The Madman's Clock

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Everything happened slowly.

The trigger slowly pulled back. I felt the pressure against my finger. I felt the pistol warm up in my hands, ready to fire the small burst of plasma. The slight whine that preceded the shot seemed to hover in the air.

I held my breath.

I shifted my balance, moving my left foot back to help resist the kick of the pistol's shot. I squinted in anticipation of the flash of light, and the blast that would occur when the plasma burst impacted flesh and bone. I turned my head slightly to the side, knowing that there would be blood spatter from a shot this close.

The Captain blinked.

She started to turn towards me. Her eyes were still blank, seeming to look through me, past me, as though all she could see was the experiment's progress. Her eyes were deep blue, but danced with greens and reds and blues from the displays around us. Despite the color, they seemed cold.

In an instant of utter clarity, I was aware of everything around me. I could see the crew at their stations, moving with a hive-like efficiency. I could hear the voices of my men as they took the fight to the enemy. I could hear the Edra returning fire, and underneath their weapons I could hear their hissing and clicking as they spoke. I could smell the fear in the air, and my own sweat.

I could see the yeoman, still rattling off figures and readings, staring straight ahead. The wires leading from his head, down his back, and into the console suddenly seemed like a snake, something alive, as they were choking the life out of him and the rest of the bridge crew.

I understood, now.

I stepped to my left, the barrel of my pistol sliding along the skin on the Captain's temple. The pistol pushed aside her cap as I moved. I was so close to her, the barrel caught the underside of her ponytail, which slid off the end of the barrel.

I took aim at the yeoman, and as everything seemed to return to a normal pace, I fired.

The plasma burst struck the yeoman in the back of the head, blowing out the back of his skull. There was a shower of sparks as the plasma interacted with the wiring implanted in the yeoman's brain. His head snapped to the left at a sickening angle, and then rolled right as if he were looking over his right shoulder at me with wide eyes. His whole body lurched to the left, spinning to face me as he fell. His body fell against the console in front of him, and then slid to the floor.

There was a moment of pure silence, and then the computer voice, which had been so even, so soothing, so alluringly serene, began to shriek as thought it had been hit. The voice babbled, but no words came out. There was screaming everywhere in the room as the crew lurched about, thrashing in agony.

Captain Paetkau fell forward onto the console, her head smashing into its smooth surface. The surface shattered, and I saw blood as she held onto the console, trying not to fall to the deck. Her hands gripped it as though she were on a cliff's ledge, her fingers white and claw-like. She threw her head back and screamed. The scream was piercing, deafening. I stepped back in horror as she and her crew seemed to burn in a fire I couldn't see. It was the most frightening thing I had ever seen.

I stepped back, and turned toward the hatch where my men fought. They weren't in sight, but I could hear them. I ran toward them, but before I could reach the door, David stepped into view. His eyes seemed half desperate, half saddened. Without a word, he shut the hatch. I heard it lock from the outside. There was a blast against the door, and I knew he had blown the locking mechanism so it couldn't be opened from the outside at all. He was buying me more time.