Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (10 page)

Megan had lost track of the time. She couldn’t remember if she’d been in the cell for two hours or two days. It felt much longer than two days though. Oscar continued to reassure her by saying,
‘The doors haven’t unlocked yet, so it hasn’t been three days.’
What if something has gone wrong and we’re locked in here until we starve?
Megan had thought about replying with that,
but I’d better keep that to myself.
She sat at the back of the cell, huddled in the blanket to help keep her warm. It didn’t help much, she felt cold to the bone. Oscar sat near the glass. He watched the corridor, he would prick up his head at any sound of movement, but his head would lower again soon after.
Nobody around here is sane.
Megan thought as she listened to the gibberish from the person in the cell next to them. She could understand his words, but not his sentences. There was banging from within other cells further down the corridor. Megan tried her best to ignore it, but she couldn’t. Each bang went through her and made her jump.

“
Someone is bound to hear the distress signal, Megan.” Oscar glanced over at her and tried to give a reassuring smile. They had sent distress signals from their wrist devices, hoping that someone would intercept them and come to their aid. Security personnel, Special Forces, or anyone who was sane and had a weapon. They weren’t going to be picky.

“
What if nobody comes? What if we’re the last sane people on the ship?” Megan looked away from Oscar as her eyes began to water.
I won’t let him see me cry.

“
If nobody comes then the doors will unlock and we’ll look for any signs of a resistance group.” He paused as he thought. “If we’re the last two sane people aboard the ship, then I guess we’ll have to go into deep sleep and wait ‘til we reach Earth.”

Megan didn’t reply to Oscar, she still felt too emotional.
What if I never get home? What if I turn insane? What if I never see Luke again?
She snapped out of her thoughts as Oscar jumped to his feet.

“
Somebody’s coming, Megan.” Oscar held out a hand and helped Megan to her feet. She could hear the faint sounds of muffled footsteps. Megan could distinguish two pairs of footsteps before they were drowned out by the shouting and screaming from the other cells. She walked up to the glass and gazed down the corridor. She could see the two people. They held guns, standard issue side firearms. Megan smiled,
they’ve come to help me and Oscar.
She knew it. The two people walked along the corridor. They had nearly reached the cell. Megan banged on the glass as they walked past.

“
We’re here!” She shouted. “Get us out!” They had barely glanced at her. They didn’t slow, they just continued down the corridor. “Why haven’t they stopped?” Megan felt nervous. “Why aren’t they helping us?”

“
Megan, calm down. Look around at the other cells.” The occupants varied from rocking in a corner of the cell, to banging on the glass, screaming and shouting.

“
They probably couldn’t tell that you were sane.”

Was that an insult?
Megan didn’t think too much into it as the two figures walked back down the length of the room and stopped at the cell.

“
Are these the ones?” The taller person said.

Megan could barely hear him speak, he sounded too muffled.

“This is the cell.” The other replied, much calmer, apparently unfazed by the situation. They both wore dark hoods over their heads, and Megan couldn’t see either of their faces. Their clothes were unclean and tattered, their hands dirty and rough.
But they are here to free me from this unbearable cell.
It almost felt like a standoff. Megan and Oscar stared at the two hooded people as they stood silent and still.
Why aren’t they doing anything?
Megan was about to speak but before she could, the smaller person pushed back their hood, revealing a woman, who spoke to her companion.

“
Let’s get them out of the cell.” Her face was skeletal, her complexion white as a ghost, but her eyes were young and radiant, still full of hope. The tall male nodded to the woman, and walked back down the corridor to the control panel. He kept himself hooded.

There was a short delay, and then the doors unlocked and opened. Megan rushed out of the cell.

“Thank you! Thank…” Megan was cut off as the woman hushed loudly at her.

“
Keep quiet. You don’t know what could be around us.” She smiled at Megan with her small narrow lips to try and take the edge off of her command. Megan nodded and glanced down to the floor. She felt like a child being told off by a teacher.

“
How did you find us?” Oscar asked in a hushed tone.

“
A group picked up your distress signal while they were on a raid looking for supplies. They brought your distress signal back to the Bastion and after deliberation we were sent to find you.”

“
What do you mean ‘after deliberation’? You might have left us to starve in this cell? Are there other distress signals you’ve not investigated?” Megan’s voice began to rise as her aggression grew. “There are people dying on this ship!”

“
Will you be quiet?” The man snapped at Megan as he returned. “Do you think we don’t know what’s happening on this ship? That we’ve not lost anyone close to us? I found my five year old son butchered from limb to limb in his school class room and my wife was killed investigating a false distress signal sent out by some psychopathic maniac.”

“
I’m sorry.” Megan lowered her head. “I didn’t know.”

“
No you didn’t. So keep your mouth closed and don’t talk about shit you don’t know.”

“
Okay Nelson, she gets it.” The woman placed a hand on Nelson’s shoulder. He shrugged it off and began to walk out of the cell blocks, and into the stairwell. “Come on you two. We’ll take you to the Bastion.”

Oscar grabbed Megan’s hand, squeezed it gently, and then led her into the stairwell.
“We’re all tired Megan.” Oscar whispered into her ear. She didn’t reply. She just kept her mouth shut as instructed, she wanted to get to a safe place and Nelson would take her to one if she didn’t aggravate him again.

They had been walking for over an hour before N
elson ordered them all to halt. “I’m going to scout ahead. Kara, keep an eye on those two.” Nelson took one last glance at Oscar before he disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

None of them said a word. Only the soft footsteps of Nelson could be heard. Megan took a step back and rested against the wall behind her. She closed her eyes. It felt peaceful. She imagined the ship before, the busy hallways in the entertainment district, the wide open spaces in the mock up park, the cheerful buzz at frequently held dinner parties. Megan remembered the dinner party where she
’d sat at the same table as the captain. He wore a white naval suit, medals along his chest and the rank on his shoulder. He looked so handsome, impressive, dominant and compelling that Megan was overawed and didn’t say a word throughout the whole meal. Nobody noticed though, the table was buzzing with toasts and cheers. She felt like she was reflecting on somebody else’s life.
How can things change so much, so fast?

Megan’s eyes flew open as she heard thuds and bangs. Kara held her handgun up and listened car
efully. Oscar found a metal rod. It was a handrail ripped from the wall. The thuds stopped and Megan could only hear herself breathing.

“
Megan, relax.” Oscar quietly moved over to her and grabbed her hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

A shriek made Megan drop Oscar’s hand and cover her ears. The shriek stopped, but bare footsteps
padded along the metal floor. The creature was running, and it was getting closer. It screamed, and Megan heard faint screeches in reply.
Is it communicating with others?

“
We need to move now.” Kara interrupted Megan’s thoughts. “Follow me.” She ran around the corner where Nelson had been. Megan and Oscar followed as instructed. Kara was fast though, and light on her feet. She barely made a sound. Megan and Oscar on the other hand sounded like a stampede of bulls in comparison. “We need to split up. You two take the left at the end of this corridor, then take your second left after that, and then your first right.” Kara didn’t wait for a response she just darted off down another corridor.

Megan was sprinting her fastest, but Oscar was pulling away. She could hear the footsteps behind her, there was more than
the one creature chasing her, but she didn’t turn to look. It felt like they were already breathing down her neck. Oscar had already reached the end of the corridor, he turned to face her, he was waving his hands to encourage her to run faster, but she was too tired, she felt like it was no good running, they were too fast and she was too slow. Megan heard a slip of skin against metal, and then a crash to the floor followed by another, she risked turning her head to see the commotion. One of the abominations had slipped, and another fell as it stood on the head of the one that had fallen. She winced as she saw blood splatter against the wall. She stumbled herself, but regained her composure and ran towards Oscar.

“
Come on, this way!” He shouted as he took a hold of Megan’s hand. They ran together, and didn’t look back. Oscar pulled her through the second left, and then edged over to the opposite side as they turned to take the first right. They ran down the corridor together, both of them breathing heavily. Oscar still held the metal rod in his right hand, his fingers clutched tightly around it, but not as tight as Megan’s grasp on his left hand. They abruptly stopped as they realised there were no turns down this corridor, just locked doors and nowhere to go.

“
Did we take a wrong turn?” Megan asked as she glanced behind her.

“
No.” Oscar replied in a dull flat tone. He pushed Megan behind him, and faced the oncoming onslaught of ravaging brutes. Megan glanced around Oscar’s side. There were four of the beasts, all sprinting towards them. She closed her eyes as Oscar stepped forward and swung his metal rod. She heard a thud and a snap. She opened her eyes slowly to find Oscar stood over one of the creatures, blood dripping from his metal pole, ready to face the other three. They all ran at him.
They’re going to kill him.
He swung his rod, but missed as the once human beast ducked and dodged the attack. One of the others leapt towards Oscar, but a bang echoed through the corridor, and the brute’s head exploded into pieces. Oscar turned his pole to attack the next assailant and forced it down into one of the creature’s eyes. It fell to the floor face first, and the pole came through the back of the creature’s skull. There was only one abomination left. It turned to face the bang, it opened its blood stained mouth, and was about to shriek, but before it could another bang was fired. The bullet went through the abomination’s mouth and crashed into the metal plating behind Megan.

Megan had fallen to her knees. Tears fell down her cheeks, she thought she was about to meet her maker, but she was saved once again. Kara walked over to them and holstered her handgun.

“You used us as bait?” Oscar questioned angrily, as he helped Megan to her feet.

“
You were making too much noise, and I had to get them away from the Bastion.” Kara replied calmly.

“
Wait a minute. We’re near the Bastion? So what’s Nelson scouting?” Megan inquired as she brushed away tears from her eyes.

“
Yes we’re near the Bastion. Nelson’s not scouting anything. He’ll be talking it through with the leaders whether or not to allow you permission to enter.” Kara kept her voice quiet.

“
What do you mean talking it through? We just want to be safe.” There was anger in Megan now and not sadness.

“
The Bastion won’t be safe if we just let anyone in. We’ve already made that mistake before. Three people lost their lives because we let someone in who we thought was sane. We will not make that mistake again.” Kara gave a stern look to Megan to end the argument.

“
Okay, I get it.” Megan sounded deflated, her anger dispelled. “I’m just tired.”

“
It’s alright. I know how difficult it’s been on this ship the past few days.” Kara smiled to put Megan at ease. “I have a little sister back at the Bastion. I probably would have given up by now if she wasn’t around. She keeps me going y’know?”

“
How old is she?”

“
Eleven. She’s so sweet, always thinking of everyone else before herself. She gave her last meal to the dog because we didn’t have enough food to feed everyone and their pets. We’ve sent out more scavenging parties today though, hopefully there will be plenty of food when we return.” Kara studied Megan’s face carefully. “Have you lost someone aboard the ship?”

“
No... Maybe... I don’t know.” Megan replied as she glanced down at the floor. “He’s supposed to be in deep sleep now, but I don’t know what’s happened to him.”

“
What’s his name?”

“
Luke, Luke Mason, My big brother.” Megan smiled as she remembered him.
I hope you’re okay, Luke.