Ghost Ship

by Marquis, Michelle

  “Are you sure they were digits?” Logan asked.

  Sonya glanced at Dirk, and then sighed. “No.”

  “I think they were digits, too, Captain,” Dirk said. Whittmeyer nodded as well.

  Logan shook his head. “But we’re not positive because we can’t read the alien writing, right?”

  Whittmeyer frowned. “Um, I guess. But I don’t get it. Where is all this going?”

  “I’m just trying to calm everyone down and get to the truth of the matter,” Logan replied.

  “You want the truth of the matter?” Sonya said, stabbing her finger onto the table for emphasis. “Here’s some truth for you. Something is definitely wrong with that ship. Three individuals didn’t pilot a ship that size out into space all by themselves. It took a crew of at least three hundred, and you know it. So, while we’re here pondering the big ‘what if?’, why don’t we cut to the meat of the subject? What the hell happened to all those people?”

  Logan drummed his fingers on the table. “Perhaps they found a habitable planet and decided to―”

  Dirk shook his head and frowned. “That’s pretty weak, Captain. They didn’t just abandon three people on that ship and walk away. Something bad happened to them.”

  “And it’s probably going to happen to us, too,” Sonya snapped. “Barnes said he found evidence of spores coming off that growth on the back of the aliens’ necks.” Sonya suddenly scanned the room. “By the way, where is Barnes? I thought he was supposed to be here, too.”

  “Hold on now,” Logan said. “First off, Barnes is busy and couldn’t make it, and second he isn’t exactly sure what he found. He’s just taking precautions.”

  “Okay, okay,” Sonya said, getting up to pace. “The fact remains that we need more answers, and we’re only going to find them on the alien ship. Can we please have permission to go back over there and investigate?”

  “I have no problem with that,” Logan said. “But first I want us all to agree on one thing.”

  “What’s that, Captain?” Dirk asked.

  “No one is to disconnect that tractor beam unless I say so. Is that clear?” Logan said.

  “I think we can all agree to that,” Dirk said. Sonya, however, just stood there clinching and unclenching her fists. Dirk was half-tempted to keep her from going back to the ghost ship altogether. She was way too emotionally involved in this. But then Dirk decided he didn’t want to fight that battle with her at the moment. She’d only be more aggressive in front of Logan.

  They all stood up and were ready to leave when Logan’s radio chirped several times. He grabbed the radio off his belt. “What’s wrong now?”

  “Captain, this is Barnes.” The doctor’s voice sounded breathy and garbled. “We have an emergency.”

  “What kind of emergency?” Logan asked.

  “We had Floyd detained because he was ill . . . but . . . I’m afraid Floyd has murdered five crew members. We tried to restrain him, but he’s escaped. We can’t find him anywhere.” Logan glared up at Dirk. All the color drained from the captain’s face.

  “Do you want us to help you look for him?” Dirk asked.

  “No,” Logan said. “I want you all to get back over to that alien ship and try and figure out what happened to that crew. But be careful. We don’t know what Floyd is up to or where he might be.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dirk followed Sonya, Logan, and Whittmeyer into the passageway, but suddenly they were stopped in their tracks by the elusive Floyd. The older man looked like he’d just contracted rabies. His eyes were bloodshot and wild, his irises were rolling around in exaggerated motions as he tried to focus them, and his mouth was shiny with excess saliva.

  Sonya had the great misfortune of being closer than the rest of them. “Floyd,” she said softly, “let us help you.” But it was too late for Floyd. He didn’t seem to have any idea who Sonya was, and before Dirk could warn her to get away, Floyd spit into her eyes.

  Sonya screamed and covered her face with her hands. Then everything went really crazy. Floyd tried to spit in Logan’s face, but the captain was too fast, shielding his eyes with his forearm. Floyd turned on Sonya again, trying to bite her. She screamed and fought as best she could.

  White-hot panic rushed through Dirk’s brain. He had to save her from this infected lunatic. Dirk pushed his way through the others, intent on tackling the deranged man. But halfway to tackling Floyd, Dirk tripped over Whittmeyer, who was scrambling to get away. In all the chaos, Floyd managed to run off down the passageway.

  Dirk rushed to Sonya’s side. She was on her knees trying to wipe saliva out of her eyes with her shirt sleeve. “Are you okay?”

  Sonya didn’t answer. She just kept rubbing frantically at her eyes. Dirk got on the radio. “Barnes?”

  Nothing but static. Sonya was growing more agitated, and Dirk could just see her having a seizure on top of everything else. Logan crouched down next to him and held out his hand for the radio. “Let me try to raise Barnes,” he said. “You take care of her.”

  Dirk handed him the radio and tried to keep Sonya from clawing her own eyes out.

  “Barnes, this is Logan. Come in please,” Logan barked.

  “I’m a little busy here, Captain.” Barnes’s voice sounded broken and as desperate as Dirk felt.

  “Listen,” Logan continued, “we ran into Floyd, and you’re right, there’s something really wrong with him. This isn’t just some headache. He’s drooling and spitting on people. Floyd even spit in Sonya’s eyes. Can we bring her down there, or are things just getting too nutty?”

  There was a full minute pause. “You can bring her,” Barnes replied. “I think we’ve got things contained here.”

  Dirk snatched the radio back from Logan. “Bridge?”

  “This is the bridge,” a man’s voice replied.

  “We need all the hatches sealed until further notice. Do you understand? All of the port hatches!”

  “That will trap everyone on Deck One. By whose authority?” the bridge watch said.

  “By the Captain’s authority. We had a very dangerous man escape from quarantine, and he’s running loose on this deck, so shut everything down now!” Dirk commanded.

  “Aye, sir.” The passageways echoed with the deafening sound of several heavy doors slamming at once. Dirk lifted Sonya into his arms and started toward the clinic with Logan close behind. He wondered where Whittmeyer had run off to and worried that he might have gotten trapped on the side of the ship where Floyd was locked down. He sure hoped Whittmeyer wasn’t trapped with Floyd. Then they might end up with two madmen.

  Sonya struggled in his arms, but it was weak. Panic filled his heart, and he fought hard to keep his emotions under control. She reminded him of someone who’d been drugged. He prayed whatever Floyd had spit on her wasn’t lethal.

  They rushed into the clinic where Barnes was ready and waiting with a surgical gown, face mask, and gloves. Dirk placed Sonya on an exam table and held her down while Barnes and the nurses flushed Sonya’s eyes with medical solution. Once they were satisfied, they also drew a blood sample.

  “She needs to be decontaminated,” Barnes told Dirk. “There are some showers in the back. Strip her naked and wash her with the decon soap. After that, make sure to dress her in the overalls provided and seal up her old clothes.”

  Dirk picked up Sonya and carried her into the back room. She was conscious but barely. He stripped her, washed every part of her beautiful body carefully, and dressed her in the overalls. Then Dirk carried her to a cot at the rear of the clinic and watched while Barnes gave her a sedative.

  Barnes’s shoulders relaxed a little as Sonya went into REM sleep. He turned to Dirk. “We’re going to need to decontaminate you and Logan, too.”

  “Why me?” Dirk asked. “I’m barely human.”

  “You have a human brain, right?”

  Dirk sighed. “I guess so. Where do you want me to wash?” Barnes brought him to a small shower and made him strip out of a
ll his clothing. Then he supervised as Dirk scrubbed all over with a blue soap that smelled like floor cleaner. Dirk wasn’t the shy kind, but having Barnes ogle him as he washed himself was enough to put him off showers for the rest of his life. Afterward, he dressed in fresh clothing and went to get his blood drawn. He sat in what looked like an old school desk and held his arm out for the nurse to draw his blood.

  Logan came over and sat next to him. Dirk had to hold back from punching him in the face. Sonya was right. Logan was responsible for all this misery. “How’s Sonya doing?”

  “She’s resting comfortably.” Dirk really wasn’t in the mood to talk to Logan or anyone else for that matter. He was still trying to figure out what just happened and what it meant to their survival.

  Logan stared through the observation glass at the alien bodies. “I wonder what happened to their crew,” he mused, more to himself than anyone else.

  “I know exactly what happened,” Dirk replied. The nurse stepped away with his sample of blood and disappeared around the corner. Dirk swept his hand around the room as if the answer was obvious, which to him it certainly was. “This is what happened.”

  “I don’t get what you’re driving at,” Logan said stiffly. Dirk was sure the captain understood exactly what he meant.

  “Oh, come on, Captain. Look around you. Isn’t it obvious? The aliens managed to get some kind of parasitic organism on their vessel. It must have been something so small it gained access without detection. Then the parasite attached itself to the base of their brains and took control. I’m sure they all went nuts and murdered each other.”

  Logan screwed his mouth into an ugly frown. “Look, Dirk, I know you’re upset that your girlfriend isn’t feeling well, but I hardly think this is the time to get all morbid on me.”

  “Is that what I’m doing, Captain? Am I just getting all morbid on you? Are you so damned blind you can’t see what’s obvious to everyone else? Things are much worse than just some negative thinking, Logan. We’re going to end up just like those dead aliens. And once we all kill ourselves and each other, we’re going to end up a ghost ship ourselves. We’re going to be the next dead vessel drifting out in the middle of the galaxy until some other poor slobs pick us up and start making the stupid decisions that brought us to this.”

  Logan opened his mouth to shout something back when Barnes came over. “The two of you are okay,” he said, “but Sonya . . .”

  “What?” Logan snapped. “What about her?”

  “She’s got the alien virus. The same one Floyd had before he—”

  “Before he went nuts,” Dirk finished for him.

  Logan stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. “God help us.”

  Dirk tried to will his heart to slow down. He’d never been so scared for anyone in his life. Please, let Sonya be okay. “Is there anything you can do for her?” Dirk asked.

  “I’m trying a few things. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Dirk’s stomach twisted in a knot. He pointed at the captain. “Hey, what about Logan? Doesn’t he need a supervised shower, too?”

  “Yes, he certainly does,” Barnes said. He glanced at Logan. “Come with me.”

  Logan gave Dirk the finger and disappeared around the corner following the doctor.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Captain? This is security,” came the voice over the radio.

  Logan stepped into a quiet area of the medical clinic and keyed his radio. “This is Logan. What’s up?”

  “There’s been some more violence, sir.” The voice came through the radio sounding thin and tense.

  “Can you elaborate on that?” Logan said annoyed. He pulled a hip flask out of his pants pocket and took a long sip.

  The radio crackled for a few seconds, but no one said anything. Then the security officer said, “There have been multiple murders within the sealed compartments. I went in with a team to capture Floyd, and there were bodies everywhere, so we withdrew.”

  Before Logan could respond, a bridge alarm went off. “Just keep everything as secure as you can. I’ll get back to you in a minute.” He switched the channel on the radio. “Bridge? What the hell is going on up there?”

  His radio buzzed a few times, then a senior officer said, “I’m sorry, Captain.” The alarm stopped sounding, but the overhead lights were still flashing. “It’s a fire warning, sir. Floyd seems to have found a cutting torch and is trying to carve his way out of where he’s confined.”

  “Where’s he trying to get to?” Logan asked. He drained his flask.

  “He’s trying to get to the bridge,” the officer said.

  Logan’s stomach dropped to the floor. A homicidal crewmember was trying to gain access to the most important space on this ship. If he managed it, he’d have complete control over everyone and everything. Logan couldn’t let that happen. “I need every engineer who knows how to use a torch to get down here and seal us off from Floyd and any other crazies.”

  Logan walked over to Sonya’s cot. Should he have her chained up just in case she went nuts, too? Logan knew Dirk would never stand for it unless there was a damn good reason. Logan sure didn’t want to get on Dirk’s bad side. He needed that damned cyborg. Besides, Sonya looked to be sleeping peacefully. There was probably no need to mess with her right now. Logan would just have to wait and see how she acted later on.

  * * * *

  Weld crews rushed down the port side of the USS Mastodon, welding every nonessential bulkhead shut. They also pulled doors off the lower decks to reinforce the access to the bridge. The welders worked until crazy Floyd ran out of acetylene and stopped cutting. At least he had stopped for the time being. Logan had no idea what that insane man was going to try next.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sonya was floating through space without a suit. But she wasn’t afraid of dying. She would have been alarmed about the whole space thing except that she knew she must be dreaming. In fact Sonya had been dreaming on and off for hours. The dreams were so vivid she was starting to have trouble figuring out what was the dream and what was real life. Finally she decided not to even try. She forced her eyes open and glanced at the chair next to her bed. Dirk was there having a nap, his arms and legs relaxed and outstretched.

  Sonya grinned. It was nice to have him nearby. It made her feel like he cared. She never thought it possible, but Sonya might actually be falling for Dirk.

  Then a wave of dizziness came over her, and Sonya drifted off into space again.

  * * * *

  Floyd turned off the cutting torch and leaned back against the bulkhead. The pungent stench of acetylene burned his sinuses and left a chemical residue in his mouth. All around him were other crewmembers just like him. They watched him with expectant eyes waiting for their next instructions.

  Floyd had been busy since they’d locked him down on this side of the ship. The first thing he’d done was spread the parasite by spitting in the eyes of every crewmember he encountered. Well, maybe not every crewmember. Some just had to be killed. They had to be killed not because of their defiance but because the urge to kill within Floyd had overpowered his thoughts. He was convinced killing them was the best thing for everyone. He only hoped Sonya had begun her change. Then there would be no escape for those smug bastards on the other side.

  Especially that asshole Logan. If anyone needed to be strangled slowly, it was surely him. This whole messed-up voyage was his fault.

  His acolytes stared, their brains slipping into mindless compliance just like he had done. All that mattered was the will of the it. The it told Floyd everything that was expected from him, and he was more than happy to obey, for when he obeyed, there was no pain. Floyd hated the pain.

  Floyd looked up at a tall black crewmember standing nearby. “Are those humans still locked in storage room five?”

  “Yes, Exalted One,” the man replied.

  Floyd checked the acetylene in the tank. Just enough to cut through one more door, he thought. He jump
ed to his feet. The humans had to die. He couldn’t let them escape their fate. The bridge would have to wait. “Bring the tank,” Floyd ordered.

  He marched to storage room five and stood outside. Grabbing a fire axe from one of his acolytes, he knocked on the heavy metal door. “Hello?” he called.

  A frightened voice came from the other side. “Who is it?” Floyd couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

  “It’s me, Captain Logan,” Floyd continued. “We captured the crazy people running around killing everyone, and we’re here to rescue you.” Muffled voices argued from behind the door, and Floyd felt a happy thrill. They were falling for it probably because they had few options. If they stayed locked in there, they were going to die of hunger or thirst.