CHAPTER 13
2237
Rogue Planet Exoginos
Riley glared at Bethany and the other with madness in his eyes. He was hyperventilating, snarling through his teeth like a rabid dog. Isaac stood mere feet from him, trembling and backing away slowly. Riley darted after Isaac, grabbed his head with both hands, and twisted it until it faced back, snapping his neck. Bethany screamed as Isaac’s limp body fell to the ground. Riley turned and charged at Ethan. Ethan raised his gun to shoot but Riley reached him too quickly. Riley grabbed the gun and held it away as it fired. He tried to rip the gun from Ethan’s hand, but Ethan held on. Riley threw a punch but Ethan blocked it with his left hand and countered with a charged right uppercut, enhanced by his exo-suit. The blow launched Riley into the air and he landed on his back, unconscious. Ethan followed him and aimed his gun aimed at Riley’s head.
“No!” Bethany screamed. She ran to Ethan and stepped between him and Riley. “Don’t kill him! Please!”
“Why not?” Ethan shouted back. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t blow a hole through that psycho’s head!”
“He might be our only way off this planet, Ethan.”
Ethan shoved her aside and aimed at Riley. He wanted nothing more than to avenge Captain Anderson and Isaac but he knew Bethany was right. “Fuck!” He removed a magnetic cuff from his exo-suit as he approached Riley. He flipped Riley on his front, pulled his hands back, then slapped the cuffs on him. Ethan looked at Isaac’s body, then Anderson’s. He shook his head and turned to Bethany. “What now?”
“We retrieve the data from the ship, analyze it, then find a way out of here.”
In the distance, a red beam of light shot up into the sky. It was so bright that it tinted the entire region red. A few seconds later, it vanished, leaving a red lingering glow in the sky.
“What the hell was that?” Ethan asked Bethany.
She shrugged.
Ethan stared at the red glow in the distance. “That’s where we’re going.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I’m not returning to the ship without the mech and its pilot has gone insane. We won’t make it back there without the armor. Even if we do, we won’t make it back here.”
“We don’t even know what’s out there,” another survivor said. “How can we know if that way is any safer?”
“We can’t,” Ethan answered. “You can either go somewhere that might kill you, or you can head for the ship and certain death. It’s your call.” He started walking toward the light.
Evans whirred and tried to follow him.
Ethan stopped and placed a hand on Evans’ chest. “You stay here and watch him,” he muttered, motioning at Riley.
“Affirmative, sir,” Evans responded and whirred toward Riley. The robot stopped five feet away and lowered his head, eyes focused on the prisoner.
Bethany picked up Anderson’s gun and followed Ethan. The others discussed their options among themselves, then shrugged and followed their leaders. Riley waited until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore and opened his eyes. He sat up, with the same maddened look in his eyes. He turned and saw Evans looking straight back at him.
Ethan led the group toward the faint red glow in the sky. After walking for an hour, they were close to its source. The path was blocked by thick vines but Ethan tore open a path with the assistance of his suit. They stepped through into a large area with a floor made of metal. As they stepped between the vines, the red beam fired into the sky again. Three seconds later, it vanished again. This time, they saw the source: a large hole in the ground. Ethan raised his hand in a fist. The others stopped and watched while he crept toward the source, surveying the area. Ethan looked down and saw a large black hole in the ground. He walked to its edge. His entire body shivered as he looked down at it, unsure what he was seeing. The hole was about fifty meters wide but Ethan couldn’t tell how deep, or if it had any depth at all. It felt cold and an eerie hum could be heard within. Looking at it dulled his senses. Ethan had never been afraid of heights but standing near the edge of the hole made his heart pound in his chest. He had never seen something so dark.
Bethany joined him. “Whoa,” she said. She shivered and rubbed her hands together as she looked down. “Where’s the light coming from?”
Ethan had no answer.
She sighed. “Isaac was right,” she said. “We’re all going to die here.”
“Beth, is there any way we can survive on this planet?”
“Unless Vindex can open a breach again, we’ll have to find a way. All things considered, I’d put our odds of survival at slim to none. Simply slim if you’re feeling optimistic.”
Ethan walked back to the others. Bethany stared at the hole. Something about it felt familiar. The coldness. The hum. She turned away and followed Ethan. They hadn’t gone far when the beam reappeared with a loud hum. They were so close to the light that it felt as though their skin was burning. Bethany turned to look at it and fell to the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw a ripple on the surface of the black hole. There was also something else. There were thousands of tiny white dots scattered around the surface. Bethany stood up and ran to get a closer look but the ripple vanished. With it, the thousands of white dots also faded.
Bethany froze, staring at the black hole. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed.
Ethan ran to her, wondering what had happened.
She walked closer to the edge of the hole and looked at Ethan. “Can’t you see?”
“See what?” Ethan looked down at the hole.
“It’s not a hole, Ethan. It receives a signal, then it opens a breach to the source of the signal. We can’t see what’s making the light because it isn’t in here, it’s out there!” She could see that he was unconvinced. She took a deep breath, then stepped out onto the black.
Ethan immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. “Are you crazy?” he growled.
“No,” Bethany insisted. “Didn’t you see me stepping on it? It’s a machine, that’s why it hums, and the cold… I think that’s coming from its cooling system.”
Ethan carefully stepped closer to the hole. The darkness made him nauseous. He turned to Bethany. “You’re telling me this thing is a portal?”
“Yes, I believe so,” she answered. “I don’t know that with certainty but, if I’m right, there must be a control system here somewhere.” Bethany walked around the black, looking along the edge as she went.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Ethan followed closely behind, his finger near the trigger of his gun. On the far side of the black, they discovered a four-foot monolith made of a material resembling glass. Bethany stared at the monolith. The material showed no reflection of them and their shadows were invisible on its surface. She stepped closer and moved her hands toward it.
“Bethany!” Ethan barked.
She shuddered and looked back at him. “What?”
Ethan shook his head.
Bethany scoffed, took a deep breath, and touched her palm to the flat top of the monolith. A small jolt of static runs from her palm around her body. Her skin felt icy as every hair on her body stood upright. A loud clang filled the air. Bethany and Ethan looked around, trying to find its source. As the clang faded, a ripple spread from the center of the black until it reached the edge. As soon as the ripple reached the edge, another ripple spread from the center, and the process repeated. With each ripple, the black circle faded and something else gradually appeared in its place. Eventually, the black vanished completely. They could see the crash site where they slept the day before.
Bethany gasped and took her hand off the monolith. “I told you,” she whispered. The image of the crash site was fading, and the ripples were becoming weaker. She quickly placed her palm back onto the monolith. As soon as her hand made contact, the image became clearly defined again and the ripples were stronger.
Ethan grabbed a cuff from his exo-suit and tossed it into the ripple. The cuff fell through the ripple and landed in the grass at the crash site. “You were right,” he agreed. He motioned for the other three survivors to join them.
They hurried over and gasped when they saw the crash site through the ripple.
“Do you know what this means?” Ethan asked Bethany.
“What does it mean?” she asked him.
“Someone else was just here.” Ethan raised his gun and looked around the area.
The one soldier among the three other survivors joined him, while the remaining two crouched together, holding their guns close to their chests.
“Stay sharp, people!” Ethan barked. “We’re not alone.”
“What are we looking for, sir?” the soldier asked.
“You’ll know it when you see it, soldier.”
Bethany took her hand away from the monolith and watched as the ripple closed and the solid black surface reappeared. “Ethan, can you come here for a second?”
Ethan approached her by walking backward with his gun raised.
“Can you put your hand on the monolith?” she asked.
Ethan stared at her, questioning why she was wasting time when their lives were still in danger.
“I’m trying to understand how it works.”
Ethan shook his head, then lowered his gun and let it hang from its strap. He took off his right glove and placed his hand on the monolith. It tingled and he jerked it away. He tried again and kept his hand on the monolith. They heard the clang, then saw the ripples. A black sphere appeared, floating in a dark void. The sphere was rotating.
Ethan stared at it, confused. “What am I looking at?” he asked.
Bethany stepped closer to the ripples and stared at the sphere. It finally dawned on her and she stepped back, bewildered. “Tell me what’s on your mind right now. What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Think!”
“Earth,” he said with a frown. “Why?”
Bethany nodded. She pointed at the sphere in the ripple. “What do you think that is?”
“It’s Earth?”
Bethany nodded. “Do you know what that means?”
“We can go anywhere we want.”
“Yes! All we need to do is think. We can reach the crash site, retrieve the planetary data and be back here in five minutes. Then we can open a portal to any planet we want.”
Ethan still looked unsure. “I hear you but is that safe? Can we just walk straight through it?”
“We can’t,” she answered, “but we have the Vindex. I’m positive it can carry us through the portal unscathed.”
Ethan huffed. “Let’s go get the Vindex then.” He took the lead, with Bethany following closely behind him, while the two civilians and the soldier came at the rear. They watched their surroundings closely as they marched back to Riley and Evans.
The suns were nearing each other in the sky when the group arrived at the top of the mountain. They hadn’t emerged from the rocky path when Bethany tripped on a metal part and almost fell. Ethan picked up the part. It was a joint, covered with black oil. Bethany and Ethan looked at each other with dread. Ethan quickly raised his gun and the other survivors joined him. They walked in a line and found Evans’ parts scattered across the ground, some still sparking. Ethan looked at the spot where he left Riley but only the magnetic cuffs remained. There were footprints on the ground and Ethan followed them. They led him to Vindex.
Ethan looked up and raised his gun. “He’s up there,” he said.
“Then why hasn’t he moved?” Bethany asked.
“He doesn’t remember how to pilot it.” He turned to Bethany. “Stay here, they’ll keep you safe.”
Bethany shook her head and tightened her grip on her gun. “I’ll keep me safe.”
Ethan hooked his gun to the magnetic holster of his exo-suit, gripped the Vindex, and climbed. When he reached the hatch, he found a gap between it and the seal. He wedged his fingers into the gap and pried it open. When the hatch opened, Ethan saw Riley glaring at him with the same manic expression as when he killed Anderson. Ethan reached for his sidearm but Riley threw himself with a shoulder tackle that knocked them both from the top of the mech. They crashed hard on the ground, with Riley on top.
Ethan howled in agony. For a moment, Riley couldn’t see. He pushed himself up as his senses slowly returned, then saw Ethan. Ethan tried to move but he couldn’t feel his arms or his legs. Riley saw a large piece of rock near them. He grabbed the rock and dragged it toward them while kneeling over Ethan. Riley raised it with both hands and held it above his head. He prepared to slam it down on Ethan but Bethany stepped in front of them.
“Stop!” she yelled.
Riley hesitated, then scoffed at her.
Bethany looked into his bloodshot eyes and knew he would do it. Her fingers trembled near the trigger. “Don’t make me kill you,” she pleaded.
Riley raised the rock again. Bethany dropped the gun and ran at him. Riley heard footsteps behind him, dropped the rock, and grabbed Ethan’s rifle. He turned and opened fire on the soldier and the two civilians. He dropped the gun and turned to Bethany, who was charging at him. He ducked and used her momentum to throw her over his shoulder. Bethany landed hard on the ground. Riley grabbed Ethan’s sidearm and pressed it to Ethan’s forehead. He pulled the trigger, but it didn’t fire. He pulled the trigger repeatedly but it wouldn’t work. Riley tossed the gun aside, stood up, and retrieved the rock. He knelt beside Ethan and raised the rock again. Ethan was slowly regaining control of his arms and was able to reach up and knock the rock out of Riley’s hands. Ethan grabbed Riley’s throat and tried to strangle him. Riley grabbed Ethan’s hands, trying to tear them away, but Ethan’s grip was strong. Riley desperately reached at Ethan’s face until his thumbs found his eyes. He pressed his thumbs into Ethan’s eyes until they bled. Ethan released Riley and held his eyes, groaning with pain. Riley coughed, then picked up the rock again. Ethan could no longer see what was happening and had no way to defend himself. Riley raised the rock overhead and slammed it onto Ethan’s head, crushing it.
Ethan’s hands fell to the floor at his sides. Bethany was on her knees and screamed when she saw what Riley had done. She grabbed her gun and opened fire without hesitation. Riley grabbed Ethan’s body and used it to shield himself from the bullets. He ran at Bethany and threw Ethan’s corpse at her. Bethany cried out as Ethan’s weight hit her. Before she could recover, Riley was standing over her, holding a knife. He plunged the knife into Bethany’s chest, then grabbed her neck, strangling her.
“Riley, no! It’s me!” she struggled to plead. “Please remember!”
Riley loosened his grip and looked at her. For a brief moment, Bethany thought she saw recognition in his eyes. Riley’s scowl quickly returned and tightened his grip, watching Bethany’s strength fading. As Bethany faded, with the last strength she had, she raised her hand to Riley’s cheek and stroked it gently.
“Riley, it’s me,” she whispered.
Riley loosened his grip again and his expression changed, replaced by a blank stare. “Beth…” he muttered.
Bethany finally saw the Riley she knew and remembered. She smiled, and then she exhaled, going limp in Riley’s hands.
Tears formed in Riley’s eyes as he watched Bethany die. His hands and body trembled. He carefully placed her body down, then stood up and looked around at everyone he had killed. His friends. Riley looked down at his hands and saw that they were soaked in blood. Tears streamed down his face. Riley stood there for what felt like hours. A terrible sound filled the air. Riley opened his eyes and saw a beam of light shooting up into the sky in the distance.
He made a shovel using the remains of Evans and parts of Ethan’s exo-suit. He used it to dig a large hole, then carried each of the bodies and laid them down into it. He covered the hole, then he stood and stared at the grave. He remembered everything, how he killed each of them. He turned around and walked to Vindex. He took one last look at the grave before he grabbed the support rail and climbed the mech.
Riley entered the cockpit, closed the hatch behind him, and got into his seat. He pulled up a map and saw a blinking red dot on it. Riley followed the dot and arrived at the pitch-black hole in the ground. He approached it. The black hole clanged once and a ripple flowed across its surface until a black space appeared. A powerful red beam of light shot up into the sky. Riley shook his head. He stared at the screen for a moment, then walked into the ripple and vanished.