Alone in the Dark, page 13
part #3 of Lunar Age Series
“Yes, but we like to think our product will do a faster job while producing a better route.”
A gentle bell like tone started sounding from the wall console. Elina reached over to Kat as Kat opened her mouth and removed the data cable.
“I’ll have to spend some time looking over the data, but the diagnostics didn’t find anything wrong. Thanks for bringing Kat by. If you have anymore questions or notice something interesting with Kat, just give me a call.”
I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have more time. I was hoping Elina would show us Kat’s big brother, but I guess that Myra’s NDA didn’t cover what Elina called project Logan. We left Psuche Neural with a much better understanding of Kat and returned to the cafeteria where a darker understanding of what happened with the CLT30 was evolving.
COMPANY IN THE DARK
I went down to dinner with my parents. The meal wasn’t very satisfying and the news was even less so. On the good side, the pilots, Mr. Saner and Mr. Hirayama, had been taken off the broken CLT30 and their injuries weren’t that serious. They’d be in the hospital for the night for observation, however, the only long term damage seemed to be some broken bones. The bad side was the CLT30 was damaged and would need to be moved to Denali’s hangar for repair. That meant a big decision had to be made on whether to repair the ship or to scrap it. Moving it down to Peary would require a lot of effort and the Denali hangar wasn’t even open for business yet. It might make more sense to just scrap the ship and build a new one when the Denali factory was up and running.
More disturbing was the news that the problem that had downed the CLT30 wasn’t an accident. The post-accident investigation team had found one of the four engine arrays was destroyed, not unlike the scenario Mr. Saner had used on me in the simulator with fatal results. Review of the black box data from that engine array showed there had been a small explosion that had taken out the array. The CLT30’s flight control hardware had prevented a worse catastrophe by shutting down the engines and then aborting the liftoff. The damage the explosion caused could just as easily have resulted in a larger explosion that would have killed the pilots and completely destroyed the CLT30.
The only bright spot in this, was the food stores had survived the crash relatively unscathed. If someone had planted a bomb just to keep the supplies from being sent to the Far Side Observatory, then they had accomplished their mission. What didn’t make sense was if they were worried about survival then destroying one of the two ships that would allow us to evacuate people if necessary seemed counter productive. There were a couple of transports at the crash site now having the food stores loaded into them. Word was the food would be stored in them while a container could be fabricated so that they could be shipped on a CLT-SB mission.
After dinner, I met up with Ananyu at the family’s restaurant. She would work there in the afternoons cleaning up after the lunch crowd. Chef Patel was only serving lunch these days since the short food supplies prevented him from serving the type of meal he demanded for the restaurant. I knocked at the entrance and she came out with a smile on her face and said, “Ready?”
“Yeah, I have a feeling after what happened today that pulling down a poster is going to feel pretty good. I bet it turns out, who ever has been putting up these posters is the same one that’s responsible for what happened to the CLT30. Did you hear it was a bomb?”
“I heard. The only good thing is they used restraint and just used enough of a bomb to blow the engine array. They could have used a larger device and blown the pilots, the CLT30, and the food all over the country side.”
We walked in silence for a while. Our destination was the eastern end of the Grand where it met up with the Manufacturing Module. Normally, the Grand was pretty busy out that way, but with the holiday week, it was deserted. We were in the first hallway West of the stairs to the Manufacturing Module when Ananyu said, “Look, there’s one. As we walked up to it the lights went out. They went out in the stairwell, they went out in the hallway we were in, and in the following section where the walkway crossed sides and blocked the view further West. We were plunged into darkness. Ananyu said, “Bryce, hold my hand so we don’t get separated. I felt her hand brush past my shoulder and grabbed it. “It’s okay, it must be a power outage or something. The emergency lighting will kick on in a minute.”
“Something’s not right, the emergency lighting should have already kicked in.”
“Well, whatever is going on, we’ve got air and there’s no alarms going off. Let’s just try walking slowly down the path until we get past the bend. I can’t believe all the lights are out. It’s just got to be this section.”
We had carefully walked maybe twenty paces when Ananyu grabbed my shoulder with her other hand and said, “Listen.”
There were footsteps coming towards us. From both in front and behind. I called out, “Hello, who’s there.”
Ananyu suddenly screamed as someone grabbed her. I started to turn to help her when my jaw exploded in pain as someone sucker punched me. I fell back against the wall of the corridor and another, the first of many punches, landed in my gut. I tried to protect myself and use what I had learned in self defense and failed as the blows kept landing on me. I could hear Ananyu struggling, she also had self defense training, but in the dark against multiple attackers, we didn’t stand a chance. The blows forced me down to the floor where my attackers started kicking me. I was about to pass out when one of the attackers dragged me up by my shirt collar and said, “So you’re the little shit that’s been ripping down our posters. The next time you think about poking your ugly face into other people’s business, just remember the lights can go out again. Next time, we’ll play some games with your girlfriend. She looks awfully sweet.” With that, he punched me in the face again and that’s the last I remember of the attack.
I died. I know I died because when I opened my eyes I knew I was in heaven because a beautiful angel was looking down at me. I shut my eyes a second and then when I opened them again, I realized something was wrong. The angel was crying. Tears were washing down her face. Angels shouldn’t cry. My eyes shut again and when they opened I found it was Ananyu that was holding my head on her lap. I tried to reach up to comfort her and that was when I remembered I hurt. I hurt all over. Ananyu said, “Bryce, thank God you’re awake.”
The lights were back on and Ananyu gently laid my head back on the floor and said, “I’m going to go get help. Don’t move.” She got up and went loping off down the path. I knew Ananyu was smart and would stop at the first emergency station she came to. The pieces of her broken E-pad lying on the floor near me told me why she had to run off. I closed my eyes and that was the last I knew for a while.
There was noise. An angry voice dressing someone down. I tried to hear what was being said and suddenly I heard a strong woman’s voice say, “That is enough, Abuyomi. She has a broken wrist and some bumps and scrapes. She’ll be fine. Let poor Demarco get on with his job and quit haranguing him like this was his fault. You know it wasn’t.”
I tried opening my eyes, but that didn’t work too well. My left eye wouldn’t open. The right one opened, yet the bright light blinded me. I blinked several times and was rewarded with a blurry image. I was in a hospital bed. Someone was standing next to me holding my hand. It hurt. I blinked a couple more times and my mom came into focus. My dad and Myra were at the foot of the bed looking worried. The brown spot next to me on the bed resolved into Kat, who looked back at me with a plaintive “Meow.”
My mom looked like she was going to cry and said, “Oh my God, Bryce, they could have killed you. What were you thinking?”
“Ouch”
Mom smiled despite herself and then said, “It’s not funny. You’ve got a concussion and a couple of broken ribs. Your nose is broken, you got two black eyes, and…” She just started crying.
“Mom, I’m okay. I’m not feeling that great, but I’ll get better. Please quit crying.”
Mom pulled herself together, grabbed a tissue, wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She smiled at me and said, “Sorry, I’m just worried about you.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, Bryce”
“Please stop squeezing my hand. That’s why I said ouch.”
OUCH!
I awoke the next day, still in the hospital bed. Dad was softly snoring in a chair he had pulled up by the bed. Kat lay on the bed next to me. Instead of being curled up asleep, she was crouched down like she was ready to spring at something while she kept a close eye on the door. She turned to me and let out a questioning, “Meoow?”
My mouth was dry, but I managed to croak out, “I’m okay, I guess,” to Kat’s question. I looked around, however, there was no sign of my mom or Myra which was surprising since normally Kat stuck pretty close to Myra. Me speaking must have woke Dad up because he stretched with a big yawn and then said, “Morning, champ. Are you feeling any better today?”
“I guess.”
“You guess wrong, Champ, You still look like a warmed over turd.”
I laughed and then said, “Ouch.”
We shared a smile and dad said, “Love you, Son.”
“Love you, Dad.”
Dad got up and said, “I’ll be right back.”
Dad must have let people know I was awake because before he came back, Dr. Patel came bustling into the room. Ananyu’s mom checked me over and took my vitals. She had me follow her finger with my right eye and then squeeze her fingers with each of my hands. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. Because of me, her daughter had been attacked. It was my fault. I stammer out, “I’m sorry about Ananyu. I didn’t know…”
She stopped what she was doing, came close to me and said, “It’s okay dear boy. Ananyu has a broken wrist and is spitting fire about what happened to you. It wasn’t your fault she got hurt. You shouldn’t blame—-”
Before she could say more, Demarco appeared at the doorway and started to step in. Kat reacted immediately and arched her back and started hissing. She gave every indication of being ready to jump on Demarco and claw his eyes out. Dr. Patel swatted Kat and said, “That’s enough, you silly beast. Demarco is a friend.”
With that, Kat settled back down and laid next to me. She kept Demarco under her gaze as he approached and only resumed her watch of the door when I said, “Hi, Demarco.”
“Hi kid. How you feeling today?”
“Better than I look I guess.”
“Bryce, I got a statement from Ananyu. Do you feel up to telling me what happened?”
I said, “Sure, it’s a short story,” and then proceeded to tell him everything that happened. I left out the part about waking up in heaven and seeing the angel looking down on me, that was kind of embarrassing. When Demarco was done, I asked him if he had any clues to who had attacked us.
“Nothing specific. There’s tons of night vision goggles floating around the construction sites at Peary. The dark rendered any of the cameras in that section of the Grand useless. Where the lights weren’t out, the lenses had been spray painted. There was a shuttle that returned to Peary not long after the event, however, that doesn’t mean any of your attackers were on it. I’ll keep looking though. This may be number two on my list, but it’s still important.”
That reminded me about the CLT30. I said, “So I guess these guys are serious, huh?”
Demarco looked at me and smiled. “Yep, they are serious and so am I. I got to get going. Can I ask you a favor, please?”
“Sure, anything.”
“Go home and stay out of trouble. You have many friends and they’ve all been chewing on me about this. When I catch these guys, I’m getting some payback out of their hides.”
Demarco left and a short while later Mr. Saner and Mr. Hirayama stopped at the door. They were being released from the hospital and wanted to say hello before they left. I was ready for Kat’s reaction and caught her before she launched herself at these strangers. I calmed her down and the pilots came into the room. Mr. Saner said, “That’s some guard dog you have there.”
Kat hissed at him. I’m not sure if she thought he had made a threatening move or if it was because he implied she was a dog.
“Yes, sir. I don’t know what’s gotten into her. I’ve never seen her act like this before.”
Dr. Patel was passing by and said, “She’s acting that way because your girlfriend offered to escort your mother home early this morning but then she was worried about you. She told Kat to guard you and Kat has been doing exactly that ever since. I’ve got a nurse and an orderly that refuse to come in here now. It’s cute, but it’s a pain in my rump. Tell her to stand down, please.”
I looked at Kat and said, “You can stand down now, Kat. I’m safe.”
I felt silly doing it, yet Kat promptly curled up and went to sleep, so maybe it worked. I asked how Mr. Saner and Mr. Hirayama were doing. Mr. Hirayama had some broken ribs and Mr. Saner said he had some severe bruising, but otherwise they were all right. Mr. Saner said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but we look and feel a lot better than you look. Take some free advice and run next time.”
I laughed and then said, “Uh, that really wasn’t an option.”
They stayed for a while longer chatting with me. After they left, Mom and Myra showed up. Kat didn’t even stir when they came in. Defending me must have really cut into her primary power reserve. I told Myra that I would be alright and she should take Kat home with her. Dr. Patel came by and checked on me again before she left for the day. They wanted to observe me for another night before cutting me loose. I sent my mom and dad home and it wasn’t long after that before sleep found me. Decent
SAM'S CHOICE
The note from Sandy just said, “Meeting with Cheryl at 10:00.” It didn’t give a topic for the meeting, nor did it say how long the meeting would be. I’d been working for Sandy for three months now and had known him for much longer in my previous role at the Habitat. Sandy was precise and meticulous and the note didn’t match his normal way of doing things. It didn’t even say where the meeting was being held, but since we were both at the Mussconny facility in Peary I headed for his office there. When I arrived, I found Sandy fiddling with the coffee machine. Our coffee stashes at both offices were long gone, but I knew he still had a small cache of tea. Cheryl Burns was already there and looked in turns, nervous and determined.
Sandy looked up as I came in and said, “You’re just in time, Sam. Would you like to join me and Cheryl for a cup of tea?”
“Hi Cheryl. No, thanks Sandy, I’ll stick with my water.” When I had arrived back on the Moon, I was forty three Earth pounds over my normal weight. The loss of mobility from my injuries combined with binge eating from bouts of depression had caused my weight to balloon while I was on Earth. The extra weight hampered my recovery and added to my depression. Cheryl and Sandy’s intervention to get me back to the Moon couldn’t have come at a better time. The increased mobility I had from the lower gravity, the lower selections of food since the storm, and most importantly, the feeling my life mattered again had helped me shed the extra weight and now I was just six pounds away from my goal weight. The sweetened tea would be nice, however, it was extra calories I didn’t want at this time.
Sandy brought Cheryl the cup of hot water and a tea bag and then went back and got one for himself. When he had settled into his chair behind the desk, he turned to Cheryl and said, “So, uh, how’s Bryce doing this morning?”
Cheryl took a deep breath and then said, “I let him go to school this morning. He was a little disappointed that he missed the New Year’s dance. He actually tried to talk me into letting him go because he didn’t want to let Ananyu down. The swelling around his left eye finally went down enough that he could see out of that eye, but there was no way he was going to be able to dance with the broken ribs. Ananyu, Nina, and Adam actually left the dance early and came by to keep him company.”
I said, “So how’s he doing mentally?”
“He’s got a meeting with Christine after school today. He’s mad, he’s embarrassed, he feels guilty that Ananyu got hurt. The funny thing is she told me she’s angry that she couldn’t protect him. She always projects this image of being this serene exotic beauty, yet, underneath, she can be a tiger.”
Sandy said, “I gave him today and tomorrow off to recover. He’s no quitter and I’m sure he’s going to bounce right back.”
Cheryl looked worried and said, “That’s what I’m afraid of. He was out, pulling down those posters because he couldn’t let it go that who ever was posting them was trying to use him as validation for what they’re doing. Now with the attack on the CLT30 and this attack on him and Ananyu I’m not so worried about him finding trouble as much as I am about trouble finding him. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Cheryl, you don’t have to worry about Bryce while he’s around me or Sam. We’ll keep a close eye on him.”
“I know Sandy, I have complete faith in you and Sam. The problem is, he’s not around you all the time. There’s parts of the day where I can’t watch him and neither can you. We’re in a crisis right now. I need to have my head in the game to make sure we all get fed until this crisis is past. I can’t do that while I worry about my son getting beaten or worse. I need help. I wanted to ask you and Sam if I could hire Sam to be Bryce’s body guard until this is over. Sam, I know you’re still recovering from your injuries, but even taking them into account I think you can keep him safe.”
I said, “Cheryl, I—”
Sandy interrupted me and said, “Sam, close the door. This needs to be private.”
I got up an shut the door, feeling bad that I couldn’t do what Cheryl wanted.
Sandy said, “You know I’d do whatever I could for you and Bryce. But I can’t do that.”
“I don’t understand. Do you mean you won’t or you can’t?”
I could tell Cheryl was getting upset. The answer Sandy gave wasn’t anything like what she was expecting.
