Endless Night

by Andrea Dionne

  “What was that?” Luis whispered harshly. “What did you say?"

  Momentarily distracted, Angus looked over at Luis, then glanced at Amy, who followed only a few steps behind Luis. Amy glanced up, as well.

  “Do you think you two can stop gabbing? I'd like to hear that thing if it's coming after me!” Angus said.

  Amy looked surprised. “I didn't say anything!"

  Luis halted in his tracks and looked searchingly around the corridor. “There it is again!"

  Angus stopped, as well, feeling his skin crawl, focusing his entire concentration on hearing that clicking noise that had already presaged death way too many times for his comfort. He heard nothing, however, no matter how hard he concentrated on eliminating the sounds of his thundering heartbeat and his own harsh breathing. “I don't hear nuthin', man!” he said angrily, deciding Luis was in worse shape than he was.

  “You didn't hear the voices?"

  Angus stared at him, wondering if Luis had lost his mind. “There ain't been no voices! I thought you was talking about that clicking noise...."

  “You heard the clicking?” Amy demanded, her eyes wide now with absolute terror.

  “I just said I didn't hear nuthin'!” Angus snapped angrily, alarmed that the whole group was going to panic. “I thought that might have been what Luis heard. Never mind!"

  He glanced around and saw that Kingsley seemed further behind than before, moving as if he was slogging through knee deep water. “Kingsley, move your ass, man!"

  Kingsley grunted a response, but if he moved any faster Angus damn sure couldn't tell. He frowned, realizing his skin still prickled, realizing finally that it wasn't just nerves. “Hey ... any of you feel that?"

  “Feel what?” Amy asked breathlessly.

  “It's like static ... sort of."

  “Feels more like ants crawling over me,” Mason said, speaking for the first time.

  Luis didn't even acknowledge the question. He was still glancing anxiously around at the ceiling.

  “Will you stop that, man!” Angus snapped. “You're getting on my last nerve!"

  Kingsley had finally caught up to them. He was breathing hard, like he'd just run a ten mile race ... up hill. “What's with you, Kingsley? You alright?"

  Kingsley's face had taken on a grayish pallor, but he nodded. “I'll be ok. It can't be much further now, right?"

  Angus’ eyes widened. “What?"

  “We're almost to the rendezvous point, right?"

  “Has everybody lost their fucking mind?” Angus demanded, becoming angrier the more scared he got. “We haven't covered more than a hundred yards!"

  Kingsley stared at him, stunned. “That can't be! We've been marching more than an hour ... more like two, I'm thinking."

  “What's going on, Angus?” Amy asked worriedly.

  Angus looked from one anxious face to the other and finally shook his head. “I'm damned if I know, but let's get with the program. Luis ... stop looking like you've got a monster perched on your shoulder! Something's ..that thing is fucking with our heads.. Keep sharp! You think you're rested enough to go on, Kingsley?"

  “Yeah,” Kingsley said, looking anything but rested. “I'm sure as hell not letting you leave me behind."

  Angus nodded, gripped Luis’ arm and gave him a shake and then turned once more, him and Mason taking point positions.

  They'd scarcely set off when Luis commenced to muttering under his breath. Angus tried to ignore it for a while, but finally snapped at him to shut up. It had no appreciable effect that he could tell except that Luis became more agitated, flicking at his ear as if a crazed fly was buzzing him, twitching, stopping every couple of feet to scan the ceiling. Angus felt the electric static sensation intensify, seemingly with every step, but he wasn't certain if it actually did or if Luis’ crazy antics was making him more nervous by the moment. Mason said no more about it and it was impossible to tell from his expression whether he felt the same sensations.

  They'd reached the stairwell when Luis suddenly vented a strangled cry, as if something invisible had abruptly seized him by the throat. Amy let loose an ear-splitting scream almost instantaneously. Angus whirled on his heel, his weapon ready, and nearly fell over Kingsley, who was standing stock still in the middle of the corridor, a look of abject horror on his face. And then all hell broke loose.

  * * * *

  Caleb cursed, turned to study Breanna for a moment and looked away. “Why don't you wait here, Delaney, and let us take a closer look?"

  Breanna was staring in dumbstruck horror at the mass of decayed bodies that seemed almost to fill the ship's hold. For the most part, they lay in an ignominious heap ... like the discarded remains from some great beast's feast ... except that the bodies seemed whole. They looked almost mummified, but Breanna didn't think that was merely the effect of deep space entombment. As with true mummies, these bodies looked as if all the body fluids had been drained away, as if the thing that had sucked the life force from them had also sucked the body fluids away like some giant spider. She wondered where, in that mass of tangled bodies, her mother lay, or if there was another mass grave somewhere else on the ship that they hadn't discovered.

  It seemed doubtful. They'd searched most of the ship and at any rate, even at rough calculations, there seemed enough bodies in the hold to account for every man, woman and child that had remained aboard the doomed ship.

  When Caleb spoke, she dragged her gaze from the mass tomb before them and glanced at him and then looked around at the others. “I appreciate your concern for my feelings, Sylvaine, but I can handle this,” she said after a long moment.

  “There's no reason for you to handle it,” Caleb said sharply.

  “I'm still in command,” Breanna reminded him.

  “Yes, ma'am. You're still in command....so order your troops to check out the area and secure it."

  “No. We'll stay together."

  “Breanna ... your mother..."

  “Do you think I don't know that! I told you ... I can handle it. Now ... let's move out!"

  Reluctantly, Caleb obeyed. Leading the way slowly, cautiously, he trained his weapon in sync with his sight as he scanned the area just inside the room, scanned the overhead and then moved forward a few feet, his eyes restlessly roaming the area. Breanna and the others cautiously fanned out behind him as they entered, weapons ready for instantaneous action at any movement.

  They saw none. They had advanced perhaps halfway across the area, which they now saw was a docking area for ship supplies, when they saw the thing they'd been searching for.

  Despite Breanna's assurance that they would know it when they saw it, Caleb doubted very much that any of them would've noticed it at all, except that the strange object began to glow. There was nothing sinister about the object itself.. nothing about it that even seemed to proclaim it alien. No more than a foot to eighteen inches high, it looked more like a freeform sculpture of black onyx than anything else, almost obelisk like, but more with a slight curl, like a wave captured at cresting.

  Caleb felt the hair on his skin prickle, as if a static charge had moved over him, even as he reached out and nudged Breanna to point the object out to her. By that time, she'd halted in her tracks and was staring at it herself. The faint, reddish glow intensified rapidly, the glow fanning out from the object almost like a red tide, illuminating the pile of decayed corpses, the bulkheads, the two supply shuttles parked on either side of the loading doors.

  Ahmad, Ranger and Corbett, who had taken a different path in crossing the docking bay, stood closest to the object looking like statues now, bathed entirely in the red light as they stared at the thing as if mesmerized.

  Breanna called to the men twice, ordering them to back away, but they gave no indication that they'd even heard her. Before she could decide whether to approach them or not, they began to move, as if suddenly coming awaking from a deep sleep.

  The glow had spread to within a few yards of where Caleb and Breanna stood when t
heir headsets sprang to life with a static screech. The high pitched, electronic whine gave way to very human screams, which was followed by a cacophony of confusing shouts.

  “Luis!"

  “What the hell....?"

  “Come back!"

  Breanna, who'd reflexively snatched the earphones from her ears, quickly replaced it. “What's happening? Angus? Mason? Kingsley? Acknowledge, damn it!"

  It was Angus who answered, his voice strained and breathless. “Luis has lost his fucking mind! He started screaming and just took off. We're in pursuit."

  “Watch yourself! This thing has him! It's controlling him. There's no telling what he might...” A short burst of gun fire close at hand cut off the rest of her sentence.

  Breanna whirled in time to see Ahmad and Ranger hit the deck, crimson bathing their faces and chests, not with the still intensifying red glow, but with their own blood. Corbett stood over the fallen men, his face contorted with hate as he pumped several more rounds into the already lifeless bodies. Breanna had seen nothing of the battle that had been waging and didn't know whether Ahmad and Ranger had been turned by the alien and Corbett had leapt to defend himself, or if it was Corbett who was under its control. She stood frozen, her weapon ready, trying to decide if she should shoot Corbett or wait to see if he would turn on her and Caleb next.

  Caleb didn't wait. With a furious war cry he rushed Corbett. Corbett staggered backwards, but hardly seemed phased by Caleb's assault.

  It was enough for Breanna. Under any other circumstances, Caleb's assault would have taken the man down. The strength he was exhibiting now was inhuman.

  She rushed to help Caleb just as Corbett flung Caleb from his shoulders. Corbett had already trained his weapon on Caleb when Breanna launched her own assault, grappling for the gun. Corbett roared furiously and wrested the gun from her grasp, then swung, catching Breanna with one arm in a backwards blow. She was flung back, clean off her feet, flying through the air to land in a heap several yards away as if she weighed no more than a feather.

  Stunned, she was unable to react for several moments, until she realized the ringing in her ears wasn't merely ringing. It was gun fire.

  She screamed, scrambling to her feet, only to find that Caleb and Corbett were still locked in mortal hand-to-hand combat. Relief washed over her momentarily, for she'd feared Caleb had still been unable to defend himself.

  She didn't want to think about that, though ... didn't have time to think about that. She had to do something...fast!

  They were no match for Corbett in his present state.

  It was at almost precisely that moment that Breanna realized that the gun fire she'd heard hadn't all been Corbett's weapon discharging. Above them, along the mezzanine, she heard sounds of yet another battle. Glancing up, she saw the other party had emerged on the walk above the docking bay. Luis, in the lead, was running along the walk, firing at random, firing at phantoms. Amy clung to his back, as if she'd leapt to catch him, but she wouldn't have had the strength to wrestle Luis to the ground even if he wasn't under mind control. Regardless, it seemed she had managed to keep him from shooting any of the others. Mason and Angus was directly behind them and Kingsley, game but lagging, was several yards to the rear.

  Even as she watched, Mason made a lunge for Luis, knocking Amy from the man's back, but having little effect upon Luis other than gaining his attention. With a roar of rage, Luis seized Mason, lifting the larger man off the floor as if he weighed no more than a child. Both Amy and Angus grappled for a hold, but before either of them could stop him, he flung Mason from the Mezzanine

  Breanna felt bile rise in her throat as the meaty thud of Mason's landing reached her ears, felt a surge of pure fury.

  That thing had brought them all here, brought them all together so that it could take them as it had the settlers, use them, suck the life force from them!

  On that thought, she whirled and raced toward the sinister obelisk. She felt the heat of it even before she touched it. When she'd grasped it, however, she discovered it wasn't hot as she'd expected, merely warm. She also discovered, to her amazement, that it seemed almost weightless.

  Closing her mind to all else, she lifted the alien artifact from it's perch and raced across the room.

  Nothing but grim determination was driving Caleb by that time, for Corbett had beaten him badly, raining blow after blow on Caleb's face and neck, shoulders and chest. Caleb, on his knees now, clung grimly to the stock of Corbett's weapon, trying to shield his head with his shoulder.

  With a scream of pure rage, Breanna brought the obelisk down on Corbett's head. To her amazement, Corbett crumpled to the deck as if she'd clobbered him with a sledge hammer.

  Breanna stared down at his crumpled form for several moments, breathing hard, waiting to see if he would stir. When he didn't so much as twitch, she dropped the obelisk, stepped over him and moved to check on Caleb, kneeling beside him.

  “How badly are you hurt?” she demanded.

  Caleb looked at her through swollen eyes and smiled half-heartedly. “Probably not as bad as I look."

  Breanna couldn't help but smile. “I hope not! You look like hell!"

  Caleb's expression turned wry. “Thanks!” His gaze moved to the object Breanna had dropped when she'd stepped over Corbett's unconscious form.

  “Is Corbett dead?” he asked grimly.

  Breanna turned to look at Corbett. “I don't think so. I think I knocked him unconscious."

  “Good,” Caleb said, climbing painfully to his feet. He shrugged Breanna off when she would've helped him, moved painfully to retrieve his weapon and then cocked it, aimed and fired.

  Stunned, Breanna scrambled to her feet as she saw him take aim. Too late she raced to thwart his aim. He'd fired off three short burst rounds before she could stop him.

  “Are you mad?” she screamed, reaching for his weapon.

  He held the gun out of her reach. “No. And I'm not going to be either."

  Breanna turned to look, expecting to see Corbett in a pool of blood. Instead she saw that Caleb had fired on the alien obelisk, cutting it in half. The crimson glow had already begun to dim, as if it's own life blood had flown away.

  “That was our proof,” she snapped angrily. “We can't prove what they did here, now!"

  “We can take the pieces back!” Caleb ground out. “But we wouldn't have gotten back with that thing in one piece! You know that!"

  Breanna stared at him a long moment and finally acknowledged that what he said was true. They hadn't even needed to be in close quarters with that thing for it to control them.

  She turned from him to look up at the mezzanine. The other party had descended to their deck level, however, and she saw with some relief that Amy, Angus and Kingsley, at least, were still in one piece, though all bore the signs of battle. Luis was flung limply over Angus’ shoulder.

  “Is he...?” she asked as Angus reached them.

  “He's going to feel like shit when he wakes up, but he'll wake up,” Angus said tiredly. “If that thing hadn't been controlling him, half the blows I hit him with would've taken his scrawny neck off at the shoulders."

  That comment seemed inarguable. Luis was wiry and fast, but Angus's fists, with that powerful body behind them, would be lethal to a man Luis’ size.

  She glanced around at the ragtag group that was left. “I'm for getting the hell out of here ... right now."

  An expression of hope flooded the faces around her. “You think we can?” Amy asked, almost tearfully.

  “Caleb destroyed the artifact. I think we'll find we can leave now without any problem. How are Luis and Corbett doing?"

  “Still unconscious ... both of them,” Caleb answered.

  “You think you can manage Corbett, Caleb?"

  Caleb looked down at Corbett for a long moment, his expression harsh. “I'm not sure I want to carry his ass out of here."

  Breanna was exasperated. “You know it was that thing that was controlling him. He's your fr
iend."

  Caleb gave her a disgusted look. “I know that thing was controlling him, and I'm still going to beat the hell out of him when he comes around."

  Breanna couldn't help but smile. “Well, you'll have to haul his ass out of here if you mean to beat the hell out of him later."

  “Guess so.” He glanced around at the group. “Amy, find something and gather up the pieces of that thing. We'll take it with us for evidence."

  Amy looked at the object in question, then turned to Breanna. “Captain?"

  Breanna nodded. “He's right. If we're going to nail their asses to the wall, we need hard evidence as well as testimony. We've got the journals. I think we need to take the artifact too."

  Reluctantly, Amy gathered up the pieces of the artifact, rolling them in her flack jacket.

  Despite the fact that two members of the party had to be carried, they made it to the level where the escape pods were docked in record time. No one breathed easy, however, until they were inside and Breanna had control of the pod's computer.

  Once they'd launched and the pod was moving into deep space, everyone released their harnesses almost as if on cue, rose and moved to the stern ports to look at the deep space ship, Mayflower.

  “We should have blown it back to hell,” Angus said to no one in particular.

  Breanna turned to look at him for a long moment and finally shook her head. “The only hell was the hell the company put those people through ... put us through. We left fallen comrades behind that deserve an honorable funeral. I left my mother behind ... for the second time. When I'm done with the company, I'll bring her home, finally, where she can rest ... where they all can rest."

  She felt the touch of Caleb's hand on her shoulder and looked up. His offer to hold her was tentative. She accepted it, sliding her arms around his waist and holding him tightly, welcoming the feel of his arms as they closed around her.

  There was one good thing that had come out of this nightmare ... Caleb. She didn't care what the others thought about her embracing him, welcoming his embrace. She didn't think she would ever let what others thought rule her life again. She'd wasted too much of her life already on something that was, in the end, of very little importance.