The God Complex: The Book Of Alan, Destroyer Of Worlds

Chapter Sixteen

Eventually she grabbed a tool belt and hobbled across the narrow grated walkways that passed the endless engine. The room filled with the acoustic creaking of metal struggling to hold its own weight as her situation became more and more precarious.

Monkey leaned over to Gabe as the class watched on in anxious anticipation.

'Geezer,' he whispered. 'You can't go back in there, he's insane. He hasn't stopped staring at you since this simulation started. There's a million ways to die in there and who are people going to believe? Even if the military police did ask questions, they need people like Commander Cain for the evacuation. What do they need us for? We're just another mouth to feed.'

Gabe continued to look straight ahead, he knew everything Monkey was saying was true but if Commander Cain truly wanted him dead then what was to stop him? Yet Gabe couldn't walk away, he'd made a promise and for once he was going to keep it. No matter what.

How many people had he let down, how many lives ruined. Maybe he deserved this? There are some things you can't undo, some things you can't take back, no matter how hard you try. His dream was over and that was on him, but Tiffany's dream was still alive. If he could make good on that then maybe one kept promise could cancel out all the broken ones. All he ever wanted was someone to go on adventures with.

Rose found her way to the emergency sprinkler valve and manually tried to activate it but the large wheel was too heavy. Panic now clearly setting in, she started hammering wildly at the joint, putting everything she had into it. Yells of encouragement were shouted at the screen as the tension rose, a loud cheer crescendoed as the wheel inched to the left.

Gabe sat motionless, a very real sense of foreboding crept over him.

As the downpour from the sprinkler system killed the fire and replaced it with steam, Commander Cain caused the gravity to fail. Their heart's collectively sank as they watched Rose and a number of large pieces of machinery float out of control.

A new set of warning lights and alarms added to the cacophony and chaos.

Rose somehow managed to grab hold of the outside of the stairwell and steady herself, before bouncing from one piece of equipment to the next, the floating water and steam droplets doing nothing to help her grip. Gradually she got close enough to the artificial gravity generator to make it in one jump, but as soon as she launched herself towards it, Commander Cain partially turned the gravity back on and reversed it, sending Rose and several large pieces of machinery gently floating upwards towards the large domed roof of the shuttle.

Rose, now in tears, desperately pushed herself across to the side of the room, banging into the large pieces of machinery along the way to the steam pipes that criss-crossed across the engine room walls, there she carefully climbed back down to the generator and strapped herself to the unit.

Through floods of tears, she yanked off the metal grate on the front of the artificial gravity generator and stared hopelessly at it. Gabe watched on in abject horror as several large and heavy looking pieces of machinery collected high above her head.

'Not like this,' Gabe whispered to himself.

He looked over at Commander Cain who had been waiting patiently for him to meet his expressionless gaze and dared Gabe to intervene; dared Gabe to challenge him in any way so he could highlight just how powerless and insignificant he was. Gabe felt it, every bit of it.

As their eyes locked the rest of the world fell away, the low level panic emanating from the rest of the class hazed into the background. Gabe felt paralysed by an overwhelming sense of inevitability; the haunting quiet before the next monumental wave came crashing down.

The faintest hint of a smirk crept up the corner of Commander Cain's mouth as he pushed the button that restored gravity, sending several tonnes of scalding metal directly onto the exhausted Rose lying prone in front of the generator.

As the screams reverberated through the class and down the hallway, Commander Cain never took his eyes off Gabe. Even as he turned on his intercom and declared a 'code red' in simulator 135, he did so staring at Gabe, daring him to react, to accuse him and place even the smallest crumb of hope in justice for Rose, or safety for himself.

Gabe offered him none for there was none left to offer.

Eventually, when Commander Cain was satisfied he'd made his point, he got up to address the room.

'Settle down, cadets. What has happened here today is a tragedy for sure, but in war tragedies are commonplace and make no mistake, we are all at war with this planet. It has declared it's intent to kill us all in a few short months so we only have a finite amount of time to get you ready for the fight of your lives, the fight for our species survival. Cadet Rose knew only too well what she'd signed up for and so should all of you - you've each chosen to place yourselves on the front line of this war and inevitably that comes at a cost, but if you'd rather spend the rest of your days in the safety of civilian life then there's the door, because it's not going to get any easier or any safer.'

Commander Cain paused as three people got up, gathered their belongings and left the room. The sound of the heavy wooden door closing behind them and the silence that followed became the binding contract for all those left sitting to declare they willingly put themselves at the mercy of this vengeful God and his simulated hell.

'The rest of you, be back here tomorrow after they finished cleaning up this mess.'

Men in full contamination suits rushed the room and took over the simulation, placing a perimeter around the simulator and taping up the entrance with yellow and black 'Eden Military Police' tape.

Class 135 slowly shuffled out of the room with Monkey dragging Gabe out of his seat and shepherding him out of there as quickly as possible.

'Cadet Gabe!' Yelled Commander Cain.

Gabe slowly turned around to face the commander.

'Now you get it.'