2. The Derelict

THE DERELICT

Anne Jorden dragged what remained of her husband through a nightmare blur of biomechanical corridors and blind junctions. She was sure he was already dead. He had to be. The cold, stale air tore at her lungs and she struggled to catch her breath. One more left, then a right. Thank God for the marking flares. There had been a hollow whooshing sound and a wet thump. Russ must have fallen. When she turned all she could see was that thing covering his face. It seemed to obliterate all reality. It must have come from one of those oblong structures they had passed. Had to have. The one next to Russ had looked different somehow. Like it had opened. Those objects surrounded them now like a silent sea. The animal part of her brain began to panic and her bladder let go in a warm rush. She’d turned to flee and tripped over Russ’s arm. He was splayed out in front of the only exit. He must have made some sort of sound. Had to have. Russ always wore a shoulder harness. She grabbed it and pulled with all of her strength. Maybe he was still alive. Maybe there was still a chance to salvage something from everything that had gone so wrong.

After some time she emerged into the howling winds of Acheron. The battered Daihotai they had spent the last of their savings on was a suggestion of a silhouette in the (Morning? Was it morning?) gloom. It seemed an eternity away.

Her daughter’s ear-piercing shriek snapped her out of her daze and back to reality. The wailing was like an ice pick in her brain. She must have managed to drag Russ this far because he was sprawled half in and half out of the cab and her numbed fingers were fumbling at the radio controls. Her son Tim was huddled in the far corner - mute with shock. All the blood seemed to have drained from his body. If he was breathing she couldn’t immediately tell.

“Newt! Please! I…”

Some part of her recognized that the thing on Russ’s face was in clear view. It couldn’t be helped. All of this commotion over a little spider she thought dully. But this was no spider she had ever seen. She began to laugh and feared she’d never stop. This is hysterical, this…

The radio brayed to life with a burst of static. She must have turned it on in the chaos. The voice on the end was mostly unintelligible. She shouted into the handset:

“ALPHA KILO OH FOUR NINER, REQUEST IMMEDIATE MEDICAL EVAC. COORDINATES……WE NEED HELP. RUSS…..RUSS HAS….THIS IS AN EMERGENCY….WE NEED A TEAM STANDING BY.”

This went on for some time. The dream of the frontier had turned to ashes in her mouth.