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“All right, if you think it’s best.” Turner wiped tears from her cheeks and headed for the bridge door. “Whatever was trying to get inside is gone now. I can stand down.”
Jayna had no problem getting Turner to the medical rooms. There were no more deadly plants, whether real or imaginary, and the child’s voice she’d heard repeatedly was silent. Fortunately the ship’s pharmacy was extensive and all in stasis, so Jayna picked a fairly mild sedative and administered it to the now docile Turner. They hastened to Turner’s cabin before the med could kick in and Jayna made sure the lieutenant was changed into casual clothes and lying down before she departed.
“Call me, if you need anything,” she said as she paused by the door. “The Mebsuta C isn’t as big as the Zephyr—I can be here in a minute or two, I promise.”
“I don’t hear the sounds or the voices now.” Turner drew the covers up as if she was going to hide underneath them like a child. “I’ll be all right. Thank you.”
“Any time. It’s a weird setup here for sure.” Jayna hated to leave her fellow crewmember but sticking around to watch Turner sleep under the influence of the sedative was pointless.
Chapter Five
She set out to do another circuit of the ship, praying to the Lords of Space she wouldn’t have any more flashbacks and she would find her missing Security officer. An hour or so later, the first wish had been granted but Soames was nowhere to be seen and his cabin looked as if he hadn’t been there since maybe the first night. The only place she hadn’t searched was the hold and Theo had made the area off limits until further notice.
Screw this, I’ve got to find my guy. Shoulders squared in determination, Jayna headed toward the hold. She supposed she ought to report in first but she didn’t want to be told no. Better not to ask permission. A few minutes later she was standing at the entrance to the hold, fingers on the control panel, hesitating. Of all the weird things on this damn ship, the hold was the worst, with its impossibly large cache of goods and the shipping crates which might or might not be an alien life form.
Jayna pushed the first button.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
With a gasp, Jayna wheeled, weapon at the ready in shaking hands, to face the ghost of Angelee or whatever the manifestation was. Heart pounding, annoyed with herself for losing situational awareness and her own iron self-control, Jayna said, “Don’t you know better than to sneak up on people with guns?” Even as the words left her mouth she knew how ridiculous she sounded, talking to a ghost.
Angelee retreated a step and the image wavered. Jayna realized she could see right through the girl and her old-fashioned clothing. She blinked hard but the apparition remained, watching her with narrowed eyes.
“It’s okay you borrowed my lovey,” Angelee said. “I know this ship is scary. But it won’t help. She’ll collect you too.”
“She who?”
“Nishagwaq. She took all of us and the ones who came before and after.” Angelee peered apprehensively over her shoulder. “Don’t go in there.” And she was gone.
Jayna exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. She contemplated the portal and hesitated. What am I doing here? The captain made it off limits. She couldn’t swear the captain was in his right mind at the moment either and if Soames was in the hold, he might be in trouble. With the way the vids and coms were messed up on this ship, he might have been yelling for help for nearly two days and no one would know. Squaring her shoulders, she didn’t waste any more time but punched the entry code and stepped across the threshold into the cargo area.
The door closed behind her with a snap but she kept herself from turning to gawk. The vast space stretched out in front of her much the same as on her last visit here, although the lights seemed dimmer and some were burned out here and there. The shadows between the crates were deep and ominous. “Soames? You in here, buddy?” Jayna thought her voice sounded thin and weak although she’d yelled full force.
There was no answer and she advanced, going to the right side and heading for the crates which had tested as alien. The surroundings were seriously creeping her out and her instincts were screaming at her the danger was real and present. One is none. I’ve got no backup and no one knows I’m here. Would Theo even think to search for her, as absorbed as he appeared to be in the original captain’s diary?
There were some items on the deck ahead of her and she went closer, appalled to see Soame’s rifle and space boots lying next to one of the acid green alien cargo containers. Convinced now something was really wrong because no ex-military man like Soames would leave those possessions lying on the deck, she reached for the rifle.
As her fingers grazed the stock, she heard a shout. Soames was cursing and firing at something. Jayna’s legs gave way under her and she slumped to the deck, staring at the scene in front of her as if it was happening now instead of some kind of apparition from the past. Her fellow officer was enveloped by a glowing ball of light, black and green, tentacles taking form to grab at him. His frantic volleys of blaster fire didn’t make any impression on the uncanny force and as she watched one tentacle looped around his throat and squeezed while another thicker one encircled his legs and yanked him to the deck. She stared into his horrified eyes as the tentacles began dragging him toward the cargo container, which now opened to reveal a dark maw studded with blazing red points like teeth. He was taken headfirst into the void contained in the container. Jayne reached for him but her hands passed through his as if through a cloud.
The side of the container snapped shut in her vision, leaving only the boots and the rifle.
Fist pressed to her gut in horror, trying to suppress the nausea, Jayna tried to get to her feet. She heard laughter and the voice of the little girl speaking softly in her ear, although the child didn’t appear this time..
“I told you,” Angelee said.
Struggling against whatever force was holding her, Jayna was able to drag herself a few feet away from the cargo containers. She heard a snap and looked over her shoulder to see the side of the crate opening, revealing the black maw behind the façade. A wind arose from nowhere, the gusts roaring as they pushed her toward the crates. Jayna scrabbled at the deck, trying to find something to hang onto, to pull herself further away.
Suddenly the lights blinked off and on and the ship shuddered from stem to stern.
Abrall, punishing the Mebsuta C again.
The wind stopped.
Jayna realized the restraint on her was gone and she managed to get to her feet and ran for the exit, not looking behind her until she reached the threshold and slapped the controls to open the door. While it cycled, she risked one glance and saw nothing other than the rows of stacked cargo. No tentacles, no maw and perhaps more importantly, no boots and no rifle, which were now gone as if they’d never been.
She fell through the partially open portal and hit the close control five times, unable to stop because she so desperately wanted a closed door between herself and what was in the hold. As the door slid shut, Jayna leaned against the bulkhead, sweating and shaking, unable to believe what had happened. Pulse rifle aimed at the door, she retreated to the stairs and then scrambled up to the next level as fast as she could go. Did that actually happen? Or was I having another weird flashback? Jayna was annoyed at herself because she should have grabbed the boots or kept Soames’s rifle to prove to herself and Theo the incident had been real. Now the evidence was gone. Would anyone believe her story?
When she got to the bridge and rushed through the doors, having been only partially successful in calming herself after the terrifying moments in the hold, Paxter was at the controls. He had his feet up and was watching a trideo, the display in the middle of the bridge.
