After the Bite by Lovato David & Thomas Seth

Author:Lovato, David & Thomas, Seth [Lovato, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-11-24T08:00:00+00:00

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Even after a few months had passed, Loxley continued his work. I wasn’t even sure what he was doing anymore, but he kept himself to it.

I stopped counting the days. I didn’t know how much time had passed, how many sunrises and sunsets flew by us. I just woke up in the morning, ate, exercised, then spent my time in the control room hoping for a signal, and keeping track of the others.

Yamanaka took care of his last Bonsai. Eva started sleeping on the U.S. side of the station. We rarely visited the Russian segments. We didn’t have much reason to.

One day, the station console informed me it was time to fire the thrusters, to keep us afloat for another few months. Tom’s words came to me. I wondered what to do. I sat there at the console thinking about it.

“Fire the thrusters,” Loxley said. I had no idea how long he had been standing there.

“What’s the point?”

“I have a lot of work to do. If you don’t fire them, I will.”

I fired the thrusters. Then I left the console. Loxley followed me.

“How long will this last?” he asked. We passed Eva. She was on the treadmill.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Then why force it?”

“You’re the one who told me to fire the thrusters just now,” I said. Eva left the treadmill and joined us.

“Like I said,” Loxley said. “I have work to do.”

“Well I don’t,” I replied.

“Then find something. How was the book? Finish it yet?”

“Months ago,” I said. “It was wonderful.”

There was a beeping sound coming from the console. We returned to it, and it told us that one of the airlocks had been opened.

“Yamanaka!” I said.

We rushed through the narrow white spaces toward the airlock. Yamanaka floated outside the door, in the hallway.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Yamanaka said. He was near tears. “Just saying goodbye to an old friend.”

He turned to me, revealing the empty plant pot in his hands.

“I’m tired of life. I figured he was, too. He was going brown. Plenty of water, plenty of light, but he was dying anyway. So I sent him home.”

I put my hand on Yamanaka’s shoulder.

A few weeks later, I had a dream. A dream that I was falling through the earth sky. Tufts of clouds flew past me as I fell. I wasn’t in a shuttle or on the station, just falling, completely naked. Below me was a field full of flowers. Sacha’s field, I guessed. My wife was there. I wasn’t sure how I knew that, I just did. Then I woke up.

At breakfast, I told the others my plan.

“We’ll put on some suits,” I said. “Then we’ll go out to the shuttle, and drop.”

“We’ll die,” Yamanaka said.

“Yeah,” I replied. Nobody contested this.

We suited up outside of the airlock. Loxley just stood there. He didn’t put his suit on.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I’d love to join you,” Loxley said, “but I still have work to do.” Everyone stopped.

“You’re going to stay up here?” Eva asked.

“Yeah,” Loxley said. “I think I am.

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