cora, I know she's dead!”

  As she held him she looked down at him and held him in her gaze.

  “She's not dead. Look at me, Jinx. I am Cora.”

  As she said those words, he watched as Sin's features changed, her hair fell longer and a deeper shade of gold, it was a sight that utterly confused him.

  “You can't be Cora.”

  “I am,” she assured him as she brushed a tear from his cheek.

  Then he felt his other hand grasped, taken in a strong hand much less delicate than Cora's, the grip was tight and as he turned his head through a haze of white he saw Mack beside him.

  “You can't be here... you died...”

  “No one died,” Mack stated, “Look at me...focus...No one died.”

  Tears ran down his face as Jinx looked to his best friend.

  “But I saw it! I was there!”

  Mack leant closer, keeping a firm grip on his hand as he spelled out the truth:

  “No one died, Rik. We're all still here. You've just been dreaming for a very long time...”

  Chapter 9

  As Jinx turned on his side the ground beneath him faded into a soft bed with white sheets. Some one was standing over him and now no one was holding his hands, but he felt a sense of solidity once more along with a confusing sense of one world fading away, replaced by another. The new world was a white blur where shadows moved beyond a misty veil, he heard someone speak again and recognised Jody's voice.

  “He's okay. Give him a few minutes, he's had a lot of smart meds in his system, he should come around quickly now... Jinx? Can you hear me, it's Jody...”