Of Bravery and Bluster by Scott Kelemen

Author:Scott Kelemen [Kelemen, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scott Kelemen
Published: 2018-01-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Sam woke with the sticky warmth of Brenna nuzzled in pale contrast against his darker skin. She was restless against him, her leg heating his own as it tucked up higher around his thigh.

Problem was, what should have been the pleasant heat of her body was becoming an intolerable burden. The air around them was thick and stale, and Brenna was a furnace against him that was only making the matter worse.

Inhaling reminded him of breathing in the steam of a shower, moist and heavy in his lungs. He coughed, and that was enough to shake Brenna awake.

Her eyes blinked open, confusion alive on her face. The lights in the lab were on full brilliancy, painfully dazzling his vision. “What’s the – why is it so hot in here?” She peeled herself away from Sam, bolting upright as she wrapped her own arms around her flushed breasts.

Sam groaned in self-disgust as he realized he was lying in a puddle of seat brought on by far more than their coupling. “What the hell is going on?” He cast his head about, certain he was missing something. Then he realized what it was. “The ventilation systems are down. There’s no air moving.”

Using her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring lights, Brenna slipped over and placed a hand against one of the temperature plates. “The heat isn’t on.” She pushed a wet strand of hair off her face, plastered to her skin by droplets of perspiration. “But I swear it’s getting worse.”

Sam realized that the deck plates were starting to get uncomfortably warm to be in contact with, not quite burning but getting closer by the second. “It is. I’m sure of it. And fast!” Forgetting his nakedness, he padded to the door and touched the release. Nothing happened. The room’s environmental controls were all dark.

Brenna turned in slow circles in the room, her mind clicking away. “Sam, we’re going to get cooked in here. The lab’s insulation is perfect, so outside heat sources and sinks don’t affect it. If they shut off the cooling and the fans, our body heat alone would eventually kill us. With these lights and all the equipment running, we have even less time.”

Sam smashed a fist against the door. “There’s an airlock only ten meters from here. All we need is a vac-suit!” They were all well-trained in space-walks, and knew that the vacuum of space wasn’t cold. It was an endless heat sink through which radiation could pass. In shadow, you would radiate off heat forever. In the glow of a star, you would boil inside the suit if it wasn’t cooled. A system like that could save them in here.

The door didn’t so much as shudder, even under the heavy-grav power of his fist. The impact only served to bruise his hand. He spun away from it, too angry to stay in range without hurting himself further.

His eyes locked on the far side of the lab.

And the carefully concealed locker in the far corner.

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