The Ruins of Mars (The Ruins of Mars Trilogy Book 1) (25 page)

      “
Temple-building,” whispered Romulus to his brother. “They’re talking about temple-building!”

      “
Although they do not yet know it,” added Remus. “They stand on the cusp of a massive leap in cultural evolution.”

     
Turning her back to the fire so that her face was shrouded in shadows, Teo’s frown deepened.

      “So this is why they have summoned us? To raise stones?”

      “Yes. My vision was meant to start us on this path.”

   Rocking slowly, Teo seemed to weigh her thoughts as the group stood silently in waiting.

      “
I think I understand,” she said at last. “But many more hands than we have here will be needed to raise stones. Even we, alone, can hardly kill a Buran. To accomplish what you speak of, we will need the aid of other tribes. You are respected and revered by all of the tribes of this great plain. If you tell them, as you have told us, they will have to join our cause. Will you help?”

     
Standing up as straight as his twisted back would allow him, Olo dipped his chin to a chorus of echoing ululations.

Awake—
Sol 6

     
The warming kiss of the midday sun played across the waking face of Harrison Raheem Assad. Opening his eyes, he squinted in the gentle light as his vision returned, and his surroundings came into focus. He was lying in a bed in the dome’s makeshift infirmary, flanked by several machines. The last time he had seen this room, it had been filled with haphazard stacks of boxes waiting to be unpacked. Now, the space was as clean and efficient as an operating room back on Earth. An IV hung from a roller next to his bed, and a translucent bag, full of what looked like blood, dripped steadily down a tube and into his arm. Shifting his gaze, he saw Elizabeth Kubba standing with her back to him, head tilted to one side as she skimmed the numbers of a diagnostic readout on her Tablet.

      “
Liz?” he whispered in a hoarse voice.

     
Turning, Kubba’s brown face split into an enormous grin.

      “
Harrison, you’re awake. How do you feel?”

     
Swallowing dryly, he lay still for a moment and thought her question over. Finally, he smiled and tried to laugh.

      “
I feel like I’ve been kicked by a donkey.”

     
Sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, Kubba pocketed her Tablet and laid a hand on top of his.

      “
Honestly,” she started with a grin. “You would be in better shape if you had been.”

      “
Is it really that bad?” he asked, a frown drifting across his gaunt face.

      “
No, no,” she cooed, flashing another toothy smile. “You’ll feel a lot better when you’re done with the transfusion regiment I’ve got you on. I’m far too good at what I do for you to worry.”

     
Pausing, she looked away, then spoke softly.

      “
So, how does your head feel?”

      “
How do you mean? Like do I have a headache?”

      “
No,” she said, her voice drifting off. “I mean your memory. Can you remember anything from after your suit shut down? Once we lost the connection with your vitals, my timeline breaks down a bit. You died, you know. Out there. Just for a moment or two.”

      “
Really?”

      “
Yes. William had to revive you with a defibrillator. Your heart had stopped.”

     
Closing his eyes, Harrison tried to recall the last thing he remembered. A hazy picture drifted into his mind, but before he could clearly see what it was, the image dissolved and he was left with a blank slate. Several beats passed as he lay there, his thoughts straining to reclaim the illusive memory, which seemed somehow quintessential. Finally giving up, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

      “
I feel as though I learned the answer to a very important question, but now I can’t even remember what it was all about.”

     
Nodding, Kubba pursed her lips and patted his hand again.

      “
Not to worry,” she shrugged. “It will come back to you, or it won’t. Either way, you’re here now, and that’s good news to me!”

      “
Speaking of,” smiled Harrison, inwardly wanting to change the subject. “What are
you
doing here?”

     
Standing, Kubba smoothed the creases in her jumpsuit and arched an eyebrow.

      “
I used my medical override and made the captain grant me a pass. Then I coerced Aguilar into flying me. You and Marshall needed a lot of attention after your little stunt.”

      “
How is Ralph?” blurted Harrison, the image of his partner’s helmeted face flashing through his brain.

      “
He’s in much better shape than you,” sighed Kubba, pulling her Tablet from its pocket and checking the screen. “He didn’t get as big of a dose of radiation.”

      “
Oh?”

     
Stretching her back, she looked down at him with a grin and nodded.

      “
William thinks it’s because Ralph spent more time inside the shielded shell of the life-support station while you sat out in the open.”

      “
That’s true,” Harrison admitted.

      “
Either way, he’s doing just fine. I had to give him a pretty big dose of pure cancer inhibitors, but it didn’t seem to bring him down all that much. In fact, he’s outside now with the rest, unloading the Arc.”

     
Sitting up so quickly that he almost made himself sick, Harrison coughed savagely as he attempted to speak.

      “
Storm?” he gasped as Kubba gently pressed him back against the pillows of his bed.

      “
It’s passed, love,” she assured him softly. “There’s still a fair amount of sand in the air, but the radiation is back down to safe levels. Braun gave the all-clear this morning.”

     
Taking several deep breaths, Harrison accepted the glass of water that Kubba was trying to hand him.

      “
Typical. As soon as the dirty work’s done,” he joked, gulping at the glass with enthusiasm.

      “
Indeed,” she agreed dryly.

     
Hearing a sound at the entryway, he looked up and saw Viviana standing in the frame, hands at her smiling mouth, her eyes twinkling with joyful tears.

      “
You’re awake!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I must go call Liu!”

     
Dashing away from the door, Viviana broke into lyrical Italian as she padded across the dome towards the communications room.

      “
What’s she saying?” asked Harrison with a quizzical grin.

      “
How should I know? I don’t speak a word of Italian.”

     
Twenty minutes later, Xao-Xing Liu burst through the airlock, stripping quickly out of her pressure suit as she dashed through the dome towards the infirmary. Harrison was sitting up in bed, tentatively taking a few bites of a reheated spaghetti lunch, when she stepped through the open doorway. Exchanging looks of unspoken understanding, Kubba and Viviana excused themselves, sliding the door shut behind them.

      “
Harrison,” breathed Liu as she crossed the room to his bedside.

     
Taking his face in her hands, she kissed him deeply, then pulled his head to her breast, holding him tightly while she sobbed with joy. He breathed in the scent of her musky body— damp from perspiration—and felt the faint prickling of a memory. Before he could recall its message, Liu spoke, her voice very low and hushed.

      “
I thought I was going to lose you.”

      “
I’m sorry,” he replied stupidly.
     

     
An unexpected laugh broke her lips, and she squeezed him tighter, warm tears falling from her face to splash in his matted hair. Nestling his face deeper into the safety of her embrace, he waited for her to continue.

      “
I’ve called my husband,” she said at last. “I’ve asked him for a divorce. I’m so sorry for how I treated you. I’ve been a fool and a coward. I love you, Harrison. I love you.”

     
Looking up into her pained eyes, Harrison felt the tingle of a trapped memory work itself loose. Cascading over him like the dawn's first light, he saw his premonition come to pass. As she had done in his vision outside in the storm, Liu desperately searched his face for forgiveness and acceptance, her own heart now clearly worn on her sleeve. She was vulnerable and afraid.

     
Bringing a hand up to brush away her tears, he smiled and closed his eyes.

      “
I saw you,” he murmured softly. “When I was out there. I saw your face just like it is now. You were confused, and I wanted so badly to help you, but I couldn’t. I was dying.”

     
Liu took a shuddering breath as he ran a hand through her hair.

      “
I wanted to touch your hair. I wanted to smell your scent and tell you that I loved you, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even stand up.”

     
Stopping, he opened his eyes again and peered up at Liu. In the pause, neither moved as she waited for him to set her free.

      “
But I’m here now,” he whispered. “And I love you back.”

     
Blinking fiercely, she bent her head and kissed his upturned face, laughing with exultant joy.

Ruin site—
Sol 13

     
Two weeks after waking up in the infirmary, a fully healed Harrison Raheem Assad raced across the wide plane of the Martian desert. Taking care to avoid large rocks and treacherous pitfalls, he gunned the electric motor of his dirt bike as he bounded over a small wash. Ahead of him, a thin plume of dust marked the direction that Ralph Marshall had chosen to take across the tundra as he zigzagged around a patch of boulders. Following their experience in the sandstorm, the two men had become nearly inseparable, working together on nearly every project. Liu had joked with Harrison one night about an old Chinese proverb that seemed to fit their situation.

      “
They say,” she had giggled in the dark. “When you save a man's life, you must care for him forever. That’s you now—his new little brother!”

     
In a way, that’s how things had shaped up between the two. Marshall had saved Harrison’s life, and in the days after their ordeal, the older man went out of his way to connect with him as often as possible. Every morning when Harrison first entered the dining room for breakfast, there was Ralph waiting for him with a cup of hot coffee. Straight, black and devoid of any natural coffee flavor: just the way he liked it. When orders from Earth had come in, instructing Harrison to start work on the ruin site, Marshall had instantly volunteered to go with him.

      “
In the interest of safety,” the grizzled astronaut had argued.

     
With an understanding smile playing at the corners of her serious mouth, Captain Vodevski had reluctantly given her approval with a tight shallow nod.

     
A new big brother, Harrison thought with a smile. An end to the longing spawned from a lifetime as an only child.

     
Now, as he neared the coordinates marking the outskirts of the ruin site, Harrison slackened his grip on the throttle, slowing his bike to a gentle jog. Seeing this, Marshall circled back and pulled up on his left.

      “
Should we ditch the bikes here?” he asked, his voice coming in through Harrison’s helmet speakers.

      “
The outer wall starts about two meters from there,” Harrison pointed. “So we should probably start in this area.”

     
Nodding, Marshall cut the power to his bike and extended the kickstand. Harrison did the same and swung his leg free, careful not to catch his boot as he did so. Crouching in the dirt, Marshall opened the umbrella of a solar charger and connected it to an aluminum tripod. Attaching a small transformer box to the base of the stand, he then ran a set of wires from the unit to each dirt bike so that the rays of the distant Sun would charge their batteries as they worked. It was still early in the day, and the light of the morning star cast diminishing shadows, which played across the ochre sands like the trickling branches of a murky river.

     
A short way off, the horizon loomed before them, sending shivers of confusion and disorientation through Harrison’s subconscious mind.

     
I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to seeing the sky so close, he mused with a cautious smile.