A Breath of Mars [Open Novella Contest]

06 | Farren

Daria squeezed her helmet off as her spacesuit depressurised and flung the attire to the dust. She couldn't breathe, even with her helmet removed. She didn't care that she was still on Mars and that it was mandatory to never remove your spacesuit while in space. Daria couldn't find it in herself to care. Farren was gone.

She was as frozen as the ice before her. Thoughts raged in her mind in quantities so great they became uncoherent. Her hands trembled fiercely as she stood by and watched. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she help him?

Suddenly, Xen's arms were flying in front of her as he roared. "Help! Help! Captain! Help!" Daria didn't move. She just couldn't. Farren . . . was dead.

"He not dead!" Xen bellowed, as if reading her thoughts, or perhaps she had said the words aloud.

Daria gasped shallow gulps of air. She still couldn't inhale. Her crew were being picked off one at a time. First, she had failed Phelan, now Farren. She was their Captain, their protector. The guilt was like nothing Daria had ever experienced.

An intense sting rapidly spread across her left cheek, the pain intensified by the harsh, cold temperatures. Xen had slapped her. Daria blinked rapidly, her foggy mind clearing.

"Help. Me." Xen was right up in her face, hands gripping her shoulders. Daria finally snapped out of her reverie and nodded.

Xen rushed off toward where Farren had broken through the ice. Daria quickly followed, minding her step so as not to fall as Farren had. It shouldn't have even been possible. Xen had spoken earlier that day about how water wasn't close to the surface and that the ice was made of carbon dioxide. This patch of ice, although the same in appearance, was not carbon dioxide.

Xen slid to the edge of the cracked ice and peered down into the depths bellow. "I see him, I see him! Help lift out. Quickly!"

Daria skipped the last few steps and sunk to her knees. The ice beneath her made a sickening crack, but it held. Both crewmen reached into the raven-black depths of the water, grasping for an unconscious Farren floating just below the surface. Daria's fingers curled around his hair and she tugged, silently repeating her apologies to Farren for pulling out his strands of auburn hair. As Farren floated upwards, Xen hooked his arms under Farren's armpits and, together, they pulled him out.

Farren's body flopped onto the ice, comatose and lifeless. He'd lost his helmet in the fall, most likely caught on the ice. That meant that Farren's suit hadn't held back the ridiculously low temperature of the water. Farren's body would have felt every chilling droplet, freezing his bones and veins all the more quickly.

The sight of Farren, face too pallid to be alive, had her shaking with tears. Xen lightly pressed two fingers to the vein in his neck, checking for a pulse.

"He has pulse, and breathing is irregular, but there. He alive. He alive!" Xen pulled Farren's arm over his shoulder and stood, pulling Farren with him. Daria quickly rushed to support Farren's other side. "Back to ship. Back to ship, now! Not long. Not long before frostbite."

Their water canisters forgotten, Xen and Daria trudged back to the ship at an agonisingly slow rate. At 30 years, Farren was heavy with thick muscles and a tall frame, almost as tall as Ravi. Xen was much older in age and so his muscles had weakened considerably. Daria was only a slip of a girl, so she couldn't provide much help, either.

The wind picked up, tossing her hair around wildly. Now that she had her helmet off, the cold was unbelievable. She couldn't feel her face, the entirety of it completely numb. Farren's condition was worse. His face was no longer white but blue, icicles dripping from his stubble where they had frozen immediately upon being exposed to the dry air.

Daria's energy had almost dissipated. Her knees wobbled and her body almost collapsed underneath Farren's. Xen screamed at her to keep moving, that they were nearly there, and they were.

The yellow-iron ship filled Daria's vision as she finally looked up from the ground. The airlock was sealed, as customary. Before departure, the crew had agreed that when Daria, Xen and Farren had retrieved the water and were ready to aboard the ship, they would bang the side of the ship three times to signal the release of the airlock. When Daria slipped out from under Farren's weight and sprinted to the side of the ship to pummel on its frame, Daria didn't strike three times. She hammered persistently and frantically until the airlock opened.

When Daria saw the face of Zarel, she almost collapsed in relief. They had made it. Upon seeing Farren limp between them and no canasters of water, Zarel's expression turned swiftly to dread. He disappeared momentarily, then reappeared with Seren, Pike and even Kasen in tow, all with spacesuits on. Daria could have kissed them she was so gleeful.

Daria and Xen pushed from below while Zarel and Seren heaved from above. Together, with great struggle, they managed to lift Farren into the airlock. The four men disappeared as they carried Farren away, leaving Daria and Xen alone again in the wasteland.

In that moment, Daria didn't even care if none of her crewmen came back to help her. She was just glad Farren now stood a chance at survival.

Once he was safely inside, Daria collapsed against the ship, debilitated. Her body was shivering so violently now that her neck was becoming sore from the movements. She lent her head against the cool metal and hugged her body tight, closing her eyes.

It wasn't long before arms were encircling her waist and lifting her into oblivion. "I've got you, Captain. I've got you," Seren assured as he hoisted her up into the waiting arms of Ravi. Daria didn't open her eyes, she didn't have the energy to. She heard the commotion of them pulling Xen into the airlock, of it sealing the outside off. Sealing off the nightmarish planet of Mars.

Ravi carried Daria into Seren's small medical room where most of her crew was gathered. Daria cracked her eyes open when Farren moaned. She was placed on the floor into Aine and Tallies waiting arms, a pile of fleecy blankets covering the floor. On the other side of the room stood Xen, also submerged in coverlets.

In the centre of the room was Farren. Under the artificial light of Seren's clinic, Farren looked so much worse. Daria's head involuntarily slid onto Aine's shoulder beside her. She was so tired. So, so tired. But she had to know if Farren was alright. Then she could give in to sleep.

Seren and Zarel sauntered into the room carrying extra towels for Farren. When Seren's eyes caught hers, he handed off the blankets to Pike and walked over to her. When he touched her cheek, Daria jolted. The questioning look in his eyes told her that where Xen had struck her, it had left a mark. Daria lent her head back and closed her eyes.

"Keep her warm," Seren told Tallie and Aine, then stood to take care of Farren.

Five of her crewmen worked on Farren for the following 7 hours. Re-warming heat packs, giving blood transfusions, maintain an IV line, anything that could prevent Farren from frostbite.

It didn't matter in the end. It would never had been enough.

Farren didn't last the night.