Nowhere/Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII: INTO DARKNESS
Anders, Reemo, Nok, Larak, Serenity and even Fist all raced towards the bridge – trying to stop Marius from doing anything rash. He was going insane. Perhaps the ship’s isolation got to him – or maybe the stress of it all. He was unsure if Marius was actually a traitor, but nonetheless he seemed capable of harming the captain. He shot Reemo already – who knows what madness he was capable of. The reality that he just might be the traitor seemed all too real. Perhaps this ‘insanity’ thing seemed to be nothing but a ruse meant to drive the crewmembers apart. A bone-chilling reality.

The crew came upon the captain’s quarters. Marius raced out of the room, holding Rylex hostage with a blaster pointed at his head. “Marius!” Reemo shouted at him. “Put away your weapon and give up!” He tried to persuade him. “You think I’m the traitor! I’m not! He’s the real one! He left us here to die!” Marius yelled. “You madman! Briggs was the traitor! I shot him!” Rylex shouted. “Shut up!” Marius ordered. “Marius…” Reemo continued. “SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!” Marius yelled again.

Anders was sweating, gripped with fear. The ship was starting to descend into madness. Marius stood at the top of the stairs leading to the captain’s cabin with Rylex in a headlock, the blaster pointed at his temples. “Marius… put the weapon away…” Serenity softly requested, slowly walking up to Marius. “Stay back! I’ll kill him! I mean it!” Marius threatened as he pointed his weapon at Serenity, who stood with her hands above her head. “Just shoot him already!” Rylex shouted.

Anders stood back, watching the scene unfold. Fear continued to dwell in him – but the feeling of helplessness was far greater. Throughout the entire voyage he was nothing but a fearful coward, helplessly looking back as this crisis intensified in the ship. Barely anyone noticed him, the rest of the crew were busy trying to persuade Marius to lower his gun. “Marius. Come on. Let him go, and we’ll talk about this. Okay?” Reemo spoke to him. Marius stepped back, but he seemed less tense than before. “You’ll kill me! You think I’m the traitor!” Marius cried. “Maybe you’re not!” Reemo smiled. “I forgive you for shooting me, alright? I drove you into a corner and I’m sorry.” Reemo apologized. Marius calmed down, but kept holding onto the captain.

“I just wanna go home…” Marius sobbed uncontrollably. “I want my mother!” He cried. Serenity rolled her eyes, while Reemo seemed to sympathize with him. “You can return to her! Just… just let the captain go…”

Then came the sound of a bang. Marius was hit in the head and fell to the ground, releasing the captain. The crew looked back at Anders, who held his blaster with both hands aimed at Marius. He was trembling, and smoke emanated from the barrel of the blaster. As Marius’ body fell to the ground, the captain raced away from him in fear. “What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Reemo yelled at Anders, whose eyes were widened with fear. “He… he was going to kill…” He whispered softly.

“You killed Marius! I had it under control!” Reemo yelled as he cornered Anders, towering over him. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…” Anders whimpered. “Reemo, let the boy be. He’s not to blame.” Fist called out to him. “This madness is consuming us all. Two people died already!” Serenity spoke, trying to defuse the situation. Reemo pulled out his gun and pointed it Anders. “This was your plan all along, huh? I should’ve known.” Reemo snarled. “What are you doing?!” Larak called out. Anders clung himself at the door, his eyes turning to tears. “Some farm boy with no criminal record, huh? The only one it would seem. You were sent by the Empire! No one would suspect a goodie two-shoes in a band full of criminals! You removed the hyperdrive and set us against each other! Two people died because of you! Good people!” Reemo yelled. “Please don’t kill me! Please!” Anders pleaded. “Reemo! Back off! This is insane!” Serenity interjected, trying to stand between him and Anders.

“I’m done with this cursed ship! And I’m done with you…” Reemo grinded his teeth as he loaded his blaster at Anders. Rylex watched this debacle go on, taking the opportunity to slide away. “Where are you going, captain?!” Fist called out as he grabbed him by the collar. “Let go off me, slime!” Rylex commanded while fighting off the cook. Fist tried to immobilize him, until Rylex pulled out a vibroknife and stabbed him in the chest, pulling himself away from the Mon Calamari.

All eyes went down on Rylex and the murdered cook. Reemo lowered his gun from Anders as he looked at the captain – astonished. The latter stood like a madman with his vibroknife, covered in Fist’s blood. “This ship is full of thieves and scoundrels! I should’ve done this ages ago!” He screamed in a frenzy as he launched at Reemo, grounding him while trying to stab him. Just as quickly, the ship erupted in a frenzy. Everyone launched at Reemo and Rylex, though it was unclear who they were trying to attack – Reemo or the frenzied captain. Anders quickly hurried away, trying to find the nearest escape pod.