18
When Pamela and Janna stepped into the
commissary, they found Drake sitting on the floor, his back to the wall,
staring into space. His eyes were red,
but he no longer cried. He acknowledged
neither of his crewmates, not until they approached him.
“Are you all right?” Pamela asked.
Drake sniffed and rubbed at his nose. Checked his fingers. “They killed Everson. Shot him in the fucking back.”
“What?” Janna asked.
Pamela sat next to him and shifted to the
side so she could face her former lover.
“I’m sorry, Philbin. Really sorry.”
His chest juddered, and he turned his hot
face to Pamela’s shoulder, squeezing his burning eyes shut. More tears threatened to sprout, but nothing
came.
She cradled his head and didn’t say
anything.
“Where’s his body?” Janna asked. “Maybe I can do—-“
“He’s in the freezer,” Drake said. His muffled voice still managed to echo
throughout the room.
“Oh.
Okay.”
After a moment, Drake pulled his face away
from Pamela and wiped at his moist, shining face. “They have Jason, Rico, Ben, and Winter. That leaves us and Dirk.”
“Dirk’s working on the engines again,” Janna
said.
“Good.
There’s something else. I don’t
know why, but these things don’t want us drinking booze. Maybe it shuts off receptors or something and
makes it hard to possess us. Have either
of you had anything?”
Janna and Pamela exchanged a glance and
shook their heads. “Dirk did,” Pamela
said. “I could smell it on his breath.”
“Good,” Drake said. “I’ve had some, so we need to get a few shots
into you guys. The first stop is my quarters. I’ll explain on the way, but we have to
hurry. The asshole in Jason is sending
for his friends.”
“Jason?” Janna asked. Then, she slapped her forehead. “Right.
FNG. Sorry.”
#
Ben jumped for the eyeholes above him, but
no matter how hard he tried, they never came any closer. He figured it was because none of this was
physical, but he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Aladnadine had already killed Everson, and
Dirk was next on his list.
“Hey!” he yelled. “Don’t do this! Please!”
Aladnadine remained silent.
“I’ll give you anything! Just don’t kill my friend! Please!”
The words were out of his hypothetical mouth before he realized that he
had nothing more to give. The alien had
it all.
#
Dirk looked up from his work when he saw
the circle of light dance over Engine Six.
He turned and relaxed when he saw it was only Ben. His friend held a flashlight and rifle.
“Jesus Christ,” Dirk said. “You scared me for a second, there.”
“What’s up?” Ben asked. “How’s the repair going?”
“It’d be easier to fuck a cactus. But I think I’m finally getting
somewhere. That bump on my head must’ve knocked
something loose. Gimme two hours, and
we’ll be on our way.”
Ben grimaced. “These aliens. They killed LT.”
“What?
You’re shitting me, right?”
“Drake sent me down to guard you, just to
make sure we get out of here before someone else gets dead.”
“Aw, man.
That sucks. Everson was an
asshole, but he was kind of funny. How’s
Cap taking it?”
“Rough.
But you know him. He’s got a
plan.”
“Thank Christ. ‘Cause I’ve got nothing.”
“Just get us out of here, bro. Things are getting scary around here.”
“You bet.”
Dirk turned back to Engine Six, and Aladnadine aimed the pulse rifle at
the back of the mechanic’s skull.
#
Drake rushed into his room and set up three
glasses. He poured whiskey into each
one, almost to the brim, and he handed two to the ladies. “Drink up.”
“Jesus,” Janna said. “I only weigh one-twenty-five. This might kill me.”
“Drink just enough for a buzz,” Drake
said. “We need to keep our heads, but
the booze needs to stay in our blood for a few hours.”
Pamela shrugged and downed a quarter of her
glass without so much as a grimace.
Janna sighed. “I hate this stuff. I have vodka in my quarters. I could—-“
“This is a priority,” Drake said. “Drink up.
That’s an order.”
Janna took a swallow and gagged. Weakly, she said, “We’re not military,
Drake.”
“I’m still the captain, and what I say
goes. Now, what do we have in the
shipping hold? Anything that would be of
use to us?”
“The manifest is in my quarters, too.”
“Janna, I know you’re the scientist in
charge of the Raleigh Project. Just tell
me what you know.”
Janna drank again. “I don’t know. Just basic supplies.”
“Weapons?”
“Not on your life.”
Drake pulled his hair back from his
forehead. “Okay. Our next priority is to trick one of these
things into drinking booze. Vodka sounds
like the right idea.”
“Then we can use the one as a spy to trap
the others,” Pamela said.
Drake noticed her empty glass. “More?”
She hiccupped. “I’m fine.”
“Winter would be a good choice,” Janna
said. “If we got her, we could then get
Rico. The others would follow.”
“Good idea,” Drake said. “How do we get her?”
“Um . . . .” Janna scratched her head, a weird, pained
smile on her face. “I guess you could do
it, sir.”
#
Aladnadine’s finger tightened on the
trigger just as Dirk flipped a switch, and the engine room filled with a
revving sound. Slowly, the lights
powered up, and the air pumps coughed back to life.
“Yeah, motherfucker!” Dirk jumped up and raised a fist above his
head. “Am I the man, or what?”
He turned and saw the gun pointed at his
head. The smile faded from his lips as
he looked down the barrel. “Um.”
“Shut it off,” Aladnadine said.
“Hey, look.
I only have one engine online.
It’s barely enough to keep life support systems on. We kind of need that.”
“We like it better in the dark.”
“Well, shut it off yourself.” Dirk paused, waiting. When Aladnadine made no move, he continued,
“Thought so. You can’t do it.”
“Shut it down, or I’ll shut you
down.”
#
“No,” Pamela said. “Absolutely not. This is not an option.”
“Didn’t you just dump me?” Drake
asked. “Besides, this is for the greater
good. If I don’t do this, we could all
die. You could die.”
“Haven’t you hurt me enough?” Pamela
asked. “It was bad enough that I knew
you had a family back home, that I’d never have you to myself, but then you had
to fuck that psycho bitch? Why? What does she have that’s so special?”
“Guys?” Janna said.
“Do you really want to get into this?”
Drake asked.
“Since we’re about to die?” Pamela
asked. “Sure. Why not?”
“I love you, Pammie. You’re fun.
Responsible. Smart. If I could, I’d settle down with you. You’re the kind of girl I’d bring home to
Mom.”
Janna tried again: “Guys?”
“And that’s why you cheated on me?” Pamela
asked.
“Kind of, yeah. For one, you never sucked my dick, no matter
how many times I’ve gone down on you.”
Pamela rolled her eyes. “Oh, God.”
“You wouldn’t let me do facials. No back door stuff. Nothing . . . weird, or risky. I’m surprised you let me go beyond
missionary.”
Janna gagged.
“You’re so fucking superficial,” Pamela
said. She wiped at her cheeks and
refused to look at the captain.
“If these things are superficial, why
didn’t you do them?”
“Because it’s gross!”
“Jesus.
I started this relationship because I was lonely. I needed someone to fuck. But I need to get off, too. You never gave a shit about my needs. You’re one of the most selfish lovers I’ve
ever known. Winter? She let me do those things. And she was happy about it.”
“You inconsiderate prick!”
“Me?!
You’re the one who—-!“
“Guys!” Janna shrieked.
Drake and Pamela whirled on her in unison
and shouted, “What?!”
At that moment, the lights snapped on, and
fresh air pumped from the ventilation system.
The room temperature, which had fallen considerably, warmed up.
“Dirk did it,” Pamela said, her rage
forgotten.
“I don’t feel all of the engines,” Drake
said. “Maybe he got one of them going,
but that’s it.”
“We need to get out of here,” Janna
said. “Captain, let’s get to the bridge
and get away from this place.”
“Right.
Let’s go.” As they ran to get on
deck, Drake couldn’t help but think, Saved by the bell.
#
When the common room lit up, Snichlo cursed
and grabbed the weapon he’d gotten off of Everson. “Fyub, check on Aladnadine. Make sure he completes his mission.”
The thing inside Rico nodded and took up
the rifle he’d gotten from the armory before meeting up with Snichlo.
As soon as he was gone, Winter’s body
asked, “What about me?”
“Lisg, I want you to stay here in case the
captain and his crew decide to stop by.
And be careful.”
She nodded, and Snichlo ran for the
bridge. He didn’t think Drake would be
showing his face in the common room, but the captain would be a fool if he
didn’t try to blast out of the ghost planet’s core.
#
Dirk considered the thing inside Ben and
decided it wouldn’t kill him. Since the
guy had no technical skills, he needed someone who did. The only one on board who knew everything
about the ship was Dirk. Sure, Jason
knew a few things, but not as much as the mechanic.
Armed with this knowledge, Dirk thought it
would be best to play it tough. Besides,
if he could get the other engines going, they’d be able to escape. He’d be a hero.
“Sorry, buddy,” he said. “I’m getting back to work. Shoot me if you gotta’, but—-“
Aladnadine fired, spreading hunks of Dirk
all over Engine Six. “Dumb bastard.”
To be continued!
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