(eng) Natalie Wright - H.A.L.F. 03 by Origins

Author:Origins [Origins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Tex walked between Dr. Lewis and several technicians as he made his way through the hallways of the dormitory and into the cold late-night November air. The courtyard was empty, and they walked as quietly and quickly as they could to avoid unwanted attention from military personnel. Drs. Lewis and Fisher were, after all, violating the direct orders of General Hays by helping Tex and Dr. Randall.

A jeep waited for him. The techs helped him get in, and they drove over the rocky terrain and dusty soil of the high desert to the center of the array of radio telescope dishes.

From afar, the dishes looked small, so he was surprised to find himself dwarfed by them as he stood on the ground and looked up at one. The brilliant whiteness of the radio dish was like a giant ghost in the black of the night. Stars dotted the sky, and the Milky Way hinted at the galaxies that lay beyond his own. I’m going there. The realization was both thrilling and chilling at the same time.

“This way,” a scientist said.

Tex followed the man to where a small crowd had gathered. The spot was in the center of the top of the Y shape the dishes had been arranged in. Tex didn’t recognize most of the faces, but he knew one of them in an instant.

Erika stood in the center, her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, a hoodie over her head. His heart quickened at the sight of her.

People chattered in his ear about protocols and what he was supposed to do and what to do if this happened or that happened. Their voices were an annoying hum in his ears.

Erika smiled at him.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“It makes you look… larger,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed red.

He was close to her—close enough to smell the soap she’d bathed with and the coffee she’d drunk, close enough to feel the warmth rise from her body and to hear the beating of her heart.

With his boots on, he was a few inches taller than her, and she had to crane her neck upward to look into his face.

“It kills me that I can’t come with you,” she said.

“I wish I could have you by my side, as well.” He drank in the color of her eyes, the same hue as the brownies they’d shared the day before; the rosy pink of her lips; and the curve of her neck, the paleness of her skin the color of shells. The journey was full of unknowns, the chief of which was whether he would ever return and, if he did, whether he would be too late. He figured he had slim odds of ever seeing her again. This moment will have to last me a lifetime.

With that thought, he did what he had previously lacked the courage to do. He bent his head, put his hand at the small of her back, and drew her to him as his lips met hers.

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