<Don’t know.>
<Feel the Proteus still?>
<She’s too weak. She doesn’t want to be disturbed. I need to…I need to let her rest.>
<Sometimes that’s all we can do. If you can continue to monitor her, that’s something.> And it would give Keelin a focus.
Tris was pulling equipment from different drawers, stacking objects neatly in two piles. Ryann recognised most of the stuff, but this was Tris’ area of expertise. She needed to give him ownership.
“What do we have, Tris?”
“Nothing special, just a few boosters, bits and pieces. A couple of old relays, even an X-43. There’s some extra power packs, too, but they’re the Sorin ones, and they’ve leaked. Most sitting somewhere between sixty and seventy percent total.”
“Is that enough to reach Haven?”
“Not from in here.”
“What about outside?” She saw his head snap round, and added quickly, “Just so we know where we stand.”
He nodded. “Okay. If this stuff was in the open, yes. It could reach Haven, but that depends on other things…”
“Like the storm. I get that. Anything else affect it?”
He shrugged. “Geography. The higher up we are, the straighter the signal path, and the less power we need. Basic physics.”
If there was some kind of rebuke in that statement, Ryann let it go. She called up a map of the area, scanned until she found what she needed. “And we’re in a dip here.” She pushed the information to Tris. “You seeing this?”
“Analysing data.”
Ryann wanted to smile when he said that. It might have been a cold statement, but it told her that he was pushing emotions to one side. He was starting to think logically.
“We’re too low. The power-packs we have wouldn’t be enough.”
“What about the landing pad?” Brice said.
Tris glared at him. “That’s the same altitude, idiot.”
Ryann held up both hands, palms out. “Keep it civil. We listen to any suggestions, remember?”
Tris huffed, but turned away from Brice. Strangely, Brice hadn’t reacted. His head stayed down, and his shoulders remained slumped. And now that Ryann thought of it, his voice had been dispassionate. Although he asked a question, there was no lift at the end. It was as if he’d already given up.
Ryann didn’t think that was a good sign at all.
“There’s another landing pad, though,” Keelin said. “About a half-k away. It’s higher.”
“Show us,” Ryann said, before anyone could knock this back.
A new map blinked into existence on her lens, a warm glow at their current location. Further out—but zooming in as she shifted her focus—was a landing pad on a rise, almost a hill.
“You got this, Tris?” she asked. “Brice?”
And that was a mistake. Brice clenched his jaw, and she saw his chest rise high as he took a deep breath.
<You didn’t get it,> she sussed to him, privately. It wasn’t a question. She needed him to understand that she knew.
He didn’t respond.
<And you can’t hear this, can you?>
Of course there was no response. Something else to deal with.
“How long to get there?” she asked, focusing on the more immediate issue.
“Ten minutes,” Tris said.
“Could do a half-k in five, easily,” Brice muttered. Tris rounded on him, but Brice shrugged. “Just saying. Suppose the storm and stuff might slow me down.”
Ryann should have been pleased that Brice avoided a confrontation, but it made him appear weak. Tris seemed to sense this, too, because his sneer turned into a dismissive snort, and he looked down at the piles of equipment, then back to Ryann.
“Wouldn’t make a difference how fast we moved,” he said. “Those things out there would be on us the moment we stepped out.”
And that stopped the conversation. It was all theory, all ‘what-if’s. None of it would work while the army of monsters surrounded them. All the talk of raising Haven was just that—talk and nothing more.
And even if Haven sent out a search party, they’d target the Proteus. They’d go to the Tumbler. Maybe they’d track the crew, but what would happen when they came across the creatures?
At least the hold-out gave them some protection.
Even a tomb slowed decomposition.
The sound of footsteps echoed off the cold walls, and Ryann look up. Brice walked towards the rear door.
“I need to see,” he said, without turning.
Keelin moved towards him, and grabbed his shoulder. “Ryann’s already looked,” she said.
“I know.”
“But she can…she’s more suited to observation.”
“I can see.”
“It’s dark out there.”
He held up a torch. Then he took another step, and placed a hand on the door.
“You don’t need to look, Brice,” Ryann said, keeping her tones soft.
He nodded, but said “I think I do. Just to…just for myself. To clarify, you know?”
There was more to it, but Brice wasn’t willing to explain. Maybe he didn’t fully understand himself. Maybe he needed a moment of escape, like Ryann had done, earlier.
“Those things are out there,” Keelin said.
“But at a distance. Right, Ryann?”
“They were when I looked.”
“But what if they’ve moved. What if they’re already on the roof?” Keelin shuddered as she spoke. “What if they attack the moment you open the hatch?”
Brice didn’t answer. His arm flexed as he prepared to push the door. Ryann knew he was determined. Standing in his way would only cause more conflict.
“I’ll come to the bottom of the ladder,” she said, the decision coming fast. “I sense them close, I let you know, and you don’t open the hatch. Okay?”
He hesitated, then nodded. She didn’t like that hesitation.
“You go against this, and I’ll be back through that door and leave you to them.” The threat sounded weak. “No risks, Brice. I won’t put the others in danger because of this. I say it’s clear, you open the hatch and take a look. Otherwise, the hatch stays sealed. Clear?”
He swallowed, then nodded. “I need to see,” he repeated, and Ryann knew he’d open that hatch regardless.
The metal rungs chilled Brice’s fingers, and that pushed him to keep climbing. Light came from below, where Ryann held her
