Dewey was standing over Dawn's unconscious body. She lay on the bed, her head cradled in Cara's lap. He thought of her as though she was the same Dawn he'd always known. She wasn't. An alien presence had taken over her body and he had no idea what to do about it.
He had always been able to rely on her to keep things moving in the right direction. That had been true in Odyssey, at least. Here he hadn't had that luxury.
Bobby was little help. He never really had been anyway. Now he was just a frail shell of himself. If anything, he'd become a burden Dewey was ill equipped to handle, even if he wanted to.
Cara looked up from Dawn. When she smiled, he melted inside. Wildly attractive, she was the type of woman that made him sweat. The Dewey he had always been would shy away from someone like her. At most, he might steal furtive glances from a distance. When he looked her way, he found her looking back at him. He had no idea what to do with that either.
Now he wondered if she was waiting for him to make a decision. If she was, he didn't want to disappoint her. "Any idea why Dawn... I mean Houith dropped like that?" he asked. Cara shook her head. "We can't get any help. Can't risk bein' found." He was trying to assert himself. As usual, it felt awkward.
"I could go, like before," offered Cara.
"And do what? If you bring her with you, people will ask about the whole Houith thing. If you bring somebody back, they might still ask questions."
"What are we going to do with her when she wakes up?" asked Bobby.
"We ain't takin' her to Earth is what we're not doin'."
"We can't keep her in here forever."
The words had barely left Bobby's lips when Dewey felt something. It was subtle, a slight vibration, another tremor. The last one he'd felt was on Phaethon. Could there really be something like that here? "Anybody else feel that?"
A klaxon began sounded in the hallway. Cara's eyes grew large as the sound outside increased.
"What the hell is that?" asked Bobby, his voice raised as though the siren was drowning him out.
"Seal breach." Cara lowered Dawn's head to the bed and stood.
"Seal breach? As in we're venting atmosphere?" Bobby's eyes grew large as well.
Cara went to the small storage closet and removed a vac suit. "I only have the one."
"Bobby, you spend all that time on Phaethon and you've never heard a containment breach alarm?" Dewey grabbed the helmet from Cara and held it. She pulled her vac suit up over her legs.
"What would cause a breach?" Bobby was looking around the room as though the answer was somewhere nearby. "Does it do that all the time?"
"It's never gone off like this before." Cara zipped up her suit. "We have a monthly test of the system. That's how I know what it is."
"Maybe it's just a test."
"I don't think so. This one's loud."
"Did either of you feel somethin'? A tremor?" Dewey asked again.
"I didn't," answered Bobby.
Cara turned her head. "I didn't feel anything. Might just be somebody pulled the alarm. We should get suits for the three of you anyway."
Dewey nodded. "I definitely felt somethin'. I think these alarms are automatic. Somethin' happened out there. Where can we get more suits?"
Cara's face twisted into a grimace. "The temple?"
"That's a long way off, ain't it?"
"There might be an emergency airlock nearby."
"We need the suits. Can't hide our faces in an airlock. Not even with those robes you made. Besides, there's got to be thousands of people in this station."
Cara let out a long, slow breath. "I could ask around. Maybe someone has a spare or two."
"Do you know many people around here?"
"A few. I could just knock on doors. I'll see what I can find." As Cara left, the blaring sound of the alarm flooded into her small flat. It did nothing to rouse Dawn.
"Is she going to be okay passed out like this?" Bobby shouted.
"Damned if I know."
* * *
When Cara returned, she carried several suits draped over her arms. In one hand she held a helmet. She dropped all the gear on the bed beside Dawn. "I managed to find three. I have to go get the other helmets. Can you get her suited up?"
Dewey grabbed one of the suits and pulled the boots over Dawn's feet. He slid the legs up over her coveralls. "Can you give me a hand here?" Bobby stepped over and the two of them stood Dawn up, her unconscious frame leaning against Dewey. Bobby pulled the suit up around her torso, sliding each arm in as Dewey held her in place.
Cara didn't take long to return. By then, both men were pulling on their suits. "I wonder if it's claustrophobia," she said as she handed one helmet to Bobby.
"What is?" Bobby took the helmet and started messing with the seal.
"You know, fear of closed spaces."
"Oh, you mean Dawn?"
"Houith? Maybe she's not used to closed spaces like this."
"I suppose it could be." Bobby lifted the helmet up and slid it over his head.
"If it is, all we have to do is get her out of here. Maybe back to the market. Someplace open."
"We can't take her to the market," said Dewey, his own helmet now secured to his suit. "We can't risk bein' seen. We also can't risk her seein' the sky again."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember, she said she was lookin' for the origin. If she sees the Earth and the stars, maybe she figures out where we are. We can't let that happen."
"But can she really erase humans? Wouldn't she just start another timeline or something like that?"
"That's what I thought. Only she said Dawn interrupted her timeline. Showed up where she wasn't before. Maybe time doesn't work like we thought it did. Or maybe her people are able to see time differently."
"If that's true, and she kept humans from ever getting started, what would it be like for us? Would we just disappear? We couldn't die if we hadn't been born." Cara stared at Dewey. He sensed a panic in her voice.
"I really don't know, Cara. We'll figure it out, though." He put his hand on her shoulder. It was all she needed. She collapsed into his arms, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Dewey was again in unfamiliar territory. He couldn't remember the last time he'd held a woman in his arms, much less someone he wanted so close. He felt her chest against his, her head turned awkwardly in her helmet, her arms tight around him. He fell in quickly with the rhythm of her sobbing, her perfume an invisible intoxicant.
Bobby grabbed the two of them by the shoulder and shook them gently. "We can get through this."
Cara backed away, wiping at her eyes. She stared at Dewey. "I'm so glad you came."
Feeling the need to act, Dewey smiled. "Maybe we should start by figurin' out what's goin' on with the seal breach." Before Cara could respond, Dewey's comm lit up. The sound of an alarm blared from his device, drowning out the alarm in the hall. There was no hologram, but he immediately thought of Grant. "Mister L? Is that you?"
"Dewey, are you near the docks? We need your help."
"No, sir. We're not at the docks. I don't know where we are, exactly."
"Can you get down here? Something's happened. The whole place collapsed."
* * *
Cara led Dewey along the crowded corridor, pushing against the flow of humanity. As far as he could tell, most of these people were rushing away from the docks and the temple. Some were in vacuum suits. Most were not. Many appeared injured or covered in dust and grime. Around them the klaxons continued their warning about the breach.
The crowd was an obstacle. It slowed their progress through the station. While Dewey hardly noticed them before, several atmosphere integrity bulkheads had locked down. This forced the flow of traffic through small hatches prepped to close in the event of a nearby leak. He and Cara had to navigate through these against an outpost overcome with panic.
When they were able to, Cara took them as far around the temple as she could. The further from the mass of people they got, the more vac suits they encountered. These were the station dwellers, much more calm and orderly.
Dewey was following Grant's comm signal. It had become intermittent, even as close as they were. To this point, he knew little about where Grant was or what had happened. What little information they had came as they passed through a large space with a view of the stars. There they could see dozens of vessels littering the sky. Rumors of ships crashing into the station could be heard everywhere. The influx of people to the temple had created a dangerous situation. The fact that he had inspired the pilgrimage wasn't lost on Dewey.
Near the docks, Cara led him up to an observation deck. There they could view much of the facility. The area around the station was also alive with traffic. Hovers of all shapes and sizes had parked nearby. Still more were approaching.
Beneath them was evidence of the collisions they'd heard about. Several ships had crashed, mostly to the north. The damage was extensive. They counted at least four vessels. The roof of the installation was littered with dozens of dead bodies and debris. One large ship protruded from part of the station. Dewey could see a single emergency crew working to repair a collapsed wall. That was the only emergency personnel he'd seen. No security, no rescue crews, nothing.
Dewey lifted his comm and checked the connection to his boss. It had dropped again. They were close, but they would need a way to narrow the search. He switched his comm over to Cara. "We'll have to get down there. Where can we get more suits? We may need them."
Cara shrugged. "Not sure. How many?"
"Mister L, Kishan, and the old man. I'm guessin' they're all still together."
"Are they still alive?"
It was Dewey's turn to shrug. "We need to be prepared." He switched his comm to his boss but again found no connection.
Cara led him down from the observation deck. Traffic below had thinned out some. Heading inward toward the station proper, they still found no emergency personnel. Passing through the next bulkhead, Dewey noticed a red sign flickering in the dusty air. It read "emergency." Inside, they found several temporary vac suits with small oxygen supplies. Between them they grabbed three suits and helmets along with oxygen tanks.
They arrived at the first sealed airlock. Entering, Dewey cycled the hatch closed. Even with his helmet on, the first thing that struck him was the silence. They'd endured the relentless klaxon for some time. As the atmosphere evaporated, so did the sound.
When the airlock completed its cycle, they entered the vacuum. A few people were milling about the corridor near a vessel that had penetrated the facility. An explosion must have followed the ship's crash. It appeared to have been attempting a landing, its main engines crushed beneath it. It's fuselage was cracked open, with dozens of dead bodies spilling out. Cara absently walked toward it before Dewey grabbed her arm. He motioned for them to move on.
Further on they found another vessel, this one mostly crushed by its impact. Its nose had penetrated deep into the floor. More bodies littered the area and evidence of an explosion mangled the walls.
Dewey checked his comm again. This time he got something. A half-formed hologram appeared, it's pattern more like static. He couldn't make out anything except the faintest shape of a person. Through his comm, the alarm continued, telling him they still had some atmosphere.
He pointed to the hologram. Cara nodded. She leaned toward it, then shrugged. He couldn't make out anything either. Nor could he tell how close they were.
The image shifted and a helmeted face appeared. Dewey couldn't tell if it was Grant. The person's features were mostly hidden in shadow and dust. The view shifted toward a broken placard. On it were a few letters and numbers. Cara pointed to it, then motioned back toward where they'd come.
They made their way to the vessel that had burrowed into the level below. Just past it, Cara pointed toward a wall. There were the same letters as they'd seen. She led Dewey further along before turning down a long corridor. Here they found another large vessel that had fallen. It was almost directly on top of the hallway, blocking their passage. "I'm guessing down here somewhere," she said over the comm.
Dewey grabbed a large section of damaged fuselage and pulled it aside. With enough room to slide through, he led Cara further down the corridor, into the darkness. They were inside the belly of the vessel. In the dimly flashing lights they could see bodies scattered about the floor around them.
Dewey's comm lit up again. He pulled his arm up to find Grant staring out of the hologram. He had lifted his visor and was shouting something. The sirens were no longer audible. Without atmosphere, Dewey couldn't make out what he was saying. The hologram shifted, pointing to something else. It looked like a fuselage. There was another figure hammering on it. As Grant neared it, Dewey could make out the outline of a hatch.
Dewey switched his comm again. "Cara, there should be an emergency hatch in this cabin."
Cara stepped away toward the far wall of the vessel. Setting the vac suits and oxygen down, Dewey searched the hull further up. The deeper he got into the ship, the less he could see. The intermittent flashing of distant emergency lights barely penetrated this far in.
"Dewey, here," yelled Cara through his comm.
He turned and rushed in her direction. When he found her, she was pulling a dead child from a seat that had gotten wedged against the bulkhead. Dewey leaned in and grabbed the seat, tossing it aside as it came loose. There they found an emergency hatch, it's manual override exposed. Dewey grabbed for it, but found it was damaged. Looking around, he spotted a long metal rod. Inserting it into the hatch's handle, he pulled down. His weight wasn't enough. "Can you help with this?"
Cara stepped in beside him, grabbing the metal pole at the end. They both pulled several times, getting no movement. "Together maybe?" she asked.
"Okay, on three." Dewey pressed his arm against the bulkhead, positioning himself beneath the pole. "One, two, three." They pulled in unison and the rod moved a few centimeters. "Again, two, three." This time they felt the handle give.
Dewey turned and began cranking the handle. As he did, the hatch slid open. A modest gust of atmosphere escaped from the other side. Dust within the fuselage swirled in its wake. Flashing red lights from the other side of the hull flooded the cabin.
In the darkness, Dewey could see the form of a person. They were waving their arms. Dewey went back for the vac suits, then passed through the hatch.
He was led to someone curled up inside a vac suit. He could see no helmet. Beside this person was a large man. Dewey guessed it was his boss. Grant grabbed one of the suits and began pulling it over the person's legs. The person beneath the makeshift tent was struggling. Hands emerged to pull the suit on roughly as a third person positioned the helmet for them. All of this lasted a matter of seconds.
Having successfully donned the suit, they motioned to leave. Dewey looked around. The room was too dark to see very far, even with the strobing red lights. Nothing else stirred. A hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him toward the hatch.