Dark Moon Rising Page 9

  Larry handed Mary and Balaji each a small device. "These are emergency communications devices, or E-COMs, they are set to a default frequency that will put you in communication with the other shelters and command central in dome one."

  Balaji looked the thing over, and then glanced at Mary, who shrugged.

  Larry could see they were uninformed. "Here, let me. This turns it on. See that? That's the frequency, and this adjusts it, if necessary. You push this button to talk. The first time you press it, the E-COM will send out a signal that will activate all the E-COMs set to this frequency. So, if folks in the other shelters have not yet turned on theirs, you'll be doing it for them. Everyone will hear when you speak."

  Mary quickly thrust her device toward Larry. "Go on, you seem to know more about it than we do."

  Larry took it, and depressed the button. "Any station, any station, this is Larry Gomes in meteorite shelter forty-five C as in Charlie. Please respond." There was no reply. He repeated himself several times with the same result. He then changed the frequency. "This is the frequency direct to command central," he explained the spoke again into the device, "Com Cent, Com Cent, this is Larry Gomes in meteorite shelter forty-five C as in Charlie. I'm in here with six other survivors of dome forty-five. Please send help."

  "Larry, keep trying please," Balaji asked him as he went to check on the others. Mary returned to Martha, who was very nearly in shock. Balaji eventually arrived and sat next to Mary who was adjusting the blanket over Martha's shoulders. Mary kept assuring her things would be okay. Bob was also looking a bit nervous, but thinking clearly enough to recommend that everything not nailed down be put against the wall that would eventually become the floor, should the dome continue tilting. Everyone except Mary and Martha went to work on that task immediately.

  The shaking and jerking had continued unabated since the quake started. Mary turned to Balaji and whispered, "Previously, the longest lunar quake ever recorded at JILL was about ten minutes with a magnitude of three point four. That record has certainly been broken."

  Just as the last box of food was relocated, the emergency lighting went out. A few moments passed, long enough to elicit a loud gasp before they came back on.

  "Did you feel that?" Mary asked aloud.

  "Yes, I did, what the hell was that?" Mr. Smith said.

  "That was movement," Balaji responded.

  "Movement?" Larry asked. "You mean the entire dome is moving?"

  "Exactly. The dome is starting to slide down," Mary said, looking around.

  "Down what? We're sitting on a flat plain," Mr. Smith said as he braced against the wall.

  "We were sitting flat," Mary said. "I, myself, saw new mountains rise up and old ones collapse. For all we know, we are on the edge of a new lunar canyon, or on the side of a new mountain."

  "What are we going to do?" Larry asked.

  "What can we do but hold on?" Balaji asked. Then he crawled toward Mary. "Are you all right?"

  "I was just wondering about Hugh, if he's all right."

  "Don't you know that, right now, all he is concerned about is you?"

  "Hm. I wonder if he still cares."

  "Don't be silly."

  But she did wonder. What was he doing? Was he still alive? Was he thinking of her at all? She remembered telling him not to become a distraction. Now, he was all she was worried about.

  Outside, rocks and boulders hit against the side of the dome with renewed energy. Again, there came the subtle motion of the dome moving down an incline. Mary shot Balaji a worried look.

  "Balaji, listen," Mary said. "Can you hear that?" They listened intently and could just discern a rhythmic, metal-on-metal knocking. There was a pattern to it. It was coming from the main hatch.

  All eyes watched as Balaji moved over to the door and listened. Suddenly Balaji grabbed the wheel and tried to open the door. It was jammed!

  "Come quick, it is Morse code, an SOS! Someone is out there!"

  All but Martha rushed over and took hold of the wheel.

  "What's wrong with this—" Stanley muttered as they all strained.

  "Jammed," Balaji gasped. "Pull harder!"

  At last, the wheel started to give, slowly. Then it gave way. Because of the angle, the door fell open hard to the right. Debris had knocked off the outside wheel.

  There, hanging onto the carpet of the now almost-vertical floor, was Staff Sergeant Hugh Pacherd.

  ****

  The five men reached out and pulled Hugh inside. As everyone welcomed him, he ignored them, scanning the faces present. His gaze fell on Mary, her eyes meeting his. Would she welcome him as heartily as the others had? She stood and made a motion as if to step in his direction but stopped, although her eyes did not leave his. Above the din, Hugh shouted, "Are you all right?" Then he quickly added, "Is everyone all right?"

  "Hugh," Balaji spoke up, "there are no injuries, but I think the dome is starting to slide down a hill or something."

  Hugh at last broke eye contact with Mary, and looked at Balaji, "Worse yet. Look." He pointed out the door. There was a large amount of beige colored foam rolling down the walls and the floor.

  "What is that?" Bob asked.

  "It's an expanding foam sealant that's released into rooms with leaks too serious to wait for normal repair. That quantity indicates multiple major leaks all over the dome. The pressure is already depleting. If the system is still functioning, emergency oxygen-nitrogen bottles will open up in an attempt to keep the air pressure up."

  At that moment, there was a major jolt, as the dome seemed to slide down several meters.

  "Let's maneuver this door closed," Hugh shouted. "I think the dome is about to fall."

  They all joined in, pushed the door up, and closed it.

  "Everyone take up a position along that wall." The sliding feeling hit again. "Hurry!" Hugh shouted.

  ****

  Everyone crouched along the wall that was now serving as the floor. Mary watched Hugh as he went about checking the others and moving boxes to prevent them from falling on anyone. At last, he looked her way and slowly crawled over the supplies to where she and Martha were curled up.

  "May I join you?" he asked quietly.

  "Please," Mary replied, as she made room for him.

  Several minutes crept by. The sounds coming from outside were ominous. The shakes and jolts continued and seemed to increase in frequency, duration, and intensity. Mary reached over and took Hugh's hand, all the while looking upward. She could feel his eyes on her.

  Twenty minutes had passed. The thunderous roaring outside continued, unabated. Then, the feeling of sliding started, slowly at first, then increasing incrementally.

  The dome had begun its descent into—in Mary mind's eye, she could see the dome sliding into a newly-formed rift or canyon. With any luck, the slope would remain gentle and not culminate in a cliff.

  The lights went out and darkness gripped them like a mailed fist. Martha screamed hysterically before fainting, and Bob was heard gasping and whimpering.

  The dome tilted over and started its slide down. The feeling was that of riding an exceedingly violent roller coaster, a sensation like falling inside a coffee grinder. The angle increased dramatically, and they plummeted downward at an exceedingly steep angle. This continued for close to three minutes before the slope slowly began to decrease. Mary found it hard to associate time with the descent; the event was harrowing, preventing her from controlling her reason. There came a huge and violent jolt, and a momentary feeling of weightlessness, then a hard impact. The angle significantly diminished, becoming gentler every second as they slowed. Then, the dome stopped. The shelter was utterly still. The silence was oppressive.

  Chapter 12

  Mary could see nothing in the intense darkness, but she could make out the sound of heavy breathing as everyone gasped for breath.

  "Is everyone all right?" Hugh asked softly. He didn't have to shout; the slightest sound could be easily heard.

  Mary he
ard everyone respond that they were, except Stanley, who only grunted.

  Then Hugh said, "Everyone remain still." Mary felt him rise from his place next to her. He seemed to move directly over to where one of the lamps had fallen, as if seeing it despite the darkness. He switched it on. Everything and everyone was in another location from where they had been when the trip began, and the floor was the floor once again.

  "Mary, how's Martha?" Hugh asked, shining the light toward them.

  "She's okay. She just fainted. She missed that ride, poor thing."

  Directing his light at the others he could see all were duly shaken; Bob, however, was sitting wide-eyed and grasping his chest. "You all right, Bob?" Hugh asked.

  Bob nodded anxiously.

  Hugh located more lamps and provided each person with one. Soon it was quite bright inside the shelter. Hugh stepped carefully over the debris to the control panel beside the door. "It's dead," he reported.

  Larry got up and moved beside Hugh. "Wait a minute." Larry crossed the room to a metal box attached to the far wall. He popped open an access panel on its front. "Hugh, will you bring me my tool belt and your lamp?" Together they nosed about, inside the metal box.

  "These shelters are supposed to be self-contained," Larry said. "This relay was damaged, all I have to do is—" Larry touched something inside the housing and there was a flash of light and a burst of sparks, resulting in the lights coming on and the sound of the ventilation system as well. "There. I figure we have about forty-plus hours of power remaining."

  Hugh quickly looked at the control panel by the door and made his way back to it. There were a number of lights of various colors, all marked with acronyms that none but Hugh, it seemed, could read.

  "This is telemetry from outside the door."

  "Telemetry?" Martha had awakened.

  "Yes, an automatic transmission of measurements or data from remote sources by wire or other means," Hugh explained almost absently. "Ah, it's telling me what conditions are beyond this door."

  "And what are they, Hugh?" Mary asked.

  "Radiation seems to be nonexistent, even the usual trace amounts we receive are gone. The temperature has plummeted to minus twenty-four degrees Celsius, and it's still falling. Atmospheric pressure is about three-fourths of normal. Emergency lighting is still receiving power but little else, and obviously, life support is down. The emergency signal is not broadcasting. Larry, anything on the E-COM?"

  "Nothing."

  "Maybe it can't transmit through these thick walls," Stanley offered a guess.

  "These broadcast throughout the dome and the signal is bounced off a satellite in geo sync orbit; we should be able to talk to anyone on this side of the Moon," Larry said.

  "Do you think JILL was completely destroyed?" Martha asked.

  "We have to accept that as a possibility," Stanley said.

  Martha was starting to panic again. "So when the power runs out in here in forty-something hours, we're all going to die?"

  "No." Stanley spoke without thinking. "That's when we'll lose power and the lights and ventilators go out. It will take us a little while longer to asphyxiate."

  "That's enough, Stanley!" Mary said firmly. Stan shot her an angry look. Mary then glanced at Martha, and he seemed to understand.

  "Dr. Whitmore," Hugh walked over to Stanley, "those EverBreath suits upstairs, do they work?"

  "Of course, they...Sergeant, the temperature out there is lethal, and getting colder. The atmosphere is too low and leaking. These people are rattled, and Martha is in a mild state of shock. We could never make it up there."

  "I can."

  "You're out of your mind!"

  At Stanley's comment, Mary joined the two of them. "Why is he out of his mind?" she asked.

  "He proposes to go out there and retrieve eight EverBreath suits for us."

  Mary shot Hugh a shocked look. "You are out of your mind."

  "Listen, both of you," Hugh said firmly. "We only have a few hours. There is no guarantee that rescue is on the way, or if it is, that they will find us and reach us in time. Even if they should, by the time they arrive, we're going to need to have Ess-CEPS suits to escape. We have to act before it's a vacuum out there. I am the only one among you trained to execute this very type of mission."

  Stanley and Mary both were silenced by his simple logic.

  Mary took Hugh by the arm and led him aside. "I don't care! You're not going."

  "I have to Mary, I—"

  "You don't have to!" she said through clenched teeth.

  "Mary, I am not going to sit here and watch you, all of you, die of generalized hypoxia. Not when I can do something that might give us a better chance."

  "Hugh, there is no chance at minus twenty-four degrees. You'll die of hypothermia before you get half way to that lab."

  "Ah, Mary, I've been, ah...I've been engineered to survive in extreme temperatures."

  "So you're a test tube baby designed to be a soldier?"

  "No. That's not entirely true. But I have received upgrades."

  "Upgrades? So you can go out into a freezing, low atmosphere environment and survive?"

  "Yes."

  "Bullshit."

  "You're just going to have to trust me, because I am going."

  "How are you going to transport eight of those things all the way back down here?"

  "Seven. When I arrive, I'll put one of the suits on. That will end my exposure to the cold, provide me a breathable medium, and reduce my return load by one suit. Mary, there is nothing to argue about here. I'm going, and that's all there is to it."

  Larry walked up. "I'll go with you. I owe you all my life, I want to help."

  "That is quite admirable Mr. Gomes. But, no thank you. You can, however, gather the men together to assist with a quick opening and closing of the door."

  Martha approached now. "Sergeant, I heard you volunteer to try and save us. Thank you, you're the only one taking any action. I want you to take this blanket, please."

  "Thank you, ma'am."

  Hugh stood by the door. Mr. Smith, Larry and Bob were ready to open and shut it as quickly as possible to limit the loss of air and heat. Mary came to him again, "Hugh, take this E-COM and maintain contact."

  "Thanks, Mary."

  "You are out of your mind."

  "Well, as this may be goodbye, don't you think a kind word is in order?"

  She stood there a moment, worry welling up inside her like a volcano. She glanced at the men by the door, hesitated another moment, and then gave him a quick kiss.

  "Get back here in one piece, hero." She backed away several steps.

  Hugh stared at her a moment, mild surprise on his face, then nodded to the men at the door. They started turning the wheel. Hugh cinched the blanket up around his neck, took one more look at Mary, and then shot through the door the instant it was wide enough.

  Mary's heart seemed to stop.

  ****

  With the door closed, everyone seemed to be at a loss as to what to do next. Mary got the feeling she was looking at the door to Hugh's tomb. When she turned away from it, she was startled to see everyone looking at her. "What?" she asked.

  Bob was the first to speak. "Am I the only one who's hungry?"

  It had been a while since any of them had eaten. Martha was in no mood to eat. Mary had no appetite either. Bob opened a box of rations and removed several individually wrapped wafers and several bottles of water. Bob ate heartily, but the others who accepted a ration only nibbled.

  "Well, I think this confirms our suspicions," Stanley said at last. "This soldier is not in his right mind. Regardless, he just committed suicide. We'll not see him again, so—"

  "Wait just a minute," Mary fired at him. "As Martha pointed out, Hugh is the only one taking any action to prolong our lives, he's risking his—"

  "Mary, it's superfluous. He's dead. If he's lucky, he might make it upstairs. You know as well as I do, it was a fool's errand."

  "He's not dead!
You can't know that!" Mary shouted.

  "You're a scientist, woman," Stan shot back. "You know what exposure to that kind of cold does to human flesh!"

  She knew he was right, and she hated that he was.

  "What is important now is that we come up with a realistic plan. First, we need to organize. I am still the leader of this team, so I'll be giving the orders."

  "That's all you care about, isn't it?" Mary felt her blood rising. "You just want to be in charge."

  "Get a grip on yourself, Mary," Stanley said in his most condescending tone.

  "Let's start with organizing our supplies. Larry, I want an accurate assessment of power and air reserves, and recommendations on what we can do to prolong them. Bob and Mr. Smith, you two organize the food and water. Break it down into two meals a day each based on minimal caloric requirements, and then let me know how many days' food and water we have. Mary, you and Martha organize our medical supplies. I particularly want to know if we have any drugs that will reduce our metabolic rates, which will slow our breathing and reduce our need for food. Balaji I want to discuss an idea I have with you."

  Mary was outwardly calm, but inside she was seething. Stanley was more a pompous ass than she had imagined.

  There was a moment of silence inside the shelter. Mary looked around at the others. "Come on—Hugh is the natural leader among us. He's trained for emergencies, he risked his life to join us, and now he's out risking his life to help us. So far, in this emergency, Stanley, you have only been looking out for Stanley. And now you want to be in charge?"

  "Dr. Eddington," Stanley answered in a clipped tone, "the man is dead. I don't care how attracted you are to him, he's dead by now and you know it." Stanley looked around at the others, and clapping his hands together, said loudly, "Come on people, hop to it." Martha and Bob started to move toward their appointed tasks. Mary, Mr. Smith, Larry, and Balaji did not move.

  "Have you people got a problem?" Stanley asked belligerently.

  Mr. Smith moved up very close to Stanley whose hands dropped off his hips to dangle at his sides. "Listen to me, Doctor," his voice was stern and low, but Mary could clearly hear his every word. "I don't work for you, never have. I'll play along until I see you looking out only for number one again. Got me?"