Final Days: Colony Read online

  Without his skills, Andrew, Kendra, and the others wouldn’t have made it. He accepted that he also wouldn’t have survived without them, but that’s what produced a great team.

  The doors opened, and he heard footsteps behind him.

  “Food service is over,” Roland said, not breaking stride with his work.

  “Good evening, Roland.” The voice demanded Roland’s attention, and he spun around to see the one and only Lewis Hound standing across from him.

  “Mr. Hound.” He fumbled for the right words. “What can I do for you?” As if there was anything Roland had to offer a man who already had everything in the world. But that phrase was technically obsolete, with the loss of said world.

  “How are you doing?” Hound sat rigidly at a table, setting his hands on the surface, his feet solid on the ground.

  “Me?” Roland asked, receiving a nod from their benefactor. “I… I’m cleaning a floor with a heavy mop. But otherwise, pretty good.”

  Lewis grinned at this, and motioned Roland closer. He obliged and set his mop against the wall, coming to sit across from the man.

  “When I was in college, I worked in a bar to help pay for tuition. It was in Boston, and the place was full of locals who either didn’t want to go home to their noisy, demanding families, or they were drowning their sorrows in a nightly routine of sticky beer mugs and bad karaoke.

  “I worked there for two years, scraping gum off the bar, cleaning the floors after long nights of chicken wings and keg changes,” Lewis said.

  Roland was having a hard time picturing the man near him doing any sort of physical work. He was too proper, too clean and chiseled for menial labor. He didn’t speak, waiting for Hound to continue.

  “I’d arrive home at three AM or later, after walking the twelve blocks to my campus dorm, and wake up at seven in the morning to prep for classes. It was exhausting, but worth it, wouldn’t you say?” Hound asked him.

  “Sure. You really made it from nothing, didn’t you?” Roland asked him.

  Hound nodded. “I’ve never told anyone on this ship that story. Most of them have no idea that I worked my way through college, that I struggled as hard as or harder than even they did. Everyone sees me as an outrageously rich man, but rarely consider how I got here. Roland, do you wonder why I worked so hard?”

  “For the fast cars and loose women?” Roland asked, unable to stop himself.

  “No. Those were convenient side-effects, though.” Hound flashed a smile. “I was determined to help the human race.”

  Goosebumps rose on Roland’s arms, and he was glad to be wearing long sleeves. “How did you figure that out?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t tell you. Something drove me, almost as though I was possessed with the idea that humanity was choking itself. I never suspected it would be natural disasters; I thought we were going to end ourselves. Perhaps we did. Maybe it was our greed that triggered it.”

  Roland didn’t comment, thinking he’d stick his foot in his mouth.

  Hound appeared to be deep in thought, his eyes glazing over as he stared at the far wall. The room was silent for a full minute before the man spoke again. “Enough about me, Roland. What was growing up like for you?”

  Roland almost asked Hound if that part was missing from his files, but bit his tongue. Why do you always attempt to sabotage yourself? “Not sure. About how you’d expect. Parents died, grandparents took me in, and then Grandpa died, leaving me with my grandmother, who basically let me do anything I wanted.” Most of this was true, though not necessarily in that order. He didn’t like talking about his parents, especially not to Hound, who might be lying through his teeth about everything.

  “And what was it you wanted?” Hound asked.

  Roland considered the question before speaking. “I’m not exactly sure. I played a lot of video games in my teen years.”

  “When did your interests switch over to the more conspiratorial tastes?” Hound asked him, raising an eyebrow.

  Roland knew the exact moment. He saw an alien abduction special on TV as a teenager, and was hooked. Were there little green men out there? His grandma had told him they weren’t real, and that the show was only around for entertainment, to distract the general population from their lives. He didn’t buy it.

  She’d bought him a computer, and he’d searched forum to forum, joining all sorts of groups, from aliens to secret cults within the government to batshit crazy people wearing tinfoil hats. There were times when Roland wondered how far off he was from donning one himself.

  Only his obsession with tracking Lewis Hound’s movements had paid off. The man was staring blankly at him, waiting for a reply. Roland only shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you when I started following conspiracies,” he lied.

  “Did you ever want to go to college?” Hound asked.

  “No. I wasn’t what you’d call a conventional student.” Roland used air quotes with his fingers.

  Lewis laughed, and even that was cultured and luxurious-sounding. “Neither was I, Roland. Neither was I. I think there are a lot of similarities between us.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t see them,” Roland told him.

  “Was I not considered a recluse?” Hound asked, and Roland nodded. “Isn’t that how you’d describe yourself?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “I was sure humanity needed saving, even if I wasn’t positive from what. Most people would consider that delusional, true?”

  “Sure. I’d agree.” Roland saw where he was going with this. “And I’ve been on medication to remedy that for years. In the end, we were both right, and not crazy. And they’re all dead. It doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  Lewis stood, setting his hand on Roland’s shoulder as they faced one another. “No, son. You’re not supposed to feel good about any of it. We must move on. We’re going into cryogenic hibernation in two days, and then we can begin our new lives at our new home.”

  There remained a lot of things that didn’t add up, and in this moment of sharing, Roland heard Kendra’s and Andy’s voices in his head, urging him to probe for details. “How did you do this?”

  “Which part?” he asked.

  “This.” Roland waved his hands around, indicating the ship. “It’s impossible. I’ve followed SpaceX and NASA for years, and no one’s even close to being able to pull something like this off. And there’s absolutely no way you’d be able to conclude that the planet can sustain human life. Even if you sent a probe there, it takes seventy-three years with your advanced propulsion drive. It doesn’t add up.”

  “Roland, do you believe in a higher power?” Hound asked, and Roland instantly thought about Reverend Morris’ sermons. He didn’t like the fact that Hound was talking along the same lines.

  “No, not really,” Roland said truthfully. It was hard to believe a god would allow their entire world to be destroyed.

  “It’s quite the mystery as to what entity holds sway over the universe, but it brought my team together, making this all possible,” Hound said. “I sought the best of the best, and managed to recruit them on the project. You asked how we accomplished this; the answer is simple. When you have the brightest minds in our advanced world working collectively with a nearly unlimited budget, you’d be amazed at how far technology is able to come.”

  This didn’t explain anything, but Roland could sense that Hound wasn’t going to divulge any more on the subject.

  “Roland, you might be surprised to learn this, but I had my eye on you near the beginning of my recruitment process,” Hound said.

  He pretended not to be shocked, but inside he was very curious. “I assumed.”

  Hound gave him a quick smile. “You were too young, though, so I added you to my final list.”

  Fury filled Roland for a moment and he wasn’t able to hold back. “Your abduction list, you mean? The one that let you tear people from their homes at gunpoint?”

  “Roland, you realize I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t out
right tell the world it was ending, and then ask for volunteers. There was no time. I did what we needed to do to continue the human race. Don’t you see that?” Hound’s face twisted; it was pleading.

  Roland felt the rage seep out of him, leaving him empty. “I know you did. I understand why you did it, I do. It’s hard not to feel like you’re villainous because of it.”

  “Do they all feel that way?” Hound asked.

  “I don’t think so. Some of them think you’re the second coming of Christ.” Roland clenched his jaw, and Hound frowned at the saying.

  “I only want to preserve our great race. Can I count on you to be a part of this, Roland?” Hound’s words held a tinge of danger to them, and Roland had to tread lightly.

  “I’m committed to the project. I’m here to help.” Roland would say anything to appease the man and divert his attention.

  “Good. Would you do me a favor, and keep your friends in line? Reiterate that there’s nothing to fear. We have two days left, and we don’t want any trouble, understand?” Hound asked.

  “Fully.”

  Lewis Hound turned, and began to walk away. He stopped near the door, and glanced over his shoulder at Roland. “One more thing. If you want to hack my network, you’re going to need to try harder.” The doors slid open, and Hound exited, leaving Roland alone in the mess hall, his hands shaking at the ominous conversation.

  Hound knew everything. Roland had to warn the others to stop pushing so hard if they wanted to awaken from the cryopods. He pressed through, finishing the floors before shutting the lights off.

  The cafeteria could have been anywhere in the world, but it wasn’t. It was on a starship heading for a distant planet, and Roland needed to be more cautious if he wanted to arrive in one piece.

  TWELVE

  Kendra

  With all the pre-cryo chores completed, Kendra was relieved to have the afternoon off. She sat across from Diane at the table in the recreation room, and the young girl stuck her tongue out as she contemplated her next move on the checkers board.

  She moved the red circle, hopping over one of Kendra’s black playing pieces. Diane beamed with joy as she clutched her prize, setting it in the small stack beside the board.

  “Well done, Diane. Did you play a lot of this game back home?” Kendra asked.

  Diane glanced up at her, and then to the board, not answering. The girl was avoiding talking about her previous life, and Kendra wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. For now, she didn’t press. The girl might come around eventually, once they settled into their new roles in the colony.

  This was a strange time. A purgatory between their old lives and their new. Tomorrow they’d be heading into the cryogenic chambers, and Kendra was finding it difficult to concentrate on the game in front of her.

  “It’s your turn, Kendra,” Diane told her.

  The recreation room was usually a quiet place throughout most of the day, but this afternoon, with everyone being excused from their daily duties, it was busy. She scanned the room, seeing groups of people chatting and laughing while having a snack and drinking coffee or tea. If she didn’t know better, she was on a cruise ship. The mood had shifted dramatically from that first day after learning about their destination.

  The tension seemed to have been washed away from most of the passengers. They were all eager to assimilate, and part of Kendra wished she was that easy to manipulate. Even though her sister swore there was nothing nefarious transpiring, Kendra couldn’t shake the rocks in the pit of her stomach.

  Only time would tell, and she truly hoped she was wrong about Hound and Keller.

  She moved her piece, jumping over two of Diane’s red circles, and the girl sighed in despair. “I warned you I was a master of the game,” Kendra kidded. She hadn’t played since she was a kid, and that had been with Carrie, who never lost a match. Her genius sister hadn’t lost anything her whole life.

  So how could she be wrong about this? Kendra had to learn to trust again, and she wanted to start with Carrie.

  The doors opened, and in sauntered Val and Tony. She noted how closely they walked, how Tony watched every movement from Val, and how Valeria batted her eyelashes at Tony, probably not even aware that she was doing it.

  It was clear that Andrew wasn’t thrilled about the budding relationship, but what was he going to do? Tony was the only boy close to her age, and Valeria seemed far older than fourteen. It was better than the two teenagers disliking each other. But that was easy for Kendra to say, because they weren’t her children. That ship had sailed for her.

  So far no one had spoken about repopulating the human race. With a thousand people, there would be a lot of opportunity to procreate once they were settled in. It was likely that Hound wouldn’t even need to focus on repopulation. She assessed the room, and already noticed couples forming. It was going to happen. The world had ended, and they were all seeking comfort. She wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a few babies born in nine months.

  Had they considered that? Would they check each woman to see if they were pregnant before freezing them in cryo? These were questions she’d need to ask Carrie when she saw her sister again.

  “Are you okay?” Diane asked, and Kendra ran a hand over her own stomach. There was no chance she was with child. She would need a relationship of some kind for that to happen.

  “Hey guys,” Tony said, joining them at the table. “Who’s winning?”

  “Me!” Diane told him, smiling widely. Two of her teeth were coming in, and the smile reminded Kendra of a jack o’ lantern.

  Tony ruffled her hair. “Good work, kid.”

  Valeria sat across from Tony at the six-person table. “What about you two?” Kendra asked. “All done for the day?”

  “We finished cleaning up after lunch. We don’t have to work tonight,” Val said.

  “How about you? Freed from laundry duty?” Tony asked, and Kendra nodded. As if on cue, Veronica, her work detail partner, walked in with Andrew in tow.

  The raven-haired woman stopped, setting her hand on Andrew’s arm, laughing at something the Marine had said. Kendra assumed it was fake, because Andrew rarely said anything chest-heaving worthy. Was she really jealous of Veronica?

  “Hi.” Veronica stopped at their table. “Andy and I were sharing funny stories. Maybe we can finish that conversation later?” The last was said with an open-ended meaning that wasn’t lost on Kendra.

  Veronica walked away, and Kendra suddenly hated how well the woman filled out the utilitarian jumpsuits.

  “Dad, take a seat,” Val said.

  Andrew took the chair beside Kendra, and looked at his daughter. “What are you glaring at me like that for?”

  “I don’t think now’s the time to be fraternizing with the other passengers. You hardly know her,” Valeria said.

  Andrew’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Fraternizing… who’s the parent here? And I don’t think you have any right to lecture me on relationships.” Kendra saw him glance over at Tony, who was doing a great job of avoiding eye contact with the father of his girlfriend.

  “Dad, that’s different.” Valeria didn’t elaborate on her thought process.

  Kendra had to agree with the girl, but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t her place.

  “It was innocent. I was coming to see you guys, and she bumped into me in the hallways. Don’t always believe what you see. Though I can understand why she’d be interested in me,” Andrew said, smiling widely.

  “Gross, Dad. Can you stop it?” Val covered her eyes with a palm.

  “No. I mean it. I’m a catch, wouldn’t you say?” Andrew was hamming it up, and Kendra was enjoying seeing him less serious for a change.

  “Any woman would be lucky to have you.” The words left Kendra’s mouth before she could stop them.

  The table went silent, and Diane had the courtesy of breaking it. She squealed as she took another two of Kendra’s pieces as a prize.

  “Has anyone seen Roland?”
Kendra asked, changing the subject.

  “No, not since yesterday,” Tony said.

  “Yeah, I haven’t seen Rollie either,” Andrew said. “That’s unusual. We always eat breakfast together, too. I wonder where he is.”

  “Cryo tomorrow. Are we settled on the status quo?” Kendra asked, now that Andrew was there.

  “Nothing we can do at this point, is there?” he replied.

  “I think it’s awesome.” This from Tony.

  “You do?” Val asked.

  “Sure, man. We’re frozen for decades on a spaceship, then land on a new planet. No one has ever done this before. We’re pioneers!” Tony exclaimed.

  “We’re also the last of our kind,” Andrew said glumly.

  “That’s not for certain,” Val said.

  “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Andrew asked his daughter.

  “Roland said the footage might have been doctored. If it was, then maybe things weren’t as bad as Hound said. If he’s lying about one thing, he might be lying about all of it,” Valeria told their table.

  The reasoning matched her own thought process, but Carrie’s convincing voice kept nagging at Kendra. “I think we might be okay. Let’s do this with open minds. If it wasn’t for Hound, we’d be dead anyways, if Earth really was about to end,” she said, and Andrew opened his mouth like a fish before clamping it shut.

  “That’s the spirit, Kendra,” Tony said. “We can build a colony. Can you imagine? What the heck kind of animals do they have? What are the plants like? Do they have trees and grass?”

  “I’ll be the first to say I’m not volunteering to be the guy who checks to see if the plants are edible,” Andrew said, triggering a laugh from Diane.

  “I heard they have robots to do that,” Diane said brightly.

  “You did? From who?” Kendra asked.

  “Jennifer. She was teaching me about the colony, and she said that robots could see what we could eat in our tummies and what would be bad for us.” Diane rubbed her stomach and frowned.

  Jennifer was the one teaching and caring for Diane. “Good to know someone has a grasp on the situation,” Andrew said.