OGENUS EARTH 🌎 🌊 {Dystopian Sci-Fi Adventure}

Up Around The Bend

The unvarying tone of her voice heeded an ominous outcome.

"What?" Big Joe asked, not able to help himself.

"That, we do not know," Arturo answered him. "I suspect, nothing good."

"Sounds like a suicide mission if you ask me." Harrison snorted, running a hand through his hair. "No wonder you offered me anything I wanted."

"Wait," Midge piped up from the floor where she had been sitting, "how can he pay you if we're all on the same mission?"

Everyone waited for Midge to answer her own question in her head. Her eyes popped dangerously when finally she caught up.

"Ohhhhhh." Midge whistled under her breath.

"Alright," Harrison growled, "and the rest of you are alright walking into this blind?"

No wanted to answer the question that had haunted them from the moment they'd stepped aboard this ship. Eyes flickered from one face to the next, hoping to find the confidence needed to stay the course.

"Yes," Meg spoke up finally. "We cannot go back now."

"We have to." Olivia agreed with a solemn nod. "For the safety of everyone."

Harrison was inwardly impressed that Arturo's followers had such blind faith in this kamikaze operation. He didn't have much onboard in terms of weapons, but Big Joe was like having a human battering ram, so at least there was that.

"Do you want to stay on the ship if we board?" Big Joe asked Harrison in a low voice, not intended for the others.

"Wouldn't matter if I stayed on the ship or not," Harrison grunted as he paid attention to the controls. "If they take us in, we're not getting back off without a fight, I can feel it."

Everyone's eyes were glued to Harrison's fingers as they moved to the comms-switch above his head at the console.

"Arc City Two, this is Black Marlin. Come in Arc City Two." Harrison waited, along with the rest of his passengers, on pins and needles.

Static crackled back, followed by a string of beeps, then a hollow voice came through.

"What's the nature of your business Black Marlin?" A woman queried just like they would on any routine interaction.

Harrison looked back over his shoulder, scanning the faces of his shipmates. They stared blankly, unsure of what to say.

"Uh, I have someone on board that wants to talk to you." Harrison finally said.

"Someone who wants to talk to me?" The woman asked.

"Well, maybe you?" Harrison faltered, unsure of whether this person was messing with him. "Depends, I guess. He's looking for whoever is in charge."

"Who is he?" The voice questioned.

"Oh, for gosh sakes!" Olivia flustered, getting up from her seat to walk over to the controls. "Let me!"

Without asking permission, she leaned over Harrison to reach for the comms button. The delicate curve of her ribs, just below her breasts, pressed against his cheek, sending a rush of blood to his pelvis.

"Hello?" Her voice rang out like a bell. "This is Olivia Bruin, Architect number four-four-three requesting permission to board Arc City Two."

"Verifying." The voice responded. "Olivia, do you have any other passengers with you?"

"Yes, six humans total," Olivia responded evenly. "Including Arturo Mattas."

No answer came, and slowly people's muscles unfroze as they glanced around in confusion. Mentioning Arturo's name, the founding father of the Arc Cities, was a risky move. Harrison and Big Joe would have gone so far to call her ballsy if they had been able to loosen their jaws enough to joke.

"What do we do if they say no?" Midge vocalized everyone's fear in a tiny squeak.

"Then, we will wait for the ship that Arc City One will send to escort us home," Arturo replied.

"We're just going wait?" Harrison scoffed in disbelief. "You kicked up this much fuss and your strategy is to just hang around for someone to come get us?"

"And what would you propose we do instead?" Arturo asked.

"I'd take you back and dump you on the Quorum's doorstep so they knew I didn't kidnap you, that's the first thing I'd do." Harrison sniffed back, his eyes darting back to the monitors.

"Kidnapping wouldn't apply in this case," Midge answered both of them. "We're too old. No, in this case, it would be labeled abduction."

Harrison spun around in his chair, ready to unleash the impatience building behind his chest when the voice finally spoke.

"You are welcome to approach." The amiable female told them. "We will be ready to greet our founder."

"Excellent," Olivia replied, trying to mask the shudder running down her spine. "We will see you soon."

Olivia hadn't noticed that everyone had frozen to watch her artfully accept admittance.

"What?" She asked, looking at their gob-smacked faces. "If you speak in a direct manner, people respond."

"Uh, that didn't strike anyone else as a little too easy?" Harrison asked the room.

"Perhaps we've overreacted, and there's nothing wrong at all." Olivia sniffed.

"Or perhaps the wolf has just invited us to dinner in its den." Big Joe muttered to himself, not liking this situation at all.

The persistent hum from the seismic cannons quieted as did the rest of the voices.

"Everyone get ready, I'm gonna bring us in," Harrison told them, taking the controls to steer the ship closer to its (possibly final) destination.

The Black Marlin drifted forward at a steady rate while the group wrestled with their internal feelings. Out of the depths appeared the hull of Arc City Two dipping into the ocean like an enormous buoy. Tinted metal stretched for miles across the beveled surface. As they grew closer more details emerged and Arturo smiled to see the faintly familiar design he had built so many years ago.

Olivia paced behind the group, unsure of what to think. The confidence she'd shown was melting as they closed the gap. Agreeing to go with Arturo had seemed like the right decision at the time, but being faced with the unknown was an entirely different sensation altogether.

Harrison kept his eyes on the screen, watching the elaborate patterns of lights and machinery decorating the underbelly of Arc City Two. He'd sworn he would never go back. He'd vowed to himself and the only other person who cared at the time. Harrison should have been angry with himself for breaking that promise, but deep down, maybe he knew that there was never going to be a reward at the end of this mess.

As the ship approached, a sliver opened up in the hull of the Arc, spreading like the mouth of a gaping Cheshire cat. The widening hole was not welcoming; its looming shadow cast a pall over the ship, its yawning jaws meaning to swallow them up.

Meg was injured and entirely on edge, watching fear stewing behind Harrison's eyes in contrast to the cool acceptance in Arturo's expression.

Her life on the bottom of society had been the perfect defense, an excuse to isolate her from exposure. Now, she found herself on the front lines of something much bigger than any of their lives combined.