The Shadow Setters Book 1: Prominence

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Distraught, Jason strained his vision downwards as far as it could possibly go, looking through the round smeared glass portal of the ships door. His skull shook violently against the glass as the rumble from the ascending ship shook up the entire length of the black hull, steadily pushing it skywards. 

The scene below amplified his consuming feeling of helplessness. Jo had stopped struggling against the mighty strength that the creature adequately held her with. Both she and Vauss had turned their attention towards Jason peering down at them as the ship began to clear the docking ring, their expressions two opposing ends of the emotional spectrum. Jo, even from the growing distance was distressed as her free hand reached out desperately in an impossible attempt to reach him, to regain the contact that meant something more than it did up until recently. Jason put his hand on to the glass, as close as it could get to her; the ache of something he knew quite not the origin of, twisted his insides as she slipped away from him. Vauss looked defiant. He clutched the mother seed out to one side of his body and Jo to the other as if to exhibit trophies, possessions of his power and victory. Other tendrils stretched skywards emulating Jo's actions but the creature's intention was fuelled with hate and anger, only wishing to damage and hurt if his grasp would ever have been achieved. 

As the craft gained speed and velocity, the base very quickly shrunk away in size as the purple mist shrouded any further detail. It was only when the ship penetrated the density of the mist and climb higher did he see the full extent of the mist's influence. It had covered a considerable amount of ground in every direction from its source, sitting on the patchwork land like an unwanted stain on the rural English countryside. Judging distances was never one of Jason's strong points but it was obvious to him that the mist had travelled at least a hundred miles out. 

The young man tore himself away from the window as he watched the sun crest on the curved horizon, bringing with it the birth of a new day. The breathtaking sight meant nothing to him. What was a sight like that to him when he had nobody to share it with? It was an empty view at that present moment in time. Maybe one day he thought, he would tell Jo what he had seen. One day. He thought of her and his heart sank again. One day. When will that ever be? Will it ever be? Slowly he pulled himself away from the view. The computer had been announcing things in the background but he was just not focused on what it had to say. Jason approached the control bank with a last dwindling thought that something might present itself to him. One thing was all he needed that would end the almost inevitable journey away from what he had left below. All of the controls had a function, he knew that but they hid their purpose behind strange alien symbols he could never hope to decipher. He began to press buttons randomly as the computer announced its concern. 

'Atmosphere breach in ten seconds. Emergency override on chamber containment. Two crew members not within chamber. Cabin environment will be adapted for un-housed crew in ten seconds...' 

The giant ship began to shudder as it began to buffet against the Earths atmosphere and into space. It was futile now, Jason knew it. Whatever was going to happen, he would have to face it on his own. No. Kato. Where was the cat? His train of negative thought instantly changed from his own plight to one shared with his last remaining companion. He scanned the room whilst attempting to stay upright, and conscious. One look down at the smeared blood across the floor made Jason wince. He spotted a light beige flash cowering in-between the strange organic composition of the craft's black structure. With the pain that he was in and the substantial loss of blood, Jason could feel that fainting was not far away for him. A cold sweat had begun to build up on his neck, along with the feeling of nausea. It was always a first sign for him when he had fainted in the past. He retrieved Kato with little fuss from the cat and hobbled onto the nearby chair. The creature was clearly terrified at the ships movement but instead of attempting to flee, he gripped his master with an over enthusiastic sinking of claws into Jason's shoulder. Jason grimaced at first but was glad that the cat had realised that he was in the safest place. The familiar smell and warmth within Jason's embrace began to make Kato purr slowly, its own effect of calm swept over the teenager as it returned the favour, regardless of his physical pain. 

The windows in the control room ceased their glow from the effect of friction as the ship escaped the confines of Earths gravity, suddenly falling dark as the ship followed suit and powered down its giant engines. The two did not halt their embrace at the new changes around them, nor did they react to the lights within the control room that changed from flashing purple to red. The computer had begun to sound warnings once again. Jason was barely hanging on to consciousness. Sweat had begun to build up on his brow. He felt so weak that even holding on to the cat was a feat of endurance for him now. He looked down at his ruined foot. The blood had not stopped its flow at any stage but it was covering the mess that was hidden underneath congealed blood, a mangled trainer and a shredded crimson sock.  

'Those were my favourite trainers.' He said calmly to Kato. 'Not been a good twenty four hours has it mate?' 

Kato spluttered in-between purrs. The two red lights flashed three more times in rhythm to three warning beeps that had begun to sound. Jason's eyes closed as he began to slump forward. Just as his body began to fall out of the chair, the weightlessness effect of leaving Earths gravitational influence gently embraced the unconscious teenager, lifting him slowly into the air. Kato pulled free of his master and panicked as he wriggled feverishly like a non swimmer. Seconds after, the cabin was hit with a massive flash that resembled that of an oversized camera, engulfing the compartment, freezing both Jason and Kato instantly. Frost began to build instantly upon the black surfaces as the two living statues drifted like eerie corpses spinning slowly resembling asteroids as the cold penetrated their bodies. From the dark depths of the ceiling, four thin tendrils snaked their way down. One pair headed for Jason, the other for Kato. They moved with almost a sentient purpose, analysing what was in front of them. Then strangely the tendrils halted millimetres away from their targets. Seconds passed. The pause was almost a human response. A doubt to its original intended actions, a second thought. Without warning, the tendrils resumed and attached themselves to the skulls and bodies of the two as lights on the consoles began to flash rhythmically. Jason's skin colour began to ripple in the same random mottled pattern of the ship's hull. Instantly, the mutilated foot stopped bleeding. 

On the control panel, calculations automatically began to chart the desired course and destination, a chart that showed the Milky Way galaxy at their current position with a line stretching out and around, finally resting upon a location. The silence of the deadened engines had no lasting effect on the ship as a new sound began to emanate around its interior. The noise, building slowly, began to throb around the hull; its eventual intention carried with it an ominous power that had cataclysmic results. Underneath the frost layered skin of Jason's right hand, a faint red light begun to pulse constantly, like a beacon, its faint beeping was drowned out by the noise that was steadily rising through the ship, higher and higher the tone stretched until it could not stretch any further from the realms of known sound. The engines glowed blue against the impenetrable blackness that was painted in entirety around the ship. Then, within a nanosecond, it disappeared, deep into hyperspace.

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