Mydnight Symphony

Mydnight Symphony Ch. 16 Parasite

Chapter Sixteen

Jasmyn frantically tried to keep up with Dara, who was walking at an extraordinary pace.

"Can you please tell me where we're going?" Jasmyn asked, panting. Dara muttered something incomprehensible to herself, and increased her speed.

They had been walking for a half hour, through parts of the H.Q.S. Majesty Jasmyn had never seen before. Dara suddenly stopped at a door that read Electrical Hazard. Authorized Personnel Admittance Only.

"Dara! Stop walking so quickly!" Jasmyn wheezed. Her voice was raspy, and she paused in between each word to breathe heavily. In this part of the Mothership, the air was thinner.

The door they reached actually happened to be an elevator. Dara punched a code into a keypad on the wall, and the door automatically opened. She dragged Jasmyn, who was still gasping for air, into the glass cylindrical tube.

The small platform they were standing on began to descend down the tube into what seemed to be the control room. It was exactly as Jasmyn pictured. The size of the room, which had to be the size of a football stadium, astounded Jasmyn. The room was a chalky gray. One wall was completely engulfed in high tech machinery. The wall closest to her was made of glass, Jasmyn estimated it was a windshield due to the three large chairs in front of it. Underneath the windshield was a complex array of controls, including a giant, metal steering wheel, like the ones found on a ship.

The last thing Jasmyn noticed about the room was the noise. The constant beeping and whirring noises of the machinery was deafening. Dara reached over to the wall from which they had just entered. She took two large headphones from a dusty steel cabinet attached to the wall.

"Put these on." Dara quickly instructed.

The headphones had a tinted glass shield attached to the front, and a small wired microphone attached to the left earpiece.

"The shield is to protect your eyes." Dara said, speaking into the microphone. Her voice was loud and clear in Jasmyn's headphones. "Believe me, you'll need it."

"Where are we going?" Jasmyn asked again.

"There." Dara pointed to the far corner of the room to an open door.

Jasmyn's heart was beating thunderously and her thoughts were racing as they quickly crossed the room. What was behind that door? Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. Excitement and fright filled every cell in her body.

They reached the door.

The light inside the room was blinding, even with the sunglass shields. Jasmyn's eyes burned agonizingly. She turned away from the door, but turned back towards it. Without stepping into the room, Jasmyn's eyes slowly adjusted to the dazzling light.

She screamed in pure horror.

In a large cylindrical tube, floating at the back of the room was John's body.

John Pierce.

The man she had loved for so many years.

The man she thought she would never see again.

Jasmyn went to step inside the room.

"No!" Dara screamed, a look of terror spread across her face. She thrust her arm out in front of Jasmyn, who jumped back.

"Why? What happened? What's wrong?" Jasmyn asked, shocked and frightened.

"That room is protected by highly sensitive lasers." She pointed to a small white box on the wall with a red X marked on it. Jasmyn hadn't noticed it before. Dara reached into the small bag around her shoulders, and retrieved a small container of fine power. She dusted her palm with the powder, and blew it at the door. The criss-crossing lines of red lasers appeared instantly. "Anyone who enters that room without entering the correct password will be burned to an extremely horrific degree."