Paphos, p.6
Paphos, page 6
“Aye, well, this is exciting,” Dublin said. Helena looked as if she were naked at school.
Athen returned from the comm room. “It’s true, we’re radio silent right now. Someone damaged the cables.”
“Who was last in the comm room?” Orlean asked.
“I sent my weekly report two days ago, before the discovery,” Dmitry said.
“And I checked mail yesterday,” Orlean said.
“I saw someone…” Helena added, almost too soft to be heard. Everyone looked at her. “I saw Carolina in there when we swapped shifts…”
“Oh, come on!” Austin cried.
Dmitry raised his hand. “Think about it. Carolina had that thing in her; she wasn’t herself. She was being controlled. Besides, why would I sabotage the radio?”
Austin opened his mouth, but only silence followed. As much as he hated to admit it, he may have just made a mistake. And against his best efforts, now his girl was in even more danger. “I’m sorry, I just thought…”
“An’ we better get to fixing that radio, come on, Athen, grab our tools.” Dublin and Athen ducked away. Orlean slouched while Dmitry glared.
“It’s time to see what Carolina has to say,” Dmitry said.
“She needs to rest.”
Orlean pretended to observe the ground.
Dmitry smiled. “She’s been resting. Why don’t you check on her, see if she’s ready?”
Austin excused himself. He wasn’t thinking straight, but this was supposed to have gone much differently. Part of him wished he were as clever as Dmitry. Dmitry always had an answer.
He found Carolina asleep again. He rubbed the side of his face, a stress response of his. In guilt, he realized if she weren’t here, then all of this would be different. He’d be just as giddy and irresponsible as the rest of them, just a scientist excited by discovery.
After watching her rest, Austin walked down the hall. “Wait until she wakes up,” he told Dmitry and Orlean. He continued down and poked his head in the comm room to find Dublin and Athen soldering cables. The way they were ripped, Carolina wasn’t strong enough to do that.
The message Austin had composed was still glaring on the screen. He realized he had stormed off without deleting it. Dublin glanced over his shoulder, giving an undecided look.
“Dublin, we need to send that message. Someone needs to know what we are dealing with. Athen almost died, the parasite attacked Carolina… we could all be in trouble.”
Athen watched Dublin, waiting to see how he would respond.
“I’m not the captain, Austin, an’ neither are you.”
“Athen, what about you?”
Athen checked Dublin before answering. “It’s not our call to make.”
Austin sank. He just couldn’t get them to listen to reason. “Can it at least be fixed?”
“Not sure, let you know.”
Sure. The guy who regularly boasted his fix-it skills suddenly gave a flaccid answer. It was clear—Dublin would follow Dmitry’s lead, and Athen, would follow Dublin’s.
“An’ I think I’m going to delete that message, Austin. Jus’ between us.”
“Thanks. But I’d rather you sent it.”
Defeated, Austin returned to the women’s dorm and found Carolina awake. She smiled, which took about a thousand pounds of stress away.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, miss?”
She brushed her hair from her face. “I’m thirsty again.”
Austin brought her some water with a little glucose and a vitamin cocktail, similar to the one he had earlier. Sometimes water just needed a boost. She drank it down and smiled through sleepy eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better. I think I’m awake now.”
“Do you remember anything?” Austin asked. He figured it prudent to know before the others.
“No,” Carolina said. But it was a lie. Her eyes gave it away. He wished he hadn’t asked.
She was quiet; they both were. Sometimes, well, a lot lately, he didn’t know the first thing about being a parent, too often, he just didn’t know what to say. So, he sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
She started to sob, quietly at first. He continued holding her, saying nothing, letting the tide of sobs come. The placative ‘there there, it’ll all be alright’ just didn’t feel appropriate. Her mom would know what to say. Another wave of guilt passed as soon as he thought it. He should also know how to handle these things. He should be around more.
“It’s okay, honey, you don’t ever have to say anything. If you don’t remember, that’s just fine,” he said.
He thought back on his childhood experiences, wondering what he could do to help Carolina right now. He remembered when he was a kid, and when things were the hardest, his dad had a way of making things better with breakfast. “Want some toast?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got some world-famous toast I can whip up,” he said. She looked confused. Austin gulped. “And, if you want, I’ll let you drink coffee.”
“Gross.”
“Instant doesn’t always mean gross.”
“I don’t drink coffee,” she said. There was no smile. But there was no malice, either.
Austin returned moments later with toast and instant coffee.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that last part. I want them to let you back on Earth when we return. They won’t admit coffee haters.”
Carolina crossed her arms. “You call that world-famous toast?”
“Best on planet,” he said, handing her some.
“It looks like cardboard.”
Still no smile.
“That’s the secret ingredient!”
Carolina laughed, short and brief, like she’d tried not to.
“And the coffee has mud in it, helps the cardboard go down,” he said.
“Eww!”
Austin took the first bite and pretended to enjoy it, so Carolina took a bite too, trying not to spit it out. He looked at her and tried not to cry himself. This was the first time she’d laughed this summer. He’d been so busy, and then everything with the underground bunker, why did it happen now? It was so simple and relaxed, enjoying the world’s worst toast together. Why couldn’t everything be like this?
How do you get the time back?
You don’t, he realized.
CHAPTER 8
The next hour gave Austin a chance to regain his thoughts. He still had a chance to convince them to do the right thing.
The others gathered supplies to return to the site, but no one gave thought to weapons, despite what had happened. Not that they ever traveled with firearms, but it showed they weren’t regarding the creature as a threat. He certainly did; he’d seen its eyes. He’d been chased by it.
He surveyed the crew and found Athen. Dublin had shut him down, but maybe Athen would be more amenable without her boss around. He pulled her aside and tried to engage without nearby listeners. “Athen, maybe we should be thinking about how to protect ourselves, instead of heading back down there.”
She shook her head. “Maybe you should be thinking about a once-in-a-lifetime, history-making moment of first contact. Everything we do here goes in the history books, you know. You want us to chase it with pitchforks? We aren’t the old Americas anymore,” she said. She wasn’t rude about it, just blunt. Ignorant. Austin watched her stuff a backpack with rope and sensors. She had a point, but she hadn’t seen this thing yet. It wasn’t friendly.
She hadn’t even listened to him; his hope of convincing any of them faded. They were mad at him for trying to send that message. However, they knew to repair the damaged radio because of it. Silver lining, baby, silver lining.
He needed to show that he was part of the team, to let them know he was a friend, not an enemy. He needed their help to keep Carolina safe, and that meant he couldn’t afford to be the outcast anymore.
The door outside hissed open. With a shield of commitment, he stepped out to join the others. The sun was pink and hot, pushing against the cloud-speckled horizon, the pollen thick. Behind those clouds were Paphos’ rings, like brown and fuchsia brushstrokes in the sky. His radio crackled; proof that the Engineers had failed to restore functionality. The frayed wires had caused a programming malfunction, they reasoned, although the software was designed to prevent it. Austin had the software background; he could fix it… But they wouldn’t let him near it.
He found Dmitry and the research team outside and approached them. Now he was the one avoiding eye contact.
“Austin, we’re having a private meeting,” Orlean said.
“Yeah, I know… but I have something to say. Listen, I was worried about Carolina, and I was worried about that creature. But Athen reminded me, there’s more at stake here than me and my fears. This is history, and I won’t miss being a part of it. Count me in, all the way, whatever you guys need.” He felt wrong saying it. He hoped Orlean didn’t see the blatant pandering. He just couldn’t let him and his daughter remain outcasts.
“That’s great, Austin. We all hoped, me especially, that you would come to your senses,” Dmitry said. “Let’s call a meeting, get everyone together.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes, Austin, a meeting. Because, despite what you just said, we still need to clear the air about that message you tried to send,” Dmitry replied.
Jus’ between us, eh, Dublin? Figures.
“Sure, if you think it’ll help. Sounds great,” Austin agreed and led the way back inside. This was his chance to convince them all, and to convince himself, because so far it didn’t feel right. He was surprised to see Dublin and Athen already waiting in the mess hall, the Irishman had his big arms crossed.
“So, Austin, about that message… You convinced us something needs to be done,” Orlean said. Helena would not take her eyes off the floor. Dmitry usually led these speeches, so why was Orlean leading it?
“About contacting corporate?” Austin asked. He got the feeling they’d already had a meeting without him.
“Not what we were thinking, lad,” Dublin replied, uncrossing his arms. Dmitry gave a nod, Dublin nodded back.
He approached Austin with a prong and dropped him to the floor with a zap of electricity. Austin collapsed, half-aware he was being guided into a chair. Dazed, he found his wrists bound and struggled to break loose.
“You see, Austin, I need to protect my team, and what you did put all of us at risk,” Dmitry said.
Dublin prepared a gag.
“Oh, hell, guys, come on, do we really need to gag him?” Athen pleaded. “His daughter is right down the hallway.”
Dmitry considered her. “Lose the gag. We just want you to listen, Austin.”
He fought against the restraints, but his limbs hadn’t coordinated from the shock yet.
“We all proceed together, or we all lose together. Corporate isn’t here, we are,” Dmitry continued.
“You… you can trust me. I swear…,” Austin struggled to speak. The effects of the stun lasted about a minute, and his words came slowly.
“I appreciate you saying that. But despite your assurances, we don’t trust you yet. You’ll need to earn that back.”
Dmitry was so pleased with himself, making this unfold with the help of the others—his little power grab. Austin resisted casting a thousand terrible threats; they wouldn’t help him. This was exactly what he feared, but he could still convince them. That was how to keep Carolina safe. Speaking of his little girl, she was standing in the hallway.
“Why is my dad tied up?”
The shame given by a twelve-year-old girl was too much for Athen.
“Enough is enough, guys,” Athen said with red cheeks. “This is insane.” She quickly removed the plastic ties from Austin’s wrists. Dmitry looked about to stop her, but didn’t.
“It’s nothing, kiddo, nothing at all,” Austin said, standing up. This is how I keep her safe. Just play along. It’s the only way I keep her safe. “Thank you,” he told Athen.
Austin looked at Dmitry, hoping the hate was well hidden.
“I meant it, it won’t happen again,” Austin said, his wrists burning as much as his anger. He prayed none of that surfaced to his eyes.
Dmitry smiled. “Intense situations cause people to react poorly. I trust you’ve learned from this.” He turned to address the group next. “I know everyone is without sleep, but we need to deal with our guest crawling around first.”
“It won’t come back here,” Carolina said.
All eyes fell on her. Her tiny voice had stopped them mid-breath. “It has what it wants now.”
An invisible weight pressed down on Austin’s chest. Oh God no, please no.
“What did she just say?” Orlean asked.
Carolina shook her head as if coming from a daze.
“It’s nothing, she’s just tired,” Austin said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Hey kid, it’s still early. You might want to sleep a while longer,” he said.
Dmitry crossed his arms, silent in his thoughts.
“I’m not a kid,” she argued.
“Go. I’ll be with you in a bit.”
Carolina looked half-asleep as she turned and walked, drooping her shoulders all the way to her bunk.
Orlean raised his hand again. “Did she say what I think she said?”
“She doesn’t remember anything,” Austin stopped him. His stomach twisted in knots. He wished Dmitry would just say what was on his mind and get it over with. Instead, he remained silent, calculating.
“Are there more of them?” Athen asked.
Helena cringed. “There could be hundreds!”
“No,” Orlean argued. “We’ve been here for months, and our satellites have found no trace of any ecosystem.”
“Aye, well, our satellites missed the wall and everything inside it,” Dublin replied.
“That’s a good question for later. For now, this is from surveillance we set up in the lobby of our site,” Dmitry said. The change of focus felt abrupt, and the word lobby was strange to use. Dmitry turned to a monitor. Was that it? Did everyone forget about Austin then? Was Dmitry switching attention away from Carolina, too?
Orlean studied the screen. “These look like signs, words even.” Orlean pointed to shapes painted on the walls over entryways. There were also some on doors. They were looking at the first evidence of alien script. Austin caught a sideways glance from Dmitry. He wanted them to go back in; he knew it.
“Buy me a pint, this looks just like a security checkpoint.”
“That fits, the building is very complex. There’s much more than this top level. A checkpoint would be a natural start,” Dmitry agreed.
“Complex?” Athen asked.
Orlean answered. “I couldn’t get all the readings I wanted, but I scanned enough to see that the facility extends well into the mountain, and probably deep underground as well. I gathered evidence of multiple floors, but the radio interference makes getting a better reading almost impossible.”
A silent agreement, then, they weren’t going to teach him any more lessons today. They’d switched the focus to this. Austin stood up and walked next to the monitor, squinting at it. He made sure his back wasn’t to Dublin. “Those markings appear soft, almost inviting. At least to me,” he said.
“It does, right? This entire room has a certain flow to it,” Athen said, pointing at parts of the screen.
“Maybe it’s a hotel, like a vacation resort,” Helena wondered. Maybe. Secluded, far away, some feel of interior design… except the lobby was a bit too stale for a hotel.
“Team, let’s face facts. We can only learn so much from the outside. If we choose to continue our research, we must explore the interior. And something else… if Carolina is right, then the creature is after something. Are we going to ignore that?” Dmitry asked.
Austin wished he hadn’t brought her up again, but so far, no one seemed eager to push her for more. At least he had that.
“Dat’ wouldn’t be in our best interest.”
“Are you suggesting we hunt this thing?” Helena asked.
“If there’s a weapon inside that building, and that creature wants it… Consider the implications,” Dmitry replied.
Orlean sat in his chair and rocked back. Helena’s face had gone pale.
“We find what it wants first, or we capture it along the way,” Dmitry said.
“Austin should stay here. Someone should watch Carolina,” Athen suggested.
“I disagree. She’d better come with us. She appears to have… unique insight,” Dmitry said. Austin swallowed hard. “But it is up to Austin, of course. He is her father, after all.”
He hoped he did not growl out loud. Here it was, his first test. This would tell them if they could trust him or not. Though Dmitry gave Austin the courtesy of deciding, he knew it wasn’t really a choice. His wrists still had marks from the plastic restraints.
“If things get crazy, we’ll just come back here.”
Dmitry nodded.
Austin tried to focus on preparation as the team stocked up on snacks and water. Dublin and Athen grabbed cutters and multi-purpose tools until every cargo pocket bulged. Orlean resisted the urge to load Helena up with heavy lab equipment. Austin was going to travel light. Being quick would come in handy, they’d see. And the moment things did get crazy, he’d scoop Carolina out of there. He wouldn’t wait one second to do it.
They embarked on the hike, keeping mostly to themselves. Austin took note of each crew member, gauging them, unable to file what had happened. He knew one thing: they wouldn’t get the advantage like that again.
He nurtured his vow until they arrived. The crew wasted no time. Dmitry went down the ramp with Helena close behind. Dublin was just behind her, and then the others. The ramp was easily passable now that Dublin had scoured their boots with his cutter. Austin was surprised how well it worked.
He examined Carolina before following. Even though the parasite was out of her, she didn’t seem to be herself. He considered going back right now, except he wouldn’t have an explanation for it, and he’d probably end up tied to a chair again. She looked at the obsidian wall and then down the ramp leading inside.
