Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (8 page)

The bright colours from the freshly painted walls reflected the light from a lamp on the nightstand. A red silky dress fell upon a single bed, followed by another elegant dress. A young woman stood over the two dresses, her small dainty hands covered her mouth as she tried to choose between them. The red dress helped make her features stand out, the dark blue dress on the other hand, made her look more sophisticated, a more subtle beauty. The woman stood in her standard issue grey work clothes, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Grey was the lowest tier of standard issue workers clothes. Minimal wage, smallest living quarters and an undesirable job.
Does the light bounce the grey colours around my cheeks?
The woman leaned her face closer to the full length mirror and turned to catch the light from another angle. She compared each area of flesh around each eye for any wrinkles.
I'm sure this place ages you. The recycled air and the reconstituted meals.
She smiled as she heard a tease come from within her, in her brother’s voice. 'Book yourself in for another session of beauty sleep, if you're so worried about ageing... but don't forget the story that grandmother used to tell us.' Megan nearly choked on her internal laughter, 'but the thorns might grow around the cryo-chamber and rip through your skin like knives the next time you wake up.' She knew it wouldn't be long before Luke would be mocking her again. He didn't like her vanities and would always point out she should count her blessings more often.
It's okay for you, big brother, you get more credits towards your lifestyle. If it wasn't for you and Elizabeth treating me to the restaurant once in a while I'd only ever eat from the foil packages, and digest the reconstituted garbage which isn't fit for the animals to eat.
She could envisage the picture across Luke's face with each word she used in her every moan and grumble. She hated it here. She only tolerated it because... She had to follow him. She had to stay near him. Luke was the only family she had left. Her grandfather had insisted that she should follow Luke, as family should always stick together.
Stick together, Luke can't even book his deep sleep patterns so that we can stay together. Why is he frozen right now?

Megan brushed her fingertips across her cheek bone. She
leaned towards the mirror to check for any blemishes. Her face was smooth and delicate, her eyes large and a lovely multi-toned hazel brown. Her recent block of stay in her own cryo-chamber had left her appearance unchanged.
But can the same be said for my mind?
She often felt the cracks would soon show. She missed her life back home.
I followed Luke, but at what price?
Megan shook her grumbles away and wished her brother was here to see her. Her cheeks grew pink with a warm flush. She played with a wisp of her hair. Her hair a sandy blond, which was recently styled at a hairdressers aboard the ship. She thought back to when she was younger. When she was still in high school. She had her hair cut short for the first time. An impulsive decision she had regretted. A family get together where every relative mentioned her resemblance to her brother.
I don’t look like a boy.
She never had a short hair style again.

A knock at her door, snapped Megan back into reality. She left her bedroom and walked through her living quarters. She glanced at the fish tank as she walked past. The fish always made her feel more relaxed. The colours of the fish and their movement had always interested her. She was convinced the fish recognised her as she called each of them by their name.

She had lost track of the time and it was later than she had anticipated. The urgent knocking at the door could only mean one thing. Her date had arrived early. She walked towards the computer terminal besides the door and checked the screen. She touched the panel at the bottom, and then tapped ‘Camera’ on the monitor. The computer processed the command and showed a woman waiting outside her door. Megan unlocked the door and both women smiled as it opened.

“
I wasn’t expecting a visit, Elizabeth.” Megan knew she didn’t like being called Beth or Liz.

“
I won’t keep you long.” Elizabeth moved into the living quarters as Megan gestured for her to enter. “I got Luke’s schedule today.” She sat down on an oak chair and brushed her long, brown, smooth hair behind her shoulder. Her face was gaunt and tired. Her eyes red through over-work, and she forced her smile more than usual.

“
When does he get out of deep sleep?” Megan asked happy with the news, but not with the bearer. There had always been tension between the pair of them, ever since Megan found out that Elizabeth had been cheating on Luke. That was years ago though, before they even set foot on a spaceship. For some strange reason Luke had always insisted that their petty rivalries had always arisen because of the necklace.
Where is the family necklace?
Elizabeth was not wearing it, or flaunting it in front of Megan's face. She tried to focus and look pleased with Elizabeth's arrival.
How would my brother understand the necklace was important to me? It is a connection to our family. It had to be kept in the family and not given to an outsider. An outsider who cheats, has affairs and cannot be trusted. Would Luke ever believe me if I told him what I know?

“
In about a month’s time, I’ll mail you his schedule. He’ll want to see you when he wakes, so we’ll have a little get together at our place.” Elizabeth typed on her wrist device. She forced another smile, but Megan saw through it. Luke didn’t know Elizabeth had cheated on him, Megan promised not to tell him as long as Elizabeth ended one of her relationships.

“
Sounds fine, I guess I’ll see you both then.” They both stood up, and Megan walked towards the door to see her guest out. Elizabeth finished typing on her wrist device, and as she raised her head, she noticed a dress on the bed.

“
What have you got planned for tonight?” Elizabeth asked with a smirk across her face.

“
Just a date.” Megan sighed as she followed Elizabeth into her bedroom. Elizabeth glanced between the two dresses. “You should wear the purple dress.”

Megan smiled and nodded.
I’ll wear the red one then… And it’s blue not purple.

“
Well, it’s time I left and returned to my work.” Elizabeth headed for the corridor. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

Megan locked the door behind Elizabeth and shuddered. She returned to her bedroom, grabbed the dark blue dress, crushed it into a ball and threw it into her wardrobe. The dress unfurled in the air
and landed softly upon a box on the floor of the wardrobe. Megan knelt down and pulled the box out from the darkness. The large wooden box needed a code. She pressed a few buttons and the locks turned. She slowly opened it to find her grandfather’s M1A1 Carbine. She smiled remembering the happy times she and Luke had on her grandfather’s farm.
Megan puzzled over Elizabeth's arrival.
She could have pinged me any time. Her wrist device can send messages to any terminal. She didn't have to come here to tell me we'll have a family get together. Was there something else on her mind? Why wasn't she wearing my necklace? Elizabeth only ever wears it in my presence to wind me up. Has she lost it? Or has she started up that affair again and feels too guilty to wear it. I'll have to tell Luke this time if she is straying. Why is he still asleep and not here to keep an eye on her...? And then he might see another side to his precious Elizabeth.

Megan’s computer terminal lit up as she received
a notification. It was a message from Oscar. She pressed a button and the recording played.

“
Hey Megan, I’m just leaving now so I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Oscar’s voice was soft, but firm.

Megan played the recording again and smiled. She loved the sound of his voice since the first day she heard it. She
had met Oscar on her third day aboard the ship. The corridors were filled with people, there was a buzz of excitement as everyone began a life changing voyage together. Megan was leaving her room and as she typed in her password to lock the door she dropped her lucky coin.
More of a shiny coin than a lucky coin in all honesty.
She bent down to pick it up, but grabbed a hand instead. It was a large hand, the fingers wrapped around the coin in a fist. Megan raised her gaze and saw a muscular, well-toned bicep. She had an irresistible urge to reach out and feel it.

“
Sorry.” Megan had said still holding Oscar’s hand as he lifted it up from the ground.

“
I believe this is yours.” Oscar smiled. Twinkling eyes accompanied the grin. He had dark hair, recently shaved, just like the stubble on his face. His nose held a small scar from his left nostril up and around his cheek just below his eye. It was only faint though. He took Megan’s hand, opened the fingers gently, placed the coin in her palm, and then closed her fingers around the shiny metal. Megan opened her hand and placed the coin back into her pocket. When she looked up, Oscar was gone. Back then Oscar had a girlfriend, and Megan just admired his well-toned body from a distance. But Oscar had broken up with his girlfriend a couple of months ago.
My first date with Oscar.
Megan smiled,
I can’t wait.

There was a
knock on the door to Megan’s apartment.
He was quick getting here.
She placed the M1A1 Carbine back into its box. Quick successive bangs sounded.

“
Just a second.” Megan shouted as she placed the box back into the wardrobe. More knocks echoed throughout her apartment.
Somebody’s eager.
She threw the dark blue dress over the box, walked past her bed with the red dress still lying across it and headed back into her living quarters. Megan unlocked the front door, and opened it. A man stood on the other side. His hands curled into fists, with blood running over and through his fingers, from the cuts on his knuckles. He grunted as his dark eyes fell upon her. One eye was red from a burst blood vessel. He stepped into her living quarters.

“
I’m sorry, but I didn’t invite you in. Can you please leave?” Megan felt her voice fade away. She opened her mouth and tried to scream, but she couldn’t. She stumbled backwards, fell over a chair and landed on the carpet. “Please don’t hurt me.” She continued, but the man didn’t listen, he just growled, and bared his teeth. Megan scurried backwards until her back hit a cabinet. The man shrieked and came at her. She closed her eyes and raised her arms to shield her face. She felt nothing. She opened her eyes and watched as the man crashed to the floor. Oscar stood behind him with blood splattered across his face and a metal rod in his hand.

“
We have to leave now!” He shouted at Megan. She was too scared, she tried to stand, but fell back down to her knees. She had never shaken so violently before. Oscar held out his hand. “We need to go. It’s not safe here.” He pulled Megan up when she reached out for his hand. “Stay behind me, and keep close.” He led her out of her apartment and into the corridor.

Megan glanced to her right. There were a dozen bodies scattered over th
e floor. Oscar tugged on her shirt, and she followed him. She reached out a hand and placed it on his back. The lights were flickering and the speaker system relayed errors. There were screams, shouts, shrieks and appeals for help. Oscar didn’t stop though, and neither did Megan, she just ran and ignored as much of the bloodied and mutilated surroundings as she could.

“
The ship's going into complete disarray.” Oscar mumbled to himself as he twisted and turned through the corners of the corridor. “We need to get somewhere safe. Somewhere where we can lock ourselves in for a couple of days ‘til this gets sorted out.”

“
What about the holding cells?” Some of them would possibly contain criminals, but Megan knew some of the other cells would be free. She shuddered,
where on Earth did I get that idea from?
The holding cells were rarely mentioned in conversations. Occasionally strange idle gossip would recount the tales of minor misdemeanours when a Defiance citizen would need to be held for a cooling off period. A particular piece of gossip came to Megan’s mind. A murder attempt. The victim barely escaping with his life. The tale was of revenge. A husband caught his wife cheating on him in his own apartment. The husband grabbed the naked adulterers and threw them off a railing on a balcony. Or so the story goes. Megan never believed it though. There was only one group of apartments that had balconies, and they were allocated to the highest class of citizens. After all the ship was proud to be a safe haven for all.

Megan quivered.
Her once peaceful and familiar hallway, her corridor to work, was unrecognisable. The corridor looked like a shadowy city alleyway, a no-go area where atrocities lurked in every darkened corner. She had barely been in her apartment an hour. Just enough time to relax before her date.
And now Oscar is here to rescue me from an impending madness.
She trembled with a fearful shudder. Having to flee and hide for protection, having to run for her life, meant the shock to her nervous system was having a strange effect on her limbs. Her legs were heavy and sluggish and she couldn’t keep up with Oscar. They needed to find a safe place.

“
Yes, we can lock ourselves in one of the cells.” Oscar glanced up at the flashing signs, and then continued. “We’ll need some supplies first.”