Chapter Four
"Clarke, what's happening? What could this mean?"
"I don't know, I'm trying to find out!"
Isaac simultaneously radiated hope and exasperation as alarms were sounding throughout the cockpit.
He huddled over the flashing keys of the dashboard and examined the gauges.
Earlier, both men had woken from their slumber to the faint sounds of radar mechanisms beeping and echoing from the cockpit of the ship. Disheveled and in a haze, the pair scurried over to the commotion to discover that the ship had detected something important.
Isaac gave a sharp sigh of confusion and murmured a "What the fuck..." to himself, hair hanging over some of his face as he hunched over complicated buttons and levers. Carver was mostly standing beside the other man as he peered over his shoulder to the display in front of them. It was a shit-show, for sure. He gathered nothing as he helplessly read the labels of the flashing buttons, all screeching at the two men and indicating something.
"Ahah, there! Look!" Isaac pointed to a screen attached to the dashboard, displayed on it was one of the active radar systems. The screen flickered and pixels glitched momentarily before a sudden large green dot appeared. It was indeed within a short distance from their ship, according to the console in front of them a little more than one-hundred feet.
"Is that..." Carver trailed off.
"A vessel... holy shit" Isaac finished the thought.
The Soldier huffed "Why didn't all of this shit warn us a little earlier? So now we have someone tailing us and we don't find out until they're within arms reach?!"
"I'm not even gonna question, I'm just glad that we're being warned at all. C'mon, let's take a look."
Carver silently obeyed and followed the other. They slipped into their spacesuits and were armed with weapons within seconds. They proceeded to hurriedly walk through hallways leading to the rear of the ship, and to one of the decompression chambers. The Sergeant began talking as he was on Isaac's heels.
"So when we get out that door, I'll stay back some ways and cover your ass. Besides, you got that doll face, they'll sure as hell gain more trust in you than taking a look at me."
Isaac chuckled and shook his head "Aight' then, Sergeant. It's your call this time. But in all seriousness, you know I ain't risking shit. If I catch anything suspicious then we're outta here."
"Roger. Let's see what's going on."
They stepped into the decompression chamber and stood as their suits fully closed the air-tight seals. The room's oxygen was suddenly sucked through vents within the walls, as the stored oxygen in their tanks whooshed into their helmets and allowed for breathing. The familiar vacuum of space came simultaneously and they both lowly hovered above the floor. Isaac took one look back and watched Carver nod in confirmation before reaching for the handle and giving it a turn.
Planets and stars glistening from afar greeted them, and Clarke noticed the two blue gas giants that their ship had rested a large distance between. They remained close to their point of exit and exchanged glances before the Engineer went to the back corner of the ship, with Carver in tow. Blue eyes peeked around the ship's outer layers before Isaac turned the corner and floated among the Starboard side of their ship.
He didn't notice anything and was about to turn and get an opinion from his companion before his eyes were quickly stunned with a flash of light.
He squinted and looked further to his right, then he saw it.
There was the corroded form of a small vessel floating. It was no larger than a common house back on Earth. He had initially missed the entire thing, had one of it's exterior satellites not reflected the nearby planet light.
He motioned to Carver but the other man seemed to have already noticed. He floated next to Isaac and patted a metal glove on Isaac's armored shoulder before nodding his head in a motion such as "Okay enough goggling, we need to see this shit."
The two friends hovered to the object, the older man taking lead as Carver lingered behind with his shotgun at the ready. They hadn't seem to've alerted any alarm systems, let alone the possible crew inside. Clarke traveled alongside and peered in through small circular windows.
Weird, all of the lights are off...
He came against the ship in order to see the cockpit from an angle. But the dashboard and interior station lights are still on, so this girl is still being powered. Maybe a generator?
He then continued his investigation to the back of the ship where (similar to theirs) was a sealed doorway. He stopped himself from inching closer to it and looked to Carver.
"You've been quiet."
The other man shrugged. "Just thinking, I don't know how I feel about this. Say that we're able to break in as we please, as abandoned as this thing looks I'm not gonna trust only what our eyes see."
Isaac nodded. "You're right, maybe if we-"
He was interrupted with a heavy swoosh of the door and it swung inwards, revealing a dark entry room. Within the same amount of time Carver had put himself between the Engineer and the threshold, weapon drawn and aimed precisely for any sudden movements. Both men floated and stared as a human figure emerged from the darkness, stopping short behind the metal doorframe.
A brief pause.
"Get your hands up, now." The Soldier said.
"Excuse me?" A light masculine voice erupted from the other being, as he slightly lowered his arms.
"Get them up, NOW."
The man obliged, all the while letting out laughter. "I don't think you know what yer doin' Sir."
"Wondering what the hell you're doing following us. Keep those hands up and face the wall, press 'em high and above your head". The Sergeant instructed the man as he swiftly dragged him fully outside and had him facing the outer wall, next to the doorway.
"Carver, what are you doing?" Isaac didn't disagree with the current decision, but his question was more-so directed to what he would do next.
His partner scoffed. "You know what it is man, no more of this risky shit when we're able to handle it. What do you think we should do, Clarke?"
Hmph. He rounded to the side of the restrained man.
"So, what's going on? We picked you up on a radar signal and you were coming pretty damn close." Isaac then suddenly realized and decided to add "Wait... Did you come this way from Earth?"
A chuckle was the initial response, before being finished with "Pffht yeah, what's left of it."
Silence.
Isaac barked out a laugh. "What?"
The man scoffed. "Yeah, it's gone! What else did'ja think? The whole fuckin' planet is infected with those... Things." He took a breath. "As far as I know, I'm one of the only survivors. I was takin' a walk outside and the next thing I know, there are these HUGE ships above us in the sky. They bombed us, the cities crumbled to the ground and there were fires, fuckin' everywhere! Oh did I run!"
Carver's restraining grip on the man was becoming loose, and he let go all together. His arms slowly lowered to his sides and behind his helmet was an mouth-hanging expression of utter shock. He snapped his head to his partner who was also busy attempting to keep up with the story, and failing to hide his horror. Not that he did anything, it was quite the opposite in fact. Isaac's complete lack of talking and his eerie stillness is all that the Soldier needed to notice.
"Then these creatures were suddenly all around, my God they were monsters... Ran around attacking people! No one was prepared for this shit. You should've seen-"
The survivor was interrupted as Carver shoved him back against the ship's wall.
"ENOUGH!"
John heard his infuriated yell before he had realized doing it. And his body continued to control his actions on its own accord. He had the man completely pinned now, his left arm crossing over the man's collarbone and other arm pressed against his stomach strongly, not allowing any movement as his helmet's menacing red glow shone upon the other's visor. This is the first time that he had seen the mystery man's eyes. They were a light brown, shining and youthful to an extent but also carrying years of knowledge. In them was fear and pain, also accompanied by something worse... What appeared to be a dazed state of mind. As if this man was not fully here.
Carver scoffed and eased his grip. "No one asked for your fucking details. Now if you'd shut your goddamn mouth already..."
A gloved hand laid on Carver's shoulder and gave a light tug backwards. He peered over his shoulder to see Isaac ushering him away from the other male, and he complied, but not until after pointing his shotgun at the man and hissing a "You move, I will shoot."
The two friends floated some feet away and had a sort of private discussion about the current situation.
"Look Isaac, I don't know what this man is saying but something definitely ain't right about him. I can see it in his eyes, who knows what the fuck he's doing here. I'm not going to jump to conclusions and call him a phony, but I don't like the vibe I'm getting and this is gonna be a damn waste of time if he keeps us out here with campfire stories."
The Engineer now appeared to have regained his bearing and nodded in agreement, though he was still at a loss of words. Carver noticed and patted his shoulder.
"Hey, we're gonna see for ourselves, alright?" He let out a stressed sigh, which contradicted his words of encouragement. "Don't let this get to you."
"We're gonna run low on oxygen if we don't get back soon. What do you think we should do with this guy?" Isaac asked.
His partner paused. They both had completely forgotten about their own life source thanks to the currently-growing complications. He then snuck a glance to the other and back to Clarke.
"I may regret saying this, but he could be of some use. Not gonna hand over everything to him of course, and I really ain't liking this impression he's giving. But... If he's right... about everything..." John exhaled. "Then maybe we can take our chances with him."
"Yeah..."
The Sergeant nodded and floated back over to the survivor. "So, this thing that you're flying in right now looks like a piece of shit. Is there anything useful inside?"
He was given a questioning look by the man and then received a response. "No, no. Not at all. I haven't eaten in two days, all that's left of supplies in there are some old medical kits but that's about it. 'Been floating around here like a sitting duck until I saw your ship."
"And then followed us."
"Precisely."
Carver let out a hmph before announcing. "If needed, you're welcome to join us. You look like you could use the help."
Without hesitation the man nearly bounced with enthusiasm at the offer. "After you!"
Carver stopped.
"Wait, you don't need to get anything out, or...? We don't got all of the damn time in the world, we need to head back so whatever you gotta do, now is the time."
"No, I don't need anything!"
"...Okay."
The Soldier looked back at Isaac for approval. He was answered with a silent nod and Isaac came beside him and ordered "You, in front of us. This is the only way you'll be going."
The man muttered a light "No problem" and floated within the others' reach.
Isaac gave him specific directions to the same doorway that he and Carver had exited from moments ago, and Isaac took the lead in order to open the sealed hatch.
After the familiar airflow of the ship had entered the chamber, the pair had remained in their suits and instructed the unknown man to remove his.
Carver first noted the chin-length waves of brown hair, then the scarred and battered face of the man as he fully lifted off his helmet. He had narrow features, with a long nose and thin dried lips. His shaggy hair covered the majority of his forehead but didn't managed to hide the hints of scars and recent bruising. His brows were thick and stern, but did not reflect his internal expression as his mouth was pulled into a light and focused line. Small hues of pink filled his cheeks, which added to his youthful appearance. Over all, he seemed at ease despite the current situation. Almost too calm, Carver thought.
The man must have noticed the Soldier's private investigation because he suddenly flipped his head towards him. He gave a little smile downwards as his height was well above six feet, then continued his task of loosening his armor and boots.
The strange silence was ended when Isaac asked for the man's name.
"I go by Jack, what about y'all?"
"Our names aren't important right now."
Jack's metal suit clinked to the ground as he finally shrugged it off, and immediately Carver searched him for any weapons. No words were exchanged and the man didn't seem to question any of the procedures.
Isaac continued "So... There is a plan and my buddy and I here still intend to carry it out... Shithole or not, we're going to Earth."
Jack now stood away from Carver, and his movements froze upon hearing the words.
"Because I can say by now that we both have a damn good idea of how to deal with this, even if those conditions over there are as bad as you say. If you managed to make it out in one piece and find us here, then I have good hopes that there are others still over there fighting for their lives. There is nothing left for us to lose, so this is a risk we are willing to take. If you have any problems, then you're of no use to us and you can carry on out back to your ship."
Jack's silent expression of mortification lessened into a blank face, then finally morphed into an exaggerated smile and he nodded coherently. "Whatever it is that y'all need to do, I'm with ya. I appreciate the hospitality already."
His sudden agreement with the idea didn't go unnoticed to the two other men. They exchanged glances before Carver began to lead the trio into the ship's hallways.
Isaac stood behind the other two and prepared for... well, whatever could happen, really. He was already hearing internal arguments within his mind, pertaining as to whether this invitation of theirs was a smart idea in the first place. Maybe he could end up being of some use, he definitely has a better idea of what it's like back home currently. There could be resistance forces or other combative teams and shelters that he hadn't mentioned yet, it's worth taking a look into.
The Engineer continued these thoughts as he shuffled along, and decided that these next hours would be filled with much pushing for answers in order for his hopes, along with Carver's, to be reached.
ههههههههههههههههه
Author's Note
Oh boy, it's been a while. For those of you who are following this story, I deeply apologize for the lack of updates. It has been rough over here and I have let this story fade away for some time. But I am having some ideas come back and I definitely intend to finish this.
Thank you for reading.