La Belle Ile en Mere Pt. 14

Kapnos nodded vigorously, following his logic. "The Newest Guest could be using the other Océanes from the other two nerve centers to keep rescuers away. Sending out some sort of quarantine distress call." Her already healthy desire to leave the hotel shot through the roof. "To give it time to build whatever it's building on the ring."

"Océane, can you tell what they're building?" Anna watched the drone camera move to the other spire.

"The comm infrastructure looks undamaged on the opposite spire," Océane said. "And to answer your question, Mrs. Zaal, whatever they're building is outside of my knowledge base."

"It's a plasma-based thruster." George sent the drone back to capture the ongoing construction. "Your reactors use deuterium, right?"

"Yes," Océane said.

"The Newest Guest will use that for fuel, converting it into plasma. You can't set up thrusters on the spires, so it makes sense that it would build its thruster in the middle of the ring." George found that he was sweating. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He had been so caught up in his discoveries that he hadn't even noticed his mother's comforting weight on his back and head. He leaned back into her bosom, putting his hand on the glove holding his shoulder.

"Um... where does it want to go?" Kapnos sat down as heavily as her slight body would allow. This was all terrible news.

George looked out the window at the brightest, bluest star. "I assume it wants more body parts. It's probably going to Earth. Maybe it was headed to Earth and missed and latched on here. Or maybe..." He grimaced. "Océane, which direction did the Skyrmion burst come from?"

"It came from the inner solar system." Océane's chipper, helpful voice had vanished. The AI sounded subdued.

"It's not an alien. It's something we created." George waved away the drone feed and moved on to the matter of the lifeboat. "We have to leave this hotel right away. Is the executive lifeboat operational? I'd like to inspect it personally."

"It is operational. But I cannot allow access without a retinal scan." Océane almost sounded sorry.

"Let's not go through all this again. Remember, I'm sharing my secrets with you." Kapnos rolled her eyes.

"It's not a matter of choice for me. I have no control of the locks in the hotel," Océane said. "The airlock to the executive lifeboat won't unlock without a retinal scan from the hotelier."

"Oh... gods." Anna stood straight and paced the room. "There must be some other way."

George suddenly felt exhausted. There were other questions to ask Océane, but they would have to wait. He slumped in his chair, looking from his mother to Kapnos. He thought about the contents in the plastic box tucked into Kapnos's satchel. "I suppose we'll have to find the hotelier's eyeball."

Kapnos nodded her head thoughtfully.

Anna put her hand to her mouth and stared at her son, horrified.

~~

"There's... an incoming message!" Constance moved quickly toward the green flashing light.

"Wait, it could be a trap." Roy held his wife's gloved hand to restrain her.

"That doesn't make any sense. Who's trying to trick us?" Constance sighed in exasperation.

"Answer it." Delores was desperate for good news.

"It's Mom!" Lillian saw her mother's name in the sender's slot. She stepped closer to the blinking green light and waved her hand. Suddenly her mother's anxious face was in the room with them.

"Lillian, are you okay?" Anna scanned the room. There looked to be a hoard of packaged food in one corner. The place was a mess, with makeshift beds unmade on the floor. The Havershams and Delores were in the room with her daughter.

"I'm okay, Mom." Lillian nodded. A wide smile curved her lips. It felt like it might split her face. She'd forgotten what it felt like to smile.

"You've gotten the comms to work." Constance dared a grin of her own.

"Only the internal comms. And George got Océane to speak English." Anna filled them in on all their news. Smiles faded the more the survivors learned about the Newest Guest. When Anna finished her debrief, she looked around the cramped room. "I'm glad you made it back safely, Mrs. Salazar."

"What?" Delores cocked her head in confusion.

"But where are Ms. Pemberton, Mr. Dmytruk, and my husband?" Anna pressed her lips into a tight line. She could tell from their expressions that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Your husband is in league with -" Roy started.

"Quiet, dear." Constance put her gloved fingers over her husband's mouth. "Mr. Dmytruk was most likely murdered in his room. We don't know who did it. But the list of suspects is short." She noted the relief on Anna's face upon learning that her son's dueling partner was murdered. Constance described the incident in detail.

"I see." Anna didn't have the foggiest idea what to make of it. She glanced at George, whose forehead was knitted in thought. He sat just off camera. Anna straightened her bodice. "And Ms. Pemberton?" She listened in horror as Constance described what had happened to Edith. When Constance finished the story, Anna found it difficult to speak. She had been very lucky that there had been just one of those shadow creatures in the restaurant that morning. Anna composed herself. "And my husband?"

Lillian piped up. "We haven't seen Dad since he ran after those things. I think he's going to try and kill them all."

"Oh... I see." Things were so much worse than what Anna had thought. They hadn't seen her husband in any of the common areas. They would have to find him and rescue him, too, it seemed. "We'll come down to you and find Ernest. Then, we have one thing to retrieve before we can leave on the lifeboat. Expect us in a few hours." She looked to George who nodded his agreement. "With any luck, we'll be off this hotel by tomorrow." She said her goodbyes and ended the call. They would need a massive amount of luck. How on Earth would they ever retrieve the hotelier's eyeball?