“What do we do about them?” one of the Raiders asked.
Makara said nothing for a moment. It was if she were still trying to wrap her head around the entire concept of a crazed man leading a cult of women. Though I had been here for a while now, even I had difficulty grasping that. I wondered why it had to be that way — how something like the Community could exist for over a decade before finally meeting its end.
Elias having the white eyes confirmed my suspicion — that he really was under the control of Askala and the Radaskim. But with the Community leader dead, there was no way of knowing what the Radaskim’s plan for us was. It was a puzzle. A puzzle we might never find the answer for.
“Tie them up,” Makara finally said. “Until I can decide what to do with them.”
“They can always go back to the Bunker,” I said.
Makara looked at me. “The Bunker we’re going to use?”
She had a point. Maybe there wasn’t enough food in Bunker 84 to sustain us all, but at least there was some.
“They might be too dangerous to be left alive,” Grudge said.
The women stirred at that, and some began to protest. Makara held up a hand.
“Quiet,” Makara said. “There’s already been far too much bloodshed. We need to get back to base and begin the process of evacuating Pyrite. We also need to start getting food from 108 to 84.” Makara turned to the Angels behind her. “Stand guard here.”
“Evacuation?” I asked.
Makara looked at me. “Guess we’ve been out of touch too long. The swarm is besieging Pyrite. It’s going to fall soon. The Elekai are the only thing holding the skies for us. And even they won’t last forever.”
I thought of Askal. We had to really hurry if he was in danger.
The blast door opened.
“Julian, Chris, Nathaniel…” Makara said. “Come with me. The rest of you, stay here. Ashton and Anna can continue piloting Aeneas and we can begin ferrying people to 84.” She exited the ship
We all nodded. It was going to be a long, dangerous process, but it was one we needed to get done soon.
We began walking back to the bridge, leaving the Angels to guard duty. The ship began drifting to port.
“What the hell?” I asked. “I thought this thing was parked.”
“Did Makara disconnect Gilgamesh already?” Michael asked.
Ashton’s already pale face blanched. “No. That only could have been done from the bridge of Aeneas.”
I paused, a sickness overtaking me. Surely, it couldn’t be…
As we sprinted up the corridor, the ship lurched forward, throwing us all to the deck. Even then, I crawled forward around the hook in the corridor.
The door to the bridge was shut.
I didn’t want to believe the worst — that Elias was somehow still alive and was now piloting this thing to who knew where. I had no idea how he had stayed alive, but there was no other explanation.
“It’s him,” I said. “He’s piloting Aeneas.”
“I know,” Michael said. “But to where?”
“We need to contact Makara.”
“Obviously,” Ashton said. “But first we need to shut down the ship.”
“Shut down the ship?” I asked. “That will send us crashing.”
Ashton remained silent at that. From behind in the anteroom, I heard the sounds of struggle. A few guns went off.
“Come on,” I said. “They can take control of the Community. We have to control the ship.”
“How?” Michael asked.
“Like Ashton said. Shut down the ship.”
“But you just said…”
“There’s no time to explain,” I said. “We need to find a way to contact Makara first. We can borrow a radio from one of the Angels.”
I turned back for the anteroom, my heart pounding.
This mess wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 18
I took a radio from a tattooed Angel. I raised it to my mouth.
“Makara! Elias isn’t dead. He has control of Aeneas.”
It took a moment for Makara to respond.
“What?”
“I know. Keep on our tail and keep us updated on any changes.”
Everyone else crowded around to hear Makara’s words. Ashton stepped up next to me.
“We just have to power down the ship long enough so that the door to the bridge unlocks. I would have to go back to the fusion drive to do it. Then everyone else can force the door open. We’d have a few seconds to get it done, but it’s possible. Once you’re through you can radio me and let me know and I can power things back on.”
“Ashton,” Anna said, “the ship could be sent into free fall, especially with that nutcase in the pilot’s chair!”
Ashton stared at Anna levelly. “That’s why we have to get him out of the pilot’s chair and get you behind it. It’ll be up to you to save the ship.”
Anna’s eyes widened at that. It was a dicey plan. But I saw no way that bridge door was opening unless it somehow lost power.
“Isn’t there some way to just target the door?” I asked. “Do we really have to power down the entire ship?”
“I’m smart, but I’m not that smart,” Ashton said. “I’m a scientist, not a hacker. If we can do the whole thing in ten to fifteen seconds, then there’s a good chance we might succeed.”
I sighed. I didn’t really like it, but we were running out of options. Everyone looked to me to make the decision.
“We’ll do it. Anna, Michael… we’ll storm the bridge. Grudge, I want you to go with Ashton. Make sure there are no stragglers back there to attack him.”
Grudge nodded. I could tell he’d rather be fighting up front, but Michael would be perfect for the job. I knew with the Angels amidships and the prisoners rounded up, there was little chance of confrontation anywhere but the bridge. Besides, I trusted Grudge alone with Ashton after he had saved us.
“We need another radio,” Ashton said. “You take that one. I will find another.”
“Let’s hurry,” I said. “There’s no time to waste.”
Five minutes later we were all in position. Grudge and Ashton were by the fusion drive.
“Alright, I’m almost there,” Ashton said, his voice sizzling through the radio. “Just give me a few seconds…”
I placed my ear on the metal door to the bridge. We’d already tried to open it manually, but of course, it had been locked. I heard no sound coming from the other side.
“Alright,” Ashton said. “Is everyone ready?”
We’d already had our weapons drawn. It was just a matter of getting this done. My heart pounded with knowing what we had to do. Force the door open. Kill Elias, again. Not fall through the windshield in the process if the ship went into free fall.
“Go,” I said.
The lights suddenly dimmed and the floor ceased its vibration. The powerful hum of the engine aft faded to nothing. Cries of alarm sounded from the anteroom behind.
We had fifteen seconds.
As the ship began tipping forward, the three of us heaved at the door. Barely, just barely, the door slid open inch by inch.
And waiting for us on the other side was Elias, bloodied with purple slime, white eyes glowing.
With a high inhuman shriek, he pounced on Anna. I battered his head with the butt of my Beretta. Still, he did not turn from Anna, and was set on killing her.