Chapter Three: Sacrifices

Chapter Three: Sacrifices

   

     I heard voices through the fog that was engulfing my brain. 

        "All right, let me up."

        I heard the sound of a rope being cut.

    Zeke? My lips tried to form his name, but couldn't. How did Zeke know this creaure? And why was he speaking to it with the ease of an old friend?

    He leaned over us and I heard him hiss very softly, "God be with you. You'll need Him."

I began to connect the dots. Zeke had worked out a plea deal. Him, for all of us. We, who had been through training with him and he had chosen to be his crew.

    Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted. I heard a thud and Zeke's anguished scream. I could not help but feel a smattering of satisfaction. I began to feel heat on my face, almost as though there were a fire in the room. I tried to flutter my eyelids and they finally opened.

I saw light flickering on the walls and smelled something burning. I saw a mass of red flames grow and swell in front of me. I felt rope cutting into my wrists and an uneven surface between my shoulders. I started to struggle to untie myself. I heard the beat of a drum steadily rise. I could feel Bax on my left side, and Shiloh on my right. I would never get to tell Bax I was sorry. I would never see my family, never explain why I left. I would never be able to explain why I kept running.

To tell the truth, I didn't really know the answer myself. I had to know why, I had to figure it out. I couldn't give up, not now. I began to struggle harder and the drum beat came faster and faster, keeping time with my heart.....

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         "They were sacrificed to the aliens. Or so the story goes."

        "Mrs. Mattien?"

         "Yes, Amelia?"

        "How do you know so much about the Advance 1?"     

    I began to smile, "Because not all the astronauts died, some of them just, disappeared, for a while."