Wayfarer: AV494

by Matthew S. Cox

  He smiled. “I get a ten percent commission.”

  Bang.

  Will screamed and dove to his side as a bullet ricocheted around the back of the lab. He crawled behind a bank of heavy test equipment. “You shot at me!”

  “That was a warning.”

  “A warning?” he yelled. “I think you nipped my ear.”

  “You keep saying you’re not the same person. What happened to the Will I fell in love with at Berkeley? Stress?”

  “Kerys, you’re not understanding here. I need you in my life. I’m sorry about what happened in the infirmary. I… it’s been so long since I’d been close to you, I lost control. I swear it won’t happen again. I deserved that bonk on the head, but think! Avasar has a two-trillion-dollar contract for this stuff. Ten percent is two-hundred-billion! We will never have to work again… even after taxes get deducted.”

  “I can’t let you take that stuff off this planet. Not for that amount of money. Not for any amount of money. You’re blind. You always were an opportunist of the highest order. You don’t care how many people get hurt. Always what you want.”

  He peered over the top of the machine. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture.”

  “I’m seeing dead people!” she yelled. “Good people who turned into nightmares because of you.”

  “Kerys―”

  “Leave that shit behind. Please… let’s get out of here alive and forget this place, and that stuff. If there’s anything decent left inside you.”

  Will stood, hands up, and approached. He didn’t even look at the case when he passed it. “Babe… I know what’s really bothering you.”

  “Yeah. That shit in the box.”

  He smiled. “No, guilt. You’re blaming yourself for the whole test, all these people who died here, because you opened that door we’d gotten stuck on for so long.”

  No. You’re not making this into my fault. “Why did you fake us out with the silt on the walls? Why not just send images of those buttons back for people to look at?”

  “They tried that.” He sighed. “Your old buddy Doctor Furroughs looked them over and called it fake. Said it was ‘too intact’ to possibly be real, and wouldn’t return our calls. Seemed like a much better idea to let your expedition people feel like they made the discovery themselves, so they took it seriously.”

  “Bastard,” she muttered.

  He smirked. “Would it have changed your mind if you saw it before you got the job offer?”

  Kerys scowled at him for a few long seconds. “No.”

  “So, I apologize for giving you a couple hours of work clearing that stuff.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe those two meatheads didn’t slip and say something.”

  She furrowed her brow.

  “Oh, the two lunks in the exo suits. Who do you think sprayed the dust all over the walls?”

  Kerys grabbed his arm. “We’re leaving, and that stuff is staying here.”

  “It will probably never get used. It might even have medical applications down the line. Don’t you want to be so wealthy you never have to worry about getting stuck on a remote planet again?”

  Kerys stared at her grip on his arm while tapping her finger on the side of the gun in her other hand. “No, Will. It’s too dangerous. And the last people I’d trust something like that with are the heads of corporations like Avasar, or anyone willing to pay that much for something so horrible.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “There’s more important things than money. If you had to choose between that money or me, what would it be?”

  He brushed a hand over her cheek, his deep brown eyes gleaming with sorrow. “It hurts that you’d even ask that. You. Always.”

  She almost smiled, and looked down. “Maybe Will is still in there after all. C’mon. Let’s go home.”

  Liquid splashed in her face, blurring her vision. Pungent fumes choked her and made the room spin in circles. Gagging, she staggered backward, flailing. Livid, hurt, and terrified, she tried to aim for him, but couldn’t tell which blur belonged to Will and which came from the wall. Dizziness worsened, and she fell on her hands and knees, grabbing at her face and her burning eyes.

  “I’m sorry, babe, but you’re just too emotional right now and I don’t want you to ruin this for us. You’ll see in time that I’m making the right decision. We’ll live like royalty. You’ll be safe here until the next ship shows up. There’s plenty of hydra packs, and the power system, like everything else these days, runs itself.”

  “Argh! No! Don’t leave me here!” She crawled toward where his voice came from. The scrape of a metal case sliding off a counter made her scream, “No!”

  His footsteps grew distant. “Don’t panic. That stuff won’t sting too long. Only a couple minutes.” He sighed. “I really wish you’d have come around. I hate like hell making you wait for the next ship, but a hundred billion dollars each for you and me. Only a fool would walk away from that. I can’t let you get emotional and ruin things for us. You’ll thank me later when we’re living the sweet life.”

  Kerys scrambled forward trying to chase him, but her head collided with metal, sending a shock straight down her spine to her tailbone. “Shit!” She cradled her skull and whimpered. “Will, please don’t leave me here all alone!”

  “I don’t have to choose between you and money, Kerys. I can have both. I never wanted you to be here, to be exposed to this, get hurt, see all this horribleness… but here you are. I did everything I could to protect you, and I hope you’ll understand that and find me in a couple years when you get back.”

  “Will, please.” She crawled at another shapeless blur, and grabbed an empty chair.

  “I promise you I will make sure they get you out of here. I won’t give them the samples until you’re on Earth.”

  She sat back on her heels and wiped at her watering eyes. Her vision cleared a little, enough to spot a Will-shaped smear standing by the door out of the lab. He looked… sad. Kerys grabbed the gun and lurched to her feet.

  “See you soon, babe.” Will slid the door closed, and ran off down the hall.

  “Dammit, you bastard, don’t you dare bring that shit to Earth!” She scrambled to her feet and stumbled into the door. Gagging and spitting, she pulled it open and chased him down the hall to the tube link, swaying on rubbery legs, bouncing off the walls.

  Will skidded to a halt as soon as he entered the tunnel and swung around to take cover behind the link ring. He reached for the console, and the doors snapped closed before her noodle legs could carry her halfway down the length of the lab pod. Unable to slow down, she crashed into the doors and held on to keep from falling. Her face pressed to the narrow strip of window, she stared in horror as Will pulled on a lever, causing a heavy thud to rock the link collar.

  The panel on the inside face went red. A flashing warning came up on the inside screen bearing the words: ‹no habitation interlink connected.›

  Will pressed his hand to the glass. “I’m sorry, babe. I love you more than anything, but you can be emotional. This is for your own good. You’ll see that as soon as we’re rich.”

  “Don’t do this!” shouted Kerys, banging her fists on the door.

  Will turned away, hesitated a second, and ran.

  Kerys slumped to her knees, her head still spinning. He’d pulled the manual interlock open enough to trip the sensor, but not enough to make the tube disconnect. Nothing she could do aside from an excavating laser would open that door from this side. Defeat seeped in, and she slumped against the door. Her gaze settled on a tiny sliver of green reflecting off the floor to her left. She raised her head, looking toward it.

  At the southwest corner of the lab pod, a bright green point glowed from the face of another connector hatch. Kerys jumped to her feet and staggered to where a second hamster tunnel ran west to a tall, cube-shaped pod in the distance. From there, a separate link connected that pod to the dome via a ninety-degree bend. This tube had a wide oval profile big enough for a forklift to move large obj
ects, unlike the rest, which had been perfect circles.

  This goes to the storage pod! I can catch him!

  Kerys ran into the tube, blinking away the last remnants of tears from whatever chemical he’d thrown in her face. The clear upper half of the tunnel revealed an angry, dark sky swirling with luminous azure clouds.

  At the three-quarter mark of the hundred-and-change-meter-long tube, a bright flash of white appeared overhead, followed seconds later by a thunderous roar and a torrent of dust. Tiny black regolith flecks clattered on the tube. Kerys cringed as a shuttle screamed over the facility and began a lazy descending turn toward the pad in the northeast.

  “I’m going, Sarge… I’m going.” Kerys reached into the deepest reserves of her energy, ignored the stiffness in her legs, and threw herself into a desperate sprint.

  She had only minutes, and not a second to spare.

  29

  Evac

  Wayfarer outpost hung in dark silence, save for the repetitive slap-squeak of Kerys’s shoes on hard, white floor panels. The roar of shuttle engines had ceased before she reached the end of the tube. She cleared the cargo pod in seconds and ducked into the connecting tunnel. Gasping for breath, she pushed onward, sprinting along the main north-south hallway down the center of the dome’s ground floor.

  The heart of the outpost had two integral airlocks, not counting the one she’d always used at the garage. Fair bet, Will did not go to the one in the southeast, so she figured he’d have either chosen the northern one, which offered an easier walk to the landing pad, or the garage.

  Unwilling to waste time trying to decide, she followed habit and raced to the ready room she always used at the garage, tossing the handgun onto the bench before hauling her e-suit out of its locker and jumping in. Again, she slammed herself against the next locker to close the shoulder fasteners while securing the metal ring at her neck. After grabbing her helmet and gun, she rushed into the airlock that still held the quad plus a dead man.

  Bright light washed over the garage beyond the outer door, no doubt thrown off by the shuttle’s engines.

  She hurried to the control panel, clamped the pistol between her knees, and seated the helmet. As soon as the seal clicked, the HUD came online with a list of names:

  Aaron

  Braxton, W

  GiantDICK

  Harper

  Roma, E

  [login]

  The airlock control panel screen displayed an exterior camera view of the landing pad where a shuttle smaller than the one she’d arrived on perched, its primary wings canted up in the middle like a seagull doing yoga. Four men in pale grey e-suits with bulky rebreather packs stood in a row a few paces in front of the belly ramp. Will faced them from a short distance away, the case of AM-3 clutched in both hands across his chest.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” said Will over the comm.

  Kerys reached for the button to cycle the airlock, but something in their body language made her hesitate. The four men seemed more like Old West gunslingers who’d cornered an outlaw than a bunch of guys coming to pick them up. She eyed the list of names, careful to avoid staring at the [login] line. As long as she didn’t link in, they wouldn’t know she listened.

  The yellow gem by ‘Harper’ lit up; the voice sounded the same as the man from the video message. “You’re sure there’s no one else alive in the facility?”

  Will edged backward a step, almost hiding behind the case. He twisted to his right, peering at the dome. “Uhh… no. Everyone else is dead. Not what I’d hoped for.”

  You lying sack of shit! I’m not letting you take that crap to Earth. You’re not leaving me here!

  She raised her fist to slam the button to cycle the airlock, but froze at Harper’s laugh.

  “There’s been a slight change of plans, Braxton. The company wants everything burned.”

  Yes! She raised her fist over the button again to cycle the airlock.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Will. “It was a controlled test. I’m clean. Everything’s fine. Talk to Broussard.”

  One of the four men took a step forward, raising a rifle at Will.

  She froze, her knuckle a finger’s width away from the touch screen.

  Will backed up another step. “No. Wait! What are you doing?”

  “Apparently,” said Harper, “your little bioweapon is too unstable and too dangerous. The group looked at your results and I guess they decided they can’t use it for anything. They wanted a weapon they can control.”

  “No!” Will shook his helmet hard. “That wasn’t the arrangement.”

  Kerys moved her hand away from the screen.

  “Arrangements have changed,” said Harper.

  “Talk to Broussard!” screamed Will.

  “Who do you think told us to burn this place?” asked Harper, his voice like ice.

  A flickering of muzzle fire lit up the screen, accompanied by a fusillade of dull pops outside as all four of the men fired.

  Will collapsed backward, silvery-blue spray flying from the case in his hands. His howling gurgle flooded her ears. Kerys screamed, not that anyone heard her. She bowed her head, helmet to the wall, and shuddered. She’d been an inch from shooting him herself, but hoped he’d listen to reason.

  Tears pattered the inside of her visor. Goddamit. Why am I crying over him?

  Harper walked up on Will, rifle pointed at his face. “You sure there’s no one left? You’re the last thing alive down here?”

  “Yeah.” Will rasped, clutching his chest. He twisted toward the dome again, breath wheezing over the comm. “Heh. I came out here to shuttle flowers back and forth. Never”―he grunted and coughed―“figured they’d screw me over too. I’m the last one here.”

  “I don’t think they planned to.” Harper sighted over the rifle at Will’s head. “But I suppose they don’t have a lot of respect for a man who can spend four years smiling at people he knows all along he’s going to kill.”

  Kerys looked away from the screen. Seconds later, a bang outside made her jump.

  “All right,” said Harper. “Let’s check and make sure there’s nothin’ moving around. Ed, you’re with me. Dick, you and Aaron start with the residence pods. That’s probably where anyone would’ve holed up. I want the sweep done in thirty minutes, then we’re setting up the charge on the primary reactor. Do not break the seal of your e-suits or ol’ Braxy here’s gonna have an eternity buddy.”

  “Heh,” said ‘Roma, E.’

  “Move it people.” Harper raised his voice. “We’re lifting off in forty minutes and not a second longer.”

  Kerys backed away from the airlock panel. They’d surely notice the flashing lights if she tried to go out that way. Shit… shit… shit… She whipped her head side to side, staring at the walls as if they held an answer of what to do. Those men would shoot her without hesitation. She couldn’t sneak onto their shuttle―they would kill her inside just as easy as kill her out here. Or worse, if they thought she’d infected them, they’d all stay behind and ride the nuclear blast to hell.

  “Shuttle…” She blinked. “Shuttle flowers… Will, you son of a bitch.” She choked up. That was a message… He knew I was listening. Or maybe he hoped. There’s a damn shuttle out in the forest. A plan formed. She had to get to the orbiting starship before these men. They couldn’t be USIC; the suits didn’t look right and they knew about Broussard, which made them Avasar thugs.

  Clinging to the hope that the military would do the right thing if she could only reach them, she leapt onto the quad and drove it into the dome. Tires chirped on the slick floor as she careened across the ready room. She bounced over the link ring into the tube connecting the garage pod to the dome, and flattened herself down, chin to handlebars, trying to stay below the midline of the wall where solid became window. Electric whirring filled the air. The tunnel sat about two hundred meters south of the landing pad, running about a quarter of that distance before a leftward bend connected it to th
e dome.

  The ‘rescue team’ would have to walk a ways before they got to the north airlock, which would hopefully give her enough time to get to the forest. Shit. She accelerated in an effort to clear the tube before they spotted her, but had no idea where she should go. The dome’s southeast airlock might work, but she’d have to drive around the garage into plain sight to go north toward the forest. She could disconnect the south tube and go out the ring, but they would definitely notice someone blowing the entire outpost’s atmosphere.

  “Hey Dick, you see that?” asked ‘Roma E.’

  “Huh? See what?” said a man who sounded huge, and not much like a scientist.

  “Thought I saw something moving in that tube.”

  “Check it out,” said Harper, irritation clear in his voice. “I had a feeling Braxton might’ve been hiding something.”

  “Guess he had a fight with the little lady, eh?” The light next to the name ‘Aaron’ flickered along with a throaty chuckle.

  “Hope she’s ugly,” said Roma. “Be a damn shame havin’ to kill a pretty one.”

  “Uhh, why?” asked ‘GiantDICK.’

  Harper snickered. “You’re a special kind of fucked-up, Rich, you know that?”

  “It’s Dick,” said ‘GiantDICK.’ “I ain’t rich.”

  All four lights winked on and off with laughter.

  Storage!

  The storage pod had a big airlock on its south wall to accept cargo boxes. Going out that way would put her at the exact opposite side of the outpost from where she needed to go. She’d have to swing way around west to go north, over open sand. If the men started their search at the residence pods, they’d see her with ease. Still, she’d have to risk it since she didn’t have the time to make a careful plan.

  Maybe they’ll think I’m crazy for driving off. Please let them not know there’s another shuttle out there.

  She leaned on the brakes to take the sharp left, and sped into the atrium outside the cafeteria. Blood on the floor robbed her of steering for a second, the quad more sliding than driving; she ran over Marco, not that the fat tires did any real damage to his body.