by Timothy Cox
‘Ryan I need to get this to Milo. He really needs it.’
‘Of course don’t let me get in the way, I just really wanted to show you what I made.’
A fat man with small eyes walked around the corner. He loved being the only one allowed to wear a black chef’s uniform – but couldn’t be bothered keeping it clean. He’s voice queer and sharp; another part of the job he loved, telling people who’s in charge. ‘Excuse me.’ He planted both hands on his belly. ‘Who’s gonna to keep this ship fed?’
‘Ok I need to go.’ He squeezed her arm. ‘See you maybe later?’
‘Maybe sure.’
The feeling aboard the ship was strangely calm. Personnel weren’t running around anymore, they walked, probably anticipating a smooth ride into space soon. She saw a few men shivering with towels. She had always thought how it must feel inside the contamination room. But she had a rough idea; she was there when the first room was built – the contamination room. She shudders at the amount of work that went into it. They said that it was one of the most important rooms because one contaminated person can kill an entire ship. She had heard the bed time stories: crews going berserk, viruses’ spreading while people slept, and entire spaceships destroyed because of one foolish mistake. But that was the past. The security onboard ships nowadays were so high-tech that it would take a miracle for anything to spread.
What she did worry about was the intense pain these souls had to endure. First they injected the room with lethal gasses. Then they blasted radiation which consisted of two temperatures: searing hot which made skin burn and a temperature so cold that skin froze within seconds. Maybe one day she would have to go through it herself. She could feel her body shiver at the thought.
She saw an officer in the distance surrounded by people.
‘When will we be up in space?’
‘Yeah I don’t get it what’s going on around here?’
‘We want answers.’
The officer raised his hands. ‘Let’s all calm down. We are working on the problem as we–’
‘You said that twenty minutes ago. When’s the god damn thing fixed?’ A man shouted.
A woman in the crowd pointed. ‘Hey isn’t that Milo’s wing.’
‘Yeah that’s Reeta.’ A man said angry.
Reeta saw the officer press his ear. A few moments later guards stormed in. She could see this going very bad – but they swiftly dispersed the group using no violence. The officer shook his head and approached.
‘This place is a mental house,’ he pressed his ear. ‘Alpha. Escort the guy in white to medical bay. There’s something wrong with his blood pressure.’ He shook his head and smiled. ‘Reeta, any update?’
She held the transmitter up. ‘We just need to run a few tests and–’
‘A few more tests? I thought everything was good to go.’
‘No it is. Well I’m sure it is.’
‘Where are you off to?’
‘To the engine room, Milo needs this.’
‘I saw him walk by a few moments ago – said he needed to speak to Richard.’
‘Oh. Well I’ll start the analysis so long see if I find anything.’
He nodded, turned his back, and glanced. ‘Reeta.’
‘Yes?’
‘Be quick.’
(7)
His tools lay scattered around the floor. He must’ve left in a hurry. She placed the device against the engine and pressed buttons. The screen showed charts of blue and red. When it reached a hundred percent it buzzed.
‘That’s odd.’ She said. She tried it again this time using a different set of options. The charts turned from red/blue to yellow/green. The transmitter counted. It buzzed at hundred. ‘That’s really strange.’ She smiled. Everything seemed to be fine: the magnetic interference gone, the plating cool, the fuel stabilized.
The only job she needed to do now was get the shield activated over the engine. This was her favorite part of being an engineer: working with shield technology. That’s how she got into the craft. She stumbled upon a book (Who Needs Weapons?) when she was just seven years old. It described how things could be protected without ever needing weapons. How one could create a protective barrier if enough energy was focused. Since then she dreamed of becoming an engineer. Then the day came when she met Milo in a cafeteria. At the time she was eleven. She thought he was quite a strange man, very short, with only a few hair. She didn’t know who he was but saw him reading the very book she read when she was seven: Who Needs Weapons? She overwhelmed him with enthusiasm and asked if he was studying to be an engineer. She was however, speaking to one of the best engineers to ever live; an idol to a lot of people. He looked at her funny, grunted, and asked her if she wanted to be his apprentice. She never looked back.
It took her only five minutes to get the ethereal azure up and running. A new record. She patted herself on the back and wiped the hair from her face. It was time to go tell them.
People watched her walk in. The second in command sat in Richard’s chair. He stood up and nodded. ‘Hello Reeta.’
She smiled.
‘Any news?’
‘Yes, great news.’
He revealed white teeth. ‘Does that mean we’re ready?’
‘Yes. All set all fixed.’
‘Finally.’ Someone said. The atmosphere in the room changed. Fresh chatter and smiles went round.
‘You heard the woman.’ The officer said. ‘Let’s get her started.’ He looked around. ‘Can anyone tell me where the Commander is?’
People glanced around with blank faces.
‘We need him to give autho–’
‘I think Milo went to see him.’ Reeta said.
‘And where’s that?’
‘I’m not sure.’
He scratched his ear. ‘Has anyone seen the Commander?’
A voice mumbled at the back. ‘Last time I heard he went to his bedroom.’
‘Well let’s hope he’s not sleeping.’ Everyone laughed and went back to working on their panels. A green light flicked on – and then many. A sense of excitement grew. The room went quiet. Fingers could be heard tapping away. Generators on the far side began humming. The excitement grew even more. A man sitting near the entrance with a baseball cap backwards (the only crew member wearing a casual item) shouted that the engines were starting. More lights went on to confirm he was right. But there was no time to celebrate. The thrusters still had to go on. Some people in the room had doubts that it was going to work – the fuel meters were completely off – not even a light.
‘Systems power failing.’ A woman said.
‘I’m working on it.’
Reeta stood in the corner. She looked at everyone work; no lone ranger in this room. These people worked together, slept together, and ate together. They were the privileged few – the heart of the ship; handpicked from a program so difficult to get into that it’s said that one had more chances winning the lottery four times in a row.
‘Energy stable.’
‘Can I get an update on thrusters?’
‘Nothing happe–’ Silence. ‘–wait. Wait. It’s working!’
As if on cue: thunder clapped. The ship vibrated its mighty haul. Every single light dazzled on. One could feel the ship come alive – pure strength – it even made the stomach clench like a roller coaster ride as it bopped. People jumped from their seats and screamed.
The officer smiled. ‘Now someone go get the captain so we can get the hell out of here.’
Reeta volunteered.
(8)
The feeling upon the ship had changed; so much that personnel walked with smiles – even waving at Reeta as she passed. People acted like she had single-handedly repaired the ship.
Down a few halls she stopped. She pondered about which direction to go. The hall in front of her would pass the canteen. It would be quicker to Richard’s room but she had a sneaky feeling that Ryan would be eyeing up the hall and she did not feel like bumping into him.
&nbs
p; ‘Excuse me ma’am.’
She turned towards a coughing man. His face had the oddest color; reminding her of people suffocated in their sleeps. His cheeks were the only thing left with warm color. The rest of his face: sick purple with a dash of filthy green. He lowered his chin and coughed away from her.
‘Hey you ok?’ She asked. She looked at the emblem on his navy overall and saw that he was from Section 43. ‘You from the Greenhouse right?’
He nodded. ‘Work bee–’ he coughed into his hands and wiped it on his trousers. ‘Work been busy up there.’ He chuckled. ‘Too humid up there…I needed fresh air.’
‘Ok. Well are you feeling–’
‘I don’t suppose you can point me.’ He looked at the ceiling as if bright light shone, and covered his eyes. ‘Where’s medic bay?’
She forgot all about the commander. Looking at this man made her stomach ache. It was as if he was going to drop–
‘Ouch my chest.’ He said. ‘I think I need to get this checked out.’
‘Ok come on.’ She said. ‘I’ll take you.’
‘No it’s fine just point–’
‘No. Come.’ She whipped his arm around hers.
They were half way there when his health deteriorated; to the point where his leg dragged along like an extra person. They passed a few people that looked at them strange.
‘Hey – just hold on.’ She grunted. ‘We’re almost there I can see the bay.’ His skin felt hot against hers. His breathing sounded like somebody slurping through a straw. She had never seen anyone in such a state aboard a ship. Sure there were moments of despair: shooting, sickness, even the contamination chamber. But sick onboard a ship rare; scientific advancement made it practically impossible for anyone to get sick. This man however, looked sick.
The door buzzed open. A woman and man smiling at each other looked around. They rushed over startled. The woman waved for the man to get something. She got out a pen from her pocket.
‘What the hell happened?’
‘I don’t know I found–’
The man slipped from her arms. His head thumped the floor. He convulsed: arms shooting/dangling in every direction, legs stiffening, and eyes rolling around its sockets like there weren’t any tendons holding it in place.
The woman knelt and ran the pen down his neck. A wave of green lasers jumped from the tip. His internal organs became visible: bones a yellow color, tendons red, blood a pale pink.
The man grabbed the hand she was scanning with. ‘Make it stop! Make it fucking stop! Please oh please oh please.’ He shook his head. ‘Mom I want to play outside. I really do. Oh yes I–’
‘Hold his hand down.’ Reeta held it down. She continued scanning down his body.
‘Uhm.’ Reeta said. ‘There’s something wrong with his eyes.’
A black tear slid. Many more followed.
‘What the…hell.’ She felt his forehead. ‘I’ve never seen anything like–’
The pen screamed: BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. Which made them both look down. The lasers’ enlarged: showing a large portion of his stomach. It showed all the normal colors: pink, red, yellow, and BLACK.
‘What in Jesus name.’ The medic said. Her fingers trembled making the pen sway. ‘This can’t be.’ And then her worst suspicion became true. The black moved. With her eyes fixed on his stomach, her lips parted. ‘What’s your name?’
‘It-it’s Reeta.’
‘Listen, to me, very carefully. I want you to run as fast as you can and–’
Blood gushed onto her face. The blood kept spurting and the man kept screaming. Reeta jumped so quick – that she hurt her hand. She looked at the drops of red on her arms but it was nothing compared to the blood on the medic. The pen went flying across the floor. The medic’s hollers entwined with screams of death. Things that defied mind crawled from the man’s torn skin. Some of those things jumped on a free ride: the blood gushing up. The medic had no chance. Her eyes told Reeta to run; they disappeared under a blanket of insects.
(9)
She ran as fast as she could – which weren’t fast enough. Tears had no time to well up. Every inch of her fiber told her to do something smart, those things were going to catch up. She saw hope. A door she knew would close when she hit that red button. All she needed to do was get there in–
She glanced behind. If she had time to puke she would; so many confined in only one stomach, it made her dizzy. They were the size of a nickel each. Had legs all around its circular body; which vibrated as it ran. Their body, a transparent piss-ish color, were light and agile enough to jump as far as the roof.
The sweat from her lips made her think she was swallowing salt water. She had time to swipe her forehead – beads went flying. Doubt told her that she wasn’t going to make it to the door. She believed it. They were too quick for her. She had so many aspirations in life. So much to learn from her mentor Milo. She loved her brother so much; it hurt terribly not being able to say goodbye to a loved one. Her mind told her to say her goodbyes. It told her to make peace with everything. Her knees gave up, she fell.
She had time to turn around and look at her killer one more time.
(10)
Someone get her!
They’re flanking!
Focus fire!
She had to hold her face. The gun fire made her ears hurt; and her heart sing songs of love. But it wasn’t over. She knew. But there was hope and hope was all she needed.
She felt something squeeze her shoulder. She thought it was those things eating her – but when her eyes opened – a soldier had his eyes narrowed at her. He pulled her.
To the left–
There’s too many–
We need to close the door–
Pin them down while we close!
She looked up at the ceiling and saw the door pass. She heard a loud buzz and knew the button had been pressed: the emergency doors came down. She began laughing, thinking that death was imminent, and then she cried.
‘Scan her.’ A voice said.
A medic knelt beside her. He got that pen out. Green lasers washed down her body. It didn’t beep. ‘Clean.’
‘Good. Now get her out of here.’
‘Wait.’ Reeta said. ‘My brother I need to–’
‘Get her out. Now.’ He said cocking his gun.
She was escorted to safety, to a room where they were putting everyone else. When she was shoved inside – the door closed. A room full of scared faces looked at her; faces that would quake at the things she saw. She swam through the sea of people looking for two people in particular: Milo and Michael.
A woman with dirt on her clothes approached. ‘Oh goodness me there you are.’
Reeta didn’t recognize her. ‘Can I help?’
‘Your brother…it’s about your brother.’
‘What about him?’
‘I heard screaming. Oh the screams.’ She glanced around as if people were watching. ‘I was cleaning and all, you know,’ she pointed at her jacket and smiled: a scared smile. ‘When I heard things.’
Reeta shook her head. ‘I’m confused what is it about my–’
‘Oh the screams. I can’t take it. Those things.’
Reeta held her by the hand and whispered: ‘You, saw those things?’
‘One climbed in me. I tried to puke it out – I retched and retched but nothing came out.’
Reeta’s fingers slipped away. ‘What do you mean one climbed in you?’
‘It’s a terrible feeling. I can feel it playing with my lungs. Scraping it. It hurts.’
A bystander frowned. ‘Hey what’s going on here?’ he said loud. ‘What do you mean something climbed in you?’
The room went quiet. Necks turned towards the woman.
‘She’s fine.’ Reeta said. ‘She’s just feeling–’
‘I heard she said something climbed in her!’
‘Wait what?’ Someone said.
‘Is that the reason we’re all locked up?’
‘I want
to know what’s going on!’ The room turned into a mob of angry minds. People demanded answers to their questions. Reeta instinctively backed away fearing the worst. She looked as the room isolated the woman. Pushing her to the middle. They surrounded and shouted questions. They pushed Reeta away; swallowing her body into theirs. All eyes were on the woman.
‘Please.’ She said. ‘I need help.’
‘Tell us what went into you!’
‘N-nothing. Nothing went in–’
‘The bitch’s a liar.’
‘No I swear to you. Let me just pass.’ She walked towards the group. They pushed her back. She fell on her behind. She held her stomach as if they just pushed a pregnant woman.
‘Tell us.’
‘Yeah tell us!’
She moaned. She was in deep pain; only she knew how the scraping felt, how it felt to have intestines’ twirling, to have something poke the heart with its needle like legs. ‘Please–’ she began crying ‘–let me get to my husband.’
‘You are staying just where you are you bitch.’ A woman said. Standing in front of the pack with her fist up.
A perfect line of blood slid from her mouth. She wiped it and looked at her fingers.
The crowd went silent.
The neat line branched into many lines. And then she spoke. She could barely get one word out when she gargled blood out. She crouched forward like a dog. ‘P-lea-se. It really – my heart.’
Everyone stepped back as she crouched towards them. She raised her hand in hopes that someone would rescue her from her torment. She made it half way towards them when she stopped. They watched her stand still on all fours: her head peering at the floor – like the neck didn’t have muscle to support it.
‘Someone go help her.’ The crowd said.
‘You go help her.’
‘Give her a blanket or something.’
Reeta scanned the room for an exit. She felt her hands clammy – she knew what was coming. This wasn’t happening she thought. She needs to get to her brother – the thought made her woozy. If anything happened to him she would never forgive herself. She told her mother (just before she died of cancer) that she would take care of him. She shook her head and looked around. There needed to be a way out. Anywhere. Just somewhere.