When Forever Ends (Part 2: The Place with No Name)

XLV

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F o r t y - F i v e

"There must be some way to turn this thing around," Will said. "What else would all these controls be for?" he swept an arm around at the sprawling control panel covered with blinking lights and buttons and dials and switches.

"If there is, I can't find it in here," Erin tossed the instruction manual across the space in the middle of the four seats and into his lap. "You look through all those pages. You try to find the proverbial needle in the proverbial haystack."

"I don't read!" he shot back. "That's Sofie's job!"

"Then how about she reads it?!" Erin was practically shouting out of frustration by this point. This discussion had been going on for the last hour and they weren't any closer to deciding on a course of action than when they'd begun.

"Actually, I did," Sofie said quietly.

"This is pointless!" Will slammed his fist onto the armrest of his seat. "Let's face it. We're never going to get back!"

"And I found something that may be useful," Sofie continued, her voice rising in volume, "so if you'd all just shut up and listen to me MAYBE YOU'D HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!!"

That made everyone fall silent. Erin hadn't been in the group for that long, but she had been with them long enough that she knew that Sofie didn't shout unless she was freaked out or had something important to say and no one was paying any attention.

Sofie took a breath, then hesitated, unsure of how to put what she wanted to say.

"Go on," Maya encouraged her. "What did you find?"

"Well... All of my books are still back at Seacliff, I hope, and I was desperate for something to read, so I figured I could take a look at the manual. It was a lot more difficult than some other things I've read, because it was just a big instruction booklet, but I managed to find something that could help us..." she trailed off, staring absently down the ladder.

"Sofie!" Erin snapped.

Maya gave her a look that said, "That was unnecessary."

"Sorry," she muttered, then tried again, more softly. "Sofie, can you please continue?"

"Oh! What?" Sofie acted as if she had been startled out of an intense concentration.

"You were saying you found out how to turn this thing around?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"What is it then?! Come on, spit it out!"

"I-" She was interrupted by a crash that came from lower in the rocket. Everyone turned to look down the ladder.

The silence stretched out until Erin broke it, saying, "It better not be that damned-. Sorry, I have got to stop doing that. It better not be the sand tiger again."

"It can't fit through that opening, though," Will pointed out. "So let's have Sofie continue."

They turned back to face each other, and Sofie was just about to speak when Maya suddenly let out an involuntary gasp of surprise and sat up straight, staring over Erin's head at the ladder, her face unreadable.

A familiar voice came from just behind Erin. "Does anyone have a coat or blanket or something? I'm freezing here!"

---

Erin jumped up and shouted, "Ryan!" before wrapping her arms around me in a fierce hug. I staggered back slightly under the impact, then regained my balance and hugged her back. Over her shoulder, I saw Maya recoil, as if stung.

She pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "I thought you were dead!" she cried in disbelief.

I had no idea what to say to that. "I-" I began, meaning to tell her about the strange hallway and the Airport, but I found that I couldn't form the words. I suddenly recalled the Wanderer's warning: 'You can never speak of this place to anyone.'

Oh, I thought.

"I guess not," I said. "Seriously, though, I'm cold!"

She started opening and shutting panels in the wall, looking through them, until she found a thick, orange coat. "Here," she held it out to me and I gratefully put it on.

I looked down at myself once I had pulled the zipper up all the way. "I suppose it matches the theme I've got going on here," I said with a laugh. She smiled at that.

By now, the rest of my friends had overcome the initial shock of my sudden appearance, and they came to greet me.

Will clapped me on the shoulder, saying, "Ryan! Nice to have you back!"

Then Sofie walked up to me. "Hey, Ryan! Umm... What he said!" she grinned and jerked a thumb at Will.

Maya looked at me with a solemn face and said stiffly, "Hello, Ryan." Then she turned and started down the ladder. I was puzzled. What have I done wrong?

"Hey!" I brushed aside Will and Sofie and followed her. But when I reached the end, she had disappeared. I went down the corridor and finally found her in the room where I had awoken, slumped over on the cot.

"Hey," I said again, laying a hand on her shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"

For a long moment, there was no response. I looked for another stool to sit on, but Maya had the only one. So I sat on the edge of the cot and waited. Her hair hung down in her face, and I went to tuck it back behind her ear. But when my hand brushed her soft cheek, she stiffened and turned it aside with a flick of her wrist. Even more confused than before, I began to wonder if she was going to reply.

Finally, she looked up at me with those stormy grey eyes, once sparkling and full of depth, now dull and flat. "How can you not know?" she said softly.

"Come on, tell me. Why didn't you welcome me like the others did? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Of course, It's just-." She took a shuddering breath. "You've only known Erin for, what, two months? And yet she's the one to charge at you with a warm embrace." She glared at me. "And that's not even what ticks me off. What really gets under my skin is that you hugged her back."