Narrator:

Artie shook his head at her, continuing to just to watch the ships traverse their way to and from the station. He wasn’t going to get into an argument with her when all she was going to do was twist his words. His mother had always told him to keep his mouth shut when conflict arose in marriage, knowing once tensions had been lifted, then was the time to talk. Lara watched her husband refuse to reply to her, knowing what tactic he had chosen to deflect their argument, one which seemed to work almost flawlessly.

Lara:

“We’ve been out there for almost five years now. You know how many trips

we’ve made?”

Narrator:

argued Lara. Artie shook his head and walked away from her. He

couldn’t stay quiet this time.

Artie:

“No, Lara. Please, remind me.”

Lara:

“Fifty-six! We’ve made fifty-six trips since we started! That’s one thousand four hundred and fifty-six days we’ve been on that ship traveling between stations, and not once have we made a trip down to Earth!”

Narrator:

Lara said still standing at the window.

Artie:

“Guess you can add another thousand on to that,”

Narrator:

Artie replied sitting back down on the couch. Lara stood staring at him, a scowling look on her face.

Lara:

“You said seven years. After seven years, we would both get back to the way things were and try again.”

Artie:

“I know what I said. But shit happens.”

Lara grinding her teeth in anger at her husband.

Lara:

“When do we leave?”

Artie:

“Two days if the repairs go as planned. Full cargo with extra passengers to make up for the repair costs,”

Narrator:

Artie replied. Lara stomped back into the bathroom, and slammed the

sliding door with a loud bang.

Narrator:

Lara’s aura of tension subtly softened by his words. She stared down at the computer with all the cargo listed on it, trying to keep her rock-hard composure.

Artie:

“I know I’ve not been the best at this relationship since we started this whole thing,”

Narrator:

said Artie stepping over toward her.

Lara:

“You weren’t very good at it before then, either. Night after night coming home late from the base, leaving me to go to family events alone.”

Artie:

“I was trying to start something for us.”

Lara:

“And then we started something together. And just when I thought you would finally start spending more time with me and playing your role, God punished us both for no reason.”

Narrator:

Artie glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist, reading the name on the plastic hospital tag.

Caitlyn Emilia Glenn

DOB: May 4, 2183

6.2 Ibs Dr. C. Becker

Artie:

“Tomorrow’s her birthday,”

Narrator:

said Artie. Lara wiped the water away from her eyes, staring at the

computer screen.

Lara:

“Why do you think I can’t sleep?”

Narrator:

Artie reached out and grabbed Lara by the arm and pulled her over toward him. She stood in front of him, sniffing.

Artie:

“Look at me,”

Narrator:

said Artie to her. Lara looked up at him, brushing the tear from her

cheek.

Artie:

“You and I may never know why, but what we’ve been

through has made us a couple capable of getting through

anything. Life has already beaten us down for us to get back

up again, and now we know there’s nothing worse that could

happen. Once we are finished, I promise that’ll be the end of

it.”

Narrator:

Lara laid her head on his chest, as he wrapped his

arms around her. She felt like she could just fall blissfully

asleep in his arms.

Narrator:

Lara came running back into the cargo door, just in time to see Cliff and Lem walking in with the other passengers. Artie and Patrick walked in the doorway behind her, both carrying arms full of supplies from the infirmary. Patrick broke away and tapped on the control panel to turn of the master alarm again.

Artie:

“Hey, what’s the rush?”

questioned Artie. He stared at his wife’s horrified expression, noticing the blood across her chest and arms.

Lem

“Oh my God! Are you all right?”

Narrator:

asked Lem, hurrying over to her.

Cliff:

“Is that blood?”

Narrator:

asked Cliff staring at her from across the room. One of the passengers whimpered with fright and covered her mouth. Cernan sat up in his chair, worried by the frantic atmosphere in the room.

Artie:

“Everyone just calm down and take a seat somewhere,”

Narrator:

he shouted at everyone else. Artie set his supplies down on the workstation and grabbed his sobbing wife by the arm and led her over to a small stack of crates, away from the other passengers. The rest of his crew followed, while Cliff stayed back, watching from a distance. Lara sat down on the boxes, desperately trying to gather breath as she wallowed in her own tears and hysteria.

Lara:

(Hyperventilating in pure fear and panic)

Artie:

“Lara, take a breath, hun. What happened? Are you hurt?”

Narrator:

asked Artie in a calming voice. Lem reached over and grabbed a set of bandages and

cleaning pads from Patrick’s arms. She bent down on one knee and started wiping the blood away from Lara’s arms.

Artie:

“Are you cut?”

Lara shook her head, repeatedly gasping trying to take a decent breath.

Artie:

“Lara, look at me!”

Narrator:

said Artie grabbing her hands.

Artie:

“What happened?”

Narrator:

Lara’s breathing finally settled.

Lara:

“Ther-there’s something down there.”

Narrator:

Everyone looked down at her, petrified as they listened. Cliff felt a chill run through him.

Lara:

“It kill-illed Piendrazi (Pen-dra-zee), and Annie, an-an-and… Rupert.”

Narrator:

Artie stared into his wife's eyes. She was telling the truth. He had never seen her this shaken up. He let go of her hand, suddenly realizing whose blood she was covered in.

Lara:

“I ran, but it found me in the reserve,”

Narrator:

muttered Lara.

Patrick:

“What was it? Like a dog or something?”

Lara:

“No… Something else. Something worse.”