Precipice: The Beginning (27 page)

55

“W
hose bright idea was it to make these stations so damn far apart?” TJ rubbed the back of his neck as the train eased into the station of the scientific facility. “These seats aren’t exactly the most comfortable either.”

“Bitch, bitch, bitch.” Jerome smacked him on the shoulder.

Travis looked from the windows to Sean, catching him as he turned his head. Had he been looking at him? He certainly hadn’t said a word to anyone the entire trip. Sean had just sat there, his cheek pressed to the glass with his mind elsewhere. Travis had seen something in their brief eye contact. Something, just possibly, other than hate.

The six men waited patiently as the train pulled up to the station, moving sluggishly until it finally came to a stop. They shielded their eyes from the blast of air as they exited the door, unscrewing their helmets and setting them on the ground. Travis was glad to see Dr. Zatzkin standing by the technician at the podium. He looked anxious, bouncing on his feet.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting from us, doctor, but we’re not exactly coolant experts,” Morgan said with a smile.

“Believe me, I’m very aware of that. As I’ve told Mr. Daniels before, I have access to your files. Now, if you all wouldn’t mind waiting in the cafeteria. I need to show Mr. Daniels something.”

“What is it?” Travis was curious, tilting his head with a furrowed brow as he studied the doctor’s jittery movements. He looked like a child with a big secret, and he couldn’t hold onto it a second longer.

“Please, it’s easier if you just come with me.”

Travis nodded, waving to his unit and Alvin as he and the good doctor hurried up a slight incline and down a long hallway. He hadn’t a clue what could have rattled the nerves of such a calm, patient man like Dr. Zatzkin, but he trusted him. He and Alvin were the only two people on this red rock, aside from his unit of course, who he didn’t suspect of secretly hating him. Even Dr. Hoffman with the well-decorated office had a sour expression from time to time. Travis just went with the flow, looking up from time to time as they’d pass a window, seeing the distant hills that rivaled the tallest peaks of Earth. The soil was hitting the outer shell rather hard, filling the hallway with the gentle clinking created upon impact. It was soothing, like listening to the steady fall of rain on any average day.

“Okay, here we are.” Dr. Zatzkin held his finger above the doors keypad, looking past Travis to make sure they were alone. “No one else knows about this, save for me and the technician that received the response.”

“What response?” Travis looked from the doctor’s curious smile to the door. It was the communications uplink center. “What is it?”

“Best if you see for yourself.” Dr. Zatzkin pressed the button and stood back as the door slid into the wall.

“Annie!” Travis rushed into the room, overcome with joy as he saw his wife’s face filling the consol. “Oh my God, I’ve been so worried about you.”

Dr. Zatzkin was grateful to see such a warm moment, enjoying the human element this facility had lacked for so long. He pressed the button beside the door and allowed Travis some privacy.

“I have missed you so much. Where’s Logie?”

“He’s here, with Erica.”

“Why’s Erica there? What’s happening down there?”

Annie wiped her eyes as the tears flowed. “I don’t know, honey. There are these creatures everywhere. Some look like giant lizard people, dog shaped ones. And this one –” Annie covered her mouth to contain herself, shaking her head slowly from side to side. “Oh honey, this one thing was as large as a building.”

“But you and Logan are all right?” Travis redirected, angry by his wife’s distress. He should be there.

“Yes, we’re fine now. I thought this facility should keep us safe.”

“Are you safe?”

Annie shook her head. “I don’t know what to think anymore. Everyone is gone. Those things tore through the streets and pulled people from their homes. Our neighbors…” Annie wiped her eyes, letting out a nervous laugh. “At least we won’t have to make another house payment.”

“What about the people at TransWorld? Isn’t there anyone there?”

“No, it’s deserted. Just like Roanoke. Everything is either deserted or burning.”

“No one’s left?” Travis looked up from the computer, lost in the gravity of what he’d just heard. “So we are all alone.” Travis ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of his. “What the hell are these things? Aliens? Demons?”

“These mile long cracks started forming all over the world. Then smoke began filling the sky with ash and moisture. It’s been raining for like two weeks solid, heavy rain and massive flooding, you should have seen our street.” Annie gave another smile, short lived as she continued on with the bad news. “Then they started coming out of the cracks. Countless numbers, everywhere.”

“I am so thankful you made it there. If I remember right, it’s pretty secluded. And there should be weapons storage somewhere on the premises, perhaps the lower levels. It is a military owned facility.”

“What should I do, Travis?” Annie thought of Logan as she’d driven down the highway, sleeping and vulnerable.

“Leave this comms link active and stay put. Gather as much food as you can.”

“I wish you were here.” Annie reached out and touched the screen.

“Me too.”

“Liar,” Annie smiled.

Travis tilted his head and looked past the computer, running his mind through a complicated plan, unraveling it.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just stay close to the comms room. I’m going to have a little chat with the guys.”

56

C
hristina was startled awake. She opened her eyes and struggled to sit up, but she couldn’t. She could barely raise her head up enough to look down at her body. There were straps across her chest, abdomen and legs. She tried to untie them, but her wrists were secured to the gurney.

“Hello?” Christina thrashed beneath the restraints, struggling for even the tiniest movement. “Please, hello.”

Panic began to grip her mind. She remembered back to the terror she’d felt when Andrews had stood over her, that look of want in his eyes. Had he come back to finish the job? Christina pressed her thighs together as tight as she could, thankful for the feel of fabric against her flesh. At least they hadn’t stripped her naked, she could be thankful for that.

“Someone answer me.” Christina could only raise her voice slightly above a whisper, and even that burned.

“Shush.” A man spoke from behind her, out of view but nearby. “We wouldn’t want you to hurt your lungs.”

“What are you doing to me?” Christina lifted her chin as far as it could go, hoping to tilt her head back for a glimpse of the man behind her. It didn’t sound like Andrews.

“Please don’t talk to me.” Adams moved into view, a syringe in his hand. “Shut up.”

“What are you doing to me?”

“I said shut the fuck up!” Adams stuck the needle into her forearm and injected her with a clear liquid. “There, now I’m all done.”

“Why are you –” Christina could feel a warm sensation in the back of her throat. The dim overhead lighting began to dance about the room. “Why to me?” She was feeling so tired. “Please…no.”

She closed her eyes.

57

H
ildebrandt had been scared. He hoped to God it hadn’t shown in his expression, but it was there. The intensity in Andrews’ eyes could have stopped his heart. Never had he seen a man standing so close to the edge of insanity. But that was the bare truth of it. The facility was now in the hands of a madman. And much like Hitler, Andrews was praying on the minds of the scared masses and had gathered a force. But Hildebrandt refused to succumb to his paranoid fantasies. Thank heavens for Jules and Stevenson. Being the only voice of opposition would have made him very disposable, but there was strength in numbers. It was funny really. He had never really liked Stevenson. Always thought of him as being kind of a smug jerk, like he was above them or something. Now he was thankful to have him.

There was a loud click in the ceiling, followed immediately by the slowly dying fans of his air filtration system.

“Hey!” Hildebrandt hopped up from his cot and stood beneath the metal grate. He licked his fingers and held them beneath the vent, but there was nothing coming through. “What the hell.”

“You had a choice.” Andrews’ voice came through the door. “Now you have to live with it. But don’t worry, you won’t have to harbor that regret for long.”

“You son of a bitch.” Hildebrandt ran to the door, slamming his fists against the thick metal. “You can’t do this to me.”

“Why not?” There was a humor to Andrews’ tone, as if he were holding back a hearty laugh. “We’ve already done it to Jules and Stevenson.”

Hildebrandt stepped away from the door, his arms falling limp to his sides. He dropped to the floor and looked up at the grate. This is how he dies? Trapped in his room like a rat in a cage. A tickle surfaced in the back of his throat, small at first, but steadily growing in intensity. Soon it became overwhelming. He meant to call out, scream something verbally damaging to Andrews and whoever else may be out there with him, but he couldn’t speak. He collapsed to the ground, looking up at the vent as a thin trace of vapor drifted down. Bastards had cut off his oxygen and filtered through some kind of gas. Despite his best efforts to climb up on his cot and close the grates, he just couldn’t summon the strength. He simply laid his head down on the cold floor and closed his eyes.

58

“A
ll personnel are to assemble in the main hangar for a briefing of current events.”

The miners listened to the automated message playing overhead, thankful to hear it. They filed out of their cells, clogging the thin hallways, and made their way toward the hangar.

“Everyone keep moving. Please stay in line and don’t push.” Gomez stood beside the hangar doors, motioning with his hands like an air traffic controller for the men to move on through. “Please move forward in an orderly fashion.”

“I don’t understand what could be so important that Andrews couldn’t have told us over the comms link?” Dr. Hoffman asked as he approached the hangar. “Why the secrecy?”

“What I want to know is why he’s receiving information before we are?” Dustin Gerke, human resources director and all around stuffy asshole, asked with agitation.

The small group of ten from the business facility approached the hangar with less than enthusiastic attitudes. They eyed Gomez up and down, wondering why a peasant such as he should hold information over them? He was just a hired hand. But they went through and joined the miners. Gomez gave a morbid smile, turning to face them as he pressed the button beside the door. Once the door had sealed shut, Gomez raced up the stairs beside him to the control room, his dark heart not wanting to miss the show.

“Are they all in?” Andrews asked, looking back over his shoulder as Gomez burst through the door, wheezing slightly from the sprint.

“Yes. Just had to wait for the second facility to arrive, but they’re all in the hangar.”

“Everyone except Daniels and his prick friends, but they’ll be back soon enough,” Andrews snarled, wishing they could have all been locked down there, taking care of this matter in one press of a button. But it might prove quite entertaining to dispose of them separately. He will certainly enjoy it; spend a bit more time on their deaths. There were no laws against cruel and unusual punishment out here.

“Is the ship sealed?”

“Yes. I checked it myself before programming the announcement.” Rodriguez said proudly.

“Good. I’d hate for some of them to take refuge on board.”

“So we’re really going to do this?” Reece lowered his head, wishing he’d never spoken at all.

“Are you having second doubts, Reece?” Andrews turned to face him, folding his hands about his chest with a focused glare.

Reece shook his head, remembering the gurgle of Jules’ throat as he’d died. He wasn’t present for Stevenson and Hildebrandt, but he could imagine.

“Good boy.” Andrews turned toward the large glass window that looked down on the hangar. “With a push of this button, I hereby cleanse this world of the remaining filth of Earth.” Andrews held his palm above a large red button. “Salvation.” He pressed his hand down upon the button.

Gomez, Rodriguez, Reece, and Adams rushed up to the large window, looking down upon the hangar as a panic broke out. The miners scrambled under the flashing yellow lights, stepping over one another as they rushed the doors, banging their fists upon the metal to no avail. Dr. Hoffman stood in the middle of the hangar, looking up at the glass window and to the security officers on the other side. He mouthed a plea, holding his hands together in the standard begging position, but there was no sympathy from Andrews.

“Airlock doors will open in ten seconds,” the automated voice warned.

The miners were pounding on the walls, screaming to be set free. A group of men were climbing about the large supply ship, pulling on anything that may open and offer temporary security, but nothing gave way. The miners held onto whatever they could as the final seconds counted down to one. Dr. Hoffman stayed where he was, turning from the window to face the door head on.

“Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,” Andrews whispered, feeling a sense of peace as the large doors parted.

The sound of the miners’ screams were drowned out with the suction from the Martian atmosphere. The majority of them were sucked out instantly, cast down into the darkness of the Valles Marineris canyon. Dr. Hoffman was yanked from the room, shooting through the doors as if a string had been tied to his waist. Andrews waved to the miners as they reached out to them, pleading for the door to be shut. Reece looked away, unable to process what he’d allowed to happen.

59

“A
re you out of your fucking mind?”

“Sean, just hear me out. Please.” Travis stood from his chair, holding his hands out to Sean as if he might take them. He waited patiently, pleading with absolute sincerity.

Sean stood for a moment, looking around the circle of chairs to find a reason to keep standing, someone to join in his opposition, but there was no one. The rest of his unit, including Alvin and Dr. Zatzkin, sat relaxed. All of them felt the same humorous shock to such a bizarre notion, yet they wanted to know more. Sean lowered back into his seat with a sigh.

“I know it sounds extremely crazy at first, but hear me out.” Travis took his seat, resting his elbows on his knees to keep this conversation casual. “There is no one left within TransWorld, and so the conditions here are not ending anytime soon. We have to think long term survival here.”

“I don’t know chief.” TJ lifted his head from his hands, shaking it slowly with a mind full of doubt. “Hijacking a massive ship and piloting it to Earth is fun and all, but what about those lizard things? At least we’re safe from all that up here? Less they have a good travel agent.”

“Aside from the whole demon army thing, no one here is qualified to fly that ship.” Morgan hated to put down the hope of rescue, but he was a logical man, and as appetizing as this plan may be, there were many holes.

Travis turned his head to Sean. “In Sean’s early career as a test pilot, he handled some of the biggest birds ever built. I know because I’ve read your file. AVN-332 and the Airship A14. Both have a similar configuration to the supply ship and both were capable of interplanetary travel. In fact, I believe you logged some space hours?”

“You’re comparing apples to large ass spaceships.” Sean let out a single laugh and leaned forward. “Look, those ships were behemoths, I’ll give you that, but they were only half the size of the supply ship. And without the beacon from the home facility, I’ll have to fly the entire way on manual.”

“But you could do it.” Travis was trying to drive home the point and spark some confidence.

“I suppose, but you’re talking a long voyage.”

“How long?” Jerome asked, his tone gaining excitement.

“If we burn primary engines and thrusters the entire way, you’re talking maybe twenty-five, thirty days. But that’s pushing the engines pretty hard. We could risk engine failure, possible fracture or even a meltdown. Not to mention that would eat through our fuel.”

“But there’s fuel at the main facility.”

“Travis, this is just too risky.” Morgan’s expression sank, held down by his heavy heart. “I know you want to save your wife and son, but we’d be risking too much.”

“Actually, I think we’re better off trying for it,” Dr. Zatzkin spoke up. “Look, I’m the last person here that wants to pilot an unsafe ship down to a world infested with building-size monsters, but Travis is right. We need to seek survivors and stock up on supplies. Now this facility is equipped with enough oxygen and food for about two years, but the oxygen filtration system will run out of filters in one year. Unless you want to die of CO2 poising, I say we give Travis’ plan further consideration.”

“You only want to go for your wife and son.” Sean was bitter, snarling. “Risk our lives to save your family.”

“No.” Travis quieted the room, holding out his hands. “You’re right. I want to save my wife and child. And I need you to do it.” Travis set his pride aside and crossed the room, dropping to his knees before Sean. “Please, I can’t do this without you. I’m sorry for however I’ve wronged you, and you can hate me ‘til the day I die, but please don’t punish my wife and son for my mistakes.” Travis was close to tears. He reached out to Sean and took hold of his hand. “Please, I’m begging you.”

No one had ever seen this side of Travis. He was a tough man, someone who would opt for torture over the discomfort of his friends, but never had they seen him beg. This wasn’t their tough lieutenant kneeling before them. This was the desperate act of a loving husband and father. Sean looked him dead in the eyes, pushing past the watering membranes and searching for a reason to hate this man. Just something to cling onto, to validate the way he’s been feeling. But there was nothing there.

“Jesus.” Sean withdrew his hand and crossed his arms around his chest. “Stand up you old fool. I’ll do it. But this doesn’t mean we’re square. And I’m not doing this for you and your rug rat.”

“Thank you.” Travis wiped his eyes as he stood, giving Sean a long look of gratitude before returning to his seat.

“I’m not promising we’ll be successful,” Sean continued. “If we burn the engines full out, I can almost guarantee we’ll run out of fuel before entering the Earth’s atmosphere.” Sean thought to himself for a second, rummaging through the possibilities. “I guess we could always dock with the Alliance space station to refuel. Of course I’ve never done that before, but why not. Let’s add it to the long list of impossibilities. Hell, maybe I’ll do it all blindfolded.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Morgan set aside his previous doubt to take in the growing consent of the group. “I’m all for bringing back civilians to the facility to spare them a life of darkness, but you’re all forgetting one very large problem. Andrews isn’t going to simply hand over the keys to the supply ship.”

“No, but he won’t have to. I can take them.” Alvin felt it was the least he could do. “I know where the security card is for the docking bay ramps. I can steal the access cards, let you out of your cells, and we can go. It’s not like he can come after us.”

“What about Christina? She’s still in the infirmary,” Sean asked.

“She’s stable enough to move. Last time I saw her she was able to sit up and talk.” Morgan remembered their last little talk, wishing they’d been discharged at the same time.

“Okay then.” Travis clapped his hands together.

“Still, I see some problems there.”

“Come on, Morgan, grow a pair.” TJ gave him a wink. “I say we get the funky hell off this red rock.”

Travis moved from man to man, giving each one his undivided attention. “Morgan?”

Morgan gave him a thumbs up.

“Okay then, let’s do it.”