Final Days: Colony Read online

  “I bet you say that to everybody.” Kendra played along with his game.

  He lifted his hands in front of his chest. “You caught me. But I only mean it with you.”

  “My shoulder has been much better since that shot the other day,” she told him.

  “Good. That’s what I’m here for.”

  “I can’t seem to figure out how you healed it. You said the ligament was torn…”

  “You worry about taking care of yourself, and I’ll worry about the science behind it, okay?” He somehow managed to say this without sounding condescending. She’d have to watch it with this one. He was too smooth.

  “I’m sure your explanation would be something like: medical science advanced at exponential rates since Hound gave you unlimited funds, and so on.” The story was beginning to sound repetitive.

  “You’ve heard this one before.” He pointed to the exam table, and she propped herself onto it. He leaned against the countertop across from her. “I may come across as a little playful, but I take this very seriously. I love what I do, and that’s healing people. When I was given the opportunity to make a difference with Lewis, I didn’t even wait for him to stop talking. I took the bait.”

  “Is that true?” she asked.

  “You are smart, aren’t you? Okay, I did have to mull it over for a couple of days, because the story was a little farfetched. He took me to a place in Oregon, a house overlooking the ocean, and he sold me on the plan. Did you know your sister was there? And so was Keller.”

  Kendra tried to picture a young and idealistic Carrie there with the renowned billionaire, and Eric, and this doctor. She guessed Carrie’s passion for the project had helped sell it to Thomas. Kendra wondered what would have happened to the man if he’d rejected Hound. This made her wonder how many doctors were asked prior to him, and where they were buried.

  “And here you are, the only doctor left?” Kendra asked.

  He shook his head. “There are a few others here. Not trained for what I do, but they’ve finished medical school. You know… should something unexpected happen to me.”

  They do have backups in place. Kendra supposed they’d have to. She noticed something in the doctor’s face, and she had to ask. “What did you have to leave behind?”

  “I was thirty-five when he came to me. I was so focused on my career, I hadn’t made time for a wife or children,” Thomas said.

  “Sounds like me,” she said softly.

  “Then you can relate. When he told me I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone ever again, I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t.” Thomas ran a hand through his gray-speckled hair and smiled at her. “You know what’s funny? I had an okay relationship with my parents, kind of a distant one with my brother, but the moment I wasn’t able to talk to them, I missed them so fiercely. I suddenly had so much to say, when I hadn’t before. If that makes any sense.”

  “Total sense.”

  “I had a niece and two nephews, too. But, like everyone else in the world, they’re all lost to us now. I try not to think about that.” He walked over and touched her shoulder, pressing his thumbs into the ligament. “How does this feel?”

  “A little sore, but bearable.”

  “Do you mind slipping the shirt over your shoulder? I’d like to see the skin for signs of redness or swelling,” Thomas said, and she obliged.

  His eyes swept over her injury, and she watched as they stopped on her old bullet wound.

  “Comes with the territory,” she told him. “Being a special agent had its perks, but getting shot at wasn’t one of them.”

  “I can imagine.” He pulled her collar up the arm, and patted the top of the shoulder gently. “Kendra…”

  Kendra’s attention was drawn to the door, which was slightly ajar. Someone was there in the hall, and Kendra cleared her throat, trying to make some noise in case it was Roland moving toward the supply closet at the end of the hall. “What do you say, Doc? Do I have a clean bill of health?” she asked, her voice too loud.

  “I’d say so. Maybe we can celebrate,” he said.

  “How does one commemorate a healed injury in our colony?” she asked with a light laugh. A nervous bead of sweat dripped onto her forehead as she thought about Roland’s part in their plan.

  “Dinner? Tomorrow night?” he asked.

  “At my place or yours?” she asked. “Or do you want to hit the new Italian joint by the lake?”

  Thomas let out a bark of a laugh and shook his head, wagging his finger at her. “You are funny. I think I had you misread, Ms. Baker. How about it? Mess hall, corner table. I happen to know Keller has a bottle of wine or a hundred, and might be able to procure one for us.”

  “Wouldn’t everyone want some, then?” she asked.

  “Not if we keep it our secret,” he said.

  “I’d like that,” she said, unsure if she was only agreeing because she needed to keep him occupied.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Roland

  “You’re comfortable with this, right, Tony?” Roland asked, tapping the softly beeping computer screen. It showed all levels were within their prime settings, and that meant dirty water had gone in and perfectly healthy water had come out. His talents were being wasted here.

  “Sure. You’re late, Rollie,” Tony said, urging him through the doors. It was hot outside, and Roland was already sweating in his white jumpsuit as he walked as fast as he could toward the colony. A guard was perched on a chair near the camp’s boundary, and Roland nodded to the man. He was one of Kendra’s recruits, and the guy didn’t hassle him as he moved toward Eden Five. One of the benefits of having your friend running the law enforcement team. After the other night’s altercation between the sisters, Roland was astonished Kendra had retained her position.

  He glanced to the sky, wondering when the next storm would be rolling in. It had been over a week since the first one, and they needed to be prepared when it struck again. “Or you could find another body to add the sedatives to,” he muttered to himself without smirking.

  He passed the fields as he entered camp, and Lydia waved at him from across the soil patch. He was finally starting to meet the colonists, and even though it went against his usual methods, he wanted to acclimate to colony life. To be part of the team, as Kendra told him.

  The farming crew was thirty strong, and he thought he could see a few rows of tiny green sprouts already emerging from the soil near this edge of the garden. Beyond camp they had started real crops, the ground softened, plowed, and planted by a modified rover.

  Eden Five was sitting on the red grass near this side of camp, and he noticed Andrew pop up from behind a rover he was working on. The ex-Marine dropped a wrench, and uttered a cry as he raced ahead of Roland and into the medical bay. From the frown on Andy’s face, Roland was late.

  He waited for Andy to cross to the reception desk, and blood dripped behind the newly appointed mechanic. “I need to see the doctor!” Andrew shouted at the woman, slapping his bleeding palm on her desk. This was the distraction.

  Roland crouched and ran into the entrance and through the hall, stopping at the slightly open door.

  “I’ll meet you out front after my shift,” Kendra said. The doctor’s back was to Roland, and he poked his head in, giving her a thumbs up before moving on. Kendra seemed pissed too. He’d have some apologizing to do later. It sounded like Kendra and Hartford were making a date. Here they were on an alien world, and men were still trying to weasel dates. It all felt so… normal.

  The supply closet was where they’d expected it to be, and Roland could only hope it wasn’t locked. “Come on, baby,” he whispered to himself as he pressed on the lever. It unlatched, and he tugged the door open.

  Supplies lined the white cabinets, most of them marked with barcodes and confusing nomenclature. “Ketamine, ketamine…” Roland knocked a bottle of something over; the small vial fell to the floor and shattered. His breath caught in his throat as he backed into the door, holding it shut. He list
ened for footsteps, and when he heard none, he kept the search going.

  After reading the labels on what felt like every single vial in the joint, he settled on the proper one. He took a couple of sealed needle packages, jamming them into his pocket with the drug, and cracked the door open.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Kendra. I’m glad you’re here,” Doctor Hartford said.

  “Tomorrow,” Kendra confirmed, and Roland heard her shoes heading toward reception. He was about to peek his head out when the clip-clip of the doctor’s dress shoes carried to his ears. The man was moving straight for him and the supply closet.

  Roland scanned the room, seeing nothing but shelving and a desk. There was nowhere to hide. He fumbled for something to hit the man with, and held up a glass flask. What was he thinking? He’d have to play dumb if they caught him. There was no way he was overpowering the doctor, and he’d done nothing that deserved being knocked out, except maybe some bad pick-up lines.

  Roland returned the flask and awaited his discovery.

  “Doctor! We have a live one out here! He’s bleeding all over my things!” the nurse called, causing the approaching steps to cease in their tracks.

  He heard the doctor mutter something, before replying. “Coming!” The door handle jiggled, stopped, and Hartford left. Roland slid to the ground, sweat drenching his back, and took five deep breaths. “You’re okay.” He repeated it over and over until his looming panic attack dissipated.

  Once he was sure the doctor had Andrew in the exam room, Roland rushed by them, and out past the receptionist. “Thanks for letting me use the washroom,” Roland told her without making eye contact. When he was outside, he ran, heading toward the lake and the treatment plant. The needles and ketamine were safely in his pocket.

  Now they just needed to bait the predators.

  * * *

  Kendra

  Somehow Thomas had managed to extend their date until after curfew, using his tenure to push Carrie into granting them complete privacy in the mess hall. Kendra had seen the glimmer in Carrie’s eyes; the amused look as she nodded along, telling Thomas it was fine with her. The kitchen staff had vacated, and Carrie told Thomas he was responsible for cleaning up after himself.

  “I’m sorry it’s not something more impressive,” the doctor told her as he pulled the chair out at their secluded table. A candle flickered in the center of the setting, and Kendra saw how much trouble the man had gone to for the date.

  “This is perfect. However, I should come clean.” Kendra felt guilty about the deception, especially after the eagerness in Thomas’ eyes.

  He sat across from her. “I’m coming on a little strong, aren’t I?”

  Kendra laughed, making the doctor smile along with her. “Maybe, but that’s not it. I think it’s… sweet. The truth is…” I needed to distract you while my friend stole your drugs so we could bait a predator because we need to learn where they go when they pass through the ridges beyond our valley. She couldn’t really tell him this, so she offered him another truth: “I haven’t dated much.”

  “Recently, you mean? Well, not since the world went to hell. You’re talking about before that?” he asked.

  “You could say that. I haven’t dated much… ever,” she admitted. There had been a few relationships, but nothing worth writing home about. She hadn’t written a boy’s name with a heart around it since her sister had vanished. The entire dating process was almost as foreign to her as the alien world she found herself stuck on.

  “I find that hard to believe,” he said, reaching under the table. He set a bottle of wine in front of him. “You don’t want to ask what I had to trade Keller for this.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it,” Kendra told him.

  Thomas pulled a corkscrew from his pocket, using it to open the wine. She suspected it was an expensive vintage, but couldn’t be certain. Even living in California, she’d never been much of a wine drinker.

  “I’ll let it breathe while we get dinner. Shall we?” he asked, standing.

  Kendra also hadn’t cooked for herself often, but now, with every meal being prepared for her, she found it was something she missed. Not the act of preparing her own food, quite so much as the freedom that came with selecting your own groceries and deciding what to eat, and when.

  It could be worse, and she was obviously grateful for her situation, considering the alternative.

  “We have steak and chicken to choose from. I tried persuading Mike to crack open the frozen lobster, but he wasn’t about to do that without Hound’s approval,” Thomas said.

  Kendra saw the piles of remaining food at the buffet, and picked up a plate, scanning the various platters. She needed to bring enough meat with her to bait and drug one of the predators. She was fresh out of dead bodies to feed them, though she guessed that if she waited long enough, they’d stumble upon another at camp.

  “This is great, Thomas,” she said, placing some salad on her plate, a lumpy bun, and a serving of seasoned rice.

  “Call me Tom, if you like,” he said, skipping the greens and going straight for thick juicy steaks tenting under some tinfoil.

  “We’ll be growing our own food soon. It’s hard to imagine becoming self-sufficient.” Kendra placed a roasted chicken breast on the plate, and saw the food was cooked with more finesse than usual. Thomas did have some pull with the staff.

  He led her to the table, chatting along the way. “Carrie told me the residences should be ready in a couple of days, too. No more sleeping on the floor of an Eden section. That will be good for morale,” he said.

  The structures were growing each day; the entire robotic fleet and at least a hundred colonists were slaving away at the construction from dawn until dusk in shifts. They were already processing local trees at the far edge of camp, at the opposite end from the lake, where the forest was thick and wood was abundant.

  “Leave it to humans to move somewhere and start the deforestation within a week,” Kendra said, maybe a little too seriously.

  “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Humans do what’s necessary to survive. This entire operation is an example. If we didn’t have Hound playing hero, we’d all be dead.” Thomas poured two glasses of wine, and the rational part of Kendra’s mind made her visually inspect her glass before the liquid entered it.

  “You really like Hound, don’t you?” she asked.

  “I do. What’s not to like? He’s a powerful and ambitious man. Everyone can appreciate that,” Thomas said.

  Kendra had no intentions of screwing up this part of her mission, but she needed to see what information Thomas could provide. “Where is he, then?”

  The doctor only smirked at her. “You heard Keller. He’s checking the ridges,” he told her.

  “By himself… on an alien world that clearly isn’t Proxima b,” she said, tapping her foot under the table nervously.

  His eyes narrowed. “I heard someone say that NASA had been wrong about the star and planets out here. Something to do with gas in a nebula refracting light between our systems.”

  “That turned blue to red?” Kendra asked, not buying it.

  He nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Tom. I’m just on edge. Everything has been thrown upside down over the last few weeks.”

  “Think nothing of it. I’ve had a decade to mentally prepare for this. A bunch of us have. Carrie and Keller were the most excited. I’d never seen someone want to leave Earth as much as your sister,” he told her.

  Kendra knew Carrie had bought in, but this was a new detail. She took the opportunity to probe him on the years she was missing. “What was she like? Throughout the process?”

  “Smart. We’d have meetings, and she was always the one correcting issues before they happened. Hound said he liked her because she’d see a problem in four dimensions, where a guy like Keller would only note the problem and usually do something to add to it. Carrie and Keller were the perfect balance,” Tom said.

  “Where did you fit in?”
she asked.

  “I had to take blood samples from everyone they hired. I also needed to obtain medical records for those on the list, and ensure they were healthy enough specimens for the trip,” Thomas said.

  Kendra cringed at the casual way he referred to the other colonists. She didn’t ask him what happened to the ones who didn’t fit the health bill, or if he’d legally attained their records, because she knew the answer already.

  He took her silence as something else, and lifted his glass. “How about we celebrate?”

  She tilted her glass to his, clinking the sides together. “What to?”

  “To us. Our newfound… friendship,” he said.

  “To friendship,” she echoed.

  She changed the subject to more casual conversation topics, like the odd landscape and the hallucinogenic mist. He told her his theories about it, and she listened along, thinking he had most of it figured out.

  “Penelope would have had better insight, but…”

  “She’s dead now,” Kendra finished.

  “Right. Dead.”

  “At least we understand what the mist is, and can avoid it in the future,” she said.

  “We should be able to. We can only hope the storms and flooding are rare occasions.” Thomas cut another piece of his steak, his plate mostly empty.

  Kendra’s was the opposite: almost full. She forced herself to eat some of the chicken, and scooped up a mouthful of rice before drinking more wine. It was smoother than any she’d ever had, and she understood why Keller had stored a few crates away. She wondered if Hound knew it was there, and had a sneaking suspicion he did. She doubted there was anything the billionaire didn’t know about his expedition.

  It was getting late, far past curfew, and Kendra needed to make her move. She couldn’t always rely on Andrew and Roland for distractions. She had small bags lining the inside of her white jumpsuit, and she stood up, trying to make sure they didn’t crumple together, making noise.