Rise (The Ethereal Vision Book 2)

by Liam Donnelly

  Both the man and woman fell to the deck and were stunned into unconsciousness. Marie had been approaching the door that led back to the control room, and when the blast hit, she was thrown over the edge of the doorframe.

  As Jane opened her eyes, she saw her rising quickly and running further into the room. She followed her, walking briskly toward the door. “Check on Ciara!” she yelled out to Morris. She walked into the control room, every muscle in her body rippling with rage. On her left, the screen still flashed with reams of information. On the right, only half of the staff that had previously been working on the rows of computer terminals remained. They stood up and stared at her, openmouthed and afraid. Marie was facing her and backing away toward the other side of the room, where the large metallic door led to the corridor with the only escape route‌—‌the elevator‌—‌just beyond.

  In a fit of anger, Jane turned her attention back to the monitor. An unholy surge of energy came from her, and the monitor exploded. A shower of glass and sparks flew outward into the room. The giant screen came free from its housing and fell to the floor with an incredible crash. Several of the other monitors surrounding it also erupted in flames. Among the cacophony of explosive energy, the sounds of people screaming began to fill the air. Jane didn’t stop. She extended her power out past the monitor, and the remaining screens were destroyed also.

  A quick glance to her right confirmed that all of the remaining staff had left their terminals and were racing for the exit, covering themselves from the showers of glass and bursts of fire. Among them, Jane saw Marie standing there and staring at her. Her gaze appeared to display a mixture of wonder, awe, and fear. Two seconds later, she was running with the rest of them. The room was evacuated, and the door to the elevator sealed shut behind them tightly. Jane heard the heavy bolts on the door slam into place, and a red light appeared at the top of the doorframe.

  Jane stopped, drawing the power back into her. It came back in as though there was a vacuum inside her, and as it did she gasped, realizing that she had not been breathing. She fell to one knee and took deep breaths. The fire on her left was growing wild, and huge tongues of flame were rising up around her, just ten feet away, threatening to grow closer.

  Guys, we have to move. This place is going to up in flames, she said, addressing her friends, who were still outside.

  Yeah, we can see why, Mike replied. Jane, what did you do?

  Jane didn’t reply. She heard her friends approaching behind her, and then she felt Mike’s hands on her back. Morris took a step past her and surveyed the room, particularly the flames.

  “Jane’s right. We have to go right now.”

  “I think they’ve sealed the elevator,” Jane said in a weak voice.

  “Doesn’t matter, come on.” He passed her on her right, and as she felt Ciara grip her arm and pull, she rose to her feet, fighting a brief wave of sickness. She flinched as the pain in her torso once again became apparent, and she realized she was truly ready to collapse. With Ciara holding her arm, the three of them followed Morris to the main door, which was at the back of the room on the right-hand side. He was standing in front of the thick frame now, and they fell in behind him.

  “What is it, Mor?” Mike asked.

  Morris was glaring at the door, scanning it. “The door is five inches thick. But there’s an elevator just beyond it.”

  “Oh my God,” Ciara said in a near whisper.

  Jane looked at her. “What, Ciara? What is it?” she asked.

  “They’re going to destroy the ship. According to Marie, events have…‘fallen outside acceptable risk parameters,’ and leaving the ship intact has now become a potential liability. They’ve activated a self-destruct program.” She looked up at Jane, her face filled with fear. “We have five minutes, Jane.”

  “Call her back, Ciara! Now! Make her deactivate it.”

  “I-I can’t. She’s already in an escape pod of some kind. There’s nobody else on the ship who can turn it off. Only her authorization can do that. There’s nothing we can do, Jane.” She frowned as she glanced off to the side, her gaze once again becoming distant. “They’re all running for escape pods.”

  “Morris!” Jane said, turning to him.

  “I know. Everyone focus on the door.”

  Jane looked at the sturdy metallic frame and extended her power toward it. She heard the metal creak as all four of them exerted their will on both sides of the door, trying to pull it apart. With an incredible grinding sound, a half-inch gap appeared in the center of the two doors. It stayed there for two seconds before the doors once again slammed shut against each other with an extremely loud clank.

  “It’s the gears!” Morris shouted back to them.

  Jane glanced right to see that the flames were now approaching them from the other side of the room. She returned her attention to the door. “Again!” she yelled above the crackling sounds. Once again, they focused, and this time, the gears appeared to give way, and the door opened more.

  “Almost got it!” Morris yelled back.

  Another inch appeared in the gap. Then another. Then there was a tremendous grinding sound as the gear system holding the door in place was ripped to pieces. A red light began flashing overhead.

  “Warning. Warning. Electronic locking system is not functioning correctly. Suggest immediate corrective action.”

  With just a little more pushing, the door was opened a full ten inches.

  “That’s enough!” Jane said, leaving Ciara’s side and stepping toward the door. “Ciara, you first!”

  Ciara hesitated for a moment, and then ran toward the door. She turned sideways and easily slipped through.

  “Mike!” Morris said, and Mike followed his order, going through after Ciara.

  Jane and Morris looked at each other, and he nodded.

  “Not a chance,” she said flatly.

  “I’m not going first,” he replied, and folded his arms.

  “Yes. You are.” Something exploded in the room to their left, and a wall of fire blew outward toward them. Morris wrapped an arm around Jane and turned her to the side, shielding her from the flame. It dissipated quickly, and they stood up to see that that side of the room was now a complete wreck and covered in fire from floor to ceiling. Loose electrical cables swung from the roof; they were still active, and sent thin showers of sparks into the room below.

  “We can both die here or you can‌—‌”

  “Fine!” Morris yelled, and he went for the door. His lithe, muscular frame slid through easily.

  Jane took one last look at the destroyed room around her and then turned toward the door. She clutched her hurting ribs as she approached the frame, turning to her side. Morris was reaching through the gap for her hand, and she had reached out her own to take his when a loud klaxon blared over the top of the door, and the panel flashed red.

  “Warning, secondary locking mechanisms have been engaged.”

  Jane heard a different sound coming from the interior of the doors as they began to move. Both her and Morris retracted their hands just in time as the two sides of the doorway slammed shut in front of her once again, leaving her stranded in the room that was on the verge of total destruction. Morris barely had time to pull his hand back through before it closed on him.

  “No further access to this door will be allowed until secondary security protocols have been deactivated,” came the voice from the computer system.

  JANE! Morris screamed in her mind.

  Her hand automatically went to her ribcage, feeling the pain there, and she grimaced. In her mind’s eye, she saw Morris and Ciara‌—‌who had previously run to the other side of the corridor to check the elevator‌—‌return to the solid metal doorframe in shock and concern.

  What happened? she heard Ciara ask.

  It closed again! Morris yelled.

  OK, well, let’s open it! Mike added.

  Jane had already turned her psychic sense up towa
rd these secondary locking mechanisms, and she had scanned them as best as she could. There were eight of them in total embedded into the doorframe, and it seemed, as she gently ran over them in her mind’s eye, that each one of them alone could be capable of withstanding tons of pressure. She shook her head gently, knowing there was no way she and her friends could break them, even if they were to work in tandem. Even then, from the other side of the door, she could sense them exert their will on the steel frame.

  Guys. It doesn’t matter. You can’t break through these locks, and you know it. Ciara, scan them‌—‌you can confirm what I’m saying, Jane said. She sensed Ciara’s hesitation, but after a moment, she heard her speak in a scared, solemn voice.

  She’s right. The locks are too strong; they’re not like the other ones. We’ll never get through them.

  I’m not leaving you behind, Morris replied, and although his voice was strong, Jane could hear a quiver in it.

  You have no choice, Jane replied, but she knew he meant what he was saying. Morris had come from little, had found little, and then had found himself locked in the same facility where she had met him. Although it inflated her ego somewhat, she knew that in some sense, she had become a psychic anchor for him. He would kill himself with his own determination, ruining the small glimmer of a chance that Jane could feel growing in the back of her mind. She focused her psychic sense to a thin funnel, keeping it as secure as possible, away from Morris, and instead, directing it straight toward Ciara and Mike.

  Ciara. The three of us have to take control of this. Get him out of here or he’ll die.

  OK, Jane, but… what about you? she asked, her telepathic voice trembling with fear and becoming a near whisper as she uttered the words.

  I’ll manage, Jane replied in a weak voice, and she leaned forward and placed her hands on the thick doors. She allowed herself a moment to feel the exhaustion in her body, but then looked up again, and her eyes narrowed to slits. How much time do we have left, Ciara?

  Three and a half minutes.

  What exactly do you plan on doing to get yourself out of there, Jane? came Mike’s strained voice.

  She glanced around toward the burning room. Don’t worry. I’ve got an idea.

  Sure, he replied, and his voice rang with a clear trace of terror.

  OK, Jane said. On three, we do this together. Project an image of me walking alongside you. Convince him that this never happened and that I came straight through the door with you. You’re up to it, aren’t you, Ciara?

  Ciara hesitated. Yes, Jane. Got it. Are you going to be OK? I don’t want to leave you, either.

  I’ll find a way, she said, and without giving her any chance to object further, she began. Three. Two. One. She focused as she felt both Ciara and Mike do the same.

  After a few seconds, Jane felt Morris’s mind calm down, and for the first time, she had one more chance to glance around into the destroyed room. Entire panels and light fixtures were falling from the ceiling, engulfed in flame, adding to the growing fire in the room below.

  We’ve got him, Jane. We’re walking toward the elevator now.

  In her mind’s eye, Jane could see a tear falling down Ciara’s cheek. Then she saw her look over her shoulder and face the metallic door, a fierce expression on her face. You better find a way out of there, Jane.

  I will, she replied with fierce determination.

  Jane turned away from the door. Life belt. I need a life belt. Just as she thought this, another explosion from the far side of the room‌—‌where there appeared to be a separate office‌—‌rocked the structure all around her. A shockwave blasted over her, and Jane ducked down as a shower of glass from the windows that lined that area was thrown in her direction. Once again, the pain flared in her side, and her hand reached up to her ribs. She gasped, feeling the sharp pinch there, but did her best to ignore it. The smoke in the room was becoming too much to bear, and visibility was thinning.

  Damn it! she thought. OK then. Forget the damn life belt. She would have to take her chances without one.

  She looked left in the direction of the door that led to the exterior deck. The thirty-foot distance was now a haze of sparks and black smoke. She reached out both hands, palms facing inward, and focused her power. Then, as she pulled her hands apart, she cleared the path ahead of her. The smoke dispersed on either side like two clouds parting, as though moved by an incredible breeze. On the right, it rolled right across the room. On the left, there was only a small three-foot space, and the smoke there billowed upward, flying toward the ceiling where it spread out, engulfing the broken panels as it moved.

  The walkway was completely clear now, save for a few small fires and sparks, which sputtered into the space now and then. Jane braced herself and ran up the path, bounding toward the door. Just as another explosion rocked the room, she vaulted over the doorframe and out onto the deck, which was now covered in smoke.

  Jane glanced around to see smoke billowing from other areas near the front of the ship. She stepped forward, hearing other fires crackling in the distance. Dim orange lights shone just below the front of the ship where other fires had broken out.

  Ciara! How much time left?

  Two minutes at most, Jane!

  Jane winced and looked through the wisps of thick, black smoke to the turbulent blue sea just over the railing.

  ***

  Ciara, Mike, and Morris approached the elevator door, their body language clearly betraying their trepidation. Without even thinking, Ciara reached out her thoughts and scanned it.

  Mike, she said, communicating with him in secret. You have to keep the illusion up. If my focus drops for a second, or if one of us gets injured, he could figure it out. Remember, Jane is with us. Don’t forget that.

  She turned to him and saw him nodding at her discreetly.

  The only thing in front of them was the elevator, and the three of them reached it now and examined it.

  “Right. How do we do this?” Mike asked.

  Ciara took a step toward the door, determined. She glanced at the electronic locking mechanism. “Computer, recognize the emergency situation. Release the locks on the elevator,” she said.

  “Access to the elevator has been restricted. No further access will be granted at this time.”

  Morris approached the electronic lock and focused on it. The panel exploded, and a small ball of smoke rose up toward the ceiling. A loud beeping sound resounded through the corridor, and the light at the top of the elevator began flashing red. He roared and, approaching the elevator doors, he raised his foot and slammed it into the center.

  “Whoa!” Mike said. “I think we can do better than that.”

  Ciara steadied herself next to him and took a few deep breaths. Then she nodded at her friends. No instructions were needed this time as the three of them turned to face the door. Together, they turned their power on it, and after a short time, the door slid open easily, unencumbered by any advanced locking mechanism. Before them, as they walked forward, was the empty elevator shaft. Stepping to the edge, Ciara glanced down over it as her friends held her arms. She saw that it measured about twenty by twenty feet, and the elevator itself had stopped about four floors below.

  Ciara looked at Morris. The strain of keeping up the illusion that Jane was with them was beginning to take its toll, and she found herself having to concentrate more intensely. A dull ache began to grow above her eye, and she reached her hand up there now, massaging it.

  “You said Marie was on an escape pod, and that other crew members had used them?” Morris asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you scan the ship to find out if there are any left?”

  “I think so.”

  Ciara closed her eyes and concentrated. Within the previous few weeks, her psychic senses had improved dramatically, and in her mind’s eye, she moved through the vast interior of the ship rapidly. It took her only a moment to find what they needed. After approxim
ately ten seconds of scanning the vessel, she opened her eyes. “Three floors down.”

  “How much time do we have left?” Morris asked.

  “About three minutes, I think. Maybe less.”

  Morris placed his hands on his forehead and began to pace the corridor. He stopped and stared straight at the thick bulkhead doors that had previously trapped Jane. “What do you think, Jane?” he asked, speaking to a psychic illusion, for there was nobody really there.

  Ciara frowned, but something told her to allow the invisible exchange to continue.

  After a few moments, Morris turned and looked back toward the elevator doors. Running to them, he leaned out and looked over the side.

  Ciara’s lips trembled as she glared at Mike nervously. Indeed, Mike’s expression seemed to echo her own fear.

  “What are you doing?” Ciara asked Morris, keeping her voice as steady as possible.

  “Looking for something,” he responded through coughs. Smoke was beginning to accumulate in the elevator shaft, and now it was filling the room around them. Ciara frowned, wondering where it was coming from. She closed her eyes, trying to scan the environment to find where the other damage on the ship was. It didn’t take her long to understand that whatever the self-destruct mechanism involved, it was causing this new outbreak of fire on the decks below. She opened her eyes to see that Morris had turned around again and stepped into the corridor.

  He was looking up at the panels that lined the ceiling, glancing to the left and right. Then he reached up both hands toward the roof, and Ciara could feel him extend an incredible surge of power in that direction. The ceiling erupted into a shower of sparks. Debris fell to the floor below, and various large pieces of metal that composed the roof clattered to the ground.