Chrono Virus (2 page)

"You know how to use these things?" Ken asked.

"Was part of my captain's renewal." Hubbard ran the rectangular device across Watt's face and slowly down her torso. The front of the metallic scanner was all screen and it mirrored the data that would've shown if the R-Phys was working. Hubbard completed the sweep and waited it for it to process through its diagnosis database.

"Ken, I need you to go check the cargo." Hubbard didn't look up from the scanner.

"What?" The words hit him like a speed train.

"Go check the cargo. Get a coffee. Go anywhere, but just leave the medical station."

"I'm not leaving her, Hubs." His raised voice echoed into the hall.

Hubbard threw the scanner down. This time his stare wasn't feigned. "Look, I need to tend to her and there's nothing for you to do here. The ship's flying herself and we both know that's a recipe for disaster if we veer just one degree off course."

Ken thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Anger raged through his blood with each reason Hubbard used to justify excusing him.

"You know that's not gonna happen. We just had the system calibrated while docked at Bridger."

Hubbard's shoulders slumped. "Actually, we didn't. I skipped it to pay some debts."

"Hubs!"

"I don't want to hear it, Ken. Now's not the time. Just check the ship and keep her right. I've got Heidi."

Ken stomped the steps back up to the Raven's main level. Hubbard's words gripped every ounce of motivation he had, crushing them to the point of lethargy. He would've punched the wall if it didn't mean a broken hand. Ken gritted his teeth and headed aft to the cargo hold. The captain's reasoning was total bunk, but he did have a point with the autopilot. He ducked under low-hanging bulkheads
 
wove through the equipment littered on the ground, calculating the last time the system was calibrated to four jobs ago. Eight months. Too long. Traditionally captains had the work done every other docking, but the bounty on Hubbard proved more important.

A double-wide door marked the cargo bay entrance. Ken didn't bother closing the door behind him and tapped the door panel for the lights to come on. The area's auto-light sensors were offline, another debt victim. Through the dim lights, Ken spotted the massive cargo containers that had seen better days. They spanned all shades of monochrome from dull grays to black with black splotches where major damage had been repaired. Ken was surprised they could still be stacked given the abuse they took from ship after ship. Ken grabbed a handheld scanner off the wall then ran it against each container to verify the condition of its contents and that it remained properly stowed.

 
The cargo bay was an oddity on all small ships like the Raven. It was positioned at the rear, sandwiching it between the hull’s dual external dampeners. Like the calm within the eye of a storm, it created the only place that was truly silent. Sound bounced around ships like crazy, but not in here. Everything was absorbed so not only was it dead quiet, but Ken couldn't even hear the constant low rumble of the engines present across the ship.
 
The emptiness made Ken uncomfortable. Spend enough time in deep space and you come to depend on the continuous sounds to feel like the vessel was alive and well.

Ken spot-checked an off-white container. The scanner took a minute to complete its analysis and, feeling the lack of sleep from earlier, Ken closed his eyes letting his mind wander through the dead air of the cargo bay.
 

 
From nowhere Ken sensed a change in the air behind him. The feel of the cargo bay morphed in less than a second and the hairs on his neck stood up.

No, it couldn't be Hubbard. No one came through the door. He hadn’t heard footsteps, and it was impossible to approach the cargo bay in silence. Could Watts be playing a joke? Again, he hadn’t heard anyone enter. That meant someone else was here. It wouldn't be the first time a stowaway had hidden in a container. A chill grew in the pit of his stomach. Ken slowly opened his eyes. If the stowaway was armed, they could easily take control of the Raven, killing him in the process. They'd make short work of the captain and Watts. Every muscle in Ken’s body tensed at the thought of his companions lying in blood. He remained completely still, giving no indication that he was aware of anything other than the cargo crates, but his heart was pounding.
 

The scanner beeped softly in Ken’s hand, its analysis complete. He nearly jumped having forgotten about it. He rotated the unit in his hand, moving it so the corner protruded, the part that would do the most damage. The air behind him thickened, as if someone stood just behind him. He could almost see them in his mind. He tightened his grip on the scanner and took a long, measured breath. He had one shot.
 

Ken pulled his arm inward, and spun around. His arm flailed out as he swung with all his might. He yelled as the scanner hurled out of his hand... striking empty air.
 

"What the hell?"

 
Ken looked all around trying to find who or what was behind him, but only beat up cargo containers greeted him. There was no way anyone could've hidden themselves so fast. He searched around the surrounding containers, finding nothing but cargo and shadow. Ken let out an uneasy chuckle. The sound dampening must've been playing with his ears.

"I really need to get used to these cargo bays," he said aloud, the sound fading into the eerie silence of the room.

The cargo scanner beeped, nearly causing Ken to jump out of his skin. He pinched the top of his nose, and through a shaky smile, he took a breath to calm down. Then he realized he hadn't engaged the scanner again. It beeped from another scan, one he hadn’t initiated. Worse, it hadn't been aimed at any of the containers. Ken stared at the display.

Contaminant Detected.

He frowned. A virus out in deep space was impossible. He'd personally ran a full cleaning of the ship after the Raven was sealed for flight at Bridger. He tapped the display, but the message remained. Hubbard would want to know once Watts was stabilized. Ken pocketed the scanner, turned toward the door and froze. Hovering six feet in the air above was a hazy cloud of purple vapor. It swirled and danced for at least ten seconds. Ken watched it, mesmerized, until it condensed into a small, concentrated orb and shot through the wall. The purple mist of the orb's wake hung in the air and then dissipated a moment later.

Heidi Watts blinked a few times to clear the blinding light of the summer sky away. Buildings and people formed around her as the sounds of a bustling city grew louder. It was a minute before Watts realized she was on a sidewalk. The occupied pedestrians couldn't be bothered to check the condition of the random girl strung along the ground. She climbed to her feet, avoiding the oblivious people trying to walk through her. Only by moving against the wall of a building was she able to avoid the sea of foot traffic.

 
A comforting breeze blew against her arms, exposed from the short sleeved shirt she had on.
 
The wind scooped up a bunch of dirt and Watts watched as the breeze carried the debris carried to a small park across the street. She followed it, if only to get away from the throng of people suffocating her personal space. Oddly enough, this side of the street was empty. She took a seat on a wooden bench, its green paint chipped and faded from weathering.

Watts smiled at the familiar scents and noises of the city. It was Caff. It was home, the only home she had known before heading off planet, before serving on ships.

 
Before the Raven.

 
Wait. How could she be on Caff? Watts frowned.

She looked down to see normal street clothes. Her jeans and boutique shirt definitely didn't fit the bill for her normal ship attire.

She buried her face in her hands. "This makes no sense." She tried to wipe the city away from her eyes, but Caff was as real as... the Raven.

Before she collapsed.

Could Hubbard have dropped her off back at Caff to be cared for? No. She didn't have family on the planet. After the incident with her ex-boyfriend Gavin, all Watts wanted to do was get away. Once the hospital discharged her, it was only one transport stop to the service center. Two signed forms and a thumbprint scan later and Heidi Watts had been assigned to FTL Monitoring Station 22. A mere two hours passed between stepping out of the hospital to being strapped into a seat as her shuttle left the atmosphere. It was summer then as well.

She couldn't explain how or why she was on Caff. She thought back and remembered how the Raven's bridge felt off-balance while Ken and the captain were speaking, like the floor was tilting. She recalled starting to fall, but then the she awoke to the clear, Caff sky. How long could she have been out?

 
An electronic horn squealed, grabbing her attention. A transport stopped in the middle of the street. The driver was leaning on the horn as a couple stood in traffic. They were arguing. The man made a rude gesture to the driver and pulled the woman onto Watts's side of the street. The transport sped off, and the traffic zipped by once more.

 
Watts chuckled. Only on Caff. It was the only place she'd heard such a distinctive transport horn. It was unique.

She continued to watch them argue down the sidewalk when a shot of cold rushed through her body. The horn. That horn. The traffic. The couple. It had happened before. The memory flooded her mind, and she was on her feet in seconds. Watts moved away from the bench, taking position behind a tree that was closer to the couple. It took only a single glance to identify the arguing pair. It was Gavin and herself, from six years ago. That was before she was Watts. That was when she was just Heidi.
 

 
The ground pulled at Watts, with all it had beckoning her to fall and rest, but the force nearly overtook her as she kept her eyes trained on her ex-boyfriend. His outfit made her shiver: a white t-shirt covered by a blue blazer, and jeans . She gripped the tree to keep upright and made a conscious effort to breathe. Her body couldn't give out. Not now.
 

Gavin's temper was about to boil over for the final time. The scene between him and her past self was beyond deja vu. It flowed in perfect time to her memory. Her young counterpart widened the distance between them.

Gavin yelled something inaudible, but Watts knew he was reasoning with her to get back together. Heidi wasn't having any of it, as she slapped his hands away each time he reached out. She shoved a finger into his face.

 
"Keep the hell away from me," Heidi shouted.

Watts mouthed the words in perfect time with her other self.

 
"Here we go," Watts whispered. This was the moment where everything changed.

Gavin spun, his movement fluid and precise as the blazer whipped up from behind. With a single motion he closed the gap, grabbed her hand, and twisted the young girl’s arm. In less than a second she was on the ground, crying out in pain. Watts looked to her right, waiting for the patrol car. Inside would be Officer Ting, the cop who'd ended the confrontation, arrested Gavin, and got her out of there. Young Heidi yelped and Watts thought her heart might rip through her chest and clothes if she had to watch much longer.

Gavin yelled,
 
"You're coming back with me, Heidi!"

Another scream, this time louder. He was pushing her arm to its breaking point.

"Come on, Ting!" Watts groaned, searching the streets. She thought he'd arrived faster last time.

"No! Please, don't!" Heidi cried.
 

Watts turned back in time to see Gavin release the grip. He lifted his leg and slammed it straight down into the small of Heidi’s back. The girl's body slammed into the concrete, limbs bouncing off the ground from the impact.
 

Watts winced.
 

 
A purple haze of dust rose up around the fallen girl. The small cloud surrounded the pair for a moment before dissipating.

"This didn't happen," she whispered.

Gavin pulled an arm back and launched a rocketing fist into the back of her head. Heidi cried out from the blow. Another punch knocked her into silence. A third strike fell.

Watts looked down the block and saw no sign of Ting and his cruiser. This was beyond wrong. Even with Gavin battering Heidi, the river of people across the street continued to on as if nothing happened outside of their personal communicators. Watts glanced down the block once more. Anger coursed through every fiber with each second that passed with no police.

Gavin threw another punch at her skull. She'd lost count by this point. Watts's auto-pilot engaged. In seconds she hurdled down the grass toward Gavin, the pummeling continued as she closed the gap. A few steps closer and she was able to make out the blood splattering Heidi's clothes. Watts balled her hands into fists, and launched herself into Gavin. Her fists flew, cutting the air like knives on a full collision course with her ex-boyfriend.

 
But she flew straight through him, slamming into the ground with the full force meant for him. Her organs shook as if an earthquake ran through her body. She'd gone right through him like he was an illusion or hologram. His attack on her counterpart didn't let up. Watts shook off the shock of the rough landing and headed toward Gavin once more. No jumps this time, just fists. Again her fists moved through him as if he wasn’t even there. He didn't even acknowledge her.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, pain stabbed through her back and climbed to her head before spreading through the rest of her body. The pain pulsed in sync to the punches Gavin threw at Heidi. Blow for blow, Watts bore the pain of the beating as much as her other self. The searing pain overtook all thought, and her head swam in an echo of ringing. Seconds later a vice grip clenched her skull, yanking her soul out from her body.

 
Where was Ting?