Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion by Christian Kallias Read Free Book Online Page A

looking forward to their next and
last meeting. Still, it was clear that the emotion coursing through his body
wasn’t hatred or rage, but fear. It was as though the emotion he was sensing
wasn’t his own.
    Then he heard his
name being called from afar.
    “Chase, Chase! Wake
up, Chase!”
    He felt some
movement as his body shook. The image before his eyes became garbled and was
replaced by another.
    It was Keera. She
was shaking him when he finally came back to reality.
    “Dude, you scared
the shit out of me. I’ve been calling you and trying to wake you up for like
ten minutes now.”
    There was genuine
concern in her voice.
    “Sorry
. . .” said Chase, still a little confused about exiting the
nightmare differently than before.
    “What was that?
You were muttering your own name, asking yourself for help. That was creepy!”
    “Was I?” Chase
looked down.
    “Yeah, it was
like you were talking to yourself in that nightmare of yours.”
    “I know.”
    “I don’t get it?
How can you know?”
    “Not the first
time I’ve had this particular nightmare. In fact, I dread sleeping as a rule
since . . .”
    “Since your loved
one died?”
    Chase nodded as a
tear fell from one of his eyes.
    “Sarah
. . .” he added.
    “I’m sorry,
Chase.”
    He looked away.
    “Are you sure she’s
dead?”
    “Yeah, no doubt
about it. I . . . I fired the shot that destroyed her ship.”
    “That’s really
heavy. I still don’t understand how you were put into this position, though. Not
sure I could have taken that shot.”
    That was
something Chase really didn’t want to hear from anyone, but he couldn’t blame
Keera for saying it. Why had he fired? Why didn’t he kill Argos when he had the
chance?
    “I
. . . I was faced with an impossible choice, and . . . she
asked me to.”
    Keera swallowed
and stayed silent.
    “I wish I would
stop having this nightmare though. I . . . I don’t understand why I
get it every night.”
    “And you never
had it before?”
    “No. What’s weird
is that Sarah had that same nightmare. She described it to me.”
    “Perhaps that’s
why you’re having it. It’s part of who she was, and your brain is clinging to
her via that memory. I’m no shrink but I think it’s normal to cling to memories
of the people we care for and have lost.”
    Chase reflected
on Keera’s words. It did make some sense, but then why that one? Why not a real
memory, one that belonged to him? Why would he dream her nightmare day after
day? He wished it would stop.
    “How long was I
out and how close are we to the Megara system?”
    “About six hours,
and we’re still thirty minutes short of arrival.”
    “I wish we could
get there faster. Argos will probably be gone by then!”
    “How do you know he’s
there?”
    Chase still
didn’t really trust Keera and was not in the mood to talk about his relationship
with the Olympians.
    “Alright, then,”
she said, sensing he wasn’t about to discuss the subject. “Want something to
eat?”
    “That would be
nice, yeah. Thanks.”
    She exited the
cockpit. “Sure thing. I’ll get some rations and bring them back in a jiffy.”
    “Thanks, Keera,”
said Chase, after sliding the cockpit door closed.
     
    *  
*   *
     
    Ares ran halfway along
the corridor and stopped suddenly. He turned around and watched Argos running
towards him at lightning speed. He stopped in front of him and grabbed Ares by
the throat. Ares tried to speak but Argos’ grip was too strong.
    “Have something
to say before you die?”
    Ares looked at
him defiantly.
    “Alright, then,”
he said, as he loosened his grip ever so slightly.
    “Lockdown,” said
Ares.
    A force field appeared
and sectioned Argos’ left hand on the spot. He shouted in pain as blood spewed
from his arm with every beat of his heart.
    Ares smiled but
lost no time. He went to a nearby wall, tore off a panel and yanked two strong,
metallic cables from it. The force field went down and so did most of the