“I thought they would have found us by now,” Jos said as he and Jonah hurried down the twisting passageways, “it’s not exactly like we’re hiding from them.”
“I told you,” replied Jonah, smiling enigmatically, “they won’t find us until the time is right.”
“Jonah, I’m not sure about this, I’m frightened.”
“I know. Look at it this way. The ship is going to crash into the city unless something happens. Even if I am completely insane and having paranoid delusions about some conspiracy, nothing we can possibly do now could make the situation any worse.”
Jos had to admit that Jonah had a point. He felt a new resolve fill him. Despite the impossible odds, he and Jonah would manage to save the city. Together, there was nothing they could not do. They would get to the bridge and somehow they would turn the ship around. There wasn’t long to go now.
But Jonah suddenly toppled over like a tree blown down in a hurricane. It was all Jos could do to avoid being knocked to the floor.
Violent tremors began to course through Jonah’s body - he began to shake uncontrollably. Jos started to panic - was he having a fit? what should he do? Jonah’s arms and legs jerked spasmodically but without force, like a mad puppet. He had to do something!
But then any decision Jos might have made was rendered irrelevant. Jonah stopped shaking as suddenly as he had begun, and rose from the ground like a flock of birds taking flight. An unfelt wind caught his hair, tossed and turned it with manic glee. His eyes were open wide, and they burned white hot, like stars, like molten lava. When he opened his mouth, his words fell like sledgehammers:
“IN THREE HOURS, LUNA-CITY WILL BE DESTROYED.”
Then, like a puppet whose string has been cut, Jonah collapsed.
Stunned, Josiah knelt to see if he was alright. Jonah’s breaths came fast and hard but at least he was still breathing.
And slowly, he returned to normal.
Jonah sat up slowly, blinked twice and stared at Josiah, as if, for a moment, he did not know where he was, or recognise this man in front of him. Then understanding crept into his eyes, and he smiled before standing up carefully.
“Well, that’s that then, it’s all over, no point in going on,” he said.
“Excuse me? For a moment there, I thought you were saying that you were giving up.”
“I am. There’s no reason to continue.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing you say this! Just a minute ago you were persuading me to keep going and now… What the hell just happened to you?”
“Luna-city will fall. There’s nothing you or I can do. I’m going to hand myself into Security.”
An anger Josiah had never felt before rose in his gut, burnt up his throat and spread over his brain: “I can’t believe you’re doing this. You brought me into this mess, you led me here. This whole thing was your idea and now you’re just going to abandon it? abandon all those people? abandon me?
“You disgust me. All this time I believed in you. I’ve been shot at, caught in an explosion and arrested - because of you. Because I dared to believe that you strove for ideals like life and freedom. Now I realise I have never really known you till now.”
“You have a right to be angry…”
“You’re damn right I do.”
“…but you can’t persuade me. My part in this is done. I suggest you follow my lead and we both hand ourselves in. Soon, we’ll all be dead.”
“Fuck you! You can do anything you feel like doing but I’m in this too deep to turn back now. I am going to the bridge and will do my damnedest to save the city, this ship and even you. Frankly, I don’t much care if you come with me or not.”
At least Jonah had the decency to look ashamed, if wholly unrepentant. Josiah shook his head in frustration and disbelief, before storming off down the corridor. To Josiah’s surprise, he heard Jonah’s footsteps hurrying after him.
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