Europa (Deadverse Book 1)

by Flunker, Richard

  She stepped over the foot pedal on the plasma drill and ducked into the room. She had to set her tablet down on top of the drill to hold on to the frame of the door, but once in, she reached back to grab her makeshift flashlight. She stepped fully into the room, and nearly dropped the tablet.

  Her heart raced and she tried screaming, but nothing came out of her throat. Her breath had been taken completely away. She staggered for a moment and got light headed, then fell back against the frame of the door. She blinked several times and then shone the light of the tablet into the room.

  Then she screamed.

  It was a human body, pinned to the wall by its hands and feet, which were spread apart. The body itself was split wide open, from the top of the forehead, down the nose and perfectly down to the groin. The skin and bones were flayed out, almost perfectly. The organs had been removed and were in a neat pile on the floor. Crysta swallowed heavily when she saw the spine through the bloody mess. Above the head, on the ice wall, was a triangle painted from what appeared to be blood.

  Panic set in. Crysta screamed again and ran out of the room as fast as the handles on the wall could take her. She missed one of the rails and did a perfect flip in the air, landing on the cold, rough, floor. She sat up and quickly tapped Charles’ comm link on her tablet.

  He answered nearly instantly.

  “Yes?”

  “You need to get down here. NOW!”

  - Ben –

  There was no hiding it now. Charles stood by the body, examining every little detail while Gary sat on the ground slumped, in tears.

  It was Cary. The doctor had confirmed that.

  Charles had been equally shocked, but for other reasons.

  “You’re telling me this happened already and you didn’t tell me?” Charles had been ruthless in his yelling. Ben could still feel the hot spit hitting his face.

  There had been no holding back this time. After Ben had gone into the details of the ice cube and the drones, Charles had exploded. It was his job, he had shouted, to deal with things like this murder. And to top it all off, Ben had talked to Gary even before going to Charles. Now, the doctor was sitting sobbing on the ground, probably as useless as he could be.

  After the shouting and proper scolding, Charles had gotten to work. He took pictures of the scene and recorded everything he was doing. He wasn’t a police officer in any way, but he understood the need to record everything. What’s worse was that the triangle depicted on the top of the body on the wall was familiar. It had the same lines coming out of the angles, just like Charles had already seen. Upon a more detailed inspection of the massacred body, Charles had found that the same pyramid picture had been carved seven times into the spine, in minute detail.

  “Who’s been down here since the three engineers?” Charles asked.

  “No one,” Ben said. The shock still hadn’t worn off. “They were the only ones working down here. I have it all logged.”

  “Then that leaves me just one suspect,” Charles said, detailing the odd ice scratchings he had seen the other night. He stormed out of the room and vanished down the hallway.

  Ben walked over towards the doctor, who was able to stop crying. He was standing in front of the body, wiping the tears from his face.

  “We have to get her off of here.”

  “Charles has all he needs?” Gary asked.

  Ben nodded.

  “Get Thomas down here,” Gary said, “and Ben? No more secrets. Everyone has to know now.”

  Ben swallowed hard.

  This was supposed to have been a scientific mission. Charles was along only as a formality. This wasn’t what he was expecting to deal with. How would he face everyone and tell them they had a murderer on the base? Not just a murderer, but a psychopath, from everything he saw in that room.

  He tapped a button on his tablet and Thomas responded.

  “You need to get down here. I need your help.”

  “What’s going on?” Thomas asked.

  “Hell. Hell is going on.”

  Day 26 AE

  - Horace –

  The headache had to come today.

  After several days of no noticeable side effects, today he got hit by a particularly strong headache. It was the kind that left his eyes aching, and his temples throbbing. He knew it was from the injuries he had suffered to his head, and Gary had said they would come, and that it wouldn’t be too bad. But right now, he was in pain.

  Sitting across from him was his other pain: Charles.

  The captain had taken Emir into custody, if one could call it that, the night before. He had drilled him extensively for a few hours, but then Jenna had stepped forward. The three ice engineers had finished their work below the ice at around nine thirty EST and had all gone up to the green dome together. Thomas reported that Jenna and Emir had remained behind to get something to eat. From everything that Gary could figure out, the murder had taken place around midnight. Much to Charles’ dismay, Jenna had confirmed that she had been with Emir in the green dome till nearly that time.

  Of course, the captain had then drilled Jenna quite a bit. He liked her a lot, but he was so sure in his suspicions of the Middle Eastern man that he couldn’t get past the fact that it wasn’t him. Jenna repeatedly confirmed that they had been together, talking, till nearly midnight. She refused, though, to tell him what they were talking about, insisting it had nothing to do with his investigation.

  So he was back to square one and now he needed the shrink’s assistance. The shrink he didn’t like.

  “Is it possible that Gary could be wrong with his timeline?” Charles asked.

  “Of course that’s possible. The man is in shock. But if you want my opinion, I don’t think he is. Have you ever seen him wrong with anything medicine-wise?” Horace countered.

  “Something still doesn’t add up.”

  “Of course it doesn’t. We have someone on the base that has killed,” Horace said.

  He pushed his tablet towards Charles who took it and looked at it.

  “That’s Gary’s report. He says that from the precision of the damages, whoever did this must have taken at least two to three hours. A highly skilled surgeon could have done it sooner.”

  Charles set the tablet down.

  “So,” Charles shook his head, “it could have been him?”

  “He is a highly skilled surgeon.”

  “He would kill his lover?”

  “Maybe the love triangle wasn’t working anymore,” Horace pointed out.

  “Then that would mean Susan could have done it, too.”

  “I think you will find that, the harder you look, the more you will think anyone here could have done it. We are under a severe strain and the stress is making us all act different,” Horace said. He stopped and rubbed his temples.

  Charles noticed and pushed a glass of water over to him. Horace took a drink. One of the benefits of Europa was a steady supply of cold water.

  “Concussion getting you?” Charles asked, but Horace shook it off.

  “What about Paul? He’s the only one that doesn’t quite fit in and his mysterious recovery from waking up is still a bit puzzling.”

  Charles shook his head.

  “I actually have video footage of him sleeping during the time of the murder. I don’t know, everything in me says Emir did it.”

  “If you’re referring to the pyramid symbols we have now found three times, then I can see where you are headed. We all think poorly of Emir, but let’s not forget that Glorin also stuck his hand in the beams. And to be perfectly honest, if we want to investigate fully, you and Connie were on board the ship, as well as Jenna and Glorin.”

  It was what Charles was having a hard time with. Jenna was standing up for Emir, but she could just as easily have been an accomplice. But if that was true, then he was one, too.

  “Am I going crazy?”

  “Why are you asking that?” Horace countered.

  “I am really starting to think that th
ose damn aliens on that ship have something to do with it.”

  “And why would that make you crazy?”

  “You serious? You believe in that stuff?”

  “Captain. As far as I’m aware, six of you went into a verified alien vessel. A ship that comes from some other planet that can travel at speeds completely beyond our technical capabilities. Two of you interacted with said ship to either their benefit or detriment. And you think believing in aliens makes you crazy?”

  Charles sat back in his chair.

  “Ok, so if it is the aliens, then how do I deal with it?”

  “I don’t know if WE can,” Horace began, “but what we need to do is somehow figure out how to stop it.”

  Day 27 AE

  - Jenna –

  A double funeral.

  The entire base knew about it now. Cary’s gruesome death had set everyone on edge. They were going to bury her at space by shooting her into orbit with a small rocket. The base AI had calculated how to put her into an orbit that would drift and eventually fall into Jupiter several years later. Susan had pushed for keeping the body and composting her, but that just seemed too odd, despite it being a really smart idea, if you could take the inhumanity out of it.

  Then, while digging out a few more rooms under the ice, she and Thomas, since they refused to let Emir work, found Bobby. The Brazilian must have survived the ice quake and likely ran out of air. They found him, laying in a corner, peaceful. He must have understood what had happened, and accepted his fate. It was a sad way to go.

  So Connie adjusted the fuel, and everyone watched from the green dome as the small rocket carried the two bodies into space.

  It was a somber event. Ben tried to say a few words, but found his mouth devoid of sound. Within a few minutes, the flash was gone and darkness again filled the sky. With that, everyone left, except for her good friend, Thomas.

  “You have to tell me. Convince me. I have to believe you weren’t just being naïve, or stupid,” Thomas asked of Jenna after a few minutes.

  Jenna turned sharply and faced her friend.

  “Are you kidding me?” She blurted out in anger, “How dare you ask something like that! To me?”

  “I have to know Jenna. Emir is a dirt bag. Tell me you’re not defending him for some odd reason, like the goodness of your heart.”

  She wanted to slap him.

  “No, you bumbling ape.”

  “Hey, I’m just looking out for you. After the whole…” Thomas started.

  “You know what? All you boys wer all so high and mighty then, defending my honor. Did anyone bother to ask me if I cared?”

  “Jenna! He recorded you taking a shower. If that doesn’t offend you then…” but she cut him off again.

  “Yes, it bothered me. But hell Thomas, we all get stressed out up here, especially if we’re alone. You lucky couples don’t know how well you have it.”

  Thomas stopped for a moment, thinking on her words.

  “And for your information, Emir approached me that night. He wanted to apologize. Said it was the first time he’d had the courage to do so.”

  Thomas took a moment to answer. “He took hours to apologize?”

  “God, you’re an idiot, you know. I love you, but you’re a damn fool,” she turned and began walking away.

  “No. We then went and had sex for two hours,” she said slyly, turning to him with a coy smile.

  Thomas was left stupefied. He wasn’t sure if she was joking or serious.

  “What the hell did I just hear?”

  Jenna knew better. Emir was just another lost soul. She didn’t trust him, he certainly had his issues, but then again, who didn’t. He had apologized to her, and she had accepted it. Then he’d opened up to her. Told her to not tell anyone, and she swore. For a moment, she was sure he was going to confess some dastardly crime. It bothered her later, after she found out a horrible crime had been committed. No, the poor troubled man confessed his dreams to her.

  He couldn’t sleep. What few hours he did manage to close his eyes for were tormented by the images of a pyramid that flowed with energy. He had wanted to talk to Horace about it, but he felt guilty, he just wasn’t sure about what.

  “Maybe you’re just possessed by an alien,” she had laughed.

  Little did she know how close she was to his greatest fear.

  “That ship did something to me. I can feel it, deep down inside. Not in my heart, or gut, nothing like that. I can feel it deep down in my soul, my mind and memories. Something is down there, and I don’t know what it is.”

  He was truly terrified. He shook as he spoke, and so she had held his hands, and they continued to talk.

  In his dreams, he saw the pyramid, and the energy that flowed from it. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. He saw worlds, beautiful, brimming with life, green and vibrant. The pyramid searched for the worlds, he thought, but he wasn’t sure why. He felt it scouring him, wiping him clean.

  “I thought maybe, maybe it’s a weapon, to wipe us out.”

  Jenna asked if it was.

  “I see it in the worlds, and they are alive, more than ever. It doesn’t destroy them.”

  Then he’d wake up, rested, if not undisturbed.

  “I don’t know what to do anymore,” Emir had lamented.

  “You need to talk to Horace.”

  “If I do, they are going to lock me up. I’m almost ready to lock myself up.”

  “Do you want to go eat something?”

  The question had made him laugh, and so they had headed off to where the fresh vegetables were being held and they gorged on tomatoes and spinach. She didn’t like either too well, and it turned out later that Emir hadn’t either, so they laughed at that and then headed to bed. To their own beds. That idiot Thomas would just have to wonder.

  Day 30 AE

  - Ben –

  “You have to allow me to get back to the ship. It’s my job here.”

  “And it’s my job to make sure you all stay alive,” Ben answered back.

  “And a fine job you are doing at that, commander,” Glorin replied.

  Ben hated the man. For several days, now the self-proclaimed xeno expert had been asking to go back to the ship to explore and catalogue. Those had been his words. Everyone was just trying to stay alive and he wanted to go take pictures. In two more days they would know for sure if their fate was sealed or not and this guy could only think about his moment of glory.

  “I have interacted with the ship, I know what to do…”

  And he went on and on about that. He wouldn’t shut up about it. Ben looked hopelessly towards Charles, who sat on the far side of the table. He had his arms crossed as he sat back in his chair, a half smile creeping across his face.

  “Help me out here, Captain?”

  Charles put his hands up in surrender.

  “Not my call. You can bet your ass I’m not going back there.”

  Glorin looked back. “See, even the captain doesn’t care. I can do this alone. I just need someone to drive me out there and drive me back.”

  “And what of the time dilation? You spend a few hours in there a week goes by here.”

  Ben watched with a bit of satisfaction as Glorin was taken aback by this forgotten bit of information. For a moment, Ben had won a tiny battle.

  “I’ll take a radio with me and radio when I’m back out, whenever that is.”

  Ben laughed in frustration.

  “No. Not going to allow it.” Ben turned around, stopped, and then turned back.

  “I tell you what. Let’s just wait until we see where the supply ship is. Two days. Then, after that, you can head down there and do whatever you need to do.”

  They wouldn’t need him then, regardless of if the ship arrived or not. They might be better off without him.

  “Do you promise?”

  “Are you kidding me? This isn’t high school.”

  “Sir, do I have your word then?”

  Ben waved his hands and Glorin got
up, angry, but satisfied for the moment, and left the command room. Both Ben and Charles watched as he left and a sense of relief filled the room when he was gone.

  “Just tell me something, Charles,” Ben began, “what about him?”

  “The guy is neither a surgeon nor an ice digger. Guy can’t even drive a rover. He doesn’t have much of an alibi, but that’s not surprising. No one here hangs out with him and he sure doesn’t hang out with anyone else. What does he do all day?”

  “He writes reports. I’ve read them; I have to. On and on about something he saw inside the ship. I swear, Charles, I wasn’t there, but it’s like he just makes stuff up to make his reports really long.”

  “So?”

  “Charles. I saw your report of your little expedition. This guy has literally written twenty times what you wrote.”

  “That guy needs a hobby,” Charles chuckled.

  “That guy needs to help out digging out the ice. He can shovel.”

  Charles had been doing that very thing for days now.

  “C’mon, we’ve been over this more than enough times. The guy is pointless, useless, but he is also harmless.”

  “That might have been true a few weeks ago. Now he eats our limited food and breathes our limited air. He should be pulling his weight,” Charles countered.

  Ben sat back in his chair. He knew when he was defeated.

  “All right, I’ll talk to him. You know he still won’t do anything.”

  “No, probably not, but everyone else around you will know that you tried.”

  With that, Charles stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Ben to his thoughts and a complete silence that brought about a hum in his ears. Ever since the ice quake, the hum had been there. He had never told anybody about the blow to his head. It had seemed like a minor thing, a slight bump when the world was turning upside down. But the pain had never left, and neither had the humming sound. Still, he had no time to talk to Gary.