They had turned on a few of the world class measuring devices overnight to get an idea of the atmospheric conditions. They were analyzing the air quality outside, Hadley looked at them spin as they pulled air from the long tubes attached to the ceiling. She glanced at the graph on the screen. It seemed the numbers had reduced in the past year but marginally.
She wondered if that could be a good thing, if something was destined to change. A glimmer of hope radiated inside of her. So much so that she had to remind herself that slight atmospheric composition changes were likely on these scales. The computer was massive and was pulling in everything it could. It basically did the leg work for the lab. Charting the day’s numbers against everything humanity had ever known to record.
Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide were the key measurements they were taking. These, especially the carbon dioxide levels, gave them an indication of the health of the air and what the atmosphere could potentially do over the coming month.
Atmospheric levels are important to how long the atmosphere will be liveable. They were getting close to the point where going outside would cause death almost instantly. There were still also high levels of radiation in the air from the nuclear war, which had to be added into the equations. Even with radiation injections the air was far from safe and the gamma rays could cause huge health risks.
Hadley continued through the lab, needing to ask Kane a question about the data and talk through some options that had been swirling in her head. She was thinking on a small scale, and as much as she tried her mind kept going to survival tactics rather than ice age prevention. As it would.
The timeline of everything seemed skewed in her mind and she needed exact dates and more data, which was only on a password protected server. She got to the door of his office and just as she was about to open it she heard yelling coming from inside.
“What do you want me to do?” She heard Hemmer yell inside the lab.
“Nothing!” Kane said exhaustedly. He sounded as though he had completely given up.
“You had your choice. I told you we could implant it so she could remember you. You made the decision. It’s not my fault you feel that wasn’t best now.” Hemmer said anger radiating through his voice.
“I know—but I didn’t want to risk it with—well you know…” Kane trailed off. Hadley peered through the crack in the door and could see him leaning on his desk. His hair was disheveled and hung over his forehead. He looked up and she jumped back from the door.
“You cannot do anything now. You cannot under any circumstances tell her. If you do everything will be ruined. We agreed on our plan, we have the same goals. You just don’t get the girl. Kane, though I hate her, what you did was inexcusable,” Hemmer said sternly.
“You know why I did that…” Kane whispered.
“Diplomatically, I can’t admit that. Think of how that would look.” Hemmer shook his head in reproach.
Hemmer walked to the door and she took a step aside. The door opened and he walked out looking Hadley straight in the eye. The color drained from his face but he didn’t give anything away. “Miss Evans.” He said curtly and continued to walk away. Who had they been talking about? She thought.
Hadley was still reeling when she walked into the office. Kane looked like he had seen a ghost when she walked in and tried to hide his dismay, pushing his hair back gingerly. Hadley could only focus on her heart pounding in her chest. It was so loud in her ears she was worried that Kane would hear it.
“Hey Kane,” she said putting on a smile.
“Hadley,” he said curtly, “we need to start the write up. Do you mind inputing the numbers from the last week of ocean level numbers into the computer? The system was broken today and they printed out onto the holographic disk. They need transferring onto the main system.” He thrust the holographic chip into her hand.
“Sure. Umm— I need the…” Hadley started to ask him about the password, but he walked away. Brushing straight past her without a second look. He caught up with Hemmer and they left the lab.
Now alone, Hadley took the holographic chip and went to her station. She opened it into a massive pile of data into the air just above her. She turned on two of the computers and linked them together, and then she waited for the login screen to load. Once it did she logged in and opened a spreadsheet. She started imputing the numbers. They were ocean readings from a series of buoys floating around the planet. They sent back a satellite data reading every 4 hours as they floated through various ocean streams. For each reading they imputed salinity, temperature, density, wave height and ocean height from each buoy. It was tedious work.
The numbers started to fuse together, and Hadley turned and looked around at the lab wondering who Kane’s mystery girl was. It sounded like he loved her, which confused Hadley as she had seen him holding hands with Alice.
Kane walked back in silently a while later and began working with the globe simulator. Hadley swiftly started to imagine him grabbing her and kissing her on this desk. He would pull her hair as he kissed her neck. She physically shook her head to get the thought out, ever since her dream she couldn’t look at him the same. She looked up and caught his eye in the reflection in the glass in front of him.
She turned around sharply, holding her breath, praying he hadn’t noticed.
She returned to imputing numbers, letting her thoughts drift to something else. After a few hours she heard someone open the door.
Hadley looked up, Kane was staring at her.
“Yes?” she asked.
“It’s past 8, Hadley; you haven’t left that desk in almost 12 hours.”
Hadley looked at her watch and her eyes widened, “Where was Vanya all day?”
“Working with the ecology team.”
“Oh.” Was the only word that Hadley's brain could spit out of her mouth.
“Good night Had, see you tomorrow.” Kane gave her a smirk and left the room.
Had.
That was the only thing she had heard.
The only thing she wanted to hear.
She packed up, on cloud nine. A heat growing within her, an impatience to know everything about him.
Chapter Nineteen
It was dark, as it seemed to always be. A warm hand clamped down over Hadley’s mouth. She opened her eyes, struggling to breathe, trying to scream. She thrashed around underneath the weight of another human, trying to focus on what was happening around her.
She was startled to see the carefree silhouette of Paxton sitting over her, giggling to himself absolutely amused by his actions.
“What are you doing?” Hadley whispered amused. She pulled the sheet up to cover her pajamas. Her hair was still wet from swimming earlier. She felt uncomfortable; Pax could see her, all of her. Hadley’s cheeks grew hot and flushed as she pulled herself further under the covers.
“I want to show you something,” he stated plainly. He was staring at her dreamily. It was taking all the restraint he had to keep looking at her beautiful face.
“What are you talking about?”
“Get dressed!” he exclaimed exasperated.
“Get off me and I will”
He pecked her forehead and jumped off the bed. Hadley got up slowly and grabbed some clothes out of the drawer pausing for a moment to stretch her legs. Pax was watching her intently.
“Get out!” she said as she threw a pair of socks at him.
“Ok, ok,” he said laughing and shaking his head as he left the room and closed the door behind him.
Instantaneously he grabbed her hand, winding his fingers through hers. They were off, down the winding halls.
“Where are we going?” Hadley asked as he pulled them into the main hallway.
“Have patience,” he laughed.
Hadley hated how he always found her so amusing. It was as if everything she said was a joke. But she knew he didn’t mean it in a bad way. He was carefree and coc
ky. They reached a stairwell and started to ascent. It was a long time before they got to the top of the stairs. When they finally did, they emerged outside.
“I thought we couldn’t get outside!” Hadley exclaimed.
“We’re not supposed to,” he said with a raise of his eyebrows. He had a twinkle in his eye like a kid in a candy store. He had that rebellious side to him which made Hadley like him even more.
The night was clear and bright, a deep midnight blue fluttering around. The moon was a crescent and the stars shone more brilliantly than had ever seen. The city lights were far below and they were the highest point as far as the eye could see. Hadley looked all around her and could see galaxies clearly with her bare eyes.
It was breathtaking; it was the most amazing sky she had ever seen.
“This is amazing.”
Hadley sat in the center of the roof and looked up at the sky, tracing lines through the constellations. Pax sat down and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest.
“I know right,” he replied, “I found this place when I was supposed to be looking through old UN political documents. Is it safe to be outside?”
“Currently yes, we’ve been injected with Anti-Radiation and our lungs configured to deal with the higher amounts of greenhouse gases and chemicals in the atmosphere. But not forever.”
She leaned closer to him, wrapping herself deeper into his chest. Maybe it was just because he had saved her but she always wanted to be near him. He looked at her, his grey eyes glowing in the moonlight. He moved closer and she didn’t pull away, she couldn’t get close enough. She looked into the depths of his eyes. The greys and silvers swimming around his pupils looked like they could house the world.
Their noses were almost touching and they were both still. She held her breath, listening to the silence between them. She closed her eyes and he kissed her lips. Hadley inhaled sharply, catching her breath, pulling away slightly so they were still sharing the same air but could look at each other.
He reached his hand up and cupped the back of her head. He pulled her into him, one arm around her waist and they kissed again. Their mouths opened so their teeth and tongues were whirling together.
She brought her hand to his cheek and ran her fingers against the harsh stubble on his chin. He pressed closer to her and lowered her onto the ground. His weight pressed against her body when he aligned himself right over her. They kissed for a long time before they both pulled apart. Breathless, yearning.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to do that” he said quietly right into Hadley’s ear. Their arms were wrapped around each other. They kissed gently.
“Is that why you brought me up here? To take advantage of me?”
He smiled and laughed. He pushed himself off of her and lay down on the ground next to her. She curled up close beside him with her face on his chest and they watched the stars. The stars shifted through the night sky until a pale pink was glowing over the horizon.
“Do you think everything they are telling us is true?”
Pax leaned on his elbow and grimaced, “What do you mean?”
“I keep feeling like we’re not being told everything.”
“We’re probably not,” he said simply with a shrug.
Hadley was taken aback, “And you’re okay with that?”
“Had, look around, Jesus, everything is destroyed.” Pax chortled, “We have a roof over our heads, food and the occasional bottle of whisky. At this point they aren’t doing anything bad, so I’m just going with it.”
“But…”
He was getting frustrated and said too loudly, “We weren’t going to survive much longer on those water patches Had. I’d rather not die; I don’t know about you.”
“Jesus Pax, this is our past we’re talking about! I didn’t mean to offend you, but I don’t know about you I want my memories, and I need the truth.” There was ice in her voice.
Pax stood up and brushed himself off, “Let’s get back inside.”
Chapter Twenty
Staying up all night hadn’t been a good idea, Hadley was slowly realizing. Her eyes were drooping as she walked into the gym, ready for another day of strength and combative training. She couldn’t even look at Pax, feeling so differently than him. She couldn’t understand how he had been so cavalier about their past.
Kane came into the room, followed by a group of soldiers.
“Shut the hell up!” he yelled to the room. Everyone was instantly silent. The anger that resounded through his face was radiating through the room.
“All right,” he continued, composing himself and toning down his voice, “we are going to work on real combat and self-defence today. We’ve given the last two of you a couple days to acclimatize and get back into the groove of working on the important things in your field. But we have to face facts. The RFE’s are delusional and misguided. They think they know everything, but what they know is wrong. We know they will resort to violence and we need you prepared. Sadly, there aren’t enough of you left for anyone to be disposable.”
Kane stated pacing in front of them. Hadley looked around the room and everyone was slowly starting to form a cohesive unit.
“All right everyone please watch!” Kane muttered stepping up onto a padded platform behind him. He was followed by Jameson, Hadley let out a low groan, her body still hurt from the burpees the last time they were in the gym.
Kane and Jameson fought, and they fought well. They moved like trained soldiers. Each anticipating the others next moves. Jameson swung to punch Kane in the face. Kane moved grabbing his arm and flipping him over his shoulder. Jameson was on his feet before he could hit the ground. Jameson kicked Kane’s leg out then grabbed his arm bringing him to the ground. Jameson’s hands went instinctually towards Kane’s neck before Kane tapped out. Jameson had clearly won.
Kane got back up and dusted himself off. “If you can beat me like that we have nothing left to learn,” Kane smiled at Hadley, giving her a subtle look.
Hadley was paired with Stephen, which was better than Jeremiah. She thanked God for that. After pairing them up Kane said, “You might work with everyone you might only work with a few people, remember in the real world you can’t anticipate who you are going to fight. You just need to be able to win.”
Hadley and Stephen started to fight, making small uncoordinated movements around their mat. Everything was going well for Hadley until Stephen got an upper cut straight to the side of her face. She saw stars as she fell onto the ground onto her stomach, the air pushed out of her.
“Hadley! I’m so sorry—” Stephen said kneeling beside her in a panic. She rolled onto her back clutching her face, trying desperately to get enough air. Pain radiated through her abs.
“It’s fine,” She laughed trying to shake it off, “real people trying to kill me wouldn’t take it easy.”
With Stephen’s help Hadley got to her feet, she brushed herself off and moved her hips back and forth feeling out her body.
“Do you want to keep going?” He asked unsure of how to proceed. He never liked stopping an exercise halfway, he was a follower and an overachiever. He had a panicked look in his eye though. He had definitely never hit a girl before and from his expression Hadley guessed he had never actually hit anyone before.
“Yes,” she nodded defiantly with a smile, “I can’t tap out in the real world.”
Hadley raised her hands to shoulder level, gripping her fingers into fists. She bounced a bit to get rid of the built up pressure in her limbs and get blood pumping back through them. Her head was aching but she was nowhere near giving up.
Stephen went in for the first offense. Hadley blocked his wimpy punch and brought her foot up into his side. He stumbled a few steps then came back at her, realizing she was going to give it all she had.
His fist hit her stomach, hard, and she was sent reeling backwards but stood up quickly. They kept fighting until they were both out of breath. They looked at each other doubled over
and called it with a chuckle.
“Stephen, try with Captain Martyn,” Kane said as he walked up to them both standing up. He motioned Stephen towards Jameson who had a glare in his eye.
Stephen grimaced and laughed as he walked away. Hadley knew he was going to be pummelled and it was probably because Kane had seen him taking it easy on her.
“Ready?” Kane said raising his hands in front of his chest as he stepped onto the mat.
“I guess,” Hadley said with a shrug feeling concerned, she knew it was going to hurt. She raised her arms. He took a step forward and lunged. Hadley stepped back barely avoiding his punch.
Kane was out for blood.
“Keep your arms close and flex your muscles, keep everything tight,” Kane said. “Now take a shot.”
Hadley lunged forward and tried to punch him in the face. He stepped out of the way and grabbed her wrist and pulled so she stumbled into him. Her back pressed up against his chest. She could feel his pecks against her shoulder blades. He was warm and damp with sweat and she inhaled a combination of spearmint and pine.
His arm instantly caught her around the waist to stop her from falling. She lost her breath momentarily and neither of them moved. Chills ran down Hadley’s spine; there was electricity between them and she knew he could feel it too.
Kane jerked and flipped her onto her back on the floor. He brought his fist high into the air and she closed her eyes expecting the worst. Hadley heard the hit but didn’t feel the pain. She carefully opened her eyes to see his first was indented into the mat just millimetres from her face. His fist was clenched so tightly that it was turning a shade of grey.
He stood up and helped her up. “Keep going,” he said as he took a step away from Hadley. She watched him and decided to try a different tactic. She lunged forward and he dodged, she was faster this time and didn’t let him catch her.
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