The Unwritten Sin

Chapter 18

"I'm going to keep looking into it," Adonis said, "the drones could come back. We are just as ill-equipped to fight them as the first time. He hung his head. "I wished J were here. He just went all rage on them. He had to have gone back after second breach. The friends I have now are so much less experienced. I don't know if they are all going to make it." He surveyed Wilder seriously. "You remind me of him," he said at length. "Your eyes have the same energy." He got up, and said, "If I accidentally call you Ness, know it's not intentional. I miss my friends."

He stood up, and said, "Stay out here as long as you want. I'm going to do some research. But I would suggest getting yourself smart with a weapon. I have quite a collection if you'd like to browse. The market street is destroyed, so you won't get much luck searching there."

Wilder nodded. "Thank you, Adonis," he said, "for the advice and the story."

Adonis nodded, and headed back into the hideout.

Wilder stared across the sea, bathed in the golden light of a setting sun. So much had happened in the last two days; he had a hard time catching it all up in his head. 

The next morning when Wilder awoke, the room was completely empty. He quickly got dressed and hurried to the surface. Everyone was lined up along the beach, staring at the sky. A dark shape was vaguely outlined above in the tumultuous sky. Neptune saw him approach, and hurried to lead him over to the rest of the group.

Opal and Adonis were engaged in a screaming match. "I told you! This shit is real! How are you prepared to counteract an attack!" Adonis yelled, bare chested in the morning light. 

Opal's hair was flying around her head like a sentient cloud. "Your theories aren't real life, Adonis! You've been cooped up in that underground bunker for a decade! Trying to find some Dark Age proof about this! How do you know it's not a R'ell ship, coming to colonize?"

Adonis laughed out loud. "Does that look like R'ell tech to you? You must be stupid."

Opal punched him, hard. Adonis didn't even budge. He stared at the sky, squinting hard.

"Your glasses, dummy," October handed them to him. Neptune left Wilder to stand closer to them. Wilder tried to make out what he was seeing. It was like a huge, hulking, triangular bottom pyramid, hovering just outside the atmosphere. It must have been bigger than all of Phase City.

"What do you think it is?" October asked him. Wilder shrugged. Adrenaline was coursing in his veins. He didn't want to admit how terrified he was. He didn't want to agree with Adonis when no one else put stock in his conspiracy theory, but he had no better ideas.

Neptune looked terrified. He glanced at the surf like he wanted to disappear into it.

"Well, are we going to stand here and do nothing until it kills us?" October ventured.

Adonis looked defeated. "There's nothing else we can do," he said. "I'm staying out here."

October sat down next to him. Opal rolled her eyes, and retreated to the hideout. 

"I'm going to the ministry," Wilder said. "I need to see my friend James again. Some prayer would probably do me good." He prodded Neptune. "Have you talked to October?" he asked quietly. Neptune was crouched next to the edge of the water, his shoes entirely soaked in sea foam.

"No," he said, "there's nothing to talk about."

"Maybe if you tell them how you feel...." Wilder started. Neptune shook his head, looking miserable.

"There isn't any time anyway," he said, "we really have nothing in common anymore."

"You're welcome to come with me to the ministry," Wilder said. "I'll be staying there for several hours, likely."

Neptune shook his head. "Well, there is plenty of time to work on your relationship then," Wilder said, "tell the others, ok?"

He zipped up his leather jacket against the cold sea air, and set off along the beach towards the ministry.

He wasn't surprised when the front door was barred again. He knocked, but no one came. After ten minutes or so of waiting, he called James on his cell, but there was no answer. He walked all the way around the ministry building, looking in all the windows, but they had been closed off from the inside, and he couldn't see anything. He glanced back at the sky, and the looming ship that hovered in the atmosphere. He walked around the entire building again, and noticed the basement door was hanging ajar. Surprised, he pushed it open. The door led into the dusty basement of the ancient building. Nothing was kept down here except chairs and tables no longer in use. Everything was coated in an inch of dust.

Wilder heard voices upstairs. He quietly climbed the old staircase, and peered around the corner into the Father's quarters. Two men were talking to each other in hushed tones. He recognized one of them as Father James, but the other, he had never seen.

"We're out of time, James. This will make sure we don't have to endure any longer."

"Theodore! How strong is your conviction?" Father James sounded hysterical. "This is beyond sin, Father! This is an abomination!"

"There is little to no choice now," Theodore said, sighing. "There is enough for everyone in the convent. It's been through the experimental trial, and seems to have worked on every subject so far."

"But how can you be sure?" James shot back. "You're not only risking lives, you're risking faith! And that is something I cannot give freely. My love for God is deeper and more powerful than anything else."

There was a pause. "That's not what I heard when you joined the ministry, James."

Father James sounded annoyed. "That was a long time ago, Father. You of all people should know that."

"You cannot breach again, James. It's unheard of."

"Yes. Yes. I'm aware. I will not administer to the convent. If you chose to do so, you are above my station, and I will relent. But I will say this is not in good faith, and does not adhere to our values as men of God."

"You don't seem to grasp the reality of this situation," Theodore continued. "We have explored all options. From their transmissions, we can only conclude we will be eradicated one way or another. This is a safer option."

James cursed. He kicked a candle holder, and it fell with a clang. 

"If you're not careful, you're going to breach even before we go through with it," Theodore said in an even voice.

Wilder caught sight of James' face, wrinkled in thought. He had never seen such pain in his eyes before. He waved Theodore out. "Get on with it. At your insistence, I will attend."