Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (7 page)

The psychotic man had used blood to paint words onto the wall.
Praise the wise one
was scrawled the most frequently. Luke skimmed across the whole wall.
The wise one does not forgive, the wise one does not forget, the wise one is forged into my mind and soul.
Luke backed away from the wall.
The wise one can’t exist. The wise one couldn’t have caused all of this.
“What am I thinking?” Luke whispered to himself, annoyed.
The wise one does not exist. Am I losing my mind even considering the notion a God could have caused this?
He didn't have the time to dwell on the thought. He heard shrieks and screams, and his survival instincts took over once again.

Shrieks and screams continued to echo throughout the room. They were below Luke. He stood silently and listened.
Maybe they had heard the gun shot?
He slowly backed out of the room. The eerie glow of the backup lights flashed off, and then back on. The blue tinted glow of the lights caused his body to shiver.

Luke followed the hallway around the corner. He slipped on the trail of blood and cursed the one eyed man under his breath.
Had that man killed everyone in these labs? Or had those creatures caused some of this destruction?
He did not want to contemplate the situation any further. His head hurt and he needed to refocus. There was a stairwell at the end of the corridor and an elevator opposite it. The doors slid open as Luke approached but there was no elevator, just darkness. He backed away from the elevator shaft and took the stairs. A dimly lit sign was placed on the wall to his right. ‘Tram station SD2’ with an arrow pointing downwards. He followed the sign and headed down the stairs.

There was
an unnerving silence as Luke walked through twists and turns, down long and short corridors. He didn’t dare breathe too loudly, he didn’t believe he was alone. It wasn’t long before he found another sign which indicated he wasn’t far from the next tram station. There were double doors ahead of him. One of the doors was closed. The other was missing. He carefully made his way forward. He heard a low growl in the room ahead. He retrieved his revolver from its holster and crouched at the wall beside the missing door.

Luke turned his head and peeked thro
ugh the space where a door once occupied. It was the tram station. Benches spread out evenly across the platform, advertisement boards were intact, and a group of malevolent creatures who had lost their minds crouched around something in a circle. Luke heard tears and rips from both clothes and flesh, he occasionally heard a growl and a whimper from the group of feasting abominations. As he watched, a fight broke out between two of them. The group left their feast to circle the fighting duo. Two females, one of whom was missing most of her hair, which had been ripped out and only small clumps of it remained. Her clothes were torn and tattered too. They looked more like rags than clothes now. The other wore no clothes, one of its small perky breasts was missing a nipple. It looked as if it had been bitten off, most likely in another fight. It had dark red hair. But not naturally red. Blood dripped down from it and ran across its face. The balding woman made the first attack, she viciously swung, turning her whole body, knocking the other woman off balance and scratching her cheek and nose. A bit of flesh stuck to her finger nails. The scratched woman got back to her feet and pounced onto the balding woman. They tumbled together, in screams of fury.

For a while Luke didn’t know what was going on. He breathed silently in his hidden position. He peeked through the gap, his eyes locked in the small group’s direction. The stillness in his body did not reflect the fervent racing of his mind. He could only move once it was safe to do so... Then he heard a snap, and the bald woman’s neck was barely attached to her shoulders.

The rest of the group chanted in a primeval way and began to feast upon the new corpse. The victor of the fight, shrieked loudly and raised her hands into the air. Luke continued to watch as the victorious woman joined the rest of the group to feast on the corpse. Luke gulped nervously. He didn’t know how people could become so monstrous. He spotted the tram. The doors were open. The attention of these violent beasts was distracted by their meal. He knew this could be his best chance of getting to the tram, and he took it.

He
clung to the wall as he stepped through the door and onto the station platform. His eyes were fixed upon the monstrosities, and his back pressed to the wall. He placed each foot as softly as he could and he breathed quietly. A crack of a bone made him jump, he regained his composure. He was half way to the tram, and in-between a couple of cold metal benches. The padding had been ripped off and lay scattered in the corner of the platform like a rat’s nest.
There could be more in there, sleeping... or watching.
His hands began to shake uncontrollably and his legs trembled with every step.
They are watching me.
Luke took another step, a sharp crack whipped through the platform, for a moment everything was silent. Luke couldn’t hear the things growling, snarling, or feasting. He couldn’t even hear himself breathe. Just the thud of his heart beat as if he was in slow motion… And then the shrieks and screams came. Luke cursed himself for standing on the broken glass.

'
Run
', was the first thought that popped into Luke’s head, and that’s what he did. He vaulted over broken benches, overturned bins and scattered limbs. He pulled his revolver out from its holster, ready to fire when he was more composed. He was a few feet away from the tram doors before he realised the savage brutes were gaining on him. He used every ounce of strength to run harder and faster. He reached the already open doors, jumped through and hit the emergency close button. He raised his revolver, there were nine abominations sprinting towards him, more than he thought were in the vicinity. He aimed at the closest one, and fired. The bullet hit it in the centre of the chest and it was flung back, knocking another one down with it. Luke aimed at the next closest creature and fired again. He hit it through the left cheek and the bullet tore through its head. Blood, flesh and teeth rained down like confetti. Luke didn’t have time to enjoy the sight, the doors still hadn't closed. One more abomination could get to him. Luke shot impulsively. He hadn’t steadied himself from the last shot. The bullet struck the abomination in the shoulder, slowing it down, but not stopping it. He smacked the emergency close button again, impatiently, and the doors snapped shut.

Luke breathed a sigh of relief, after the doors had closed. The bangs on it from the rest of the group were enough to get his heart pounding again. He glanced around the tram, it was mostly intact. A few broken windows, and a few missing seats, but
nowhere near the amount of damage as the last tram. Although all Luke needed was a tram that was mobile. He moved down the centre of the tram, avoiding the reach of the abominations as they attempted to grab him through the broken windows. The control room wasn’t far away. He avoided eye contact with the monstrosities and kept moving. The door to the control room was jammed. Luke barged into it with his shoulder until the door swung open. The control panel flashed, he glanced over it and pushed a lever. The tram shifted forwards. He heard screams of anger from the homicidal cannibals as the tram pulled away from the station. Luke sighed as he leaned back against the wall of the control section. The tram was moving and he had escaped them. He had left the group of abominations behind. The lights pinpricked in regular dancing patterns along the control panel. They echoed his safe transportation and momentarily mesmerised him.

There were supplies and a blanket under the control panel. Luke knelt down and picked up one of the food boxes. It was empty. He nudged the remaining supplies with his foot checking if any boxes still had food left in them. There was nothing. The blanket was without tears and
lacked the evidence of blood. It looked clean. He picked it up, it was soft. He rubbed it against his face.
I could do with some sleep... But not now, and not here.
Luke folded the blanket and placed it into his backpack. He moved out and away from the control room and to a window so he could look at the station he'd just left. As he approached the window, a leg crashed against it. Luke backed away. The crazed savages threw anything they could lay their filthy hands on, from limbs, to shards of glass. When the bangs stopped Luke finally relaxed. He wasn’t far from his sister’s living quarters. Only a couple of stops and he was in the right section of the ship. Luke had programmed the tram to stop at his required destination. He fell onto a seat in a heap. He didn’t realise how tired his legs were until he sat down. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
I’ll just close my eyes, only for a minute.

The sunlight beamed in through the windows as the curtains were opened. Luke squeezed his eyes closed as tightly as he could, but he could still see the bright red glare of the sun through his eye lids. He sat up
and swung his legs out of bed. He squinted and scanned the bedroom. The wardrobe was open and clothes were scattered on top of the bed. Elaborate suits with matching ties. A selection to choose from. He turned to face the window. A woman stood, clothed only in a long shirt which stretched down almost to her knees. She turned to face him, blowing on a cup of coffee to cool it down.

“
I thought it was about time we got up.” She smiled, placed her mug on a desk by the window and walked over towards the bed. Her hips swayed from side to side as she moved. “I know how tired you must be after last night.” She slowly climbed onto the bed and crawled seductively towards him. She reached out her arm and grabbed the hair at the back of his head. She bit down gently on her lip as she tipped the end of her nose against his.

“
I'm glad you agreed to come on this little get-away.” Luke pulled Elizabeth in close to him and kissed her passionately. “We needed this.” He pulled away from her while he talked, and then kissed her neck when he finished speaking.
She smells divine.
Luke embraced Elizabeth, and turned her over so he was on top. A smirk emerged across her vibrant face.
This is the best we've been together in months.
He gently caressed his hands down the length of her body and lifted up his shirt that she was wearing. He pulled it over her head, her long, silky hair spreading out across the pillow. Luke ran his hand over her hair, down by the side of her ear, and then softly placed his hand around the back of her neck. He lifted her head up gently and brought his own down to meet hers. They had both been so very busy with the preparations to board the spaceship. A weekend break. A special indulgent time. A brief moment to grab Elizabeth from her work. He had her all to himself. Luke excitedly pulled Elizabeth closer. He may have been exhausted from last night, but with Elizabeth aroused he could always handle more. Their lips touched and their tongues collided sensually.
This is ecstasy.

The tram slowed and threw Luke forwards. He woke up abruptly as he crashed into the seat in front of him.
The trams used to run smoothly.
Maybe someone tampered with the brakes?
He rubbed his forehead where it had struck the frame of the bench, and then suddenly realised he had fallen asleep. Luke stood up, grabbed his backpack and glanced through the windows at the platform. ‘Housing D’ a sign read. He stopped to remember his dream.
I miss you Elizabeth...Why did I have to wake up to this?

He moved along the tram slowly. He watched for movement and listened for sounds, but he heard and saw nothing of any significance. He reached the tram doors and looked out upon the platform. It was different to the others. There were less advertisement boards and only a few benches, but it did have a couch in the middle of the platform which looked out of place. There was a small shop in the corner, which once sold general goods. It was boarded up with scrap metal and wood. Luke didn’t realise how quiet the ship could be, all he could hear was the creaking of the fans wafting the circulating air. He stepped out of the tram and onto the platform. Although there was no sign of the maniacs, he still tried to move as quietly as he could.

There were double doors at the end of the platform which Luke walked through and entered into a room. The room was different, it was tall, with a chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. There was a wide curved staircase which led to the upper floor. Blood dribbled down the stairs like a stream. The banisters were missing, ripped out from the staircase. Luke began to climb the steps, it was near impossible to walk up them without standing on the red-black liquid.

Luke noticed the large fountain ahead of him. He could hear it before he could see it. The splashes of water were relaxing. He remembered the room. It was the one before the dining room. Luke and Elizabeth used to come every couple of weeks to catch up with Megan. Luke remembered
Elizabeth had sat on the lipped edge of the fountain, and had dangled her right hand into the rippling waters. The liquid cascaded and danced with the swirling movement around her fingers. She had sighed reluctantly at the water’s surface. She was staring beyond it. 'I wish we could visit your old home. Did you have a lake with fish in?' She hadn't waited for an answer. She switched her attention to her necklace. Momentarily she played with the topaz pendant, gliding it up and down the length of the chain. She looked up to Luke’s face and smiled. Her eyes held onto her daydream. 'This fountain would be more interesting with some plants and fish in it... It would feel more alive... and less...' Megan's arrival abruptly halted her conversation. 'Shall we find our table and dine?' Elizabeth had asked her present company, as she left her fantasies behind.

As the fountain came into full view, Luke stared at it. It had changed drastically, since the last time he’d seen it, as much as other things aboard the ship. Luke noticed it was half destroyed, broken apart by savages. It had been one of the most beautiful items on this voyage. Where the fountain once streamed water into graceful, majestic arcs, it not spat and sputtered rather than shot and only squirted in one direction. Luke could see the liquid was not water, it was reddish black, thick and murky. It had a strange stagnant smell too.
Just as well there are no fish in the fountain.

He heard noises from the dining room ahead. It sounded like chairs and tables being ruthlessly tossed around. Luke glanced left to the elevator, and then right to the stairwell. He didn’t need to go through the dining room, he just had to get to his sister
’s quarters. He headed for the stairs, the elevator would be a risk he was not willing to take.

The more steps Luke climbed the more noises he began to hear. Louder and more defined. The stairwell seemed endless. He finally reached the floor where his sister’s living quarters were. He exited the stairwell and entered another corridor. There was a thick beige carpet on the floor, a pat
terned skirting board around it, old torn red splattered wallpaper and hanging pictures and paintings on the wall. There were sections of the carpet which had been pulled up and taken away. Other parts had large blood red footprints where people or cannibals had walked over it.

Down the corridor, then I take a left,
another left, and then a right.
Luke repeated the directions to his sister’s room in his head. He had walked down this corridor many times before, but he always knew she was waiting for him.
This time I don’t know what to expect when I reach her room. What will I do if she’s not there? What if she is there and she’s dead?
The thought made him shudder. He took his first left. His pace picked up, his breathing became more frequent and louder, and his hand grabbed for his revolver. Luke’s walk turned into a jog as he turned left for the second time. It wasn’t long before that jog turned into a sprint. He took the right, sprinted down half the corridor and stopped suddenly at a door marked ‘1655D’.
My sister’s room.

Luke knocked on the door out of force of habit. There was no answer. He didn’t wait long before he began to barge the door open with his shoulder. After the fourth bash, the l
ock gave way and the door burst open. A red light flashed in the corner of the room. An alarm had been sounded at the surveillance room. Not that anyone would come and arrest him. There was an overturned chair, but that was the only thing wrong with the room. Everything else was as it should be. The television, table, desk, terminal, and even the fish tank that Megan kept were all as it should be. The same couldn’t be said for the fish, they must have starved to death as their bodies floated along the top of the dirty brown water. Megan would be upset and Elizabeth too. Elizabeth could be so focused and clinical in her work, that it was hugely refreshing when she cried spontaneously at the little things. She would get upset over a butterfly with a broken wing. She would definitely hug and sob with Megan over the loss of the pet fish. Megan had given them all names, but Luke could never remember them. His attention was drawn to another room.

The bedroom door was open.
“Megan?” He whispered, not expecting a reply, but he whispered again. “Megan?” He guessed she wouldn’t be here.
She's smarter than that.
He dreaded what he might find.
Would she be on the bed? Would Megan be there with a bullet hole in her brain...? Is it the madness? If it doesn't turn you into one of those creatures, does it drive you insane? Does it drive you to the point of self-destruction or suicide?
Luke hurried to search the room. His stomach flipped as he stepped closer.
Please don't let my sister be dead.

Megan’s bedroom was small, and as cosy as she could make it. A single bed shoved in the corner of the room, a nightstand next to it and a wardrobe opposite. The bed had not been used since Megan had last made it. Luke sat on top of it, with his head in his hands. He looked up from the bed and at the wardrobe.
Maybe she left something for me? A note or something else to lead me to her.
Luke rushed to his feet and fumbled open the wardrobe. Nothing, just her clothes. He looked down to his feet disappointed, and then he noticed the corner of a box underneath one of Megan’s dresses. He pulled it out. It was heavier than he had anticipated. It was a larger box than the one that had held Luke’s revolver, but a similar style. There was only one thing this could be, and Luke knew what it was. He turned the box around ready to type in the numbers for the code, but the box was already unlocked. Luke opened the lid and the old, long brown rifle was still inside. “I didn’t know our Grandfather gave you his M1A1 Carbine.” Luke whispered to himself as he picked up and inspected the old rifle. He picked up a magazine from the box and loaded it into the weapon. He stood up with the rifle in his hand, he liked the weight. He had used it before on his grandfather’s farm. His sister just watched and laughed whenever he missed.
I’m still better than you.
He smiled, but it soon vanished as he realised his situation.

Luke picked up the remaining magazines for the carbine and placed them in his backpack for later. He fixed the strap around the antique weapon and placed it around his neck. He wrote a note and placed it in the box, just in case Megan ever came looking for the rifle, and then he left his sister’s bedroom. He entered the living quarters. Luke was surprised with the lack of damage, and the lack of blood.
I can’t see a single
… Luke stopped. He knelt down next to the over turned chair. There was a small pool of dried blood on the carpet. Different scenarios of Megan’s death rushed into Luke’s mind.
This can’t be Megan’s blood.
She can’t be dead.