Critical Dawn Read Free Page A

seventy days to be exact. It was close enough for Ben to start counting toward the promise of better things. He wasn’t surprised about the retirement age of thirty. Anybody who suffered more than fifteen years of this kind of confinement would surely go mad. His rewards waited in the retirement village. A new life. A chance to see the stars.
    Maria Flores appeared by the door. “Jimmy’s leaving in five minutes. You better go. I’ll take care of Ethan.”
    “Thanks, appreciated,” Ben said. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
    Maria smiled. “Get out of here.”
    She was his idea of a perfect colleague in the Operations Compartment. She’d been part of the team for five years, was always polite, punctual, and never complained. Jimmy was the opposite: loud, usually late, but he was still likeable.
    “Don’t forget, I’ll be testing you later on pseudopodia. Make sure you bring your A-game,” Maria said.
    “I will.”
    Ben enjoyed the gentle pushes she gave him. They studied microbiology together. It was the most interesting material they’d found on the hard-drive in the common room. When his motivation waned, Maria was always there. She made his life in the compartment feel like more than just watching the visual display and eating slop on his bunk. Before she came, he felt like a ghost.
    He clanked along the dimly lit, grated corridor, squinting against a pink glow emanating from the airlock door timer. It had started its five minute countdown in bold, red digits.
    A burst of loud laughter came from the common room. Ben passed the sleeping quarters and supply hatch before entering. Erika Kosma and Jimmy sat on two of the three chairs. Ben leaned against the kitchen unit. Having three in the room always made it feel cramped.
    Today was different though. His colleague of over thirteen years was leaving.
    “Thought you were never going to show, buddy,” Jimmy said.
    “The timer’s running. You all set?” Ben said.
    “I’ve never been more ready. Fifteen years in this place … I can’t believe it’s over.”
    “We’ve been talking about what he’s going to do on the other side,” Erika said.
    “Damn, I missed it,” Ben laughed. This was a regular and worn conversation, especially from Erika. It was all she talked about in the two years since arriving. “Are you still expecting a welcome party?”
    “That’s the million dollar question,” Jimmy said.
    His idea of money was probably as abstract as Ben’s, but Jimmy loved to use lines he’d seen in movies from their MP4 collection. Every day for the last thirteen years, Ben would find him in the communal area watching something. It lost its sparkle for him years ago, after he’d been through his favorites for the fifth time. Would the crew on the other side think Jimmy sounded strange? Like an actor, he thought.
    “You better wait by the airlock,” Erika said. “Time’s ticking. You don’t want to miss it.”
    The group of three walked back along the corridor and stood facing the countdown timer.
    Jimmy sighed as he looked up and down the short corridor. “You know, a small part of me will miss this place.”
    “A very small part, I’d imagine,” Erika said.
    “We know which part that is,” Ben said.
    Jimmy playfully punched his arm. “You know what I mean. We’ve been together for years. We’re almost like family.”
    It was strange for Ben to hear Jimmy being poignant. He probably was the closest thing Ben had to family. He was also usually the life and soul of the place. He was going to be missed.
    “Say hello to Billy and Tracey from me,” Ben said.
    “I’ll let them know things haven’t changed. Same food, same clothes, same movies, same old Ben.”
    “If you can send us a message through the supply hatch, let us know what it’s like?” Erika said.
    “You know I can’t do that,” Jimmy said. “I asked the same thing before seeing my first retirement. Why take a risk once you’re out of