I took my Beretta as Grudge unclipped the holster and handed it to me as well.
“How did you…”
“There’s no time to explain,” Grudge said. “Suffice it to say…those buggers didn’t catch me. I was able to tail them as they took you to the bottom of the Bunker.”
The fusion drive continued to hum. Grudge went quiet momentarily as shouting came from the corridor amidships.
“I followed them all the way down to the cells they kept you in. They brought Aston out first.” He shrugged. “So I followed until I got to this ship. I waited until they left, then ran on board, hiding in an empty cabin. It took a while, but I found Ashton behind a locked door. Had to call out to be sure. Thankfully, no one was around, so we made this crazy plan. We knew they were bringing the rest of you here because of something Ashton overheard. He taught me how to power down the ship. I waited until they brought everyone else on board, then…lights out.”
I just stared at Grudge in shock. He gave a lopsided grin.
“Told you I’d be useful.”
“Alright, so what’s the plan now?” I asked.
“Take over this ship,” Ashton said, matter-of-factly. “And neutralize any Community members that put up a fight.”
“But first, we have to rescue my katana,” Anna said.
“Rescue?” I asked.
“It’s in the captain’s quarters,” Julian said. “You, Michael, and Grudge are the only ones with weapons.”
“I saw them take it there,” Grudge said. “These women might have a lot in the way of crazy, but not a lot in the way of firepower. Only a few of them have weapons, so we need to strike now while we have the chance.”
Ashton at last succeeded at powering down the computer.
“Locked down,” he said. “And only I have the password. This ship isn’t going anywhere unless I say so.” He looked at each of us pointedly. “The password is ‘bubbles,’ should something happen to me out there.”
“You’re not dying out there, Bubbles,” Anna said.
Julian snickered.
“Look, this is not a time for jokes,” Michael said. “We need to get a move on.”
I nodded. “Right. Michael and I can take point, Grudge can watch our backs. Be careful out there. We’re trying to be quiet. No shooting or killing unless absolutely necessary. Let them attack us first. This might be a big ship, but we’re sure to run into someone out there. Elias is probably on the bridge — maybe we should start there.”
Everyone nodded. I had no idea if what I was saying was right or not, but I guessed we would soon find out.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We exited the power room and entered the dark corridor. For now there was no sound. Elias had probably pulled everyone back to fortify the bridge.
If that was the case, it was going to be a hard fight.
Our footsteps echoed coldly on the deck. I could hardly see, but Michael strode forward boldly. He suddenly turned left. It took my eyes a moment to find a flight of stairs leading up.
I followed after him. The entire group’s footsteps clanged on the metal stairs more loudly than I’d expected. It was dead silent otherwise on the ship, almost as if it were abandoned.
As Michael crested the last step, a shadow charged from the side, tackling him. With a guttural yell, Michael threw the crazed woman off of him just as another struck him from the front
I ran forward, not daring to shoot in the darkness. I tackled the shadow that was gripping Michael. Quickly, I brought down the butt of my gun on the woman’s head. I felt a huge thump and the body crumpled beneath me. The other woman hissed, but I heard the sickening sound of Anna’s knife slicing through her neck. A few gurgles sounded in the corridor.
Anna rushed to finish off the woman I had downed with a swipe of her knife. It had all happened in about ten seconds. My heart rushed as I primed myself to face more attackers. But no one else came. The ship was silent once more.
“Let’s keep moving,” I said.
Michael turned to the left and began walking, which led forward. I had no idea how Michael knew which direction to go — or even if he knew which direction to go.
We passed an intersection where a corridor went off to the right at a ninety-degree angle. We had lost our flashlights — apparently, the Community had seen fit to keep those — so we were walking blind. I saw nothing down that corridor, but had to trust that Grudge was going to watch our backs as we advanced. We kept walking along the length of the ship, finally arriving at a corner.
“This is it,” Grudge whispered. “I saw him take the katana in here.”
Ahead was a metal door. Hopefully, Elias was somewhere else for the moment.
Michael tried the latch, finding it unlocked. The door swung slowly inward, revealing the darkness within. It was quiet and the room stank. I guessed nothing in it had been washed in a while. I tried not to gag as I walked inside, keeping my wits about me in case someone really was hiding in here.
“I have no idea where it is,” Grudge said. “I just saw him walk in here with it.”
Anna forged ahead. A moment later, I heard the sound of the blade being unsheathed from its scabbard.
“It was on the bed,” she said, her tone disgusted.
“Come on,” Ashton said. “Let’s take control of this ship.”
We turned and exited the room. Even if we did have more weapons and fighting experience than these women, I didn’t relish the thought of killing them. Even the two that had attacked us on the stairwell had been too much. It was just too much blood. And yet, I didn’t see another way out of here. This ship was the only way out of here — otherwise, we were stuck. The only other possibility was Makara and some of the Angels coming after us. Somehow, I had the feeling that by the time that happened, we would be long dead. No, we had to do this and we had to do it now. Even if that meant killing.
Too much depended on us staying alive.
We hesitated in front of the door, as if we all had the same thought.
“So,” Julian said. “Just charge the bridge and hope for the best?”
Ashton shook his head. “It will be a bloodbath. There has to be a better way of doing this.”
“Well, the ship is locked down, at least for the moment,” I said. “Maybe we can escape to the surface, try to raise Makara…”
“And leave a bloodthirsty cult with access to nuclear weapons behind?” Anna asked.
“Well, they can’t use the weapons if they can’t even get the ship online…”
Anna sighed. “Maybe they have a way of figuring it out a lot faster than we would think. We must keep this ship from leaving this Bunker if it’s the last thing we do.”
I knew Anna was right. Maybe there wouldn’t have to be bloodshed. Maybe the threat of it would be enough.
“If we can just kill Elias…” Julian said. “Maybe the rest will come crashing down.”
“He’s sure to be guarded by all of his followers,” I said. “They seem quite determined.”
“It’s the only way,” Grudge said with finality.
“We’d have to mow down dozens just to get to him on the bridge,” I said.
“Sounds good to me,” Anna said.
“Alex has a point,” Ashton said. “We can’t just kill all of these people.”
“Well, how else are we supposed to do this?” Grudge asked.
No one said anything. We had been silent only a moment when all the lights flashed back on. I ducked into the captain’s quarters, and everyone else followed after me.
“They have the damn ship online!” Ashton said.
The entire ship thrummed as the fusion drive came to life. The floor and walls gave a subtle vibration that signified the ship’s latent power.