Phantasm 2: In the Shadow of Iniquity (two)

"Ah company, now this is something of a surprise," said Elisabeth. Her attitude was warm and bubbly, flirtatious, suggesting an awareness of the lurking danger but a willingness to put any fears she felt aside. "Haven' t seen any new faces anywhere round these parts for a long time. Didn' t think anyone was getting through orbit. Welcome to our humble abodes, or what' s left of them anyway."

Laura introduced herself and Scott and Willow before asking what had happened to the other spaceport' s residents.

"They all left as soon as those bastard Shuruk arrived," said Elisabeth, bitterness flooding her voice. "They had their ships and transports and made a run for it. Got blasted outta the sky, best I can tell."

Laura nodded along sympathetically with her words. "We assumed that was what must have happened. Do you know how many people are left down here?"

"Not for sure, no. Couple of hundred, maybe more than that, hard to tell."

"Why didn' t you try and leave with the others?" asked Scott. "Death seems better than being captured by the Shuruk."

"Probably is, but where would I go? Where would the rest of us go?" She didn' t say this unkindly, just making a point, and there was a seductive gleam in her eye as she looked at Scott. She continued, keeping the same tone. "This here' s our home. It' s hard to see it as that, I know, but that' s what it is just the same. Most of the people who' ve stayed are like me. We' ve spent all our lives here, we don' t want to leave. There' s nothing interesting outside. We' ve all gathered together here in these few streets. We' ve shared the same world for so long that somehow it doesn' t seem right at the end to be apart." She shrugged her shoulders. "So, what brings you three here? And forgive me if I seem rude, I just haven' t been able to talk with anyone for awhile."

"You don' t," said Scott.

Elisabeth smiled again, reaching out to touch his arm lightly, leaning forward. "Thanks. You' re too kind."

Laura managed to hide a disapproving frown. "To answer your question, the eclipse sounded like something worth seeing? well, not seeing, but you probably know what I mean. We had no idea about the Shuruk until we' d arrived and it was too late."

"Neither did we, and yeah, it should definitely be something. So many of the people here were looking forward to it. Darkness normally scares people but they couldn' t wait for the adventure to begin. The children especially. I can still hear their voices, how excited they were." She seemed to brighten with the memory, then sighed and her expression became sombre and weary once again. "They' re all gone now. There are only a few children left here. The parents of the others decided to take their chances on a gamble in orbit. Guess they must' ve lost, huh."

Willow spoke for the first time. "When did the Shuruk first arrive?"

Elisabeth looked at her slowly and blinked several times, as though only just taking in her presence. "I don' t know, four days ago, maybe a little longer. It' s hard to remember but that' s what it felt like anyway. A dozen or more ships in high orbit. We thought they would land but they didn' t move. That was when the others left. Afterwards they just sat there, taunting us, before they cloaked and seemed to disappear."

"I wonder why they didn' t land," Scott said.

"There' s a reason. Everything the Shuruk do is co-ordinated. There' s always a reason," Laura said. "An armada of twelve to fifteen ships, that' s enough to take Minarth, but alone it isn' t of any value to them. I think perhaps they want it for something else and are waiting."

"Maybe they' re waiting for the eclipse to cover their movements," Elisabeth suggested.

"Maybe." Laura tilted her head to the side slightly, regarding Elisabeth from a new angle. "It' s starting to get late. You have any rooms where we could stay?"

"You' ve gotta be kidding, right? I' ve got too many rooms, that' s the whole problem. How many will you be wanting? One each?"

"Two' s good. Scott' ll have one, Willow and I can share. How much?" she inquired, reaching to retrieve some credits she had hidden away.

"Don' t be silly, I' m not going to charge you. You' re friends. And we' re under blockade, so, what would I do with the credits?" She reached under the desk and brought out a couple of keys, which she handed to them. "Just go up those stairs and you' ll find your rooms, first two on the left. Come back in the morning if you want to talk again."

"Thanks."

Elisabeth looked Scott up and down, raised her eyebrows suggestively, and smiled. "You want some company, hon? I know how to show a guy a good time."

Laura pushed Scott in the direction of the stairs before he could say anything. He rubbed his shoulder where she had pushed him. "He' ll be fine on his own," Laura said.

Elisabeth' s smile widened. "You his sister?"

"No. Guardian, or something like that."

"Well, due respect to ya and all that, but he looks old enough to take care of himself, don' t ya think? You know where to find me if you want to, Scott. It' d be nice to have some fun before the end, don' t ya think?"

Laura pushed him again and he complied more readily this time. They climbed the stairs a few at a time, hurrying to their rooms.