Passing Shadows by Anna Butler

Author:Anna Butler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

THE RAIN CLEARS BY mid-afternoon and tonight's sunset is as glorious as yesterday's. One of the techs tells me that it's probably normal around here to have spectacular sun-downs, and whatever happened here to this planet and its people did something to the atmosphere and the weather patterns and these magnificent skies are the result. Maybe before the destruction here, the sun went down behind the hills and nobody remarked on it because the evening just got dark without the sky being painted first. It would be a shame to miss out on sunsets like these, but I guess it would depend on your perspective. Losing your entire world to get a pretty sunset, to get such beautiful light before the darkness comes... that’s quite a sacrifice.

Mars used to have pretty sunsets, too.

Alice and I stand to watch this one. She’s seen the books and the few pictures we brought back with us, and she’s been as quiet as me ever since. Everyone is quiet. Earth is only two years dead, after all. The grief is very near tonight.

Thom comes up behind me. “Nice,” he says, with a nod at the sky.

Tonight there's more violet and indigo and the vulnerability of pale spring green. It's very nice. It makes something in my chest hurt again.

After a moment, he says, “Matt's a bit hampered by that conscience of his. His dad was a bishop, did you know? Church of England or something. Really traditional stuff. Matt says the religious imprinting is pretty hard to get rid of it.” He glances at me. “Not that Matt’s still very religious, of course.”

Not many people are. Not after what they’ve lived through.

“It's stupid blaming yourself for the Devourers, though.”

“I don't think he does, not really. Matt just doesn't like failure.” He grins at me, but there's a sadness to the way his mouth twists. “Kit can deal with him better than anyone.”

I see the look in his eyes then. Oh Thom. Poor Thom.

“I know. Kit's the right antidote for a religious upbringing. He's like an inoculation against guilt.” I try to grin back at him. “But not against sin.”

He looks alarmed, because he knows what I saw. “Liang—”

“Matt doesn't like failure and he's a very private man. I know. I won't say anything.”

Thom smiles and puts his arms around me and struggles to rest his chin on the top of my helmet for a minute before giving me a little shake. He laughs softly, presses his faceplate against mine in lieu of a kiss to my cheek and pats Alice on the shoulder before going back to patrol the camp. He and his team have the watch. Matt walked off down the lakeshore half an hour ago and Kit followed him. They're nowhere to be seen, but just before he turns away, Thom looks after them anyway.

I don’t think it’s Kit he’s looking for.

Poor Thom.

I haven’t told Alice about Matt and Kit. Alice looks at me, a half-smile visible, and I realise I don’t have to say anything.

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