Titan: A Science Fiction Horror Adventure (NecroVerse Book 3)

by Aaron Bunce

  What is she trying to tell me?

  Who are you talking to? Me? Sorry, I can’t seem to focus on any dozen of the thousand things that need my attention right now, Poole said, his voice echoing in his head.

  “Are you coming with me to talk to him?” Soraya asked.

  “It doesn’t sound like Erik’s my biggest fan. I’ll find someplace close to wait just in case. For…emotional support.”

  Soraya squeezed him a little harder, the fabric of her worn suit stretching and pulling away from the zipper. Jacoby’s excitement grew, but it just made his head and neck throb even harder.

  Okay, damn sakes, Jacky. Take a break and give your overly ripe melon a chance to finish healing.

  “I’ll do this for you. But on one condition.”

  “Just one?” he laughed.

  “You let me take care of you afterwards, cause, honey, you look like hell.”

  “No argument there.”

  “I’m glad you’re back up on your feet. I don’t think you realize how much we need you,” she said, then planted a kiss on his cheek, and moved to the ladder.

  Yes, you idiot. Accept it is us they really need, not just you. Now before you go and try to put someone else in charge, get up there. We’ve got a crew to put back together, a beacon to find, and a disrespectful little program to smack around, Poole said, as Soraya climbed up into the darkness.

  “It’s not our fault that you can’t get your kid to do what it’s told.”

  “You shush!”

  0315 Hours

  A slew of activity greeted Jacoby as he reached the top of the ladder. Anna and Lana chattered back and forth just a few feet away, the two women picking through a bundle of cables hanging out of the ceiling.

  “…I mean, it’s a crazy amount of energy, right? I feel like I could just go-go-go for days and never need to stop. Like, go-go-go!” the brunette laughed. “Is this the reason why you stayed in that pod for so long after the oxygen recycler exploded?” She stripped a cable, blew off the remaining insulation, and handed it off.

  “Well, no. I mean, we hadn’t…” Anna started to say, and looked up, just as he stepped free. Lana grunted and giggled.

  Look on the bright side, Jacky-Boy, you don’t have to wonder if the girls are all talking about you behind your back. They all are, and it is not rated for family television!

  “Are you going to answer my question or not? Why am I seeing two of everyone?” he whispered.

  A shadow fell over him next–the only warning he received before Shane immediately went at him.

  “Seeing two of what?” The big man asked, dropping his fists onto his hips and raising one eyebrow. A methodically tapping boot was the only thing he was missing, if he was going for impatient, disappointed parent.

  “Oh, I just have a headache, that’s all,” he lied.

  Shane twitched and looked to the side, chewing on his lip as if savoring what to say next. And stranger yet, he felt Poole recoil a little, too. Why? Was he still overwhelmed, or was he afraid to answer the question? He was tired of people walking all over him, expecting him to lower his eyes or slink off when things got uncomfortable. It was time for change, inside and out.

  “Were you avoiding me, Jacoby?” Shane asked. He moved in, doing that thing he did, where he looked down on Jacoby and put him in his shadow. Normally, it only happened when he’d done something stupid or deserved a butt chewing, but this was different.

  “Pretty much. Yes.”

  The big man recoiled a step, visibly taken aback by his blunt response. He recovered quickly, but the action was no less satisfying.

  “Well, I didn’t think you’d do something like that, but, ugh…we need to come together. We need to come down hard on these people that refuse to get with the plan. I mean, I feel like some punishment is in order. They aren’t listening to me…not at all. This is a ‘chip in or get the hell out of the way’ kind of place and we don’t have room for whiny babies. Maybe we should lock them in one of the births.”

  Shane’s words hit him hard, but it wasn’t just the message itself, but the way he said it. It was cold, yes, and detached, but it sounded disturbingly like something Janice would say.

  “Just stop. Can you take a step back? Please. I have a ringing headache and I’m not in the mood to have someone talk at me right now. Besides, you’re talking about people chipping in or getting the hell out of the way. How did we get here? We’re all in this together.”

  Shane stared at him for a moment, his brow shading his eyes, but Jacoby refused to look away or move. The heat swirled around in his chest, quickly radiating out to his arms and legs, but he was not angry, just frustrated.

  The big man wrinkled up his nose, sniffed, and then reluctantly stepped back. His ghostly double was in perfect sync with his movements.

  “Yeah, okay. Sorry.”

  Very good, Jacky-Boy. That was outstanding control. You didn’t even have to get mad that time. I…am…impressed. And yes, I understand your question. I’m just…well, you could say I’m struggling at the moment to manage the trickle of biodata coming in from everyone. And when was the last time you saw Emiko? I can’t sense her at all, plus…can you feel that? It is a burning, itching pain in the forehead region. And no, I’m not ignoring your question. Yes, I noticed the double vision. I’ll be poking around and trying to identify why it is happening.

  Jacoby shook his hands, subtly flicking away the violent potential pooling in his muscles, and reached up to rub his forehead. There was something there, a pain, albeit distant.

  “When you talk about people not pitching in, you’re talking about Erik, right?” Jacoby asked, cutting right to what he guessed to be the heart of the matter.

  “Well, not just him. But mostly him. You need to understand, man, after you went down, things got really chaotic around here. People were freaking out about this program spreading everywhere in the ship. And trust me, it got bad. Everything computerized just locked up. Even the fridge. But Erik,” Shane said, shaking his head. “I don’t know, he just seemed to fall apart worse than everyone else.”

  Jacoby thought back to his conversation with Soraya and her description of Shane’s efforts as “heavy handed” and the way he’d just stood over him moments before. Maybe he was more like Janice than he thought. And even if he wasn’t, then maybe his mannerisms were telling the wrong story.

  “Were you asking him or telling him when he fell apart?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Jacoby stepped forward, the fire yet to bleed away from the aching muscles in his shoulders and arms. He was beat up inside and out, but that didn’t mean he was prepared to back down. The days to cower were far behind him.

  “I heard him talking, well, shouting…when I first woke up. He’s torn up this ship, rerouted and rewired it how many times since that thrust gravity about took us all out. Have you given him any breaks? Or were you on his back, pushing him for more. Were you working with him, motivating him like you used to do with me? Or were driving him like Janice?”

  Shane took a step back, lifting his hands defensively as his eyes opened wide.

  “Janice? No, man. Jacoby, it’s not like that at all. Yes, he yelled at me, but I kept my cool as long as I could. Ask Anna, or the others. I think I held it together pretty, freaking good, all things considered. I was constantly telling him to take breaks, asking all of them if they needed food, water, or coffee. Emiko and I scavenged more lights, we opened panels and unclipped cables where we could, but there is only so much we can do without damaging something. We actually got into a good rhythm–he was guiding us, watching sometimes, and then would come back and check on the work we’d done. His mood improved and we even started to tell stories and laugh. Then we got talking about the crazy stuff that has happened so far and Emiko brought up Anna and the fact that she had, has? Don’t know…a program in her brain. She talked about the research station on Titan not being in the Betty’s NavCom, and how she wasn’t sure she wanted to go
because of that weird electronic letter. The one with the same word repeated on every line.”

  Shane paused as the starboard birth door opened. Erik appeared first, Soraya slipping through right after. She swung an arm over his shoulders and whispered into his ear. The two laughed quietly together, although the young man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. There was also no sign of his ghostly double. The two walked past and joined Anna before Shane leaned back in to continue, his voice dropping to a whisper.

  “But that’s it. He just snapped and went all weird. I went back to talk to him when he was pulling the controller wires to isolate the pulse engine control computer a few hours later. I was going to offer my help. I heard him in the maintenance passage before he saw me. He was talking weird, like a…not singing, but chanting. That’s it. He kept chanting the same thing under his breath but it’s like it was more sound than words. I listened for a few minutes but couldn’t tell what he was saying. When I rounded the corner to see if he needed help, he snapped–said I couldn’t hear it and that none of us was worthy of her. Yeah, I hit him, but it was after he jumped on me and tried to strangle me. I’m telling you, Jacoby, there is something weird going on with that kid.”

  “None of us is worthy of her? What does that mean?” Jacoby asked, both talking to Shane and Poole.

  “No idea, but when he wasn’t screaming or trying to punch me, he was mumbling or humming under his breath.”

  Oh, snap-crackle-poop, Jacky. I just stepped into a massive mushy spot in your brain and have a theory brewing, but I need to do some more investigating. Maybe the boy’s just losing his marbles. But maybe not, hold the phone. Hold…the…phone.

  We’ve been under enough stress. What theory? Spit it out.

  Damn-damn-damn. Okay. But just know that I don’t entirely know what it means if it is true. I’m just making the connections here. Ask Shane if Erik was saying “Tal-Nurgal”. Have him say it out loud. Actually, say the word.

  Wait. That’s what the computer said, right? Something about awakening Tal-Nurgal, the text on that message from Titan. Right?

  Um, yeah. I mean that’s probably not it, but better safe than sorry. A word can’t infect a program or a computer, right? How could it affect a person? That would be ridiculous, laughable even! Poole laughed uncomfortably in Jacoby’s mind, the implications sending cold shivers down his spine.

  “This chanting. Was he by chance saying Tal-Nurgal? Maybe, awaken Tal-Nurgal? Do you think that could be it?” Jacoby asked.

  Shane’s face screwed up, and as he turned to look casually over his left shoulder, his ghostly outline blurred and jumped out of sync for a moment. Jacoby watched, only passively following his gaze to Anna and Erik. The technician said something he couldn’t quite hear and then laughed again–that strange chuckle without humor.

  “Why are we isolating those circuits?” Anna asked, suddenly, “those systems aren’t connected to drive or thrust.”

  “Damn. Yes. That is it. But it’s weird because I remember now. I heard it clear when I was standing there, listening to him.”

  “It is a strange word.”

  “Yeah. Tal-Nurgal,” Shane said, and as he did, his double jumped and twitched, moving away several halting, jerky steps. The big man’s eyes lost focus for a moment and shivered, as if hit by a cold draft. A heartbeat later, the outline jumped right back into sync.

  “That was weird. I must have had a draft of cold air settle over me. My whole body went numb for a second. But yeah. That’s it. But it was so clear in my head when he first said it, but got fuzzy as time went on. Eventually, I couldn’t remember it at all,” Shane said, lowering his voice until Jacoby could barely hear him.

  There goes your theory that a word can’t infect a person. Any idea what this is and how it could do this to your little program and a human being? Is Erik dangerous? Can you cure him?

  “What does it mean? What should we do?” Shane asked.

  Um…I…we…well, I don’t…know, Poole stammered, his voice echoing weakly in his head. This feels weird to admit, but I don’t really know. You didn’t feel it when it happened, but when you said it yourself, your vocal cords created some really funky vibrations. Nothing normal for the vocalization of such a simple word. When Shane said it, I registered the same vibrations. There might be some connection to the doubles you have been seeing. I just…I don’t know, Jacky. Let me dig around in your brain for a few minutes and get back to you.

  “Dig around? Don’t do that.”

  “What does that mean?” Shane asked, his confusion evident.

  “Sorry. I meant, I’ll take care of it,” Jacoby said, struggling to cover for the flub. Then he leaned in and added, “I’d just stay clear of him for a little while. Let me handle it.”

  The big man nodded, but turned his head while doing it, his face scrunched up. He didn’t look convinced. Perhaps there was a bit too much weird going around.

  “I know, I know. That’s just bridge control of the belly airlock. No, that one. And that one is the power lead for the birth doors. Yes. We’ll reconnect it later. The low voltage current draw isn’t much, but I need to account for every millivolt of draw from the crossover,” Erik said, turning and throwing a cable bundle onto the floor.

  Jacoby made for the bridge but spotted Lex by the wall-mounted coffee maker, smacking on the panel next to it and flipping the switch without effect.

  “Hey,” he whispered, tapping her arm.

  “Can you believe this shit?” she asked, giving the switch another vigorous flip. “We’ve been living in the dark for how long now, and now even the coffee maker stops working. I’ve done crappy, dark, and cold barracks, horny, crude guys everywhere, so you know I can handle a lot. But if you expect me to do it with no coffee, think again, buster. I’ll find a chunk of space rock and find a way to crash us into it myself. This is a deal changer.”

  Jacoby quietly motioned towards the bridge and turned for Soraya, but she was still hovering near Anna, her hand resting on Erik’s shoulder. Then she looked up, obviously sensing his need.

  “What?” she mouthed, then held up a finger for him to hold on.

  He turned and walked through the large doorway, hopeful that she would join them when able. Anna, too. The implications of current developments felt odd, bordering on dangerous, as if something were in play well beyond any of their understanding.

  “You look like someone stole your last donut. What’s up?” Lex asked as she walked in behind him.

  “I don’t really know yet,” he admitted, then grabbed her hand and pulled her to the right and out of view from the galley.

  “Oh, this feels serious.”

  “I just…” he paused, struggling with how to put his fears into words.

  “Sorry, should I not have mentioned donuts? Because I have been jonesing so hard for them lately. You know that little place on the second floor of the commissary, right next to that electronics boutique? I would stop there before my shift and catch the donuts fresh…like ‘hot and melt in your mouth’ fresh. My god, I could eat so many of those right now. Oh, wait, but there is no coffee. I mean, it’s not like the coffee here is any good, but at least it is hot and caffeinated. It tastes like burnt rubber and sometimes worse, but you know how it is, we’ll put up with a lot for our…”

  “Lex!” Jacoby whispered when he feared she would never stop.

  “Yeah, what?”

  “Erik. Have you heard or seen him do anything weird lately?”

  “Besides acting like a baby, you mean?” she asked. “I kind of felt sorry for him at first, but then it got on my nerves. Once him and Shane started fighting, I washed my hands of the whole deal. Why?”

  Jacoby’s hesitation melted away. Originally, he struggled with how much he should tell her, because he worried about upsetting the natural order they had established since leaving the station, but it had become apparent quickly that they were not just struggling with social dynamics, but a complete and dangerous break down in order.
>
  “Soraya told me about it, so I talked to Shane. I was ready to come down on him for being a hard ass. Yes, before you say something, that sounds like hitting a kid for hitting. I realize that now. But he told me what happened, specifically when he and Emiko went to the maintenance passage to help him pull cables. He said they were starting to get into a swing and work well together and then Emiko mentioned the message from Titan, the one Anna’s…the A.I. locked in on. He said as soon as she said the name, Erik changed. Shane said when he went back later, he heard Erik chanting, and when he saw him, said ‘we can’t hear her and we’re not worthy of her’ or something like that. Poole said—”

  “Worthy of her? What does that mean? What did Poole say?”

  “That’s just it. He had me ask Shane if Erik was saying ‘Tal-Nurgal’. And it turns out he was. He couldn’t seem to remember the word at first, not until I reminded him. We’re worried that whatever was in that message, that somehow infected the computer has affected…him,” Jacoby paused, struggling with the notion of a word affecting or even infecting a person him, too. “Yeah, I know. Just hold on a second,” he said, as soon as her hands went up and her mouth opened. “I know how crazy it sounds but there has to be a logical answer we can find. Perhaps there is some code hidden in that message, one that infected Anna’s A.I. and forced it to transfer itself onto the Betty’s systems.”

  “Do you mean like behavioral conditioning and auditory triggers?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. But how would that affect a person and a program?”

  “Poole. Make this make sense,” Lex said.

  “Hey, there you are,” Soraya said, appearing around the corner. Jacoby turned to pull her into their little group just as Erik and Anna appeared behind her. Shane and Anna drifted in shortly after.