The Jovian Conflict

Chapter 4

The Jovian Conflict

Shelton and Riedel's Daring Escape

Riedel felt his mouth moving and his vocal chords strumming but he heard nothing. Slowly the darkness in front of him gave way to a sea of light and colors. The ringing in his ears faded next and soon the constant "beep" of the medical scanner and the low hum of his voice came into focus. What the hell was he saying?

"… tell my wife about it!"

Was he talking unconsciously? He felt his jaw cease its yakking and his lips curled up into a toothy grin. He had no idea what was going on, but his body was moving on its own. Before him stood a JOC medibay nurse; she gave him a pleasant smile in return but her eyes didn't match the gesture. His eyes stayed locked on her as she left his room. Once she was gone, he peeled back the blanket he wore and checked his injured side. It was stitched up, but the swelling and redness had subsided. Pain was nonexistent. Cautiously, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the ground.

"Gravity? Am I on Earth?" he asked aloud. Of course, there was no one there to answer. A quick look around the room and he found his clothes neatly folded on a chair near his bed. The thin hospital gown was removed and he reached for his own garb. Nimbly he put his boxers on first, and then started to put the grey pants of his work outfit on next.

The door to the room opened. A tad shy, Riedel tried to hurry along but got caught up trying to put the second pant leg on. By the time the silent male nurse reached him, he was finally getting the last button done. He threw his hand out to stop the stranger and said, "Whoa, cowboy! Give me a second, would ya? I just got up. How long have I been out? Where are we?"

"Let me see your arm, Doctor Riedel," the male nurse requested.

Hesitantly, Riedel complied. He felt his sense of touch surge when the gloved hands of this stranger snatched his wrist and twisted it around. It was done harshly but didn't appear to be done with maleficent intent. Still on edge, Riedel jumped when he saw the nurse take a needle and stick it next to his arm. He tried to rip his arm out of the nurse's grasp but couldn't.

He demanded, "Let go! Tell me what that is!"

"Calm down, Doctor Riedel."

"No, you calm down – and give me my arm back!"

Survival instinct, fear, rage… whatever it was, it made Riedel snap. His vision faded to black. His free hand struck the nurse square in the nose, grabbed the needle, and jabbed it into the man's neck. Within five seconds the stranger was on the ground, unconscious. By that time, Riedel was emerging from his sudden blackout; his breathing was erratic, his heart was beating at record rates, and his hands were now shaking more than ever.

Panicked, he took off. He barreled through the door with enough force it crashed into the wall and caught the attention of the nurse's staff gathered in the hallway. They stared at him, confused, and one even called out, "Doctor Riedel, is everything alright?"

He left in a mad dash down the hall and around the corner. No clue where he was or where to go, he was simply running until he couldn't run anymore. A million thoughts clouded his mind. Was he being held captive? Where was the rest of his crew? What was in the needle? Did he just kill that nurse? Stampeding through the endless hallways, he was desperate to find something – anything – that would answer at least one of his questions.

A familiar face within shouting distance crossed his line of sight. Flanked by two nurses, Shelton was walking around rather casually, striking up conversation with everyone he passed. His bloodied and bruised body had just been patched up with gauze and bandages. Riedel stopped moving long enough to make sure his eyesight was working properly before he screamed at his friend and sprinted toward him.

"Shelton!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Shelton didn't appear to hear him. So, he screamed again, this time loud enough he felt his entire body vibrate from the noise. "Shelton!"

Shelton stopped. He twisted his neck to peer down the hallway. Poking his head around a corner was Riedel. Confused, Shelton turned around without consulting the nurses and jogged to his comrade. He smiled and said, "Kit, I'm glad you're okay."

"Jesus, Shelton. Have they stabbed you yet?"

"What?"

It was then that Shelton paid closer attention to Riedel's face. It was deathly pale and covered in a thick layer of sweat. The top of his nose and the tips of his ears were a deep pink, something that happened only when he had been drinking. Quakes from his body came in waves and his hands were desperately clenching the corner of the wall.

Concerned, Shelton passed a glance over his shoulder to check on the nurses. They had stayed put and were keeping a curious eye on him. He leaned in and whispered, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't f*****g know!" Riedel rushed out. It was said rather loud, so Shelton again looked to the nurses. It was clear they were getting suspicious. Riedel grabbed his collar and dragged him close enough to kiss and said, "I think they drugged me! I keep suffering blackouts! Have they done anything to you?!"

"No, I just got – "

"We have to get out of here!"

"Excuse me, Mister Lund…?" a nurse's voice called to him. He could feel her approaching him.

"Oh, god," Riedel muttered. His hands were up to his face as he carefully inspected them.

"What is it?" Shelton asked.

"I'm blacking out again."

Angered shouts from down the hall had Shelton look up. A gaggle of nurses and security guards were rushing down the hall from where Riedel had appeared. Behind him, the nurses that were escorting him made their attempts to snatch them up. Shelton panicked. His eyes dashed around the hospital halls to find an escape route but they appeared blocked in. Riedel had yet to move from his spot, still transfixed on his shaking hands.

Suddenly Riedel's hands were balled into fists. He spun around on his heel and screamed, "Giv AKT Spacehounds! We're gonna make that drop on point and those bastards won't know what the hell got to 'em…!"

The group slowed to a crawl, clearly confused as to what or whom Riedel was yelling at or about. As he made a few short, shuffled steps toward them, a guard slowly removed his pistol from its holster and started to raise it.

It was time for action. Shelton, despite all of his injuries and the insane amount of pain, snatched Riedel, threw him over his shoulder, and took off. He purposefully rammed into the two nurses that tried to grab him and knocked them to the ground. Free space lay ahead. They just had to lose the people that chased them. The gravity made him feel even heavier. It seemed as though it would be impossible to escape. No matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn't move as fast as their chasers.

"Put me down, I can run!" Riedel demanded. Shelton didn't even hesitate. He plopped his comrade down on the ground. Off balance, Riedel stumbled for a few beats before he took off in a dash so fast it rivaled any Olympic sprinter. Shelton had to put himself into overdrive to keep up.

Riedel led them on a crazy, twisting course that sent them through rooms and offices, down stairs and around lobbies. Finally, he stopped at a maintenance closet and shoved both himself and Shelton inside. It seemed as though they had gotten a safe enough distance to stop and catch their breath. Pain shot through Riedel's side and he had to sit down. Shelton followed suit.

"This… gravity… feels like Earth… why?" Shelton managed to ask through heavy, ragged breathing.

Riedel shook his head, swallowed, and allowed himself one more beat to slow his breathing. "I don't know. We're not spinning, are we?"

The echo of shouts made them both silence their mouths. An intense look was shared between the two of them as they realized their chasers were closing in. Shelton began to desperately look around for a crowbar, mop handle, really anything that could be used as a weapon. During his search, his eyes found something even better. Just within the reach of his fingertips was a vent leading to a shaft that looked big enough to fit them both.

As the noise got closer, he jumped up, snatched the vent and ripped it down. A peek inside and everything appeared clear. He jumped in and found that it was actually big enough he could almost sit up. Even though it was cramped, he was able to turn around and reach out to Riedel.

"Come, Kit! Snap out of it!" he hissed. Riedel swung his attention from the door to his friend. Seeing Shelton with his hand outreached, he knew it was time to move. Hurriedly he reached out and grabbed Shelton's hand and tried to scurry into the vent. A sudden sharp pain ripped through his injured side and he did his best not to cry out. Somehow, Shelton was able to hoist Riedel up. Then, Shelton leaned way down and grabbed the vent plate and snapped it back into place.

Snuggled inside the shaft, Shelton heaved a sigh of relief. The insane, labored gasps of Riedel were too loud and caused Shelton to look at him. Riedel's hands were covering his wound, his body was shaking again, and a small amount of fresh blood began to seep through his fingers. "Are you al – "

"Gaaah - mppgh!"

Shelton seized Riedel and placed his hand over his mouth. The anguished screeched that came from Riedel made Shelton's heart stop. First of all, there was no way their chasers didn't hear that. Secondly, it sounded like Riedel was seconds from death. Yet at that moment, Shelton only cared about making it out of there.

Pressed up against Shelton, Riedel continued to scream madly into his friend's palm. Fed up with the ache and looking for a better way to channel it, he sunk his teeth into the side of Shelton's index finger. Now it was Shelton's turned to suppress a yowl. He ended up biting his own lip until he could taste the iron of his blood. For a few solid, excruciating seconds they stayed cuddled up together in undeniable pain.

When Riedel's ache finally subsided – or his mind just refused to accept the pain signals anymore- he let go of Shelton's finger and they both let out a breath they'd been anxiously holding. Again in need to recuperate, they just laid in the cold metal shaft. Between the running, the pain, and the fear, they were content being motionless for the time being.

A sudden "clink" and they both looked toward the opening of the shaft. The vent was being pulled back. A female nurse poked her head inside. Her voice laced with concern, she asked, "Are you both alright?"

Shelton's boot met with her nose and she disappeared as her body flew to the ground. "Holy s**t you just kicked a girl!" Riedel screamed.

He jokingly defended, "Equality of the sexes!" He had already crawled several meters ahead by the time he got serious and said, "Hurry it up!"

Despite his stiff side Riedel was able to slither along with ease. Perhaps it was the fresh blood, creating a lubricant against the metal that rubbed his belly that made the crawl seem easier than he had feared. Mentally, all he could think about how was desperately he didn't want to blackout again, didn't want to hurt again, didn't want to ever leave his home again. To hell with work and space. He wanted to see his family and never ever leave them again.

Forcing his body to move despite its wants was difficult but he managed to make his muscles and joints do as he commanded. Soon he was moving along faster than Shelton. Before he could stop he had rammed his head right into Shelton's ass.

"Christ, can't you move faster?!" he demanded. It was then that he realized Shelton had actually stopped. Carefully he maneuvered so he was on top of his friend and he followed Shelton's line of sight. They were pressed up against another vent plate. This time, they had managed to find themselves not staring into a maintenance closet, but what appeared to be a security guard breakroom. "Well, s**t. It doesn't get more cliché than this," Riedel cursed as he stared blankly at the sight.

They couldn't quite hear what was being said, but everyone appeared at ease. There wasn't a big manhunt for them. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. What exactly had gotten them on this big escape attempt, anyway? Ah, of course it was…

"Hey, you said they drugged you?" Shelton asked.

Riedel raised a brow, surprised by the sudden question. "Must have. I've been blacking out on and off the past hour or so. When I come to, I'm saying or doing weird s**t. Really weird s**t. Almost like – oh, you know what? I think my body is just reacting strangely to the pain killers they've been giving me."

Shelton twisted to face Riedel. The bored, blank expression on Riedel's face made it plain as day that he was telling the truth. Shelton couldn't help but scowl and say, "Are you f*****g serious?"

Still no change in his expression, Riedel said, "I haven't blacked out since I've started feeling pain again. I think it's… wait…"

A lurch from Riedel was followed by a spewing of vomit from his mouth. It was only one heave and then he wiped his mouth from the remaining, putrid liquid. Unfortunately, Shelton was situated right under him, so the warm puke landed right on Shelton's shoulder and sloshed onto his neck and face. For a moment, he forgot about the armed JOC Patrol they were spying on and he screamed, "What the f**k?!"

"I feel better now," Riedel murmured as he once again wiped his hand over his lips and chin, just in case. His relaxed demeanor changed as soon as he saw an angered JOC Patrol glaring at them through the vent. Shelton, too, despite the vomit that had landed dangerously close to his mouth, suddenly stiffened and gently turned to see who was breathing so damn close to them.

The grate was removed at record speeds. The JOC Patrol snatched Shelton by his collar and started to drag him out, but the feeling of vomit touched his palm and the smell had him drop the engineer to the floor. Shelton landed rather gracelessly on his face and his body slouched over into a heap. Now his injured head was bleeding again. As he tried to shake the fuzzy feeling away, he watched as Riedel was yanked from the shaft next.

A fresh pair of hands – this time gloved –pulled Shelton to his feet. As his vision came into focus, he saw a group of armed men staring at the two intruders with a mix of confusion and irritation. The conversation between the guards was barely heard. As the four JOC Patrol members conversed quietly amongst themselves over what to do with the two strange men, Riedel felt his head start to spin again.

"I'm gonna blackout."

"No!"

"Yes."

This time, Riedel didn't say or do anything strange. Instead, he fell face first to the ground. This startled the guards. Hesitantly they approached the unconscious man. One even lightly kicked him to make sure he was truly out. There was no response. When another reached down to grab his wrist and check his pulse, Riedel suddenly sprung to life. His head swung up and smacked the guard directly on the chin, successfully knocking him off his feet.

Frightened and confused, Riedel swung his head around the room, desperately trying to remember where he was. The guard he had smacked was being helped back up. The man in charge decided it was time to get answers.

"Who the hell are you people and what are you doing here?" he barked. Shelton looked at the commander, not in the least impressed or intimidated by him.

So, he answered honestly with a biting tone of his own. "I'm Shelton Lund, member of the JOPA EU and an employee of Zimmerman-Li Industries. No one has authority to use weapons inside ZLI owned buildings, which – I would like to point out – the Callisto outpost is. So why are you carrying weapons?"

The group of guards paused and looked between each other. There was a knowing nod between two of them. One of them drew a pistol and fired within the blink of eye. Something sharp poked Shelton in his belly. He looked down, surprised see a sharp but small metal pin sticking through his undershirt and into his gut. Before he could pull it out, a crippling shock rocked his body. He cried out briefly before slumping over. The pulse was gone within mere seconds, but not before shutting down seemingly all muscle movement in his body and then kick starting them again with another shock.

Watching Shelton struggle to stand after being brought to his knees and the agonizing cries made Riedel desperate. He leapt up from his spot on the floor and slammed one of the guards. There was just enough force to knock that guard into another, who then stumbled into the guard with the gun. All three were in a pile on the ground, leaving just the commander standing. Riedel jammed the heel of his hand into the commander's nose. As the command reached up to cradle his broken nose, Riedel snatch the pistol that was at the commander's hip and aimed it wildly between the four guards.

They threw their hands up, but the determined expressions they held made Riedel paranoid they would try something. Assuming the gun in his hand was the same as the electronic weapon used to incapacitate Shelton, Riedel fired.

There was no recoil and nothing appeared to come from the barrel, but the man he was aiming at yowled in immense pain as he keeled over. Confused, Riedel lifted the weapon up for inspection. The commander saw him turn away and went to attack; Riedel quickly had the gun aimed and fired again. The would-be attacker was knocked off his feet. A perfectly round hole right through his neck signaled his demise.

"Holy s**t. You guys developed a functional ray gun! How?! How does this work? Where are the blueprints? Who designed it? Show me!"

By this time, Shelton was shaking off the last bit of effects from the hardy shocks he had received. When he finally had his head clear, he peered around the room to find two dead guards and two frightened ones vehemently shaking their heads. He turned to Riedel, whose face was a cross between astonishment and excitement. Weary on his feet, he managed to grab Riedel and drag him away.

With his eyes still on the gun, Riedel followed behind Shelton and managed to keep pace. Shelton didn't bother to ask, but Riedel continued to rant about the weapon, "This is amazing! What's the energy source? How is it not burning my hand? How is the beam so concentrated? Is it a beam? This Buck Rogers pistol is something else!"

"That's great, Kit, really. But can you put your Buck Rogers away and pick your feet up?! We need to get out of here! You just killed two JOC Patrols!"

"Hey – that's a good name for this! It kind of is like his XZ-38!"

"Jesus Christ!"

After Shelton's last exasperated shout, Riedel finally stopped gawking at the weapon. He kept his grip on it tight and secure, however. Together the two continued their hurried trek down the winding, confusing halls of the medical sector. They had to get out and find Ashley and Romeo. Whatever the JOC Patrol intentions were before, they were definitely going to be out for blood when they found the trail of injured and dead bodies Shelton and Riedel had left in their wake.