| Chapter 23

The engine room wasn't much of a room rather than an entire half floor of the ship. Large motors powered the ship, moving metal gears over each other in rapid motion. The craftsmanship of the engine looked as though it at one point ran smooth, quiet. But when we walked in, all I saw was a struggle. Sparks erupted from the gears. The belts between them screamed as they were forced to move.

Air rushed in.

From every direction.

"They never fixed it?" Vera hurried as close to the engine as she could. She tried to look beneath it, where a hole was visible. The engine probably screamed because it ran without proper support. The weight of it could pull it down and away from the ship. And without that missing, fallen piece—

This ship will fall.

"Brylon said they had fixed it!" Vera shouted as I got closer. She had to, or else I wouldn't hear her. "Brylon promised my father he'd fixed it all!"

"Yeah, but Brylon said—"

A metal wrench flew in our direction, missing the both of us. It crashed into the side of the engine. And with the impact of it, it wedged itself between two of the gears.

The engine struggled to turn the rubber strip. And the cry the engine made rang in my ears, so loud, I had to cover them. "Fuuuuck."

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" As the sound died down, I heard laughter. Shouting.

Lifting my head, I caught sight of Holmes, still covered in blood, dancing in our direction. Rather than have a gun in his hands, he had two more wrenches. Each left his fingers as he chucked them. The impacts made the engine cry again. "Oh, just listen to it all, huh! Isn't this beautiful?"

Vera stumbled back as the noise got loud again. I wanted to reach out and grab her, but the shrill sound of the dying engine hurt my ears. I couldn't move my hands away from my head.

"The sky is falling, Gus!" Holmes said as he twirled. "It's falling, it's falling, just like you wanted to tell me!"

"It isn't falling," I whispered. We're falling. We're crashing.

"Oh, ho!" Holmes twirled again. There was blood on the side of his face. It trickled down from his ears, staining his neck with a light stream of red.

He's lost his mind!

"Oh, what a world, what a world. Sacrifice one to save a few. Sacrifice a few to save a ton." Holmes rushed in my direction; his bloodied hands grabbed my shirt. I screamed when he made me look into his eyes. "Kill a city to save a nation!"

The ship rumbled, shaking under pressure. The walls struggled to stay upright with the weight of the engine hanging from its ship. In seconds, the speed of the ship's descent increased. Air rushed through the gaping whole. And with Holmes still holding on to me, I couldn't get away.

I'd fall to my death.

"Leave him alone!" Vera ran towards us. She jumped onto Holmes' back, wrapping her arms around his neck. The look on his face, the way his lips pulled back as he growled, was horrendous. Fear erupted in my heart. But it wasn't that I was afraid of him; I was afraid of what he'd do.

"Don't touch me, you filthy animal!" Holmes dipped his head forward so his arm swung back. The edge of his elbow slammed into the side of Vera's face. He did it twice, because the first time, she didn't let go. After the second blow, her body crumbled, and she slid in the direction of the falling ship.

My eyes widened as I watched her struggle to grab hold and not fall.

"No!" I screamed, trying to reach for her. But Holmes didn't let go.

I stared into his eyes as he laughed maniacally. There was no emotion in them, nothing human. Just hate, anger, and death. Each of the three was brought on with happiness. But I didn't have the time to wait for what else brought him joy.

Pulling my fist back, I punched him in the face. I felt his jaw crack, his skin bunched up against my knuckles. His body tumbled and he let me go.

Instantly, I dove under the engine. Just in time to catch Vera's arm as she started to fall.

"Don't let go!" I shouted at her. "Don't let go of me!"

The tears in her eyes ripped through me. There wasn't a light behind them. Just fear. Utter darkness, black, empty fear. "Don't let me die, Gus. Please."

I kicked one of my legs against the side of the engine to keep my body in place. My foot hooked around a pipe for a better grip. The engine's vibration rattled through me, but it wasn't enough to get me to let go. I grabbed her with both of my hands.

"Oh, this is perfect, perfect, perfect!" Holmes clapped behind me. I didn't look at him as he spoke. "I can easily kill two birds with one stone. Or wrench! Ha! Why don't I use a wrench!"

I could hear him clank around in search for a weapon. But I kept my eyes on Vera. I kept her focus. "Look at me," I said to her. "Don't worry about him, look at me."

"I am." Tears fell from her eyes but blew away in the wind. Hair slapped against her face. "I'm looking at you!"

"There are two little birdies sittin' in my tree!" Holmes started to sing. And I felt a slamming pain on the back of my leg. I screamed, almost closed my eyes, but I forced one open. If she kept looking at me, I'd be her peace. And that's what we needed.

But Holmes hit me again. And again. Tears welled up in my eyes as he continued to sing his song. "And I'm K-I-L-L-I-N-G!"

Another blow. My knee popped. The tears in my eyes fell and vanished in the wind, just like hers. But unlike me, Vera didn't sit tight. She saw my struggle. Saw my pain. Both of her hands reached for my arms so she could pull herself up.

"Drop her!" Holmes brought a wrench against my leg once more. "Let the filthy alien die! Die! Die!"

Each die brought another blow. I saw spots within my vision, flashes of pain.

"I'm not dying," Vera hissed as she reached my face. One of her hands grabbed onto my shoulders. The other fisted the sleeve of my shirt.

But Holmes didn't stop hitting me. He slammed the wrench still and kicked at my foot. He did everything in his power to get me to lose my control and fall.

I couldn't fall.

I couldn't die.

Neither of us could.

Vera gripped my body tight as she looked at Holmes. I didn't expect to see the smile on her face, but it was there. Sly, cunning. Proud. And she laughed. "We're not the one's dying today!" she yelled over the sound of the wind.

I looked back at Holmes, just as he lifted the wrench above his head. The look on his face hadn't changed. But when I caught the movement behind him, the look on mine did.

The tall, massive shadow of the Pylon who'd made his mistakes but wanted to redeem himself approached. The piercing glow of his eyes broke through the shadows around the engine room, but Holmes, still focused on us, didn't notice the light.

He lifted his arm higher to bring the weapon down again. "You will die!" he shouted at us.

"No!" Brylon jumped at him and wrapped his arms around the man. He lifted Holmes easily off his feet. With his face close to Holmes' ear, he said, "You're dying today."

And with one push, Holmes stumbled over my body and slammed into the engine. His feet caught the edge around the hole and his hands balanced on the side of the motor. But Brylon didn't let him stay. He pushed him once more, pushed him down. And Holmes crumbled under the weight of the Pylon man and slipped right through the hole beneath him.

"NO!" Vera screamed as Holmes caught the bottom of her pants. She kicked her legs.

All I could do is hold her, or else she'd fall. And with his weight added to hers, it was getting harder to keep her still.

"Princess." Brylon looked at Vera as he smiled. A ball found its way into my stomach as I felt the emotion come off him.

Vera shook her head, silently pleading with him not to do what we both knew he would do.

But Brylon dropped to his knees and balanced himself before the hole. He gave me one look before saying, "I may weigh her down for a second, but hold her tight. And don't let her go. The colony ships are still close. They can get you off and over to safety."

He's sacrificing himself.

"I understand," I croaked.

Sacrifice himself to save a few.

"No! No!" Vera kicked her legs to try to get rid of Holmes, but the man clawed at her. I saw the pain on her face.

Save a few to free a nation.

Brylon shook his head. "Princess, please tell your father I apologize for all my wrong doings. Tell my wife I won't be coming home like I'd planned. And to you," he touched the top of her head, "I apologize for being so hard on you."

"Brylon! No!"

Brylon's body fell through the hole with grace. The light around him seemed to stop the wind, as though he were magic. With one pull, he yanked Holmes' body away from Vera's.

The two of them slowly fell into the city streets. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see them crash.