This week’s teaser is another from my novel Outcasts of Gideon. In “Time Without Time,” Dawn has decided to risk another trip through the empty. This time, she hopes to learn something. I hope you enjoy part one of this chapter.
Time Without Time (Part 1)
Dawn had secured herself in the berth across from Quinton. This was on the third level. She guessed it was about midway up the ship, but she couldn’t be sure. What she did know was that the two of them had exclusive access to the living quarters, and she was getting hungry.
When they finally took off, the temporary berthing would limit their burn. For that reason, they would probably float for a while. This would give her a time before they pierced the bubble. Time to think. Maybe time to eat.
She had a lot to think about. She was preparing to pass through the empty again. That had more meaning than ever before. When she was afraid of it, she didn’t know why. Now she knew what it meant to get stuck. Would this time be permanent, or would Dewey save her again? Like a sore inside her mouth, she would probe it again with her tongue.
It probably seemed to the others that she wanted to get stuck. What she wanted instead was to understand.
Dawn let out an audible sigh. She took in her surroundings. When she looked over to Quinton, he was staring at her.
“Nervous about the trip?” he asked.
She'd come to enjoy his gruff voice. “Maybe a little,” she said. “There’s way too much going on.”
“Is it always this way for you?” he asked. “I haven’t left Dione in a very long time. I’m not a great traveller like you.”
“I’m hardly a traveller. I do better when my feet are firmly on the ground.”
“And there’s the empty.”
She could see him reading her face, looking for a reaction. She must have been a sight, a tightly wound ball of anxiety. “Yeah, there’s the empty.”
His face softened. “Tell me about where you are from. These people you travel with. Who are they to you?”
She welcomed the distraction. “Well, I guess you know Kishan.”
“Yes, but how do you know him?”
“I don’t. He came to take something away from us, from Mr. Lackey.”
“The point of light.”
“Yes.”
“In your limited experience, what do you think of him?”
Dawn screwed up her face. “I guess my first reaction is that he seems a bit mysterious.”
Quinton laughed. “I can see how that would be.”
“Who chases after people like that?”
“He has changed since I last saw him.”
“Not that he’s been scary or anything. That’s why I say mysterious.”
Quinton nodded. “What about the others? How do you know them?”
“Well, I work for Grant. Worked for, I guess. Not sure what that will be like after all of this is over. Dewey is one of his pilots. Bobby is just someone we know.”
“You’ve all stayed together.”
Dawn laughed. “What choice did we have?”
“You always have choices, like going through the empty. You could use stasis instead. There’s still time.”
She offered an awkward smile. “I guess I want to know more.”
“What do you think you will learn?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, what did you learn from the first time?”
She’d chewed on that since it happened, only at the edges. It hadn’t fully formed in her mind. What did she learn? What was her experience? She remembered it vividly, but could she put it into words? “I guess I learned that there’s more to it.”
“More?”
She sighed, then shook her head. The words weren’t coming.
“Difficult to describe?” he asked.
She nodded.
Over the ship’s comm, the Captain’s voice boomed. “This is Captain Peduli. We will depart within the next few minutes. Ensure all compartments are vacuum-ready.”
Dawn grabbed the straps across her chest and gave them a tug. She turned to see Quinton do the same. Lying back, she shut her eyes.
“When you get there, if you get there, I hope you find what you're looking for,” he said.
“So do I.”
When the ship’s engines cut out, they were again in zero-G. Dawn unbuckled and propelled herself across the room. “Quinton, are you hungry?”
“Maybe a little,” said the old man.
“We should get something before the boys show up.”
“Boys?”
“You know who I mean.” Dawn probed the cabinets, discovering a few dehydrated meals. She grabbed two and a few pods of water before pushing herself toward Quinton’s berth. “Synth chicken or synth beef?”
“I’ll take whichever you don’t want.”
“Chicken it is.” She left him with one of the meals, then pushed herself to her berth. She ripped open the meal pouch, spraying powder out before her. Cursing, she swept the space with her open pouch and captured what she could.
“You don’t spend much time in zero-G, do you?” asked Quinton.
Dawn laughed. “I’m not usually this clumsy. Just hungry, I guess. But I am much more comfortable in a gravity well.”
Quinton squirted water into his meal pouch. “Same for me. Never have enjoyed being weightless. Kishan’s father did. He was quite adept at it.”
“What was he like?”
“Abhishek? A disgruntled idealist, just like his son.”
Dawn continued to fumble with her pouch. “I don’t see Kishan as either of those.”
“It’s a matter of perspective. To me, he’s his father’s son, the grown version of a boy. You see him as someone sent to harm you.”
“What makes him idealistic?”
Quinton squeezed some food into his mouth. He smiled at her as he chewed. “He was sent to take the point of light from you, but he didn’t. Instead, he helped you get to safety. That seems idealistic to me.”
Dawn nodded. “I was surprised he didn’t just leave us stranded.”
“His father was a good man. He is a good man.”
She finally managed to release some water into her pouch. “Why didn’t you leave Dione sooner?”
“That question brings us back to choices.” Quinton sat silent for several moments. “I suppose I was waiting.”
“Waiting? For what?”
“In many ways, Abhishek saved me. I was waiting to repay that debt.”
“Waiting for Kishan?”
“Perhaps.”
She squeezed some meal into her mouth.
“Maybe I was waiting for you,” said the old man.
She swallowed. “Me? How could you be waiting for me?”
“Not you, specifically. Perhaps I was waiting for what you and your friends brought here.”
“Danger? Confusion?”
“A reminder that life is full of mysteries.”
A silence fell between them as they ate.