“I am the High Ruler of Skalgorth. I am the World Killer.” He shifted his gaze, and Daryl suddenly got the impression those dark slits of eyes were staring right at him. “And I am coming.”
The image became fuzzy at the edges, then flickered into darkness. A moment later, the Coca-Cola logo reappeared on the top billboard, with the others blinking into life soon after.
“We can stop him,” Daryl said. “We’ve got a plan. We know how to do it.”
The officer tilted his head back and looked along his nose at Daryl and the others, sizing them up. He sucked air through his teeth, then clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Nope. Still don’t believe it.” He gestured to the gunmen behind him. “Tranq them. Get them out of here.”
The agents in front of Daryl opened fire. He saw the slight recoil of the rifles and heard the whistle of the darts spiraling along the barrels. Raising a hand, he stopped the darts in midair then spun and flicked them toward the men approaching from the other side. All four darts found their targets, the points digging into the gunmen’s exposed necks.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Ash cheered. He pushed his arms in a semi-circle around him, and a wide arch of light spread from his palms. The blast slammed into all nine of the PPA men, lifting them off their feet and dropping them on the pavement several feet back from where they’d been standing.
Daryl, Riley, and Ash stood up. “Get behind me,” Daryl barked, as the PPA officer snarled into his wrist device.
“What are you waiting for? Fire!”
Daryl heard the muffled crack of the sniper rifles and the scream of the bullets as they hurtled toward them. He felt his heart leap into his throat. There were too many, moving too fast for him to do anything but—
The bullets sparked as they abruptly came to a stop in the air. Daryl watched the flattened lumps of lead fall to the ground. In the stunned silence that followed, he worked out what had happened.
“This way,” he said, racing toward where the bullets had fallen.
“Where are we going?” asked Ash. “Do we have a plan here, or…?”
His voice trailed off as a patch of empty space ahead of them shimmered and became solid. “Yufo!” Riley cried. “Am I glad to see you!”
The ship’s wall oozed downwards, forming a ramp leading inside. Daryl urged Riley and Ash ahead, then scrambled up the ramp after them. He stood in the doorway, looking down at the PPA men below. They were back on their feet, racing for the helicopter. Yufo banked steeply and tilted a wing, clipping the spinning rotors. The black-clad agents hurled themselves to the ground again as broken slivers of spinning steel scythed through the air in all directions.
Daryl stepped further into the ship as the wall sealed itself closed. Hath stood up front, his back to them. Riley watched the alien nervously, while Ash punched the air in glee.
“Yeah! Think they can stop me? They have no idea who they’re messing with!” Ash cheered.
Riley shot him a look that screamed ‘shut up now’.
“What?” Ash demanded. “What, I can’t celebrate now? I’m not allowed to be happy?”
Riley looked very deliberately at the still-silent Hath. Ash glanced between them, opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.
“Um… thanks,” Riley said. “You know, for swooping in.”
Hath half-turned until his face was in profile. “I should’ve left you,” he said, and there was no missing the anger in his voice. “Had you not been so important, I would have left you to fend for yourselves. You snuck away.”
Ash stepped forward. “I know, but--”
“YOU SNUCK AWAY!” Hath roared, wheeling around to face them. His face was twisted up in rage, his wide nostrils flaring and closing as he drew in deeper and deeper breaths. “Tonight of all nights. Tonight, when the lives of everyone alive are in your hands, you snuck away.”
Hath turned away. “And for what? Cheeseburgers.”
“Actually, it was chicken nuggets,” Riley said. She swallowed. “Which, you know, is completely irrelevant, and I shouldn’t have mentioned it and I’ll shut up now.”
“It is all irrelevant now,” Hath said. “You are safe.”
“For now,” said Daryl. “He’s here.”
Hath nodded, not looking at them. “Yes. He is here.” He took a deep breath. “Are you ready to save the world?”
Daryl glanced at the others. “Ready as we’ll ever be,” he said.
Hath nodded. “I suggest you hold on,” he said, then he thrust his arms to the sky and Yufo streaked upward, leaving London, England, and then the rest of the world far behind.
Twenty-Four
For a long time, no one spoke. Hath stood at the front, working the controls, while the others sat strapped into Yufo’s gloopy black seats.
It was Riley who eventually broke the silence.
“So… are we in space?”
“Yes,” said Hath.
“Outer space?”
“No, inner space,” Ash spat. “What do you think?”
“There’s a film called Innerspace,” said Daryl. Everyone turned to look at him and he immediately regretted opening his mouth. “It came out in 1987.”
Riley wrinkled her nose. “Never heard of it. Who’s in it?”
“Dennis Quaid,” said Daryl. “And Meg Ryan. And Martin Short. I could tell you all of them.” He flinched. “I don’t know why I sounded quite so proud saying that.”
“Wow, you sure know a crazy amount about the cast of Innerspace,” said Riley.
Daryl tapped the side of his head. “I’ve seen the end credits. I can literally tell you who helped build the sets if you like.”
“What are you even talking about?” muttered Ash. He was so far reclined in his seat he was practically lying down.
“Innerspace. Yes, I had forgotten about that one,” said Hath.
Daryl blinked. “You’ve seen Innerspace?”
Hath nodded. “I spent most of the last decade absorbing your culture and history.”
“I’m not sure Innerspace counts as either of those things,” Daryl said.
Ash sat up sharply. “Jesus, can everyone stop saying ‘Innerspace’?” He pointed out beyond Yufo’s dark walls. “We’re flying through outer space toward an alien planet. In an actual spaceship! Shouldn’t we maybe, you know, focus our attention on that?”
Daryl shifted in his seat. “Suppose,” he admitted.
“Would you like to see?” Hath asked.
“Um, yes!” Riley chirped. “I thought you were never going to ask.”
“Visuals,” said Hath, and Daryl instinctively gripped the sides of his chair.
At first, he didn’t notice that the walls of the ship had slipped away, as the black of Yufo became the black of space. It wasn’t until he saw the first star that he realized the walls were gone.
None of them spoke a word for almost a full minute. Instead, they just sat, watching in wonder at the universe spread out in front of them, and the spinning blue and green marble they had left behind.
“That is… nice,” said Riley at last. “You know? That’s, like, really nice.”
“We’re in space,” Ash said. “We’re actually flying through actual space.” He glanced around them. “I thought it’d be bigger.”
Daryl raised an eyebrow. “Bigger? How could space be bigger? It’s infinite.”
“Not space, Earth,” Ash said. He gestured in the direction of the distant Earth. “It looks tiny.”
“That’s called perspective. Per-spec-tive,” said Riley, sounding the word out slowly. “Big things, when far away, look small.”
Ash scowled. “I know that! I just mean, I don’t know. I thought it’d be bigger.”
“How come we aren’t floating around the place?” Riley wondered.
“Artificial gravity,” said Hath. “Can you see Skalgorth?”
“Is that it?” asked Ash, pointing to their left.
“No,” said Riley. “That’s th
e moon.”
Ash shook his head. “My jokes are totally wasted on you, aren’t they?”
“I don’t know,” said Riley. “Try some and we’ll find out.”
Daryl peered ahead, past where Hath stood. The longer he looked, the more stars seemed to fill the sky. Squinting, he pointed at one particularly bright spot standing out against the darkness. It was out beyond Pluto, but not far enough beyond it for Daryl’s liking. “Is that it?”
Hath followed his finger. “Yes. That is Skalgorth.”
Riley leaned forward and peered at the sparkling speck. “Looks alright from here.”
“Yeah. Don’t see what all the fuss is about,” said Ash. He stared at the distant spot of light for a while, then went back to looking at the passing moon.
“It’s bigger than I thought,” he said.
“Per-spec-tive,” said Riley.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Daryl stood up and his invisible chair retracted back into the floor. Hath glanced at him as he approached. “Is everything alright?” the alien asked.
“Yeah, fine. Fine,” said Daryl. He glanced back at the others, before continuing. “Just… when he was talking—the World Killer, I mean—we couldn’t understand what he was saying, but then it was like he was being translated.”
“He was,” Hath said.
Daryl nodded. “It was you, wasn’t it? You’d been there in the ship the whole time.”
“Almost since the moment you left the station,” Hath said. “I wanted to observe.”
“So, you could have stepped in when the PPA came after us.”
“I could.”
Daryl frowned. “Then why didn’t you?”
“It was the ideal opportunity to find out how your training had progressed.”
“Right, yeah. That makes sense,” said Daryl. He wrung his hands together.
“Was there something else you wanted to ask?” said Hath.
“It’s just… was it you?” Daryl said. “Who gave us away? I mean, was it you who told the PPA where to find us?”
“As I say,” said Hath. “It was the ideal opportunity to find out how your training had progressed.”
“They could have killed us,” Daryl whispered. “Or captured us, or whatever.”
“I had faith in your abilities,” said Hath, turning to face him. “They would not have killed you or captured you, Daryl Elliot. You would have prevented it.”
Daryl puffed out his cheeks. “I wish I had your confidence.”
“Yes,” said Hath. “As do I.” He turned to face front again. “The World Killer’s broadcast caught me off guard. I had not expected to hear from him quite so soon. Had I known his broadcast would come so early I would never have let you leave the station. It took me a few moments to relay the transmission through the ship for translation, but you missed nothing of any real importance.”
Daryl glanced around at the invisible ship. “I didn’t know Yufo could do that. Translate, I mean.”
“It can do much you do not know of,” Hath said. “When all this is over, I can take more time to teach you.”
Daryl nodded slowly. “So, who heard the translated version? Just us and those PPA guys?”
Hath shook his head. “Everyone,” he said. “The World Killer’s message was broadcast all across the globe, and so was the translation.”
“Wow. So everyone knows.”
“Yes,” said Hath. “Everyone knows.”
Daryl fell into silence, thinking of his dad back home. Was he drunk? Sober? Slumped at home or out searching? Had he seen the broadcast? Did he know what was happening?
Was he even still alive?
“I should’ve phoned him.”
Hath glanced at Daryl. “What?”
“Hmm? No, nothing,” said Daryl. “I just wish I’d called my dad. Back in McDonald's. I wish I’d phoned and spoken to him.”
“You will speak to him when this is done,” Hath said. “Do not be afraid. You can do this, Daryl Elliot.”
He raised his voice, snapping the others from their daydreaming.
“All of you. I appreciate that you are facing something you have never faced before. Something no human being has ever faced before. But you can do this. You have the abilities. It is within your power—our power—to save not just your world, but all those the World Killer would move onto next. You can do this. You only have to believe you can.”
“And also defeat an alien army led by a mass-murderer from the far reaches of outer space,” Riley added. “Just those two things. Believe in ourselves, and all that alien army stuff.” She looked at the others. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“Was that sarcasm?” Daryl asked.
Riley shrugged. “I honestly have no idea anymore. Might have been. Might have been completely genuine. I have no clue.”
She reached into a little pocket in her suit. “By the way, I made you something.”
Riley blushed, ever so slightly, as she produced what at first glance appeared to be a rock. As Daryl took it and turned it over in his hand, though, he saw that it vaguely resembled a face.
But only vaguely.
“I’m working on controlling the shapes,” Riley explained. “That’s me. Or, depending on the angle, a cinnamon bun. It’s for you. You know, for luck?”
“Did you make me anything?” Ash asked.
“You don’t need luck. You’re Ash Stone,” said Riley, who knew exactly how to play him now.
“Damn right!” Ash crowed. He leaned back in his chair, satisfied.
“Uh, thanks,” said Daryl. “This is… great.”
“It’s not great. It’s clumsy and amateurish,” Riley corrected. “But that’s part of its charm.”
Daryl looked at the rock, then up at Riley. “Yeah. You’re right,” he agreed, smiling. “Part of its charm.”
“How long until we get there?” asked Ash, who was growing bored with rock-talk.
Hath swiped his hands across the glowing controls and a countdown clock illuminated on one of Yufo’s walls. As the wall was currently completely transparent, it appeared to be floating in thin air.
Ash, Riley, and Daryl all stared numbly at the numbers ticking by.
“Seventeen minutes,” said Daryl, although he wasn’t sure why he felt the need to say it out loud. Maybe saying it out loud would make it feel more real.
“Seventeen minutes. Quarter of an hour,” said Ash.
“Ish,” said Riley.
“What?”
“Quarter of an hour ish. Not exactly.”
Ash stared at her for a while, then turned away. “Can we put the walls back? Please?”
“End visuals,” said Daryl, and the stars all blinked out at once. Ash turned and gave him an almost imperceptible nod, then lay back and looked up at the ceiling.
“Seventeen minutes,” he muttered, closing his eyes.
“Sixteen. Fifteen and a half, really, and I appreciate this probably isn’t helping so I’ll shut up now,” said Riley, all in one breath.
Daryl returned to the others and sat down in the seat that rose up to meet him. He looked up to the ceiling, then felt a hand slip into his. Riley was staring straight ahead but had reached over to take his hand. She gave it a squeeze, and Daryl squeezed back.
“Should we, I don’t know, go over the plan or something?” asked Ash.
“You know the plan. Everyone knows their part,” said Hath.
“Yeah, but… we have to do something, right?” said Ash. “We can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs until we get there. We should be using the time to… I don’t know. To do something.”
Riley reached out with her other hand. Ash brushed it away with his elbow, but when she offered it a second time he seemed to deflate. He put his hand on top of hers and they locked fingers.
The next twelve minutes passed in silence, with Daryl, Ash, and Riley each lost in their own thoughts. When he finally heard Hath open his mouth, Daryl’s heart
rate immediately went into overdrive. He knew exactly what the alien was about to say.
Terror Level: 10
“We’re here.”
The walls slipped away again, and Daryl felt Riley jerk with panic. There, filling the sky ahead of them, was something from a nightmare.
Skalgorth looked more like a tumor than a planet. It was a vast ball of charred blacks and flowing reds, with an atmosphere that seemed to churn in the skies above it. Trenches crisscrossed the land masses like scars. Twisting mountain ranges stabbed angrily at the heavens. If this wasn’t Hell, Daryl thought, it was a close relation.
“I think I liked it better from back there,” said Riley.
Ash whistled below his breath. “What a dump.”
Hath was staring silently at the world before him. He walked through the holographic controls and pressed a hand against the invisible wall, as if he could reach through it and touch Skalgorth itself.
“My home.”
Riley tugged on Ash’s hand and glowered at him. He took a moment to understand what she was getting at. “What? It is a dump. Look at it.”
“I’m sure it’s lovely,” said Riley, pulling her hand free of Ash’s. “Never judge a book by its cover, that’s my motto,” she said. “Or a planet by its blackened crust and oceans of blood.”
“Salt,” said Hath, vaguely.
“What’s salt?” Riley asked.
“In the water. Not blood. Salt deposits make it appear red.”
“And what’s up with the rest of it?” said Ash. “Did someone burn the whole place to the ground?”
Hath’s hand dropped to his side. “In a way,” he said. He turned to face them and clasped his hands together. “Now take the controls, Daryl Elliot,” he said. “The time has come for us to make our move.”
Twenty-Five
Riley fell.
She was pretty sure she wasn’t meant to be falling. At least, not so fast, and with less in the way of flapping and screaming. She was supposed to have her arms by her sides, she knew, and be streaking gracefully across the sky. Instead, she tumbled and twisted through the air, the brooding grey skies and the blackened terrain of Skalgorth swooshing past her in a stomach-churning cycle as she hurtled toward the planet’s surface.
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