Project Aspire

Chapter 13 - Cole (Written by Stephen Landry)

Chapter 13 – Cole (written by Stephen Landry)

 I held Eric’s neck against the inside wall of the pyramid with my left arm. It was with my right hand I held a gun right below his lips. I couldn’t believe I had managed to get the drop on him. He stared at me like I was inhuman; his eyes were exactly parallel to my own. I felt like I could see into his very soul. It made me sick. For a moment the faces of those I had killed back home flashed before my eyes. 

I wanted to scream at him to drop the “Lost Souls” bullshit and lay it all out. He was with D.A.R.C. and he knew far more about this world then he was letting on. I could feel it in my blood. I was ready to fire but we couldn’t survive without him.

Eric made my decision to spare his life easy. Right against my stomach against my new skin I could feel the sharp edge of one of his hidden blades. I guess someone with his training could never completely let their guard down. “How the fuck did your father have that tattooed above his heart?” I screamed. I pushed my gun up against his face and I could feel his blade begin to pierce my skin. We could have both killed each other in an instant.

Lowering the hold I had on him with my left arm I grabbed the blade and let it bleed in the palm of my hands. It was my way of letting him know I was serious. I wasn’t going to die on this planet without knowing why first. For a moment I gazed towards Amanda. She was looking at us both in shock. It was too hard to tell if she was ready to beat us both or cry.

 I shouldn’t have dropped my guard.

Eric shoved his blade into my stomach. It wasn’t enough to kill me but enough to teach me a lesson. He knew exactly the right angle as not to kill me like he had been studying my height, weight, and body structure waiting for a moment like this to happen.

A shot fired from my rifle into the pyramid wall echoing throughout the hallways and various chambers. I guess neither of us had intended to kill the other. By the time I was on the ground Eric had already grabbed my gun and disarmed me completely disabling the trigger and tossing it aside. I felt sick. I could still feel the anger inside me beating against the front of my skull scraping away at my mind like a train against a pair of rusty tracks. All my life I have been over analytical; all my life I have seen the worst in people. A thousand theories raced around in my head.

 With my hand on my wound I screamed again, “Tell us what you fucking know.” I couldn’t hold it back. I felt like a little shit, feral, loose and out of control driven by nothing but animal instinct. Fight or flight. Eric had answers, I knew he had answers; there are billions of people in the world and yet HE was the one chosen to be here. Fuck that. Fuck consequence. Fuck fate. 

For the first time in my life I felt tired of running. I longed for the cities of Earth, the colonies, the inside of a starship and the comforts of a good woman, a good drink, and good hash. Hobbs stood in the corner. I think he must have been in shock. He had no idea what I heard or why I was laying out on the ground bleeding. I wish I could have blacked out. I wish Eric had just killed me. It would have been better. The idea of being killed by a real human made me feel comfort. It would be a quick death even if it were dishonorable. God damnit, I fucked up.

Eric stood in front of me with his blade drawn. “My father - ” the roar of something cut him off. The sound was strange, deep, nasally, like an inward scream. It was like something out of a child’s nightmare. It was the sound of the boogeyman before he grabs you from the darkness.  The damned echo must have made its way outside. It was an open invitation to the tribes and monsters of this world. Not another word came from any of us as we held our breath. The passageways would be too small for anything large to break through but we had no idea what we were dealing with.