Nightfall

by Peter Hoole

  “Five… four… three…”

  The plane passed the threshold of the hangar bay doors. Suddenly, the plane reduced speed. As with the ‘Bat entering the cargo bay, the force of the rapid change of speed caused the group to lurch forward. This time however, they were prepared, and allowed their bodies to flow in their natural form, thus escaping injury.

  And, within the space of a minute, the plane had gone from soaring through the sky to come to a complete stop, right in the heart of the Haven Colony.

  Francis could barely believe what he’d just seen. The plane had appeared out of nowhere. His first reaction was that of annoyance. How dare they land on his time?

  His annoyance quickly morphed into fear.

  His fear became prevalent when he looked at the pilot, who’d turned a ghostly white.

  “Won’t the runway still catch us?” Francis asked, more through hope than confidence.

  The pilot turned, and just shook his head.

  Unfortunately for the Francis and the pilot, the landing mechanism could only be deployed for one plane per occasion, as all the power in the magnetic field had to be focused on one specific moving object.

  This meant that any other vehicle would slide across the surface, not slowing down at all.

  Francis realised this, as the rear of the Kite approached their screen at great speed.

  “What happened to the other plane?” Dunleavy asked. As he spoke, Francis’ plane careened into the back of the Kite, the explosion enough to shake the entirety of the Kite. “Never mind.” he said.

  Caleb, focusing on the moment, unbuckled his seatbelt and stood. “Okay team, let’s move,” he ordered. “We have to get off this plane. It won’t be too long until they realise we’re here.”

  Though it took some longer than others, they all headed out of the cockpit. Jacob was the last to stand.

  “Come on then,” Caleb ordered.

  Jacob remained seated, a look of sheer surprise on his face. He had expected to be dead.

  “If you don’t move, I’ll kill you myself.” Casey had returned to the cockpit, not wanting to let Jacob out of his sight.

  With that, Jacob stood, gathered his thoughts, and made his way out of the cockpit.

  Caleb quickly followed behind. The first element of the plan had been successful.

  Now came the hard part.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  The good news was that they now had the element of surprise on their side. But, if the Colonials were half as well trained as Caleb suspected, they would not be shaken by the surprise attack for long. Caleb knew they had to move fast.

  They had all moved quickly to the cargo bay. Once they’d all arrived, Murphy popped open the emergency hatch, the same one Natalie had been tied to. The door blew away from the side of the plane, and was jettisoned across the hangar bay.

  They exited the plane, one by one. Murphy was the first to exit. As she did, she ran straight towards the control room. Closing in, it was apparent the operator inside was suffering from a state of shock.

  She just stood in the middle of the control room, and watched as Murphy came through the door. Almost instinctively, the woman suddenly realized the danger she was in, and tried to reach for the emergency call button. Her reflexes weren’t quick enough, and before she realised what was happening, Murphy had neutralised her.

  While Jacob would have preferred the operator’s death, the rest of the team didn’t. After all, the people they were attacking were not necessarily the enemy. Isaac was proof of that.

  Remembering this, Murphy elected to hit the woman with the butt of her gun, after which she dragged her to a seat, and bound her to it. All this happened in less than ten seconds.

  Realising that Murphy would not need any assistance, Caleb and the rest moved to the exit of the hangar. By this point, the noise of the explosion would surely have been heard by other guards and potential combatants. Caleb knew they had to move out of the hangar as fast as possible.

  Once Murphy was satisfied the controller would no longer be a threat, she joined the others.

  “Nice work, Murph,” said Caleb. He ran through the instructions with the rest of the team, glossing over the details they’d discussed in the latter part of their flight.

  Caleb was sure they would be more effective in smaller groups. That way, if one of them was killed or captured, it would not adversely affect the rest of the group in a significant way. With any luck, the plan would allow at least one of them to escape.

  “Okay,” he began, “Darcy, Casey. Your job is intel. Do what you can to download whatever information you find. Use the tablet. Once you have something… anything… that is definitive, head back here. With any luck, we can open the hangar bay doors and get out that way. Whatever happens, be back here in thirty minutes. If you’re not back in thirty minutes—”

  “What, you’re gonna leave?” Casey asked smugly.

  “No!” Caleb said tersely. “If you’re not back in thirty minutes, I’ll have to come and get you – got it?”

  Darcy and Casey nodded.

  While Darcy would have liked to accompany Caleb, she knew that her expertise was best served gathering the intelligence. She would further be able to prove herself useful, especially as she knew better than anyone how to dig for information in places people didn’t want her to find it.

  “I love you, baby,” she said. She moved over to Caleb and embraced him, perhaps knowing this might be their final kiss goodbye.

  Caleb felt the intensity in her touch. He couldn’t deny that he too felt as though it could be the last time they saw or touched each other. He wanted the moment to last forever. Unfortunately, the moment passed much sooner than either of them would have preferred.

  As he pulled away from her, he stared down into her eyes, then brought her forehead to his. They briefly touched, just long enough for him to repeat the words he had said too often for one day. “You are the light in my dark.”

  She pressed her forehead against his for an instant, then pulled away. They both fought against the tears now lightly welling in their eyes, hoping it would not be their last shared moment.

  “Okay. Go,” Caleb said reluctantly.

  Darcy turned, and she and Casey ran out the door, making their way to the left.

  “Murphy,” Caleb continued, “you think you know where the ‘Source’ is?”

  Murphy nodded in reply.

  “Good. I’ll leave it to you to locate it. On the way, go to the main power room. Try to find some way to shut this place down.”

  “You mean blow it up?” asked Jacob.

  Caleb looked over at Jacob. He was about to argue the point with him, but then he realised Jacob was right. If there was no way to safely shut down the colony, Murphy would need to ensure they were stopped. Permanently. He turned his attention back to his Lieutenant. “Just do what you have to do, Murph. We need to cut off their supply. If that means—”

  “Yes sir,” Murphy said.

  She gave an understanding nod to Caleb before she left.

  “You two… come with me.” Caleb said to the remaining pair` – Dunleavy and Jacob.

  Dunleavy looked tense. “And what exactly is our job?” he asked. “You didn’t specify on the plane.”

  Caleb began to move, and the other two followed. “Our job is simple. Find out who is running this place, and get some real answers.”

  “Sooo… We have to track down the most protected person here, capture them, and find out information from them?” Jacob asked, seemingly angry he wasn’t making the decisions.

  Caleb just nodded, and kept walking. He knew it was a tough mission, especially given the potential of the Colonials. It was probably the hardest mission he had ever tried to accomplish. But if they were to have any chance of stopping the Colonials, they would need to find out more about their plan, more about their next move. And, if his instincts were correct, there was only one place he could find answers.

  Chapter Fifty-Two


  As they walked through the tunnels, it became apparent the plan had, so far, worked as he wanted. They hadn’t run into any resistance for the three or so minutes they’d walked. While this did provide an element of comfort, it was also disturbing. The Colonials were surely aware of their presence in the facility, and yet no resistance had been encountered.

  Caleb tried to not let it cloud his judgement, and continued with their task.

  Indeed, every time they tried to enter a room, they were allowed to move unfettered. However, there was still a feeling they were walking into a trap.

  They continued down the corridor, Caleb with his gun raised, Dunleavy directly behind, and Jacob bringing up the rear. Caleb had his gun drawn to stave off any attacks from the front, Jacob doing the same to cover their trodden path.

  Caleb looked around the corridor, observing the stagnant nature of the place. Had he not know better, he could have sworn he was in a science-fiction film. Each room they passed was nearly identical. There were no signs of any individuality at all. Each room was equipped with a bed or two, a hand basin, mirror and a set of controls on the wall. What these controls did, Caleb couldn’t be sure, but he doubted their intent was malicious.

  To him, they looked like nothing more than living quarters, places for people to sleep and prepare for their work. Whatever that was.

  They continued down the corridor, towards the room that had caught Caleb’s attention. After several metres, they reached an elevator.

  Caleb motioned for Dunleavy to press the buttons outside the door. As the older man moved forward, Caleb swung around and pointed his gun in the direction they had come, protecting their position while the elevator reached their level.

  As they waited, Dunleavy asked the question that Caleb had been considering. “Let’s assume they know we’re here,” he began. “What’s to stop them from trapping us in the elevator?”

  Caleb thought about the question. It was a valid point to make. There were seemingly endless opportunities for the colonials to lay a trap, especially considering the fact they had the home-field advantage.

  Still, Caleb had to remain positive. They had probably travelled further into the colony that any outsider had in the past. He was hoping they wouldn’t be prepared for it. “Let’s try to remain positive, okay?” Caleb said. “After all, the alternative is to run and hide. Frankly, that’s just not in my nature.”

  The other two knew it was pointless to argue. Besides, despite differing agendas, they all had something to gain by moving forward. Running and hiding would not have suited any of them. After about ten seconds, the elevator arrived. The metal doors pulled apart, and the trio stepped inside. As the doors closed behind them, Dunleavy looked for a control panel inside the elevator. None was apparent.

  “Well shit, Jackson. What the fuck do we do now?” he said, his anger slowly surfacing.

  Caleb glanced around the elevator. There was nothing apparent in the way of controls. Then, as though reading their minds, a voice came over the intercom.

  “Please select your destination.” The friendly female, English-accented voice said, offering its services of transport.

  Caleb looked at the other two. He didn’t know if it was a case of asking for a floor, or asking for a specific room.

  Almost as a joke, Jacob spoke to the voice. “Take us to the Governor,” he said with a smirk.

  Caleb rolled his eyes. It was hardly the time for jokes. Besides, an off-the-cuff remark like that could alert the rest of the colony to their presence. Just as he was thinking of ways to assert his views, the elevator began to move.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” said Dunleavy, equally surprised that Jacob’s idea had worked.

  The elevator started moving downwards. As it moved, locations began appearing on a black panel above the door. It was as though they were riding on a public train. Names like ‘Engineering’, ‘Science’, and ‘Education’, flashed across the screen. At that point, Caleb really did begin to feel as though he was in a movie.

  After several seconds and destinations, the elevator slowed down and stopped. As the trio waited for the doors to open, the elevator quickly began to move, this time heading parallel to the ground, towards what Caleb felt would be the middle of the colony.

  Again, several different names of the various areas’ they were passing flashed across the blackened panel. ‘Refectory’, ‘Communications’, and ‘Medical bay’ were all bypassed.

  Eventually the elevator came to a stop. Caleb waited for several seconds before reading the panel one more time.

  As he read the screen, it appeared they had reached their destination. It read ‘Command Accommodations’.

  “This is it,” Caleb said emphatically. “Get ready. I don’t think they’ll be too happy to see us in here.”

  “Have they arrived yet?” James asked down the phone. He was becoming agitated. The plane was due into the vicinity of Zone One more than an hour ago.

  His nerves were shared by William. The head of security had laid the troops out in the best possible way. Whether or not the plane was cloaked, William had employed a seemingly impenetrable web of troops, both throughout the town and the surrounding bushland.

  As an extra precaution, he’d ordered all the remaining civilians to their alert positions. The many women and children had moved to quarters and bays in the middle of the colony, and they were accompanied by plenty of troops. After all, they were the people that William was there to protect. They had to make it through to the end, otherwise all James’ work would have been for nothing. The remaining support staff were in their operational positions, ordered to be especially vigilant.

  “Trust me. If they’re here, they will not get through us,” William said, masking his nerves.

  “Okay,” James said. “Just keep me updated on your progress.” James paused, considering the questions he wanted to ask. “Are the people protected? And the serum? And the source?”

  William was a little annoyed by the interrogation. “Of course sir. Trust me, the situation will be neutralised.”

  As he finished, the phone call ended abruptly. Though the end came not by James, nor by William.

  James sat in his chair, inside the office he’d once considered to be the safest room in the world. As he considered his current situation, he realised just how wrong his assumption had been. This was further compounded by the two guards, lying motionless at the brace of the door, and the other two guards by his side, who now appeared in an equally motionless state.

  As he’d been speaking to William, the man and his associates had burst through the door. Before he knew what was happening, James had a gun pointed directly at his temple.

  Part of him was in awe of the tall, strongly built man who held his life in his hands. The rest of him was gripped by fear. Never did he think anyone would threaten him this closely.

  After what seemed like an eternity of terror, the man spoke. “I have absolutely no idea who you are, but I think you’ve been looking for me,” said Caleb. The man looked over at one of his group. The other man nodded, and raised his weapon towards James. “We have some questions for you,” he said, his American accent providing James with his first clue regarding his identity.

  “Who are you?” James asked.

  “You tell me,” Caleb replied, “I mean, you seem to have control of virtually every piece of information… you tell me who I am.”

  James was surprised by the response. Normally, the people who followed him would answer questions without delay. He was not used to being spoken to in such a manner. Gathering his composure, James looked around the room.

  He studied the other two men. The first man was older, and instantly recognisable. “You are Michael Dunleavy,” James said to the man who had his gun pointed at him, “I hear some people are very interested in finding you.” James cracked a smile, enjoying the fact that Dunleavy was a wanted man. He had proved to be a source of irritation for the past several years.

 
; When James smiled, Dunleavy had to use all his strength of will not to retaliate. He was angry with the man he had a gun pointed at. He knew he could kill him in an instant. But Dunleavy also realised it wouldn’t solve the problem, and used this as motivation to control himself.

  James continued to scan the room, and turned his attention to the other man. The third man was stationed at the entrance of the room, covering the door to ensure they were not bothered by any other guards. “You are Jacob,” James said, “I’ve heard all about you.”

  A smile appeared on Jacob’s face, seemingly satisfied his reputation preceded him.

  James turned back to the man who had spoken, the man he didn’t recognise. “You? I don’t know who you are. Who might you be?” James asked Caleb.

  Caleb considered his options. Indeed, not revealing who he was had certain advantages, but they were irrelevant. At that point, he and the other man were at a stalemate. He needed the man alive, and he was sure he knew it. Caleb needed the information the man held in his head. He was certain he’d found the one man who could reveal the entire truth. In order for that to happen though, the man needed to be alive. “How about we make a deal?” Caleb said, trying to remain as relaxed as possible.

  James was intrigued. In the space of a few moments, he had been shocked, surprised and confronted. Now, the man who’d perpetrated all these circumstances was trying to make a deal?

  The prospect made James smile. He now knew the man hadn’t infiltrated the colony on a mission to kill him. On the contrary, the man needed to keep him alive. James thought about how to spin it to his advantage.

  The first thing James realised he needed to do was buy some time. It wouldn’t be too long until William figured out what was happening. Or at least, that is what James hoped. “Okay,” James replied. “What kind of deal?”

  “I’ll tell you my name, if you tell me yours,” Caleb said

  James considered his options. The more he thought about it, the more he realised the position he was in. No matter how well trained the man was, he was never going to make it out of the colony alive. James considered this, and made his decision.