Sinister Shadows

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ‘It reminds me of a Roman fighting pit,’ said Jones.

  Omar wasn’t going to disagree.

  It had been the first thought that had come to his mind too.

  The place had an aura of death around it.

  Unconsciously, Omar looked up at the landscape. He felt like he was being watched, but there were nothing and no one. He returned his attention to the base of the pit. Sitting in the middle of the pit was an unnatural mound. The normal eye could not make out what it was, but the armoured suited had enhanced vision, which allowed both soldiers to zoom in on the mountain of bones. The pile of bones stood about fifty foot high and sixty foot across. The majority of the bones looked alien. On top of the pile of bones were twelve naked human bodies. Horrific wounds had carved open their throats, stomachs and private parts.

  ‘He is going to kill you...’ whispered General Hitler.

  Omar looked up at Jones, who was still examining the gruesome scene.

  ‘That is why they took you out here. Look what they did to the other survivors.’

  Omar’s heart began to beat quicker, as his hand inched towards the cannon like handgun on his hip.

  ‘What do you think killed them?’ asked Jones.

  ‘You are the only one that can save the survivors,’ Hitler’s voice whispered in his ear.

  ‘What were they doing out here to start with?’ Jones turned his head to face Omar. Wide eyes looked down the barrel of the handgun that was pressed up against the visor. ‘Omar, what are you...’ a single shot popped his head like a balloon. Blood, brains and gore splattered across the ground, as the back of Jones helmet exploded outwards. His lifeless body dropped down onto the floor.

  ***

  Exquisite artwork covered the vast arched ceiling of this incredible building. Jennifer’s feet clicked off the marble floor, as she marched through this place of peace and tranquillity. Soft operatic music flowed through the spacious halls, but she could not see where it was coming from. The music was not human. The instruments were unlike anything she had heard. It was calming, welcoming and made her feel a sense of peace deep down within the depths of her heart. A set of stairs led up a narrow winding passage. Each step illuminated a beautiful white glow as she pressed her foot down against it, but the light would instantly fade the moment she went to the next step. Captain Abbott stepped out into another magnificent chamber. This one had a picture of the night sky across the ceiling. It was like looking up into the heavens as if there was no roof. In the middle of the room were some desks, computers, scanners and various other types of equipment. Four people were in the room, using various devices or learning over computers. A young man was walking the length of the room with a camera, filming all the various statues and images on the wall. A young woman was sat crossed legged with a tablet on her lap, hacking away like she was attempting to play the piano. Doctor Jones turned to greet her with a big welcoming smile. The old man was nearly seventy but looked fresh and full of life. He whispered something to the woman sat at the desk and then approached Captain Abbott.

  ‘Captain, I am so glad you could come.’

  ‘You said it was important.’

  ‘It is the most important thing you could ever want to know.’

  From the look of excitement in his eyes, she knew he meant every single word.

  ‘What have you found?’

  ‘Everything,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘I have found... everything.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘This place is the greatest discovery in the universe. This place is the universe.’

  He could see the look of confusion on her face.

  ‘Walk with me. I will explain everything.’

  ***

  Rick was clearly enjoying the attentions of the beautiful young woman. He didn’t know that this whole experience was destroying Kimberly’s soul. The woman’s acting was worthy of an award. She smiled when he spoke, giggled at his jokes and fluttered her eyes. Rick was now wearing that seedy little look of a man that wants to fuck. She could see it in him. He wanted her because he believed she wanted him.

  ‘Have you ever had an affair?’ she asked him.

  Rick swallowed down the lump in his throat.

  ‘No.’

  He looked nervously around the room.

  ‘Have you?’

  ‘No,’ she admitted, ‘but we can change that.’

  He couldn’t hide his smile even if he wanted too.

  ‘Where can we do that? My wife is at...’

  ‘Come back to my place,’ she leant forward and whispered this next part in his ear, ‘and you can fuck me any way you want.’

  ‘What are we waiting for?’

  ***

  ‘The communication line should be coming on now,’ said April, her legs were sticking out from beneath the computer console. Sergeant Roland stood in front of the camera with his helmet removed. The screen fizzled into life, but it was completely static. ‘Hang on a second.’ There was an electrical hiss. ‘Fuck,’ cursed April. The image on the screen took shape to reveal the inside of an office. A young blonde woman sat at a desk, wearing a peace officer uniform gave the screen a puzzled looked and then swung her feet off the desk.

  ‘Matthews,’ she called to someone standing out of the camera’s vision.

  ‘I am Sergeant Roland of Earth Attack Force.’

  ‘Are you here to rescue us?’ asked Peace Officer Anderson.

  ‘No. We came down in the crash, too. I need to talk to your commanding officer.’

  A man came into view. He was an older man, greying at the temples. Heavy bags hung under his eyes and stubble covered his face. ‘I am Peace Officer Matthews. It is good to know that someone else survived the crash.’

  ‘Peace Officer Matthews, I am at the crash site with my team. We have been investigating what brought us down to this alien world. I need you to arrest and detain Captain Abbott for interrogation. My team and I will be there in a few days.’

  ‘What has Captain Abbott done?’ asked Peace Officer Matthews.

  ‘She ordered the A.I to bring us here. I want to know why. Can you do this?’

  ‘The law is the law,’ replied Peace Officer Matthews. ‘I will arrest Captain Abbott.’

  ***

  Slowly, she walked the length of the grand room, staring up at the detailed star map on the ceiling. Only now did she realise that this painting was alive. She could see some of the dimmer stars moving across the deep black of space. Doctor Jones was walking beside her as he continued to talk. There was so much information that it was going to be impossible to take it all in, but Jennifer wanted to try. This was the very reason she had come here. This was why she had listened to Gabriel.

  ‘There were beings on this planet that knew everything,’ explained Doctor Jones. ‘This world was a centre of excellence for all alien life forms. The all knowing beings would share their knowledge of the universe with everyone and anyone that wanted to learn. I believe these incredible structures, even the one we walk through, were constructed by the disciples of the beings. I don’t believe this was their home planet. This place was a school.’

  ‘So, all this was created by a super race?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Who are they?’

  ‘I have no idea. There is still so much to learn. I have found images of aliens from thousands of worlds. I have seen painting of landscapes that you couldn’t even believe. I have found churches of various designs and deities of incredible descriptions. This is the greatest discovery in the universe. Everything we need to know about life, science, space travel, medicine, knowledge and levels of knowledge we can’t even comprehend is all here.’

  Something had been bothering Captain Abbott this whole time.

  ‘If these beings are so great, where are they now?’

  ‘That is a good question. With time I will know more, which is why I asked you to come. I would like to have more people sent here to help me. The greater manpower I have, the mor
e information we will learn.’

  ‘That might prove a bit of a problem.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘They are all obsessed with these digs. They want to find alien artefacts.’

  ‘They will gain so much more from this city.’

  ‘I can schedule a meeting,’ Jennifer was cut off by the ringing of her radio. She pulled it off her hip. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Captain Abbott, I need to speak with you,’ said the voice of Peace Officer Matthew.

  ‘We have a meeting for later this evening.’

  ‘No, Captain. Something of the highest urgency has taken place. I need to see you now.’

  Jennifer let out a sigh.

  She didn’t fancy the drive back in the sandstorm.

  ‘Okay. I am on my way.’

  ***

  Rick kicked off the last boot of his space suit, as he pressed Kimberly up against the wall. His tongue slipped into her mouth, dancing a deep and private dance with hers. It took every bit of self-control for Kimberly not to slap this disgusting man across the side of the face. She squirmed away from him and headed down the hallway. He was on her like a cat playing with a ball of string. A strong hand squeezed at her ass cheek, as he pressed his lips against the back of her neck.

  ‘Let me get some more wine,’ said Kimberly, trying to get away from him.

  ‘No. I want you.’

  She turned to face him, placing a hand on his chest.

  ‘You will have me, but first, go into the living room and take off your clothes.’

  Rick thought about it for a second. ‘Okay.’

  They both headed into different rooms. Gabriel was waiting for Kimberly in the kitchen. His face was expressionless, as he stood leaning against a kitchen cabinet.

  ‘I did what you asked. I brought him to you.’

  ‘You did well.’

  ‘Where is my son?’

  ‘I will tell you when you have finished.’

  ‘When I have finished what?’ She had a feeling that she already knew what was coming.

  ‘You have to have sex with him.’

  ‘Why? Is this some kind of perverted game to you?’

  ‘If you want to see your son alive, you will do as I say.’

  ***

  Omar knew there was no going back now. He flicked off the safety switch of his assault rifle, as he power marched through the corridor of the crashed ship. His heart was beating faster and faster by the second. They must have got some of the systems back online, as the hatches were opening automatically for him. Omar passed from one corridor to the next. He skipped up a flight of stairs and moved straight to the command room. The others were too busy working away to notice his arrival. Two empty armoured suits were parked to the side of the room in standby mode. April was sat in a chair at a computer console, running diagnostics on the ship's systems. Sergeant Roland was stood by a computer read out, writing a list of things down on a piece of paper he held on a clipboard. Omar stopped in the doorway and raised his rifle. A single gunshot practically disintegrated the chair that April was sat on. The young woman was blown forward onto the terminal, as blood splattered across the monitors and sparks flew in the air. Sergeant Roland spun to face Omar and reached for the gun on his hip, but there was no gun. It was still in his armoured suit.

  ‘Why?’ he asked.

  The next gunshot blew guts against the wall, cutting Sergeant Roland clean in two.

  ***

  ‘Are you sure you know what you are doing?’ asked Peace Office Scarlet Anderson.

  ‘We have our orders,’ countered Peace Office Matthews, as he walked into the small box room he had claimed as his own office. ‘If Captain Abbott is the reason we are on this planet then she must be arrested.’

  ‘Does that really sound like something she would do?’ Peace Office Ryan Richards was sat at the main desk. It was the first thing anyone who entered the room would see. The general rule of thumb was that if there was someone in the office they had to be sat at the main desk, but it wasn’t like there was much crime in a community of twenty odd people trapped on an alien world. They could be sat there for their entire shift, doing nothing but reading novels or watching movies on the tablets.

  ‘I don’t know,’ replied Peace Office Matthews, ‘but you would be surprised by some of the crimes that nice people have committed. The truth of the matter is that we don’t know the woman. We have had brief encounters with her. Yes, she seems nice, but it is not our job to like or dislike people. Our job is to keep the peace and be the voice of justice. If Captain Abbott has committed a crime, then she will be punished, but if she has not then our investigation will reveal this.’

  ‘So, we arrest her?’ asked Scarlet.

  ‘We arrest her,’ he confirmed.

  ***

  Whimpers escaped from her lips with each roll of her hips. Kimberly straddled Rick in the centre of the couch. They were both naked. Rick’s sweaty hands grabbed her firm ass cheeks tightly, as he pulled her into him with all his might. Wet lips sucked on the peak of her tits, which was something she would have normally enjoyed, but today there was no joy. This was a job. This was something that had to be done to save her son. She wrapped her arms around the back of Rick’s head, looking beyond him as if trying to imagine that this wasn’t happening. Not once in her life had she ever looked at another man. Not once had she had a single naughty thought about fucking another man. Gabriel appeared in the doorway on the far side of the room. He stood there, expressionless. Her hate for this man bubbled within the pit of her stomach. Rick groaned loudly beneath her, as he lifted his ass up, forcing his dick deeper inside her body. Kimberly cried out, as a spark of pleasure ignited in her core. Disgust consumed her, had she really just enjoyed that?

  ***

  Omar changed the frequency on the computer console to a private channel and typed in an eight digit security code. The image of General Hitler appeared on the screen. He was in his early fifties, fine faced with a black moustache under his nose. The general greeted him with a welcome smile. It was the type of smile you would give an old friend you haven’t seen for a long time.

  ‘You have done well, Omar.’

  ‘Thank you, Sir.’

  ‘The threat to the other survivors has been reduced.’

  ‘What shall I do now?’

  ‘I have ordered a rescue mission, but it will take at least two years for the ship to arrive. Until then you must unite the survivors in a single place. The best way to do that is to head to Camp Cobra.’ Hitler’s face was replaced with a map of the planet. All five locations of the sleeping chamber beacons were visible. A big red arrow was pointing to Camp Cobra, which was roughly seventy miles away from his current position. Omar could see three additional camps that were must closer, but orders were orders. ‘You will find Captain Abbott and a man named Joseph. They must both be killed. They are part of the terrorist organisation that had led you to this planet.’

  ‘General, can I ask a question.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why did they bring us here?’

  ‘That question concerns me the most. I hope you will be able to find the answer.’

  ***

  Captain Abbott marched into the Peace Station and dropped her bag on the desk. Her eyes were wide as saucers because of the treacherous drive through the sandstorm. That was not something she ever wanted to experience, let alone twice in one day. She was also annoyed about being pulled away from the alien city. Doctor Jones hadn’t even begun to explain the vastness of his discovery. This was the reason she had allowed Gabriel to guide her to this planet. The knowledge they would unlock would make her the most famous space captain in all history, plus she would be a billionaire. Her bum was dropped down into one of the chairs at the desk. Only now did she realise the serious expression on Officer Matthews face. Scarlet and Office Richards had moved to block off the doorway but had their sidearms drawn.

  ‘What is going on?’ asked Jennifer.

  ‘You a
re under arrest for the Sabotage of the Remus Colony Mission.’

  ***

  Loud guttural snoring echoed throughout the house, as Rick went into a deep drunken sleep. Kimberly pulled up her panties and stepped out into the corridor. She could still feel him throbbing inside her. She could still taste his semen in her mouth. ‘I did what you asked,’ she growled at Gabriel. The man nodded his head in response.

  ‘You must download the internal security footage to a memory stick,’ explained Gabriel.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘You don’t need to know. Once it is done, you must delete all footage from your internal security memory bank. You don’t want your husband seeing what you have just done.’

  The very thought of it made Kimberly sick to her stomach.

  ‘What will you do to him?’ she pointed towards Rick.

  ‘I am going to do nothing. He is free to go when he wakes up, but I will be back to see you.’

  ‘You promised me I could have my son back if I did this, you promised!’

  ‘You’re son is sleeping peacefully in bed.’

  It took a moment for the words to sink in. Kimberly pushed by Gabriel, rushed down the corridor and dived into Christopher’s bedroom. Her beautiful baby boy was snuggled up nicely in bed. It was like he hadn’t even moved all night. Relief swept through her body, as she dropped to her knees and began to sob. He was alive. Christopher was alive and safe. Unconsciously, she looked back at Gabriel, but the tall man with the long white hair was gone. Rick’s loud snoring continued to rumble through the house. Carefully, she pulled the bedroom door too. Kimberly had work to do, and she had to get Rick out of her house.

  Chapter Four: Terrorists

  Peace Office Matthews swallowed down the lump in his throat, as Omar ducked down to get through the doorway. He had seen images of the armoured battled suits on the news networks. Everyone had seen images of the one man weapon of mass destruction during the colony wars, but seeing one up close was frightening, to say the least. It was hard to believe that there was a man inside the eight-foot tall machine. Omar placed his oversized assault rifle down against the wall. Peace Officer Matthews doubted that three men would be able to lift that weapon. The gun was the size of space shuttle cannon. Omar walked up to the wall and turned his back on the surface. The sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air, as the front of the armoured suit opened straight down the middle. Omar hopped out and stretched out his back. The young man was about six foot five, had the body of an Olympic athlete and wore nothing but a pair of combat trousers. His impressive build did nothing to disrupt the nerves of Peace Office Matthews. The look in Omar’s eyes was that of a killer. He gave off an aura of death.