Under Pressure. by Fabio. Fernandes

Author:Fabio. Fernandes [Fernandes, Fabio.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781914953309
Google: nYFOzwEACAAJ
Publisher: NEWCON PRESS
Published: 2022-08-14T23:00:00+00:00

“Are you tired?” she heard a voice behind her ask.

When she turned, everything was dark. She was exhausted after seven hours in the coach and trekking the rough trail leading to the volcanic tube of Snæfellsjökull. It was as if she hadn’t got any sleep at all.

The entire trip so far had been made under cover of night, and they were using Coleman torches to illuminate the way ahead. January was still feeling dizzy, and a bit hungry at that. The others didn’t look any different; they made the whole surface trip in a moody silence. Dr. Jones looked the worst of them; he seemed even thinner and paler than during the trip, if such a thing were possible. His hands shook a little.

Maybe it was the effort of climbing, she thought. But he seemed to her eyes incredibly similar to someone who was suffering mild withdrawal symptoms.

So, not poisoning as Sklodowska had surmised. Addiction, more likely. The question remained, though: was the drug administered by Jones himself? Or could it be that Moran was giving it to him? And, if so, why?

Dr. Jones was too quiet. Moran was hovering very near, looking at him, more as a watchdog than a caretaker. January approached him cautiously.

“Are you all right?” she asked, putting her fingertips on his wrist.

By the light of the torch, he was incredibly pale indeed. He looked sick. Eyes hooded as if he was under the influence of opium. She had never seen him like this before, not this wasted. She couldn’t believe it was the poppy. It leaves traces, vestiges she would recognise. They weren’t there.

“I will be fine soon,” Dr. Jones answered.

“Now,” said Hans, starting to build a fire. “We rest. Otherwise we won’t be able to make this journey properly.”

Dr. Jones only nodded, finally agreeing with the guide. He was clearly exhausted.

January looked intently at him. She wanted to talk to him without anyone close, so she could be open, at least in part, and to explain everything she could about the Oneironauts, and of the impending doom she sensed. She wasn’t feeling good about this trip – even if, as far as she could feel, the journey wasn’t going to be exactly harmful to them as a group. It could very well, though, trigger a series of events that would be damaging to others, on a larger scale.

Not quite the end of the world, not literally. But kind of.

But then Moran approached him.

“Excuse me, Dr. Jones. Time for your medication.”

Jones looked up and smiled weakly at January.

“Let’s rest then, shall we? We’ll need our strength to make this journey.”

She obliged, getting up and going back to Sklodowska. Together, they unpacked sleeping bags and got inside them. They made their camp right inside the lip of the tunnel, so they would be shielded from the wind. Now the fire was high, and they could sleep, if fitfully.

January pondered. Would she be able to visit Burton in a lucid dream? This would be a tricky undertaking. She was also feeling a bit weakened by the continuous travelling.

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