Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (13 page)

There was a scream in the distance, followed by an uncontrollable laugh. Luke hugged the wall of the corridor as he walked through.
Where am I even going?
He thought to himself as he moved. A light flashed on his wrist device. It was Maxwell. He pinged Maxwell back and accepted the incoming call.

“
Luke, did you find your sister?” There was a crackle as Maxwell’s voice cut off.

“
Yes, she’s safe. Thank you for leading me to her.”

“
It was my pleasure, Luke. But I need something from you.”

Luke paused for a few seconds before asking
. “What do you need from me?”

“
I need you to go to the Captain’s quarters.”

“
Why?” Luke questioned intrigued.

“
I’d like to know if the Captain is still alive. If he is, then he can help us. We could alter the course of the ship, or send out a beacon to warn the UCSC what has happened.”

How do we warn others what’s happening if we don’t know ourselves?
“What if he’s not there? What if he’s dead? What if he’s turned?”

“
If he’s dead you’ll find his identification tag. If he’s turned, then… you’ll have to kill him.”

“
What do I do with his identification tag?”

“
I’ll guide you through it when you’re in the Captain’s quarters and you have the identification tag. Don’t forget to ping me before you call me.”

“
Okay.”

“
Oh and you won’t be able to get a tram from Housing D. You’ll have to go through Entertainment and Sports to get to a working tram which will take you closer to the Captain’s quarters.” Maxwell didn’t leave time for Luke to respond or ask any more questions. He ended the call as soon as he finished speaking.

At least I have somewhere to go.
The last time he went to the Entertainment and Sports section of the ship he was with Elizabeth and Megan. That day hadn’t ended well, and the odds were this day wouldn’t either.

The corridor felt cold. The airflow being vented caused a draft and a chill went through Luke’s body. He shivered, not knowing whether it was from the temperature or the feeling that he was being watched. Whispers surrounded him, more and more joined. He glanced around the corridor, but he saw nothing. They increased in volume, it felt like people were breathing down his neck and whispering into his ear. But when he turned around there was nothing. He muffled his ear
s with his hands, to no avail the whispers persisted. He shook his head violently side to side, dizziness engulfed him, for a moment calm prevailed, but he soon felt himself falling to the floor.

Luke awoke with shooting pains throughout his head. He tried to pick himself up, but stumbled and hit the cold metal wall beside him. He retrieved his bottle of water from his backpack and began to drink.
Maybe I am just dehydrated.
He used the wall as leverage and climbed to his feet. His head ached, the intense sharp pains felt like someone was playing pinball inside his mind. He clutched the wall as he felt himself lose balance. He breathed deeply and steadied himself.
What’s happening to me?
A noise in a nearby room distracted his thought, a faint groan and an involuntary gag. Luke stepped towards the noise. His head still pounded, but he could feel the pain fade. He walked with his hand on the wall to steady him. The groan echoed again. It sounded human. Luke approached the open door of someone’s living quarters. The room was a mess. Furniture was destroyed, its pieces scattered across the room, the carpet had been torn up and only the metal flooring remained. The walls were covered in splatters of liquid which glimmered in the blue glow of the emergency lights. Luke stepped into the room as he heard the moan come from deeper within. The noise was emanating from the bathroom. He moved towards it, his revolver in hand, expecting the worst. The floor was covered in an orange liquid filled with solid bits of half-digested food. The smell of it made Luke gag, and he nearly vomited himself. There was a standard issue military handgun resting on a basin. He stepped further into the bathroom and saw the legs of a person. The limbs twitched and moved slowly. A man lay by a vomit covered toilet. A half empty bottle of liquor was beside the man. His eyes were closed, his lips twitched to allow some more vomit to trickle down his chin and onto his chest.
He smells disgusting.
Luke thought as he covered his nose and stood before the man. “Are you alright?” He asked. The only response was a grumble from the man. One of his eyes began to open, his head wobbled side to side. He opened his lips to speak but he gargled on the vomit in his mouth. The man choked, coughed up, and then spat before he glanced to the gun on the basin.

“
Kill me.” The man could barely speak.

“
What?” Luke replied shocked. The man said nothing. He just stared at the handgun. Luke moved over to the basin and picked up the weapon. It felt as light as a toy compared to his revolver. He checked the rounds in the magazine. It was full. He pointed the gun at the man.
Should I kill him?
He began to doubt his initial decision.
If I shoot him it could lead those monsters straight to me. But if I leave him here he could die a more painful death.
Luke hesitated and lowered the weapon.

“
Give me your mercy.” The man muttered. “I have lost everything I love, end my life so I can find peace.” His eyes watered. Luke pointed the handgun at the drunken man’s head once again.

“
I’m sorry.” Luke slid the handgun across the floor towards the man and sprinted out of the room.

“
You coward!” The man shouted, slurring his words, but Luke had vanished down the corridor. He heard the sound of a bottle as it shattered against a wall, but he heard no gun shot.

He had been running for some time before he eventually stopped to rest. His head still ached, his body soon felt the cold draft again, and his legs trembled from exhaustion. A light flashed above him and caught his attention. He was near the
Entertainment and Sports. He took a deep breath, and then moved through the doors and into a different section of the ship.

This wasn’t the first time Luke felt an overbearing feeling of dread when
entering the Entertainment and Sports section of the ship. The first time he felt this feeling was when he and Elizabeth were meeting Megan and her date at the cinema. Elizabeth wanted to watch a play at the theatre, but Megan had insisted on the cinema.

“
It’s not like we can watch new films at the cinema.” Elizabeth had moaned to him. “They’re just re-runs of 'so called' classics which weren’t good to begin with.”

“
I’ll do whatever, I don't mind.” Luke had regretted opening his mouth.

“
No!” Elizabeth screamed. “You say that now in front of me, but when Megan’s around you just back her. You always side with her.”
How could something so trivial cause such a rift between us?

He stepped forward past the doors and onto the large wooden pathway. It was like a promenade on a coastal resort, but without the sea. Every step he took echoed like he was stamping along a wooden bridge. A few pieces of wood were missing from the walkway, but it was stable. Luke carried on walking. He passed overturned fast-food stalls of different kinds ranging from a burger joint to a candyfloss dispenser. The food had been scavenged already though. There were a few bo
arded up shops, which looked long abandoned. He spotted the football pitch ahead and jogged towards it. Only one side of the pitch had seating, but it wasn’t the official stadium aboard the ship. That was further in and seated close to twenty thousand people. Going to the official stadium really put into context just how large the spaceship was. This smaller stadium would only seat several hundred. Luke had fond memories of it though. He had played for a Sunday league team when the ship had first departed from Earth, but Elizabeth had convinced him to stop playing when she said they weren’t spending enough time together. He reached the field of grass. The lights around it were still on, too high for the abominations to smash.
Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen any of those things yet. It’s too bright for them here.
Luke mused on the thought while he stepped onto the grass which reached way past his ankle, it had overgrown. He heard a clicking sound, and then liquid fell down onto his head. He backed off the pitch only to realise it was water. The sprinklers were still active. He opened his mouth to catch some. It was fresh. The water purifier was still working as normal. It was still quiet though, it felt like he was the only person in the whole of Entertainment and Sports.
All it needs is some tumbleweed to drift past.
Just as he finished that thought he heard a noise behind him. Something had dropped, he was sure of it. He moved off the grass and walked towards the sound. An overturned bag with its contents spilt onto the wooden walkway. A bottle of water, a few tubes of food, some magazines and a pocket knife. Luke knelt down and picked up a tube of food, but as he did he heard a faint whimpering. He stood up straight and walked further into the Entertainment’s centre.

The cinema was boarded up with words of warning painted on the walls. ‘Keep Out’ and ‘No Place for the Living’
were two that stood out most frequently. Luke moved past quickly. The crying was increasing in volume. He carried on and moved past bars and clubs he had once been in, restaurants and museums he had taken Elizabeth to. All brought back memories of how he had lived previously. Before he could reminisce further a loud outburst of blubbering echoed from the theatre. He advanced to the large red wooden doors and entered.

A red carpet led from the door, past the ticketing booth, and under a huge red velvet curtain. He followed along
the carpet and pushed through the luxurious curtains. The theatre was dark, almost pitch black except for a spotlight on the centre of the stage which revealed an animal's metal cage. The crying started again, it was soft. Luke advanced to the stage, a figure was curled up in a ball, whimpering. It was a woman, not much younger than Megan. He climbed the steps to the stage. “Hey.” He whispered. The woman didn’t make a sound. She turned around slowly. Water streamed down from her hazel coloured eyes. Her smooth face was scratched, her hair was choppy, and her clothes tattered. “Do you need help? Are there demons around?” He asked the woman, but she didn’t reply, she turned her head to the padlock on the cage and began to whimper again. Luke crossed the stage to get to the lock. It was heavy, but it was old and rusting. He tugged at it and it clanged against the metal of the cage. The woman jumped back, startled by the sound. “It’s okay. I’ll get you out of here.” He glanced around the stage. It was too dark. He couldn’t search for a key, and he doubted there would be a pair of bolt cutters lying around. “Cover your ears.” He said as he retrieved his revolver from its holster. He aimed it at the padlock, took a deep breath, and then fired. The bang echoed loudly through the theatre. He felt disoriented. He holstered his weapon and opened the cage. “You can leave now. It’s alright.” He held out a hand. The woman looked up at him, her crying had ceased, and there was no fear in her eyes, only anger. She glanced at the hand Luke offered to her. Her teeth showed, as she began to snarl. She snapped at his hand, but he pulled it away in time. She leapt and fell upon him. Both his hands worked to keep the woman at bay. Her teeth snapped at him again and barely missed his nose. He pushed the woman back with all his might, and she landed a couple of metres away across the stage. The demonic woman shrieked, and charged for him. He scurried backwards, and hit the cage. He entered it, and held the door closed. The woman ran into the bars, and screeched in pain holding her face. She fell to the floor and began to cry softly again.

There was a brief pause before the sound of a single man clapping boomed throughout the theatre.
“That was a great show. Bravo.”

Luke couldn’t
tell where the voice came from, as the man was seated somewhere in the darkness. “What?” Luke said confused. “Who are you?”

“
Why I’m the theatre director, and you are my star performer. I tried and tried to convey my masterpiece, but couldn’t find anyone to play the lead role. That is until you showed up.” The man began to walk, his footsteps soft and delicate.

“
I don’t understand.” Luke replied wary of the monstrous woman beside the cage.

“
What is there to understand? You play the hero. The character the audience falls in love with.” The man walked up the steps to the stage and into the light. His body was slender, his face skeletal and powdered white. He was dressed in elegant, dust covered, clothes. “But we’re missing part of the scene.” He said as he walked around the cage. “After you rescue the girl, you kiss her.” He pulled the woman to her feet, and pushed her towards Luke. “You see after you kiss her, the curtains come down, and that’s the end of act three.” He slammed the abominations face into the metal bars of the cage. It bared its teeth as it looked upon Luke. “Oh dear, looks like we’ll have to find another actress to play the damsel, this one doesn’t seem too fond of you.” The man pulled the savage away from the cage. “But act three isn’t where our tale ends. Oh no, you see there’s no happy ending where my story is concerned. Act four starts with a shock. The damsel gets a fatal shot to the head.” He pulled out a handgun and shot the demon through its temple. The woman fell to the floor with a thud. “And then, you seek revenge. You infiltrate the gang which killed your beloved princess, but not all goes to plan.” The man whistled. Luke heard footsteps throughout the theatre. It was like the audience had risen from their seats and walked onto the stage. There were growls, barks and grunts as demented beasts walked past the cage. “Now exit that prison and fight for your dead lover.”

“
I didn’t love her.” Luke glanced down at the dead savage. A pool of blood circled around her lifeless body.

“
Nobody told me about a change to the script.” The theatre director began to thumb through imaginary notes. “Can someone hand me the revised script?”

“
I’ve got it, here.” Luke replied.
What am I doing?

“
Well hand it over.”

“
Erm… Okay.” He tried to think of something to say, but his mind had gone blank. He panicked and tossed an imaginary script to the insane man.

“
What was that?” The man said confused. He glared at Luke. His eyes bulged and his veins seemed as though they were going to burst. “Was that some sort of joke? A prank to play on the director?” He shook his head and wagged his finger at Luke. “No. I will not take insolence in my theatre.” He began to shout. “Do you think I’m senseless? That such a trivial trick would fool me?”

“
I’m sorry.” Luke could sense the change of atmosphere. The abominations were getting agitated. They were no longer calm.
I need to get out of here.

“
You’re fired! You are no longer the lead role in this, guaranteed award winning, play.” The director pointed to the exit. “Get out.” He turned his gaze away from Luke like he was disappointed in him. Luke opened the cage door and slowly moved out. The savages bared their teeth and snarled at him as he walked down the steps of the stage. He approached the red velvet curtain.
That was easier than I thought it’d be.

“
Bring me back his head!” The director shouted, and with the end of his sentence the demons screeched and sprinted for Luke.