Nowhere Else by Felicia Davin

Author:Felicia Davin [Davin, Felicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Etymon Press

Despite the bad news, Emil had encouraged Jake and Lange to take the first rest. The weird little tubes growing on the machine didn’t seem hellbent on killing anyone right that instant, and fixing the machine would require days, not hours.

It was midnight, Facility 17 time. Lange had been awake since long before they’d left the cabin, though Emil couldn’t have known what an interrupted night they’d had.

Lange had shaken his head at the offer of rest, so Jake had seized the opportunity to speak his mind.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be able to sleep right now,” he’d said. “I want to check the rooms where there are electrical faults. There might be more signs of the alien—or whatever. Lange can come with me.”

“Have you considered that encountering the alien—or other aliens—might not put you at ease?” Emil had asked, and Jake had let slip something like a laugh. It wasn’t funny, it was just true.

He needed to do this, regardless.

Eliza was recharging, so he and Lange walked to the medical exam room where the tablet’s map showed an open circuit without her. It wasn’t far, and it felt easy compared to the hypergravity, but his muscles ached. The need to check every part of the hallway for an alien presence stretched the distance into tedium.

Neither he nor Lange made any effort at conversation.

The exam room door was closed. Naturally, neither the electronic lock nor the opening mechanism was working.

Jake handed his flashlight to Lange, who didn’t accept it. Oh, right. It hovered in place, lighting Jake’s way while he unzipped the bag of tools he’d slung over one shoulder. He hunted through it, trying to keep everything strapped in its place so nothing floated away. He muttered, “For fuck’s sake, it’s a door. It works perfectly fine without electricity. Unless you ruin it because you’re a rich asshole with no sense. I could kill Quint for this design.”

“You didn’t let me kill him,” Lange said, and the accusation did make Jake laugh.

“I probably should’ve,” he admitted, grunting as he worked a crowbar into the space between the door and its frame. “But you weren’t in your right mind. I didn’t want you to feel guilty later.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Lange assured him. “Though you’re right that we should endeavor to commit only the most deliberate of murders.”

Jake laughed again, half from the shock of it. It was uncomfortably close to home for a joke. He glanced over his shoulder.

“I regret hurting Kit,” Lange said, suddenly serious. He met Jake’s gaze. “And you. If I had—”

“But you didn’t,” Jake said. He turned back to the door and wedged the crowbar in until it scraped metal. “You don’t have to apologize to me forever, you know. You didn’t kill me or anyone else. And I know you regret all of it—attacking me and Kit, the accident, everything. And not all of that was your fault. Whatever there is to forgive you for, I do. I forgive you. You know that, right?”

“If you say so.

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