Kyle West - Darkness

“Come on,” I said. “They can take control of the Community. We have to control the ship.”

“How?” Michael asked.

“Like Ashton said. Shut down the ship.”

“But you just said…”

“There’s no time to explain,” I said. “We need to find a way to contact Makara first. We can borrow a radio from one of the Angels.”

I turned back for the anteroom, my heart pounding.

This mess wasn’t over yet.

I took a radio from a tattooed Angel. I raised it to my mouth.

“Makara! Elias isn’t dead. He has control of Aeneas.”

It took a moment for Makara to respond.

“What?”

“I know. Keep on our tail and keep us updated on any changes.”

Everyone else crowded around to hear Makara’s words. Ashton stepped up next to me.

“We just have to power down the ship long enough so that the door to the bridge unlocks. I would have to go back to the fusion drive to do it. Then everyone else can force the door open. We’d have a few seconds to get it done, but it’s possible. Once you’re through you can radio me and let me know and I can power things back on.”

“Ashton,” Anna said, “the ship could be sent into free fall, especially with that nutcase in the pilot’s chair!”

Ashton stared at Anna levelly. “That’s why we have to get him out of the pilot’s chair and get you behind it. It’ll be up to you to save the ship.”

Anna’s eyes widened at that. It was a dicey plan. But I saw no way that bridge door was opening unless it somehow lost power.

“Isn’t there some way to just target the door?” I asked. “Do we really have to power down the entire ship?”

“I’m smart, but I’m not that smart,” Ashton said. “I’m a scientist, not a hacker. If we can do the whole thing in ten to fifteen seconds, then there’s a good chance we might succeed.”

I sighed. I didn’t really like it, but we were running out of options. Everyone looked to me to make the decision.

“We’ll do it. Anna, Michael… we’ll storm the bridge. Grudge, I want you to go with Ashton. Make sure there are no stragglers back there to attack him.”

Grudge nodded. I could tell he’d rather be fighting up front, but Michael would be perfect for the job. I knew with the Angels amidships and the prisoners rounded up, there was little chance of confrontation anywhere but the bridge. Besides, I trusted Grudge alone with Ashton after he had saved us.

“We need another radio,” Ashton said. “You take that one. I will find another.”

“Let’s hurry,” I said. “There’s no time to waste.”

Five minutes later we were all in position. Grudge and Ashton were by the fusion drive.

“Alright, I’m almost there,” Ashton said, his voice sizzling through the radio. “Just give me a few seconds…”

I placed my ear on the metal door to the bridge. We’d already tried to open it manually, but of course, it had been locked. I heard no sound coming from the other side.

“Alright,” Ashton said. “Is everyone ready?”

We’d already had our weapons drawn. It was just a matter of getting this done. My heart pounded with knowing what we had to do. Force the door open. Kill Elias, again. Not fall through the windshield in the process if the ship went into free fall.

“Go,” I said.

The lights suddenly dimmed and the floor ceased its vibration. The powerful hum of the engine aft faded to nothing. Cries of alarm sounded from the anteroom behind.

We had fifteen seconds.

As the ship began tipping forward, the three of us heaved at the door. Barely, just barely, the door slid open inch by inch.

And waiting for us on the other side was Elias, bloodied with purple slime, white eyes glowing.

With a high inhuman shriek, he pounced on Anna. I battered his head with the butt of my Beretta. Still, he did not turn from Anna, and was set on killing her.

At that moment, the ship’s nose tipped forward, causing us all to hit the floor and slide into the bridge. Elias, thankfully, tumbled away from Anna.

Gray light filtered through the massive windshield. Anna crawled on her stomach toward the pilot’s seat. Michael and I forced our way to Elias, who crawled after Anna. His face was pale, lifeless. He was like a Howler, only…different. I couldn’t decide if he was dead or alive.

Michael raised his handgun and fired a couple of times, hitting Elias in the abdomen. Elias wailed at the pain, but he didn’t desist in going after Anna. I fired a few times, hitting him with each bullet. Elias, almost reluctantly, turned toward us. He knew he had to get us out of the way before he could stop Anna.

The ship dipped further downward as Anna continued crawling for the pilot’s seat. I could see the tops of snow-capped peaks slowly approaching. Aeneas was now angled forty-five degrees toward the Earth.

Elias gave a sudden lurch, his yellowed teeth flashing. His body struck Michael. Together, they slid down the floor toward the windshield. Michael’s boots squeaked on the deck.

This was going to be a tricky shot, but it had to be made. To the side, Anna had just seated herself and was pulling the control stick upward. Since the power was out, it didn’t respond.

I reached for my radio. “Ashton — power the ship!”

Immediately, the deck was bathed in light. The mountains were deadly close, now. Below, a gray lake in a mountain valley reflected steely light. Anna pulled the control stick back, the ship’s hull groaning with the effort. The G-force pushed me to the floor, made my consciousness darken for a moment. I forced my eyes open, keeping myself focused on Elias. I couldn’t let him get to Michael.

In the chaos, Michael had managed to roll away from Elias. Elias was forcing himself to his feet. I realized that shots to the body had done nothing to stop him.

So I aimed for the head.

I fired, three times. The first two bullets ricocheted off the windshield while the third hit the deck. Michael and I both aimed and fired at Elias, who now charged for Michael. He hissed as the bullets entered his chest once more, spewing additional globs of purple blood. Elias went into a crouch. I braced myself for his assault.

Anna had now steadied the ship, but Elias was going to do the unexpected. He shifted his focus toward her, aiming to take the ship down again.

“No you don’t,” Anna said, angling the ship upward.

With a screech, Elias fell backward, along with the rest of us. Anna righted the ship once more, standing up and pulling out her katana. She cried out and ran toward the cult leader.

Elias turned to face her. He shrieked again as he charged. I yelled as I got two shots off –

That last of which went into his head.

Elias’s body went rigid as Anna reached him. With a roar and a flash of the blade, Anna swiped his head cleanly off his shoulders. A fountain of purple goo shot upward from the severed neck like a geyser. Elias toppled to the floor in a heap, finally dead.

We all backed away to the door, expecting that body to swell. But nothing happened.

I stared at Elias’s corpse as my heart raced, not yet willing to believe that we had finished him. I almost expected him to grow another head and resume his attack. But after watching him for another minute, I was convinced. The leader of the Community was dead.

“Ashton,” I said, using the radio. “He’s dead.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. He’s right here on the deck. No casualties.”

“Get him off board,” Ashton said. “I don’t want him infecting anyone.”

“I’ll do it,” I said. “The Elekai virus makes me immune.”