Sinister Shadows

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ‘Did you arrest her?’ he asked.

  ‘We have,’ replied Scarlet, thumbing the direction of the one-way glass window.

  Omar stepped up to the window and looked at the beautiful woman handcuffed to a chair.

  ‘It is hard to believe she is the cause of all of this.’

  ‘What will you have us do now?’ asked Peace Officer Matthews.

  ‘Your job is finished. I will deal with the interrogation.’ Omar took a moment to glance at all three Peace Officers. ‘Do not come in no matter what, do you understand?’

  ***

  Dust fell from the old wooden doors, as a loud creak echoed through the ancient building. Joseph looked up at the towering alien structures all around him. They were so high they from here he couldn’t even see the top floors. The architecture was so foreign to him that he couldn’t even begin to imagine the beings that constructed such incredible buildings. It was like the alien buildings were a work of art with interlinking images carved into the face of the building. The images were colourless but held faces of people that no man had ever seen. Joseph lowered his eyes to the old wooden church between the strange buildings of this alien city. It looked so out of place. The lights of his space suit shone into the interior of the church. His boots clicked off the floorboards, as he walked down the centre aisle. Stain glass windows ran down the walls. Benches, covered in a thick layer of dust, filled the room. At the end of the room was an altar. A seven-foot construction of Christ during the crucifixion stood before him. The image of the face was identical to the man that helped him turn off the artificial intelligence just before the crash.

  Why was there a Christian church on this alien world?

  ***

  A solitary figure walked through the barren landscape of dust, approaching the mountain of sparkling blue crystal that shone like a beacon of light in this dead world. Annie dropped to one knee, gasping for air. Her breath was starting to mist up the inside of her visor. Nervously, she glanced at the tablet screen built into her left forearm. The oxygen readout was in the red. Her eyes looked back at the truck she had come here in. It was parked on the ridge behind her. A big part of her wanted to climb back inside and head back to the town. She didn’t want to die out here alone.

  ‘Annie, you must stand up,’ said Noah.

  He stood before her without a spacesuit.

  ‘Take my hand.’

  Annie looked at the outstretched hand. Her breath was getting harder to catch. In a minute she would be dead. In a minute she would suffocate to death on this alien planet. Would anyone find her body? That was a horrible thought to consider. She would be left out here to rot. Her sister would never even know what happened to her. Digging deep, she reached for Noah’s hand. He helped her to get to her feet. Annie stumbled after Noah, as he headed to the base of the crystal mountain.

  ‘You are nearly there,’ he encouraged her, ‘just keep going.’

  Annie wanted to stop.

  She hardly had any strength left in her.

  Her head was starting to feel dizzy.

  The glow of the crystal shone all around her, as she reached out towards the surface, but the surface disappeared. She tumbled head first into a small room that glowed blue like the inside of an aquarium. The wall behind her reappeared, cutting off the landscape. A hissing sound filled the room.

  ‘Take off your helmet,’ instructed Noah.

  Annie gasped for air that wasn’t there.

  ‘You have trusted me so far, take off your helmet,’ Noah spoke with urgency.

  What did she have to lose?

  Annie unclipped the helmet and yanked it off her head. Unconsciously, she swallowed a big deep breath of air. She was certain that she was going to breathe in the toxic atmosphere and die on the spot, but to her surprise, she could breathe. Noah let out a cheerful laugh, as his shoulders sagged in relief. Annie gulped in the fresh air.

  ‘I can breathe.’

  ‘You can breathe,’ he confirmed.

  ‘What is this place?’

  ‘This is my ark.’

  ***

  Gabriel looked over her shoulder, as Kimberly sat in front of the houses only computer console. She had edited the internal security footage as ordered. She had deleted the original copy and backed it up to a memory stick. That part she was pleased about, as it meant her husband would never have to find out about her betrayal. No one will ever know what she did last night. Half a day had gone by, and she could still smell him on him. Would the stench of his sex ever leave her now? Would Graham forgive her even if he knew that she was forced to do it?

  ‘I don’t think I can do this part,’ said Kimberly.

  ‘You do this or I will tell your husband everything,’ countered Gabriel.

  ‘I have done everything you asked.’

  ‘And this is the last thing you will have to do for now.’

  Her eyes scanned the e-mail she had written out.

  It was horrible.

  It was cruel.

  It went against everything she represented.

  ‘Send it,’ ordered Gabriel.

  She clicked the send button. It was done. There was no going back now. She prayed to God that this act would bring an end to this cruel night, but she knew the truth. This was just the start of another nightmare. What choice did she have? She had to protect her son. She had to hide her horrible betrayal from her husband. She had to keep going.

  ***

  Rick sat behind his desk at the Delta Dig site. Six members of the dirt covered dig team were in front of him. Andrew was the Team Leader of Dig site A, while Nathan was the Team Leader of Dig site B. Stood beside Andrew was Graham, what would the man do if he knew how hard Rick had fucked his wife last night? Rick drummed his fingers on the table top as he listened to the reports. In twenty minutes he had a meeting with the filthy rich arseholes that were paying his wages. He had to give a progress update on the dig site. Part of him wanted to tell them to fuck off. This wasn’t Remus. This wasn’t the job they had hired his crew for. So far Rick’s crew had moved from site to site in an attempt to find alien artefacts. The first three sites had offered very little, but they had been supplied with good information that Delta site was a gold mine of alien artefacts. The initial underground scans have revealed several chambers and large rooms very similar to a burial site. The problem was that swapping Managers, Team Leaders and Diggers around came easily to the millionaire couple in charge of the operation. If they said to jump and you didn’t ask, how high? They would kick you out of a job faster than you could blink. Rick believed he could trust his crew, but with the money they were waving around, he couldn’t blame his crew if they stabbed him in the back. His men were talented pooled because of their knowledge, experience and skill. Any single one of them could do his job. If Rick didn’t go to the meeting with some decent information, there was a good chance he would be demoted. Nathan was showing some images of artefact finds on his tablet, but it was nothing of much value. Rick was half listening, as he flicked through his e-mail inbox. One had just come through from Kimberly. Unconsciously, he opened the e-mail.

  His heart almost stopped.

  He glanced at Graham and then at the e-mail.

  Had that bitch lost her mind?

  The e-mail simply read.

  ‘Rick, I want you to stop the dig and move to another site. If you do not, I will send the internal security footage of us fucking to your wife.’

  ***

  The three Peace Officers stood outside of the one-way window in silence. Captain Abbott was hanging out of her steel chair, only the handcuffs pinning her wrists to the arm of the chair kept her from falling to the floor. She spat blood and groaned. Her face was badly swollen, and her lips were cut. Blood trickled from her broken nose. Omar stretched out his bruised fist, as he circled the interrogation room.

  ‘We can’t let him do this,’ said Scarlet.

  ‘He outranks us,’ explained Matthews.

  ‘This isn’t right,’
added Richards.

  ‘I want to know why you changed course,’ demanded Omar.

  ‘Why do you think I changed course?’ Jennifer groaned. ‘What the fuck was waiting for these people on Remus?’ Omar stopped talking and listened. ‘All we do is ship people from one struggling world to the next, giving them the fake promise that everything will be fine on another planet. These people spend their fortunes, give up everything, and it is all for a lie.’

  ‘So, you took us to some forgotten dead world?’

  ‘This isn’t a dead world. This place is full of life, full of riches and full of knowledge. I changed course because this is a chance for these people to be part of something phenomenal.’

  ‘She has gone mad,’ muttered Matthews.

  ***

  Joseph knelt before the wooden statue of Jesus crucified on the cross. Tears dropped from his eyes and splattered on the space suit visor. This was proof of God’s existence. This was proof that his dedication to Christ had been worth it. They had called him a fool when he had left for Remus. Joseph had told them that God had instructed him to go there. He had seen it in a dream, but had it been a dream? It hadn’t. God had guided him here.

  ‘That was a painful day,’ said Jesus.

  Joseph spun around to face the bearded man sat on the wooden bench behind him.

  The white robe glowed from within, casting a beautiful light within the church.

  ‘You are here.’

  ‘I am here, Joseph. You have done well.’

  ‘How do you have a church here?’

  ‘I am the son of God. I have been too many worlds.’

  ‘There is life in the universe?’

  ‘There is more life than you could even imagine.’

  ‘What happened, my Lord? How come you have not returned to Earth?’

  ‘Forces of darkness stopped me. I have been trapped in this world for thousands of years.’

  ‘How is the son of God trapped on an alien world?’ asked Joseph, and then instantly regretted questioning the word of the Lord. ‘I apologise. I forget myself. I shouldn’t have...’

  ‘It is understandable, Joseph. The forces of light and the forces of darkness have powers beyond even my comprehension. The dark ones constructed a weapon to trap me here. I need that weapon to be destroyed so I can leave here and continue my work. I always believed someone would come to save me.’

  ‘I will do anything you need me to do.’

  ‘I know you will. Together we will be able to stop the dark ones and save all life, in every world.’

  ‘I am your servant.’

  ‘Good. Things are already in motion. We must move fast,’ said Jesus, getting to his feet.

  ***

  Annie’s jaw hung so far open that it was practically dragging on the floor. Her eyes looked up at the treetops of the tropical forest. Colourful four winged alien birds flew through the air, as foreign animal sounds echoed through the dense forest. The solid floor of the alien ship had been replaced with the squelchy surface of wetland. Insects buzzed all around them, as she followed Noah into the forest. Something big let out a loud roar in the distance. Annie didn’t know what the creature was, but instinct dictated that she put as much space between her and it as possible.

  ‘You are safe here,’ said Noah.

  ‘How can you be sure?’

  ‘I just know,’ he replied.

  ‘This is your arc?’

  ‘This is just one room within my arc.’

  ‘How many rooms are there?’

  ‘There are thousands of rooms created for beings from a thousand different worlds.’

  ‘What are you?’ she asked.

  ‘I am the guardian of the galaxy. I explore the universe and seek out dying worlds. I save as much of that world as possible. They live on my arc until I am able to find a new and suitable world for them. My duty is to maintain the continuation of life. I would like you to help me.’

  ‘You want me to help you?’

  ‘Is there no greater calling in life?’

  ‘Why would you want me to help you? I am nobody.’

  ‘No,’ Noah replied, shaking his head. He cupped her cheek in his right palm. ‘Right now, you are the most important person in the world. Your very existence will save millions of worlds and an uncountable amount of lives. I will be honest with you, Annie. I cannot do this work without you.’

  ***

  Christopher’s infectious laughter echoed through the house, as he sat on the floor watching his favourite television show. A man in colourful clothes was unsuccessfully watering his garden of plastic flowers by spraying his neighbours with water from the hose. It didn’t matter how many times Christopher watched the same episode he laughed like he was watching it for the very first time. Kimberly headed by her son, wrapped in her fluffy pink dressing gown, as the computer terminal beeped repeatedly. Taking a long deep breath of air, she sank down into the seat nailed to the floor and answered the call. Rick’s face appeared on the screen. Hate was the first emotion she could see within his eyes. The man looked like he was ready to kill someone.

  ‘What the fuck do you think you are playing at?’ he growled.

  Kimberly had never had anyone look at her with such disgust.

  She wanted to flick off the monitor and hide away, but she could not.

  Gabriel had told her what to say. He knew Rick would reach out to her.

  ‘I want you to stop the dig,’ said Kimberly.

  ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

  She braced herself, ‘I want you to stop the dig.’

  ‘Did your fuckwit of a husband put you up to this?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What do you want from me? You want money? I could have paid you for the fuck last night.’

  Kimberly nearly gagged at the thought of it.

  ‘If you do not stop the dig I will send the video of us to your wife.’

  ‘Do it,’ said Rick.

  ‘I am not bluffing.’

  ‘I am not either,’ he countered, ‘show my wife. I can always find another wife.’

  The communication line was cut off.

  ‘Shit...’ cursed Kimberly. Now, what was she supposed to do?

  ***

  It took every ounce of energy for Jennifer to open her eyes. She was still strapped to the chair in the interrogation room. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her face. Every single part of her body ached. Omar was nowhere to be seen. He had either got the information that he wanted, or he was giving his fists a slight rest. Kneeling in front of Jennifer was Gabriel. The long-haired man with the black makeup running down his face was looking concerned.

  ‘Are you still with me?’ he asked.

  ‘I think so,’ she mumbled through cut lips.

  ‘My backup planned failed. It appears humans are more stubborn than I thought.’

  ‘I could have told you that from the start.’

  ‘I am running out of options,’ said Gabriel. ‘I need to stop the dig.’

  ‘What is so important about the dig site?’

  ‘There is someone in there that cannot be let out.’

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘It was a person who did a very bad thing.’

  ***

  Joseph ignored his roommate’s protests, as he marched sand and dirt through the corridor of their living quarters. It was standard procedure that families were designated individual living quarters, where available, single travellers would share until further accommodation opened. Joseph didn’t even bother to remove the helmet of his spacesuit, as he rushed up the metallic stairs and into his bedroom. Jesus was stood by the porthole window. His heavenly glow was the most welcoming and beautiful thing Joseph had ever experience in all his life. This man made you feel safe and loved. Joseph opened the metal locker on the wall, dragged out a few pairs of shoes, spare clothes and tossed the empty bags onto the floor. At the bottom of the locker was a metal box. Joseph carried the box over to the bed and began to tw
ist the dial.

  The box flicked open.

  ‘Good,’ whispered Jesus.

  Joseph pulled a handgun from the metal box. It had belonged to his brother. It was a special design to be used in various environments, mostly for colonies that experience alien bug infestations. His brother had been adamant that Joseph takes the gun with him. Joseph had humoured him. The gun was the symbol of his brother’s protection, something he would no longer have now that they were half-way across the galaxy from each other. Joseph was starting to think it was more than just blind luck now. His brother was supposed to give him this gun. Only with this weapon would he be able to do the work of God.

  ***

  Thousands of multicoloured tubes came down through the ceiling like vines in an overgrown forest. The tubes were as thin as a children’s crayon but clearly held an important job. All around Annie were small glass chambers filled with clear liquid. It was the type of thing you would see in an aquarium for displaying the small species. Inside the chambers were motionless foetuses. The small tubes were connected to their body, periodically allowing the strange coloured liquids to be inserted into their system.

  ‘This is my growth centre,’ said Noah.

  ‘You’re growing people and animals?’ asked Annie, concern in her voice.

  ‘I am, but only for species that are about to be extinct. As I mentioned before, I go to dying worlds and save everything and everyone I can, but sometimes I arrive late. There have been times when I have only saved one hundred types of a certain species, how can that species ever hope to survive in a new world with such a limited number? What is the point in saving them from one world just to make them die on another? So, I export DNA from the survivors and use that to create new life. When I release them to the new world, when a suitable one is found, I release the survivors and the ones I have grown. This will ensure the survival of the species.’