The Pact in the Grave

The computer monitor glowed green and alerted me of the ray gun’s completion. I turned to my coworker on the other side of the room to let him know. “Malroy, it’s done; the prototype is ready.”

“Are you sure, Danielle?”

“Yes. Let’s test it out on the Martian.”

I picked up the weapon and left the lab with Malroy. We walked down a couple of halls before arriving at the room we were holding the Martian in. We stepped inside, armed: Malroy with a tranquiliser gun and me with the ray gun. The Martian growled behind the bars that sealed it.

As I pointed my gun at it, it shuddered and moved back. I slowly advanced towards its cell and positioned myself a few feet away from it. I could see the Martian’s instincts alarm its body; its eyes widened as it moved further away, faster than before; but it stopped at the centre of the cell and took a deep breath before looking around the room. It then looked at Malroy, and then me, and held my gaze. I wondered whether it accepted its fate.

I squeezed the trigger; the Martian fell instantly. We waited a few seconds before unlocking the cell and stepping in. The Martian had a hole burnt through its chest, and it wasn’t breathing. Our experiment was a success. I wanted to call Homeland Security right away, but Malroy said we should get some rest first since we had been working without sleep for two full days. I was reluctant since it was a high-priority assignment, but he insisted.

An hour passed, but I still couldn’t sleep. I got off the bed and walked out of the room to grab a glass of water when I noticed Malroy on the phone. He was talking to Homeland Security and was speaking as if he did most of the work. I stepped out from the corner of the hallway and yelled at him. Malroy saw me and cut the line immediately.

“So, this was your plan all along? To take all the credit for my prototype?”

“Our prototype! I was stuck here for six months with you to find a way to kill that thing!”

“And you think I wasn’t going to give you credit for all your hard work?”

“What good is credit for hard work when you still get all the credit for the gun itself?”

“I designed it, Malroy. Credit should only be given where it’s needed.”

“I’m sorry, Danielle, but I won’t let you hog the spotlight.”

Before I knew it,  Malroy had pulled out a gun on me. He shot me three times in the chest. I felt shockwaves reverberate through my body as I gasped for air. In seconds, I hit the floor; my vision grew blurry as I gripped my chest. I felt the warmth of my blood seep through my fingers; its metallic odour made me even more nauseous. I slipped out of consciousness as his footsteps grew louder, and the next thing I remembered was hearing a shovel slashing through the earth. We worked at a secret lab deep in the woods; it was the perfect location for him to get rid of me. The last thing I remembered was hearing his cold words cutting through the air: “It was nice knowing you, Danielle.”

I was buried alive and left for dead. Deep in that dreaded darkness, as my life slowly faded, suddenly, there was a whisper from within the earth: “I can help you, Danielle.”

“What? Who is this?” I thought to myself.

“Who I am doesn’t matter; what matters is that I can save you.”

I was terrified. Whoever or whatever it was, it was in my head. The Martians didn’t have telepathy, and I was alone in a grave. Just what in the world was happening?

“Do you really want to let Malroy get away with this?”

I didn’t reply.

“He’s going to steal all the credit you deserve. Are you really okay with that?”

I felt a spark within me—it was one of fury and resentment.

“You were betrayed by someone who you thought was one of your best friends and valued colleagues. You deserve vengeance; they deserve to be punished for what they did!”

The spark turned into a raging flame that coursed through the very fibres of my being. The voice promised me retribution, but in exchange, it asked for my soul. I agreed without any hesitation. Moments later, I broke through the gravel and rose to my feet. I had never felt so alive. I ran to the lab and opened the door to find Malroy celebrating with a bottle of wine. He jumped out of his seat and fell on his back upon seeing me.

“Wh— How?”

“Doesn’t matter how… You’ll be dead soon enough.”

I grabbed his arm as he tried to run away and snapped it. He screamed in agony and fell to the floor, and I stomped on both his legs, cracking them at the knees. There was no escaping my wrath.

“No, please! Please!” he begged, crawling away from me.

But there was no stopping me. The pain on his face—the fear in his eyes—it was all too rewarding. I grabbed Malroy by the neck and raised him up to eye level. He wriggled in my grasp, hitting me with his one good arm in an attempt to escape, but it was over in no time. Soon, the light in his eyes faded to black as he hung there, motionless in my grip. Vengeance was mine.

I called Homeland Security afterwards and informed them about how Malroy tried to steal credit for my prototype. I emailed them all my files and additional information related to the ray gun and went back to where I was buried. A dark mist suddenly formed in the air before me.

“Are you ready?” it asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded.