The head intact he cautiously trudged through the glass over to where Iegar had finished untying Yonas’ dead body and was slinging him over his shoulder. The two exchanged a quick word and then fled the scene, back from where they came from. Iegar carrying the body, Harrison the head.
“And what now? Iegar asks Harrison as they leave.
“Now Alison is getting your other friend, she will bring him back just like I brought you back. Soon he will join us too and we can end this.” Harrison replies solemnly.
“What about your friend back there?”
Harrison steals a moment to look back on the scene. Despite all the work Smith’s done in trying to curtail his emotions they persist in his consciousness, a small part remaining of his previous self. It forces him to steal a look at Smith with burning emotions of sadness and loss, but he only gives in to the emotion for a moment.
“He’s going his own way now,” Harrison replies, looking at Smith. “He has to go away with you soon.”
Harrison can hear Smith’s voice in his own head as he departs. Make it rain, wash away the sins of your forebears and start fresh. Heal the Earth, make it rain.
And with the last look, Harrison left, joining Iegar and taking flight, carrying the severed head of Yonas with him.
Smith remained standing at the scene, poised at the place where the Viper had been impaled. He turned away from where Harrison had left and looked up to the sky casually, seeming to take in the beauty of it. Smiling he looked down to his forearm, taking a moment to absorb the words that were written there in black ink.
A frown overtook his features and he sighed heavily.
After taking a moment, he bent down slowly to the impaled body of the Viper and rested his hand on the hilt of the spear.
No emotion crossed his face as he stood there looking down at Sousa, dead beneath him. He only stood patiently, as if waiting for something to happen.
“Sousa is the key,” he says to himself.
His resolve strengthened, as did his grip on the base of the spear. He grasped it firmly in his immense hands, took a deep breath and wrested it free from Sousa’s body in one continual movement.
Holding the removed object out in front of himself, he observed it distastefully for a moment before tossing it to the side. It crashed loudly as it rolled to a stop in the glass, behind where he stood next to Fahwad.
Satisfied, Smith knelt back down, next to the side of the Viper and with head bowed placed one hand over the wound the spear created and the other over Sousa’s face, he closed his eyes and shut his mind out to the world.
“What have you done to him?” a female voice suddenly challenged from behind.
Despite the challenge, Smith’s eyes remained closed, his position didn’t change and he did not flinch from what he was doing. Behind him though, Catlin had returned to the scene and stood aghast at seeing Smith standing over the body of Sousa.
After she’d fled earlier, she hid behind some buildings and cowered there, it wasn’t until she saw Harrison and Iegar leave with the body of Yonas that she decided to return to see if Sousa was ok.
Before she returned she’d heard the clang of the spear as Smith had tossed it away, backward in her direction and she had no hesitation in retrieving it from where it lay. As Catlin returned to the scene all she saw was the black man with his back to her.
She drew only one conclusion from the scene.
He was responsible for this mess and he had to pay. She’d lost Ursula and Sousa and now it was her time to act, to retaliate.
Her grip tightened on the spear, she moved in slowly behind Smith and called out a warning to him. “Get off him asshole!”
When she got no reply she didn’t hesitate, she only acted with what she felt in her heart. This was the man who had killed Sousa, he must have been the one to stab him and then throw away the spear.
And now he just knelt there by Sousa’s body, touching the wound like a creep and ignoring her challenge like he wasn’t afraid.
With tears in her eyes she moved forward and shouted out another challenge to him, but the black man did not move, he just knelt there with his hands over Sousa’s chest.
“I said get off him you piece of shit,” she warned, mustering all the hate that’d built up inside her the past few weeks.
“If you cannot defeat the enemy then you must join him,” Smith says silently.
Catlin didn’t hear what the man was saying, nor did she notice Sousa to begin to move underneath him. His eyes opened, at exactly the same time as Smith’s did.
Sensing the moment was hers, Catlin raised both her arms with the spear held tightly between them and thrust it downwards into the base of the man’s skull until it could go in no further, a loud scream roaring from the depths of her soul as she forced it through.
- -
Marion
“Is that it?” Marion asked, looking over the Destiny installation as her and Lucinda exited Samuel’s office and stood on the mezzanine level.
Marion’s gaze too wandered over the facility, so many of her years having been spent here. “I think so, maybe we should grab some food and water first and get out of here before the government ...”
But Lucinda was cut off by the sound of screeching metal ringing out. In response, both women looked at each other in alarm and then back in the direction of where the sound had come from. The noise screeched again, this time both ladies knew where the sound had come from.
The sound had come from the thread room where the secret passage was.
“Shit, somebody’s here.”
“Bugger,” Lucinda cursed. “Let’s go, now!”
Somebody had got into the installation. Noise was too unfamiliar inside the deserted facility and it could’ve only been made by someone entering via the secret passage. Spurred on in distress, the two ladies both turned and bolted for the steel staircase that led to the lower level.
“Run, run, RUN!” Lucinda yelled after Marion as she trudged behind her, anxious to get clear of whatever was coming from the thread room.
They took the steps as quickly as they could and hit the operations floor at a run. Just as they turned in the direction of the staff facilities a man stepped onto the floor from out of the thread room.
A man dressed in black fatigues.
He stood, plain faced with a rifle by his side, but once he saw the two fleeing women his expression changed. In the same instant of recognition came a snarl on the man’s face, his intent clear as the rifle at his side began rising and pointing in their direction.
Lucinda and Marion bolted urgently towards the hallway, with Marion in the lead and Lucinda following behind. They heard no warning, or cry to stop from the man who’d entered. All they heard was the sound of automatic gunfire, deafening cracks pounding their ears as they ran.
Bullets pinged and whizzed around them.
Marion reached the cover of safety first, turning instinctively once she was clear to check on Lucinda. But what she heard, before she could even turn around, was a series of wet thudding noises, in sync with groans from Lucinda.
She turned, desperately hoping not to see what she’d heard, only to see it confirmed. Lucinda was being riddled with bullets.
They’d slugged into her at the side and back as she ran, labouring her movements. Marion decided Lucinda wasn’t going to make it and was about to launch forward to help her when another bullet slugged into Lucinda’s knee. The impact sent Lucinda cascading forward to the floor, unbalanced from the gunshot wound as her knee exploded underneath her.
She slammed, chest first onto the floor, the forward momentum propelling her onwards. She kept sliding on the polished floor until she came to a stop, face down, just inside the hallway.
“Lucinda!” Marion cried in alarm, reaching out and pulling her the rest of the way into the hallway.
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Lucinda tried to move, but appeared to be paralysed as she flailed about, stuck to the ground. Marion rolled her onto her back.
She had a very confused look on her face, almost childlike as she lay there trying in vain to get her body to respond. She tried to get up but her arms were the only limbs moving, making her appear like an upturned baby, her legs unable to function properly.
Realising in an instant her efforts were wasted and she was most likely paralysed, Lucinda looked up at Marion and yelled the only thing that mattered. “RUN!”
“But …” Marion clung desperately to her hands.
“Don’t!” she screamed. “I can’t make it, it’s up to you now.”
“Lucinda!” She tried pulling on her arms.
“Get out, now goddam it!”
Marion wasted only a moment in reflection, more so from the shock of seeing her friend in a burgeoning pool of blood. But the look in Lucinda’s eyes drove her on, she had no choice now. Her attempts at dragging Lucinda were futile and it left her with only one option.
Footsteps could be heard approaching.
She made for the other secret passageway, the one that lead to the second thread. She didn’t look back, she didn’t think twice, she just ran, spurred on by the fear of the men chasing her.
She hit Lucinda’s quarters, jumped into the passageway and slammed the small steel door shut behind her. Once closed she rested back on it, panting with fear more than exertion. All she could think of as she was gasping for air was if she’d of done that a week ago she would’ve had a heart attack.
Thwang! Ping!
She jumped in alarm as she felt vibrations on the metal door at her back, the soldier must’ve reached the room and fired at the door. Quickly she moved from her resting position and turned to look at the door, exhaling in relief as she saw that no bullet had passed through it.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three more shots sounded from the other side of the door. Marion flinched but was again relieved to see the door held strong, it’d protected her. Knowing she had to move and get to the other side of the small shaft, Marion hustled along the small tunnel in haste.
As she crawled through, a voice suddenly sounded from behind her. “Marion?” came the voice. “Open the door Marion.”
“Oh heck!” Marion cursed, looking back down the tunnel.
Despite recognising the voice, she made a quick decision to ignore it and continued on through the passageway, crawling hurriedly through the tight space and pulling the next doorway shut behind her. Making sure it was secured, she double, then triple checked the locks were in place.
“Samuel?” she thought to herself as she stood in the dark room beyond the tunnel. “Was that Samuel’s voice I heard?”
Baffled, she flopped onto her backside and sat on the dirt ground of the cave, wondering just what the hell had happened. Before she had time to think though she could hear a faint tapping noise coming from beyond the trapdoor.
“Hello.”
“Samuel?” she whispered to herself. “That voice again, I swear I …”
“Marion, it’s me, can you hear me?” the faint voice called again. This time Marion knew it was Samuel, but she didn’t reply.
“Open the door Marion, what are you doing in there?” he spoke smoothly. “What have you two been up to down here?”
It struck her that Samuel probably had no idea about the second thread, but then why was he back at the installation? Either way it didn’t bode well for her safety, as it meant he’d likely come after her, kill her and take the thread known as Sara for himself or his master. Why else would he have come back to the facility if not to claim something of value. Perhaps he knew all along.
“Can you hear me?” he called again.
Marion still wasn’t sure about the task ahead of her, wasn’t sure if she would have enough resolve when the time came to do what was necessary. Taking lives was not something she was comfortable with. Lucinda and she had discussed it at length, but now Lucinda was back there, at the mercy of Samuel and very much alone.
“Marion, I’ve got your friend here …” he tried baiting her. “Lucinda’s still alive.”
“Dammit!”
“How about you open that door, let me in and we talk this out. I can help Lucinda to get better and you can even go back to your old job. How does that sound to you?”
She didn’t respond.
“Marion? Do you hear me? Let’s work out a deal, anything you want, just ask.”
Marion thought about it for only a minute, but quickly determined Lucinda, if still alive, wouldn’t be so for long. Marion had seen the extensive damage caused from the barrage of gunfire, she was likely paralysed at best. Whatever Samuel could promise her, there was no way to save Lucinda now.
It dawned on her that it was likely the end for Lucinda, whatever plans she’d once had were now lost. She’d been on a mission for the past thirty odd years, alone. She’d endured rape, borne scars, and had persisted, endured it all without much but a word to go on, a promise to hope for.
And now, right at the last minute she had failed. Now she was probably dying in the hallways of the Destiny facility, her plans of redemption lost.
What a devil destiny can be, to steal one’s chance at redemption before they’ve even had an opportunity at it. What a devil destiny is, in that last moment of hope for her.
Thirty years, you old crone! Thirty years and now you lay wasting on the floors you helped build.
“C’mon Marion, open the door … what have you got going on in there?”
“That’s it!” she exclaimed suddenly in the room to herself. “What would Lucinda do …”
Marion knew she didn’t have much time before Samuel would lose his patience and try and force his way into the little cave. No second chances if that happened. Quickly she resolved herself to setup the system, the device in the hopes she could set the record straight.
Maybe redemption was still possible.
Lucinda had played God on the threads. Should she do as she had, or should she consider the other possibility.
Maybe she could be the host.
She checked the cabling to the laptop, the device and the thread itself. Ensuring all was in working order before deciding to test it. Once happy, she quickly ran some tests on the laptop to see if she could look at the thread, just as she would have on the old thread.
“Your daughter is dead you know?” Samuel called out, much louder this time. “Did you hear me? Your daughter is dead!”
Marion stopped in her tracks at the mention of Ursula, who up until this time she hadn’t heard news of. Was it possible she was dead? Surely not and how would Samuel know of it anyway?
“Open up the door and we can try and save her, I promise …”
Bollocks, she thought to herself, trying to ignore him and focus on her task.
But Samuel seemed to have lamented temporarily, for the passageway went quiet whilst she tested the thread. She hoped it meant he’d gotten bored and not gone to get explosives.
Focusing her energy, she brought up a live view on the laptop and took a moment to marvel at it as it came up on screen. For what appeared onscreen wasn’t the same as she was used to seeing on the Destiny thread, this one was much different.
This was an upgrade, this was different in so many other ways.
It was like she’d previously been looking at a small kaleidoscope and now had been given a bigger, more intricate version of the original. This was an active thread, only it was much larger and more colourful than the one that she was used to at Destiny.
Why is this bigger than Fahwad’s? She wondered as she instinctively searched the threads, captured some data and sent it to the translator. And why all the colour? Fahwad’s thread was severely lacking in colour compared to this.
“She is dead. I p
romise you that!” Samuel must have returned after a brief respite. “And no less than at the very hands of her friend, the daughter of your friend. Who’s mother coincidently, is now dying out here on the floor.”
Marion was trying to ignore his voice but the detail and confidence with which he spoke concerned her greatly. What if Ursula really was in trouble and he was telling the truth? Was there anything that she could do about it now anyway?
Besides, Ursula had left with Catlin and the two were travelling to Melbourne. How would Samuel have known about them, he was in Sydney playing fiddlesticks with the U.N at the time.
“Open this door and we’ll see what we can do about fixing this little problem, hey? What do you say Marion, do you want your daughter and your friend back?”
“I want you to piss off! That’s what I want,” she replied, surprised by the voracity of her voice.
“Don’t believe me then do you? Well let’s ask somebody then ...”
There was a brief pause, followed by another voice. Marion buried her hands in her head when she heard the voice of Catlin sound out from the other side of the door.
“Marion? Are you ok down there?” Catlin called.
The voice made her think back to her daughter, for if Catlin was here then maybe Samuel was right and maybe something bad had befallen Ursula. It didn’t take her long to realise if she wanted to know the answer she didn’t need Samuel, she had the power right at her fingertips.
The new thread, active on the laptop in front of her. She had all the power now, she could do anything.
She thought about searching for her daughter, to check if she was indeed ok. Perhaps if she wasn’t ok she could revive and save her, just as Lucinda had just done previously. She had all the control now, not Samuel and not Lucinda.
She could bring back Lucinda too, and stop Samuel by dropping him dead. She could fix everything at the touch of a key. And when matched with the alternative, wipe out a large portion of humanity, it seemed the more lucrative of choices.
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