Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (9 page)

Supplies?
Megan glanced up at him as he led the way with unflinching determination.
How can he be so calm and clear thinking? He was right though, the cells would be sealed chambers with little inside them. They would need...
Megan tried to focus as she attempted to keep up with Oscar's urgent steps.

He grabbed Megan’s hand.
“This way.” Oscar led Megan into a stairwell.

There was a distant howl above them. Shivers went through Megan’s body. He led her down a couple of flights of stairs, and into a new corridor. The lights were off, only the blue glow of the backup lights placed along the floor. There was a liquid straight in front of them which ran slowly down from the wall. The lights flashed back on for a brief period. The wall was covered in blood, but Megan could
n’t see where it had come from, there were no bodies here.

Before Megan knew it she was moving again, trying to keep up with Oscar’s pace. He was much taller, and physically fit. He played for one of the big football teams who
competed on Sundays. Megan used to go and watch sometimes when Luke had dragged her along with him.

“
Come with me. We don’t do much together these days. It’ll be fun. Don’t make me go on my own.” Luke had said to her.

“
Why don’t you go with Elizabeth?” she had replied.

“
She works late on Saturday, she won’t be up.”

I doubt she was working.
Megan suddenly thought as she remembered her conversation with Elizabeth not long ago.

Oscar stopped and Megan nearly walked into the back of him. There was an opening to their left. A large chunk of the wall was missing. Oscar moved closer to it and poked his head through to take a look. He slowly stepped in and waved her over to join him. She tentatively placed a foot through the crack, and as she brought her other leg through she scrapped it on a sharp metal splinter. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming in agony. She calmed herself and followed Oscar through into the living quarters of an unknown person's apartment.

It was a large, open living room. There was a beautifully patterned carpet, elegant hand painted walls and a sparkling chandelier which dripped blood in a spiral pattern on the floor. Oscar vanished for a minute, and then returned holding a blanket and some clothes.

“
Don’t go in this room.” Oscar said as he closed shut the bedroom door behind him.

“
Why what’s in there?” Megan asked hesitantly. Oscar just gave her a look telling her she didn’t want to know. She nodded back to him understanding.

“
See if you can find any food. Sealed boxed food would be the best, but anything will do for now.”

Megan followed the
perimeter of the room avoiding the dripping blood from the chandelier. She reached what appeared to be a wooden door. It had gashes and bulges from where it had been struck, but it didn't splinter like wood. One of the hinges had snapped and the door was leaning at a crazy angle. She was slim enough to squeeze through. She didn’t know whether Oscar would be able to get his bulky frame through, but he could probably rip the door from the hinges.

As she reached the other side she felt somethin
g dripping down her leg. Megan touched her leg and checked her fingers, she was bleeding. She found a cloth and wiped her leg where she'd scraped it before. As she tossed the cloth aside she realised she was in the kitchen.
I wanted an apartment like this.
It was one of the largest room sizes available, and a lot were custom built for the occupants, the kitchen certainly was. It had black granite surfaces, with an island in the middle, an oven large enough to roast a pig, a bread maker, a toaster with excessive settings.

Megan stopped admiring the kitchen, and glanced around for food and supplies. She walked to the sink and ran the tap. The water came, but it was a faint red, which intensified as it collected in the sink.
She shuddered and quickly turned off the tap. She felt revulsion. Megan turned to the cupboards above the oven and opened them. They were empty. She tried the rest, but found nothing but a few crumbs. A loud knock came from the inside of the fridge.
Why haven’t I checked the fridge?
There was another bang from within it. She glanced back into the living quarters and she could hear Oscar rummaging around. She stepped closer to the fridge, and placed her hand on the handle. She jumped backwards as the insides banged again. Megan swallowed her fear and cautiously started to pull open the door. She had barely opened the door an inch before there was a push from within, the door was flung open. Megan quickly jumped back.

A woman stared at Megan.
Her face purple and her skin covered in goose bumps, but she didn't shiver. Megan eased herself backwards and away from the middle aged woman. The woman’s clothes were torn, and covered in red black stains, her arms were full of scratches and cuts, and her large grey blue eyes looked soulless.
She’s looking through me.
Megan gulped, she tried to speak, but the words were stuck in her throat. The woman took a step closer to her, and looked her up and down, as if she was weighing up what part of Megan to feast on first. The woman snarled, the lights flashed on and off, and as quick as that, the woman was on top of her. Megan squirmed, but she couldn’t break free of the woman’s vice like grasp. She wriggled and freed one of her arms. The woman’s head came down to Megan’s face, her mouth opened wide. Her canine teeth were the sharpest Megan had ever seen. Megan searched the floor with her free hand, grasping for anything she could hold and use as a weapon. She placed her hand upon a large shard of glass and pain shot through her fingers but she had to ignore it. She slashed the woman’s neck. Blood pumped out from the wound but neither the woman nor Megan seemed to notice. Megan stabbed at her again whilst pushing her off. The woman suddenly dropped forward. She was dead. Oscar was standing over her. He’d finished the fight.

Oscar had heard the commotion coming from the kitchen
, but he had struggled to get past the damaged door. Megan hadn’t noticed all the banging noises that Oscar had made as he tried to smash his way through. She had been too busy fighting for her life.

Oscar had found some vodka which he poured over her hand. Megan winced as it ran over the cuts on her fingers and palm. He’d also found a first aid box and placed some dressings over her wounds. Oscar did all that in silence and only when he finished did he look
up to meet her eyes. He gently placed his hands either side of her face. Megan thought for a minute that he was going to kiss her, but “I’m sorry.” was all he softly said.

Megan’s heart was still racing, but they did find some edible food and drinkable liquid in the fridge. How long the sustenance would last, Megan didn’t know, but it would have to suffice for now.

The pair left the apartment and Megan followed Oscar closely. He was more cautious now. He checked more frequently to see how she was doing. “I’m fine.” Megan had replied, but she knew Oscar could read her facial expressions. Her left hand was throbbing with pain, she felt dizzy, and a headache raged within her. She just wanted to rest. She felt shaky. The aftermath of shock and the adrenalin rush to her body.

“
We’re not far from the holding cells now.” Oscar said as he led her into another stairwell. “It’s just up these stairs.” He grabbed Megan as she lost her balance on the first step. “You don’t look good.”

“
I’ll be fine.” Megan tightly gripped the cold metal banister of the stairwell. “I’m just a little shaken up.”

Climbing the stairs seemed to take an eternity. Megan couldn’t remember if she had climbed twenty flights of stairs or just
a few. She felt like she was slipping away into a dream every time she blinked her eyes. Oscar waited ahead at a door leading into a different area. The sign above read ‘Cell block 7A’. Megan had never been to any cell block before, but she remembered seeing pictures of them in the pamphlets. They were cheerless, dull and grey.

Oscar opened the door and
blocked it from closing to allow Megan to pass. She brushed past him as she entered the cell blocks. The cells were larger than they looked in the photographs. Not as large as her apartment, but nearly. They weren’t much to look at, just cubes of grey metal on all sides except for one which was a large, thick panel of glass. Most of them were empty as the pair walked past, but one cell had so much blood smeared across the glass panel, it was almost impossible to see into it. There were only small clean sections for any visibility, but Megan did not dare to look, she was terrified of what she might see. As they walked along the cell block corridor, they could see that more and more of the cells were occupied. One of the inmates leapt towards Megan making her flinch, but they only crashed into the glass. Another sat hunched in the corner of its cell, others were chanting, and some were pleading to let them out.

Megan ignored them all and followed Oscar. He stopped when he reached the command panel. He typed in some commands, and Megan shifted uneasily on the spot. She didn’t like it in the cell blocks, but she knew it was the safest option.
It's best to stay put and wait for help.

“
We’ll stay in cell 19. Make sure you bring the supplies, the door cannot be opened from the inside.” Oscar said as he finished keying in on the command terminal. “I’ve left a message on the computer, so when people come they’ll know we aren’t criminals. Other than that the door is scheduled to open in three days.”

Megan followed Oscar into one of the dull grey cells.
At least this one is clean.
The door slid shut behind them and Megan heard it bolt into place.
I thought about being locked in a room with Oscar, but not like this.
She watched as Oscar threw down a blanket.

“
You need to rest.” He nodded to the blanket and placed a cushion on it. “I’ll stay up and wake you if anything happens.” He smiled to reassure her, but Megan just flopped down on the blanket and fell asleep a lot faster than she thought she would.

The rooms along the corridor were all deserted, and they looked to have been that way for a while. Luke stepped out of Megan’s apartment and back into the corridor.
Where would she have gone?
Luke thought, trying to put himself in her situation. She was the only thing keeping him going. Elizabeth was dead and there was nothing he could do to bring her back. Luke had always thought they would grow old together. He was going to propose to her when they returned back to Earth. He was going to take her to his grandfather’s farm, have a picnic beside the lake on a cool spring day, and watch the wildlife blossom around them. Elizabeth had spent the vast majority of her life in cities. The sprawling metropolises hundreds of miles in diameter.
Sure there were parks in the cities, but they weren’t the same.
They were out-of-place on top of skyscrapers and hidden in-between the mass transit systems.
Not like my grandparents’ place…
At least now I don’t have to worry about her saying no to my marriage proposal.

The low hum of the ventilat
ion shafts was the only noise Luke could hear. The echoes of the shrieks and screams had subsided. He didn’t know whether he preferred the quietness.
At least when they shrieked I knew where to avoid
. Now he felt blind. Luke glanced down the corridor and spotted a missing door to the apartment next to Megan’s. He approached it. There was blood around the edges, almost as if someone had gone around the outline of the door with a large paintbrush. There were a couple of hand prints on the floor just inside the apartment. Luke entered as he stepped over the prints to avoid them. The room was identical in size to Megan’s. The furniture wasn’t too dissimilar either. The placing of the furniture was though. The room even had a tank, but not a fish tank. The tank was once home to a snake. Luke could tell from the skin left inside, but there was no snake to be seen. He didn’t focus on the whereabouts of the missing pet, he had more pressing matters.

Luke moved over to a dark red couch, he placed his hand on the arm rest. It was wet. He checked his hand and it was covered in blood. He wiped his hand on a cloth covering a dining table, and left blood stains over the corner of it. He circled the room looking for anything of use. As he passed the rear of the couch he realised it was a light beige colour.
It must be soft to sit upon. It soaks up blood like a sponge.
Luke resisted the temptation to rest, and continued to search the apartment. He noticed a model space ship in the corner of the room on top of a desk. He walked over and realised it was a replica model of the UCSC Defiance.
I wanted one of these.
Luke smiled as he picked it up. Elizabeth had told him no. She said it was an ugly little thing. Luke placed the model back down on the table.
Maybe I’ll get one when this hell is over.
There was a map above the desk in a frame hanging on the wall. Luke pulled it down as he realised it was a map of the ship. He studied it carefully, it was a large semi-commercial ship. An obscure organisation helped fund the building costs. He struggled to remember the name of the company. It was not well known to the public. Luke didn’t mind though, most government built ships weren’t as luxurious, they were built economically, every ship the same as the last, maybe with a few modifications. The UCSC Defiance was unique. The first collaboration built ship between the government and a corporation. The map was no help though. It was never going to tell him where his sister was. He threw it down to the floor, annoyed.
Where are you Megan?

Luke felt a buzz go through his arm. He checked his wrist device and it flashed with a ping.
Maxwell.
He thought suddenly. He quickly glanced around the room, hoping that nothing had heard him smash the map, and then pinged Maxwell back. There was a little delay, and then he received a call on his wrist device.

“
Luke?” A voice crackled out of the speakers.

“
Yes it’s me.” Luke replied, and then asked. “You pinged me?”

“
Yes I have some news for you. Now before I tell you I need you to promise me something.”

What does he want from me?
Luke deliberated as he thought, and then questioned. “What do you want?”

“
I need you to do something for me, but I don’t expect you to do it now. How can you trust me, that’s what you’re wondering,” Maxwell went silent for a few seconds. “Am I right?”

“
Yes.” Luke didn’t know where Maxwell was going with this.

“
So I’ll win your trust. How? You might be thinking, well I’ll tell you.” Maxwell paused again. “I think I’ve found your sister.”

Luke didn’t know how to react, he stood still
. He was astounded.
He thinks he’s found Megan.
“What do you mean, think?”

“
Well the intelligence I’ve acquired isn’t exactly new, nor is it from the most reliable of sources. So if it is right, you know what it’s like, she could be dead by now. Or the source could be wrong. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but people are going a little insane.”

“
Yes I’ve noticed.” Luke couldn’t help but smile. “So where do I find her?”

“
Promise me, Luke. Promise me you’ll help me after you find your sister.”

“
I will help you.” Luke replied without hesitation.

“
We don’t have time to stay on here long, Luke. Now promise me.” Maxwell’s voice sounded sharp and serious.

“
Okay, I promise I’ll help you.” Luke still didn’t know what he was committing to, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to find Megan.

“
Thank you, Luke. There is a small resistance group located in a cafeteria in Housing D. It’s by holding cells. That’s all I know. I have to go now. Remember to ping me if you want to speak to me.”