Authors: James F. David

Ship of the Damned (40 page)

BOOK: Ship of the Damned

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“He’s no use to you now,” Jett said. “The ship is doomed.”

“It’s not too late,” Prophet said.
“Doctor Kellum can repair the generator.”

As Jett and Prophet moved forward, the Crazies stepped aside, watching for an opportunity. Jett moved slowly over the sloped deck, making sure of each step. Soon he could see where the Crazies had prepared their ambush. The shield was lying in the hangar, Kellum’s men having pushed it all the way down the corridor. Dead and wounded men lay everywhere, the injured adding to the moans coming from the bulkheads. Jett realized that if the war continued much longer, there would be no one left to escape. Then the rest of the Crazies parted, and he saw the shine of Compton’s fire suit. Eyes busy, she quickly appraised the situation, her eyes coming to rest on the severed gun cable. Then she smiled and raised her gun.

TRAPPED

T
he battle raged on outside the storeroom where Elizabeth, Wes, and Ralph had taken cover. Elizabeth could still see Anita standing next to her, arms wrapped around her leg. Elizabeth smiled reassuringly, but wondered if the little girl saw her as the Elizabeth she had first met, or the Elizabeth nearly dead from dream deprivation.

Suddenly the Norfolk let out a death scream as metal buckled and a portion of the superstructure collapsed. Most of the crates were tied down, but a stack broke free, tumbling to the deck. The ship rumbled and shuddered, tilting as it did. A bulkhead buckled, folding inward, rivets popping off with the velocity of bullets. The compartment was folding in on itself, leaving little room to stand. The vibrations continued, but the structural collapse slowed. When the ship was stable again, Elizabeth leaned out and saw the backs of armed Crazies. Flattening back, she signalled Wes to be quiet.

“What did you see, Elizabeth?” Ralph said in his best whisper.

Putting her fingers to her lips, she shushed Ralph, who mimicked the signal.

“We know you’re in there,” a voice shouted from the corridor.

Elizabeth and Wes exchanged looks, neither moving.

“Come out or we’ll force you out,” the voice demanded.

“Want I should go out and talk to them?” Ralph said.

Elizabeth shushed Ralph again.

Then a fireball shot through the hatch, setting a crate on fire. The fire quickly died to a smolder, the room filling with acrid smoke. Elizabeth’s eyes teared and she suppressed a cough. Ralph, coughing loudly, came out of his hiding place rubbing his eyes.

“I can’t see so good,” he said, his face tear-streaked.

Wes pulled Ralph flat against the bulkhead just as another fireball struck and more smoke boiled up from the crates. The room was thick with smoke now and the heat was becoming unbearable. Blinded, lungs filling with smoke, they felt helpless.

“We’re coming out,” Elizabeth shouted.

Wes went first, hands in the air. Ralph followed, and then Elizabeth, coughing to clear her lungs. Anita, invisible to all but Elizabeth, went with her, coughing as well; the little girl was experiencing everything that Dawson did. They were surrounded by guards with spears and clubs. When Elizabeth’s eyes cleared, she saw Rust, the man who had tried to burn her on the Nimitz. Rust smiled cruelly.

“We’ve got some unfinished business, Dawson,” Rust said.

“You shouldn’t oughta hurt people,” Ralph told him.

Rust smiled at Ralph, then held his hands out, face concentrating. The air around Ralph began to glow.

“Leave him alone,” Elizabeth pleaded.

“He’s harmless,” Wes said.

Rust’s smile broadened, and Elizabeth realized that the more they begged him to spare Ralph, the more he would enjoy torturing him.

“It sure is hot in here,” Ralph said. “Are you making it hot?”

“Please stop,” Wes said.

“Leave him alone, Rust!” a woman ordered.

The Crazy named Gertie pushed through the guards.

“I don’t take orders from you,” Rust said.

With a look from Gertie, Rust was knocked to the deck. He came up with hands extended, as if ready to burn her, but she held her ground, staring him down.

“They’ve got Prophet!” someone yelled from the hangar.

Rust hurried past Gertie to the hangar.

“Take them,” Gertie ordered the guards.

Elizabeth and the others were pushed toward the hangar. The sounds of battle were gone, replaced by the sounds of suffering. The hangar was filled
with men and women, many wounded, many dead. There was debris everywhere. The deck was tilted at a sharp angle, the bulkheads were crumpled, the hatch above had folded in. Most horrifying of all were the bodies in the decks and bulkheads which had come alive. In the midst of this hell was Jett, his gun to Prophet’s head, advancing through the wreckage. Then Elizabeth saw Compton step forward, bringing her gun to bear on Jett.

“You’re bluffing,” Compton said.

“This ship is doomed. Our only hope is a door out of here,” Jett said.

“Doctor Kellum can repair the generator,”
Prophet broadcast.

Elizabeth could feel a hidden level to Prophet’s message. He was calming their fears and bolstering their loyalty at the same time.

“He’s insane,” Jett said. “You don’t have to die with him. Come with us.”

“With the cable cut you only have one round left, Jett,” Compton said.

“He used that shot,” Prophet said, understanding now and reaching for the arm around his neck.

Roberto lifted his machete to Prophet’s face, and he stopped struggling. Compton advanced, other Crazies circling, closing in. Then Jett dropped his gun and held out his hand.

“I killed Cobb!” he shouted. “I have his power!”

The spaces between Jett’s fingers sparkled with electric light. Prophet’s flock stopped their advance, afraid of Jett’s power. Then Compton shouted for Gertie.

When Gertie left them, Rust smiled at Elizabeth malevolently. Without Gertie to protect them, Rust would burn them at the slightest provocation. Elizabeth’s hand twitched, and she looked down to see Anita shivering uncontrollably. Anita was staring at a half man protruding from the deck, pleading for help.

“Shamita, are you ready with Anita?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes. Len says her heart rate and BP are spiking. We’ve called for an ambulance. Anita’s mother’s with her. Elizabeth, the same thing is happening to you.”

Elizabeth didn’t feel the weakness of her own body because her immediate sensations were from Dawson’s.

“Separate them,” Compton ordered Gertie, pointing at Jett and Prophet.

With a hard stare, Gertie knocked Prophet and Jett into a crumpled bulkhead. Jett’s grip was broken by the blow, and Prophet wrestled himself free. Then the Norfolk collapsed again.

The deck of the hangar rose with a sharp peak running its length. Bodies tumbled from both sides of the crest, Jett and Prophet disappearing on
the far side. Elizabeth tumbled backwards. The guards and Rust forgot their captives, fighting to survive. Above them, Elizabeth could see the remains of the hatch, and just beyond it the opaque field. Then there was a sound above, and men and women scrambled for cover as the crane from the stern crashed into the hangar, burying the half man whom Anita had been staring at.

The ship vibrated constantly now, the sounds of crumpling steel everywhere. The war was over; everyone was scrambling to save their lives. Dr. Kellum appeared across the hangar with Monica and Peters.

“This way!” Dr. Kellum shouted. “There’s a way out here! This way!”

Dropping their weapons, former enemies struggled together through the wreckage toward Kellum and past him down the collapsing corridor. Then Jett appeared without Prophet, climbing over the crest in the dock.

“Ralph’s other door,” Jett shouted, “what about the other door?”

“Ralph,” Elizabeth shouted. “Is the other door close?”

“Sure,” Ralph said, getting to his feet. “It’s this-a-way.” He pointed back down the corridor.

Before Ralph could move, one of the biplanes crashed into the hangar. Jett disappeared behind the wreckage. When the plane settled, Elizabeth could see Jett pinned under a piece of the wing. Roberto rushed to him, clearing the smaller pieces of debris. He tried to lift the weight from Jett, but couldn’t free him. Panicky men and women rushed past, ignoring Roberto’s pleas for help. Then Ralph pushed past Elizabeth, climbing through the wreckage toward Jett.

“Ralph, there’s no time,” Wes shouted.

“I’ll be right back,” Ralph said.

Wes started after him, but was driven back when Norfolk’s second biplane was jammed into the hangar. Now they were cut off from Ralph. Four Crazies were trapped under the new wreckage, one of them Rust. Wes and Elizabeth worked to free the trapped men. One was dead, his skull crushed, but the others were alive.

“Help me first!” Rust ordered.

The catapult had come with the second biplane, its latticework now a twisted mass of steel and many of its joints broken. The bulk of the framework was over Rust, so they started with the nearest man. The first Crazy came out easily, thanking them.

“Help me or you’ll burn,” Rust ordered.

The rescued sailor looked at Rust nervously, but helped Elizabeth and Wes to free the second man. With Wes and Elizabeth lifting, they barely managed to take enough pressure off the trapped man to drag him clear.
With a broken leg, he couldn’t help lift the wreckage. Rust was impaled by a piece of the steel latticework, his side soaked in blood. They tried a lift; Rust screamed when they moved the steel an inch, and then passed out. Seeing the piece of steel protruding from his side, Elizabeth knew that they wouldn’t be able to drag him out like the others. Rust would need to be cut free, and that would take time they didn’t have.

Elizabeth looked back in the hangar for Ralph. He was with Roberto, his hands under the wreckage pinning Jett’s legs, his muscles straining. The wing was still connected to the fuselage, and as Ralph lifted, Roberto pulling Jett from underneath, the entire airplane moved. Jett flexed one leg, then the other, and then stood.

“Kill the heretics. Only when this place is cleansed of their impure thoughts will God restore our paradise.”

Prophet was still alive.

The Crazy helping them with Rust turned like a zombie, unable to resist the commands of his master. He reached for Elizabeth. The Crazy with the broken leg wrapped his arms around Wes’s legs. Elizabeth slapped his hand away. The Crazy reached for her again. Remembering that she had the power of Dawson’s body, she made a fist and swung with all of Dawson’s might. She hit the Crazy just below the cheekbone. He reeled from the blow. Picking up a loose piece of steel, she hit him in the side. The sailor tried to rise. Prophet was still manipulating him.

“Stay down,” Elizabeth said.

Ribs broken, breathing ragged, the Crazy struggled to get up. Elizabeth struck again, catching him squarely on the back of his head. This time he stayed down. Elizabeth turned to help Wes, but he had already freed himself by striking the Crazy’s broken leg. Now Elizabeth looked back for Ralph.

Ralph was with Roberto and Jett, and was surrounded by the remaining Crazies, who were all answering the commands of Prophet. Compton was there, too, gun in hand.

“Kill them,”
Prophet broadcast.

Prophet was climbing through the wreckage, one arm hanging limp. The man who had declared himself ruler of the kingdom of Pot of Gold was a pathetic figure, but he was still in control of his flock. With another command from Prophet, Compton’s arm stretched out, gun pointed at Jett’s head.

LAST CHANCE

“K
ill Nathan Jett!”
Prophet projected.

With Prophet broadcasting thought commands to kill him, and Compton’s gun pointed at his head, Jett knew that he was going to die. He had never feared anything, not even death, but now he found he did care. He had changed since meeting Ralph. It saddened him to know that Ralph would die—he hadn’t felt sad since his brother’s death.

A flash of silver behind Compton caught Jett’s eye. Peters was taking aim. Gertie caught the movement, and the psychokinetic struck, flinging Peters against the wreckage next to Jett. Peters collapsed in a limp pile. The distraction over, Compton again pointed her gun at Jett. Her hand was shaking and her jaw was set. She was trying to resist Prophet.

“Kill him!”
Prophet ordered.

There was no one to save them now except the Norfolk, which was in its death throes. With a mighty twist, the bulkheads bowed out and the deck rippled, knocking the survivors down like bowling pins. When the ship settled again, what had been a bulkhead was the deck, and a crevice ran the width of the ship. Jett shouted above the din.

“Ralph, hold Gertie so she won’t hurt anyone.”

Ralph got to his feet, holding out his arms to steady himself.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Gertie said. “Stay where you are.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, too,” Ralph replied.

She stared at Ralph, pushing with her mind. To her surprise, debris behind him clattered across the deck. Trying again, she knocked one of the Crazies from her feet. Ralph came on. Quickly, she picked up a three-foot piece of pipe, tossed it in the air, and pushed it psychokinetically. Ralph was almost on her, deflecting the pipe with his arm.

“Ow!” Ralph exclaimed.

Then Ralph wrapped Gertie in a bear hug.

“Tell me if I squeeze you too tight,” Ralph said. “I squoze a bird too hard one time and it kinda died.”

Gertie struggled in his arms, but had no hope of breaking free.

Compton had gone down hard when the ship twisted; now a stream of blood was running down her face. Jett had time to limp to her before she recovered her senses. He wielded a piece of steel for the knockout blow. Compton was quick, and rolled away from the blow. Jett adjusted his aim, bringing the piece of steel down low on her back, puncturing one of the nitrogen cylinders. Her pack inflated and burst, the spray of liquid nitrogen creating a cloud of ice particles. Before the ice cloud dissipated, she was up in a low crouch.

Jett feigned a swing, watching her countermove. She was fast. He moved in, and she brought a leg to his head so fast he barely had time to block it. He counter-punched, his fist finding a rock-hard stomach. The deck was moving beneath them now, rising as if to crush them against the electric field coming from above. Compton attacked furiously with blinding kicks and punches. He took them, surprised by her power. If they had fought on level ground, she would have been a better match, but she stumbled, feet tangling in debris, and Jett caught her jaw with a right fist. Stunned, she dropped her guard, and he pummeled her head.

Seeing Compton go down, Prophet charged Jett from behind. With a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, Roberto swung with his machete, catching Prophet in the midsection and stopping his mental broadcasts once and for all. Without Prophet’s manipulation, those advancing on Jett stopped, faces blank. With another shudder from the Norfolk they panicked.

“This way!” Dr. Kellum shouted again from the corridor where Roberto had found the nexus.

Only Dr. Kellum’s face was visible. The corridor was nearly filled with wreckage, except for a hole at the bottom through which Kellum was shouting.

Roberto herded the last survivors toward Kellum. Elizabeth and Wes were trapped behind the wreckage of a biplane on the other side of what was left of the hangar.

“What about the other door?” Jett shouted to them across the chasm.

“We never found it,” Wes shouted back.

“Climb through to me,” Jett shouted.

“There’s no way,” Wes said.

“Take Ralph and go,” Elizabeth shouted from Dawson’s body.

The ship continued to twist slowly; by now, the original decks and bulkheads nearly unrecognizable.

“Take care of Ralph,” Wes called.

“Like I would a brother,” Jett shouted back.

Jett turned away and then stopped, stepping back to the blockage and shouting to Wes and Elizabeth.

“There’s a nuclear warhead in here somewhere,” he told them. “If you make it out, get away as fast as you can.”

“You can let Gertie go now, Ralph,” Jett said.

Gertie turned on Jett as soon as Ralph released her, but she was uncertain, not angry.

“Come with us?” Jett said.

After a glance at Prophet’s body, she nodded, then turned and climbed over the wreckage toward the hole where Dr. Kellum continued to call. Compton was only half conscious. Even though she had tried to kill Wes, she was still part of his team. Helping her to her feet, he wrapped his arm around her waist. The left side of her face was swelling, her left eye merely a purple slit. She spoke through a split lip.

“I want a rematch.”

“Anytime,” Jett said.

Gertie climbed like a mountain goat, but Ralph was clumsy and slow. They were walking bent over by the time they reached the opening, with no more than five feet of headroom left in the hangar. Jett supported Compton up the climb, shoving Ralph into the opening behind Gertie.

“I can do it myself, Wes,” Ralph protested.

Compton went next, crawling behind Ralph and pushing gently on his bottom to keep him moving. Jett climbed in last. It was a tunnel through twisted steel. Halfway through he found Peters. He was punctured in several places, pinned in the wreckage like a butterfly in a collection. He still wore his weapon, but there was no time to retrieve it.

Jett continued through, pulled the last few feet by Monica and Roberto. What had been a corridor was now a steel tunnel ending in the green glow
of the door that Ralph had found. Holes that had been compartment doors were all along the tunnel, some below, some above. There were the body parts of frozen men here too, but none moved now. Gertie was ahead of them, maneuvering through the slowly twisting tunnel toward the green light. Monica helped Dr. Kellum, and Roberto helped Compton. Jett took Ralph’s arm.

“I can do it myself, you know,” Ralph protested.

“I know, Ralph, but is it okay if I hang on to you to keep my balance?” Jett said.

“Okee-dokee, Nate,” Ralph said.

They reached the green glow without losing Ralph. Kellum and Monica stepped in as they arrived.

“A maze of these doors?” Jett said to Roberto.

“Hundreds, maybe thousands,” Roberto said, his face creased with worry. Then, with a smile, he said, “They’ve got to lead somewhere.”

He took Compton’s arm and disappeared into the mist.

“Want I should go get Wes and Elizabeth?” Ralph said.

“No, Ralph.”

“I wouldn’t get lost or anything,” Ralph said.

“I know,” Wes told him. “It’s time to go.”

“And when ya gotta go, ya gotta,” Ralph said.