Sinister Shadows

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ‘What about the families?’ Melanie asked.

  ‘I will meet with them and explain what happened. They need to know Captain Abbott was a terrorist and that we are victims of a terrorist attack. This will unify the community. Peace Officer Matthews, I would like you to take the bodies of Captain Abbott and her accomplice and leave them out on the planet’s surface for the animals to deal with.’

  ‘We are not burying her?’

  ‘No. We will bury the victims within the camp, but the terrorists will be taken out into the wasteland.’

  ***

  Kimberly knelt down in front of her husband, placing one hand on his shoulder. The man was crying his heart out, as he buried his head into the palms of his hand. He rocked back and forth, back and forth. Kimberly had never seen her husband like this. She wasn’t sure how she was going to react once she saw him. Graham hadn’t been home since she had seduced and slept with Rick. How was she going to be able to look at her husband after having another man inside of her? In a strange way, she was pleased with what happened at the dig site. She hated the fact that people died, but Graham was so wrapped up in what happened that he hadn’t noticed how awkward she had been.

  ‘I’m a coward,’ he sobbed.

  ‘You’re not,’ she tried to reassure him.

  ‘The others are all dead.’

  ‘You were lucky to survive. You cannot blame yourself.’

  ‘No,’ he looked up at her. His eyes were red raw, and tears ran down his cheeks. ‘I hid. I heard the gunshots, and I got scared. I could have got on the radio and called for help, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to die. I hid in a cupboard in the cabin. I didn’t make a sound until it was over. I am a coward. I left them all to die. I left them all to die!’ He buried the balls of his palms into his eye sockets and cried.

  ***

  The pain in her heart was more immense than anything she had felt before. Sheridan couldn’t remember the day her mother had died; she had been just a toddler. She only had two brief memories of the woman. It had been her father who had raised her. It had been her father who had worked the most awful of jobs to put a roof over her head and food on her plate. The longest she had been away from him was eight weeks for the police academy, but even then he changed jobs to be close by to her. And now he was gone. Her father, who was the kindest man she had ever known, had been murdered in cold blood by a terrorist.

  ‘Sheridan,’ whispered the voice of her father.

  For a long moment in time, she thought it was just her imagination.

  ‘Sheridan.’

  She looked up at the man standing in the bathroom with her.

  It was her father.

  He was smiling down at her.

  ‘Dad?’ She threw herself off the edge of the bath and into his arms. ‘You’re alive,’ she sobbed.

  ‘No, I am not, baby girl.’

  ‘What?’ she pulled back, looking up into his eyes. His eyes were full of life.

  ‘I am dead. I was killed.’

  ‘How are you...?’

  ‘It is this planet,’ he explained. ‘There is something about this place that is special. I don’t know how I am back, but I know I am dead.’ He looked momentarily confused but regained his composure. ‘I need you to arrest the person that killed me.’

  ‘Captain Abbott has already been shot and killed.’

  ‘It wasn’t Captain Abbott who shot me.’

  ‘Who was it?’

  ‘Omar.’

  Sheridan stood in silence for a moment, whilst digesting this new bit of information. Fires of hate began to bubble within the depths of her stomach, as she clenched her fists into tight balls. ‘I will fucking kill him.’ She headed for the door, but her father grabbed her by the elbow.

  ‘No. He is too dangerous, and you have no evidence.’

  ‘Then what do you expect me to do?’

  ‘Go to the crash site. I don’t know why, but I know there is evidence of other crimes he has committed.’

  ***

  Matthews grunted and groaned, as he carried the wrapped her remains of Captain Abbott off the track and behind a boulder. The body of Joseph wrapped in a white cloth was already there. The peace officer dropped her down and then stretched out his back. It felt like every single vertebra wanted to be popped back into place. Captain Abbott was surprisingly heavy for such a slim woman. Matthews glanced back towards the base. The blue glow of the electric fences illuminated the horizon. No one could get out of the base without the code to bring down the electric fence, but even if they did they wouldn’t find the bodies of the two terrorists out here. There would most likely be nothing of the remains by this time tomorrow. Already four winged alien birds were circling overhead.

  ‘I don’t know why you did it,’ said Matthews, turning back towards his truck. ‘I never pegged you as the type of person that would kill innocent people.’ Matthews paused in mid-stride and looked back at Captain Abbott’s body wrapped in cloth. ‘Who were you trying to stop?’ When he had found her, she was adamant about stopping someone from doing something terrible, but there were only two men in that room. One of them lay dead beside Captain Abbott right now, and the other was Omar. ‘Which one were you trying to stop?’

  ***

  Omar took centre stage of Bar-A. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit and carried no weapons. The last thing these people needed was to see him in his armoured tank suit. Omar took in a long deep breath of air in an attempt to calm his nerves. Public speaking was not one of his strengths. The very thought of it was frightening. How could he happily walk into a war zone, but the thought of talking to grieving families caused butterflies to flutter within the depths of his stomach? Melanie stood by his side in a show of support. Only a dozen family members of the victims from the dig site murders had turned up for the meeting. Omar knew it was the best way to settle things down after what had happened. The first five minutes of the meeting were grieving mothers, husbands, wives and children shouting accusations at Omar. He had stood tall and taken each and every cruel word. He had tried his best to save those men, but Joseph had killed them all before he had arrived.

  ‘Captain Abbott is a terrorist,’ announced Omar. ‘She brought us all to this dead world. Her plan was to kill us by crashing the ship into the planet, but she failed. The artificial intelligence implemented the emergency systems and ejected all the deep sleep chambers and survival equipment. Captain Abbott had to change her plans and planned to murder each and every one of you.’

  The people sat at the various tables in the bar and listened.

  ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your families. I am just like you. I never imagined that Captain Abbott was the one that was doing all this to us. If I knew that was the case, I would have arrested her the moment I came here. For that I am sorry. She tricked me as much as she tricked you, but now she is dead. Peace Office Matthews caught and killed her.’

  ‘That doesn’t bring back my father,’ shouted a young woman.

  ‘No. It doesn’t, but now more of us won’t have to die because of her.’

  ‘We are all victims of a terrorist attack,’ said Melanie. ‘We all lost people in the crash.’

  ‘The other survivors are scattered across the planet. I plan to find them and bring them back here. Soon the long distance transmitter will be fixed, and we will be rescued. I promise you this,’ said Omar, but he knew that these people didn’t care. They were too consumed by the loss of their loved ones to even think about their own survival. The sound of sobbing made him want to keep talking, but he knew there were no words. What can you say to people who had just lost someone so important to them? There was nothing. All he could do was protect them and secure this base. Getting them off this planet was the best thing he could do for them now, words were not his strength, and there were no more words to say.

  ***

  ‘What are you doing?’ asked Ryan, returning to Sheridan’s quarters with a plate of food. The beautiful young woman was zipping up the fr
ont of her space suit. Ryan allowed himself a brief glance at her toned, slender body and cute perky breasts before looking away.

  ‘I am leaving,’ replied Sheridan.

  A selection of weapons was placed on her bed beside her.

  ‘Where do you think you are going?’ Ryan put down the food.

  ‘I am going to the crash site.’

  ‘Why?’ Ryan wasn’t sure what to do. Sheridan was acting strangely.

  ‘Omar killed my father and I need evidence.’

  ‘Omar! Why would he kill your father?’

  ‘That is what I plan to find out.’

  Ryan tried to think of a way to talk her out of this. The grief was making her act irrationally.

  ‘Why would there be evidence at the crash site. I don’t understand.’

  ‘Omar has killed before. There is evidence at the crash site.’

  ‘How do you know this?’ Ryan stepped forward towards her. ‘I know you’re upset...’

  ‘He killed my father,’ she reiterated, picking up her gloves. ‘He will not get away with it.’

  ‘You’re upset, Sheridan. You are not acting like yourself.’

  ‘He doesn’t understand. You can’t explain any of this to him, yet,’ said her father.

  Ryan was oblivious to the dead man’s presence.

  Sheridan secured the straps on her boots, spacesuit and gloves. ‘I have made up my mind.’

  Thinking on his feet wasn’t Ryan’s greatest strength, but the man had a good heart and was as loyal as a dog. ‘Fine, I will come with you.’

  ‘No, Ryan. If I am going, I go alone.’

  ‘You have no say in this matter. If you don't listen to me, then let me come with you.’

  Sheridan looked at her father. The old man thought about it for one long moment in time and nodded. Ryan followed his best friend’s line of sight. All he could see was an empty corner of her bedroom. He knew Sheridan well enough to know she wasn’t acting right. Was this part of the grieving process? It didn’t matter. She was stubborn enough to go off on her own. He knew this about her. The best thing he could do for her was to be by her side.

  ***

  ‘General, come in?’ asked Omar, as he played with the touchscreen computer built into the left forearm of his armoured suit. The space marine grunted to himself, as he paced back and forth the office that had belonged to Captain Abbott. ‘Can you read me?’ He tried another private military communication channel, but once again no response came back. Omar didn’t like it. General Hitler had been out of action since he released the green toxic clouds from the alien laboratory. He had half expected another assignment straight away. Had the communications line been cut somehow? Did this mean there were still more terrorists running loose on the planet? Omar didn’t know. Thinking about it hurt his head. There was only one course of action. He had to locate all the survivors of the crash and bring them back here. If he had everyone in one place, then their chances of survival would drastically increase. It meant he would also be able to keep an eye on everyone as well. If there was another terrorist, he would be able to track them down with the Peace Officers support. For now, his mission was search and rescue.

  ***

  A frown creased Matthews’s brow as he pulled in through the garage door. The garage held three trucks and four motorbikes. He parked into the empty bay in the middle, whilst keeping his eyes on Ryan and Sheridan. The two of them were suited up and carrying shotguns. Had something happened in the short time he had been gone? Matthews killed the engine, attached the helmet of his spacesuit and hopped out of the cab. Ryan looked guilty as charged as he walked over to him. Officer Richard’s didn’t know where to look or what to do. He looked like one of those kids you caught pinching sweets from a shop.

  ‘Where are you going?’ asked Matthews.

  ‘The crash site,’ said Sheridan, strapping a supply bag to the motorbike.

  Matthews could tell from the tone of her voice that she was angry.

  He glanced at Ryan, but the young man returned with a shrug of his shoulders.

  ‘What is at the crash site?’

  ‘Evidence of the crimes Omar has committed,’ counted Sheridan.

  Matthews unconsciously glanced over his shoulder towards the airlock back into the main base. He wanted to double check that no one had snuck in and had heard what they had just said. He turned back to the others. Ryan was stood still like a statue not really sure what he should be doing at this moment in time. Matthews could see that the young Peace Officer wanted to be loyal to his friend, but then there was a chain of command. If Matthews gave the order, Ryan would arrest Sheridan right now.

  ‘What makes you think he has committed a crime?’

  ‘He killed my father,’ said Sheridan.

  ‘Captain Abbott killed your father.’

  ‘No. You know that isn’t true.’

  Matthews hesitated for a moment. That nagging thought lingered in the back of his mind. Something deep down in his stomach knew the truth. Captain Abbott did not murder those men. She had always been a good woman. Yes. Her behaviour was erratic and confusing at the end, but who was she trying to stop? She kept saying she had to stop someone. Did she mean Omar or the headless body? Did Matthews trust Omar? The quick answer to that was no. There was something distrusting about the man. Matthews couldn’t put his finger on it, but he just knew.

  ‘I have my suspicions about him, too,’ admitted Matthews.

  ‘You will let us go?’ asked Ryan.

  ‘Yes, but I expect you back in twenty-four hours.’

  ‘That’s all the time we need,’ replied Sheridan, swinging a leg over the motorbike. ‘I will find evidence that he is a murderer. You just need to think of a way to get him out of that armoured suit.’ Matthews had been thinking about that subject himself. Omar’s suit meant no one could touch him. The Peace Officers had weapons, but nothing that would leave a dent in that armoured tank suit. So far he hadn’t come up with a single idea to get the man out of his suit. Omar never wanted to be out of the suit for too long anyway.

  ‘We will face that problem when the time comes.’

  ***

  An hour later an Omar was heading off across the barren landscape. The roar of the motorbike echoed across the dead land, warning off any possible threats. The visor of his armoured suit illuminated every heat signature by forming a red square around the target. Nothing of real danger had been brought to his attention as of yet. Most of the creatures out here were small rodent-like creatures or birds that looked like vultures. Omar had calculated that the nearest camp would only take a few hours to reach because of the terrain. He might have to spend the night there to help the survivors prepare for transport, but he expected to be back at camp by tomorrow night. It was the only way for them to survive. The more numbers they had, the greater fighting force he had.

  ***

  Matthews crossed his feet upon the desktop and sank back into his chair. He released a long deep breath and allowed the tension to flow from his muscles. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t get the murderers at the dig site out of his mind. Something about that whole situation felt off.

  ‘Who was Captain Abbott trying to stop?’ he asked the empty office.

  If there is anything to find, Sheridan and Ryan will find it at the crash site. Matthews wasn’t really sure what outcome he was hoping for, but he knew he couldn’t let this go until he knew what had truly happened. His thoughts drifted by to Kimberly. She had come to him accusing the dig site manager of rape. That had been the only reason he had been there. Sheridan was now dealing with Omar, and even though Rick, the dig site manager, was dead the investigation had to be concluded. If Kimberly was a victim of a horrible assault, then she deserved justice.

  Where to start?

  He would have to talk to Rick’s grieving wife.

  Reviewing the internal CCTV footage was important.

  Matthews sighed.

  His brain was tired. His body was tired.<
br />
  How could he conduct an investigation when he just wanted to sleep?

  It was going to be a long night.

  He closed his eyes.

  Twenty minutes sleep would give him all the energy he needed.

  ***

  Kimberly tasted the spicy chicken soup and moaned happily. It tasted delicious. The husband always loved her special spicy chicken soup. She thought it might help him change frequency after what happened. He hadn’t said much since taking the medication from the doctor. Kimberly didn’t know what was worse. The constant crying had been worrying, but the silence felt worse. She popped her head in on Graham. He was sat in the living room, staring at the wall. She reassured herself that he would get better. Her feet headed down the corridor towards her Christopher’s room.

  ‘Are you sure I won’t get into trouble?’ asked Christopher.

  Kimberly paused outside the open door and listened.

  ‘I don’t want to be naughty,’ he whispered.

  Kimberly looked through the doorway.

  Her son was sat on the edge of his bed, looking up at... nothing.

  ‘I don’t think my mum would want me to do that,’ he replied.

  A sickening sensation pulled down on the pit of her stomach. Who was he talking to?

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, stepping into the room.

  ‘Nothing,’ he blurted out, looking like he had just been caught red-handed.

  Kimberly looked around the room. There was no one here.

  ‘Get out of here now. Go sit with your father.’

  ***

  ‘Where am I?’ asked Matthews, he looked around the circular room of free standing mirrors. The room beyond the mirrors disappeared into the darkness. Slowly, he turned on the spot taking in his surroundings. There had to be at least thirty mirrors all around him. The mirrors were oval in shape and were held up by a beautiful wooden stand, which had incredible dragons carved into the wood. In every mirror was the reflection of his naked body.

  ‘You must find me,’ whispered a voice in his ear.

  Matthews turned to the gorgeous woman with the long black hair.

  The woman was slightly shorter than him, by at least half a head.