Chapter Five

Within hours, the trio had prepared for the planned return to their homeland. Throughout this time, another minor interrogation took place between them, which lead to Isaac and Carver agreeing to let Jack roam throughout emptied areas of the ship and the cockpit, under close surveillance of course.

Isaac lingered in the main control room and tinkered with various contraptions, swiping collected dust from the surfaces and confirming their functionalities. Meanwhile the Sergeant gathered supplies into portable cases and remained in a near vicinity to his friend. Some quiet conversation ensued between the two as they kept their guest of the ship under vigilant watch. He seemed cooperative enough, though they both knew that he was not originally willing to make a return trip to Earth.

He mostly wandered around the tight isles of the ship and inspected mechanisms along the walls, as well as curiously peering into adjacent rooms. He gave a slow stroll, hands clasped behind his back and lightly swinging each leg before taking a step.

Carver had indeed noticed this calm demeanor, and stored his observation into the back of his mind before focusing onto the current task. He felt great apprehension at every thought of the possible outcomes of this trek. He and Clarke shouldn't be surprised at whatever is happening on Earth this moment, right? If we didn't go there… Where else would we go? As far as Clarke and I know, by now nearly every civilized space station is infected. I'm sure there are many areas on Earth that are still standing, it's only been about two days since those Moons appeared, for fuck's sake.

"Hey Carver, are you ready for this?"

John snapped up at the question and looked to the Engineer who was standing next to one of the piloting seats. Isaac was turned away from him and facing the dashboard, with his head turned to the side as he awaited a response. The other man silently made his way and stood some feet behind Isaac. He gave a sigh.

"As much as I am, I'm also trying to prepare for the worst. I haven't lost all hope but what if this also becomes… a disaster?"

At this, the blue-eyed man fully turned and faced his friend.

"No matter what happens, we'll be able to figure something out. There's gotta be plenty of people out there right now, either fighting for their lives or holding up in places. I can't imagine what the governments or those damn Unitologists could be doing exactly… But I think that the best we can do is stay low and help whoever we can. And of course, stop this shit from spreading over the entire planet." Isaac reassured.

"That's what I had in mind. Now what about this guy?" John motioned his hand towards the back of the control room where two hallways met, and where the third man was making his way exploring the vacant rooms.

"I guess we should bring him out then. I'll start prepping the ship now for take off."

"Alright, I'll get'm."

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The Soldier turned and headed to the intersection of hallways. He then stopped in his tracks and waited.

Clink!

The sound of a small item clattering to the floor and scuffling brought his attention to the right pathway. He approached an opened doorway toward the end and stood under it.

"Ehem, hey Jack. You uh, you ready to go?"

He was greeted with an expression of surprise as Jack whirled around from the shelf of abandoned trinkets along the back wall. What appeared to be a make-shift toy rocket ship lay upon the floor. The man gave a chuckle as he glanced down to it before returning his gaze to the other.

"Oh, oh sure. I didn't think it'd be this soon. That's no problem though, I know that this is important to y'all and I don't intend to hinder anything."

"Great"- A low hum throughout the ship interrupted Carver. Within seconds the walls of the ship gave a light vibration and lights flickered throughout as the engines rumbled to life. He shook his head and held an all-too-knowing smirk.

"Alright then, I guess we're leaving sooner than I thought..."

The other man smiled as well and looked to the floor, he pressed his lips tight and remained silent.

John noticed this.

"Look uh, we know where you came from and now we're... Well we're technically taking you back to it. My buddy Isaac and I have been there, done that. Trust me. But whenever you look at the big picture, there's nothing to go off of from here unless we go back." He sighed. "No way in hell are there enough supplies in this thing. Those crates I packed up by the front? Only about ten water pouches, plus whatever dried and crusted crumbs of food I could find in the fuckin' storage. Even if we didn't want to return, we wouldn't last out here."

The other man nodded in agreement and looked off to the side.

"I get it I get it, not much we can do, right? I reckon that this is also the best option for now."

"Yup. Alright, well I'm gonna go up front with Nerd Boy in there and see what I can do."

Jack made a noise of confirmation and crouched down to pick up the dented toy, then stood to replace it onto the shelf before rearranging the miscellaneous items.

Carver turned to make his way into the cockpit.

Then he woke up on the floor.

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John's eye's shot open as he gasped awake, only to have no air come in. Not much time could have passed, only mere seconds since he was knocked down. His vision was a haze and in the moment, all he could register was a deep warmth settled upon his chest and neck, and a harsh pressure.

He widened his eyes and forced his focus onto the being atop of him. Jack was straddling him, pinning the Soldier's waist to the floor with folded legs as he sat upon his chest. He was hunched over, pressing one arm horizontally across Carver's throat and left arm, and gripping the man's other wrist to pin it to the ground, allowing no resistance.

No confusion, no questions. Nothing ran throughout Carver's mind. Of course he was taken by surprise, but as of now his mind didn't want any answers. All logic flew out the window and only one thing took control. Fight.

He sputtered as he made attempts to twist his lower half, but seconds later it only proved to be fruitless.

Carver could not only feel his body weakening and becoming heavy, but his defensive thought process became a thick haze.

Okay, so that didn't work. Losing air, already tried kicking legs. It didn't work, right?

He then let out a strangely-outward gasp as Jack leaned his weight onto his lungs.

John flailed his legs trying to do something, anything.

"So this is what it's come to, huh?" Jack muttered, his tone gave off his own struggling as he was keeping the muscular man beneath him. "Nice hospitality y'all got, I'll give ya that. But I warned you, I WARNED you"- He spat angrily and moved to dig his nails into the other man's neck- "What we have here is a better fucking chance compared to that SHITHOLE we're headed to. There's no point in going"- He barked out a laugh- "No point no point, no chance. This whole time I've listened to your plans, to "save" the world. You have no idea what you're getting into."

Carver's vision began to fade and his arms became numb. He hadn't realized that they were now laying on each side of him, helplessly allowing this lunatic to attack him.

"But I know how to get you out of this, yes I know. You'll be thankful for my help, and after this I'm gonna convince your friend over there of what I have in store for him!"

Tears sprang from John's eyes as his face became a deep red, what had been only seconds felt like an eternity as his muscles ached in agony. He gave a final kick with his right leg and struck something, not flesh but something solid and strong.

Before he knew it, books and random metal pieces from a shelf fell over the edge and onto his assailant. The younger man yelped in surprise and was knocked off of the Soldier and to the side as the metal toy rocket clipped him on the head.

John loudly gasped and he could feel his tingling limbs awakening. Cool, precious oxygen spread throughout his body, and his logical thoughts rushed to him quickly like a harsh current. He took advantage of this moment and allowed adrenaline to carry his body, sitting up and crawling towards the doorway.

"Cough- Isaac..."

He mustered his final strength to yell out to his comrade, but his prayers have already been answered.

In this moment, Carver's tired mind imagined Isaac like an angel, landing from the clouds and drawing his majestic weapon to save the day. In reality, the Engineer had already rushed around the hallway's corner has he heard the distant commotion.

Without hesitation, a single gunshot pierced the air.

Thud.

The Sergeant didn't stop crawling towards his friend until he was beside him, and finally turned his head back to the scene before them. Jack's lifeless body lay on the floor, initially laying sideways before the ship's gravity caused him to roll onto his back. A thick trickle of blood poured from a single shot to the forehead, precision which not only did the job but didn't make a mess. Besides the fallen shelf and scattered objects surrounding the corpse.

After realizing that he wasn't nearing death (again), Carver allowed himself to let out coughs and take deep breaths. He grabbed the hand that Isaac offered and was pulled to his feet, not feeling any shame in accepting the help. He swayed a little.

"Are you okay?"

"Goddamn"... Was all that Carver could say to express his thoughts.

"What the fuck happened man?" Isaac's voice rang with some anxiousness, but he was putting effort into keeping a neutral composure for his partner's sake.

"I... I truly do not know." Carver was making direct eye contact with the other as they faced each other in the door way. His face was now flushed in pink as some sweat gathered on his face, moisture still thick in his eyes as he blinked. "I was talking to him, warning him about us taking off, just as I fuckin' told you I would." He took a sharp inhale. "He seemed a bit upset, but ya know, I wasn't surprised. We know that he didn't wanna go back. I was going to leave him be, and as soon as I was heading back to you I guess his fist greeted my head. Then... this."

The Engineer grew silent as he listened and cursed under his breath once the other man finished.

"Carver I am so... I'm sorry... Holy shit... I should've known that this would happen, of course it did. It was fucking obvious! Yet I gave him a chance and some of my hope. I thought that we would all make it out of this alright..." He then added. "And in no way was I ever planning to shoot another fucking human being again." He shook his head as he sighed with exasperation, and then turned away from John. He dropped his handgun to the floor and gripped his hair tightly with both hands, tilting his head upwards. "FUCK!"

Carver turned and watched as these emotions unraveled before him. He has seen Isaac emotional before, and could now only feel a deep sorrow pierce through his heart as he observed the other's distress. Yes, he has definitely been here before. Making a rash decision before even finding other options. The split-second raise of an arm and pointing a weapon, finger resting over the trigger as the determining factor in life or death.

Indeed they are both in shock, at this point. Both men had held their suspicions toward the newcomer and prepared for anything to happen. Yet, a small hope of human morals had been keeping them at ease with Jack.

Without Clarke's quick thinking and prior experience, the outcome could have been far more grave.

If he didn't come in time, it would have been my sorry ass laying dead on the floor... John thought.

He decided to slowly approach the Engineer from behind and laid a hand on his shoulder. The other man released a deep exhale through his nose and slightly softened at the touch.

"You had to do it Isaac. You did the right thing."

"Yeah..." A small, raspy voice agreed.

Carver gave a squeeze and released his hold. Isaac remained facing away.

"Let's get this cleaned up, before we go. I don't want to leave it like this."

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Ten minutes was all that was needed for the pair to clad themselves in their armored suits and return to the disaster of a room, searching the cold body for anything of use before carrying and releasing it into the vacuums of outer space. A gloomy but compatible silence stretched between them throughout the entire process, and they finally stood in the cockpit that Isaac had left unhandled. The ship's engines had been running as the vessel itself floating idle, waiting to take off towards Earth.

Coordinates set, fuel at a decent percentage.

They both sat into the original seats that they rode in when first approaching Earth and the alien Moons.

Dashboard screens and gauges shining with life, all computer and radar systems set to go.

Isaac and Carver shared a glance.

Isaac raised his arm and hovered a gloved hand above an activation button in front of him. Like the gun's trigger earlier, he steeled himself for this life-or-death situation that he was in control of. Only was he not completely responsible, for they have both decided this path leading to their fates.

And once again without hesitation, he pressed it.

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Author's Note

Hi guys, thanks again for reading, I know that I am slow with uploading chapters. I thought that I would post this chapter around Christmas time, which was also a convenient time for me to add final edits to this piece. I am finally going to take this story to Earth starting next chapter, and from there I have no idea if I will expand this much longer. I feel as if my ideas are kind of flat, and hard to build off of. But I am also surprised that I have made it this far with my typing, and every view and follow from y'all is also what keeps me going.

If you are lonely during Christmas time like I am, I hope that this is a good read for ya. Hahaha. Haha.

Ha.

Anywho, thank you again and see you soon. :)