The snow was still falling heavily, any signs of footprints long gone. We’d been away all day, at least eight hours, and when we reached the spot where the transport vessel had been sitting, there was no evidence one had ever been there.
“Damn,” I said quietly.
“Come in, Terran Five,” Slate said into his headset. He repeated it a few times, but he just got static in return. “Looks like we’re walking. You up for it?” He glanced at my injured leg.
“I think I can make it. I’m more worried about freezing to death.”
“The sooner we get moving, the sooner we’re warm.” Slate started to walk, taking my pack again.
Terran Five was only a couple of miles away, and even though the snow was piling around us, making each step a difficult one, I knew I’d find Mary at the other end, and that was enough to keep me moving at a fast pace.
Mary and I sat side by side on a couch, hot coffee on the table in front of us. I felt like I’d never be warm again, even though I’d been inside for an hour already. Her arm was bandaged; otherwise, she looked no worse for wear.
Her hand slid over to me, intertwining her fingers with mine. We left the rest unspoken. We’d both thought there was a chance we’d lost the other today, and the relief was great as Slate and I showed up at the gates. They’d told us Magnus and Mary had returned with the missing people. I’d fallen to my knees as they said the words, half from the pain in my calf, half from happiness that they were all right, no thanks to me.
Magnus walked into the room, smiling wide at the sight of us on a couch. “You guys make this all seem so normal.” The hospital waiting room was cramped, and with Magnus in it, the space we had shrank in half.
“I just want to see my sister,” I said, butterflies dancing in my stomach as we waited. Mary assured me she was going to be fine. Isabelle had been bitten by one of the creatures and had lost a lot of blood, but she was in good hands.
We gabbed, me finishing my story about the Shandra while drinking coffee. An hour or so later, a nurse approached us and told me I could come in.
“Are you coming?” I asked Mary.
She shook her head. “You go alone. She needs her brother.”
I understood but still wanted her by my side. Setting my cup down, I got up on a sore leg and realized just how exhausted my body was. I’d end up in a hospital bed myself if I didn’t get some rest soon. I took tentative steps while following the nurse down the short corridor, and after a few doors, she led me into a room with beeping machines and blinking lights. My sister lay on the bed; bags were hooked up to her, and her eyes were closed.
I went to the bedside, reaching out to grab her hand. She looked so small and pale. Someone moved in the corner of the room, and I noticed we weren’t alone.
“Hey, are you a doctor?” a familiar voice asked.
The day had been rough, so when I saw the man’s face, I nearly dropped to the ground. I hadn’t seen him in a long time, not since a few months after the Event.
“Dean?”
It was James.
My old friend came toward me, a questioning look on his face.
“James! What are you doing here?” I asked.
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here is the better question!” Both of our voices had risen, and I saw Isabelle stirring from her slumber. “You’re supposed to be dead.” He lowered his voice; the word dead was nearly an inaudible whisper.
I grabbed the man, hugging him fiercely. Seeing someone from my pre-Event life brought it all back, and I stood there holding James, tears flowing freely from my eyes. When we pulled apart, his eyes were red and puffy, probably a match for my own. “I’m not dead,” was all I could bring myself to say.
“Am I?” a small voice asked from the bed.
“No, Issy. You’re not dead.” I turned to her, really seeing my little sister for the first time. She looked so much older than the last time I’d seen her. Seven years was a long time. Seven years with interstellar travel, and life on a harsh colony planet, could be a lifetime.
“But… how?” she asked.
James pulled up two chairs, and we sat there, each telling our stories of how we ended up together on this night. Theirs was far longer than mine, but luckily with much less danger. Until today, when Isabelle had gone out to help a lame horse in the snowstorm.
“And you two?” I asked, looking from face to face.
James nodded. “We heard you were dead. Magnus held a ceremony for you all, one that Dalhousie wouldn’t sanction. He said she never believed you were lost. Issy and I were among the few that knew you, and the only people there that knew you before everything. From our old lives. We’d both been through a lot, just like everyone, and our connection drew us together. She saved my life, Dean.” He said the simple words, used over and over by people over the ages, but in this case, I believed him. His face was full of lines, his hair gray and receding, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that only the love of another human could provide.
“I couldn’t be happier for you two. I’ll come back later with Mary. We can go on a double date.” I laughed at how silly it sounded, but maybe something so normal would be good for all of us. “You sure you’re okay?”
Isabelle slowly nodded, her eyes sagging closed. “Dean. I’m so glad you’re here. I love you.”
“I love you too, sis.” I patted the back of her hand lightly, and her eyes fully closed.
“She needs some sleep. Coffee?” James asked, and we stood, leaving the room to its beeping machines and blinking lights.
Terran Five was quite the complex. I could hardly consider it a normal city, since most of the buildings were connected via corridors and pedways. It reminded me of the alien bases and cities I’d seen. Were we heading in the same direction as those other races? They did it here because of the long cold months, where being outside for more than a minute could result in frostbite, or worse.
Our rooms were in a visitor apartment, not far from the landing pad and military base, and we were grateful for the private suite.
Light crept in through the windows, the midday sun occasionally peeking past the thick cloud cover that T-5 never seemed to get rid of. Mary was still sleeping soundly beside me, her chest rising up and down slowly in a mesmerising flow, lulling me into a semi-conscious state. I’d slept for a solid eleven hours, and I still felt like I needed more.
Mary and Magnus had left me in the transport, worried I was dying of some unknown cause, and I let them know they were right to do so. The lives of the colony people were more important at that moment. They followed the tracks into the cavern and were ambushed by a few of the creatures as they entered the room where I’d seen the blood. All in all, they killed twenty or so of the wild animals before the rest scampered away, but they got their say in, biting Mary in the arm and Magnus in the thigh.
One of the colonists had been dead on arrival, but the other three had made it back, Isabelle being the worst off. As I watched Mary sleeping, I wished I could have been there to help, but knew the resource I’d found was more important. I’d told Magnus and Mary about it, and we decided to keep it under our hats for the time being. If we passed the details on, we had no idea what kind of abuse the Shandra would suffer, or for whose cause. No, we would keep the information to ourselves, and make that decision when the time came.
“Dean?” Mary asked as she rolled over and rested her head on my chest. It was familiar and comforting.