Still don't own them.
Chapter 6
Silence filled the air of the Old Man. Morpheus slowly stood up and picked up the gun that fell on his side. Although the EMP had killed all electric systems in the radius, it was still possible for the Machine to send another troop of Sentinels. And in that case, they would have nothing as their defense.
Roland, Soren, Ghost, Ballard, Gaia and Trinity then left their positions. Niobe followed Nomad out of the control room. The latter had a stern expression on his face.
"They could be back at any second," said the captain. "Grab whatever necessary and come back here to regroup. We're leaving."
After all other crews had left, Morpheus approached to his captain. He then asked quietly, "Do we know where the nearest ship is, sir?"
"No, and I'm sure they don't know we're here either," Nomad remarked. "Now get your stuff, Morpheus. You'll have to lead the crews back to Zion."
"And you, sir?"
"I will prepare a gift for the Sentinels so it might slow them down a little if they should stop by," he replied. "Then I'll follow you right behind."
Morpheus nodded.
It was less than a minute later when all crews regrouped at the operation center. Nomad had already been waiting for them. He was holding two more electromagnetic guns in his hands.
"Morpheus will lead you all back to Zion," said Nomad. "I will stay behind to create a diversion. And do not come back, no matter what."
The crews' faces fell as they realized Nomad wouldn't join them.
The captain didn't fail to notice the look on his crews' face, so he said, "Stop looking at me like I'm going to die because I'm not. Now Morpheus will be your leader, so obey his commands like they're mine."
As he saw his crews nodded, Nomad continued, "Soren, Roland, take the guns."
The two men stepped out and accepted the gun from Nomad.
"Be safe, everyone," Nomad blessed. "I will see you all back in Zion."
"You too, sir," the crews replied.
Morpheus looked at Nomad again. The captain of the Old Man gave his first mate a bare nod, so Morpheus headed towards the door.
"Let's go."
Morpheus led the crews along the old sewage system. They were all heading due south to where the last human city was located.
"How long will it take us to walk to Zion?" Trinity asked in a whisper.
"A few days if another ship should find us," Soren noted, "but something tells me we won't be that lucky."
"In the worst case scenario, it could take a month on foot," Ballard said with a sigh.
"Super," Trinity remarked sarcastically.
"Quiet," Morpheus ordered. "You don't want the Squiddy to find us and rip our lungs out, do you?"
"Actually, I'm more afraid of you ripping my lungs out, but no," Trinity muttered.
Morpheus rolled his eyes before he continued on his way like nothing ever happened. All the rest of the crews chuckled softly as the verbal banter between Morpheus and Trinity was something they were all used to.
After they had continued for a five more minutes, the crews froze as they saw two Sentinels heading towards their position.
"Hide!"
Though Morpheus didn't shout or yell, they could all hear him clearly. They did as he commanded and searched for the best place to hide. Meanwhile, Morpheus, Roland and Soren were ready to fire their weapons in case the Sentinels should see them.
The Sentinels flew past them then paused for a few seconds. Morpheus aimed his weapon at one Sentinels and Soren aim his at another while Roland was as their backup. As one Sentinel moved as though it was going to attack, a bomb could be heard from the distance.
The Sentinels then turned and rushed their ways to the source of the sound. Morpheus wiped his sweat with the back of his hand.
"What the hell was that?" Niobe wondered, though she already had an answer at the back of her mind.
"Captain…" Ballard mumbled.
Morpheus too turned around to the direction where the Methuselah had crashed. He couldn't tell what was really happening there, but all he could see was a flame and a lot of smoke.
Though he had a bad feeling in his stomach, Morpheus bit his bottom lip.
"Let's move," he commanded. As he saw his crews still looking back at the Old Man's direction, he added, "Now."
The crews had no choice but to follow their current leader, quietly this time. Even Trinity didn't say a word or ask a question. She simply pursed her lips and continued walking. Everyone seemed to be deep in their own thoughts, and the rest of the path was paved with silence.
After they had been walking for almost three hours, Morpheus decided that it was alright for them to stop. So he looked for the place where they could hide and led the crews there.
"We're going to stop here for five minutes," he declared. "Then we'll get moving."
To his surprise, nobody complained. Morpheus glanced over Trinity with concern and saw her working with something she had taken with her from the ship. As his worried was lifted, he looked at other crews.
Soren and Roland had put down their guns and massaged their own shoulders. Ballard and Gaia found a place to sit down not very far from each other while Ghost looked back to where they had come from.
It seemed Niobe, too, was observing the crews. Once he met her gaze, Morpheus approached to her with a tired look in his eyes.
"Do you think he's alright?"
Morpheus didn't need to ask who she was referring to as he already knew.
"I don't know, Niobe," he replied. "I hope he is."
"I hope so too," she said softly.
Unable to find a word to say, Morpheus tenderly squeezed Niobe's hand. She smiled in return although it was a rather rueful one. They sat quietly together in that position until Niobe spotted a light heading towards their way.
"Morpheus, look," she whispered.
Morpheus stood up and made a signal so that everyone stayed put. He sneaked out of their hiding place to take a look at the source of the light. The gun in his hands was ready to fire if anything bad should happen.
Relief washed over his face once he realized where the light came from. He dropped the guns and waved his both arms to get the attention.
"Guys!" Morpheus shouted. "It's the Gnosis!"
Once they were all on board of the Gnosis, they were greeted by the captain of the Gnosis and the crews.
"Morpheus, Gaia, everyone," said the captain. "I'm glad you all are alive. At first, I thought nobody survived the blast."
"The blast?" Morpheus repeated.
"Yes, the blast," the captain of the Gnosis insisted. "We rushed to the spot once we heard the Old Man was under attack. Unfortunately we could do nothing when it was blown off. It was a wreck when we arrived."
Morpheus blinked. Suddenly, his head went blank, and he was lost of words.
The captain froze as something registered in his mind. He glanced at the Methuselah's crews once again and realized that Nomad wasn't in presence.
"Where is your captain?" he asked.
No answer came from Morpheus, but it seemed no explanation was really needed.
"Shit!" he cursed then turned to his own crews. "Hawkeye, turn the ship around. We've got to find Captain Nomad."
Though he didn't expect to see the Old Man in its perfect condition and even prepared himself to face the worst, Morpheus still found himself trembling once he saw what was left of the ship that was once his home.
Gaia had fallen to her knees, shock clearly displayed on her pale face. Niobe tried to comfort the broken operator although she knew that her tears threatened to fall from her own eyes.
Soren and Roland ran to the ship and searched to the wreckage like maniacs, wishing they might find their captain alive underneath. A while after that, Ballard and Ghost joined their search.
Trinity made no movement as she watched all the events happening. She could have been mistaken for a statue if a lone tear hadn't rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the ground in front of her.
When the other four men had given up, Morpheus walked to join them as though he was in a trance. He tried to comfort his shipmates although deep down he was shattered into pieces. Before he could think of a word, something caught his eyes so he continued walking.
As Morpheus bent down to the ground to get a closer look at the thing that had caught his attention, he had to look away. His jaws clenched tight and he could have burned all Sentinels to death with the inferno in his eyes.
On the ground before him lied a bloody hand that was unmistakably Nomad's.
