Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

At the Center

The apprehension in the room was palpable, rising like a fog from the thicket of black tendrils that rolled up from the shadows. The sirens continued to echo their long, haunting call throughout the corridors of the ship, and as Adam stood there, he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck, a deep pit forming in the place where his stomach used to be.

He recognized this feeling.

An image flashed in his head, a ghostly glowing hand reaching out through eternity against the vast blackness of space, accompanied by the distant memory of a chattering radio signal, the last Hail Mary of a group who never lived to see daylight.

Adam was almost surprised to find that, on instinct, the group of them had moved to form a small group, pressed shoulder to shoulder, so at least one set of eyes had any part of the room in view at all times. On his right, his shoulder pressed hard against Sunny's carapace, on his left Ramirez, beyond him Katie, Krill and Narobi had taken up their places nervously glazing around the room.

But even with his friends at his back, Adam couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, of something lurking just beyond the edges of his vision waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He could only imagine what he might have felt if his friends were not there with him chasing away the impression of a shadow rising behind him in the dark, its long spindly arms held out in preparation to strike before plunging down towards him.

"He's here, like right now?" Someone whispered.

Adham shook his head, and the unease was clear to see, even on the Maker's face, "No absolutely not, if he was here you would know about it. Besides Apollyon cannot enter the light of revelation, this is our one true safe haven from his gaze. I simply mean that he is here, in this reality and he is.... Awake"

Adam didn't like the sound of any of that on.

Celex hissed, "Well lets find him and kick his ass then." His voice was stronger, despite the atmosphere, who knew it would be a sense of false bravado that would pull the ex warlord out of his funk. The man was still clearly unsteady on his feet, off, more than a little, but at least he was coherent. Even so, it was only because he knew Celex so well that he could sense the very subtle tightening of his voice.

For anyone else the equivalent would be peeing themselves and running away.

But Celex was clearly made of something different.

Adam didn't want to agree with him, but he latched onto his friends courage, however manufactured to bolster himself, "Celex is right, we have to deal with this problem, once and for all." He gave a pointed look at Adham, "I am going to protect my family with or without your sanctioned permission. I suggest you deal us in, and we can coordinate, or you don't deal us in, and we end up getting in the way because we aren't working as a cohesive group."

Adam and Adham exchanged looks for a long moment, the battle of wills lasting for only a few precious seconds before he sighed deeply, blowing out a gust of wind through his cheeks, "Okay, okay. I don't have time to argue this with you, but you understand that you take orders from me now. If you want to be involved you have to cooperate, failure to do so will result in you being thrown in the brig. Is that understood?"

The group of them grumbled, but Adam made no overt protest so neither did anyone else.

None of them were happy about it, Nairobi was practically seething, Sunny was playing with her spear as if she was thinking bout sending it through Adham's chest cavity, and even Krill looked miffed, arms crossed over his thin chest, while the lifepod that held his true body rested hard against his leg.

"You understand this means we get to help. None of this pretending to let us help. Krill gets to go oversee the medical wing, and Narobi returns to her engines."