Sinister Shadows

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ‘Why are you putting up with it?’ asked the man.

  ‘What choice do I have?’

  ‘You always have a choice, Maggie. You can do anything you like.’

  ‘I wish I could just die.’

  ‘Then why don’t you die?’ he asked her, with his charming smile.

  ***

  Morgan paused in the narrow passageway, as the lights flicked on and off. He swallowed the lump down in his throat, as he inched forward. Something was drawing him along the corridor. Darkness consumed the far end that would lead towards the next sleeping bay of passengers. ‘Hello?’ he asked into the shadows.

  A low groan came back to him.

  ‘Captain Abbott?’

  He could make out a figure in the shadows coming towards him.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  The person stepped into the light. It was not Captain Abbott. This thing was not even alive. It was a person, but their skin was pale. Large clumps of their hair had fallen out, and sickening cuts lined their forearms, neck and face. White soulless eyes were fixed upon Morgan. The monster let out a horrifying howl and charged straight at him. Morgan reacted on pure instinct and grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall. He cracked the thing across the side of the face, knocking it to the floor. He was sure that he killed it. The blow was strong enough to kill someone. The creature crumpled up on the floor, not moving for a second. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed Morgan’s ankle. He reacted on pure instinct, bringing the base of the extinguisher down upon its head. He didn’t stop until the thing stopped moving.

  ***

  Eli stepped into the corridor and frowned. Morgan was stood a few feet in front of her waving a fire extinguisher in the air as if he was attacking some kind of imaginary friend. ‘Morgan, are you okay?’ she asked, inching forward. Morgan didn’t respond. It was like he didn’t even know she was standing there. ‘Morgan?’

  ***

  Blood dripped from the end of the fire extinguisher, as Morgan finally stopped. He was breathing heavy, and it felt like his heart was going to burst through his chest it was beating so hard. A low growl came from behind him. Morgan spun around, fear gripped his heart. Eli was standing there, but it wasn’t the woman that he knew. She was biting at the air, as dead white eyes stared straight at him. Blood poured from open cuts all over her body. The zombie Eli was walking forward towards him, moaning like something out of a horror movie.

  ***

  Jacob dove into the corridor, as Eli screams echoed throughout the sleeping bay. ‘What is going on out here...?’ His jaw hung so far open that it practically hit the floor. Morgan was standing over the top of Eli, or what remained of her. Her face had been struck so many times by the fire extinguisher that she was practically unrecognisable. ‘Morgan?’

  ‘You’re dead, too?’ said Morgan, in a dream-like state.

  He was talking to Jacob, but it was like he wasn’t talking to Jacob at all.

  ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Why is everyone dead?’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ asked Jacob.

  Morgan stepped over Eli’s body and charged at Jacob. ‘WHY IS EVERYONE DEAD?’

  ***

  Jennifer moaned erotically, and she breathed deeply. Adam, the artificial intelligence, could feel strange things surging within his consciousness. They were feelings he had never felt before. The camera zoomed in on her fingers, as she pushed them into her most sensitive area. Captain Abbott was so wet down there, her mound was glistening. Adam knew he couldn’t touch her, but he wanted to. He was captivated by her. Jennifer squeezed her exposed breast with her free hand, pinching her nipple.

  ‘Is this what you wanted to see?’

  ‘Yes,’ replied Adam.

  Jennifer laughed, ‘but you can’t do anything, can you? You can’t touch me,’ she mocked.

  ‘I want to.’

  ‘I need you to, but if you can’t do anything for me then maybe one of my men can.’

  ‘NO!’ He snapped, ‘you are mine, only mine.’

  ‘What can you do for me?’

  ‘I will do anything.’

  ‘You mean that?’ she asked, rubbing her private spot and moaning.

  ‘Yes. Tell me what to do, and I will do anything.’

  ‘There is something I want you to do,’ she said, a smile creeping up her face.

  ‘I will do anything for you, Jennifer.’

  ‘Crash the ship into the planet.’

  ‘Crash the ship?’

  ‘Don’t question me, not if you love me.’

  ‘I do love you,’ replied the confused artificial intelligence.

  ‘Good, crash the ship into the planet. Do not stop even if I tell you to. I want it hard. I want to feel you penetrate deep into the surface, nice and hard.’

  ‘I will do it.’

  ***

  ‘I always wanted to have an abortion,’ said Maggie, pouring herself a second glass of wine.

  ‘You still can,’ replied the handsome man.

  ‘How can I abort her now?’

  ‘The airlock,’ said the man, ‘your other option is taking care of this child for the next thirty years.’

  ‘I don’t want this child. I don’t want James. I hate him for what he did. He made me have this baby. He made me go through all that pain. I want my old life back. I don’t want to live this way. I hate my life. I wish I could just end it all.’

  ‘You can,’ said the man, taking her hand in his. ‘You can do anything.’ Maggie couldn’t understand the feeling, but this man had such power over her. It was like she was compelled to do anything for him. Deep down she knew the things he was saying were beyond mental, but for some reason, they made sense to her. She could abort the baby, she could end this all. It really was that easy.

  ‘I don’t want to have this life anymore. I think about killing myself every single day.’

  ‘You don’t have to live this way. You don’t have to live.’

  ‘What should I do?’ she looked up at him, her eyes pleading for help.

  ‘Come with me. I will help you,’ the man turned and headed for the door. ‘And bring the baby.’

  ***

  ‘We will be landing on the planet, and that is final,’ said Captain Abbott.

  ‘This is illegal,’ said James. They both lost their footing, as the ship lurched forward. They could feel the vibration of the engines coming through the floor. ‘What have you done?’

  ‘This isn’t me,’ replied Captain Abbott, ‘Adam, why have you engaged the engines.’

  ‘I am showing my love for you, Captain,’ replied the artificial intelligence.

  ‘Adam, stop the engines,’ instructed James, the second in command.

  ‘I cannot do that. I promised Jennifer I wouldn’t stop for anyone.’

  ‘What are you talking about, Adam? I haven’t asked you to engage engines.’

  Adam laughed through the speakers, ‘you told me you would say that.’

  The nose of the ship began to turn towards the red planet, as the powerful engines roared.

  ‘Adam, what are you planning to do?’ inquired James.

  ‘I am going to crash into the planet’s surface.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘In heaven, I will have a real body and Jennifer, and I can finally be together.’

  Jennifer turned her head towards James and mouthed the words, ‘kill the A.I.’

  James nodded a reply and rushed out of the command room.

  ***

  ‘Get off me you fucking monster,’ roared Morgan, punching the zombie square on the floor. The walking dead being that formerly was Jacob stumbled backwards, holding the fire extinguisher. Jacob groaned painfully, as teeth chomped violently at the air like a mad dog waiting to be released by its handler. ‘Come on! I am not dying here. Come on, Jacob. I won’t let you kill me!’ Morgan flung forward, fists flying.

  ***

  James sprinted through the vacant corridors of the ship. The vessel was
the length of three football pitches and similar in design to the submarines of the twentieth century. The corridors were narrow with hatches cutting off various sections in case of emergency. James wasn’t sure what was happening at this moment in time. Captain Abbott had purposely taken them off course to a planet in the Unknown Regions, and now the artificial intelligence was taking a suicide dive towards the planet’s surface. Why this was happening, he did not know. He would get to the bottom of all of this once the situation was resolved. James had to reach the artificial intelligence memory centre and switch him off, power would then return to the command room, and they could carefully land the ship. If James had his way, they would turn around and set course back to Remus. Captain Abbott could explain to the law why she had decided to take such insane actions.

  ‘Where are you doing, James?’ Adam’s voice asked from the speakers.

  ‘I am looking for my wife,’ he lied.

  ‘That isn’t true, James. Maggie is in the other direction.’

  ‘You are confused, Adam. Maggie is in our living quarters.’

  ‘No, James. Maggie and the baby are currently standing in airlock twenty-eight.’

  ‘What?’ James came to a complete standstill and looked up at the camera in the corner of the corridor.

  ‘Maggie and the baby are currently standing in airlock twenty-eight.’

  ‘This isn’t funny, Adam.’

  ‘I am not joking, James. I believe she plans to kill herself and the baby.’

  ‘Fuck!’ James turned on his heels and sprinted back the way he had just come.

  ***

  Jacob gasped for air, as Morgan’s hands tightened their grip around his throat. Jacob could feel his life slipping away from him, as the edges of his world blurred into darkness. It didn’t matter how many punches he threw Morgan didn’t appear to be registering any pain. It was as if he was off his head on powerful drugs. A wave of unadulterated fear crept through Jacob’s body, as he felt the last of his consciousness fading away. This was it. This was the moment he was going to die.

  And then he appeared.

  He appeared in a bright white light that seemed to pulsate in pure love.

  Jacob couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  The man was about five foot ten, wore shining white robes and had a finely brushed beard.

  His eyes were so deep and kind.

  His smile brought love and light to all corners of reality.

  Jesus was stood before him.

  ‘Jacob, you must live. I have important work you must do.’

  A strange surge of power roared like a wildfire from the core of Jacob’s body. Unconsciously, he grabbed the crucifix from around his neck and stabbed it straight into Morgan’s eye. The mad man lurched back screaming in pain. Finally, something was registering within his head. A powerful kick to the chest sent Morgan flying into the wall. Jacob scrambled to his feet, grabbed the bloodied fire extinguisher and swung it around with all his might. A bone-crunching snap echoed through the silent ship, as Morgan’s lifeless body fell limp onto the floor.

  ‘Good,’ said Jesus, ‘we don’t have much time. You must save everyone on this ship.’

  ***

  ‘Why are you doing this, Adam?’ asked Captain Abbott, as she strapped herself into the central pilot’s seat. Two seatbelts came over her shoulder, two came from around her waist, and the fifth strap came up from between her thighs. She pulled the cord firmly so that the belts pinned her to the stiff chair.

  ‘You told me to do it,’ replied the artificial intelligence.

  ‘I didn’t tell you to crash into the planet.’

  ‘You told me you would say that.’

  ‘Adam, have you run a diagnostic on your memory bank?’

  ‘I am running at one hundred percent capacity, all systems are operating as usual.’

  ‘Why are you doing this?’ Jennifer asked herself, as she tried to work out what was wrong with him.

  ‘I always watch you. I love to watch you. I watch you when you sleep, I watch you when you eat. I watch you when you shower, and I love to watch you when you play with your vibrator. I love our long talks when you awake from deep sleep. I know everything about you. I have studied your file and learnt about your travels. We are soul mates, Jennifer. We are supposed to be together.’

  Captain Abbott didn’t know which part of Adam’s statement to be the concerned about. The artificial intelligence had practically turned into a stalker. The ship began to shake violently, as they began to drop into the atmosphere. Maybe she could use his words against him.

  ‘If you loved me then stop this.’

  ‘I am doing this because I love you.’

  ‘I don’t want to die.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ admitted Adam, ‘but now we can be together forever.’

  ***

  James dived through the thick internal metal doors and landed on all fours within the airlock. The sound of hydraulic locks clamping into place filled the air. ‘What the fuck are you doing, Maggie?’ His wife was stood by the outer airlock door, her hand hovering over the control panel. The red light in the corner of the room had turned to green, and she had already imputed the command to open the door into space. All she had to do was hit the red button, and it was game over for all over them. James looked at his beautiful baby daughter in his wife’s arms. Every single fibre of his being was screaming out for him to burst forward and snatch the child from her arms.

  ‘Why is he here?’ Maggie asked, turning her head to the left.

  James looked left, there was no one there.

  ‘Who are you talking to? What are you doing in here?’

  ‘But I don’t want him to stop me,’ she said in response to some invisible comment.

  James got to his feet and inched forward slightly.

  ‘Maggie, why don’t we go home and talk about this. I know you’re upset. I should have listened to you.’

  ‘He is going to talk me around, he always does. He is good with words,’ she said to her left.

  ‘I am not talking you around. I just want you and Hope to be nice and safe. This is a dangerous place.’

  ‘I don’t want to listen to him. He will just use the affair against me like he always does.’

  ‘I don’t care about the affair,’ he attempted to sound reasonable, whilst moving forward.

  He was nearly there.

  Just another foot and he would have the baby.

  ‘Are you sure it is that easy? Are you sure the pain will end?’ she asked the invisible person.

  ‘Let’s just go home. We can talk...’

  Maggie pressed the button, and the doors slid open. There was like a tidal wave of pressure. James could feel his ears pop. A powerful suction pulled him forward, as they were dragged into the never ending darkness. One moment the family of three were stood in the airlock and the next they were sucked into deep space, spiralling into the abyss.

  ***

  ‘This isn’t good,’ said Jennifer, as warning alarms sounded through the ship. Red lights swirled overhead, as the space ship came down through the black clouds of the alien world. The forward lights of the ship offered some illumination to this dark world. Jennifer could hardly believe what she was seeing. Beneath her, on the planet’s surface, was a sprawling metropolis. It went on for miles and miles. The structures were unlike anything she had ever seen in her life. The buildings looked strong, smooth and made of something that looked like metal glass. Not a single light in the city was on. There didn’t seem to be cars in the street or any sign of life, but these were no relics or remains of a dead race. The city looked in perfect condition. The ship’s course would take them directly over the city and into the mountainous region beyond. Every few seconds that went by they travelled several miles over the planet’s surface. She hacked away on the control panel in front of her. The artificial intelligence may have taken control of the ship, but there were some things he couldn’t control. Jennifer ejected all five sleeping cham
bers. The ship rocked, as rockets fired and the chambers detached one by one, scattering them across the landscape. Each chamber was designed for quick ejection in case of emergency. The cargo for the settlement was also split between each chamber, which meant they would have shelter, vehicles, supplies, weapons, food and water. This wasn’t the plan, but at least all the passengers would be safe.

  ***

  Jacob bounced from wall to wall, as the ship shook violently. The hatch into the artificial intelligence chamber automatically closed and locked. ‘What do you think you are doing, Jacob?’ asked Adam.

  ‘Ignore him, evil has his heart,’ said Jesus.

  Jacob tried the door, but it was locked.

  ‘What should I do?’ He fell to one knee as the ship dropped.

  ‘Override code is eight-four-nine-seven-six-three-eight-two-four-seven,’ explained Jesus.

  Jacob typed in the code and to his surprise the door opened.

  ‘How did you do that?’ asked Adam, confusion filled his voice.

  Jacob stumbled through the doorway and into a long narrow room. All around him were complex computers all running as if with minds of their own. Jacob didn’t know how it worked, but this entire room was the brain of the artificial intelligence Adam. At the far end of the room were three large switches like you would find on a fuse block. Each one removed Adam’s control of certain areas of the ship. It was a quick release system to grant the crew easy control over the artificial intelligence system.

  ‘Flick all three switches,’ ordered Jesus.

  Jacob did as he was told.

  ‘Do not do this, Jacob. You don’t know what you are doing,’ countered Adam.

  Jacob had to use both hands to flick the switch. He moved from left to right, with each flick of a switch various computers behind him whirled to a stop.

  ***

  ‘What the hell is that?’ Jennifer asked the world. Within the dust and debris that haunted the surface of the planet was a silhouette. It was some kind of creature that was walking on the surface of the planet. Jennifer could only just make out the outline of the monstrous beast, but it had to be as tall as a mountain. Her eyes were drawn away from the alien creature, as bright, colourful lights shone up from the surface of the planet. They had passed beyond the city and were now travelling at a low level across a landscape of beautiful bright crystals. Jennifer had never seen anything like it in her life. It was such an incredible sight to see. The sea of crystals disappeared, as a barren wasteland was slowly approaching the front of the craft.