Delta Outpost

Chapter 5

 I'm not sure when the storm finally let up. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but it must have happened somewhere in that brief period. The rain was pounding against the window when I fell asleep with Danny next to me, and when I woke up a few hours later there was silence. I honestly found myself missing the storm while I lay awake in the darkness. The eerie silence made every small noise from outside made me hold my breath. I know Ashton thinks I'm crazy, that I'm scared of ghosts. But he and Maggie don't see the world like I do. Scientists are trained to be hyper-observant. We look for answers in everything.

There are no accidents in nature. Evolution doesn't allow widely shared traits to happen in a species just for the hell of it. This planet has spent eons fortifying itself, but against what? I have to know. The sun is just starting to come up. I can see the tiniest bit of blue light coming in through the window. Night doesn't seem to last very long here, but neither does the daytime. It's a small planet, not much bigger than a moon, so a full rotation doesn't take very long. Geographic scanning puts a full day/night cycle at about seventeen hours, and ours is the hemisphere tilted towards the sun.

My tactical vest feels heavier now that I've packed some provisions in it. My hair is pulled back in a high pony and slid through an old ball cap. The Red Sox; Dad's favorite team. He always said he loved baseball because it was the sport that could survive anything. Even when the United States split into different factions, all their baseball teams kept playing each other as if nothing had happened. Given the environment we're heading into, I'm going to be carrying the old fuck in my mind this whole trip, so might as well put a reminder of him literally on my head.

"Maggie," I whisper after coming out of the bathroom and walking over to her bed. After turning out the bathroom light my eyes need to adjust to the dark again, so I can just barely make out the shape of her under the blankets. She doesn't move. "Maggie." I'm a little louder this time. There's a groan as the lump under the blanket shifts and a hand emerges.

"Reyna?" she groans.

"I'm going out with the ground team," I say, continuing to whisper. "Can you keep an eye on Danny?"

"Fucking hell, Rey, it's technically still the middle of the night," she complains while rolling onto her other side. "Even you should be a zombie right now."

She's honestly right. Delta Outpost's position in the planet's solar cycle wasn't even close to what we were simulating on the ship. That kind of interstellar jet lag usually has me dead to the world after the first day's done. But this isn't like most trips.

"He'll be fine here on his own if you get a call," I whisper. "Just don't leave him alone for too long."

"You owe me, girl," Maggie groans. She's rolled over and her mouth is now muffled by the pillow.

"Vernon owes you," I correct. "He's the one who got his kid stuck here."

The air is thick and muggy as I step out the door. I cough a couple of times after breathing in a big gulp of wet air. The tops of the trees are silhouetted by the faint light of dawn. They look like giant shadows towering over the outpost. The smooth, metallic floor is slippery, but my boots have thick traction. The souls squeak with each step as I make my way through the ghost town that is Delta. No one else is out this early. I have to wonder how well they've slept.

"Didn't get no beauty sleep?"

I stop and throw my head back. A low groan rises in my throat. I knew Ashton would be here. He's the one heading security on this expedition. Still, I didn't expect him to be heading to the gate this early. He comes into my vision on the right, but I don't turn my head to look at him.