Final Days: Colony Read online

  Andrew considered that. “Then I’ll walk the entire perimeter.”

  “The entire perimeter of what?”

  Andrew jumped and spun around to see Eric Keller standing behind him. “Damn it, Keller!”

  “What were you two talking about?”

  “Nothing,” Andrew growled.

  “It didn’t sound like nothing to me.”

  Andrew stomped up to him and crossed his arms over his chest to glare down at the smaller man. “I’ll answer you if you answer me.”

  Keller’s brow furrowed in a question.

  “Where is Hound?”

  Keller shrugged and made a show of looking around. “He must be around here somewhere. I’m told they found his escape pod already.”

  “Yeah, so where is he?” Andrew insisted. “Carrie doesn’t seem to know.”

  “What makes you think I do? I just got back. Same as you.”

  Andrew snorted. “Well, then I guess we’ll both have to keep our secrets.” He shouldered past the other man and tossed a wave over his shoulder. “See you at dinner, Kendra.”

  “See you,” she called out.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Kendra

  Kendra was struggling with the festivities around her. It had only been two days since they’d lost Neve and Penelope, as well as two of Keller’s crew. Andrew was even more distant since returning: angrier, but she was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Time healed all wounds.

  They were at the edge of camp, away from the lake, where the ground remained damp even after two clear days. The bonfire crackled with warmth, the strange purple-topped trees fueling the celebration.

  Almost the entire camp was in the vicinity of the fire, and Kendra hadn’t seen everyone together since they’d first arrived at the site a few days ago. It felt like fewer people now, even though only four of the one thousand were missing.

  The air was crisp, but stayed warm two hours after the distant star had crested the mountain range, and Kendra wore a sweatshirt with a light vest overtop. She sat between Andrew and Roland and rotated her shoulder, wondering what concoction the good doctor had injected her with earlier that day. Since his triage had finally been erected, Dr. Hartford had called her in for a mandatory shot. Her shoulder had been aching fiercely. Now she felt like a new woman, or at least a slightly newer version of her injured self.

  “What the hell are we celebrating?” Andrew asked. Their group sat in a row ten yards from the flames, and other than Val’s father, the colony was in high spirits.

  Roland leaned forward in his seat, craning his neck to peek around Kendra. “Andy, come on. What do you think? We survived the apocalypse. We’re on Proxima b, our own terrifying paradise. Isn’t that worth a good ol’ fashioned hoedown?”

  As if on cue, a man with long hair and a manicured beard began strumming an acoustic guitar. Kendra thought she recognized him from TV. Hound had brought a famous musician with them. She rarely listened to anything Top Forty, so she couldn’t recall his name, but judging by the way Valeria was gawking at him, he was popular.

  “Sure. Let’s have a party.” Andrew fidgeted with his hands, and Kendra thought he might be thinking about the sobriety coin he’d left on Earth.

  “Well, one thing does strike me as odd: that Hound didn’t reach out to other billionaires to fund this expedition,” Roland said.

  Kendra had to agree. “You’d expect a Musk or Gates to be here, wouldn’t you?”

  “I read somewhere that the three of them didn’t see eye to eye. Plus, it appears Hound didn’t need anyone else’s funding for this venture,” Roland said. “One thing that I don’t buy…”

  “Are we going to start on this again?” Kendra asked.

  Roland lifted his hands in surrender. “Listen, I spent years trying to research and discredit theories far crazier than this one. Hear me out.” He leaned over, close enough for Kendra to smell the garlic on his breath. “Hound claims to have created this technology by hiring the best and the brightest, right?”

  Andrew nodded along, and Kendra remained tight-lipped. She knew what was coming.

  “I don’t believe him for a second. This…” he waved, indicating their situation, “isn’t something merely intelligent people could have pulled together. We simply don’t have the… cognitive capacity yet. It would have taken thousands of renowned scientists decades to generate this scenario.”

  Kendra wished Andrew wouldn’t entertain the discussion, but he was doing it. “If he didn’t create it with this team, then how?”

  Roland stared at them, one at a time, and then leaned away, facing the fire. “Aliens.” He whispered it so quietly that Kendra almost didn’t hear him.

  “Why the hell wouldn’t it be?” Andrew said, and Kendra couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. She noticed that Val and Tony weren’t paying any attention to the conversation, and that was probably for the best. Let the kids be kids.

  Andrew was glowering at his daughter out of the corner of his eye, and Kendra rested a hand on his arm. “She was always going to date. Then grow up, marry, have kids.” Even though that wasn’t in the cards for everyone.

  “Thanks for the reminder. She’s far too young. I… I’m not cut out for this part. I was supposed to be the fun Dad that bought her the candy her mother wouldn’t allow, the one who took her to Disneyland. I don’t know how to be this type of Dad,” he admitted.

  Roland laughed. “Wait… you were the fun Dad? Now that’s amusing.”

  “Shut up, Rollie,” Andrew said, but Kendra caught the start of a smile on his lips.

  “Wait, Andy, what job did they give you?” Roland asked, switching subjects.

  Andrew offered a smile. “Big surprise. Mechanic. Here we are on a new planet, a new life, and I’m cranking wrenches again. I guess it’s better than the alternative,” he said, staring at Roland.

  “Which is what? Burning to death on Earth?” Roland asked.

  “Nope. Water treatment.” Andrew laughed, slapping his knee.

  Kendra took it all in, loving the banter between her two friends. It had been so long since she’d felt close to anyone, and despite the insane circumstances, she felt like she had family again. Their small group had a bond unlike anything she’d ever had, except with Carrie as kids. Now that her sister was in the picture, they were beginning to strengthen that bond, but Kendra remained cautious as to how far she could trust her sister.

  She watched as Carrie and Keller walked toward the fire, stopping to listen to the musician sing an acoustic version of a song Kendra almost recognized. After a few moments, Hound’s two top dogs moved to the other side of the fire and engaged in an animated discussion. The music and the crackling fire blocked their words, but their emotion was clear.

  “Wonder what that’s all about?” Andrew said in her ear. He took a sip of coffee, and she copied him, hers too bitter for her liking.

  “Probably aliens,” Roland said, and Kendra caught the slight upturn of his lips.

  “No idea. Are you still thinking we need to venture to the ridges to see what’s on the other side?” she asked, keeping her voice light and a smile on her face in case anyone was prying.

  Andrew gave her a curt nod. “I need to find out. If there’s nothing to see, I’ll let it go. All of it. I’ll be a good soldier, turning a wrench under Harold Bruner until Valeria gifts me with three grandkids and we start a baseball team.”

  “I think the ball would fly a little farther with this gravity… maybe ten percent,” Roland chimed in.

  “I could be in the majors,” Andrew said.

  “Let’s make it through this week, maybe next, and then do it,” Kendra said.

  “You’re coming?” he asked, his pupils reflecting the bright flames across from them.

  “Did you think I’d leave you alone with something so important?” she asked.

  “No. No, I didn’t. Glad to have you on board. I do think we might receive help from the sergeant as well. Come on, let me introduce
you,” Andrew said, standing with creaking knees.

  “Roland, you want to join us?” Kendra asked the younger man.

  “I’m beat after today. You two play spies without me,” Roland told them.

  Kendra kept pace with Andrew, instantly feeling cooler as they left the warmth of the fire. She glanced around to see Carrie standing alone, her face emotionless, Keller nowhere to be seen.

  “Sergeant Harper, meet Kendra Baker. Special Agent Baker,” Andrew added.

  The woman had short black hair, her skin pale and lined, but she held a poise and beauty Kendra envied. “Pleasure.” Harper shook her hand, her grip strong and quick.

  “Miller, you’re going to want to hear this.” Harper nodded to the heavyset woman beside her. She had glasses, and was nervously pressing them up the bridge of her nose. “Can you repeat that to our friends?”

  “The spectral type is wrong,” she said, her voice smaller than a mouse’s. Her gaze darted around the dark camp, as if expecting eavesdroppers.

  “The spectral type?” Kendra asked.

  “The star… our sun was a G2V spectral type, but Proxima—”

  Andrew interrupted with an upraised hand. “A G2-what?”

  “G2V. A G-type main sequence star.”

  Andrew stared blankly at her.

  “White. Our sun was yellowish-white. Proxima was supposed to be an M5.5 spectral type. That means it would be very faint compared to our sun, and reddish in color. Not only does this star look blue, but it's far too bright to be Proxima Centauri.”

  “What’s your name?” Kendra crouched to eye level with the woman. She had to treat her like a witness, and a scared one at that.

  “Dr. Robin Varge. I’m an astrophysicist, and a bit of an astronomer, but my specialty was in the theory of life on other planets. Also a xenobiologist on the side,” she said.

  Kendra considered this. They’d brought someone with an interest in studying alien life, or at least foreign biology. The woman was clearly intelligent, and her opinion on the color of this star being wrong rang true. Proxima had been big news in the early 2010s, but since then, she’d heard nothing. She wondered if this was Hound pulling strings with the media, using his dollars to limit discussion of the alien world.

  Even so, she felt like a fool for not picking up on it sooner. She was sure a lot of the uber-smart people around camp would as well. This had her thinking that a bunch of them likely were aware this wasn’t the destination Hound had told them they were heading to, but none of them were in a position to speak out. At the end of the day, what difference did it make? Only to Kendra, it meant a hell of a big difference. If Hound had lied about that, what else had he kept hidden?

  Carrie approached, and Kendra stood up straight, staring at the scientist, silently urging her to remain quiet.

  “Are you all having a good time?” Carrie asked them.

  “Sure. It’s nice to remember a piece of ourselves from home,” Sgt. Harper said.

  “I agree.” Carrie turned, watching the red-headed British artist strum away at his guitar in an acoustic solo. “I didn’t have a chance to do much of this stuff in my twenties.”

  “Neither did I,” Kendra told her. “Between school, then the academy and placement, music festivals and bonfires weren’t on the list.” She left out the part about spending countless evenings and weekends trying to learn what happened to her missing sister. The wound was too fresh, and she knew Carrie had enough on her plate.

  “Robin, is everything all right?” Carrie asked the scientist.

  Robin’s eyes darted to Kendra, and she appeared to find her resolve, sniffling before speaking. “I was just saying how much I love hearing music. It’s making me miss home, that’s it.”

  Kendra hadn’t noticed it before, but the colonists were afraid of her sister. She saw it now, in the way Robin was watching her like a wary bird around a stalking feline. Carrie didn’t answer; she only nodded, and smiled at Kendra before turning to walk away.

  “Enjoy the rest of your night. I have some work to do,” she said, leaving them alone.

  “Say what you will about Keller, but at least he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a snake,” Sgt. Harper said, shocking Kendra.

  “I think that’s enough,” Andrew replied, casting his anger at Harper. He was protecting Kendra, but she was a grown woman and didn’t need a white knight.

  “You might be correct,” Kendra said. “Robin, if this isn’t Proxima, how do we find out where we are?”

  “I’d need a computer, one with star maps,” the woman said, adjusting her glasses again.

  “Didn’t Roland say he saw something like that before his access was denied?” Andrew asked.

  “He did. Robin, we’re going to get you those star maps, and you’ll have to do the rest, deal?” Kendra asked. Every time she suggested they stop poking their noses further into the beehive, something came up to force their hands. First the woman in Andrew’s room claiming they weren’t heading to Proxima, and now this affirmation. And where the hell was Hound?

  “Come on, Kendra. Let’s go sit between Valeria and Tony for a bit. I think the fire’s getting a little hot,” Andrew said, and they said their goodbyes to Harper and Robin.

  Kendra watched the clear night sky, thousands of pinpricks of light cascading across an onyx sky. No matter where they were, it was beautiful.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Kendra

  The morning air was fresh, and Kendra found herself growing used to the distinct scent of their new home. The red grass was damp; dew threatened to drip from each strand as she moved toward the indoor mess hall. It was becoming a tradition to meet with her group each morning. Diane tagged along behind her, hopping and skipping the entire way.

  “Are we going to try anything fun today?” the girl asked her.

  “You are going to school, missy,” Kendra told her.

  “I don’t wanna. What are you up to?” Diane asked.

  “I’m doing big girl things.” Which meant training the handful of potential recruits for local law enforcement. Kendra tested her shoulder, raising her arm above her head. It felt much better. She was supposed to meet with Tom Hartford, the resident doctor, tomorrow afternoon to do a follow-up, and she suspected he would give her a clean bill of health. She couldn’t fathom how an injection could have healed a torn ligament, but she didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  They walked by the firepit from last night; coals at the center glowed softly as a light trail of smoke lifted from them. She wondered what time everyone had made it to bed. She’d fallen asleep before most of the colony.

  People were huddled around outside the mess hall, and Kendra caught the glimpse of concern on Andrew’s face the moment she saw him. He waved her over.

  “Robin is missing,” he told her.

  “What? The scientist?” Kendra asked, glancing around. Roland shifted uneasily on his feet, and Tony hung his head low, his long hair covering his eyes.

  Harper approached, leaving Keller’s side by the entrance to the hall. “You were right. Keller told me it was the predators. Apparently he’s been in touch with Hound, and Keller’s going to make an announcement soon.”

  “Of course he has. You realize she was quite certain this wasn’t Proxima, and now she’s missing. Same as the woman on Eden,” Roland said. Kendra saw the younger man reach into his pocket. She was fully aware he had three pills left in a bottle, and was keeping them as proof he didn’t need them.

  Val made a tsking sound with her lips and crossed her arms. “Don’t you think you’re all being a little paranoid? We’ve seen the predators, or at least some of you have. Dad, they attacked you out there, didn’t they?”

  Andrew nodded, staying quiet on the subject.

  “Quiet down, Keller’s about to say something,” Sgt. Harper said. She ran a hand over her shorn hair and turned toward the small goateed man.

  “Everyone gather around.” Eric Keller moved toward the firepit from last night,
and found a stump to stand on. He held the silver amplifying device to his mouth and called them again, waiting until the crowd had gathered around him. Kendra and the others were at the front of the group, and she peered over her shoulder, estimating half of the colony was present.

  Keller’s eyes were distant, dead, as he started to speak. “I’ve spoken with our illustrious leader, Lewis Hound.”

  “Where is he?” a man asked, shouting from the rear of the crowd.

  “Yeah, why isn’t he here?” someone else yelled.

  “He’s scouting the ranges. He’s found a couple of paths through. Hound has seen these predators approaching through tight passes. On the other side of the ranges are things nightmares are made of. Thousands of these animals, among other things that wish to eat us,” Keller said.

  “Show us. We want proof,” Andrew said, loudly enough to draw Keller’s attention.

  Keller ignored him. “Hound’s working on sealing the ridges, and then we’ll have nothing to worry about. Crossing the barriers is strictly prohibited, and until we’re sure the ranges are impassable, we’re implementing a curfew. Dusk. No later.”

  The crowd began muttering. “Where’s Robin?” Kendra asked him, daring to stare hard into his locked gaze.

  “Yes, this is why the actions are necessary.” Keller spoke louder into the device. “We lost one of our own last night to the predators. They took Dr. Robin Varge. We can only assume she went for a walk and ventured past the perimeter.”

  Roland leaned toward Kendra. “You better check with your sister. She has the tablet that shows our motion sensors’ activity.”

  Kendra nodded. “I will.”

  “So be vigilant. Travel in pairs when near the edges of camp. Sunset is curfew, and if you see something, say something,” Keller said, making Kendra roll her eyes.

  “What a tool,” Andrew mumbled.

  “Dad.” Val gave him a reproaching slap on the arm.

  “What? He is.”

  Keller descended from the stump, and Kendra crossed the distance separating them in three long steps. “Eric, where is Hound? Really?”