Page 38 of The Program

‘Didn’t you have communal areas in your facility?’ Francesca asked, drawing everyone’s attention back to us. There was a note of alarm in her voice.

Libby seemed to shrink in on herself at the question, so I wrapped an arm around her protectively and answered for the both of us.

‘We were kept separate from the other subjects. We were only ever permitted to leave our cell when they needed us for their experiments, and they only ever took us one at a time. Any interactions with other subjects were a part of an experiment, and they pitted us against one another.’

‘Pitted you against… to what end?’ asked the brunette, her eyes large and pitying. I hated it. I also didn’t want to answer that question. All it would do would cause a rift between us since I was beginning to understand that while these women had suffered immensely, they hadn’t gone through half of what Libby and I had. Hadn’t been forced to do the terrible things we’d done.

I would bet everything that their hands were clean of blood and their consciences clear of guilt.

I made a point to look up at the sky, taking note of the position of the sun. ‘I should get back to work. If you want me to get your babies back then I’ll need the ship flight-ready as soon as possible and we’ll run out of daylight if we keep yapping.’

My attempt to divert the conversation was obvious, but they took the hint and dropped it. The crowd dispersed as they went their separate ways, choosing to leave me alone to finish my tasks. I had a feeling it was more to avoid watching my flesh burn off again than anything else, and after what I’d just discovered about their time in The Program I didn’t blame them.

Libby stayed even closer by after that, much to Dave Junior’s annoyance. The conversation had somehow knocked her confidence in a major way and I didn’t know what to do to help other than be there for her.

We changed tactics since she was taking a more active role with her assistance, and we welded the metal into place together. Her hands took a few more clicks to heal than mine, so after a while I took over the heating while she held things in place.

Thankfully, Junior seemed to catch onto our enhanced healing quickly enough and didn’t worry about the state of our hands. He also kept hisdistance after the first time he’d snuck too close and felt the heat. Instead, he plonked his cute little butt down and curled up to take a nap while we worked.

We worked in silence until sundown, surprisingly getting the entire external fixes completed. We’d even managed to heave the massive thing onto its side to fix up the bottom, our strength between us just enough to make the adjustment.

‘The external stuff is done. Now I just need to get inside to check the systems are working correctly,’ I said unnecessarily just to break the silence.

‘Do you need help with that?’

I couldn’t tell if she was asking to help or asking if she could leave, so I chose the middle ground.‘Needmight be a strong word. I can manage it on my own, but I wouldn’t say no to some extra help.’

‘Do you think we can get it done tonight?’ she asked, a small glimmer of hope flickering behind her eyes for the first time since whatever that was between her and Francesca.

‘It’s possible, but I don’t want to be out here in the middle of the night. Too many unknowns and I don’t know if The Program is aware of this ship or not. It could be a trap.’

I doubted it since they hadn’t found us yet, but better safe than sorry.

‘You have a point,’ she agreed, clearly thinking along the same lines.

‘We can give it a look-over tomorrow morning and see what needs to be fixed. I didn’t see any issues before, but that was just a cursory glance.’

‘Okay. Tomorrow then.’

She started the trek back to the cave, her demeanour ringing more than one alarm bell. Normally she would have been chatting my ear off, but there was an obvious slump to her shoulders and a dullness to her eyes that if didn’t clear up soon would become rather alarming. She wasn’t herself.

Perhaps I was overthinking things with Francesca and Libby was just drowning in the gaping hole of Baldr’s absence. Or maybe it was all piling on top of her and crushing her under its weight. Either way, I needed to bring Bal home to alleviate some of that stress.

Before I followed Libby back to the cave I gave the ship one last once-over, and I couldn’t wait to see Bal’s expression at the experience of being inside it. Of flying through space. Of reuniting with his mother. Of freedom.

Junior yawned and nudged me forward, letting me know he was also eager to get home.

Soon, Bal. You’ll be home soon.

CHAPTER 14

BROMM

My dreams were hit or miss this past solar. Ever since I’d first dreamt of the labyrinthine web of glowing lines the night before everything went to shit, I’d found myself there randomly many times since. Sometimes my dreams would be normal before they dissolved into the abyss and I’d cling to those lines as if my life depended on it. Other times, I would start on the web and it would fade away into some sort of nonsensical dream I’d never remember. I never knew where I’d end up each time I fell asleep.

Lately, I’d been spending more time on the web without any dreams, either beforehandorafter. I was always stuck in the same spot, unable to move past the blocks. Traveling along them was out, so I simply hung out until I woke up.

Tonight, however, there was one line that shone brighter than the others as if beckoning me. It was clear of roadblocks, too, like it wanted me to travel down that line specifically. And so I did.

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