The voices became even louder.
Carefully, Theo began climbing up the shelves, taking care to be as quiet as he could. He had climbed trees back home, always careful not to put his weight on a branch that could snap, sending him flying down.
He got to the top. Then, with a last look at the dark room, he crawled into the opening, pulling himself up, and in…
Until he was gone.
SITE3—beyond the cave
Nowhere to go,Axelle thought,but straight ahead. She had forced herself to ignore the grid of pulsing lines all around the walls of this…place.
Dreamlike. Surreal. And all that pulsing—as if sensing that she was coming.
Like—like—
She thought of an old movie: a young girl walking on a curling yellow pathway into the unknown.
Nothing else alive here. Unless—
(Just a thought, really…)
This whole place was alive.
She looked at the air level of her suit. Low. She’d need the spare tank soon. Her last tank. Either way, she wouldn’t be able to survive here for long.
Time was about to run out.
Her attempts to communicate with Mars City had proved useless, as if Mars City didn’t exist anymore, wasn’t anywhere on the surface here—as if she was thousands and thousands of light-years away from the dead Red Planet.
Then, ending the sense of being alone, more sounds.
Penetrating her helmet. Sounds. Voices almost. Except no one ever heard voices like that.
She stopped. The thought:How silly. There’s nowhere else to go, nowhere to walk but straight ahead.
ADMINISTRATION—MARS CITY
John Kane watched everyone moving, their speed increasing as the fear receded.
Fear…
Was there anything worse?
And as he remained seated, ignoring the pain that wracked his body, sitting just a few more precious minutes before he’d have to once again stand—
He wondered if everyone realized what the worst fear was. The fear of what was yet to come.
For now, Kane kept that thought to himself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Costello’s work includes innovative and critically acclaimed novels, games, and television. His novelBeneath Still Waters was filmed by Lionsgate last year, and his latest novel,Nowhere, was published in 2007. He’s written for PBS, The Disney Channel, The Sci-Fi Channel, and the BBC among others. He’s scripted dozens of bestselling and award-winning games includingThe 7th Guest, Doom 3, andPirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. You can learn more at www.mattcostello.com.
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