Great Expedition
After months of preparation, the expedition is finally under way. Kayla’s eyes skim over the scan repeatedly. An unknown object measuring at 60 meters across is not something you come across everyday. Her father’s notes are tucked away safely in her bag and the coordinates are trapped in her grip. As she begins to walk out, her right hand man Taylor stops her.
“You okay to do this?” He asks. Taylor thinks back to how much this expedition meant to her father. With how much she has going on, he hasn’t even talked to her. It makes him feel a little guilty deep down. Hell he hasn't even seen her mourn her father yet.
She nods trying to hold it together. “Dad would’ve wanted it. He’s been working on this for years and this is his final chance. Whether he’s here or not, it continues.”
He nods and walks with her to the main room. As he sits in his chair, he looks at her. “Is everyone else ready?”
“I sent them all to their positions an hour ago. All that’s left is us,” She says sitting down. She flips a few switches and presses a button. “Let’s get to it.”
He nods and presses his button watching the sky slowly disappear. Hearing footsteps quickly run in, he turns and sees Trinity. He rolls his eyes already knowing what she wants to talk about.
“Taylor I thought you were going to talk her out of this.” She says panting slightly.
“Not right now Trinity. Get back to your post.” He says glancing at Kayla.
“No! I’m tired of everyone thinking this was a good idea. The old quack was wrong about whatever is down there and now you and his mini quack are leading us to our deaths!”
“I said that’s enough Trinity.” Taylor says firmly. He looks over and sees Kayla clenching her fists.
“Taylor…“
“Enough Trinity,” Kayla says standing. She walks over to her and stares in her eyes. "You do as you're told or you get off my ship." Kayla knows she has no choice but to listen. She was the one giving her money to pay her bills, her loans, and anything her child needs.
Trinity glares at her but keeps her mouth shut for now. She stomps off knowing she should wait before starting another fight.
“Well that was eventful.” Kayla says sitting back down. She types in the coordinates the object is at and sits back watching the underwater creatures swim by.
“I didn’t think she would start when we were already underneath.” He says steering the ship.
“My dad warned me about things like this. He said close quarters bring out the worst in people,” she says grabbing a notebook. She puts it in between her and Taylor. “Every piece of advice he’s given me about expeditions is in here. I never want to forget. Hopefully there’s something in here about dealing with someone like Trinity.”
Taylor chuckles and looks back at the coordinates. He furrows his eyebrows seeing the scanner glitch and flicker. “Is there something wrong with our scanners?”
“There shouldn’t be. I had everything triple checked before even getting on.” Kayla says looking for a problem. She jumps hearing something hit the ship.
“What the hell is going on?” Taylor asks trying to maintain control. The scanner continues to glitch the closer they get to object. “Did your dad prepare you for this?”
“Not at all.” Kayla says gripping on to her seat. As she looks out the window, she sees the object. A smile stretches on her face and she points shouting, ”The UFO!”
Taylor looks around as the lights shut off. He stands hearing something walking towards the control room. “Kayla…”
She looks at him and then promptly looks at the door as it opens. The very last thing she heard was her own voice whisper, “Dad was right.”
Night Watch
People always say that patience is a virtue. Being an assassin seems to amplify that saying tenfold.
Her spit flies from the Cadillac window and lands in a puddle. As Kaia’s music plays softly in the background, her mind fights on what she should do. She can either run in guns blazing or do it the natural, stealthy way. She sits at attention when her target finally leaves. Cursing under her breath, she keeps her car a safe distance from him.
Once her foot meets the brake, she checks to make sure her briefcase is ready. Kaia gently runs her fingers across it with a devilish smile.
“It’s been a while my love. Tonight, we get to play,” she says.
Walking towards the door, she waits impatiently for Evan to answer. She quickly fixes her wig and tightens her fingers on the briefcase as the door finally opens. "Mr. Michaels? My name is Amelia George from the District Attorney's Office. We spoke on the phone."
Evan's eyes scanned over her body before finally connecting with her eyes. This was something Kaia was long used to. "Come in." He said opening the door wider.
"Thank you," she says. "I am sure you can assume why I am here. We need to prep you for your court appearance on the 20th."
She takes note of the family portraits in the house. Kaia demurely sets herself in the seat.
“It says in your file that you’re being sued for sexual harassment,” she says. “That’s a hell of a charge Mr. Michaels.”
“I can assure you that it really is all just a big misunderstanding. She has been advancing on me for months and when I rejected her, HR was called in,” says Evan. The resignation on his face would have made her feel bad but the file in her briefcase told her different.
Pulling out the file she says, “From what I’ve looked up, this isn’t your first case. How are you getting away with this?”
“Would you like something to drink Miss. George?” he asks. She follows his form until he disappears into the kitchen.
Opening her case, her needles glint in the light. Her gun is loaded and ready to be used. Pulling it out, she’s ready to make her move.
Right as she stands, she feels herself flying forward. "You don't work for the DA's office," Evan says moving closer to Kaia. "Who are you?"
She stands and fully turns towards him with the gun in her hand. The two stare each other down as Evan registered exactly who the woman in his living room is. Someone put a bounty on him and she was there to collect.
"You don't have to get in the middle of this," He says. "Just walk away and you can live."
A chuckle escaped Kaia's lips. "You make it seem as though I am afraid I won't leave here tonight."
He lunges at her trying to grab the gun. Kaia quickly sidesteps him and turn to be met with a fist. She felt her teeth biting down but on what, she couldn’t tell. As she wipes her mouth, she kicks at him. She clips his chin then quickly doubles back with a two hit combo striking him in the stomach and face. Ignoring his grunts of pain, she delivers one last roundhouse kick and watches him writhe on the floor.
“It is over Mr. Michaels,” she says loading the gun and making sure the safety is off. “This battle was lost the moment you let me in the door. I will say I expected more of a fight. Alas, you failed.”
Her finger pulls the trigger back. A satisfied smile appears on her face and she pulls her phone out dialing the number she knows by heart.
“It is done. Send some cleanup,” she says. Hanging up, she puts her babies away and lets out a breath satisfied.
Making her way out, she gets back into the Cadillac. Picking up her cigarette, she lights it and starts her car before making her way back home.
Jess Filomeno is a graduate of Full Sail University with her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment. She enjoys writing suspense, horror, and tragedy genres and plans to use her skills to write for all ages. While being a mental health advocate, Jess hopes she can reach her audience through her writing the same way her love grew through it. By reading. Jess can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessfilomeno.
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The Darkness Within Page 2