The Lonely Whelk Read Online Free PDF Page B

knew that the
knowledge that his corpse made a thump when it hit the floor would
haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. She sobbed once and
leaned down to drag his body away from the console. He was heavy,
but lighter than she expected, which meant either he had lost a lot
of weight, or she was stronger than she had anticipated.
    Her legs wobbled as she pulled on his arms.
She laid him flat on his back and pushed his arms to his sides.
Next, she closed his eyes which stared blankly towards the
star-dotted ceiling, and did her best to tidy his clothes. She
would need help to finish dealing with him, after she woke up the
crew.
    Holland went back to the Commander’s seat
and sat. Hawkings’ face stared up at her from the console. He was
smiling. A tear dripped down her face as she reached out and hit
“play.”
    “ Holland,” he said. “Hello.
Good morning. I hope you slept well and imagine you will never want
to sleep again. If you’re watching this without me, it’s because
I’m dead. I’m sorry I missed you.”
    Holland began to sob. His face was so old –
wrinkled and more wrinkled – and grey hairs covered his head. Even
his stubble was completely grey. He sat hunched over the computer,
and as she stared at him, she noticed how his eyelids drooped
around his eyes. That one detail jarred her: he was so old, growing
close to a millennium. It was amazing that he had lasted even this
long. When they were young, they hadn’t even considered this. It
was supposed to have been a happy reunion; they had been immortal
back then.
    On the screen his face turned grave. “All is
not well, I’m afraid, although Lady Mastin and Jacobs lived happy
lives. We lived for the moments when we got to wake someone up for
a few days, and Jacobs did an amazing job with the arboretum. I am
old, and lately have been feeling less than myself. I find it
difficult to move from room to room, and often spend days sitting
in the same spot, staring at the stars and playing games on the
console.
    “ As such, I feel the need
to give you a bit of a rundown, so you don’t have to spend time
digging through the files. You have more pressing matters to attend
to.
    “ We hit an asteroid stream
one year ago. It was undetected by our systems. Unfortunately, they
were made by an alien race – a weapon of some sort that we didn’t
recognize. The attack did severe damage to our shielding system,
although it still holds. It was decreased to 12 percent – a
critical level, but immediately after we flew by the stream, I woke
up Thompson and Davies and they managed to fix most of the
equipment. That brought the shields back up to 83
percent.”
    A fit of coughing interrupted his
explanation. Holland’s eyes creased in compassion as she watched
him hack and try to clear his throat.
    “ During the alien asteroid
stream, we also lost power in Corridors 3, 5, and 7. Those were
coffin rooms. We lost a lot of good people. I am sorry. We held a
service and taped it – watch video log 11137.
    “ Currently we are three
weeks out from the planet. My instructions were to wake you at two
weeks, but I am afraid I will die first, and I am the last one.
Jacobs died last night.
    Hawkings moved out of the view of the camera
to show a still body lying on the floor behind him.
    “ We’re in the secondary
pilot chamber and I can’t move him.”
    Holland let out a gasp. It was too much. Her
emotions were overriding her logic and it felt as though a giant
weight had settled on her shoulders.
    “ Anyway, I’m coming to wake
you up, now. I hope I can stay alive long enough to actually talk
to you. I have missed you so much, little sister. Whatever happens,
I want you to know that I love you and am so proud of you. Keep it
up, Holland, and good luck.”
    Holland collapsed into tears and sobbed
herself into a temporary and debatably-needed sleep.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Maxwell reached downtown much sooner than
anticipated. He sat down on a bench to watch the