“You know you’re all quite right there is such thing as being too smart for your own good.” Said Annabelle.
Over the intercom I heard her scribbling frantically in her notebook.
“You wanted a way off of this planet and I’ve decided maybe it’s best if I let you go after all I don’t have to wait for you to be dead to harness your powers all I need is your blood ”
Panels in the wall slid back and several red robotic like drone men lunged and tried to grab us.
I tried to poison them obviously it didn’t work because they were robots and Annabelle knew I wouldn’t be able to. James sickle landed a solid blow deep to the robot’s chest as he ripped the robot chest open and blasted a thermal gun into his chest. Zadok pulled a Katana out of his amulet and chopped a robot arm off. Willard dug his claws into one of the robot’s chest before the drone blasted him in the face with his own type of acid.
“aaaa what the actual fucking hell” Willard screamed before passing out.
“James, I need a weapon!” I screamed
He strained himself and his energy he was able to produce a Gladius I tried to stab the drone and began to drag my blade down the back of the robot when it shifted and turned into a flying drone before spraying my face with a purplish gas . I felt an incredibly sharp pain and stab deep in my back. My body seized up and I must have been temporarily paralyzed because I could not fight or even move. I glanced to the other side of the room and I saw Agatha blasting the robots with sand and rocks while Toni sliced them with his Falcata. The drone blasted Agatha with flames until her sand heated to glass and shot back at her lodging deep in her skin.
My eyes flickered and closed as they had so many times before the last thing, I saw was my friends all get pierced with Gigantic needles.
I managed to only get out a few mumbles before the drones knocked us out.
When I awoke the seven of my friends and I were all strapped into chairs into what I could only guess was an escape pod of sorts. The seats were all back to back and the controls ran along the wall around us. In the doorway stood Annabelle who held seven large quarts of blood cradled in her arms.
“Catalyst you wanted off the planet and I am giving you your wish.as the president sent you a way to get you out of the way I am sorry, I must do the same. Now that I have your blood, I will utilize your power as many have tried to do before. I’ll go back to Earth and take it over while you guys get shot into space with enough fuel to strand you in space. Goodbye Catalyst I cannot have you intervening or compromising my power.”
I opened my mouth to respond she began to shut the door. She blew me a kiss and the door hissed closed. We were forced to wait and listen to the sound of the engine of Annabelle’s ship lift off away from the planet where we had spent almost a year of our lives and go through so much. For a year all I ever thought about was getting off that damn planet and now that we were, I would have given anything to have stayed. Once her ship was pushed through the planet’s atmosphere and gravitational pull. I heard an incredibly loud noise as our escape pod was shot into deep space with as little fuel as possible.
The further away from the planet we drifted the dimmer the lights inside our pod became as it tried to push the life support if it could.
“Catalyst I know we have gotten out of tough spots before how are we going to get out of this one man. How do we beat someone who can affect everything? We have no Fuel or Food or anything! I wish we were back on the planet eating plants and drinking that purple water,” James screamed as he pounded his fist into the control panel in front of him. The lights dimmed ever further until we could barely see anything in the pod except for the light of the control panels.
“James if there is one thing, we found out on this journey it is that we are determined to survive we will find the way,” I said.
“There is a way, one way. If you kill me Catalyst, then Reuben could make fuel from my body like he did with the dinosaur men. Then you guys could make it back to Earth,” Said Toni.
From where I was sitting, I could only see Zadok, Agatha and Reuben.
“No Toni there is always another way we have to work it out. I cannot lose another friend especially one I have to kill. What if Reuben can somehow use my Poison or a weapon from Zadok’s Amulet to make fuel from.”
Zadok’s fingers curled tightly around his amulet as he stared into the darkness. His beard had grown long and scraggly and he looked like a grey Jesus.
“Catalyst most metals contain only a trace amount of hydrogen or oxygen, besides the fact that we need heat to create energy and the explosion that creates the force that pushes the ship forward. This is it Catalyst we are done, this is the end of our story,” Said Zadok.
“No Zadok you shut the fuck up, I laid down and tried to give up once because of you and because I felt betrayed and whined like a child and I will not do it again. You’re right about the hydrogen from metal being sparse there is plenty in certain venoms …” I said.
It was getting harder and harder to breath as the room faded to almost complete darkness and with it out faded almost all hope. I reached over and slid my fingers across Agatha’s palm until they rested in between her fingers. I tried to force out a whisper, my sentences came out broken and quiet.
“Agatha there is oxygen in sand, and there is hydrogen in certain venoms I have to do it through touch what if you start blasting sand while I fill it with poison on top of the sand then Reuben could break it apart and make fuel. There are only a few minutes left and I know it’s a crazy long shot, we only have time for one and if it doesn’t work, we will be to dead to care anyway,” I said.
Agatha squeezed my hand and I felt it feel with sand. I began to produce a low toxic venom on top of the sand.
“Reuben get ready to break the elements and produce the fuel, Willard can produce heat by melting his outer restraints with acid,” I said.
The room faded to complete darkness with even the control panels ceasing to produce light. Everyone in the room began to take quick rapid breaths as I felt my lungs struggle to capture oxygen my lungs and throat tighten as I took my last breath and my eyes began to close.
BOOM! The escape pod shook violently as a blinding light filled the cabin and air filled our lungs. Reuben was still breathing hard due to his
Exasperation of energy. We finally had begun to breathe easy when the ship began to spiral out of control.
“Toni can you fly this ship?” Willard asked
The ship jerked in the opposite directions as Toni tugged at the lever in front of him.
“Fly I cannot, we probably won’t crash I definitely Can keep us from dying maybe. In the least I can guide us to Earth.” Said Toni.
“James plot a course, I believe the Navigation panel is in front of you,” screamed Zadok.
I glanced out of the window as we blasted through the cosmos until the Earth finally came into view days later. Throughout the entire day long journey, I felt my stomach digest itself. I felt the hunger eat away at the inside of my throat. The second the Earth came into view all thoughts of food and worry, pain and hunger, loss and betrayal faded. Completely replaced with thoughts of joy, wonder and the return of hope.
We approached Earth’s upper atmospheric and fell even faster. Toni and James attempted to reverse our thrusters to slow the pod down so we would not crash and die.
My face began to burn and then my neck and chest until my entire body felt as if I was laying at the bottom of a frying pan. The inside of the ship grew hotter and hotter while Our escape pod’s Ablative shields struggled to protect us from the heat. I heard the metal bend and crack before the bolts popped out like fireworks. Which in turn blasted holes into the wall of the ship due to the immense pressure.
“Catalyst what are we supposed to do, what the heck is the point of surviving everything if we die right here,” Said Agatha
“No, we will survive we always do,” I said.
I was so sure we would that I didn’t notice the entire wall in front of
Toni ripped off and got sucked into the atmosphere. He stabbed his sword into the floor of the ship and held onto the hilt with everything he had.
“Toni hold on! Reuben stop the fuel and melt my restraints” I screamed
I looked Agatha in her eyes and had to let go of her hand so that’s I could reach for Toni while I also held on to my seat belt and Agatha held my waist.
“Catalyst here take this!” Zadok screamed and his eyes glowed the familiar gold and he pulled a metal staff from his amulet and passed it around the cabin until I could grab it. After that our decent toward the Earth surface was a blur and I only remember fragments.
The pressure tried to suck us out into the atmosphere, the noise of the wind and air rushing around us the heat began to melt the edges of the hole in the pod. Toni’s sword slipped and he started to be sucked into the air. He grabbed into the staff and I tried to pull him inside when I began to be sucked out too. Agatha and James pulled me inside along with Toni. By the time we settled down into our seats though I saw ground approaching.
“Reuben give me the ring now!” Said Agatha
He tossed her the ring and she slipped it on her finger. The rings band glowed green and her eyes turned grey and she blasted powerful sand out of the open side of the pod.
The blast hit the ground and it turned it into dense quicksand. The ship let out on last whistle of air and then a loud BOOM as it slammed into the quicksand. The escape pod shook violently, and my head slammed into the wall and I fell unconscious.
I must have been passed out for hours because when I awoke it was dark again and the lighting in what was left of the escape pod was dim. The floor was broken, and some parts were completely missing all together. The roof had collapsed where the wall had been torn away in front of Toni.
My eyes we’re having trouble adding to the difference of pressure and composition of the Earth’s atmosphere from …the other planet. It was in that moment I realized we lived on a planet for a year and we never named it. While I was distracted by my thoughts, I failed to notice I had landed in Agatha’s lap. We exchanged awkward glances as I bolted up straight before doubling over in excruciating Pain.
I snapped awake once again and I had to shake myself to stay awake. My eyes had finally added to the pressure when I glanced to the outside world and by eyes were blasted once again with bright blinding colors. I almost forgot how beautiful the world really is. Everyone takes everything for granted even being able to see a world in color. I stood up to check on my friends and see the blue sky and every other color in the world when my legs collapsed from under me and I landed on my ass.
“God damn it I really hope this is because of a change in the gravity fields and not because of a loss in bone density,” I whispered to Agatha.
“Can you walk Catalyst; we need to recon and figure out where we are and maybe find some damn food we haven’t eaten in forever.” Said Agatha.
“Tell me about it dude I almost started to chew Zadok’s fingers off. Don’t you guys think we should check on the others before we venture out?”
“James” Agatha and I screamed in unison.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Click.
“Fuck why won’t this crap work” Zadok said as he poked the keyboard and began slamming his fist into the keyboard and screen in front of him.
“This computer won’t turn on; we don’t know where we are and we’re all starving! We probably have bone density loss. I haven’t walked in Earth’s gravity in like a hundred years. How the fuck are we supposed to walk who the hell knows how long and then battle a damn super villain and her army,” Said Zadok
“Hey Zadok, how about you stop your damn whining all you do is be negative all the time. No matter how many times we succeed and get over every obstacle your still so damn negative.” Screamed Toni.
They began to scream at each other until my ears began to ring and ring.
“Shut the HELL UP I can’t even hear myself think. I am going to go for a walk and figure out where we are. Maybe by the time I get back you guys can get along and stop arguing like children. THERE IS SO MUCH AT STAKE HERE!” I screamed.
I attempted to stand my legs were to weak and I fell back into my seat. I pressed my left hand into the inner thighs of my right leg. I had to force myself to lift my leg and place it further along the floor. I lifted my legs again and again. I looked down and saw the staff from Zadok and pulled myself up with the staff leaning all my weight into the metal rod. The metal staff clanked loudly against the broken floor of the escape pod.
I shuffled to the end of the metal platform using the staff as a walking stick. The sky was a brilliant beautiful blue. I forgot how sweet the air was and tasted almost a crisp Clean feeling. It was then that was probably the nicest moment of them all. I felt a cold breeze blow across my face, and it did cut me.
I took one small step and for the first time in a year my foot landed on the Earth’s surface. I walked with the staff drinking in my surroundings. I turned around and, in the distance, I saw quick movement into the distance. I hobbled across a clearing as fast as I could. My ears began to drown in the rushing of sound, and I saw and hear what the movement was. Thousands of gallons of water gushing over a waterfall. I felt a deep rumble in my legs as the ground shook. I knew where we had crashed, Niagara Falls. About 500 miles from the UN headquarters in New York City.
Chapter twenty-two
I hobbled as fast as I could over to the edge of the river and dropped my face into the water and lapping up as much as I could. I sat up and raised my cupped hand to my lips and drank until my stomach was bursting with water. I pulled myself up on my staff and continued to walk. For what felt like hours on end I stood at the edge of the falls starring deep into the rushing water. The water thundered in my ears while the white foam spilled over the rocks. It was as if this was the calm before the storm and we were in for one last brutal hurricane. I was so entranced by the water fall I failed to hear someone walk up behind me. I looked up to see Reuben standing a foot or two behind me holding what appeared to be a cloth grocery store sack. He reached in and pulled out a granola bar and tossed it to me. I put into it and it tasted as if it expired twenty years ago. The crazy thing about food is when you haven’t eaten in two weeks even ridiculously stale food taste amazing.
“Reuben thank you so much where the hell did you find this stuff?” I asked
Reuben looked at me and for only about the second time since I’ve known him, he opened his mouth to speak. His voice was jagged and harsh as if rough and unpracticed.
“A few miles away there is an abandon grocery store I grabbed a few of these sacs of supplies I figured it will be a long walk to New York.”
He stopped talking as fast as he had started before bending down to fill a metal water bottle with water.
My legs were getting stronger with each step I took I hoped in time I would be able to walk without the staff.
Hours had passed before Reuben and I finally made it back to the others. I heard a low familiar hum coming from beyond the twists frame of the escape pod. Besides that, it was silent, no screaming, and no fighting. Peace.
“Hello guys, were back. We’re at Niagara Falls so we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.” I said
“Well Catalyst that’s why we spent the time you were gone building this,” Toni screamed.
from behind the remnants of my escape pod came the others.
“Presenting the cosmic carriage 2” Said Zadok
It was similar to the first cosmic carriage they built all that time ago, except even better and more secure because they used the beams and metal from escape pod. The carriage was black and silver with red beams. The thrusters were even larger on the second carriage.
“Well guess we mind as we’ll get going then.” I said.
We climbed into the carriage and closed the doors shut behind us. The Carriage moves faster and faster across the green countryside. Narrowly avoiding trees and marvel we zoomed from town to town. Toni and Zadok took
the front of the carriage and James and I guarded the back. We joked around made small talk, ate expired snacks, and drank fresh cool river water.
“Hey Catalyst, check the tree line to the north east. “said James.
My eyes scanned the horizon and the locked on to a familiar black outfit. They came into focus and I could tell it was a large patrol of men.
I saw the familiar red and black of the Cardinals uniform. There was about two dozen men in tight rows all with a thermal blaster and sword. Led by that crazy Indian guy from before. I think his names was Harsh. I ran my fingers over the fresh burned scars in my back that were compliments of him.
“I say we wait here and ambush them, maybe capture one and question them until they give us information on Annabelle’s whereabouts and everything else.” I said.
“Catalyst your too soft I say we take out have of them by running them the hell over. Kill all the stranglers. Guess what none of them are going to talk anyway you said it yourself. Kill them before they can kill us,” Said Zadok
He rubbed the amulet through his fingers once again. His eyes turned gold as they usually do this time the veins in his face flashed gold and black.
“Zadok are you alright?” I asked. The mercenary’s foot fall grew closer and closer.
“when I use to go adventuring, I would use the amulets power maybe twice a year. Then I was without it for fifty. In the past year however I’ve been using it almost daily and it’s killing me. Look a Reuben’s rings it’s been constant in use since I pulled it through time like eight months ago so no I am not alright.”
“I’m so sorry man I had no idea! Dude take away this stupid staff I’ve been using as a cane and take away the ring!”
Zadok released the staff to the Amulet and put his hand out for Reuben to return the ring. Reuben raised his hands and the hesitated unwilling to return the power enhancer. Zadok was getting frustrated I could tell I stood up and his brow furrowed.
“Guys whatever is going on is going to have to wait. If we are going to fight, we’re going to have to stop here if we want any cover.” Yelled James.
Journey to a darker world Page 17
