Sinister Shadows

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ***

  ‘These are my three options?’ asked Matthews, waving a hand to the trio of illuminated mirrors.

  ‘Yes,’ Shiva nodded a confirmation, ‘these three mirrors are from people at the last camp you visited. There is only a handful of survivors at this place. You have the choice of stepping into the mind of the man you controlled before, the friend of the people who plan to murder the others. The other two options are a kid and an eight-month-old baby.’

  ‘I can take over a baby?’

  ‘It hasn’t been infected yet,’ she replied in a matter of fact way.

  Matthews took a deep breath and stepped forward. ‘I will return to the man.’ It made sense. The guy was part of the group planning to murder the others. He needed to get close to them if he was going to stop them. This was the most direct way of putting the plan into action. Matthews stepped up to the mirror, standing only a hair’s length away from his own reflection. He looked nervous. What man wouldn’t be in his situation? ‘Here goes everything,’ he sighed, stepping into the mirror. A blinding white light consumed his field of vision, as a powerful suction pulled him into the mirror. It felt like the ground had just disappeared, as he fell through the blinding light, travelling through time and space.

  ***

  The floor beneath their feet began to shake, as the space ship came to life. The powerful engines roared, shrugging off the centuries of sand that had attempted to bury the craft beneath the planet’s surface. The hull groaned, almost as if it were a living being. Chris fought against the controls, as Andy stood shoulder to shoulder with Jesus, looking out across the shipyard. Warning alarms rang around the control room, and foreign control panels flashed important looking lights. ‘Give it more power,’ instructed Jesus, still wearing that smile on his face. Chris slid his fingers along the touch screen terminal at the pilot’s control panel, forcing the engines to seventy percent. The craft groaned and something popped in the corridor outside the control room. Andy grabbed hold off the nearest computer terminal, as the ship jolted upwards, making him lose his footing. Jesus, on the other hand, was stood like a stone statue, his eyes lighting up with either happiness or madness. Andy could not be sure which one it was. The craft lurched into the air, ascending hundreds of feet in a single second. ‘That is far enough.’ Chris decreased power to the engines and placed the ship in standby mode, keeping it hovering in its current position. ‘Prepare the weapon.’

  ‘Yes, my Lord,’ replied Chris, heading for the weapons console.

  ‘Why does God need a weapon?’ Andy asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.

  ‘Don’t question our Lord, baby brother,’ said Chris.

  ‘But I need to know, why does God need a weapon? Why does he want to kill innocent people?’

  ‘I see through you, Andy,’ replied Jesus.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You are a man that wears my cross, prays to me every night, but they are just hollow words. You lack faith.’

  ‘I have unwavering faith in my God. You are not him.’ Jesus turned to face Andy for the first time, a frown was etched onto his brow, as anger swirled behind the windows of his eyes. It was not the look of a peace loving God. It was the not the look from any being that inspired love and light in his followers. ‘I don’t know who you are, but I know what you are. You are a false messiah. You are nothing more than a murderer.’ Andy swung towards his brother. ‘Chris, we must get...’ A mental pole cracked Andy square between the eyes, instantly crushing his skull. The bone crunching snap echoed throughout the control room, as Andy’s lifeless body hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. Chris looked down at his deceased brother and then to the bloody pole in his right hand.

  ‘I had to do it,’ he told Jesus.

  ‘Yes,’ nodded the man in white, ‘you did.’

  ‘He was spewing such evil from his mouth. H-he cannot say that. H-he had to be stopped.’

  Chris couldn’t take his eyes off his baby brother’s face. The top part of his head had been forced inwards, his right eye had bulged out, and blood seeped from his eyes and nose. The brother he loved more than anything in his life was now dead, dead by his own hands, but he had to do it. They had found God. His brother couldn’t be saying the things he said, or he would never have got into heaven. Only by killing his brother could he save his soul. Chris wasn’t even sure if he believed that. He didn’t even know what came over him. It was like his body had moved on its own.

  ‘Prepare the weapon,’ instructed Jesus, turning back to the window that overlooked the shipyard. His smile returned to his face, as he slowly rocked back and forth on his heels. Everything was going according to his plans, and soon he would be free from the prison that was this dead world.

  ***

  ‘Time is running out,’ said Emerson, as she constructed the alien mini-gun and lowered a belt of thick bullets made of pulsating light into a chamber on top of the weapon. Dr Jones swung around to the shipyard, throwing up a hand to protect himself from the sandstorm. A single spacecraft had risen out of the valley in a storm of sand, completely burying a few of the smaller ships. The ship lifted several hundred feet into the air and then stopped. The spacecraft was designed to look like a cloud you would expect to see on a nice summer’s day. It hovered in mid-air as soft lavender coloured lights shone from miniature thrusters beneath the craft. The engine was hardly noticeable, but the cloud like vessel stood out like a sore thumb on this dark and decaying world. ‘Where am I?’

  Dr Jones turned to his friend.

  He could see something was different.

  ‘Dr Jones?’ asked the pretty young woman, looking dazed and confused.

  ‘Dr Emerson, is that you?’

  ‘What am I doing here? I was in the alien temple just a moment ago.’

  How did he explain what had happened? The alien that had infiltrated her body had said that Dr Emerson was aware of everything, but did that mean she lost all memory when the alien departed her consciousness? His thoughts drifted back to the alien craft hovering above the shipyard. What was he supposed to do about that? Were the people on there really as bad as the alien said? He could feel his heart thumping off the inside of his ribcage. The alien was gone, and now he had a choice. Did he stand here and do nothing as the craft fled this world, potentially bringing an apocalyptic war to the universe as the alien had said? Or did he take control of the alien weapon and blow the ship out of the sky? Did he even have the strength to do something like that? Killing was wrong. Murder was wrong. It didn’t matter how you tried to justify the cause of the act, it was wrong. No good came from murder.

  It was then that a hole appeared in the floating cloud.

  A bright blue ball of light materialised within the newly formed mouth at the front of the ship.

  ‘What is that?’ asked Emerson.

  Even from this distance, they could feel the static in the air. The ball of light crackled and arcs of electricity flashed as the light grew bigger and brighter, spinning faster and faster, the noise it made grew louder and more violently. Dr Jones felt like ants were crawling through his body, as the space crafts in the shipyard began to shake like they were caught in an earthquake. Dr Jones didn’t know what the ball of light was on a conscious level, but deep down within the core of his being the animalistic side of him knew what it was. It was a weapon. It was a powerful weapon that he should run away from.

  ***

  Chris could hardly see through the wall of tears, as he followed the instructions of his Lord and pressed the various buttons on the weapon control system. His heart ached like it had never ached before. A stone sat heavy in the pit of his stomach, dragging his centre of gravity down towards the floor. His legs were weak. All he wanted to do was drop to his knees and cry like a newborn baby, but Jesus wouldn’t allow him.

  ‘In heaven, your brother will learn the truth,’ said Jesus, reassuringly.

  ‘Yes, my Lord,’ sobbed Chris.

  Jesus stood by the main windo
w, overlooking the planet.

  ‘You are my first and most loyal disciple, Chris. Your story and act of loyalty will go on to inspire millions of followers on a thousand worlds. Together we will bring the word of Christ to...’ Jesus paused in mid-sentence, as his eyes caught sight of the red orbs speeding through the air towards the spacecraft. ‘Damn then,’ he growled through clenched teeth, thumping his fist against the window. The command room exploded a moment later. Death and destruction roared unforgiving flames through the ship incinerating Chris instantaneously.

  ***

  The orange glow of the explosion brought light to the darkened landscape. The cloud shaped spacecraft lurched heavily to the left-hand side, as secondary eruptions rippled through the hull, spewing debris in all directions. The spacecraft spiralled downwards towards the shipyard, trailing black smoke through the air. The two doctors ducked for cover as the cloud ship collided with an armadillo-shaped spacecraft inspiring the biggest explosion of all. Dr Jones and Dr Emerson lay face down in the dirt, shielding the helmet of their spacesuits, as bits of metal crashed down all around them. The explosion from the collision was so great that it looked like a sunset. They could feel the ground shaking beneath their feet.

  ‘We have to get away from here,’ said Emerson.

  Explosions thundered into the air beyond the ridge.

  ‘O-okay,’ replied Dr Jones, sick to the stomach at what he had just done.

  He had killed.

  He had stood behind the weapon and blown the spacecraft out of the sky.

  He had done it. He had done it with his own two hands.

  Had he just saved the universe? Could you really kill someone before they commit a crime? Is that any form of justice? If he could travel back in time and kill Hitler in his youth, could he do it? Was it morally the right thing to do? The youth hadn’t done anything wrong by this point in his life. The men he had just shot out of the sky had committed no crime, but they were about too. Did that make it right?

  ‘We have to go, Dr Jones,’ repeated Emerson, yanking him up to his feet. The two of them sprinted towards the glowing hover train, as pops and bangs echoed in the distance and the glow of the fire turned night into day.

  Chapter Eight: Invasion

  Lopez stuffed the dry toast into his mouth, as he pulled on his right combat boot. Jess was tiptoeing out of their daughter’s bedroom cringing. ‘I nearly woke her up,’ she mouthed, carefully closing the door behind her. The faint click sounded like a bell from a bell tower in the morning silence. Lopez chewed on his dry toast, as he pulled on his other boot. He was getting fed up of dry toast every morning, but a large percentage of their chilled supplies had been damaged in the crash, which meant there was no butter. He didn’t realise how much butter affected his life. It was something he would never have thought about in a million years, but Lopez always started his day with coffee and toast. Without the butter, his morning ritual became almost torturous.

  ‘Do you have to go already?’ asked Jess, opening up her fluffy white dressing gown to reveal her slim curvy figure, dark blue panties and matching push up bra that cradled her plump breasts. The majority of all men in the universe would have been stopped in their tracks at this moment in time. Jess wasn’t overly heart-stopping when it came to her below average face, but she did have a nice pair of tits and an ass that could be slapped. She kept herself fit but somehow managed not to lose her lovely curves.

  ‘You can do better,’ whispered a voice in Lopez’s ear.

  It was a voice he had grown used to these last few days.

  It was a voice that had helped him move forward with his plans.

  Lopez ignored his wife and downed the rest of his black coffee.

  Jess’s naughty smile fell from her face, and she covered herself back up. ‘What has gotten into you?’ She didn’t even wait for a reply from her husband. She was too upset. Jess rushed off into their bedroom, pushing the door closed behind her. Lopez replied with a silent shrug of his shoulders and finished off his morning toast.

  ‘We have much work to do. You can have your pick of women once we are finished,’ said the voice.

  ***

  Matthews placed a backpack in the middle of the bed and stuffed any of the women’s clothes into it that he could find. ‘Craig, you're scaring me,’ said the beautiful young blonde woman that Matthews had fucked only a day before.

  ‘I don’t mean to scare you,’ he replied, aware that he didn’t even know the woman’s name.

  ‘Has something happened? Are Lopez and Doug doing something bad?’

  ‘Listen to me,’ he said, placing unfamiliar hands on the woman’s shoulders. ‘Lopez is planning something dangerous, which I am not sure I agree with. Everything should be okay, but if it isn’t I want you packed and ready to go.’

  ‘Where can we go?’ she looked confused and frightened.

  ‘I found another camp of survivors,’ he half-lied, he hadn’t found a camp, but he knew the location of his own. ‘It is only a couple of days drive from here, so we are able to go there if and when we need to.’ The woman stepped forward and buried her head into his chest. Unconsciously, Matthews wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. ‘Everything will be fine. I promise you. I just want to make sure you are safe. It is smart to have a backup plan.’

  ‘Why don’t we just go now?’ she asked, looking up at him with big blue eyes.

  ‘I have something I need to do first.’

  ‘But, if they are that dangerous let’s get out of here and get some help.’

  ‘If they were that dangerous, I would leave right now, but I think I can fix this. Do you trust me?’

  ‘I do,’ she nodded, kissing his neck. ‘You know I do.’

  ‘Good. Then pack your bag and be ready to leave. I will be back within the hour.’

  ***

  Trent secured his thick gloves to the rest of his spacesuit, as he stood in front of the full-length mirror. Emma was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded and lips pouted. He pretended her couldn’t see her, as he was secretly enjoying the attention. Trent and Emma had been married for seven years, but he loved her more than he ever had. He fancied her more than he ever had. She was like a fine wine, her beauty increased with age. They were only in their early thirties, but Trent knew he had won the lottery when she agreed to marry him. Emma was captivating. She had sparkling green eyes, red hair swept behind her ears and a body that inspired wet dreams. The only problem with that was that she was sexy when she wasn’t trying to be sexy. Every single man thought she was hot. He could feel the eyes of other men on her when they would go out together. Emma could be wearing sweatpants, and a baggy t-shirt and men would marvel at her beauty. It made him want to punch each and every one of them in the face, but it was something he was letting go as the years went by. Emma couldn’t help being sexy, and men couldn’t help having eyes.

  ‘Do you really have to go back out there?’ Emma finally asked what was on her mind.

  ‘Yes,’ he replied, with a soft smile. ‘I need to get the satellite dish working. It is the only way to open communication channels with any passing starship.’

  ‘But it’s dangerous out there.’

  ‘It isn’t,’ he replied, reassuring her. ‘I have done a thousand more dangerous jobs in my time. The satellite dish is within the barrier of the electric fence. Nothing is going to get in and harm me. I am just going to climb up to the top of the cliff, work on the dish for a bit and then come back for dinner. It will be nice and simple. You won’t even notice I am gone I will be that quick.’

  ‘I always notice when you are gone,’ she turned and stomped off into the living room.

  Trent sighed.

  He loved how much she loved him.

  He loved how much she worried about him.

  But he had to get the satellite working. It was the only way to get Emma and their son of this planet.

  ***

  Lopez power marched through the corridor. Plans were finally in
motion. Today would be the day that they strike and take control of this compound. Trent was the only hurdle in his way. The others had all jumped in line behind him and were ready to follow his every order. Lopez turned sharply around the corner and bumped into Maggie. She looked flustered and nervous at the very sight of him. Lopez glanced at the backpack slung over her shoulder.

  ‘You going someplace?’ asked Lopez.

  ‘I-I am thinking about changing quarters,’ replied Maggie.

  ‘Oh? You and Craig had another fight?’

  ‘Something like that,’ she replied, clearly lying.

  ‘And where is Craig?’

  ‘He said he was off to meet you.’

  The two of them stood in silence for a long awkward moment, whilst Lopez stared into her deep blue eyes. Maggie could hardly look at him. He could feel the fear oozing out of her body. Had Craig told her what they had planned? Had Craig had a change of heart? Maggie was acting very weird. He didn’t believe she was looking for new quarters, not even for a second.

  ‘You could have her, you know?’ whispered the voice in his ear. ‘No one would know. You could drag her into any one of these abandoned rooms and make her take your dick. She would be helpless. I know how much you fancy her. Just look at those tits, don’t you want to fuck them?’

  It took every ounce of self-control to step out of her way.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Maggie, quickly rushing off.

  ***

  With a heavy heart, Emma turned away from her husband as he headed for the airlock. Call it women’s intuition, but deep down in her core, she could sense something didn’t feel right today. She wanted Trent close by. Hand in hand Emma and Riley walked beneath the glass dome that looked up at the dark red sky. Trent had decided that all eight survivors of the crash would eat together, which would allow Emma to control the stock levels of what food they had in storage. A large percentage of the food supplies had been destroyed in the crash. The food container had struck the cliff face and dropped down into the ocean below. There was no possible way of getting that food back for now. In theory, if the power supply wasn’t damaged then the food would stay in storage beneath the waves, but with a sheer one hundred foot drop and no beaches for miles, it seemed like an impossible task to get the food out.