Amish Vampires in Space (46 page)

“I am.”

“Then, as a leader, how can you be so blind to what is going on here? To the spiritual state of your people. The Scriptures teach that evil only begets evil. Warns of God’s judgment for evil hearts. For sin.”

“Sin?” Seal asked, glancing Singer’s direction.

“It means wrongdoing,” Singer said. “It derives from an ancient archery term meaning ‘to miss the mark.’ Every time an archer would miss the target, the judge would call ‘sin.’”

Seal squinted. “And how is that relevant?”

Singer looked nervously over the group. “It has behavioral implications. The Scripture, the Bible, uses the term to mean actions or thoughts that miss God’s perfect mark. Like committing a crime, almost.”

Seal nodded, indicated Samuel. “So he believes our actions, or perhaps
my
action, has brought the infection.” Another nod. “An interesting theory. It might not be altogether wrong.”

“Don’t give them that,” Greels said. “We aren’t responsible for their crazy people. Their crazy animals.”

Seal shook his head. “Regardless, cause is only important now if it leads to a solution.”

“And for that,” Samuel said, “we can only pray.”

Seal raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“I mean, only by prayer and fasting will we see deliverance. What has taken our people, and your crew, is a power from high places. Principalities. Only God can deliver from that.”

Seal looked at Singer again. She shrugged. “You don’t have anything to add?” he asked.

“It would take a long time to explain.”

Seal sighed, brought both hands together. “And that’s one thing we don’t have.” He looked over the group. “Let me explain so we all know. The pilots of this ship are infected, as well. They appear to be keeping us toward our scheduled destination. And we are only a day or so out.”

“So we can wait then,” Jebediah said. “We can leave when we arrive.”

Seal nodded. “Yes, but so can this infection, whatever it is. These changed people can load up the shuttles and go to wherever they want. Infect one world and then another. There are protocols to prevent such a thing, of course, but this infection, this behavior, appears to avoid normal detection.”

The room got quiet for a moment.

“We need to get control back,” Singer said. “And soon.”

Seal gave a slow nod. “I agree. So whatever plan we decide on, whatever course we take, somehow we have to regain the bubble.” Seal noticed the confused looks of the Amish. “The bubble is where the controls are located. Where the pilots sit. It is at the front of the ship. Front and top.”

There were some understanding nods then.

Seal took a moment to survey those in the room. There were many women and children—some being held or sheltering near their parents’ side—along with some older folks. Not much to work with.

Plus, they were Amish.

His stomach lurched, but he didn’t show it. If he’d learned nothing else, he’d learned that being a captain was as much about appearances as anything.

Mark glanced at Samuel, then at the captain. “Will this plan involve violence?”

Seal glanced at Singer. She was shaking her head at him for some reason, as if in warning. He looked at Mark. “What we are up against is violent in nature. I would say all of you witnessed violence just a short while ago, and those things are still out there. So yes, there might have to be some violence. At least in self-defense.”

Samuel grunted. Looked at the floor. Appeared to be praying again.

“Then you must understand, captain,” Mark said, “that we can’t help you.”

“You can’t!” Seal was so surprised he didn’t even ask Singer for clarification. “You can’t help with your own self-preservation? To save your women and children? And why’s that?”

“They’re pacifists,” Singer said.

“We practice non-resistance,” Samuel corrected. “We follow the Lord’s admonition to ‘resist not evil, but whoever smite thee on one cheek, turn to him the other.’ To do anything else would be un-Christian.”

Greels laughed loudly. “That’s just great. Lot of help they are, huh? But you’ll let us protect you, right? Maybe die trying?” More laughing. “Aren’t we glad we brought them aboard? Once again, they survive on the blood and sweat of others. Who’s doing the bloodsucking now, huh? Might as well go find their animals. Let ’em eat us. Why delay it?”

Seal looked at the dark void of his desk, quietly wishing for a simple ledger to move. A schedule to crunch. Normalcy. No such luck. “You must realize, all of you, that these are unusual circumstances. I don’t know how much of the crew is left. Security is non-responsive. I haven’t heard anything from the team that went to check on Bay 17.”

“I think they’re gone.” Singer nodded at Jebediah. “Unit three got a call while they were on the slideway. Seemed to be a warning from unit two. I think they met the animals too.”

Jebediah nodded. “‘Two’ was one of the words that were said, yes. But there weren’t many words.”

Seal frowned. “Well, since I’ve heard nothing more, we must assume they’re lost. We must assume anyone who doesn’t answer now is lost.”

“I have a wife,” Jebediah said.

“I am sorry,” Seal said.

Jebediah shook his head. “She wasn’t with us. Wasn’t at the bay. She is back at our room.” A glance at Singer. “The one we were assigned. Where I was when I first talked with you, Captain.”

Seal nodded. “Perhaps she is still safe. We can try to call her after we finish.”

“I’d like to go to her. She’ll need my help. She’s probably worried about me now.”

Seal noticed remnants of his smashed wall hangings near Jebediah’s feet. A frame broken in two pieces. He frowned. “We’ll see what we can do. It is a big ship. There have to be lots of areas that are still safe.”

Jebediah nodded. “She is with child.”

“I understand.” He swept his hand over the desk void. “But right now, we need some medical advice.”

• • •

Darly gritted her teeth. She found herself thankful for the company of the Amish woman, Sarah. Even if she had no medical training, it was nice to have company. Normal, human company. Especially when she was doing something she absolutely hated to do.

Another thing she was happy for was the mask and gloves she wore. The body of Candle was laid out before her on the examination table. Sarah sat in a chair by the door. She was fine, thankfully. As was her baby. A typical false alarm. That was a small blessing now, but it was something. Something normal. Because this procedure wasn’t going to be. She pressed a button to raise the sides of the examination table, effectively blocking Sarah’s view of the body.

“What are you going to do with her?” Sarah asked.

Darly reached for a small triangular cutting tool. “I’m going to do some surgery here.”

“But you said she passed. Certainly you can’t save her now? With your devices?”

Darly shook her head. “No, it is too late for that. But what I want now is answers.”

“And you’re going to look inside?”

Darly nodded. “Yes. The hard way.”

“Do you need me to help?”

“Only if you see me fall over.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Could that happen?”

Darly leaned over Candle. She engaged the lightest cutter setting and used it to cut through the clothes enough to expose the chest and abdomen. The flesh was a grey color now. Beyond pale. “Just make sure that door is locked.”

She could hear Sarah press the door’s control pad—the third time since they’d been in the room together. Heard the chiming sound that meant it was
really
locked. It was better to be sure.

Darly brought the cutter down. The flesh began to open, a trickle of internal fluids bubbled up and ran down Candle’s side. First, Darly opened the intestinal area. The upper intestine was a strange color. Closer to the blue side of the spectrum. The lower was similarly changed, and given the large amounts of the metalloid that was present, had to be functioning differently as well.

Next came the stomach, liver, and heart. She increased the power on the cutter. She sliced through the ribcage on the left side, and then the right, making a large enough window so she could really see inside.

“Have you found anything yet?” Sarah said.

Darly nodded. “Lots of things. Lots of differences.” A real surgeon would be more careful here, she knew. But since she didn’t have to worry about closing again…

She dabbed away fluids. Squinted at what she saw. Shook her head. “Biggest surprise here is that nothing is like it is supposed to be. The size is wrong, and the placement.” She heard Sarah stand, begin to hobble in her direction. She glanced at her. “I really don’t think you should. Most people are squeamish.” She paused. “I’m squeamish.”

“I’ve helped birth cattle before, Darly. I think I’ll be okay.”

She frowned inside her mask. “Well, stand back a bit. It’ll be easier to look away.” Darly manipulated the stomach. It was longer than it should be, and again the color was off. A bit bluish. The liver was above that, also darker than it should be, and smaller. The heart and lungs were above that.
Should
have been above that. She prodded, pushed, felt around. “What is this?”

“Doctor?”

Darly shook her head. Pushed the kidney down. Looked at the spiny
thing
between it and the heart. Shook her head again. “There is something here that shouldn’t be.” She backed up a bit and pointed, so Sarah could see. “It is connected, like an organ, but it isn’t one from the books.” Another head shake. “It’s not a human organ.”

“What could it be?”

“I’d be afraid to speculate. It doubtless has something to do with what we’re seeing. The behavior changes. The blood drinking. But what?”

On the counter behind her, Darly’s medpad began to tweet. Someone was trying to contact her. She nodded toward the pad. “Can you get that?”

Sarah nodded and moved toward the sound. “What do I do with it?”

Darly lifted her bloodied gloves. “Right…um…just pick it up and…see what’s there.”

Sarah picked the medpad up with both hands. “It is like a small desk,” she said.

“A what?”

“Well, it looks like the desk in our room. I think that’s a picture of your captain there.”

“Ah! Good. Touch him!”

Sarah looked at her. “I beg your pardon!”

“His picture. Touch it.”

• • •

The captain was elated to see Darly’s face, but cautious. There were no guarantees anymore. About anyone. So he waited for any indication of change. She appeared to be doing the same to him. They exchanged generic greetings. Watched each other.

“Are you all right, Darly?” he asked finally.

“Yes. Are you?”

“I think so, yes.” He looked at the others in his office. Most looked tired but interested. Aware. Doubtless as uncertain about the future as he was. But they hadn’t given up yet, and that was something. “So…do you know anything?” he asked.

“About what?”

He sighed. It was
his
Darly. It had to be. “The young lady you were examining, Candle. What have you found out?”

“Quite a bit, actually. There appears to be a parasite of some kind.” She went on to recount everything she’d discovered, including the reason her scanner had failed.

“So it can alter body chemistry somehow?” Seal said. “Purposefully, do you think?”

Darly shrugged. “That I cannot know. But it is a fair hypothesis.”

Seal leaned back in his seat. Touched fingertips together as he thought. He glanced at Singer and Jebediah before sitting up straight again. “Now the question is
how
. How did this creature get here? Where did it come from?”

Darly shook her head. “I can’t understand that either, sir. Our people are checked out when they board. Something airborne would be detected. The only method of discovery might be to trace it back. Find out where it started. The first infection.”

Seal looked at Samuel and Mark. “It seems to have started with your group, correct?”

Samuel glanced at Mark. Smoothed his beard. “Young David, perhaps?”

Mark nodded slowly. “He is the first I remember. But we never had problems with him before. He watched the animals for us. He was very dependable—”

“For the love of… It’s Congi!” Greels shouted. “It has to be him. I warned you to stay away from him. That he wasn’t right.” Greels paced near the door again. “He was messed up! I saw him.” He growled and pushed through the Amish, moving closer to the desk. “Listen, I warned you too, Darly! Said he was in some sort of weird trance. And you confined me.”

Darly’s face flushed. She stayed silent.

“Darly?” Seal said.

“I never scanned him,” she said. “Congi seemed too normal. And something else.” She looked down and shook her head. “He’s quite persuasive when he wants to be. There are roses. And…well, he was just here, in fact.” Her hand found the back of her neck. “He tried to…”

“He was going to bite you,” a female voice said. “Right on the neck. Probably leech your fluids like a mosquito.”

Seal frowned. “Who is with you?”

Darly wagged her right thumb. “One of the Amish women. She’s pregnant. Came here. Saved me, actually. Drove Congi off.”

“Off?” Seal said. “Why would—”

Jebediah approached the desk. “Sarah?” he said. “She’s there with you? She’s safe?”

Seal managed a smile. “Is the woman who is with you named Sarah? Because her husband is here with us. Jebediah.”

There was a happy outburst. “Jebediah! You’re alive, you’re safe.”

Jebediah smiled. “I am, my frau. Here with the captain.”

Seal nodded. “We’ll get you two reunited as soon as we can. We have larger problems now, though.” A pause. “So assuming Congi’s the one, the starting point, where does that leave us? How did he get infected?”

Greels grunted. “That man is everywhere on this ship. He’s like a grave robber. Always getting into people’s stuff. If this thing was on this ship, it could’ve come from any bay. Like lice on a rat, that Congi. Blinking finder.”

“Wait,” Seal said. “We have a thief on my ship? Someone who breaks into packages?”

Greels frowned, crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, come on, Captain.”