Before We Rest

One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three.

You have failed them. You’ve failed yourself, your family and your country.

Staying still on the ‘Longum Somnum' – Long Sleep - has never been more difficult than it was now. This spaceship has cost you everything. All things. Kimberly and Anna are gone. Your world is gone.

Literally.

As if civilization had not been messed up before, we have now left our planet a cold, lifeless rock. You knew that any military grade testing on the sun wouldn’t serve anyone well, but you never questioned your superiors.

Now, we are on a space craft floating through nothingness, with only 11 000 left of the previous billions of people on Earth. But, there is no Kimberly and Anna – there is no love. There is no world. And it is not fair. Serving America was not easy; life in the military was not easy. Neither was being tortured and mutilated for answers.

You look at your calloused, bruised hands – three fingers missing from the right. And for what? For these people? For the rich and worthless?

You crawled through the vents, careful to not make too much noise. After all, these people are murderers, not deaf. A bigger space in the ceiling awaited and you squeezed through. Steel walls, a blanket stolen from a passenger, a rucksack and a pillow. It was all that you needed to do what you came to do. To make sure that Kimberly and Anna would not die in vain, so they would not be forgotten.

They can’t be forgotten.

Your hand reached into the dirtied rucksack and searched around. A rifle and several rounds of ammo were found and then pocketed. The soldiers here hadn’t even attempted to keep track of their weaponry. They weren't prepared for the stuck-up assholes on this ship committing any crimes; and they definitely hadn’t been prepared for you.

For your anger. For your punishment.

You dug around for more rounds as you secured full clips on your belt, but instead, found something smooth and dainty. Once it was pulled out, your eyes burned at the sight of a necklace. Not any necklace. Anna's. One of the only people who held value in your eyes. That sweet, ten year old girl. Grey eyes and wild, sandy-blonde hair was spotted in the silver’s reflection. The jagged scar on your lip reminded you of what you gave for them; for these people.

No more.

The necklace was hastily pocketed and you were once again out of your hiding place; your twisted sanctuary. The pathways were narrow and the walls thick. You began crawling down the space, careful to mind the rifle from scraping against the metal walls.

Crawling. Crawling. And then you stopped; and listened.

There was music. It was soft, but audible enough to echo through the vents. You fixated on a light in the distance and crawled faster, your breathing and heart beat in unison with the jazz song that was fast approaching. The light came from a metal grate that led to a room that you knew well. It was the same man who had lied to you about Kimberly and Anna being brought onto this rescue ship. You peered through the metal grates. He sat leisurely on a plush, green sofa, swirling a glass of liquor in his hand. You were pleased to see this; if he was drunk, he’d be easier to handle without too much noise.

You moved slowly and unsheathed a sharp, medium-sized knife from your boot. You could just shoot him and use a silencer, but you needed to use this.

The knife he gave you.

Kimberly and Anna would have wanted it to be like this. You think.

The room that he was in was quite bright and you would have to be extremely quiet.

He is a murderer. Not deaf.

One wrong move and this plan was all over. The knife was brought closer to your face. It read ‘Lieutenant Gabriel' on the brown leather grip. Yes, Gabe. Someone you had thought was your friend, probably three months ago. That was how long you waited. After eavesdropping on many dorms and operation rooms, you have waited for the passengers to begin their long slumber in space until they arrived at their new destination ‘Pater Terra'. It was Latin for ‘Father Earth'. The inhabitants had been privy to call it that ever since the president had joked about their new world in their early travels. All passengers would be knocked out in pods, and it gave you enough time to act swiftly.

And so you did. Your legs dropped first and you landed with a suppressed grunt, right behind Gabe. The bulky man startled from his seat and his glass fell to the ground, shattering. You hoped no one had heard the noise and wrapped your right arm around his neck from behind.

“Hey, Gabey. “ your voice was gruff from all the months spent silent, but you did not give him a chance to respond. Instead, you shifted the knife in your hand and slit open his throat with not so much as a flinch.

Gabe stumbled out of your grasp and turned around with wide eyes, before he fell over and choked on his blood.

One.

You made sure that the body was hidden and then locked the apartment door. You sheathed your knife and returned to the vents.

***

You found yourself looking down on a man that might’ve once rivalled the relationship you had with your father. Major Isaac Marsh. Although, over these months, you’d realized his role in the loss of your everything. He had allowed the experiments and also told Gabe to convey his lies. And he needed to answer for it.

The major still wore his uniform, but his white hair was slicked back. You did not care to approach him. Or even leave the vent. He just needed to pay.

The old man was just about to leave for his twenty year long hibernation, when a whiz sounded in the air and a bullet lodged itself in the back of his skull. You watched him drop to his knees and fall face first to the ground.

Two.

Kimberly and Anna were almost avenged. His mind felt cloudy and his arms were weak, but he needed to go on.

***

“GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. THIS IS HELEN BOWER. IF ANYONE ABOARD THE ‘LONGUM SOMNUM’ HAS STILL NOT BEEN HELPED TO A POD, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE THIRD WING AND YOU WILL BE ASSISTED. “

Your mouth curled into a small smirk and you didn’t realize until it happened. You watched from the vents as all the passengers were piling into the third wing. There were workers everywhere who tried to keep things orderly, but these people weren’t known to be patient. They shoved and complained. It must have been several hours of ushering people into the bright, white room to be positioned into a pod that looked strangely like a cream coffin in your eyes.

It took the crew another hour to get in their own pods, including the one specially occupied for the president and others for his family. You scowled, bitterly as you watched them.

Finally, the last person got in a pod and by then, your legs were lame. One of the workers closed and secured the pod. It was a woman. Black hair, blue eyes. She walked to the other side of the room where other passengers were not allowed and then used a small key to gas all of the passengers. They were knocked out; most of them had been crying when it happened. And so their rest began.

You watched the woman observe the pods, quietly. She was crying as well. You then realized. She would have to live here, alone. The pods were already activated, so she could not join them. With no family, no friends. Just as you had done for months on end.

The people here didn’t care about her feelings either. She was lost, abandoned. She had probably been thinking about this moment for a long time, just as you did.

It was quite sad. And the people here were cruel.

Without another thought, you reached into your pocket for the one thing you’d kept during your time in this hellhole. You dropped through the hole in the ceiling and collapsed on the floor with a thud. Once you looked up, you saw the woman staring at you in fear.

She didn’t say anything, only stared.

And so you lifted up the grenade and pulled the pin, putting you both out of your misery and taking everything with you. For Kimberly and Anna.

Three.