Deeper Into the Void (13 page)

He lifts his helmet a couple of centimeters off of the rock, and then drops it back to its resting place.

Long rises to his feet cautiously, and then begins to look down the side of the rock to find the best way down. After hopping off of the smooth rock, Long begins to walk back toward the opening, alone. The remaining three can do nothing except stand in the cavern and watch Long walk away. The lights on their helmets reveal the direction of their view, and all lights point up toward Long.

Mendez notices the bag that Lawrence had been holding, before he had fallen, laying on the rock. She reaches down to pick it up, she then straps it carefully over her shoulder. Mendez slowly climbs down the rock in the same manner that Long had. The other two follow her back to the opening of the cavern. Cardiff turns back around to face the utter dark behind her.

After several minutes of traversing the hazardous tunnel, they finally reach the inclination at the bottom of the drop-off where they had descended before. Long has just finished strapping in and begins the long climb up.

Ghent rushes up the incline and fastens himself to the rope in front of him. He quickly readies himself and begins the long ascent behind Long. The long rays of the evening sun shine upon the rocks standing over the opening above.

Mendez holds her hand in front of her, beckoning Cardiff to join her in the ascent. Cardiff visibly shakes her head back and forth, up and down; clearly she cannot say one way or the other. After her display of uncertainty, she joins Mendez at the ropes.

Several long minutes of pulling their way to the surface sees the women crest over the edge. The last red rays of the sun give way to the shadows of the night. Long and Ghent are busy strapping themselves into the rig as Cardiff and Mendez retrieve the rope. This rope had been their portal in and out of Lawrence’s cold mausoleum. A most appropriate resting place, he lay buried a hundred meters under their feet. A more macabre place there could not be than this resting place of ashen ice. Mendez hurriedly tosses the two lengths of rope onto the back of the rig, where she binds them to the rest of the gear.

With a faint hum of the electrical motor, the rig begins the departure for the dome, for their temporary home. In the fading light, only the ground directly in front of the rig is visible, slowing the rate at which the team travels back toward the dome, homeward bound, light one person.

Inside the cavern, the arrival of night is completely meaningless. Utter dark constantly resides within. Time in hours or years is completely impertinent. Aside from the sound of wind moving through the various compartments of the tunnel system, the silence of death pervades each crevice and space, a return to the status quo.

Chapter 13

T
he ominous humming of the rig’s electric engine wanes as the vehicle comes to a stop in front of the dome. Long reluctantly grabs his air supply and disconnects it from the vehicle. The others grab their gear; sluggishly they begin to walk toward the dimly-lit airlock as it flickers in the night. Long looks at the spare oxygen cylinder sitting next to him, and rubs his glove against the smooth aluminum surface.

Long slowly closes his eyes as he leans forward, resting his helmet on the control panel in front of him. The solace found here in the absence of light is interrupted intermittently by the bright specks of light that flash in his closed eyes. Cosmic radiation produces this sensation as it passes through his body. The flashes are troublesome, although he has come to be accustomed to them. The flashes now appear as recently experienced events that flash before his closed eyes. The scene of flailing arms and the sound of a comrade calling out to him cannot be pushed from his mind. Long’s opening eyes are the only respite that brings relief.

Long cautiously bounds down from the rig. Dust and small rock are compressed under his boots. With his gear in hand, he walks into the open airlock. Mendez turns from her place next to the empty rig and walks toward the airlock to join everyone else.

The nuisance of silence fills the airlock, even as the air from inside the dome rushes in to fill it. Even after everyone removes their helmets, not a single word is uttered. Mendez is the first out of the airlock, and she walks briskly down the dark pathway toward the plaza. She fights the impending sorrow and anger that begins to fill her mind.

Doctor Mendez draws in a deep breath; she closes her eyes and exhales slowly through her mouth. The exterior light on the dormitory building provides an obvious deception for her as she opens her eyes. Under the backlight of the exterior lighting, a figure stands at the top of the steps and waves in a welcoming fashion to all who look on. Mendez looks over toward Ghent and Cardiff as they walk down the pathway toward her. Neither of them looks on toward the figure, and neither looks up at her either.

She looks back toward the figure to see him walk back into the dormitory building; the door shuts slowly behind him. His silhouette reveals his movement down the well-lit hallway into Lawrence’s room. Another deep breath and she closes her eyes to purge her mind of the deceitful vision. The same quick flashes of radiation fill her eyes in the dark.

Mendez opens her eyes, slowly at first, and returns her gaze to the dormitory. Cardiff and Ghent walk up alongside her. Cardiff places her hand on Mendez’s shoulder and squeezes it slightly to let her know that her inner turmoil is visibly apparent.

Cardiff’s bright green eyes glisten in the distant light from the dormitory. Her lips move while remaining closed, as if she is trying to figure out what to say. Cardiff simply nods her head while fighting back the emotional quiver of her jaw. She takes a few more seconds before responding to the comment that Mendez has made.

The water in the pond is smooth as glass; neither wind to disturb it nor anything within it disrupts its perfection. Doctor Mendez turns her troubled mind to the stillness of the pond. Remaining completely focused on the pristine calm of the water, her feet become compelled to move along the path to it. Two minutes later she arrives at the bank of the pond. The faint starlight above illuminates the crystal clear surface. She reaches for her sleeve pocket, from which she retrieves her smooth glass marble. The red glass swirls within it mesmerize her as she holds it in front of her, allowing the faint light to pass through the marble.

The gravity of the current situation slowly settles in as Mendez sits on a large round boulder, which is resting on the muddy shore. The course boulder rubs her pressure suit abrasively as she settles on the rock. In her mind, Mendez recalls the events of the day. The complete silence around almost encourages her to break it with a voice for her inner monologue.

Her depth of thought is interrupted by a very quiet disturbance, the origination lies out in the middle of the pond. Cascading through the dark water, a series of bubbles erupt, tearing through the surface. This disturbance sends waves out toward the shoreline on all sides. Her hand comes to rest firmly at her side upon the rust-colored rock. She moves the marble out of her focal point. Without moving her eyes, her view comes to rest upon the rippling in the pond.

Silhouette and shadow, cast from above, distract Mendez from her resolved focus on the pond. A faint clanking sound of feet on the glass ceiling above reveals the exact position of the source to her. She quietly moves to sit up off of the rock. After her shaky legs come to support her, she steps backward until her feet come to rest on the path. What starts out as slow and well-coordinated footsteps evolves into a stumbling sprint; a rock-laden path threatens to trip her up. Her rapid, terror-bound flight back toward the safety and solace of the light seems too long to her as she tries to avoid tripping. The safety of familiar companionship feels well out of her reach.

Mendez presses on in her quickened pace as she stumbles up the steps outside the dormitory building. She whips open the door to the building, and while standing in the doorway she looks back out into the darkness, unsure of what she is thinking or feeling. The path down to the pond is obscured in the darkness, it is impossible to see while standing in this soothing light. Despite her curiosity, and her desire to resolve the mysterious feelings welling up within her, she decides to move both feet into the dormitory hallway. She notices that the dormitory building has a lock built into the door. Inner discourse once again is vocalized, unintentionally.

Mendez jumps a bit at the unexpected response to her statement. She has been preoccupied too much to notice her audience, standing in the hallway too.

After the attention is removed from her, Mendez locks the door slowly to prevent the lock from making a sound. She raises her fist to her mouth to obscure the sound of her throat clearing. While walking between Cardiff and Ghent as they talk, she excuses herself quietly. Her feet shuffle across the smooth floor in the hallway. After arriving in her own room at last, she moves to shut the door firmly behind her. Just before the door closes, she notices a figure seated on her bunk in the dark. She squints while leaning forward.

A silent response as simple as the subtle nod of a head signals the reception of her statement, although no verbal reply will be heard.

Long gets up off of her bunk, where he had been sitting, and walks by her, slowly. With an unbreakable gaze upon her, he moves toward the door. As he walks by her in the dim light, his eyes make contact with hers, a deep sense of panic surges through her entire body as she stares back into the seemingly endless space behind his eyes, her fingers quiver. As Long rounds the exit, she shuts her door slowly behind him. She steadies her hands long enough to reach for the light switch.

The abysmal darkness outside her window is fascinating, terrifying and invigorating, all at the same time. Mendez quietly walks over to the window. She climbs out of the heavy pressure suit, and obscures the window by hanging her suit up over it.

As Mendez turns away from the window, she notices the lock on her own door. She quickly walks over to the door, and quietly turns the lock on her door.

A brisk rapping of knuckles on her metal door jostles her and she jumps in place. She walks to the door and opens it narrowly; she peers around the edge of the door with a single eye. Much to her amazement, Long is standing in the hallway, looking back at her with a plain expression.

Mendez pulls her head back away from the door, and slowly shuts the door without uttering another word. She twists the lock on her door without concerning herself over the sound it made. Without even thinking about it, she turns and walks over to her bunk.

Exhausted and utterly confused about her mental condition, she stands in front of her humble sleeping arrangement. With a fatigued mind, she lies down and slips into a deep slumber within only a few moments.

Radiant heat warms Mendez’s face as the dark of night exits her room. As her eyes open at the disturbance, her cloudy vision reveals dancing light of a distant flame moving upon her wall. Time, it seems, has passed, but she has no recollection or measure of how much; was it ten minutes or has it been days?

Her fingers are bound in an unbreakable grip upon her blanket. Her chest moves ever so slightly up and down in breath; her breathing is slow, yet its sound resounds loudly in her ears. She moves to sit up, yet not a single muscle in her body complies with her request. The rolling pattern of the flames through her window appears to her to be drawing even closer.

Her eyes widen from their drowsy state, fixed upon the window. A clear inner voice calls out from within the dim reaches of her mind, “What happened to my suit?”. Her eyes dart over to the door; the door is shut and locked. The hallway light has turned itself off, and cannot be seen shining underneath her door. From her still vantage-point, her pressure suit is not anywhere; there is no furniture in the room to obscure it from her view.

Immeasurable, eternal expanses of time pass without event as she lay frozen on her bunk. She can feel her mind slowing; her thoughts seem random, without reason or purpose. The burning flame outside begins to move again. Her eyes widen even further as the flame appears to begin moving right through her solid masonry wall.

Accompanied by an engulfing flame, an outstretched hand appears first through the wall. The radiating heat from the flames is felt, burning her forehead. Further it moves inward toward her; a cloaked arm and leg appear next. The movement of the recently-discovered figure is so slow, it seems like it is almost not moving at all.

Is that her suit coming back through the wall on fire? Her sluggish mind is freed from the bonds of reason. No thought needs to make sense to her to be considered seriously. This feeling of not knowing is completely alarming to her; terror has taken a complete hold upon her. The suit stands before her, helmet and all.

Her arm lies dormant and unresponsive on top of her. A flaming, outstretched glove comes to rest on her cold arm. A raging sensation of burning overwhelms her senses and draws her complete focus for a moment.