When Night Falls (6 page)

“You okay?”

“Yeah, but they’ve scheduled rain for one so I need to finish.”

“Say no more. I’ll let you go. We’ll talk later. Be safe.”

“You too.”

She disconnected and sat there in the humid silence the interruption had created. Her gaze flicked over to her companion. She traced his posture and blank features as he tore out weeds from the earth. His motions were rapid and angry and she wondered why that was. If anyone should be angry, it was Kiera. Scarlett clearly couldn’t be trusted around her boyfriend.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He gave another hard jerk of a weed and pitched it aside, never once glancing at her. “For what?”

She had no idea.

“We can’t … we shouldn’t…” she trailed off, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth.

Rolf ceased his yanking and turned his head to her. “Can’t and shouldn’t what?”

Maybe he hadn’t felt it. Maybe she was the only one who roasted alive every time he looked at her. It was so hard to tell when he was watching her with such emptiness.

“What about Kiera?” she finally blurted urgently.

He sat back, folding one knee up to rest an arm on it. “What about her?”

“She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”

His jaw muscles tightened. Anger lit up his eyes before he snapped them away from her and focused on the stocks.

“I told you that was complicated.”

“That isn’t good enough,” Scarlett retorted sharply. “I don’t know what you think of me, but I’m not the kind of girl that just hooks up with men that belong to other women. And I never pegged you for the sort of guy that would do that to someone they claim to care about.”

There was a hot fury in his eyes when they shot back to her. “I am not that sort of guy! But you don’t understand.”

Scarlett shot to her feet. “You’re right. I don’t understand, but I’m figuring it out pretty quickly that you’re not the kind of guy I can trust myself around.”

She snatched up her jacket and stormed through the stocks towards the front. She made it about four rows before her elbow was caught and she was dragged to a halt. Rolf glowered down at her, dwarfing her with his massive size. His eyes glowed like lit embers.

“What about you?” he hissed.

Scarlett frowned. “What?”

He dropped her arm and balled both fists at his sides. He no longer wore the gardening glove, she noted. One hand was bare while the other was still clad in his fingerless glove.

“Hunter.”

Her frown deepened at the barking accusation. “What about Hunter?”

“Well, does he know about us? Does he know that you sneak out every May tenth to stay with me all night?” His eyes narrowed. “Does he know how you really feel about me?”

Scarlett swallowed hard. Her heart drummed erratically in the cavity of her chest, sounding unnaturally loud in her ears. She stared up into Rolf’s face, feeling beaten by the challenge in his questions.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

His lips curled back over his teeth. “Don’t I?” He closed the nearly non-existent bit of space between them, forcing her neck further back. “Why haven’t you told him, Scarlett?” The heat of his words burned over the skin of her cheeks and lips. “You question my morality, yet you’re the same.”

She shook her head rapidly. “No, that isn’t—”

“It is!” he growled. “Don’t you think I know what you’re thinking when you look at me? I’ve never once seen you look at him that way, only me. You want me.”

Even if she could think of something to say, he was too close. His lips were too close. They were a breath away from touching hers and she was too afraid that if she spoke they might brush, or worse, he might pull away. But that’s what she wanted, wasn’t it? She needed him to step back, to give her room to breathe, to think.

The gong sounded, signaling their ten minute break. Scarlett scooted away from him, nearly tripping over a mound of dirt in her haste. She kept her eye on him as she straightened.

“It doesn’t matter what I want, Rolf,” she said, oddly breathless despite the fact that she hadn’t done anything to warrant it. “The fact remains the same. You’re taken.”

Without waiting for him to catch her again, she bolted, running headlong through the rows.

Chapter
Five

Time was a suspended shroud of excitement as the occupants of Dawn Light marked days off on their data links. Each new day was one day closer to what was surely to be their salvation. The heavy fog of anticipation was like an addictive drug that affected everyone it came in contact with.

Scarlett was not immune. She woke up every morning torn between wanting to do cartwheels and breaking down into tears. The guilt seemed somehow more powerful with every day that passed. It felt wrong being happy when her parents were dead, when so many people she cared about were gone. It felt disrespectful to allow herself the small luxury of happiness, like their deaths meant nothing if she wasn’t suffering for them.

“There’s a new update,” Hunter told her four days before they arrived at the new planet. “There’s another conference being held this afternoon. Deck eighteen.”

Isabella stood at the helm, cutting a beautiful figure in the body molding gown of velvet black. Her hair was twisted into an elaborate knot at the back of her head and her face was a mask of calm amusement. She watched with quiet deliberation as people filed in and took their places around the theater.
Eira, Dr. Ora, and Cindy sat in their places behind her, a silent panel of witnesses.

Scarlett sat with her grandmother and Hunter in their usual place. Grams was in deep discussion with her once competitor and later best friend, Maggie Swiss, the sweets maker that had owned the candy store across from the bakery on the vendor level. Scarlett would never admit it to Grams, but Maggie’s caramel toffee drizzle had always been her favorite.

“I hope it’s not bad news,” Grams was saying.

Maggie nodded her graying head. “Yes, could you imagine? I fear it will be just like it had been in the beginning. We were lucky to have survived.”

“And Marcus isn’t here this time.”

Maggie clicked her tongue. “Tragic how he died.”

Grams shook her head. “I still don’t understand how he took that horrible tumble down that transporter shaft.”

“Computers,” Maggie hissed like it were a dirty secret. “You can’t ever trust them. I was talking to Sonja just after it happened and we both agree that the computer should never have opened the transporter doors when the platform wasn’t even there. I think someone did it deliberately to get Marcus out of the way.”

“Hmm,” Grams said decisively. “He was getting on the wrong side of many people towards the end.”

Scarlett tuned out their conversation. She turned her attention to the figure on her right.

“What do you think is happening?” she asked Hunter, who shrugged.

“It can’t be good.” He picked at his thumb nail with his teeth. “Otherwise they’d post it to our data links like they did about the scouts they sent down.”

That had been her thought. They only ever delivered bad news in person. Maybe it was to contain any riots if one broke out, but they always waited until everyone was present before revealing life altering news.

“Not true,” she said after a moment. “They told us about the planet in person.”

Hunter just shrugged, green eyes fixed without blinking on the stage and the solitary figure standing there.

It seemed to take ages for everyone to finally be seated. The room was choked in a heavy curtain of tension and fear as everyone waited quietly for Isabella to speak. Their captain seemed to relish in this and took as long as possible before doing so.

“Thank you all for coming,” she began with that sickly sweet smile of hers. “I’m pleased to announce that our scouts have returned from their voyage to the new planet and have confirmed that it is indeed exactly what we’re looking for. It’s perfect. But!” she shouted when the auditorium broke out in cheers and relieved sighs. “Although it contains everything we essentially require of a planet to survive, there are certain elements that have presented themselves during our search that we must take into account.”

“Like what?” a man in the crowd called when Isabella stopped speaking.

Isabelle splayed her long fingers, each tip painted a violent red. “Like bacterial and foreign allergens that we were not exposed to on earth. Our scouts have located several strands of microorganisms that could prove fatal if we don’t prepare for it properly, which is why our scouts have brought up samples that we have analyzed and extracted to suit our needs. We ask that each of you book an appointment with Dr. Ora in the next week or so for your required boosters.”

Scarlett exchanged glances with Hunter, his expression as bemused as she felt. But neither said a word as a voice rang from the crowd.

“Boosters for what?”

There was a tight glint of impatience on Isabella’s delicate features now that she kept carefully masked behind an indulgent smile when she spoke.

“To help us adapt to the new environment when we land,” she said calmly. “It’s an old, barbaric method the people of earth used to practice where they would inject themselves with a small dose of the disease in order to build an immune system against it. Of course, it is outdated and no longer used, but our ship isn’t equipped for the proper procedures as we would have been had we been home so we must utilize whatever method we have at our disposal.”

“So these boosters will help us adapt?” a woman in the front row asked.

“That is what we hope, yes,” Isabella said with a nod.

“What if we react badly?” another woman demanded. “Shouldn’t you first test it on a few, then—?”

“We cannot prolong this,” Isabelle intervened. “We are not as close to the sun as we once had been. Our solar energy has already begun to decrease, which will affect our crops, our lighting and eventually our controls. We could redirect the ship, but that would take even more time and more power. The faster we complete this step, the faster we can land.” She paused for a moment, seemingly collecting herself before speaking again. “The boosters are perfectly safe, I assure you. It’s no more than a vitamin supplement to build our immune system. We would never deliberately put any of you in harm’s way without the proper diagnosis. And, yes, of course it has been tested. The scouts we sent below were injected just this morning with very positive results.” Her smile broadened. “We would never make this announcement if we weren’t absolutely certain of its safety.”

This seemed to calm the uncertainty hanging through the room. People relaxed in their seats, warming up to the idea of being injected by mystery juice. Scarlett had yet to be convinced of its necessity. There were still too many questions, far too many for her to grasp a single one, but the number of them held back her desires to celebrate.

“In the meantime,” Isabella went on, satisfied now that everyone was accepting her dictatorship. “We will be sending another search party below to map the area and localize the best locations for us to begin colonizing.”

“Will we be the only life forms there?” a man asked.

Isabella folded her spidery fingers at her midsection. “Our probes and scouts have yet to locate any other sentient beings. We are going by the assumption that we will be the only ones. Nevertheless, we have precautions in place to protect us should we require it.” Her face broke into an understanding smile. “You’re excited and perhaps even a little frightened, but everything we do is to ensure your safe arrival. I assure you.”

Scarlett felt anything but assured as she followed the crowd out of the theater ten minutes later.

“I’m going to go see if I can get my name on that list for the boosters,” Grams said, giving Scarlett’s elbow a light squeeze. “Then I have to reopen the shop, but I’ll see you for supper, hmm?”

Scarlett nodded, then stopped herself. “Do you really want to right now?” she asked. “I mean, shouldn’t you wait until a few people have tried and—”

“Don’t be silly, dear. You heard the captain. Everything is fine. She wouldn’t suggest something she wasn’t sure of.”

“Yes, but—”

“Don’t be such a worry monkey, Red,” Hunter said, giving her a playful shove. “This is a good thing.”

Maybe it was, but if it was, Scarlett couldn’t shake the unease snapping inside her.

“I just think we should wait,” she attempted again. “Just a day or so.”

“There won’t be any spots open then and we’ll be last to leave this ship,” Hunter argued. “Look.” He took her shoulders lightly in his hands and gave her a gentle shake. “I know what’s wrong. You’re feeling guilty and scared, but you can’t let the fact that our families aren’t here keep you from living the rest of your life. It’s time to get off this floating can, Red.”

“He’s right, Scarlett.” Grams smiled at her patiently. “It was tragic what happened, but we need to keep going.”

With an affectionate pat on the cheek for Scarlett, Grams started in the direction of the transporters without a backward glance.

“I’m going with Grams.” Hunter started after her. “Want me to sign you up while I’m there?”

Scarlett shook her head. “I’ll do it
.”

“Okay,
but we’re going to celebrate hard when I get back.”

Hunter wasn’t the only one ready to party the night into oblivion. The club they walked into was different from the one they normally inhabited. The crowd was wilder, older, and the air seemed to pulse as though the music was a physical force beating against glass. Scarlett studied the scene with a certain amount of hesitance she normally wouldn’t have shown.

“I don’t know about this place!” she shouted into Hunter’s ear.

“It’ll be great!” he said back. “We needed a change from the kiddy club.”

Maybe it was because there was too much change happening around her, but Scarlett wasn’t ready to accept another one. Nevertheless, when Hunter took her hand and guided her into the throng of chaos, she followed.

“We can’t stay long!” she said as Hunter jumped right into the thundering beat. “I have to work in the morning … and so do you!”

Hunter dismissed her reminder by grabbing her arm and yanking her into a dizzying spin. Time seemed to vanish after that. The world blurred, faces distorted, and the sound exploded as Scarlett drowned in the shimmering lights. A thick numbness settled over her senses so all she could feel was strange, unnatural sway of her body, and the odd bursts of colors that seemed to shatter from all around her. A delirious sort of giddiness cloaked her, dosing her with a freedom she hadn’t felt in ages, and the more she danced, the freer she felt until she was sure she could fly.

“Haven’t seen you here before,” someone said into her ear. Firm hands dropped onto her hips, slowing them and drawing them back against a pair of toned thighs. A chest came up against her back. “What’s your name?”

Loopy, but pumping with adrenaline, Scarlett spun around, still jumping in time to the music and smiled at the handsome man standing behind her.

“Scarlett!” she said, and laughed when her voice slurred. “Scarlett!” she tried again and laughed harder. She couldn’t stop laughing, even though she had no idea what was so funny.

The man laughed, too. “Darwin.” He closed the space between them and pulled her into his chest. “You’re probably the hottest girl here.”

It was there, somewhere at the back of her mind, a voice urged her to push him away. She knew he was making her uncomfortable. His closeness was unwanted. But it was so small, so lost in the muddle of her mind. She couldn’t focus on it. She couldn’t think.

“Hunter…” Her hands made a feeble shove, trying to get the guy off. “Hunter!”

Too many faces. Too many jumping and moving bodies. She couldn’t find him. The lights were too bright and the music too loud. Her stomach heaved as everything pounded on her.

“Need air…!” she gasped, staggering out of the confines restraining her.

Which way was out? There were too many people. Disorientation slammed into her. Her feet tangled. Someone caught her.

“Easy, love. I’ll take you.”

The hand was too persistent. She was hauled through the turmoil. Shoulders bumped her, faces leered from all directions. Everything twirled like a kaleidoscope and her supper roiled in her stomach.

“What’s happening?” she croaked when everything suddenly stopped. The noise, the people, the smells … gone. But her brain continued to pound and the nausea built in her chest.

Her companion chuckled. “First time in an adult’s club, Scarlett? Guess no one told you the dose of delirium they use in the kiddie sector is doubled once you reach the higher age group, huh? It always hits the newcomers extra hard the first time.”