Dark Space by Lisa Henry

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out the reactor core. And that was a long time ago. I bet the Faceless had improved their weaponry since.
We were like insects to them, after all. One slap and we were dead.
This is a waste of time, I said. The siren was annoying the shit out of me. It was the usual high-
pitched Klaxon: awooga, awooga, awooga. In the event of the real thing they wouldn t play the
accompanying audio: This is a drill. Proceed to your evacuation point. This is a drill.
It distracts the men from their endless speculation, Doc said mildly, looking out the window.
How does an evac drill take anyone s mind off what might be coming? I muttered. Doesn t it
point to the obvious?
Doc flashed me a smile before turning to gaze out the window again. It gives them the feeling
they re doing something, he said. So they re not just sitting around waiting.
Like we are, I thought and looked over at Rushton.
He was lying on the bed, reading a magazine that Doc had brought. Some tech magazine, I thought,
although I d only got a glimpse of the cover before he took it. Privileges of rank, I guess. I was stuck with
the second magazine: a travel magazine from Six Delta. If I was ever on a driving tour through Old
Quebec, there was this quaint little B and B& that would be toast just like the rest of the planet in a
fortnight.
Looked too fucking cold anyway.
Rushton smiled then, at something he d read or at my bad temper, or maybe the thought of me
slipping and sliding and landing on my ass in a snowdrift.
It was weird sharing my head with someone else. As near as I could figure it out, we didn t share
everything, exactly. We shared that place where things usually went unsaid: the sarcastic comments you
bit back before they got you in trouble or the words that you formed as articulate sentences in the front of
your brain but you didn t say aloud. Those were as clear as day. The conscious mind that is, the part of
the mind that knows it is thinking had a voice we both heard. And it was weird.
The subconscious was different. Feelings and vague, unformed ideas I got a sense of them, but they
weren t spelled out. That was even weirder.
The dreams were the weirdest of all. With our conscious minds shut down, we shared our dreams
totally. It was crazy. I dreamed of darkness and of flashing lights and of weird hissing noises that tried to
talk to me. And in those dreams I was cold and frightened, and my heart beat so fast I could hardly
breathe. For some reason, the dreams always made my cock hard. His freakish wet dream was my
freakish wet dream. If his body reacted, so did mine. And don t ask me why flashing lights and weird
noises and fear turned him on. I knew it was something to do with the Faceless those dreams had alien
written all over them and I didn t want to fucking know anything else.
In his waking hours Rushton seemed normal. I was the only one who knew how fucked-up his dreams
were. I didn t want to know. I was just the poor bunny along for the ride. Sucked to be me.
I figured Doc s visits would keep me on the right side of sane.
I shivered as he ran the stethoscope over my bare back.
Deep breaths, he reminded me.
The slight wheeze when I inhaled reminded me that I d gone for days without a cigarette, and that
Hooper still owed me that packet. Probably not much chance of collecting on that now.
Doc didn t comment on the wheeze. All right, he said at last. Your turn, Rushton.
This was our routine from now on. After the marines delivered our breakfast, Doc came and took our
blood pressure, listened to our hearts, and drew blood. He also gave us vitamin shots. The inside of my
elbow looked like a junkie s already.
I sat down on the floor with my magazine and tried to get interested in pictures of autumnal leaves in
Old Quebec. Green to yellow to orange to red to brown to nothing. Such is life. I d never seen seasons
like that. In Kopa we had two seasons: dry and wet. Drought and flood. It was harsh country, but it was
all I ever knew, and it was the only place I wanted to be.
Not spinning in a tin can in the big black.
I heard Rushton s sharp intake of breath as Doc pressed the stethoscope against his skin. I felt it too,
in the shiver that ran down my back. The examinations made him uncomfortable. He tensed with
embarrassment every time he was touched. Doc was a good guy, but after four years with the Faceless
Rushton was sick of being studied like a thing.
I shifted up onto the bed and held out my hand. Rushton bowed his head as he breathed nice and deep
for Doc. His hair hung over his eyes, but it didn t matter. He knew I was there without looking.
He reached out his hand to mine. Our fingers entwined, electricity prickled our skin, and our
heartbeats synchronized. He lifted his head to look at me and smiled.
Thanks.
Was it weird that I was starting to enjoy the little spikes of lust that thrilled through him when we
touched? That thrilled through us? I liked the way he looked at me. I liked the way his touch made my
heart beat a little faster. I liked the way he needed me. I liked the way I was important to him.
It wouldn t last. Either we d die like I thought, or Kai-Ren would fix this connection thing like
Rushton said. Maybe, either way, it was okay to enjoy it while it lasted.
It had me stuffed how Rushton knew what I was thinking when half the time I didn t. Did I want to
want him now? I couldn t fucking tell. I only knew I liked the buzz of electricity when we touched.
We d shared our first shower that morning. It shouldn t have felt so strange. I d showered with guys
before, with heaps of guys, but with just the two of us it had been awkward. I couldn t help but look at
him. And trying to avoid his eyes by looking down had been a mistake, because suddenly I d been looking
right at his cock. I could have forgiven him his morning glory if the sight of it hadn t caused my own cock
to harden. After that I d had to turn away and face the wall and hope it didn t look like a fucking
invitation. I d burned with shame under the hot jets, and it was no good pretending nothing had happened
because he could read my fucking mind. My heart raced, which was no good for him.
Garrett, he d said, and I d heard the panic in his voice.
I d turned around to find him swaying on his feet. I d caught him around the wrists, and we d stood
facing each other until he was stronger. I d known then that my embarrassment didn t matter, and neither
did his courtesy. I hadn t touched him the whole time we d been in the shower because I wasn t a faggot,
and Rushton was too much of a nice guy to force the issue. So it had to be me who manned up and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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