Tag: Tabitha

Pegasus (Part 100)

We ended up dragging her along by her feet.

“Come on Leanne, try to help us. Keep taking steps,” Tabitha implored.

“I’m trying,” she sobbed,

The laser fire was continuing unabated behind us.

I looked up and saw the ship we were heading to. It was not exactly what I had been expecting. It was a medium-sized craft, totally pink, with a large cargo bay entrance to the rear.

As we got close, I stopped helping to hold up Leanne and ran forward to press the button to open it. Tabitha and Leanne immediately fell unceremoniously to the ground. I then ran back, and carried Leanne over my shoulder to the ship, before gently placing her inside. Tabitha stayed tending to her, while I looked out to see if I could see the other two.

For a few moments, all I could see was the flashes of laser fire in the distance. Then, Chrissie appeared out of the corner of my eye sprinting towards me. Then she shouted.

“I’ll get us out of here. Don’t you close up till my Casey is inside.”

She darted past me.

There were more flashes of laser fire.

Then I saw Casey. She was walking backwards towards the ship returning laser fire.

Pegasus (Part 45)

I gasped in exasperation. The odds were not good of us ever making our destination. Looking around at the rugged, hilly, rocky landscape I wondered how I found myself in this situation.

Tabitha reached out and placed her hand firmly on my arm. My heartbeat fell and I felt back in control.

I looked into her eyes.

“Will we do it?” I asked.

“We will babe.”

And that was that.

Over the next few days, the plans were finalized. The fate of perhaps hundreds of billions of people would rest on our shoulders.

The day we set out the whole base waved us off in their shabby clothes. Almost certainly more in hope than any real sense of confidence that we would succeed. There were no smiling faces. Just the strong aroma of the meat we had feasted on.

Over the rocky hills, we went following the same path from where we came. All the time keeping one eye on the sky and always fearful of what lay around the next corner. At least this time we were far better armed. We both had Grade A lasers. The best two weapons that the resistance had retrieved from a storage bunker just for us. A volley of shots would be enough to bring down any beast.

Still, they were only to be used as a last resort as it would reveal the presence of the Resistance in the world.

Pegasus Part 42

I looked left and then right. What should I do?

Then I found myself running after her.

“Tabitha,” I roared out.

After taking another few strides she turned and faced me.

“What’s going on? Why were they about to tear me apart?”

She looked at the ground. And then spoke in a low voice.

“You have his complexion. The others only realized when you washed. I was going to tell you but it never seemed like the right time.”

“What?”

“Who do I look like?”

“Mark Ahern.”

My heart shuddered and every part of my body felt sick. It was the worst thing she could have said. He resembled the ultimate monster.

Still, it made sense. He had heard about the seed worlds of Mark Ahern, and there was always a chance that his habitat could have been one of them. He was a man obsessed not only with his own power and wealth but also with spreading his DNA throughout the cosmos. it was now a fact.

“And you love me?”

“Yes, you may resemble him but that’s where it ends. You are a kind and courageous man. You, sir, are nothing like him “

With that, we went back to tending to the injured who were already adjusted to my cleaner look.

Pegasus Part 36

Running furiously was not enough. I could hear its steps getting closer and closer and turned my head in despair.

Its mouth was opened wide and I thought its large teeth would be the last thing I’d ever see as it pounced on me. Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot. Blood splattered all over my face and body as its heavy body fell onto me.

Then I heard Tabitha screaming, “Are you okay Ciarán?”

Concern was etched into her voice.

She clasped my hand and between the two of us, I managed to get out from under the body.

“What happened?” I asked half dazed.

“I don’t know, they never gotten into this part before.

“Tabitha, is that you?”

A black man, not quite six tall holding a heavy machine gun was now standing just a few metres from us.

“Tahir?” Tabitha said under her breath.

Tabitha ran towards him and they embraced warmly.

This was the man that had saved my life but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“Tahir, this is Ciarán. He saved me and helped get me here. He wants to join us.”

“Any friend of Tabitha is a friend of mine.”

He shook my hands firmly.

Then he said, “Come this way. It’s dangerous out here.”

Pegasus (Part 32)

We must have drifted off asleep because the next thing it was bright again. But now the train was hurtling through a rainforest. A blanket of densely packed trees leaving a dark forest floor. No more large herbivores were to be seen. I nudged Tabitha to wake her.

“What?”

She immediately looked around as if sensing danger.

“It’s okay. Just wanted to wake you. We seem to be in some sort of forest.”

“Yes, in another few hours, we’ll come to a clearance. The train will slow down somewhat and then we’ll have to jump.”

“Jump?”

“Yes, jump.”

Damn it. That is not what I wanted to hear. This didn’t look like the kind of place one would survive an injury.

“What if we get injured?”

“Oh, you’ll be okay. There’s a technique to it. I’ll show you.”

With that, she showed. It involved rolling once your feet touched the ground.

I sure hoped it would work.

“Once we’re off the train, we will have a bit of a walk through the dense jungle ahead of us. I want you to know that we’ll be perfectly fine. I’ve done this particular journey a few times previously.”

I nodded.

“So tell me about your family Tabitha. I want to know everything about you and where you are from. How did you get involved in all of this?”

Pegasus (Part 31)

Gradually, the light faded and it became night in the habitat. It was now close to pitch black except for very dim lighting. But, you could still hear the massive creatures and occasionally smell what they left behind them. I wondered what magnificent or terrifying sights I would behold the next day.

“It’s amazing what has been built here, isn’t?”

Tabitha raised her head from my shoulder and stared at me.

“It’s terrible. There are billions of humans engaged in a living nightmare on Earth. I’ve been to London. They are forced to try to survive underground most of the time, drink filthy water, and eat barely edible food. This would be heaven on earth for them. And some of them were the best type of people. Instead, it’s one man’s playground. He’ll never even set his eyes on the majority of it.”

“Yes you’re right,” I replied wondering how things suddenly got so serious.

“It’s important, this is what I’ve given up my life for. I know you are new to all this but you must realize how important this cause is to me.”

” I know, and it’s important to me too.”

With that, she held my hand and put her head back on my shoulder.