Darkness

by Kyle West

  I stared at Elias’s downed form. He wasn’t a Howler. He was...something else.

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s help the others.”

  We kept the ship locked into hover mode. We opened the door to the deck, leaving Elias’s body behind.

  ***

  The Community surrendered without a fight. With their leader fallen, it seemed as if their fangs had been drawn.

  Everyone was gathered in the main anteroom. The floor was coated with plates, vegetables, and water. The dinner remains had never been cleaned up and the crazy flight of the ship over the past hour had really made a mess of things. The New Angels, a mix of Raider and Exile, surrounded the Community members who stood in the center of the large compartment with hands over heads and without weapons.

  “What do we do about them?” one of the Raiders asked.

  Makara said nothing for a moment. It was if she were still trying to wrap her head around the entire concept of a crazed man leading a cult of women. Though I had been here for a while now, even I had difficulty grasping that. I wondered why it had to be that way – how something like the Community could exist for over a decade before finally meeting its end.

  Elias having the white eyes confirmed my suspicion – that he really was under the control of Askala and the Radaskim. But with the Community leader dead, there was no way of knowing what the Radaskim’s plan for us was. It was a puzzle. A puzzle we might never find the answer for.

  “Tie them up,” Makara finally said. “Until I can decide what to do with them.”

  “They can always go back to the Bunker,” I said.

  Makara looked at me. “The Bunker we’re going to use?”

  She had a point. Maybe there wasn’t enough food in Bunker 84 to sustain us all, but at least there was some.

  “They might be too dangerous to be left alive,” Grudge said.

  The women stirred at that, and some began to protest. Makara held up a hand.

  “Quiet,” Makara said. “There’s already been far too much bloodshed. We need to get back to base and begin the process of evacuating Pyrite. We also need to start getting food from 108 to 84.” Makara turned to the Angels behind her. “Stand guard here.”

  “Evacuation?” I asked.

  Makara looked at me. “Guess we’ve been out of touch too long. The swarm is besieging Pyrite. It’s going to fall soon. The Elekai are the only thing holding the skies for us. And even they won’t last forever.”

  I thought of Askal. We had to really hurry if he was in danger.

  The blast door opened.

  “Julian, Chris, Nathaniel...” Makara said. “Come with me. The rest of you, stay here. Ashton and Anna can continue piloting Aeneas and we can begin ferrying people to 84.” She exited the ship

  We all nodded. It was going to be a long, dangerous process, but it was one we needed to get done soon.

  We began walking back to the bridge, leaving the Angels to guard duty. The ship began drifting to port.

  “What the hell?” I asked. “I thought this thing was parked.”

  “Did Makara disconnect Gilgamesh already?” Michael asked.

  Ashton’s already pale face blanched. “No. That only could have been done from the bridge of Aeneas.”

  I paused, a sickness overtaking me. Surely, it couldn’t be...

  As we sprinted up the corridor, the ship lurched forward, throwing us all to the deck. Even then, I crawled forward around the hook in the corridor.

  The door to the bridge was shut.

  I didn’t want to believe the worst – that Elias was somehow still alive and was now piloting this thing to who knew where. I had no idea how he had stayed alive, but there was no other explanation.

  “It’s him,” I said. “He’s piloting Aeneas.”

  “I know,” Michael said. “But to where?”

  “We need to contact Makara.”

  “Obviously,” Ashton said. “But first we need to shut down the ship.”

  “Shut down the ship?” I asked. “That will send us crashing.”

  Ashton remained silent at that. From behind in the anteroom, I heard the sounds of struggle. A few guns went off.

  “Come on,” I said. “They can take control of the Community. We have to control the ship.”

  “How?” Michael asked.

  “Like Ashton said. Shut down the ship.”

  “But you just said...”

  “There’s no time to explain,” I said. “We need to find a way to contact Makara first. We can borrow a radio from one of the Angels.”

  I turned back for the anteroom, my heart pounding.

  This mess wasn’t over yet.

  Chapter 18

  I took a radio from a tattooed Angel. I raised it to my mouth.

  “Makara! Elias isn’t dead. He has control of Aeneas.”

  It took a moment for Makara to respond.

  “What?”

  “I know. Keep on our tail and keep us updated on any changes.”

  Everyone else crowded around to hear Makara’s words. Ashton stepped up next to me.

  “We just have to power down the ship long enough so that the door to the bridge unlocks. I would have to go back to the fusion drive to do it. Then everyone else can force the door open. We’d have a few seconds to get it done, but it’s possible. Once you’re through you can radio me and let me know and I can power things back on.”

  “Ashton,” Anna said, “the ship could be sent into free fall, especially with that nutcase in the pilot’s chair!”

  Ashton stared at Anna levelly. “That’s why we have to get him out of the pilot’s chair and get you behind it. It’ll be up to you to save the ship.”

  Anna’s eyes widened at that. It was a dicey plan. But I saw no way that bridge door was opening unless it somehow lost power.

  “Isn’t there some way to just target the door?” I asked. “Do we really have to power down the entire ship?”

  “I’m smart, but I’m not that smart,” Ashton said. “I’m a scientist, not a hacker. If we can do the whole thing in ten to fifteen seconds, then there’s a good chance we might succeed.”

  I sighed. I didn’t really like it, but we were running out of options. Everyone looked to me to make the decision.

  “We’ll do it. Anna, Michael...we’ll storm the bridge. Grudge, I want you to go with Ashton. Make sure there are no stragglers back there to attack him.”

  Grudge nodded. I could tell he’d rather be fighting up front, but Michael would be perfect for the job. I knew with the Angels amidships and the prisoners rounded up, there was little chance of confrontation anywhere but the bridge. Besides, I trusted Grudge alone with Ashton after he had saved us.

  “We need another radio,” Ashton said. “You take that one. I will find another.”

  “Let’s hurry,” I said. “There’s no time to waste.”

  ***

  Five minutes later we were all in position. Grudge and Ashton were by the fusion drive.

  “Alright, I’m almost there,” Ashton said, his voice sizzling through the radio. “Just give me a few seconds...”

  I placed my ear on the metal door to the bridge. We’d already tried to open it manually, but of course, it had been locked. I heard no sound coming from the other side.

  “Alright,” Ashton said. “Is everyone ready?”

  We’d already had our weapons drawn. It was just a matter of getting this done. My heart pounded with knowing what we had to do. Force the door open. Kill Elias, again. Not fall through the windshield in the process if the ship went into free fall.

  “Go,” I said.

  The lights suddenly dimmed and the floor ceased its vibration. The powerful hum of the engine aft faded to nothing. Cries of alarm sounded from the anteroom behind.

  We had fifteen seconds.

  As the ship began tipping forward, the three of us heaved at the door. Barely, just barely, the door slid open inch by inch.

  And waiting for us on the other side was Elias, b
loodied with purple slime, white eyes glowing.

  With a high inhuman shriek, he pounced on Anna. I battered his head with the butt of my Beretta. Still, he did not turn from Anna, and was set on killing her.

  At that moment, the ship’s nose tipped forward, causing us all to hit the floor and slide into the bridge. Elias, thankfully, tumbled away from Anna.

  Gray light filtered through the massive windshield. Anna crawled on her stomach toward the pilot’s seat. Michael and I forced our way to Elias, who crawled after Anna. His face was pale, lifeless. He was like a Howler, only...different. I couldn’t decide if he was dead or alive.

  Michael raised his handgun and fired a couple of times, hitting Elias in the abdomen. Elias wailed at the pain, but he didn’t desist in going after Anna. I fired a few times, hitting him with each bullet. Elias, almost reluctantly, turned toward us. He knew he had to get us out of the way before he could stop Anna.

  The ship dipped further downward as Anna continued crawling for the pilot’s seat. I could see the tops of snow-capped peaks slowly approaching. Aeneas was now angled forty-five degrees toward the Earth.

  Elias gave a sudden lurch, his yellowed teeth flashing. His body struck Michael. Together, they slid down the floor toward the windshield. Michael’s boots squeaked on the deck.

  This was going to be a tricky shot, but it had to be made. To the side, Anna had just seated herself and was pulling the control stick upward. Since the power was out, it didn’t respond.

  I reached for my radio. “Ashton – power the ship!”

  Immediately, the deck was bathed in light. The mountains were deadly close, now. Below, a gray lake in a mountain valley reflected steely light. Anna pulled the control stick back, the ship’s hull groaning with the effort. The G-force pushed me to the floor, made my consciousness darken for a moment. I forced my eyes open, keeping myself focused on Elias. I couldn’t let him get to Michael.

  In the chaos, Michael had managed to roll away from Elias. Elias was forcing himself to his feet. I realized that shots to the body had done nothing to stop him.

  So I aimed for the head.

  I fired, three times. The first two bullets ricocheted off the windshield while the third hit the deck. Michael and I both aimed and fired at Elias, who now charged for Michael. He hissed as the bullets entered his chest once more, spewing additional globs of purple blood. Elias went into a crouch. I braced myself for his assault.

  Anna had now steadied the ship, but Elias was going to do the unexpected. He shifted his focus toward her, aiming to take the ship down again.

  “No you don’t,” Anna said, angling the ship upward.

  With a screech, Elias fell backward, along with the rest of us. Anna righted the ship once more, standing up and pulling out her katana. She cried out and ran toward the cult leader.

  Elias turned to face her. He shrieked again as he charged. I yelled as I got two shots off –

  That last of which went into his head.

  Elias’s body went rigid as Anna reached him. With a roar and a flash of the blade, Anna swiped his head cleanly off his shoulders. A fountain of purple goo shot upward from the severed neck like a geyser. Elias toppled to the floor in a heap, finally dead.

  We all backed away to the door, expecting that body to swell. But nothing happened.

  I stared at Elias’s corpse as my heart raced, not yet willing to believe that we had finished him. I almost expected him to grow another head and resume his attack. But after watching him for another minute, I was convinced. The leader of the Community was dead.

  “Ashton,” I said, using the radio. “He’s dead.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. He’s right here on the deck. No casualties.”

  “Get him off board,” Ashton said. “I don’t want him infecting anyone.”

  “I’ll do it,” I said. “The Elekai virus makes me immune.”

  “And grab a sheet to drag him with,” Ashton said. “Don’t want his blood getting everywhere.”

  I still wasn’t entirely sure of my immunity, but the Wanderer had told me the Elekai version of the xenovirus was the dominant form. It was hopefully enough to protect me.

  I headed aft to find a sheet. Before I got far, an Angel met me in the corridor, holding a large, white sheet that must have come from one of the cabins. He panted, as if he had run. He must have overheard my conversation with Ashton, who by now had returned to the anteroom.

  I grabbed the sheet and took it to the bridge. I laid it on the deck at Elias’s feet. I grabbed the former cult leader’s boots, sliding him onto the sheet. I then wrapped his goo-covered corpse as tight as I could. Purple splotches soaked through the sheet – it wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than smearing the purple, virus-ridden goo all over the deck.

  I started pulling Elias’s corpse from the bridge. I would come back for the head later – I didn’t want it rolling out of the sheet, as much as I wanted to finish this in one trip.

  It was a long haul dragging the headless Elias down the corridor. When I entered the anteroom, there was a collective gasp among the women. The Angels protected me, but to my surprise, the women gave no reaction. They just stared, dumfounded.

  I found the blast door button and pressed it. It opened, revealing the cold gray sky outside.

  I pushed Elias off ship. His body entangled with the sheet as he spiraled downward. The sheet came loose, floating and spreading in the gray air even as Elias’s form continued to tumble. The corpse became lost in cloud.

  I shut the door and without a word returned to the bridge. There was no way Elias could survive that fall – not that I believed he was still alive.

  I returned to the bridge to retrieve the head and walked back into the anteroom. Once more, I opened the door and lobbed the head out. I quickly shut the door before it even had the chance to open fully.

  I went to the galley to give my hands a good, long wash with plenty of soap. I then returned to the bridge, going over to Anna. She was slumped forward in her chair, her breathing heavy. I thought she might be hurt.

  “Anna...?”

  She turned slightly, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me closer. I felt her body shake against mine.

  “You did good,” I said, stroking her back.

  She still shook a little bit, saying nothing.

  “Sit still,” I said. “Relax.”

  “I can’t stop shaking.”

  She didn’t meet my eyes. I rested my hand on the top of her head and began to stroke her hair. She pulled me close so that we were both sharing the seat.

  “I don’t know why,” she said, her voice quiet. “But this has affected me far more than anything else.”

  I listened. It looked like she wanted to say more, but couldn’t find the words.

  “You’re just stressed,” I said. “We can finally rest.”

  Anna said nothing. I held onto her, as if my holding might be able to stop the shakes. So far, they hadn’t.

  I’d expected Ashton to have made it up here by now. I clicked the call button on my radio.

  “Ashton, location?”

  “Amidships, with the prisoners. Something’s going on.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know, they seem to be...lost. Dazed. Like they don’t remember a thing about...anything.”

  I frowned. Apparently, it wasn’t over yet.

  Anna squeezed my hand, intertwining her fingers in mine. Her hand quivered.

  “Come on,” I said, softly. “Let’s see what’s going on. I promise. This is almost over.”

  She nodded. I wasn’t sure if she’d heard me. She tried to unstrap herself from her seat, missing the button a few times before her finger connected. She stood. Then, she suddenly lurched toward the control stick and pressed a button.

  “Stupid,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I...forgot to put it on cruise. We might have crashed into something.”

  Shaking. Forgetting to
do things. I didn’t want to think that she had reached a breaking point, but if she had, then she had lasted a lot longer than any of us should have. We both stood, and I guided her toward the corridor that led amidships. Michael watched.

  “She alright?” he asked.

  “Yeah, she’s fine,” I said. “Just a little shook up.”

  “Just try to relax,” Michael said to Anna. “You’re a superstar. That was good flying back there.”

  “Not just good,” I said. “Amazing.”

  Anna didn’t give any reaction. The three of us left the bridge and headed for the anteroom. We were never supposed to leave the bridge unoccupied while the ship was in flight. It was a hard and fast rule both Makara and Ashton hammered into us. But I wasn’t going to leave Anna alone up here, and we had to take care of the situation with the Community. I made a mental note to have Ashton in that pilot’s seat as soon as possible.

  Makara’s voice came from my radio.

  “Alex. What’s going on? I saw that ship take a dive again.”

  I reached for the radio. Now, my own hand was shaky.

  “We’re fine. Everyone’s fine. Elias is dead. Really dead this time.”

  “Yeah. I saw him take a tumble from the ship. Can’t get any deader than that.”

  I turned to look out the windshield, catching sight of Gilgamesh dropping gently from above. Its nose was pointed toward us, allowing me to see Makara at the controls. Julian sat in the copilot’s seat.

  “So let me get this straight,” she said. “You go through all the trouble of getting me a new ship after crashing the first one, and then you almost wreck this one? This isn’t good, Alex.”

  “I’ll take the blame for this one,” I said. “We have a slight situation with the Community that Ashton alerted us to, so we’re headed that way to see what’s going on. We could probably use your help again.”

  “Alright. Julian and I are coming on board. This boy needs a lot of work before he can be a trained pilot.”

  I wondered why Julian got pilot training before I did, but I remembered that Makara seemed to have a thing for him. Maybe that was why she chose to have him come on board rather than Michael earlier.

  “Alright,” I said. “I’m leaving this bridge hanging, but I plan on sending Ashton to the bridge as soon as I can. Anna needs a bit of a break.”