by John Corwin
The vice gripping his stomach went slack. The ice in his chest melted. For the first time in years, his purpose was clear. They'd expect him to suit up Sarah. He'd do that, then close the airlock doors. She should have enough time to put on the toughsuit and helmet while the governor made his speech. Just like when Max had sent his parents out the airlock, he'd have to stand on stage next to the governor and confirm Sarah's guilt before the big speech. The administrator would say his bit about sentencing her to feed, and then they'd send Sarah to the outside.
But this time it would be different. This time, Max would hide his blasters under his uniform. He'd pull them out and kill Barnes and Alderman. While Sarah died outside, the marshals would kill Max. They'd die together, brother and sister. Maybe Sarah would reach the bodies of their parents. It made him a little sad he couldn't curl up next to his family and take his final breath, but seeing Alderman and Barnes lying in their own blood would more than make up for it.
"You look like you've found peace, Max Planck."
He saw Scarlett watching him intently. "I reckon I have, Scarlett."
She smiled. "Good."
Max felt light as a ghost. It was time to join the people he hadn't tried to save.
Chapter 8
The hours couldn't slip past fast enough. Waiting was torture and Max was ready to die.
He sent Scarlett on another errand so he could take out the blasters and check them. He made sure the round energy cells were full and clipped them on beneath the barrels. A bit of heavy duty grip tape he'd stolen from maintenance on one of his earlier runs secured the holsters inside his uniform jacket.
Max practiced drawing them from the awkward angle. He imagined his targets standing on the stage in front of him. Relished the idea of their brains exploding from their ears when the energy blew through the back of their skulls and boiled their brains like stew. If he had a few more seconds of life, he might even take out Robb. That was probably just fantasy, but it filled him with sadistic joy.
Satisfied he could fulfill his duty, he tucked away the blasters and went into the cellblock where he sat on the floor and leaned back against the vault door. "I'm here, sis," he said.
She slapped the padding inside. I love you, Max.
Concerned Simmons might know the code and hear it on his bug, Max said, "I wish Simmons had let me see you earlier. I still feel like he's here watching."
Three long slaps. O. Sarah got the message.
If Simmons wanted to spy on conversations, he was about to get an earful, at least from Max.
"Hey, sis, remember the first time Dad made us fetch eggs from the chicken coop?
She replied with a strangled laugh.
Max couldn't stop from grinning. Then he recounted stories from their childhood one after the other, filling the time they had left together with good memories. If he had anything to be grateful for, it was that they'd had it good growing up on a farm with a mom and dad who loved each other and who loved their kids. The freezer babies usually had it the worst—assigned parents who'd been forced to cohabitate by the state because they were sterile.
He figured Alderman, Barnes, Simmons, and their lot were probably all freezer babies and that was what made them so inhumane.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he continued story time with Sarah. He imagined her leaning against the padded door inside listening and crying. Max stopped wiping his eyes and let the tears flow until he was dry. After a while, he checked his watch. It was nearly time.
Barnes showed up two minutes late. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Max sitting on the floor. "Ready to go, I see."
Max stood and repressed a grin as he imagined Barnes dropping limply to the ground with a blaster hole in the back of his head. "I'm ready."
The administrator grunted. "That's a good boy." He opened the vault door. Sarah stumbled out of the darkness, blinking at the sudden light.
Max held her around the waist and kept her upright. "You ready, sis?"
She looked calmly at him and nodded.
"Compliance. How nice." Barnes motioned Max ahead of him. "You may sit in the back of the cart with her if you wish."
"Thanks," Max said. Mindless obedience has its rewards. He and Sarah went outside and climbed onto the back of the electric cart. "Would it be too much to ask to remove the silencer?" he asked Barnes.
"I'm afraid so." The administrator hopped in the front seat and accelerated, turning north on Alderman Street.
Sarah wrapped her arms around Max and leaned on his shoulder. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. It seemed there was nothing to say and nothing to do but to enjoy each other's company one final time.
Max glanced up at the dome overhead. Sunlight sparkled on the crystalline barrier that protected City 7 from the wasteland outside. He wondered if this seed of mankind would ever blossom and flower, or as Alderman suggested, if it would die from disease. If anything, Max thought, too much pruning might deal the deathblow. He wished he could have changed this awful place while alive. It seemed his death and the assassination of two top officials might be far more effective.
Then again, it might change nothing. Kearns or Simmons might take over and matters could grow even worse.
At least it's change.
He tried to take comfort in that.
The wall grew closer and closer. Max expected to feel the crush of despair on his chest, or the painful wrenching of his nerves. Instead, he was filled only with excited anticipation, like the day they'd gone to pick up Pooka, or the time they'd gone to the water farms and been allowed to fish for their own food.
That the murder of two humans should rival the best moments of childhood was a terrible testament to Max's life. He squeezed Sarah's hand. His sacrifice might give him a taste of redemption.
They arrived at the airlock. The stadium seats were already filled. Surprisingly, there were a large number of lab coats in attendance. They usually watched from the comfort of their own campus. He supposed Barnes made them come to remind the scientists that even they could die if they didn't blindly submit.
Alderman stood next to the stage talking with a short man with salt and pepper hair. Max realized with a start it was Kearns, and next to him stood Simmons. Sarah's eyes flared.
The governor, administrator, investigator, and head researcher all in one place. Max wondered if he could kill them all. No matter what, Alderman died. Simmons or Kearns might be the next priority targets.
"You should feel honored," Barnes said. "Everyone came out to watch this feeding."
Simmons glanced their way and a greasy smile slithered over his face. He turned and went inside the first airlock door, which was already open.
Barnes patted his balding head with a handkerchief. "Do your duty, Constable." His voice held the faintest hint of a mocking tone.
Max nodded and led Sarah by the arm, Barnes walking a few feet behind.
"I don't know what you plan to do with that suit," Max whispered. "Maybe you know something I don't."
Sarah nodded and grunted.
"If you make it to Mom and Dad, tell them I love them."
A tear pooled in her eye. She squeezed his hand in the code. I will—Max didn't feel the rest of her squeezes as they stepped up to the first airlock door and shock slapped him in the face. Simmons stood inside next to Scarlett. Tears streamed down the deputy's face. In her hands, she held two feeding suits.
"What the—" Max didn't need to finish the question. He stared at Simmons. "You're killing both of us?"
"I'm afraid you did this to yourself," Simmons said. He held up the duffel bag with the toughsuit in it. "Aiding and abetting a traitor, Constable." He made a tutting sound.
Max went for his blasters. Before he could even get them out, someone gripped him from behind, bending his arms back until he screamed.
"You won't need these," Simmons said, removing the blasters. He shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid his treason runs even deeper than we thought."
Alderm
an and Kearns stepped closer.
"I knew the founders were wrong about them," Kearns said. "There is no ideal genetic match."
"We must do as the founders say," Alderman said. "Perhaps they'll see now that we know best."
"The founders?" Max said. "How could they possibly be alive?"
"See them to the airlock, Garth," Alderman said.
Someone shoved Max roughly toward the airlock. He looked back and recognized the marshal from Luxville. "Enjoy being a cog in the machine," he spat.
Garth stared at him with dead eyes. "Go into the airlock and suit up." He pushed Max and Sarah inside and blocked the doorway with his bulk.
Scarlett stood inside, tears streaming silently down her face. "What did you do, Max?"
"It's what I didn't have a chance to do," he said grimly and held his hand out for the feeding suit. Looks like I'll get to sleep with Mom and Dad after all.
She hesitantly gave it to him. "Did you hide that toughsuit in here for your sister?"
Max nodded and began to disrobe. Shaking with sobs, Sarah hugged him.
"Get changed," Garth said. "Don't make me come in there and do it for you."
Sarah stripped to her underclothes and slid on the suit. Max did the same. The excited anticipation had turned into bitter disappointment. There would be no worthy sacrifice today, no change in the order. Instead, the last of the Plancks would be sent outside to die.
Max had no idea what to expect, but he knew one thing for certain—instead of dying next to his parents, he'd go even further, never once looking back. It was nothing but a pathetic last gasp, but now it was all he had left.
Scarlett banged her fists on Max's chest. "Why'd you have to go get yourself killed? Why'd you have to be so stupid?"
"Stop it, Deputy!" Max grabbed her wrists. "Don't you dare give a damn about me now, Scarlett." His voice, rough with emotion, ground like broken gears in his throat. "I stopped caring about myself a long time ago."
Tears streaked down Scarlett's pink cheeks. "I reckon you turned out to have a decent spark in you after all, Max Planck." She pulled her wrists free and was suddenly all business again. "Now, let me make sure your suits are on nice and tight."
Max nodded and let his arms hang by his sides. Scarlett did her duty quickly and efficiently. As she handed Max his mask, she slipped something small, hard, and cold into the elastic around the neck. He looked at her with confusion.
"Maybe they won't miss one little part of that suit," she whispered. "Maybe you'll have a little extra time before you die." Scarlett stood on her tiptoes and kissed Max on the cheek. "Goodbye, Max. Sweet dreams." She turned to Sarah and squeezed her hand. "Good bye, Sarah. You don't deserve this." Her gaze turned back to Max, and despite her kind words earlier, anger burned inside her jade eyes. "Remember Nathan Harris, Max. Remember my brother."
Max rocked back on his heels as another ghost flashed before his eyes. "Brother?"
Scarlett ignored him and walked outside.
"They ready?" Garth asked.
Scarlett nodded. "They're ready to feed." She looked back at Max and blinked away tears.
Max knew her tears had never been for him, but for a brother he'd never known she had, a young man who'd fed the daughter under Max's watch.
Outside, Alderman had already launched into details about the execution and tore Max away from his grim thoughts about Scarlett. He heard the words assassination and high treason mentioned. It occurred to him that finishing off the Planck family had been part of the plan all along. Once Sarah committed her crime, they probably decided it was best to be done with Max as well. They likely knew her death would make him a man with nothing to lose, and nothing was more dangerous to them than that.
Garth stepped inside and removed the silencer from Sarah's throat. "This thing's worth more than the both of you," he said, then turned and left them.
Max wanted to say something nasty, but knew nothing he said would make a difference. Instead, he hugged and kissed Sarah on the cheeks.
"I love you, Max," she said, tears flowing.
"Love you too, sis."
She gripped his hand. "I hate that you're here, but a part of me is glad I'll have you with me at the end."
"I know the reason you're here is because you did what you felt was right by Mom and Dad." Max hugged her. "It's an honor to die by your side."
Just as Governor Alderman segued into his standard speech about duty, the airlock doors clicked shut.
Quickly, before the second set of doors opened, Max reached into the suit and pulled out the small white canister—the micro-breather from the toughsuit. It was supposed to screw into the suit's helmet. The tiny handle on the side opened the valve and released breathable air. Opening it just a little might grant a few extra minutes of breath if he slipped it under a mask.
Why Scarlett had given it to him was a mystery. Had she hoped to prolong his death, make him suffer even longer? He couldn't guess her reasons. Besides, none of it mattered anymore.
He held it out in the palm of his gloved hand. "Take it, Sarah."
She closed his fingers on it. "You take it, Max. Carry me as far as you can. Let those bastards sweat."
He had so many questions to ask her, but he heard the thrum as the second airlock door began to open. Soon, electricity would prod them forward into the outer chamber. "Why did you want that toughsuit?"
"I just wanted to make it over the dunes," she said. "Something's not right about this place, Max. They've fed us lies. I just know there's more out there. Human bodies waste away in low gravity conditions and Mars has only a third of the gravity of Earth according to the real gravity charts I saw."
Max trusted her opinion, but how was he supposed to know if gravity was too heavy or not? It was what it was.
The second door opened and they stepped through it before electricity prodded them through. As the airlock closed behind them, Max's chest tightened. It felt as though he couldn't get enough oxygen from the air. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his knees went weak. The outside is through that door! They were about to die! In five minutes, he would be dead. Every shred of bravery fled him.
"Max, calm down. You're going to hyperventilate!" Sarah put her cool hands to the sides of his face. "I'm with you, Max. I'm here."
He looked into the eyes of his sister and saw the gaze of his mother all those years ago. This place, this dome wasn't where he belonged. On the red Martian plain where his parents rested, that was where he belonged all along.
The second airlock door clicked shut with an echo of finality.
"Deep breaths, Max. Stretch your lungs." Sarah took a long breath and held, released it. "Mars has almost no atmosphere, practically a vacuum, so expect it to be extremely cold. Even when you run out of oxygen, do not remove your mask. If you do, you'll die in agony as all the moisture evaporates from your exposed flesh."
Max's fear turned to horror. "How long will these suits protect us?"
"Long enough for us to pass out and asphyxiate." She rubbed his arm. "When the outer door opens, be prepared for the difference in pressure to push us out, okay?"
Max sucked in air and let his body savor the last big lungful of oxygen they would know. He imagined someone shoving him hard from behind and assumed that's what it would be like when the pressure pushed them out. The outer door creaked. The seals parted and air rushed past them. Max gently twisted the valve on the micro-breather and put it under his facemask. He adjusted the seal to be sure it fit snug against the suit's hood, then checked Sarah's.
She smiled and nodded.
It's okay to die. Even Alderman would die someday, hopefully before he took the rest of humanity with him. If he followed Sarah's advice, it would be just like going to sleep.
The outer doors shuddered and slid open. The abrupt change in air pressure caught Max hard all along his back. He stumbled forward, flailing his arms and managed to remain standing. Sarah rose from her knees and gripped his hand.
Something was di
fferent out here, he realized immediately, but he didn't know what it was. There was nothing more to do but move forward toward the dunes. From out here, they seemed closer than on the monitors, but it was still a long hike on limited oxygen. In the dust, halfway there, he saw a single lump that could only be Mom and Dad's final resting place.
Sarah began to tremble a few feet from them, and Max quickly realized it wasn't because of sorrow. She'd run out of oxygen or was close to it. Max felt the slow cold hiss of air from the micro-breather on his cheek. He wished he could simply transfer it to Sarah, but lifting his mask or hers would expose them to the cold vacuum.
Max scooped her into his arms, cradling her like an infant. She looked up at him, face screwed up in pain. She didn't have much longer. He looked down at Mom and Dad, bodies hidden by the chalky dust, then faced the dunes. With his new burden, they seemed impossibly far away. He imagined all eyes in the dome boring into his back. Imagined Alderman watching and waiting for Max to go down.
I won't give him the pleasure.
One foot in front of the other, Max bulled forward. His arms ached and burned, but he refused to release Sarah. Before long, his muscles felt like lead, and his legs buckled. The dunes were right in front of him. The closest one looked maybe ten feet tall. He stepped into it and his foot slid backward. He stumbled forward, up the incline, dust billowing around him. As he looked up at the crest, he realized what was wrong with this place.
It was dark overhead, but it had been daylight in the dome. Light shone from somewhere behind him. As far as he knew, the dome allowed natural sunlight through. If that was the case, why couldn't he see the sun or stars? Max's vision wavered and his head began to ache. He still felt the whisper of oxygen against his face, but something was wrong.
He didn't know enough about breathing apparatus to make an educated guess, but he assumed it had something to do with carbon dioxide. His mask had no release valve, which meant he was going to asphyxiate on his own exhaled gases. He stumbled, dropping Sarah's limp figure. His vision flickered and the headache worsened.