The Last Passenger

by Manel Loureiro

  The man’s abdomen looked war torn. The bullet hole was about the size of a baby’s fist. Moore must have used a special type of ammunition. The wound was no longer pouring as much blood as it had been at first, but there was nothing that could be done, not to mention Kate had no idea where to even start. She was certain that not even a medical team with all of the proper equipment could have saved him. Isaac Feldman was about to die.

  “Kate.” Feldman’s voice was no more than a faint whisper.

  His hand, covered in blood, closed around Kate’s arm and trembled uncontrollably. Kate’s tears mixed with Feldman’s blood, but neither one realized it. The old man’s life was escaping in spurts.

  “Kate,” he repeated and coughed violently. “Robert’s . . . ashes . . . He’s the only one able to stop the shadows. The spirit of a good man. The . . . Pulsa . . . Dinura . . . If you hadn’t . . . brought . . . them . . . we’d all be . . . Where . . . are . . . they?”

  Kate looked to the ground. The urn was on its side, empty. Moore had thrown all of Robert’s ashes to the wind in the middle of the North Atlantic. All that remained was the ceramic vessel filled with nothing. The bastard had won despite her best efforts.

  “They’re right here,” she lied and succumbed to her tears. “Don’t worry, Isaac. With these in my hands, they won’t harm us.”

  She watched as the shadows advanced on both sides of the deck. The darkness was being cagey. It was moving patiently like a pack of wolves stalking a lone traveler with a fading campfire. Kate’s flashlight flickered and took on a deathly glow.

  She was approaching.

  “Let . . . me . . . see.” Feldman was almost unable to breathe.

  Kate thought he was talking about the ashes until she saw where his eyes were directed. With a weary smile she raised the baby, who had stopped crying. She pushed the tallit away from his face, so that the elderly Feldman could get a good look at the chubby, rosy-cheeked baby, who was looking curiously from side to side.

  “Isaac Feldman, I’d like you to meet Isaac Feldman,” she said as a chill ran through her. What she was doing was theoretically impossible, and yet it was happening right in front of her. A paradox that was impossible to understand.

  Feldman’s eyes lit up, and for a brief moment, he became the old tycoon. “I’m a beautiful . . . baby . . . don’t you think?”

  “I wish you long life and happiness,” Kate whispered as she swaddled the baby, hardly able to see anything between the shadows and her teary eyes.

  “You’ve got to set him where”—he began coughing harder than before, and Kate thought he might be done for—“where they can find him when they come . . . when the Pass of Ballaster arrives. It’s the only way to . . . end the cycle. If the shadow gets him, an infinite hell will begin for . . . for everyone. Including you. Don’t let her get to him, Kate. Save him. Save me. Save . . . us . . .”

  Feldman’s head fell to one side, and his muscles relaxed for the last time. Kate closed his eyes and sobbed. She then took his belt and wrapped it around her arm to stop her elbow from bleeding. Next, with a trembling baby at her breast, a dead body at her side, and an empty urn at her feet, Kate watched the wall of shadows as it glided over her like a pack of thirsty vampires.

  And then Kate heard her give a victorious howl as the last embers of light burnt out, and the shadows enveloped her entire body.

  LII

  Impenetrable shadows. Darkness thick and full.

  At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, a tiny spark of light timidly pierced the darkness, an absolute darkness as deep as anything a human can imagine. It was an ancient darkness, sagacious and wicked. But that single modest spark, that ember, began growing all around the silhouette of the woman who was kneeling on the floor and clutching a small bundle close to her chest. Gradually, the shaky light grew stronger until it was as bright as a handful of fireflies after a storm.

  Kate let herself breathe out after she realized she’d been holding her breath for some time. Frightened, she looked up. Around her a starless night had fallen. There was no hint of even the slightest ray of light with the exception of the clarity that seemed to be emanating from all around her. Thanks to that, she was able to see twenty yards in every direction. Beyond, something imperceptible and dense was whirling around, furious but unable to traverse the halo that was protecting her like a bubble.

  She looked overboard. The storm that had been relentlessly besieging the Valkyrie up until a minute before had suddenly vanished, as if by magic. The surface of the Atlantic was as glassy as a mirror. Everything was a pool of darkness that extended beyond her sight.

  She looked around. The Valkyrie looked the same as ever. Almost.

  The ship looked the same, but there were dozens of subtle changes everywhere. The side paneling destroyed by the storm had returned to normal. The lifeboat that had struck Moore was also back just as it had been before, except now it had a new type of varnish, one or two shades lighter.

  Kate got to her feet, disoriented and confused, and only then did she realize that Isaac Feldman’s body had disappeared. It was no longer there.

  Nothing made sense. Kate figured she must have walked several feet before the shadows had overtaken her. She walked up one way and down the other, but she could not find any trace of Feldman or even a drop of blood. The deck was immaculate, like it was fresh from the shipyard.

  She tried to relax. The atmosphere was thick, hot, and heavy. There was no trace of a breeze, and the only wind being generated was from Kate walking. It was completely silent; the ship was lifeless and motionless. Kate was certain it was the work of the shadows.

  Suddenly, she stopped when something clicked in her mind. It’s like being in a photograph, trapped in a moment in time.

  The thought hit her with the force of an uppercut. She was trapped.

  The question was no longer where but when.

  She took a step back and bumped against something bulging out of the wall. She turned around and saw it was one of the life preservers. Her relief quickly gave way to nausea.

  Right below the ship’s name and below the KDF logo was a proud eagle with spread wings, holding a blood-red swastika between its talons.

  Kate couldn’t breathe. She was choking. Her right foot bumped the urn that had contained Robert’s ashes, and it rolled with a hollow sound. The vessel, still carrying trace amounts of ash along the inner lining, produced a faint light in the face of the shadows and grew ever weaker. Kate looked at her hand. Her skin seemed to be glowing on its own as if each and every one of her cells had turned into a tiny power plant providing energy to a besieged city. Kate was producing the light, not Robert. It made no sense.

  Something stirred in the shadows. It was a dark stain that stood out against the starless black background. It advanced toward Kate, exuding anger and misunderstanding.

  You can’t resist me! He’s not here anymore! You don’t have the strength to stand up to me.

  A tendril of darkness flew at Kate. Before it could reach her, however, it struck against the halo of light surrounding her and burst apart in a volley of ash and smoke as the shadows howled in agony.

  You can’t!

  Her voice boomed out like a thunderstorm above the restless moans coming from the army of shadows in her wake.

  You can’t, fucking bitch! It’s impossible! He’s not here anymore!

  “Of course, he’s here, you dirty bitch,” Kate lied and tensed her muscles. “You just don’t know where.”

  Without a second thought Kate raced directly into the shadowy darkness.

  Crossing through the cloak of shadows, she first felt a glacial chill so intense that her lungs felt like they were on fire, and her pores froze over. Still, she didn’t give up. She knew her time would be over soon enough.

  The shadows moved quickly behind Kate, who knew that the only thing saving her life was the halo of light that surrounded her. The only thing saving her and the little child who had nodded off inside of his t
allit.

  “We have to find a lifeboat, Isaac,” she murmured soothingly to the baby. “We’ve got to get off this floating tomb as fast as we can.”

  Kate.

  She stopped in her tracks. It was not possible.

  “No.” She pursed her lips and continued walking.

  Kate, listen to me. It’s me.

  “This is a trick.” She shook her head and tears began to flow. “Robert, you’re not here anymore. I watched him throw your ashes into the sea.”

  Kate, it’s me. I swear.

  Robert’s voice came loud and clear into her mind, fraught with urgency.

  You can’t see me now, but you’ve got to listen to me. It’s very important.

  “Go to hell, bitch! You can’t play me like that!” Kate turned around in fury and shook a fist at the surrounding darkness. The sound of her footsteps was drowned out at the edge of her aura, and her voice did not carry much farther. It was like trying to fight off a hurricane.

  You love cherries, especially when they’re cold. You don’t like me to rub the small of your back when I give you a massage. We have some pictures hidden in a copy of Alice in Wonderland on the eighth shelf of our living room. You always said that if your mother ever saw those pictures, she’d have a heart attack. You once slapped an ice cream cone on my head for saying your red hair looked like a fire. The last time we saw each other at home you told me that you loved me and kissed me on the neck. I know you miss me every minute of every day. Like I miss you.

  The silence was deafening. Kate wept openly, and her lips shook.

  It’s me, Kate. I’m still here. I haven’t left you. That’s why she can’t do anything to you.

  “But . . . how is that possible, Robert? I watched him throw your ashes overboard. You—”

  You know how, Katie. You know perfectly well.

  Upon hearing those words, Kate closed her eyes and began crying out loud, but it was out of happiness.

  “Robert . . .” she whispered.

  We don’t have much time. The cutoff is approaching, and the cycle will close. You’ve got to leave that baby on the dance floor. Right now.

  “Leave him?” Kate almost sounded outraged as she unconsciously pressed the child closer to her body. “I can’t do that!”

  Listen to me, Kate. It’s the only way. The cycle has changed. Isaac Feldman has finally died aboard the Valkyrie. He was the last survivor of the original voyage left for the cycle to close off. Now the shadow will have to leave. Its mission has been carried out. All that’s holding her is that child. She wants it, so she can keep going. If she gets him, the cycle will go on. As long as he’s with you, they will chase you wherever you go. You’ll be letting a terrible nightmare loose on the world.

  “So . . . what choice do I have?” Kate’s voice quivered with emotion. It seemed like a horrible atrocity to abandon a helpless baby on this floating nightmare.

  He has to get out of here on his own. Go on with his life. Be what he’s going to be on his plane of reality.

  “But he’s just an infant! How can he get out of here on his own?”

  Like it was written. As prescribed by his fate. Look.

  Kate heard a noise behind her, and she spun around. A beam of faint light pierced the shadows like a hot knife through butter. The dark clouds dispersed, and Kate was able to see three men dressed in clothes from the 1930s as they climbed on board the Valkyrie. The youngest of them was a rascal with acne and a face full of fear. Kate knew that many years later that young boy would become an old man whose walls would be covered with pictures and souvenirs.

  The tallest of them swung his lamplight over the walkway. They were discussing something between themselves, but Kate couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying despite not being that far away. It was like they were in a huge crystal bubble that separated them from the rest of the world.

  The head officer cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted something in the opposite direction from Kate. She could not hold back any longer and shouted back in response.

  “We’re here! We’re here!”

  The result of her words was surprising. The three men all spun around at the same time and looked terrified as they stumbled into one another. The way in which they all fell to the floor was so funny that Kate would have burst out laughing if the situation were not so serious.

  They can’t hear you, Kate. Or at least not the way you want them to. To them you’re like a ghost. You always will be if you don’t get out of here in less than ten minutes. The cycle is about to close, and if you’re on board when that happens, you’ll be trapped between two worlds forever. You’ll be no more than a ghost for all eternity. And him, too.

  “Will they find him?” Kate looked down at the baby, who was sleeping soundly.

  Of course! As long as he’s in the right place at the right time. Now run!

  Kate didn’t need to be told twice. She quickened her step and walked toward the door that led to the great hall. She twisted the knob, which gave way with a loud creak. The door opened wide, and she waited for the sailors to follow her footsteps.

  She walked over the thick blood-red carpet and came up to the imposing staircase. The chandelier was as dark as the one in the lobby, and Kate had the feeling that every last speck of light had been sucked out of the place.

  She walked past the set of proud eagles. They were both eternally screaming out in defiance with swastikas in their talons. Kate felt no fear as she split the shadows, crossing through the dining room and entering the dance hall. Trays with hot food were still steaming. No more than twenty minutes could have passed since the shadows had taken over that area. No signs of life had been left behind.

  Passing by a service closet, Kate opened the door and took out a blanket with the KDF logo stitched along the edges. She wrapped up the little one in the blanket, and that was when she felt something. In the dark and silent atmosphere of the room, something was moving behind her. Something wicked and confused.

  Give him to me. Givehimgivehimgivehimgivehimgivehim. He’s mine, bitch. Mine like this entire place. Don’t get in my way.

  Kate carefully placed the sleeping baby on the floor and turned around with her right fist clenched. She was not sure what she was doing, but she’d never felt so calm and serene in all of her life.

  “It’s just you and me now, right?” she whispered to the shadows. “Good. If you want him, you’ll have to come get him. But you’ll have to get through me.”

  I’ve been saving a sweet slice of suffering just for you.

  Her voice was filled with wrath but also fear. Having gotten used to eons of cycles without a change, she was disconcerted by this new, unique moment.

  You’ll wish a thousand times over that you had died.

  “You know what? I’m tired of all this death and darkness shit. So if you’re going to do something, then do it already or else go to hell.”

  The air in the room started to freeze up. Then, a dreadful shriek filled Kate’s ears as an enormous wave hurled itself toward her, devouring everything in its path like a tsunami of evil.

  Kate waited a moment before opening her fist and tossing Feldman’s Star of David necklace at the wall of darkness that was hovering over her. As the necklace left her hand and penetrated the darkness, Kate felt time come to a standstill. The six-pointed star surrounded by Kabbalistic symbols disappeared into the darkness, and a second later, it burst apart in a blinding flash of light that illuminated the entire dance hall. It was as if some photographer had used the most powerful flash on the planet.

  The rays of light pierced through the shadows and completely dissolved them, and a gurgling noise faded. For a fraction of a second, with her eyes half-open, she could make out an enormous shadow set against a background of bright light. The shadow, so much like a person yet far from human, writhed in pain. The brightness of the explosion continued to strengthen, and the cries of agony grew louder. The light became so brilliant that Kate was forced to shut her eyes. F
inally, the last remnants of darkness vanished completely.

  At last, seventy years after it was unleashed, the Pulsa Dinura had reached its end, and she ceased to exist.

  LIII

  Once the luminous glow had begun to fade, Kate opened her eyes. The spectral flashes of lightning began flickering in through the dance hall’s windows. The storm had redoubled its efforts, and the entire hull of the Valkyrie was creaking and trembling against waves thirty feet tall.

  The floor swayed relentlessly beneath Kate’s feet. The ship moved like a pendulum, and the furniture shifted about like dice in a cup. An expensive seat made of oak and leather cracked when it slammed against a pillar. Seconds later the tremendous cacophony of glass shattering into infinite pieces boomed out of the great hall. The huge chandelier, unable to withstand the rocking of the ship any longer, crashed to the floor. The Valkyrie was disintegrating amid the storm.

  She looked all around. There was no sign of the baby.

  In another moment and place in time, a terrified British naval officer was picking up the baby off the dance floor. The only difference was that he wouldn’t have any jewelry around his neck this time. From there, the future would be altered. That child would live, but he would not be the same. The cycle had changed.

  A wall of foamy gray water slammed into the dance hall windows, breaking them. Kate had just enough time to run out of the hall before it was flooded with thousands of gallons of water and broken glass. The lights flickered, and after a final spark, they went out for good.

  Kate crossed the landing with the eagles and had to step around the broken remains of the crystal chandelier. Frayed wires above her head cast intimidating sparks with each movement of the ship.

  In order to get outside, Kate needed all the help she could get from her good elbow and her knees. With one of her arms out of commission, she found it incredibly difficult to hang on to the window frame and leap onto the ship’s deck. When she managed to, Kate’s eyes opened wide and she gulped.