What Dreams May Come

Chapter 27: the captain

Levi took Dylan's hand as they headed out into the orange tinted hallway the next morning.

It was quiet and eerily so. The orange made everything seem unfamiliar, even the little that Levi was beginning to recognize. They rounded the corner and saw much of the hallways was cordoned off. There were men working to put up siding, though all the while wearing oxygen masks.

"We can go around," Dylan said, tugging Levi's hand. "Come on."

She pulled Levi through another hallway, though he now had reservations about going.

"Dylan, I don't think this is safe," he said.

"Of course it's not safe, that's why people are in oxygen masks trying to fix it," she remarked.

"Random question."

"Um, okay?"

"Why aren't the trees we have good enough? Shouldn't they produce enough oxygen for us?"

"You'll have to ask Alcott, I'm not certain," Dylan answered.

They made a couple of odd turns and then reentered the environmental branch. People were bustling all around them, though no one seemed to pay Levi or Dylan any attention. She stopped in front of a door and it slid open: Walsh's office.

"Should we be here?" Levi worried.

"I just want to look," Dylan complained. "And then you can drag me to the medical bay, how about that?"

Levi consoled himself that they couldn't get into too much trouble in the office; Dylan wasn't trying to fix anything herself. She found the remote and turned the monitor, letting out a gasp that made Levi turn suddenly.

The monitor was partially focused on the siding, partially on the storm. The siding was ripped away and covered with a plastic that was not holding up well in the storm winds. It was difficult to say what the damage was, beside extensive.

"Papa said debris broke down the other system," Dylan whispered. "I can see why."

The door slid open behind them and Walsh stepped through, scowling at the two almost immediately.

"Dylan, why aren't you in bed?"

"Papa, I can help," she pleaded. "My stitches are fine."

"That's not true," Levi muttered.

He was certain that Dylan wanted him leave her alone and let her help, but he couldn't keep quiet. She shot him a surprisingly frigid glare before looking back at her father.

"What can I do?"

"Dylan, you have broken ribs," Levi reminded her before Walsh could say anything. "You're supposed to be resting, not traipsing around the base and certainly not doing any heavy lifting. You'll pull your stitches and hurt yourself."

"I'm not fragile," she snapped.

He took a step back, trying to understand why she was so short with him. Something else was going on here, there had to be.

"Levi is right," Walsh agreed. "For once. Dylan, you are in no condition to work, and I have others who can. You can do something else for me."

"What?" she asked eagerly.

"Please go and talk to O'Keefe about the message you two responded to yesterday," he said. "In the panic, I haven't the time. You'll know more than I anyway."

Dylan nodded. "We will. Now?"

"Oui . And then to bed. We need you better. These boys need more supervision than I have patience to provide."