The Pedestal by Wimberley Daniel

Author:Wimberley, Daniel [Wimberley, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Design Vault, LLC
Published: 2014-02-09T08:00:00+00:00

Fiona’s words don’t immediately register—he’s right there; can’t she see him?—yet even as I struggle to process her meaning, she barrels into the sick bay, pulling on her helmet and facemask almost as an afterthought. Through the glass, I hear her sniffle and whimper. As she approaches Winkley, the obvious finally dawns on me, and my heart falls into my stomach like a great, aching boulder.

Fiona makes an adjustment to a nearby monitor—for a brief, hopeful moment, I think maybe I’ve misunderstood—and then, disheartened by what she sees there, she powers off the device with a deflated sob. Dropping to her knees, she rests her head against Winkley’s cot and begins to weep.

I feel my own tears coming to life, yet—to my eternal shame—I can’t tell if they’re intended for Winkley, or if Fiona has drawn them out of me. Without forethought, I take a step toward the sick bay door. I can’t explain why, but I feel duty-bound to comfort her, to save her from this misery. My foot has scarcely left the floor when a hand grasps my shoulder and—with unnerving strength—restrains me from walking.

“Don’t,” warns Grogan. His voice is firm, yet full of uncharacteristic kindness. “There’s nothing you can do for him now.”

Him? I try to pull away, heaving against his iron grasp. I’m more than a little disturbed that I can’t break free; he’s either far stronger or more desperate than me. Either way, I’m not moving without escalating this confrontation. “Please,” I whisper.

Grogan’s grip relaxes just a little, but remains affixed. “It’s too dangerous, Wil. We can’t risk contamination.”

I realize that he’s right. Too, I recognize how warped my thinking has become that Fiona’s temporary emotional state has somehow won priority over the death of a friend.

Good Lord, what is happening to me?

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