The only techie part of the experience was the Zeiss unit slapping at her back. (She had looped its strap over her chest, bandolier style.)
It was also helpful to find smooth running surfaces inside the chamber. Nothing would kill the runner’s high, amplified by danger and novelty, more quickly than bloodied feet.
The danger and novelty were enhanced by the apparent change in conditions. The interior seemed to be growing dark—it was difficult for Tea to see the glowworms through the overhanging vegetation, but it seemed redder and, though this could have been an illusion, briefly black, switched off or in some kind of Keanu eclipse.
The temperature seemed to be dropping, too, though that could have been due to her lack of clothing. And the oxygen content was changing—or was she feeling that because she was running hard while horribly fatigued, dehydrated, and out of shape?
Either way, though Tea wasn’t in love with the Keanu environment, given the unattractive options at the moment, she really wanted it to stay human-friendly.
After emerging from the Beehive, she made a quick pass through the campsite, where she stopped long enough to reorient herself. There was no high ground that would allow for a broader view . . . the best she could do was plunge back into the jungle on the same path she and Taj had used in returning from the Temple.
As she ran, she felt occasional flutters on her skin. . . . Keanu insects? Or just vegetative debris being blown by what was now a steady wind? None of it stuck to her long enough for her to tell, and she sure wasn’t going to stop to conduct a biotic study. Aside from the Zeiss, the only other piece of technical equipment she carried was her watch, and she had already been gone from the membrane for twenty minutes.
There it was, up ahead, the stony top of the Temple, still maybe a mile or more away—
—And here was Zack Stewart, no more than twenty meters in front of her, standing in a clearing with Lucas and Natalia.
“Zack!” She couldn’t believe how weak her voice sounded, how tired she felt! She had to stop, panting, watching helplessly as the other three reacted with what appeared to be confusion.
It was Zack who reached her first. “What’s wrong? Where’s your suit?”
“That’s what you’ve got to ask? ‘Where’s your suit?’”
In their time together, Zack Stewart had shown Tea that he would see humor any time, under any circumstances.
Until now. “It wasn’t what I asked, goddammit!” he snapped. “Why are you here? And what the hell is going on?”
She told him about the strange event. “We felt something, too.” By then Natalia and Lucas had joined them. All three seemed subdued and lost . . . Tea wanted to ask about the Revenants but knew that she needed to stay on message.
Once she’d told them all about conditions on the other side of the membrane—and the lack of contact with either Venture or Brahma—she wished she hadn’t. Zack accepted the loss of the trip home stoically, the way he accepted most bad news. Well, he’d had practice.
But Natalia sank to the ground, as if to say, Kill me now. She was completely spent, emotionally and physically.
Lucas was a different case, flailing between disbelief and open hysteria. “What do you mean, gone? What about Dennis? Did you even try to contact him? Where is Taj?” He seemed incapable of comprehending the situation—even though he was still speaking English, it was as if he were suffering temporary aphasia.
It was understandable, but hardly worthy, in Tea’s view, of the world’s greatest astronaut. Or any astronaut.
But then Zack told her what had happened to Megan and Camilla, rolled up and swept away by Sentries. And she wanted to join Natalia in an exhausted, Daddy-make-it-go-away crouch. Or start babbling like Lucas.
Zack saw it, too. He slipped his arm around her, offering (and likely taking) comfort while providing actual support.
Then, calmly, rationally, he examined the situation—and the options going forward. “Assume the worst: Both spacecraft are gone. What would you do? Natalia?”
She only shook her head. “Lucas?”
Lucas was still struggling. “Are we sure they’re gone?”
Zack turned to Tea, his whole manner pleading for her to give him something. “I think we all go to the membrane.”
He actually smiled. God help him, he liked a debate. “That’s the logical step. But if both landers are gone, what’s the point?”
“Eventually someone from Earth will come after us.” Tea turned to Natalia and Lucas. “There’s another Brahma that could be ready, right?”
Natalia nodded. Lucas was slower to react, and even then, Tea wouldn’t have called it a response.
“Come on, Tea, that’s bullshit,” Zack said. “NASA couldn’t have another Des tiny- Venture ready for launch within six months. A second Brahma is at least a year away.”
But Tea liked an argument, too. She had been waiting to have one with Zack ever since entering Keanu’s environment, and this subject was as good as any. “NASA could push Destiny-8 forward to maybe a hundred days, darling.”
“So we’ll be, what, only ninety-five days dead as opposed to a hundred and eighty?”
“This environment might support us. There’s air, there’s water.”
“Which is why I gave us five days. A, we’ve found no food. B, how long is the environment going to stay ‘human-friendly’?”
“Don’t be such a pessimist.”
Tea saw the expression on Zack’s face—the pre-shock to the quake to come. But he suppressed it, smiling, even though it must have almost killed him. “You’re right. Let’s be positive.”
He pointed at Natalia and Lucas. “You two, go with Tea. Grab your suits and stage with Taj and the rover at the membrane.”
“Where will you be?” Tea said.
“I’m going after Megan and Camilla.”
So there it was. Tea knew Zack well enough to know he was not likely to change his mind. “So you believe that’s really Megan.”
“I guess I do.”
Tea didn’t know whether to punch Zack or kiss him. She was impressed by the enduring nature of love—and just as pissed off at him as she could possibly be. “You won’t have any way to communicate, no weapons. Even if you . . . free her? Is that the plan? You could make it to the membrane and find us gone!”
She knew he was already thinking a step beyond her. “If what you’re saying is true, a few hours or days won’t make any difference.”
“You’ll be going in with no backup.”
“Backup hasn’t made any difference.”
She took him by the shoulders and spoke quietly but firmly. “Listen, Zachary. One of the reasons I fell in love with you was that, you know, forget Lucas here . . . you were the World’s Greatest Astronaut. If you took a risk, it was informed and reasonable. You knew where the line was, and you never crossed it.
“But this caper—this is nuts. If you don’t come with us, you’ll die.”
He put his hands on hers, squeezed them. His voice grew softer, almost dreamlike. “It may have looked calculating, but I’ve always followed my instincts. And all of them say to go after Megan. If she lives, I’ll live. And if she dies . . .”
“You’re chasing a fantasy!”
There . . . she had said it. She did not really believe the Revenant was the real Megan Stewart.
“Tea—”
“Zack! Do the math! Alien beings. Big smart spacecraft! The ability to replicate living things. Add them up and what do you fucking know? You’ve got a familiar face to talk to!
“That’s what these Revenants are, guys. Sorry, Lucas. I mean, if I went to Brazil, I’d learn Portuguese. I’d wear something that looked Brazilian. I’d try to connect . . . Revenants are just their way of doing it.”
For a moment, Zack looked cowed. It was the first time Tea had ever seen him in that posture. “She knows things she shouldn’t know.”
“She isn’t Megan,” she said, firmly, feeling that she was this close to hauling him back from the edge. “But I’m me and you know that. I love you. Come with me . . . come where you belong. . . .”