Project Emergence

by Jamie Zakian

  “There’s a big announcement. Everyone’s supposed to be there. I came to get you.”

  “Come here.” Chuck gestured to the empty room behind him. “I could use some company.”

  Joey took a small step into the dim room. Sharp prickles ran up her spine. Her legs wouldn’t carry her beyond the edge of light cast by the open doorway behind her, so Chuck moved toward her.

  “Why is it so dark in here?”

  “For my dad.” Chuck pointed to his sleeping father, then grabbed her by the hand. “Come sit with me. Tell me what’s been going on out there.”

  “Well …” She looked at the hallway as Chuck ushered her toward a cot in the corner of the room. “I have to get back.”

  Chuck sat down, pulling her onto the thin mattress beside him. “I’ve been here just talking to my dad, and he doesn’t answer. You have no idea how horrible that is.”

  “Oh no, I get that. My brother won’t wake up either.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. We were attac—” Joey gasped when Chuck grabbed the sides of her arms. “Chuck.” She peered into his eyes, the frenzy within inciting a panic to whirl inside her chest.

  “I know why you’re here.” Chuck leaned closer to Joey, and she slanted back. “You were sent here to purify me.”

  Her back hit the metal bar of the cot and she wiggled her shoulders. “Chuck, what are you doing? Let me go!”

  Chuck yanked her against his chest. Her heart pounded with such fury; it obscured her flow of breath.

  “I need you, Joey. Only you can fix me.”

  “No!” Joey screamed. She thrashed her confined arms as her back slid down the cot’s railing. “Stop, Chuck, please.” Her cries became muffled when his weight bared down upon her, the springs of the thin mattress digging into her back.

  ***

  “Poor Joey,” Kami said while watching the old video feed of Joey prying their bedroom door open. “I can’t believe she went through all that.”

  “It’s what you would’ve done,” Rai said, switching off the video to begin his tedious hack into the mainframe.

  “No,” Kami said in a pitch so high it stung her own ears. “I would’ve sat here and waited for you to come get me. Then everyone would’ve died.” Her hands flew into the air as she thumped toward Rai. “What kinda coward does that make me?”

  “I don’t know.” Rai glanced at her during his rampant keystrokes. “That’s all hypothetical, Kami.”

  A huff burst from her mouth, and she drove her arms to her sides. “I can’t believe we just left Joey alone. She’s probably freaking out right now.” Her legs carted her in a circular pace, which only built her frustration. She stopped, then kicked a stuffed bear across the room. “She’s probably curled up in a corner, crying her eyes out.”

  “That was her teddy bear,” Rai said, without looking up from his screen.

  “I should go thank her.”

  “Don’t you dare!” Rai stopped typing and peeked over his laptop. “Then she’ll know about the camera.”

  “I’m not stupid.” Kami scowled before heading toward the mangled door. “I know how to be cool.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion.”

  She waved Rai off and left the room. It wasn’t until she reached the landing that her irritation wore away and terror set in. No shuffle of feet, smiling faces, or loose chatter. Just an oversized, barren spacebus. It reminded her of a cheesy horror flick from the old days.

  Shivers quaked her muscles, and she crossed her arms to rub the chill from her body. After only one step, the pound of boots echoed from afar. She squeezed against the wall when Jesse stormed down the hallway at the opposite end. Her eyes bunched up. It couldn’t be him. She staggered onto the landing as he cut a corner, marching from view.

  “Jesse?”

  She hesitated, convincing herself it was just a figment only to become one hundred percent positive he was real. A warning sounded in her mind, but she hit the mute switch and hurried down the corridor after Jesse.

  ***

  Sabrina stepped into the cockpit, and Natalia jumped from her seat.

  “There’s something wrong,” Natalia said while tapping her frozen touchscreen. “The computers aren’t responding to my commands.”

  “That’s because I’ve taken control of the ship.” Sabrina stood tall as Natalia turned to face her.

  “Excuse me?” Natalia roared. Her eyes narrowed, and she moved closer, bumping Sabrina with her shoulder.

  “I’m gonna need you and all your personnel to report to the cafeteria for a debriefing. Right now, Ms. Kozlov.”

  Natalia propped her hands on her hips. “We’re not going anywhere. And you have two minutes to reverse whatever the hell you’ve done to my ship.”

  “Or what?”

  The thump of footsteps shook the floor beneath Sabrina’s boots. Every person on the flight deck crept forward, surrounding her. Their cruel eyes, vicious snarls, sparked a shudder of surprise, which quickly warped to a seething rage.

  “If you and your crew don’t come with me right now, you’ll all be detained.”

  “By you, Ms. Stone?” Natalia snickered, poking Sabrina on the shoulder. “Your little mission is over.”

  Sabrina flinched when a man’s chest brushed against her back. Knuckles cracked and a twisting firestorm ignited in her gut. Little silver airman pins clipped to crisp white shirts glinted in her eyes as people closed in around her.

  “This ship belongs to God,” Natalia said. She pulled a bloodstained knife from her belt, a heated frenzy surging behind her eyes. “We are all His shepherds.” She raised the blade to Sabrina neck, smirking. “And we will guide this vessel to His kingdom.”

  ***

  Joey screamed, hurling her elbows into Chuck’s sides. Her legs kicked, her knees jabbed, but Chuck’s wide body forced her deeper into the cot.

  “Please, Chuck. Don’t!” she cried, turning her head from the tongue that slithered along her cheek.

  “No!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs until a palm covered her mouth.

  Chuck gathered both of her wrists inside one of his large hands, then thrust her arms over her head. This was her fault. She did this to herself by leaving Jesse’s side, by throwing away her true friends. His lips slicked against her ear and her stomach churned. She bit the hand that covered her mouth. Big mistake, because it slid down her cheek, along her side, then slipped under her shirt.

  “You’re my angel, Joey. You’ll see. We’ll cleanse each other.”

  Her temples throbbed, her chest burned, and she could no longer control the quake of her body. Rai’s face popped into her mind. His gentle stare and soft touch. If only he were here now. But he wasn’t. There was no one left to save her.

  She wiggled her hips, trying to squirm free, which only made Chuck grind against her harder. Screams grated her throat. The howls did nothing to prevent fingers from unbuttoning her jeans, but she couldn’t stop the shrieks. She yanked her pinned wrists when Chuck’s body flew off her. A rush of cold air stung her heated skin, and she scurried back into the corner of the cot, drawing her knees to her chest.

  Through a blur of tears, she glimpsed her brother’s fist slam Chuck’s face. She wrapped her arms around her legs, squeezing tight as Jesse continued to shell out a beating.

  “Don’t ever.” Jesse delivered a blow that dropped Chuck to his knees. “Touch.” A bone cracked under Jesse’s knuckles, echoing around the room. “My sister.” With a strike square to the nose, Jesse sent Chuck flailing to his back. “Again!”

  Chuck rolled onto his side, groaning, and Jesse kicked him in the gut.

  Joey clung to her legs. She wished she could disappear, turn back time, and never leave home, but what she really wanted was for Jesse to stop kicking Chuck and come to her.

  Kami ran into the room, then stopped short as Jesse punted a downed bloodied Chuck. Joey almost jumped off the cot and ran toward Kami, but
there was something horrible inside Kami’s stare. Joey could see it clearly. It was a look that said damaged girl walking. That must be what she was now, ruined.

  “I’ll kill you,” Jesse seethed. He crashed his foot down on Chuck’s chest, sending a spurt of blood into the air, and Kami dashed forward.

  She grabbed Jesse by the arm and yanked him away from Chuck. “That’s enough,” she yelled.

  Jesse ripped himself loose from Kami’s grasp. The violence in his eyes continued to blaze as he stomped toward the cot. Joey cringed. That look trapped in Jesse’s glare and the fact that she was now ruined incited a whirlwind of terror. His balled fists might fly at her next. But they didn’t; his fingers uncurled as he knelt down in front of her. He wiped the tears from her cheeks before lifting her from the scratchy mattress.

  Her arms wrung around Jesse’s neck, his tight grip slowing the tremor of her body. She peered up at his strong face before dropping her head to his shoulder. The fire that singed beneath her flesh dwindled once her brother carried her into the light of the hall.

  “How did you …?” she uttered into his shirt.

  “I could feel your panic. It pulled me from the darkness, dragged me into the hall; then I heard your screams.”

  Jesse’s grip on Joey tightened, and he looked down at her. His heavy steps slowed, and a smile broke his hard glare.

  ***

  Rai leaned back in his chair, arms cupped behind his head. His laptop softly ticked while running five programs at once. Not even close to the biggest hack he’d ever preformed but definitely the most important.

  While he waited for the ship’s navigation history to download, he scanned the live video feeds. The lower levels remained bare, only shadows lurking in the corners. He smirked, imagining the commotion on the flight deck now that he’d locked the crew out of their own system. A staff trained solely in technology with no tech to be found—priceless.

  “I gotta see this,” he muttered, his fingers gravitating to the keys. He flipped through the videos with a light chuckle. When the feed stopped on the control room, he jumped to his feet. “Oh crap!” Rai sprinted from the room, his side bouncing off the wall in the hallway. He cut the corner, sliding to a stop in front of the elevator. His finger pounded the button, foot tapping the floor.

  “Rai?”

  Reflex took his fists up as he turned, and Mr. Reyes jumped back. “Is everything all right?”

  “No!” Rai yelled, irritated by the high-pitch of his tone. “Sabrina’s getting the shit kicked outta her in the control room.”

  Mr. Reyes dashed to the wall and ripped an access panel off its hinges. “Come on. I know a shortcut.”

  ***

  Kami trudged down the corridor. Her eyes stuck to Jesse’s back, and the tremble of Joey’s hands upon his neck. She felt so guilty. Every single one of her instincts told her not to leave Joey alone, yet she allowed her stupid brother to lead her from the room. And look what happened; this was all her fault.

  A clank of metal echoed down the hall, and Kami tensed. She grabbed the back of Jesse’s shirt, pulling him to a stop before the landing could fall into view. “Wait,” she whispered, her fingers curling around the soft fabric. “There’s, like, a killer on the loose or something.”

  Jesse placed Joey’s feet on the ground, keeping her tucked under his arm. “If I start asking questions now, we’ll be here for at least an hour,” he said quietly. “Tell you what. If there is a killer out there, I’ll just beat him down too.”

  “You’re different,” Kami said, leering at Jesse.

  “Hey,” Joey said in a slightly raised but still hushed voice. “You don’t even know him. Just ‘cause your brother picked our names from some virtual hat doesn’t mean you know anything about us.”

  Joey’s words stung like a slap to the face. In fact, Kami would have preferred a backhand, at least that she was used to. “Joey, I …”

  Jesse swayed in place, his hand dropping to his side. “Let’s not take this out on Kami.” He gazed into Kami’s eyes, a tiny smile lifting his lips. “She didn’t have anything to do with this, mostly.”

  Kami clasped her hands together. Her stare drifted down, fingers winding tight. She had everything to do with it. Rai said no, so she hacked the database, added the names, and then blackmailed her brother into sending the letter. It wasn’t right to let Rai take the fall, but she couldn’t fix this mess if they hated her too.

  “You know.” She almost stopped there, but then that nagging burn in the pit of her stomach would fester. “Rai’s not a bad guy, and I think he really likes you, Joey. I’ve never seen him act this way with any other girl.”

  Joey slumped against the wall, glancing toward the landing. “Either way, he shouldn’t be alone right now. This ship is like a smorgasbord of psycho sandwiches.”

  “Where is Rai?” Jesse stepped into the middle of the corridor, looking both ways. “And everybody?”

  Kami crept past Jesse, peeking into the landing.

  “Everybody’s dead,” Joey said, her voice low and shaky.

  “What!”

  “There were so many bodies, Jesse. So many.”

  Kami watched Jesse embrace his sister with such affection. Her shoulder sagged against the wall. In her whole life, she had never been held that way. Waves of sadness nearly drew her under, but she swam through, shaking the swells from her mind.

  “The coast is clear,” she muttered, turning away from the warmth she’d probably never know. “Come on.” Her feet thumped as she strolled from the corridor. It didn’t matter if the killer slashed her up; nobody would care anyway.

  “Rai’s in my room.” She ducked below the window of the jam-packed cafeteria, then hurried toward her hallway.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sabrina bashed her forehead against Natalia’s nose. Before the woman could stumble, she elbowed the man who stood behind her on the corner of his jaw. The stun gun slid from her holster with ease, its soft hum providing a hint of comfort.

  Fingers swiped at her arm, and she thrust her weapon over her shoulder. She zapped the man who reached for her just as a searing ache sliced into her side, robbing her of breath. The stun gun slipped from her hand as she stared down at the hilt of a knife, buried deep into her stomach, spilling her blood onto the floor. Liquid rose into her throat, drowning her cry.

  All at once, hard knuckles pounded every inch of her body. She dropped to her knees, covering her face. The blade slipped farther into her gut, and blood spewed from her mouth, letting loose her trapped wail. A knee rocked her cheek, cutting her cry short.

  Angered shouts, intense pain, and the coppery taste in her mouth all seemed to fall under a shimmering fog. Instead, she saw herself upon the stage at the U.N.E. Commander Sun pinned that golden stripe upon her chest, and the crowd cheered. What an honor, the highest rank a soldier could achieve within the Unified Nations of Earth. She was going to change the world, make a difference to the human race. Except now she was going to die on the cold floor of a spacecraft adrift in a dark ocean of nothing.

  A punt sent her flying across the room. She crashed against a desk, landed with a thud. The knife scraped her insides as she rolled to her side, a groan escaping her split lips. These few seconds without a beating were pure bliss.

  “You know what, Ms. Stone,” Natalia’s cocky voice crowed over the throb in her head. “You may have stolen the ship’s controls from me, but I can still crash this bus into the side of the wormhole.”

  On the cusp of a red haze, she watched Natalia walk toward the central power control.

  “God always finds a way,” a man sneered from across the room.

  In this moment of agony, Sabrina could die on the cold hard floor and not care. She was ready to go. But those children, the remainders of humanity, would not perish under the will of psycho fanatics, not while she held breath.

  She dug her nails into the carpet, and heaved herself forward. Her glare fixed
on Natalia. That woman’s face brought a surge of hatred into Sabrina’s veins, invigorating her dead limbs. She pulled herself closer. Her arm stretched out and the tip of a boot swung into her face, flashing the world to flickers of white light.

  Warm blood showered her face as she landed on her back. Her head sank to the side. For some reason, her mind saw Rai crouched behind a desk and signaling for her to hold on. It couldn’t be real; he couldn’t be there. How she hoped he wasn’t there. The boy would be killed by this pack of animals.

  ***

  Joey flinched when Jesse grabbed her arm. She’d never recoiled at her brother’s touch before, but every hand that grazed her skin felt like Chuck’s rough palm.

  Jesse pulled her back, slowing their pace, as Kami cut around a bend. “I kinda forgive them,” he said softly, lagging behind. “I don’t know what Rai said to you, but it feels like they had a really messed-up life.”

  Joey was so relieved. She wanted to forgive the Matsuda twins five minutes after tossing them out of Jesse’s room, but was afraid to seem weak. Jesse was far from weak. If he could overlook their lies and invasion of privacy that easily, so could she. “I know what you mean. Kami didn’t even know how to cuddle when I climbed in bed with her.”

  “You got in bed with Kami?” His voice amplified as it traveled down the barren halls, along with his chuckle.

  “Yeah! I got scared. And there’s no way I’m sleeping in here tonight.” She stopped in front of her mangled door, gesturing to the carnage of her room.

  Jesse gawked the entire time he crept past the scraped, indented door. “Who wrecked the place?”

  “I wrecked the place!” Joey exclaimed. A creak echoed down the empty hall and she hurried inside.