I take my time, walking methodically toward her. She continues to pull herself forward, struggling to get back up again, every time she falls on her side. I stand there for a moment, her back to me, and study her as she cries. Pitiful. She was so defiant back in her room. I take my foot, placing it on her back, and push her against the floor, then grab a handful of hair. She lets out a wail of anguish as I pull her head back.

  “Did you think you could get away from me?”

  “Gage, please! Listen to me! We can live together on Holsinger 8c. You, me, and the baby. One big happy family.”

  “You lie! I see what you really are. A manipulative whore! Maccabeus Pendleton, my real father, is on his way here. He will take me in, help me to fulfill the prophecy. Me and the son you carry. Your time is up, Brielle. I’m taking the baby tonight!”

  I roll her onto her back and drag her forward, feeling the hair rip as she struggles to keep up. She will feel pain for this latest transgression. I’m taking her to the infirmary. I’m done with this shit! I’ll raise the baby myself without her. Brielle is what’s for dinner! The infirmary is clean and ready for us. I pull her up to the table and stop. I look at her, gesturing with my head for her to climb up. She gets to her knees, sobbing and hitching breath.

  “Gage, please. Don’t do this. I know you don’t care about me anymore, but the baby deserves to live. You’ll kill us both. Please!”

  “Get on the table, Brielle! Or I’ll put you there myself, and I won’t be pleasant about it, either!”

  She does as she is told. She slowly climbs her way up, visibly shaking as she does. Her goose-bumped flesh makes me think of the times I rubbed her skin while making love to her. I found it fascinating the way it would rise and then lower again, as the temperature of the room normalized, and she relaxed. Now I feel empowered my touch can cause this; although it’s fear she feels, I’m able to get the same response. I pull the restraints up on the side of the table to secure her, and she pulls her hand away.

  “Don’t strap me down. Please, I’ll be good.”

  “So far, that hasn’t been the case. Why do you think I would believe you now?”

  I grab her arm and push it to the table, cinching the bracelet down. She starts to squirm in protest, kicking her leg.

  “You’re only making this hard on yourself, Brielle!”

  “Gage, you have to stop this! Please. Ow!”

  With her free arm, she reaches to hold her abdomen. While she does, I move to her foot, holding it down. She is surprisingly strong, but no match for me.

  “Gage, I think the baby is coming. There’s no need to strap me down!”

  I step back, as I see warm fluid trickle from between her legs and onto the floor. She cries out in pain, leaning up and pushing. It’s then I notice a tug on my leg. I look down to see Jennifer, pulling at my pants. How’s this possible? None of the ghosts have ever touched me before. I look down at her with curiosity, then look back up to notice…Mathew?

  He grins at me, his mouth dripping blood. I feel his hands lightly hit my chest, and I step backward. He begins to swing a flurry of punches at me, each one hitting me. There is little power in them. The hits are only distracting, like a small bug stinging me. Still, I hold my arms up in front of me, as the onslaught is fierce, his hands a blur. He swings for my face, and I turn away, closing my eyes for a second. When I open them, he is gone? But so is Brielle. The table is empty! The wheelchair is gone also. But how could she have loosed the straps? It’s then I see Jennifer poking her head around the table and sticking her tongue out at me.

  I run past the garden, full on to the corridor. She can’t get far, not in her condition. I see her, propelling down the corridor, toward the control room. Big surprise. I catch up to her easily and grab the chair, tilting it back as I do so. She looks up at me in terror, the sweat beaded on her forehead.

  “Gage! No, let me go!” she cries out, holding her abdomen.

  “Brielle! You must get back to the infirmary. The baby is coming!”

  “No. Get your fucking hands off me!”

  She swings an elbow at my chest, and I instinctively let go of the wheelchair. She immediately lunges forward into the floor, banging her shoulder in the process. I fling the wheelchair to the side and crouch down to pick her up. She thrusts her foot into my face, cutting my lip, as I fall backward. She starts to squirm up the corridor. My anger is growing as I spit blood from my mouth. This shit has gone on long enough! I grab her by the foot and drag her down the corridor, toward the infirmary. She claws at the floor, attempting to gain purchase. But it’s no use; she will go with me. I turn to look at her.

  “You’re going to have this baby and I’m going to deliver it. Then I’m going to eat your guts while you watch, bitch! So, shut the fuck up, and enjoy the ride!”

  “No, Gage! Mathew, where are you?”

  I turn to look at her. “What did you say? Answer me!”

  “I don’t have to,” she says, looking over my shoulder.

  I turn back around to see Mathew blocking my way with Jonas beside him. They both produce a bloody smile at me.

  “You see them, too?”

  “Yes, Gage. Mathew has been talking to me for weeks now, helping me find a way to escape you. I checked the blood samples on the corpses in the control room and realized the other body, the one I thought was Jonas, was in fact Mathew! Not long after he reached out to me. I don’t know how it’s possible and I don’t care, but his ghost is becoming more solid with every passing moment. He’s been patiently waiting until he was able to be a force against you. He’s gathering the other ghosts, too. Soon, they will be strong enough to stop you!”

  “You’re wrong, Brielle. They can’t stop me. I’m the chosen one!” I turn to Mathew. “Get out of my way! I’m not afraid of you!”

  “You might want to be, Gage,” Jonas says, “I can’t stop you, but they can.”

  “What is this, Jonas? Like you don’t have blood on your hands!”

  “Maybe, but not their blood. At least not in the physical sense.” He steps to the side to reveal all the colonists. They stand there, looking at me, ready to attack. Their eyes cut through me like the knife I used to slit them open. I drop Brielle for the moment and watch as she scrambles down the corridor, a water trail leaching from between her legs. I turn back to Jonas.

  “None of this makes any difference. All is in motion. The child will be born, and we will arrive at Holsinger 8c in the next hour. Maccabeus will arrive shortly after. All is going according to plan. I need to help her have the baby. A ghost can’t do it. Now, get out of my way!”

  “You may be surprised how wrong you are, Gage Ozymandias Reyes,” Jonas says.

  The ghosts begin to multiply, pouring from the walls and blocking my way. They lay hands on me. My skin burns from their touch. How can they do this? They keep coming, covering me with their bodies. I can see Brielle on the other side of them, dragging herself down the corridor. But instead of going toward the control room, she is heading to the infirmary. Someone is up ahead of her, coaxing her in the direction she is going. The bodies of the colonists are covering my eyes. But before they do, I see who is helping Brielle. It’s Deanna Reyes.

  16

  RETRIBUTION OF THE DEAD

  The flow of bodies pushes me to the floor. A sea of death, raining down on me, burning me. The pain is intense. I suppose I should be terrified, but I’m not. This will be over soon, and who knows, maybe I’ll be one of them. Their retribution is my death. I feel the crush of them as my breath begins to leave me. I close my eyes and wait for it. But death doesn’t come. I feel myself being lifted and dragged down the corridor. They pull me past the garden and drop me by the door to the infirmary. Before I can get to my feet, Mathew grabs me from behind and hoists me off the ground. He throws me toward the table Brielle is on. I hit the floor with my arms splayed out in front of me.

  Brielle cries out in pain on the table. Deanna is right beside her, helping her deliver the baby. I raise to my feet and go toward the table, but Mathew steps in front of me and pushes me back. Jonas is behind him, laughing. The ghosts hold my arms as I struggle to free myself. It’s no use; they are too strong.

  Deanna is instructing Brielle to push. My mother looks different. She is whole, no longer a patchwork of parts. She glows, becoming brighter with every push Brielle can muster. In the aura of light surrounding her, I see another. A woman. She is beautiful, with dark flowing hair and appendages stretching from both sides of her body. They look like tentacles of some sort. She envelopes the area around Deanna and Brielle, as if comforting them. Brielle cries out again, and then I hear another sound. A baby crying. Deanna hands the child to Brielle, laying it on her chest. The tentacled woman smiles and her appendages caress Brielle and the baby, then she begins to fade. I want to go forward; I should be comforting her instead of some stranger. This is my child, and I need to see him. My mother looks at me and shakes her head. She has given up on me.

  “Let me go! I need to see my baby!”

  “That’s not going to happen, Gage. They have a date with destiny, and you’re not invited anymore,” Jonas says.

  I weep as I hear the baby crying. “It’s a boy,” I hear my mother say. Deanna helps Brielle into the wheelchair and pushes her toward the corridor. Brielle looks at me as she goes by. The pity on her face is evident. The baby is suckling on her breast. Craning my neck, I try to get a better look, but the colonists start to flood through the door, as Brielle and Deanna leave. The ghosts push me into the corridor. Deanna is taking Brielle in the opposite direction of the control room. I know where they are headed. The escape pods are located down there.

  “Mother! Please! Do not forsake your son!”

  She stops and turns Brielle to face me and only drops her head. I pull loose and start to run toward them as cold hands grab me, pushing me to my knees. Deanna and Brielle fade from sight.

  “You can’t do this to me! I am Gage Ozymandias Reyes, king of kings! I made every one of you!”

  The ghosts tear at my clothing and claw my flesh. They burn me over and over, but they won’t let go. This is their revenge. They won’t stop until I’m dead! They pick me up, carrying me through a sea of bodies, down the corridor, directing me toward the control room. The door is open, and I’m hurled through, landing face down. I rise slowly to see Mathew standing at the controls. Through the window I see a blue planet below, bathed in sunlight. Holsinger 8c. But there is something else peeking from the shadowed side of the planet. A ship. The comm comes to life, and I hear voices asking for identification.

  “This is Earth Council ship one to the Spero, do you read?”

  Mathew points to the comm and then to me. I suppose I’m to speak to them. What do I tell them? We’ve been taken over by the ghosts of the colonists. The ones I’ve slain. No, I know what to say.

  “This is Gage Reyes, pilot of the Spero. Do you copy?”

  “Yes. We see you. Slow down and change course so we can intercept and board. Do you read?”

  I look at the controls and realize they have been tampered with. We are on a direct path toward the Earth ship, and at full speed.

  “Earth council one? I have lost control of this ship and have no way of stopping. Do you read?”

  “We do. If you continue your trajectory, we will have no choice but to destroy you. Do you copy?”

  “Do what you must. I do have one question, though. Is Maccabeus Pendleton aboard your ship?”

  There is silence for a moment, then the comm comes back. “Yes, he is. Do you have a message for him?”

  “Yes. Tell him his son has completed the mission.”

  I look down at the planet, the beauty and splendor of a world I’ll never know, and see a small pod hurtling toward the atmosphere. I suppose the chosen one did make it to Holsinger 8c after all.

  I fall to my knees as the percussion of the first blast rocks the Spero sideways. But despite the hit, the ship stays true and continues toward the Earth ship. It’s picking up speed. It’s as if something is guiding it to its destination. I suppose Mother was right; there are forces stronger than me at work here. The Earth ship tries to turn, but its size will not let it move fast enough. It looks as though they may collide with the atmosphere. They’ll probably burn there, after the Spero has done its damage. It doesn’t matter to me now. I look to see Jonas smiling at me. He nods at me as if to say, “Well done.” I watch as the nose of the Spero straightens and I’m looking at the control room of Earth Council One. I see the eyes of the men staring back in disbelief. There’s a tall man between them in a suit unlike the military uniforms of the others. Is it Maccabeus? It must be. Jonas smiles and waves at the man. I suppose it’s fitting both of my fathers are with me as I die. I smile, satisfied.

  EPILOGUE

  BRIELLE’S STORY

  From the Journal of Brielle Holsinger.

  Start. Holsinger 8c is everything I wished for and nothing I thought it would be. My son, Mathew, and I have been here two years now, or at least what I think is two years on this planet. I’ve neglected dictating since we’ve arrived. I suppose I needed time to process and take care of my baby. I’m recording this now and hoping others will come here someday to find it. Maybe other council members, the allies of the Covenant, will make the journey. I’ll never see them, though. But maybe Mathew will.

  The mornings come here as they did on Earth, only teeming with the sounds of birds and other creatures. The nights seem so long, but compared to being on the Spero, it is a welcome change. This planet is primitive, as I expected it to be. I have seen some of the indigenous residents, but from afar. They haven’t tried to engage us yet. They pay no attention to us at all. The creatures are humanoid, as far as I can tell. They are tall and slim with no defining features of male or female. They do not appear to have a developed frontal lobe, either, indicating a lower form of intelligence. Mathew has seen them as well. He only points, making sure I see them, too. I suppose a toddler would be curious. I won’t engage them, though, until I know they are safe. I have a gun but don’t want to waste all my ammunition. Apparently, the escape pods were equipped with one and several magazines of bullets. If I’d only known this on the Spero, things may have been different.

  I’ve analyzed the vegetation to make sure it’s safe to eat via the equipment in the escape pod. I want to get as much information as possible while the batteries are still operational. So far, I’ve had no reaction to anything. All the things I’ve eaten are nutritional, but bland. There are small animals also, and I occasionally take one for food. They remind me of a long-extinct creature from Earth. I believe it was called a squirrel. Close to where we landed, there is a clearing with a circle of stones. They have markings on them, and a statue is placed in the center. The clearing is surrounded by steep, mesa-like cliffs, all covered in moss and greenery. I haven’t been close enough to completely make it out, but it looks like the statue is a human woman with something protruding from her sides. Aside from the appendages, she looks as though she came from Earth. Maybe a race of more advanced humans lived here prior to the ones who are here now. Maybe they coexisted for a while. Or maybe it’s a worship site. I have yet to see any of the indigenous people come to it, though.

  A strange occurrence has happened as well: the ghosts from the Spero continue to appear to me. They don’t speak, only hover through the brush outside the escape pod. Like they are watching out for us, the way they did on the ship. I’m grateful but mystified at the same time. I have no way to explain why this is possible, but I’ll not question it, either. I suppose they are harbingers of goodwill. Or maybe they are trying to find a home among this foreign soil. I guess the colonists did make it to Holsinger 8c after all, only not the way originally intended. I’ve seen Mathew’s ghost as well but haven’t been able to communicate with him the way I did on the ship. He seems to have forgotten how to, or maybe I have. Seeing him makes me feel safer, though. I feel he may be watching out for my son or longing for what should have been his fatherly role. He would have made a great father to my Mathew, as the child is amazing and inquisitive, well ahead of his developmental stages. His looks seem to favor mine; I can only hope for as much. I won’t know what to say when he asks who his father was. I may have to make something up. But the only man I can think worthy enough is the one whose name he carries.

  Today, Mathew and I are foraging, looking for some new food sources. I’ve been to this area before; it’s close to the clearing where the statue stands. The going is slow. My leg still throbs. I feel as though it’s still there. The phantom pain can be intense at times. I would like to fit some form of prosthesis to it, but for now, I’m content with the makeshift crutches I use. I must go now and make this new place inhabitable for my son. Stop.

  The forest where we forage is dense, and I can barely keep up with Mathew as he is intent on releasing an enormous amount of energy today. He seems excited about something. I’ve tried to contain him, but it’s no use. I might as well give in to his wanderings. I follow him through some undergrowth. When we emerge from the dense stuff, I notice we are in the clearing where the statue stands. Mathew teeters ahead of me. The cliffs circling the opening tower into the air and fog mists around the top of them. They are tall, but I can see where they end. Adjacent to us, there are small caves. I wonder if the natives live in there. I keep my gun close by just in case we must beat a hasty retreat. Mathew is ahead of me but close enough so I can grab him if necessary.

  I don’t like being in this open area. It seems too exposed. We need to study it from afar, to make sure nothing comes here on a regular basis. I reach for Mathew to pick him up but notice he is balancing himself on a stone in front of the statue in the middle of the circle. Now that I’m closer, I can see more detail. It’s a woman with a cloak around her head. Only her nose, mouth, and chin are exposed. I see now the protrusions are tentacles, coming from under the cloak and surrounding the woman. They have what looks to be small mouths with sharp teeth in rows on the underside of the appendages. She is both beautiful and radiant, like a goddess.

 

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