Keltie’s eyes beaded up with tears. “Done. But you’ve got to live in order to claim it.”
Charsworth let go of Keltie’s hand, and when he did, Keltie looked down to see a coin with a golden Earth on it. “If you don’t think aliens are bad, look us up.”
“Maybe you were right,” Keltie said. She studied the coin and pocketed it. She had to figure out a way to save him. “Perhaps—”
“Don’t try to distract me,” Charsworth said. “I know what you’re doing. Your only way out is through the window. You don’t have much time.”
Smoke billowed through the bottom of the cockpit door. The fire in the ship was intensifying.
Keltie looked into Charsworth’s eyes and wished there was more she could do.
She crawled to Alistair’s side and tapped his helmet and called his name. But he didn’t respond.
“Alistair, wake up,” she said. She unclicked his seat belt and tried to lift him up.
But he was too heavy.
She couldn’t carry him. He weighed more than her, and his suit was at least another fifteen pounds. Not even adrenaline could help her lift him.
“You have to go!” Charsworth said. “Stop hesitating! I wouldn’t have done it for you!”
Keltie screamed Alistair’s name again, but nothing.
Her breathing quickened and she might as well have been watching a video of herself. She couldn’t control her responses anymore.
Her vision narrowed. Her heartbeat sped up. She thought of her family. Her niece. Her sister. How they’d cry over her.
Her hand went down to her handcoil tucked on her belt. She unhooked it and stared at it solemnly.
“Do it!” Charsworth screamed. “What are you waiting for? Just—”
Without looking, she shot the cockpit window several times.
Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!
The needle-like bullets only cracked the glass at first. Then the cockpit glass puckered up and dropped into the cockpit in a large, snow-like sheet. A rush of strong wind blew through the ship, almost knocking her back. She jumped out of the ship and onto rocky ground. Looking back, she saw Charsworth lying unconscious from exposure to the atmosphere. Ice blanketed his face instantly. And Alistair. Still there, breathing but unresponsive.
She shook her head and broke into a run.
All around her, black swirls circled the sky.
There were corsairs down. All were burning.
And bodies. Bodies everywhere. All lying dead, groaning or somewhere in between.
The staging settlement was in the distance. The greenhouse was still smoking.
Keltie ran as fast as she could. She had no choice but to try to make it to the settlement.
A black cloud chased her. Its red eye glinted in the fiery carnage.
She stumbled, landing hard on her face.
She looked up to see the dark cloud right in front of her, glaring at her with its single eye.
It wasn’t an eye.
It was a mass of red, like curdling blood. Evil whispers emanated from it, as if it were trying to communicate.
Something grabbed her wrist and she closed her eyes, waiting for death.
Zzzt! Zzzt!
Coil shots.
Claire pulled her up. She had a handcoil. The black mass retreated.
“Come on!”
They ran, holding each other’s hands as the dark cloud rebounded and chased them.
The blue sky darkened again, and all around them, black masses surged into the air like a flock of bats.
“There’s a corsair in the settlement,” Claire said. “It belongs to the staging crew.”
“You don’t think it’s destroyed, do you?” Keltie asked.
“Let’s hope not.”
They entered the empty city. The simulated houses had a creepy air to them now, like a graveyard-in-waiting.
They ran down the long avenue to the greenhouse. On the other side, a corsair sat ready to fly. Keltie’s heart jumped upon seeing it.
“Let’s go through the greenhouse,” Claire said.
They opened the door and ran into the greenhouse’s airlock. A giant door with interlocking teeth blocked them.
“Open, open, open,” Keltie said, jamming the yellow and black buttons next to the teeth-like door. After a few seconds, the door opened vertically and they ran into the dome.
They passed through rows of flowers and vegetables. The air was stifling hot.
The dark clouds followed them, roaring. They gathered on the greenhouse’s dome, and their red eyes pulsed.
The dome cracked. The cracks appeared like spiders skittering in the surface, and then—plastic chunks crashed around Keltie and Claire.
“The dome is polycarbonate,” Keltie said. “How could they crack it so easily?”
The clouds spilled into the greenhouse.
But they didn’t fly for Keltie and Claire.
Instead, they swirled around the top. The clouds broke off into smaller wisps. They were pulsing—something Keltie hadn’t seen them do until now. The clouds moved higher into the sky, swirling around the air, pulsing stronger.
“The gasses,” Claire said. “They’re reacting to the greenhouse gasses.”
They broke through to the other side of the greenhouse and looked back.
A huge black cloud gathered in the sky around the fractured dome, pulsing and throbbing.
“Are they feeding?” Keltie asked. Every cell in her body revolted at the cloud’s behavior.
“Who cares!” Claire said.
They dashed toward the corsair. The rear bay was open.
Keltie dashed up the inclined bay door and hit the close button.
Then she heard a scream.
A black cloud circled Claire. She pulled out her handcoil to defend herself.
Slowly, the bay door began to rise.
Keltie whipped out her handcoil, dropped to her knees and aimed.
The black cloud rose into the as if to dive down for a kill.
Keltie fired.
Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!
The bullets connected. The cloud flew away, but then circled back for Claire.
“Come on!” Keltie screamed.
Claire bolted for the bay door. Keltie ran to the edge and held out her hand.
The door was closing, closing, closing…
She grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her on board. She smiled at Keltie.
The door jammed.
Keltie stumbled forward.
The black cloud had hold of Claire’s leg.
Claire looked at the cloud, then again at Keltie, and her smile turned into horror in an instant.
Keltie had no choice but to let go, screaming the whole time.
Claire’s arm caught on the sharp edge of the bay door. She screamed a blood-curdling scream as the cloud pulled her away.
And then the ripping. The tearing. The shearing of fabric and the rapid-fire beeping of a life support system.
As the bay door closed, the last thing Keltie saw was Claire’s eyes widening as the oxygen leaked from her suit.
Chapter 9
Keltie ran into the cockpit and fired up the corsair with tears in her eyes.
The auto-exit system started and the corsair lifted off the ground.
She rocketed upward, leaving the chaotic battle scene far, far behind.
She escaped into the upper atmosphere with no trouble, but the sky was black now. It was covered in clouds of the swarm.
“No…” she said.
She saw an opening. Outer space was so close, and stars twinkled in the tiny opening, big enough for the ship to fit through.
She steered toward it, nudging the joystick ever harder. She focused all of her being on it.
She neared it…
Closer, and closer…
And then the hole closed.
She screamed as the corsair sailed through the black mass.
It tore out of the other side, and to her surprise, the mass didn’t gr
ab the ship.
As she re-entered space and looked back at Kepler, the entire planet was covered in darkness, as black as space itself, full of red, angry eyes. They surrounded the planet like cockroaches in a feeding frenzy.
She turned the ship in the direction of the luxury cruiser.
And then she saw it. Black swirls mixed in with the cruiser’s smooth gray surface.
They were eating the cruiser.
Keltie froze.
How could even an alien life form operate in the vacuum of space?
There was no hope for the crew onboard the cruiser.
Keltie turned the corsair away, flying from the planet as fast as she could go.
She pressed the distress button and sent an emergency message to the closest star base.
“My name is Keltie Sheffield and I’m in danger. I’m on the planet Kepler and I’ve been attacked by aliens. Please help me. I’m in a corsair at coordinates one point two nine five four three seven.”
Her panel beeped.
Message transmitting…
“Hurry up!” she screamed.
She had one last option…
In any other case it would have been a terrible, terrible choice.
She didn’t want to do it.
It would have spelled her death.
The training manuals cautioned against it again and again.
Rookie spaceship pilots made the mistake all the time.
She had no choice.
But just a few seconds more—the message wouldn’t send once she did it.
Message transmitting…
Behind her, a huge black wave pulsed toward the corsair.
She broke the glass of a nearby panel with the butt of her handcoil and pressed a ruby red button. The ship’s voice responded.
Are you sure you wish to enter hyperspace?
Keltie slammed the button again.
By activating the hyper core, you acknowledge the risk.
She hit the button again, this time so hard she jammed her finger.
Activating jump core…
She could feel the interior of the ship swelling as sonic waves pulsed through it. A shrill alarm sounded and lights flashed red. The area in front of the corsair bloomed into a brilliant purple, radiating light as the corsair jumped forward into hyperspace—just before the black mass could grab it.
The acceleration pushed Keltie into her seat, and she held on, gritting her teeth.
The alarms stopped. The red lights stopped flashing.
Her seat belt unclicked and her body adjusted to the faster than light speed.
Weightlessness disappeared instantly as gravity returned to the ship.
For once, she could breathe.
Successful entry into hyperspace.
The panel beeped angrily.
Insufficient fuel. Only one hour of hyperspace remaining. Fuel at twenty-five percent. Please refuel as soon as possible.
Keltie sighed.
Then the panel spoke again, this time in an elevated tone.
Your distress message failed to send. Please exit hyperspace and try again.
She didn’t have enough fuel to make it home. If she left hyperspace now, she wouldn’t be able to return.
She sank into the pilot seat and sobbed.
Chapter 10
The ship’s panel beeped again, reminding her of the low fuel.
The computer’s persistence stopped her tears.
She had to concentrate.
She checked the interior oxygen levels and, seeing that they were safe, took off her helmet and wriggled out of her suit. Her blazer and blouse were drenched in sweat. She unclipped her pearl necklace and rubbed the spots where the pearls had indented her skin. She let her hair down and gazed sadly out the window.
What would happen to her?
She tried to force thoughts of her obituary out of her head.
Her uncle had died this way. Lost in space. He was out on a routine trip to a neighboring planet and his ship simply disappeared. They never found it. There was always some hope that he might come back, but it was a universal scientific truth that no one could live in space without oxygen and food. A private passenger spaceship would run out of fuel and shut down after a few days. Then the food supply would run out. Then, when the generators stopped, the oxygen. She didn’t know what worse: oxygen deprivation or starvation.
That would be her fate now.
No.
She wouldn’t let it happen.
She didn’t know how, but she would beat this. She had so much more to live for!
She threw herself into the pilot seat again with renewed vigor and checked the star map.
She had no idea where she was. The luxury ship had done all the navigating while she entertained the clients. That put her at a disadvantage.
She zoomed out of the star map and tried to find her location in the galaxy when the lights on the ship cut off.
An alarm sounded as darkness fell over the cockpit.
Fear seized her and her stomach clenched.
The sudden deceleration threw her against the back wall. Outside, purple hyperspace dissolved into black, and regular space appeared again. There was nothing around for light-years.
She checked the control panel.
No power.
She tried to reboot it, but the computer chimed.
Auxiliary power activated. Please refuel or consult an engineer.
“But there was plenty of fuel!” Keltie cried, as if the ship would respond. “How could this happen?”
Distress beacon activated. Please send message before energy conservation begins.
Her emergency message popped up on the control panel. The ship had saved it for her.
She hit send.
Transmission sent successfully. Beginning energy conservation…
She kicked herself. She didn’t amend the message.
The coordinates were wrong now. She should have recorded another one.
Crap!
Why had the ship lost power all of a sudden?
She scanned the panel for any sign of problems. But there were no frayed wires or damaged parts.
Why did this seem so familiar?
The luxury cruiser.
The power had gone out there mysteriously, too.
She glanced at the fuel levels.
Fifteen percent.
“Oh, God,” she said.
If she didn’t do something, she wouldn’t have long to live.
Chapter 11
The first thing Keltie did was let her hair down.
She threw her hair ties on the floor.
She dressed down to her white tank top and shorts.
She rooted around the salon and gathered her food in a pile on the floor.
Tuna. Tuna. Tuna? God, more tuna!
Peanuts.
Canned fruit—cocktail blend, with the weird cherries she hated.
Evaporated milk.
Cheddar slices.
She tallied everything, divided it into the tiniest rations she could.
Enough food for a week.
Long enough for a rescue crew to find her. She could even miss meals and make the rations last even longer.
Water supply was clean. It would last her a week, too.
She climbed into the rafters of the ship, into the cramped crawl space illuminated by starlight, and checked the oxygen filters.
Decent shape.
Kepler’s atmosphere had been tough on them. A lot of dust.
But workable. Maybe three or four days as they were. She pulled them out, got into her spacesuit, and took them into the airlock. She banged them against the walls, loosening most of the dirt and dust inside.
She left the suit and the dust cloud in the airlock and then jettisoned them into space. The clean air filters might last an extra day or two.
She cut off every panel, switchboard, and auxiliary light. She found a flashlight in a glass case along with a fire extinguisher and a handcoil.
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She could navigate any corsair in darkness, so she didn’t need much light.
Returning to the bridge, she verified the distress beacon was still working. Thank God it was.
She knelt and she prayed.
Then her eyes went to the clock.
Why did she do that!
It had only been forty-five minutes…
She closed her eyes again, trying to make herself numb to the passing of time.
She clasped her hands together and memories of Claire streamed across her mind’s eye.
She fought back tears.
Claire. And Alistair. And Emina. Kamala. They were good people, and they died for nothing!
She hated the alien life for what it had taken away from her. She shook with anger and wanted to fight them…
But she realized she was no one. She was just one woman, less than an atom in the grand scope of the universe.
She was powerless.
She was useless to fight something so much bigger than her.
A crying choke caught in her throat.
But then she stopped.
“I’m going to get through this. I am. I just don’t know how yet…”
She rocked in her chair, staring out at the stars.
***
“My name is Keltie Mae Sheffield.”
She spoke into the ship’s recorder camera.
The black box could hold up to six weeks’ worth of videos. She had to do something to pass the time.
“I am twenty-six years old. I’m a real estate agent for the Macalestern Corporation. I live at 2601A Nye Street. And I’m…”
She stopped.
What else could she say about herself without making this an autobiography?
She watched the blankness of space, trying to gather her thoughts. Then she continued, eyes sober.
“I watched as an alien life form devoured the planet Kepler. I just watched all of my friends and colleagues die. I lost my best friend, Claire Westington, who just got engaged. I lost my colleague, Alistair, a loan officer who was the hardest working man I’ve ever met. And so many other good people. I am the only survivor of the incident. I couldn’t save my friends, and… it’s… something I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my life. I may not ever make it home again, but if anyone finds this video, please know that my friends fought for their lives. Everyone on that planet was a hero.”
Phantom Planet (Galaxy Mavericks Book 2) Page 5