Julius Rosenthal will make candy no more and other short stories by Nicholas Russell (young adult books to read .txt) 📗

leaving two overlapping palm prints. With the second slap his eyes fluttered and he started to mumble “You can’t let him deliver those people… People aren’t cattle.”

A rush of air followed his last word and Higgins mouth went slack. Ram pounded his chest hard trying to get him breathing again, hitting him harder in between each series of breaths. The door chimed and Conklin screamed for help pulling Ram from a daze. Higgins feet were blocking the door, she wanted to pull him free but she knew he needed to be left there.

She got to her feet and started back towards the flight deck. Conklin was screaming louder, but Ram wasn’t ready to make herself move faster. Getting to the door Ram closed her eyes and thought of her late husband. He had fought in the colony wars she kept hearing his voice in her head. The same slogan over and over again, it wasn’t the official slogan but it was on posters everywhere ‘People aren’t cattle’

The emergency access tunnel was tight even for Ram. The ladder was so close to the wall that her fingers barely fit around the rungs and she was standing with just the tips of her feet. She had passed the crew quarters and the mess deck all that was left before the cargo hold was the med bay. From what Higgins had said that is where the Captain was being treated. There was a glass port towards the top of each entrance allowing you to look in on the floor to make sure it was safe. The problem was people could also see out.

Conklin had thought she was crazy for trying this and he kept telling her that as she closed the access door. But she needed to get down to the Cargo hold and try to shut down the engines. Without the proper access she would have to climb through the venting duct in the ceiling and the only way to get there would be for Conklin to cut the artificial gravity to the cargo holds.

As she neared the door to the Med Bay, Ram caught herself holding her breath and slowing down and she couldn’t slow down. There was no way to communicate privately across the ship so she was on a strict schedule. Two minutes had passed as Ram began to move down the shaft leaving her eight minutes to get to the central cargo bay. As she moved passed the window Ram couldn’t help but looking in. The doctor was covered in blood and standing over the captain with a terrified look on his face. Gruber and Mason were standing in the corner talking Gruber was covered in blood and he looked shaken, his hand was trembling and he kept turning back towards the captain.

The Doctor looked up and his eyes went wide, Ram gripped the side of ladder and started to slide. She hit the ground hard and felt her ankle crack, her screams echoed across the tiny shaft as Ram fell into the door. She fumbled with the handle for a few seconds before hearing the lock click and tumbling into the cargo hold landing on her back. Voices can be heard echoing among the steel containers. Ram rolled onto her stomach pulled herself up to a crouch, scanning the hold.

There are dozens of places that someone could hide to ambush her. But she was pretty sure the voices were coming from the entrance to the lift. She stayed low and moved to the closest container. The holds lighting system cast a shadow behind the container and Ram could take a minute to check her ankle. Without light she would have to suffer through a physical exam.

Unlacing her boots Ram slipped her fingers down and started to feel around her ankle. Waves of pain were quickly followed by relief. From what she could tell it looked like it was nothing more than twisted and hopefully wouldn’t slow her down too much. She looked to the lift entrance there were two men standing there but from where she was she couldn’t tell who it was. Keeping low Ram started across the cargo hold for the third time today. As she neared the airlock there was a loud ruckus behind her, turning Ram watched as Gruber stepped from the Emergency hatch. She didn’t see Mason. He was probably trying to get to the flight deck. Conklin had barricaded the door after Ram went through so that was pretty much a dead end, but would probably keep him tied up long enough for Ram to do what she needed to.

She crossed into the second hold and tapped the controls to seal the airlock. Almost any access code would open it, but at least it would add a few precious seconds to her escape. She found a hiding space near the center and did her best to look like she wasn’t there. The airlock hissed open and as Gruber stepped through Ram was wishing for an old fashion wristwatch. Gruber had what looked like a club in his hand it was short only half a foot and looked to be made of a brushed aluminum. He crossed the room quickly reaching the opposite airlock within seconds. Ram was about to take a breath when he stopped and turned back.

Ram tried to slouch down further, looking up she was almost directly under the vent. There wasn’t much shadow to hide in so Ram was stuck where she was. Gruber stepped to the side moving away from the airlock but still keeping it within a few quick steps. He scanned the hold staring for a moment at each shadow hoping for movement spinning the cylinder in his right hand. She had just sucked in a deep