Darkness

by Kyle West

  “But first, we have to rescue my katana,” Anna said.

  “Rescue?” I asked.

  “It’s in the captain’s quarters,” Julian said. “You, Michael, and Grudge are the only ones with weapons.”

  “I saw them take it there,” Grudge said. “These women might have a lot in the way of crazy, but not a lot in the way of firepower. Only a few of them have weapons, so we need to strike now while we have the chance.”

  Ashton at last succeeded at powering down the computer.

  “Locked down,” he said. “And only I have the password. This ship isn’t going anywhere unless I say so.” He looked at each of us pointedly. “The password is ‘bubbles,’ should something happen to me out there.”

  “You’re not dying out there, Bubbles,” Anna said.

  Julian snickered.

  “Look, this is not a time for jokes,” Michael said. “We need to get a move on.”

  I nodded. “Right. Michael and I can take point, Grudge can watch our backs. Be careful out there. We’re trying to be quiet. No shooting or killing unless absolutely necessary. Let them attack us first. This might be a big ship, but we’re sure to run into someone out there. Elias is probably on the bridge – maybe we should start there.”

  Everyone nodded. I had no idea if what I was saying was right or not, but I guessed we would soon find out.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  ***

  We exited the power room and entered the dark corridor. For now there was no sound. Elias had probably pulled everyone back to fortify the bridge.

  If that was the case, it was going to be a hard fight.

  Our footsteps echoed coldly on the deck. I could hardly see, but Michael strode forward boldly. He suddenly turned left. It took my eyes a moment to find a flight of stairs leading up.

  I followed after him. The entire group’s footsteps clanged on the metal stairs more loudly than I’d expected. It was dead silent otherwise on the ship, almost as if it were abandoned.

  As Michael crested the last step, a shadow charged from the side, tackling him. With a guttural yell, Michael threw the crazed woman off of him just as another struck him from the front

  I ran forward, not daring to shoot in the darkness. I tackled the shadow that was gripping Michael. Quickly, I brought down the butt of my gun on the woman’s head. I felt a huge thump and the body crumpled beneath me. The other woman hissed, but I heard the sickening sound of Anna’s knife slicing through her neck. A few gurgles sounded in the corridor.

  Anna rushed to finish off the woman I had downed with a swipe of her knife. It had all happened in about ten seconds. My heart rushed as I primed myself to face more attackers. But no one else came. The ship was silent once more.

  “Let’s keep moving,” I said.

  Michael turned to the left and began walking, which led forward. I had no idea how Michael knew which direction to go – or even if he knew which direction to go.

  We passed an intersection where a corridor went off to the right at a ninety-degree angle. We had lost our flashlights – apparently, the Community had seen fit to keep those – so we were walking blind. I saw nothing down that corridor, but had to trust that Grudge was going to watch our backs as we advanced. We kept walking along the length of the ship, finally arriving at a corner.

  “This is it,” Grudge whispered. “I saw him take the katana in here.”

  Ahead was a metal door. Hopefully, Elias was somewhere else for the moment.

  Michael tried the latch, finding it unlocked. The door swung slowly inward, revealing the darkness within. It was quiet and the room stank. I guessed nothing in it had been washed in a while. I tried not to gag as I walked inside, keeping my wits about me in case someone really was hiding in here.

  “I have no idea where it is,” Grudge said. “I just saw him walk in here with it.”

  Anna forged ahead. A moment later, I heard the sound of the blade being unsheathed from its scabbard.

  “It was on the bed,” she said, her tone disgusted.

  “Come on,” Ashton said. “Let’s take control of this ship.”

  We turned and exited the room. Even if we did have more weapons and fighting experience than these women, I didn’t relish the thought of killing them. Even the two that had attacked us on the stairwell had been too much. It was just too much blood. And yet, I didn’t see another way out of here. This ship was the only way out of here – otherwise, we were stuck. The only other possibility was Makara and some of the Angels coming after us. Somehow, I had the feeling that by the time that happened, we would be long dead. No, we had to do this and we had to do it now. Even if that meant killing.

  Too much depended on us staying alive.

  We hesitated in front of the door, as if we all had the same thought.

  “So,” Julian said. “Just charge the bridge and hope for the best?”

  Ashton shook his head. “It will be a bloodbath. There has to be a better way of doing this.”

  “Well, the ship is locked down, at least for the moment,” I said. “Maybe we can escape to the surface, try to raise Makara...”

  “And leave a bloodthirsty cult with access to nuclear weapons behind?” Anna asked.

  “Well, they can’t use the weapons if they can’t even get the ship online...”

  Anna sighed. “Maybe they have a way of figuring it out a lot faster than we would think. We must keep this ship from leaving this Bunker if it’s the last thing we do.”

  I knew Anna was right. Maybe there wouldn’t have to be bloodshed. Maybe the threat of it would be enough.

  “If we can just kill Elias...” Julian said. “Maybe the rest will come crashing down.”

  “He’s sure to be guarded by all of his followers,” I said. “They seem quite determined.”

  “It’s the only way,” Grudge said with finality.

  “We’d have to mow down dozens just to get to him on the bridge,” I said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Anna said.

  “Alex has a point,” Ashton said. “We can’t just kill all of these people.”

  “Well, how else are we supposed to do this?” Grudge asked.

  No one said anything. We had been silent only a moment when all the lights flashed back on. I ducked into the captain’s quarters, and everyone else followed after me.

  “They have the damn ship online!” Ashton said.

  The entire ship thrummed as the fusion drive came to life. The floor and walls gave a subtle vibration that signified the ship’s latent power.

  Were they really going to try and...

  Everyone cried out as the ship gave a sudden lift.

  What?

  “Damn it, they’re taking off!” Ashton said.

  “They can’t fly this thing,” Anna said. “They’ll just crash it.”

  Anna was right. Even if Elias said he knew how to fly the ship, he’d never actually flown it before. But that didn’t seem to be stopping him.

  The ship rose ever higher. We were all still pressed to the deck.

  There was no question, now. We had to get to that bridge before Elias could launch any nukes.

  ***

  Aeneas rocketed upward at a lightning pace. A minute later, the pressure from the deck eased up, causing my stomach to sink. Aeneas had slowed to a midair hover.

  Quickly, everyone stood, grabbing their weapons.

  “What now?” Anna asked.

  Footsteps sounded from the corridor outside the captain’s quarters. There were at least two people running this way.

  “Wait for it...” I said.

  Two women suddenly stood in front of the doorway – a girl, perhaps my age, with wide brown eyes and long brown hair, and the woman I had seen earlier – the blue-eyed one that I felt was against Elias.

  “Don’t shoot,” she said. “We’re not with them.”

  “Who are you, then?” Anna asked, not lowering her blade.

  “I’m Deborah,” she said. “Leader of the Resist
ance.”

  The Resistance? So not all of these women were under Elias’s spell.

  “Where are the rest of you?” Anna asked.

  Deborah shrugged. “It’s just me and Ada here.”

  “What?” I asked. “There’s only two of you?”

  “Hey, you want our help or not?”

  “Yeah, of course we do,” I said. “It’s just you’d think there’d be more people against that nutcase.”

  “Well, we got the ship taken off,” Deborah said. “That’s plus one for us.”

  “You did this?”

  Deborah smiled. “Sure thing, Twenty Questions. I had to do something before they were ready for it. But we don’t have time to yak.”

  “But how...”

  “Didn’t I say there was no time? We need to hustle. They know someone’s on this deck and the battle will be starting at any second.”

  “Battle?” I asked. “What battle?”

  “There’s another ship out there!” Ada said. “It’s coming this way.”

  “It’s Makara,” I said. “It has to be.”

  “Makara?” Deborah asked.

  “Come on,” I said. “We need to get to the bridge.”

  “They’ll kill you,” Deborah said.

  “Not if I kill them first.”

  I walked out of the Captain’s Quarters, past Deborah and Ada, and into the corridor.

  “Guess that works, too,” Deborah said.

  Chapter 16

  I took to the stairs down to the main deck. As we entered the anteroom, there were about ten women gathered around a mess of scattered vegetables and plates. One of the tables and many of the chairs had been overturned. I pointed my Berretta ahead, watching for signs of sudden movement.

  The women ducked behind the tables as the rest of us arrived downstairs.

  “These have no weapons,” Deborah said. “It’s the ones on the bridge we have to worry about.”

  The women continued crouching behind the tables, staring at us with wide eyes.

  One of them turned toward the corridor leading to the bridge.

  “They’re coming!”

  With a curse, Deborah started forward once again. Having no other choice, we followed her past the women toward the main corridor that led to the bridge. Footsteps pounded from the corridor ahead – reinforcements were coming, alerted by the woman who had shouted.

  Deborah raised her handgun and gave a few warning shots. This was followed by a few screams from ahead. I was sure Elias was regretting making Deborah one of his guards; it was the only way she could have had a gun.

  Though Deborah was now on our side, it didn’t exactly tip the odds in our favor. We still had to take control of the bridge, and I didn’t see how that would happen without losing people along the way. All of the higher-ups and guards in the Community had weapons – anywhere from ten to twenty of the women, along with Elias.

  I didn’t have time to make any sort of decision, however. A woman, with hands over her head, approached from around a corner where the corridor ended.

  “Don’t shoot,” she said. “Elias requests your presence. Without bloodshed.”

  “What for?” I asked.

  “The other ship is threatening to attack,” the woman said. “He needs you to call it off.”

  “Only if everyone gives up their weapons,” Anna said.

  I wondered why Elias didn’t just shoot at the other ship. Then I realized that he had never piloted this ship before. Of course he would be leery of getting into any sort of battle. He hadn’t counted on being attacked the second he left Bunker 84. Makara would win this fight, hands down.

  Only, Makara was threatening to attack without knowing we were on here. And to let her know that, we had to go to the bridge. But as soon as we went to the bridge, we would be surrounded by Elias and the Community.

  There was no way to win.

  “No,” I said. “I’d rather we all went down in flames.”

  Anna brushed me aside. “If your leader agrees to not attack anyone, then yeah. We will help. Neither side can have weapons if this is to work.”

  “How can we guarantee no one has weapons?” Ashton asked. “We can’t, and there isn’t time to devise a system we can all agree with. All we have is each other’s word.”

  I didn’t trust this woman or Elias’s offer. I was beginning to think that charging the bridge was the best bet. I had no idea what Elias’s game plan was, but I knew we probably didn’t really fit into his scheme for the Ascension once it came into full fruition. Now might be our only chance to take the ship once and for all.

  But was I willing to lose people along the way?

  I looked from Michael, to Julian, to Grudge. Ashton and Anna both looked at me, awaiting a decision.

  “There has to be another way,” I said.

  “Unless you have a better idea, this is it,” Anna said. “Makara needs to know we’re on board before this place gets blown to smithereens.”

  “So we let her know once we storm the bridge.”

  “We’ll all be dead if we do that. I’m sure they have the place fortified.”

  “Of course,” the woman from ahead said, “you must surrender all your weapons before you enter the bridge.”

  “We need a guarantee,” I said. “If Lyn agrees to be held for ransom, we can go in and take care of the other ship.”

  The other woman’s eyes widened, showing that this was not a possibility.

  “Tell Elias that,” I said. “That’s the only way we’re coming in there.”

  “That is unacceptable,” the woman said. “We can offer someone else...but not Lyn.”

  “Lyn seems to be the only person who means something to Elias,” I said. “We want her or we’ll let your ship burn before your precious Ascension can work out.”

  The woman scowled, but said nothing in reply. She still wasn’t budging.

  I tried to think of other options. But I came up blank. If we had Lyn with Michael and perhaps Julian standing guard, I felt confident that Elias wouldn’t try anything once Makara was called off. There was the problem of what to do after that, however. I couldn’t think that far ahead. My idea was far from perfect.

  Anna was right, though. At least one of us had to go to the bridge. And if that person went, we deserved to have someone in return.

  “I see no other option,” I said, staring ahead.

  “We’re not actually doing this, are you?” Grudge asked.

  I had no idea what was right. There was no good option. I felt like we were screwed, no matter what we did.

  The woman turned and fled back to the bridge, guessing my intent. It was time. We had to charge the bridge and take out the Community once and for all. My hostage idea would not work out, in the end. We had to leverage Makara attacking to our fullest advantage and strike now.

  That was when I heard screams come from the bridge up ahead.

  “She’s attacking,” I said.

  We ran forward to the corner. I saw it wasn’t exactly a corner; it was just a hook in the corridor that made two ninety-degree turns – one right, then one left, a few feet later. When we poked around this corner, the corridor led straight to a wide opening, through which I could see the bridge, massive in comparison with Gilgamesh. A large screen displayed a map of the United States in topographic detail, and beyond that I could see gray, tumultuous sky through the ship’s wide windshields.

  A massive shape that was not Gilgamesh shot past the windshield, causing more screams to fill the air.

  “Makara sure is flying that thing fast,” Julian said.

  “No, that’s not Makara,” I said.

  I ran ahead. If the situation was as bad as I thought it was, then Elias stabbing us in the back was the least of our concerns.

  It looked as if our xenodragon hadn’t gone away.

  ***

  I sprinted to the bridge, the others in tow. Anna’s voice came from behind.

  “Alex, be...”

  I
entered the bridge. There were about a dozen women, along with Elias, waiting. They cast us a momentary glance before fixing their attention once more on the window. Apparently, we were also the least of their worries for the moment.

  Lyn stood next to Elias near the pilot’s seat, which was empty.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “The harbinger of the End Times,” Elias said. “Chaos.”

  Anna, without a word, made her way to the pilot’s chair, taking up the controls. Elias did not protest, and in fact stepped away in order to give Anna space. He watched without a word. He gazed at me, his dark eyes blazing. It was hard to read that expression. Was it fear? Anger? Desperation? It was as if he was trying tell me not to get any ideas about taking control, even if things were not going according his plan.

  I went to stand next to Anna as Ashton took up the copilot’s seat. Everyone else formed a protective ring around the two of them.

  I took stock of the situation. As the ship veered lightly left from Anna’s steering, I saw that quite a few of the women had guns in their hands. Seeing those guns in contrast to their worn dresses was a bit jarring. I tried not to focus on how hopelessly outgunned we were and instead scanned the gray skies ahead. For now, there was nothing.

  “Picking up something from starboard aft,” Anna said, swinging the ship around.

  Ashton was quiet, focused, awaiting Anna’s instructions. She swung the control stick further round. He bent to the radio.

  “Gilgamesh, this is Ashton on Aeneas. Do you read me?”

  Lyn’s hand twitched on her gun, but Elias stayed her hand. I kept my own hand on my Beretta.

  “We need to coordinate strategy with Gilgamesh in order to bring this thing down,” Anna said. “I wonder if that dragon is...”

  Makara’s voice came through the speaker.

  “Ashton? What the hell you doing on that thing? What happened to Odin? We lost contact two days ago.”

  “Odin is down. We’re aboard Aeneas now with a group of survivors from Bunker 84.”

  Ashton didn’t want to reveal who these survivors truly were, since they were right here with us on the bridge. Fortunately, Makara already knew part of the situation.

  “Yeah,” Makara said. “Survivors apparently holding you hostage.”