Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3) (21 page)

“This filet mignon sucks, Bryce!” Anna slammed her fork on the table as she chewed her food. She looked at the others sitting around the table in the recreation room, curious as to their reactions to the food provided by the facility’s food preparation system. “Did it taste like this the last time?”

Jason curled his nose after he swallowed his first bite and muttered with distaste, “My ham tastes like butter…and not the sweet kind, either.”

“I think I’m going to puke.” Tomomi groaned and clutched her belly.

Cary pushed the pile of brown food on his plate around with his fork. “Are you sure this is chipped beef?”

Anna watched Cooper, who was silently shoveling in bite after bite of the food assembled on his plate. She remembered him ordering beefsteak, corn, green beans, and the same garlic mashed potatoes as she had requested. “How can you eat this, sarge?”

Cooper stopped with his fork clamped between his lips and rolled his eyes up toward her. After slipping the utensil from his mouth, he swallowed his mouthful. “Ja…Anna, when you’ve been through boot camp, you’ll eat just about anything put in front of you.”

Everyone else shoved their plates in front of Cooper and got up from the table. His eyes darted from one dish to the other before he sighed. “I don’t think I’m
that
hungry.”

“I’m so sorry the food wasn’t to your liking, Anna.” Bryce’s apology carried a sincere tone that seemed uncharacteristic for him, at least according to what she remembered of him from high school. Bryce never apologized for anything, which was part of the reason why they had broken up before graduation. She quickly reminded herself that this wasn’t the real Bryce, just a manufactured look-alike. Though most of his mannerisms were identical to her memories of him, it was still the facility’s computer speaking, much like Kate back on her ship.

Kate!

“Oh, god!” Anna’s vision dropped, and she looked at Cary’s feet as he walked toward the gaming area of the room. “She must be worried sick about me.”

Jason turned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Kate. I haven’t talked to her since we left this morning.”

Jason frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think you can reach her from here. Do you really want to risk another go with this place’s communications?”

Anna looked back at him, then sighed and nodded. “You’re right. Kate can be rather patient. I suppose she can wait a little longer. Besides, it’s not like I’ve been gone a month. Right?”

Jason smiled. “Right.”

“Okay.” She sighed again, released the tension she had created, and looked across the room to where Cary and Tomomi sat across from each other at a black pedestal. They were playing what appeared to be a holographic video game of tennis in a zero-gravity environment. Their laughs and banter as they played, by swinging their hands to bat at the insubstantial ball, brought a cheery atmosphere to what would otherwise have been a gloomy room. Jason’s smile grew on his face as he watched them play like a couple of kids. Wanting a closer look, he grabbed a nearby stool and sat next to Tomomi.

Anna crossed the room and leaned against the wall next to the open window, checking out the three gathered around the new form of amusement. Seeing them experience a moment of fun despite being in a foreign location brought a smile to her face, something she did not expect to happen when she had first fallen into the caverns with them.

“Almost like they’ve forgotten about the world outside,” she noted under her breath.

Turning her attention to the cavern outside the open window next to her, Anna peered into the darkness, straining to discern any details beyond what she already knew of the nearby buildings and the catwalk along the wall. She pulled out her flashlight and scanned the area again with its bright beam, but her efforts proved to be futile.

“What’re you looking for?”

Anna switched off the flashlight and turned to regard Cooper standing behind her, still chewing on some food. Trying to ignore the scents of butterscotch and tomatoes, she smiled. “The cave on the other side of this window is our way out. Or at least, I believe it is. I was just scouting ahead, so to speak.”

Cooper moved past her and stared out the window for a few seconds. Swallowing his food, he grunted and stepped back. “Looks like quite a drop. Hope you’re not planning on rappelling down from here.”

“No.” She shook her head as he turned and leaned back against the wall next to her. “There’s a walkway against the far wall that reaches across to the passage to the surface. I’m just concerned…”

“You’re concerned about any possible dangers that may be lurking out there,” interrupted the sergeant. “Me too.” He glanced over his shoulder into the cavern again before facing her. As long as we work together as a group, we should make it out. Between you, me, Anderson, and Fuller, we have the firepower to defend ourselves. But, we’re sitting ducks out there in the open. How far is it until we reach cover?”

“I don’t know. I’d have to ask Bryce.”

“Yes?” asked the teen as he walked in front of them.

“Pardon me,” Cooper interrupted as Anna opened her mouth to speak. “But, who are you anyway?”

“My name is Bryce. I am Anna’s bilsintik, while she is within this facility.”

“Bilsintik? What’s a…”

Anna cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It’s a computerized personal assistant.”

Shifting to look at Bryce and then back at her, the sergeant prodded, “How did you get…”

“Long story.”

“You’d better start talking then.” Cooper crossed his arms with a tight-lipped expression on his face, waiting for her explanation.

Anna told him of the time shortly after her crash on the moon when she had wandered through the underground caves and the resulting month missing from her memory. She deliberately left out her initial encounter with the Altiki, which had followed the trip through the caves.

Cooper nodded for a few seconds after she finished her story, appearing to be lost in thought. “That certainly explains a number of things. But that also reminds me of our original mission. Are we able to shut down the shield from here?”

“From what I know about it and what Bryce told me earlier, the shield is timed to shut down on its own, provided that nobody is trying to do anything else to it or the pyramid.”

“If that is the case, that shield will be on indefinitely,” stated Cooper with a heavy dose of dread in his voice. “I’m sure the brass are still trying to break through it…”

“…which means that we need to get back there as soon as possible.” Anna’s words were urgent, and the sergeant agreed with a confident nod.

“Bryce,” Anna queried. “What is the status of the one in the infirmary?”

Bryce paused for a second as if listening to somebody whisper in his ear. “Medical scans indicate that donat-toplik perdondras of his injuries have been repaired. Cellular…”

Cooper waved his hand rapidly at Bryce. “Wait a minute. What do you mean donat-toplik perdondras? What is that?”

“It is a number to… ”

“What kind of number is that?”

“We count in base fifteen, while you count in base ten. If the numbers…”

The sergeant turned to Anna, a quizzical look on his face. “Base fifteen? What the fuck is that?”

“I’ll explain later.” Anna shifted back to Bryce. “Continue.”

“Cellular reconstruction is twenty-six perdondras complete.”

“Only twenty-six?”

“Base fifteen.” Anna tried to be patient with him. She knew he wanted to check on Anderson’s status as well.

“Whatever!” Cooper stood up straight and appeared ready to pounce on the teen. “You fixed me and the woman over there up right quick. Why is it taking so long with him?”

“This patient’s cells had begun degrading when he was initially scanned. We are in the process of rebuilding his body at the cellular level. Considering we are working with a relatively new physiology, we are proceeding with care to minimize any complications.”

“But…” stammered the soldier.

His anger surfaced again, until Anna gently laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay.”

He
forced himself to calm down, taking a few deep breaths, before asking, “How long will it take for the healing process to finish?”

“Current estimates indicate that the process should be complete within one glasa, eleven nathal, and twenty-four radal.”

Confusion flowed over Cooper’s face again. “Wh…what?”

“Current estimates…”

“It’s okay, Bryce,” Anna interrupted, thrusting an open hand toward him to emphasize her statement. “Thanks.”

“They have not been able to translate time units yet,” she reassured Cooper.

The sergeant glared at her. “Well, that does us a lot of fucking good. Doesn’t it?” His tone dripped with sarcasm. Despite Anna’s apologetic shrug, his expression remained the same.

The room fell silent, save for the sounds of the game taking place. Cooper dropped his gaze to his feet, while Anna crossed her arms across her chest and turned her head to look out the window into the inky black beyond. Bryce moved away to ask how the others were doing.

Anna sighed aloud about a minute later, her thoughts focused elsewhere. “You don’t seem very happy,” she finally broke the silence.

“Hmm? Oh, I’ll feel a lot better, once we get everyone back to the colony.”

“Are you always this gruff?”

“Have to be. I’m a gun runner after all.”

Anna balked, confused by the response. “A…a what?”

“A gun runner? It’s a nickname for a gunnery sergeant. That’s what I am: a gunnery sergeant.”

She nodded in understanding.

“Did anyone give you any nicknames?” Cooper prodded. “I mean, besides Jane, Queen of the Jungle, Jungle Judy, Amazon, Ba…”

“Hold up a second. Where did all of these nicknames come from?”

“The other grunts.” The sergeant continued without skipping a beat. “Barbarian Bombshell, Backwoods Babe, and Ellie May.”

Anna’s face drooped as she reflected on the list. “I had no idea I was so popular.”

After taking a deep breath, she answered, “No, I can’t say that I had any nicknames like that.”

Cooper looked past her for a second and commented, “I wonder if your friend Bryce would know.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Anna thrust her hands toward the sergeant while she resisted, “No, you don’t need…”

“Hey, Bryce!”

Their host turned, an expectant look on his face.

Pointing toward Anna, Cooper asked, “Do you know any nicknames for her from high school?”

Anna shook her head and mimed zipping her lips shut, but Bryce responded anyway, “You mean names like pookiecakes?”

“Pookiecakes?” Cooper exclaimed.

Anna closed her eyes and bowed her head in defeat, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as she muttered, “Oh, god!”

“Well…Pookiecakes,” the sergeant stated louder than normal, emphasizing the newly-discovered name. “I think that our trip back to the colony will be a rather interesting one. Wouldn’t you say?”

With a loud sigh, she walked at a fast pace across the room to the door, fighting to keep her voice steady despite the embarrassment, “I’m going to check on Anderson.”

Bryce observed her departure and noted as she reached the door, “I can check…”

“No!” Anna cut him off. “I think that I need to go look him over. Thanks, Bryce!” Her tone carried a generous amount of sarcasm.

* * * * *

Shifting his line of sight from the closed door to the sergeant who chuckled to himself as he leaned against the wall by the open window, Jason’s distaste for the soldier returned with a vengeance. Pushing himself off the stool, he purposefully maneuvered between the tables toward him, much like a panther closing in on its prey. Reaching the place where Anna stood a moment before, Jason crossed his arms and glowered at Cooper, who finally recognized his new visitor after a few more seconds of mirth.

“You know what, sarge? You can be a real asshole sometimes.”

The grunt chuckled before responding, “Tell me something I don’t know, boy.”

“Why can’t you ever let up on her? She’s done nothing but try to help us.”

Cooper’s smile melted away as he searched Jason’s face. “Let me tell you something. Your friend may be a decent guide and all, but she doesn’t deserve to be placed on the pedestal you’re putting her on. She ain’t perfect. She’s human, just like the rest of us. She makes mistakes and has her own set of problems. And if my little jabs help keep her from getting too big for her britches, then I’m doing everybody a favor. And, you’ll thank me later for it.”

“You’re being a bit relentless. Don’t you think?”

Cooper lowered his face a touch. “You’ve never been through boot camp. Have you, boy?”

Scratching the back of his head with an expression resembling a lost puppy, Jason said, “Can’t say that I have.”

“You don’t know what relentless is.”

* * * * *

Anna marched with purpose down the dim corridor toward the infirmary. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the exchange between Bryce and Cooper regarding her nickname, “Pookiecakes”. It was the pet name Bryce had given her when they had dated and, even though she had not minded it at the time, it was now an embarrassment.