Outcasts of Gideon

Claustrophobia

Dewey was standing over Dawn's unconscious body. She lay on the bed, her head cradled in Cara's lap. He thought of her as though she was the same Dawn he'd always known. She wasn't. An alien presence had taken over her body and he had no idea what to do about it.

He had always been able to rely on her to keep things moving in the right direction. That had been true in Odyssey, at least. Here he hadn't had that luxury.

Bobby was little help. He never really had been anyway. Now he was just a frail shell of himself. If anything, he'd become a burden Dewey was ill equipped to handle, even if he wanted to.

Cara looked up from Dawn. When she smiled, he melted inside. Wildly attractive, she was the type of woman that made him sweat. The Dewey he had always been would shy away from someone like her. At most, he might steal furtive glances from a distance. When he looked her way, he found her looking back at him. He had no idea what to do with that either.

Now he wondered if she was waiting for him to make a decision. If she was, he didn't want to disappoint her. "Any idea why Dawn... I mean Houith dropped like that?" he asked. Cara shook her head. "We can't get any help. Can't risk bein' found." He was trying to assert himself. As usual, it felt awkward.

"I could go, like before," offered Cara.

"And do what? If you bring her with you, people will ask about the whole Houith thing. If you bring somebody back, they might still ask questions."

"What are we going to do with her when she wakes up?" asked Bobby.

"We ain't takin' her to Earth is what we're not doin'."

"We can't keep her in here forever."

The words had barely left Bobby's lips when Dewey felt something. It was subtle, a slight vibration, another tremor. The last one he'd felt was on Phaethon. Could there really be something like that here? "Anybody else feel that?"

A klaxon began sounded in the hallway. Cara's eyes grew large as the sound outside increased.

"What the hell is that?" asked Bobby, his voice raised as though the siren was drowning him out.

"Seal breach." Cara lowered Dawn's head to the bed and stood.

"Seal breach? As in we're venting atmosphere?" Bobby's eyes grew large as well.

Cara went to the small storage closet and removed a vac suit. "I only have the one."

"Bobby, you spend all that time on Phaethon and you've never heard a containment breach alarm?" Dewey grabbed the helmet from Cara and held it. She pulled her vac suit up over her legs.

"What would cause a breach?" Bobby was looking around the room as though the answer was somewhere nearby. "Does it do that all the time?"

"It's never gone off like this before." Cara zipped up her suit. "We have a monthly test of the system. That's how I know what it is."

"Maybe it's just a test."

"I don't think so. This one's loud."

"Did either of you feel somethin'? A tremor?" Dewey asked again.

"I didn't," answered Bobby.

Cara turned her head. "I didn't feel anything. Might just be somebody pulled the alarm. We should get suits for the three of you anyway."

Dewey nodded. "I definitely felt somethin'. I think these alarms are automatic. Somethin' happened out there. Where can we get more suits?"

Cara's face twisted into a grimace. "The temple?"