Nightfall

by Peter Hoole

  The only exception to this rule was James.

  “Where is the signal originating from?”

  The technician double checked the information on her screen. “It looks like it’s coming from… Zone Four.”

  “And directed to?”

  The technician followed the communication line. “It’s somewhere off the west coast, sir. Just over the Pacific. The communication line, it’s moving. My guess is at one of the Kites.”

  “The communication line… Does it show any signs of manipulation?” Robert asked, wanting to be sure before he brought any accusations down.

  The technician pressed some icons, and she zoomed in on the communication line. She noticed a pattern that was unlike anything she had ever seen. “I’m not sure what they’ve done sir, but there’s definitely something.”

  Robert knew they had found the traitor. “Record the conversation,” he ordered, and then he turned to another technician. “Get me Berlin. I want to speak with John.”

  “Sir,” the first technician said. “I can’t record the conversation.”

  Robert looked at the screen. His request had been followed, and the main screen was lit up again. Within moments, John’s young and portly face came into view on the screen. “Yes Robert. Have you found them?”

  Robert looked at the screen, unsure if John was party to the deception. He had known the man for more years than he could remember, and his loyalty to the cause had never shown signs of abating. Robert’s instincts told him he could still trust the man. “I have some bad news, John.”

  John grew cautious. “What is it Robert?”

  “We have found a signal going to the plane. It’s been tampered with.”

  “And where does the signal originate?”

  Robert paused, taking a breath. “John, it seems you have a rat problem.”

  “First I’ll ask you a question,” Isaac continued his explanation to the group. “How old do you think I am?”

  The group just looked around at each other. The man in front of them looked to be about thirty years old.

  “I was born on 31 March, 1924.”

  The group, apart from Dunleavy and Jacob, appeared stunned. The man on the screen in front of them was saying he was many years older than he appeared.

  Sensing their shock, Isaac continued. “I was pulled out of a battle in 1942. I was badly injured, and barely able to breathe. A man, who called himself John, found me and took me to an underground hospital. Or at least, I thought it was a hospital. Turned out it was a large base. Since that day, I have only ever been outside on rare occasions.”

  “So… you’re a prisoner?” asked Darcy.

  “Not at all, Ms. Chamberlain. I stay of my own free will. After all, they are keeping me alive.”

  “You mean the serum?” asked Caleb.

  “Yes. The serum has great, regenerative qualities. So much so, that it makes it nearly impossible to determine anyone’s real age. Some of us have been here for more than one hundred years, some even longer. I was one of the last to arrive.”

  “So, when you talk about Phase 3…”

  “I’ll get to that,” said Isaac, checking over his shoulder. “Phase One was the preparation. We built up our numbers, studied the world, and advanced whatever technology we could.”

  “But, how did you pay for it all? The materials, the money, the science. That doesn’t come cheap,” Darcy pointed out.

  “To be honest, Ms. Chamberlain, I can’t quite answer that. The leaders are very secretive about their actions, and for good reason, as I have recently discovered.”

  “And what reason is that?”

  “Phase Two began yesterday. Before Phase Two, the serum needed to be injected on a regular basis. And, as I understood, the supply may have been running out. But they made a breakthrough, and have perfected a technique which allows for just one injection. Once a person goes through the process, they will never have to be injected again.”

  “How does it work?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s a naturally occurring liquid, discovered many years ago. They call it The Source.”

  “The Source, did you say? Is that what you call the serum?”

  “No. The Source is where the serum comes from.”

  “And where is that?”

  Isaac stood up, spun around and walked towards the door. An alarm had begun to sound throughout the colony. They were coming. He hurried back to the monitor. “I’ll send you the coordinates. They should appear on the navigation screen.”

  Dunleavy turned and looked at the navigation monitor. With a nod to Caleb, he acknowledged they were there.

  “So, tell us about Phase Three,” Caleb said to Isaac.

  “Until yesterday, I was happy with the plan. But my leader let something slip yesterday, something that changed my mind.”

  “What is it?”

  “Once everyone has the final serum injection, they will implement Phase Three.” He shifted on his feet, looking deeply uncomfortable. “Phase Three – it’s the extermination part of the plan. You see, once they all are basically immortal, they don’t want to share the world with anyone. So, they are going to eradicate everyone else.”

  The horror of what the future may hold appeared on Darcy and Caleb’s faces. “How much time do we have?” asked Caleb.

  “We’re okay for now, we’ve got at least a week.”

  “A week?”

  “It takes time to implement Phase Two. We’ve got a lot of people to inject, and there is more than one colony. I know we’re still working on getting the serum to all of our people.”

  “If it’s going to take a week, aren’t they taking a risk? With that much activity, someone is bound to —” Caleb stopped himself, mid-sentence. Now he understood the purpose of the attack on the plane. Surely by now, the United States government were looking for New Light, Dunleavy and anyone connected to the attack. And, with the help of the Colonials, the government would be more than occupied. He looked at Darcy. Apparently she had drawn the same conclusion.

  “The attack in Seattle – all those people – dead. That was just a distraction?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Isaac replied.

  “But that wouldn’t be enough,” Dunleavy interjected. “Sure, the US and possibly China would be distracted. But you’re talking a global enterprise. What about Europe? Africa? The Middle East? Surely someone there would take notice? For fuck’s sake, the plan is still going to attract attention. Shit, people are going to find out eventually! You can’t deceive governments forever, especially now.”

  “That is why you must act fast,” continued Isaac. “You are correct that their governments would soon turn their attention in the right direction. That is why I fear that Seattle was just the beginning. They will need to ensure distractions are prevalent until Phase Three.”

  Caleb looked at Dunleavy, who was standing there, shaking his head.

  “So, what do you propose?” Caleb asked, returning his gaze to the screen.

  “You must destroy The Source.”

  “How will that help?” asked Darcy.

  “They need everyone they have recruited. Without the Source, they cannot create the serum, and the people they recruited will turn on them. They won’t have the power to carry out their objectives.”

  “Do you know how they intend to kill everyone?”

  “The only thing that may help is a name. Nightfall.”

  “What is Nightfall??”

  As Darcy spoke, the door behind Isaac flew open. Several people, dressed in a similar style to Natalie, burst through the door. Isaac quickly pressed a button on the screen, and his image vanished.

  For a moment, the group was stunned by what had just happened. They needed time to take in the information. They already knew they were part of something important. But the magnitude of that had just begun to sink in.

  They lapsed into silence, trying to come to terms with the situation.

  Casey was the first to react. “So, where
are we goin’?” he asked the rest.

  Caleb looked towards the navigation monitor, and saw that Murphy was already in place.

  “Wherever it is, Captain, we’ll be there in just over nineteen hours,” she said.

  Caleb straightened up, and moved towards where Murphy was sitting. “Nineteen? I thought this thing was fast?” he asked the Lieutenant.

  “Sir, it is,” she replied, “but I’ve been watching the power output compared to fuel consumption. It takes an extraordinary amount of fuel to go at the speed we were travelling to Minot. I’ve slowed us down to make sure we have enough fuel for the journey. Once I know the destination, I’ll work it so we have enough fuel, and we still get there as fast as possible.”

  “Okay then,” Caleb said, once again impressed with his Lieutenant’s logic.

  He looked at the map, and was disappointed to see their final destination wasn’t apparent. He took the seat, and examined the screen. Only Dunleavy had used the console thus far, and he was keen to learn as much as he could. He quickly found the zoom mechanism, and used it to get a better picture of their journey.

  The initial image showed an area off the coast of the United States. As the icon of the plane had disappeared, it was difficult to know their exact location.

  Murphy looked over Caleb’s shoulder, and pointed at the map. “By my reckoning, this is where we are, and this is our course,” Murphy said as she tracked her finger towards the bottom left of the screen.

  Each time she reached the edge, Caleb scrolled further in the south west direction. The route she was tracking would take them past Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji and New Caledonia.

  Eventually, a large island came into view on the screen. Caleb continued to scroll across the page, and there it was. The same yellow circle they seen just outside of Minot appeared again. This time, it had the number “One” inside.

  “So,” Darcy asked. “Where’re we going?”

  Caleb looked up. Such had been the events of the day, he’d barely remembered that it was an email from Paul which had set them on this path. It felt like destiny that their path would eventually lead them to the place all this had first started.

  “Looks like we’re going to find out what happened to Paul,” he said to Darcy.

  “Paul… geez, I’d almost forgotten,” said Darcy. “So I guess we’re heading to—”

  Caleb interrupted before she could finish. “That’s right, babe. We’re going to Australia.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Isaac slumped back in the chair, a fearful look in his eye as he waited. While the guards had broken in and stopped him, he knew they wouldn’t do anything without John’s direct orders.

  While he waited, he thought of the people on the plane. He thought of all the people that he, through his assistance to the cause, was about to hurt.

  Isaac knew it had only been a few minutes, but during those minutes, time seemed to stand still. He knew that even the best outcome would mean his life would change forever. Just the previous day, he’d dreamt of the things he might still accomplish in his long life. He had thought of the places he could see, the people he could meet, and the women he could fall in love with.

  None of that would now come to be.

  Eventually, his former friend and mentor entered the room. He had an expression on his face that Isaac had never seen before. It wasn’t anger, nor hurt.

  It was embarrassment.

  “How could you do this to me?” John asked, as he strode across to Isaac’s chair.

  Isaac steeled his eyes. The embarrassment on Johns face made him angry. His mentor obviously spared no thought for all the people whose lives he was about to have a hand in destroying.

  “How can you do what you are going to do?” Isaac retorted.

  The question seemed to confuse John. “How can I do it?” he asked. “I thought you, of all people, would understand! You fought alongside people who wanted to exterminate a whole race. I was sure you would understand! That’s why I told you. Obviously, I was wrong.”

  “Fought alongside them? John, I did not choose to fight for the Nazis! I was forced to! And, if you’ll recall, I didn’t fight all that well. Did it ever cross your mind that my heart wasn’t in it? After all, I thought that was why you recruited me.”

  “Don’t be so foolish. Where do you think all these people came from? You were just one of the last among many. How dare you think that it is up to you to decide the future of all these people? People you have lived with, for the last seventy years?”

  Isaac realised that reasoning with John was fruitless, and decided to bite his tongue. If he was going to die, he was going to do it in a dignified manner.

  “Nothing more to say?” asked John.

  Isaac just stared at him, his disgust clearly visible. Disgust at John for wanting the deaths of so many people, and disgust at himself for allowing it to get this far.

  “I know you probably won’t answer this question. But where are they?” John asked.

  “Who?” Isaac responded petulantly.

  John chuckled. Isaac found the sound deeply disturbing. “It’s not going to matter,” said John, “I only asked, in the hope that you could be saved.”

  John turned, and indicated to one of the guards to approach. The man quickly came to stand next to John, and held out his pistol. John grabbed the weapon, and pointed it at Isaac. “I had such high hopes for you,” he said, his pudgy fingers barely able to fit inside the trigger-guard.

  Isaac stared at John, resigned to his fate. “See you in the next life,” Isaac said tiredly, using the salutation he’d been taught, and had used for over seven decades.

  “No, Isaac… you won’t,” replied John. He pulled the trigger, and Isaac slumped lifelessly in the chair.

  Caleb looked at each of the members of his group. Every one of them bore their own scars from the preceding day’s events. Some of the scars were visible, like Dunleavy’s nose, or Casey’s cheek. The others were not so visible.

  Caleb could only think of Darcy, and how much she’d had to endure that day. He could hardly imagine how much she had been affected. Less than forty-eight hours earlier, she’d been just a normal woman, an everyday reporter. A person who, like ninety-nine percent of the world’s population, had been working towards her life’s goals.

  In such a short time, Darcy had become absorbed a world that they didn’t think could even exist.

  Thinking about it, Caleb realised that he too had been irrevocably changed in the past few days. While he knew that something was not quite right with the world, he’d never thought it would come to the situation they now faced - the fact that they might be within days of the world as they knew it coming to an end.

  To a certain extent though, Caleb realised, it already had.

  As the flight progressed, he was getting regular updates from Murphy. She’d done the required calculations, and at the last check, there were just over fifteen hours of travel remaining. He still found it remarkable that a journey that would normally take longer, and require multiple stopovers, would be over so soon.

  He contemplated their next move and weighed up the options available to them. They really had no idea of what they would be facing when they got to Australia.

  The first step would be for them to all rest and recuperate. There was nothing further they could do at this particular point in time and most of them were running on fumes. “Listen up,” Caleb said, “We really don’t know what we’re getting into, but we do have some time between now and when we arrive. What we all need right now is some rest. Murphy, Casey and Dunleavy; you guys go first. Jacob, Darcy and I will take first watch.”

  Caleb had split the groups up in this manner purposely. He’d kept Darcy in his group because her presence alongside him was no longer something he merely desired. Over the past day or so, Darcy’s presence had become something he needed.

  Darcy felt the same; she needed to be near Caleb. Not only was he providing protection, but he was essentiall
y, the only part of her previous life that she still recognised. Her previous life no longer existed, and the only lasting remnant of that life she still had, was Caleb.

  Caleb had decided to keep Jacob in his group for another reason. He absolutely didn’t trust him, and he wanted to keep him in his sights at all times. He couldn’t do that effectively if he was asleep while Jacob was awake.

  “Yes, sir,” Murphy and Casey replied in unison, grateful to be getting some sleep. Dunleavy merely grunted, the previous day sapping his waning energy.

  “I saw some bunks in the cargo area,” said Casey.

  “Good,” Caleb replied, “Head off. I’ll come down and wake you in six hours.” The trio left the cockpit, and headed down the stairs.

  Jacob glanced around the room at the others. He was no idiot. He knew exactly why Caleb had kept him in his group. “If you’re determined to keep an eye on me, at least let me help.” Jacob said.

  Caleb thought about it for a few seconds. While he didn’t trust Jacob, he suspected the man could still prove useful. Through Caleb’s experience, trained, efficient killers were effective, particularly in his line of work. It wasn’t Jacob’s skills he doubted, but his motivations. Until he understood what they were, he couldn’t assess how big a threat Jacob was to the group. “Looks like this thing is pretty much flying itself,” Caleb said. “Why don’t you and I have a little talk?”

  “Talk?” Jacob asked.

  “Yeah. I need to figure you out, Jacob,” Caleb answered.

  Jacob smirked. “Figure me out?” The two men sat down together, Caleb in front of the navigation screen, Jacob in front of Operations. Darcy remained at the Communication screen, offering Caleb a tight smile.

  “I’ll keep working on this,” Darcy said.

  “Thanks, Darc. Anything you find that you think is important, let me know.”

  Darcy nodded, and began tapping away on the screen, while Caleb turned his attention back to Jacob. “How did you meet Dunleavy?”

  Jacob took a second or two to think before he responded. While the question in itself was a simple one, the course of action regarding its answer wasn’t. He wasn’t sure how much information he wanted to give away at this point in time. But he also figured that Caleb, if he was as good as Jacob suspected he was, would be able to ascertain whether or not he was being deceptive with his responses. He needed to tread cautiously.