Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3) (24 page)

Starting dim, the single light installed in the center of the room’s ceiling activated and slowly brightened, bypassing the level of illumination elsewhere in the subterranean structure. Anna blinked a few times despite a lack of discomfort. When the brightening finally stopped, she found that they were about as bright as the outside daylight, much to her surprise and delight.

Anna surveyed the room, marveling at what the Altiki had provided for her during her stay many years ago. In the middle of the room atop the lush, blue carpet sat a queen-sized bed, complete with two pillows and a full cover set with white sheets and a thick, dark green blanket. The simple and unadorned metal headboard rested against the wall next to a black, metal end table adorned with only a simple lamp. On the wall between the lamp and the headboard was a small panel with a holoprojector lens embedded into it. The far-right corner held a doorway that led into a personal head. From her position, Anna could see that it held the standard equipment: toilet, sink, and shower stall, all covered in pristine white porcelain. Cut into the wall opposite the bed was a four-drawer dresser with a mirror. The drawers were seamless, their presence indicated only by four pressure plates embedded in the front of the cabinet. An assortment of personal effects lay on top of the dresser. Upon closer examination, she discovered that they were parts of a makeup kit: foundation, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, and lipstick.

Anna’s eyes lit up. “Oh, my god! I haven’t seen any makeup since just after I left Earth!” She lifted each container and scrutinized their contents, confirming that they were all of her favorite colors. She could not help but laugh out loud, elated with her newfound treasure. As she set them back down and started to open the lipstick, her peripheral vision reminded her of the dresser drawers. Setting the cosmetics down, she stepped back and opened the top one. She felt a slight give after releasing the pressure plate and heard a click before seams appeared around the front of the drawer. A split second later, it ejected toward her slightly. Pulling it out a bit further, she gasped when she saw several pairs of clean, white socks, panties, and sports bras within. The sight of folded white T-shirts and olive cargo pants in the next two drawers brought a smile to her face. The bottom drawer held two pairs of work boots that looked as if they had just been made.

Pulling out an entire outfit, Anna laid the clothing on the bed and stood back to admire the articles for a few seconds. Her mind wandered back to her time aboard the mining station when she had worn similar clothes. “I never thought I would be glad to see these again.”

After stealing a glance at the head, she removed her leather garments and tossed them on the floor next to the dresser. Combing her hands through her hair, she smiled and proceeded to the shower.

Several hours passed, and Bryce continued tirelessly with the operation on Anderson. Jason had long since fallen asleep on the medical table out of sheer boredom. Anna, now dressed in a copy of the outfit she had worn when she had first arrived on the moon, had offered her quarters to the two scientists so that they could get some greatly needed sleep. She sat on the floor with her back against the backside of the central workstation in the infirmary, her eyes moving sleepily between Jason and Anderson on the beds, and Cooper who sat on the floor between them.

Her mind meandered between the possible results of the operation, how Kate was doing, and how Danica and the rest of the colony were reacting to their prolonged absence.

The colony!

“They must be worried about us,” Anna muttered, her eyes snapped open with the realization. How could she reach them? The only way she determined was to use the hologram projector they had used previously. She looked down at her shoulder. From beneath the material of her T-shirt, the blue coating from the anti-radiation treatment was already flaking off to show her purplish skin below, leaving little bits stuck in the white fabric. Her scratching must have accelerated it. She resisted the temptation to pick at it and averted her eyes. Returning her thoughts to the projector, she pondered on how she could use it again without causing more problems for herself. Then, it hit her.

“Cooper?” The sergeant groggily lifted his head and blinked a few times. “We need to update the colony with our status.”

“How do we do that?”

“The same way I did earlier.”

“Then, why don’t you do it?” He shrugged. Anna wordlessly pointed to her coated shoulder. “You’re not proposing that I…” Anna’s nod stopped him mid-sentence. “I ain’t gonna do that and get radiated like you.”

“I think the only reason why it happened to me is because I have radioactive particles embedded in my skin.”
She pointed her finger at him. “You don’t. You should be safe.”

Cooper cast a doubtful eye at her. “You’re sure about that?”

“No, but what other choice do we have? Bryce, Jason, and Anderson are occupied, and Cary and Tomomi are asleep. It’s just us, and I can’t risk my shoulder again, not while Bryce is working on Anderson. So, that brings us to you.”

He pushed himself off the floor with a heavy sigh. “All right, then. Let’s do this.”

They entered the communications room a couple of minutes later. While he stifled a yawn and stretched his arms, she stepped up to the console and activated the hologram.

“Damn it! I can’t read their writing.”

Standing in the middle of the circle, Cooper watched her stare at the holographic interface and concentrate on the buttons and script floating in front of her. “Can you make the computer translate it for you?”

Anna shook her head. “Already tried. It doesn’t know English writing to effectively translate it.”

“Can you make it translate the buttons verbally?”

“I...haven’t tried that yet.” As she berated herself, she asked aloud, “Computer?”

“Recognize: Anna Foster.” Its deep voice resonated through the chamber.

“I need you to verbally announce the text on this panel as I touch it. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

She smiled. “Then, let’s begin.”

After a few minutes of familiarizing herself with the controls, Anna accessed a topographical map of the area and focused the destination inside the colony’s main hall. She found the ease with which the system scanned inside the building a bit disturbing, down to the real-time events of the people inside.

“Is that what’s happening right now?” Cooper watched the display with interest.

Anna replied with a slow, steady tone, “Yes, it is. Who do you want to report to?”

“Colonel McClaskey.”

Despite her inability to suppress a frown, she rapidly scanned the main hall and the barracks nearby, until she found the colonel relaxing in his office with his feet propped up on the desk and what appeared to be a bottle of liquor in his hand. As he took a long draw from it, Anna turned to the sergeant. “Ready to pay him a visit?”

Cooper snapped to attention and curtly nodded. Anna locked in the location and swept a finger through the transmit switch. The disk below Cooper’s feet glowed, and she could see the scene appear around him as though projected on a transparent cloth wrapped around the disk.

McClaskey sprayed the alcohol into the air and bolted upright, nearly choking on the liquid in his throat. Anna worked on holding her laughter.

“What the hell?” McClaskey exclaimed after coughing and sputtering for a few seconds. “Cooper?”

“Sergeant Cooper reporting, sir!” He gave a stiff salute after his staccato announcement and waited for his superior officer to lazily salute back.

“How did you…wait. You’re being projected like Ms. Armstrong’s friend Anna did earlier. Right?”

“Yes, sir.”

The colonel wagged his finger knowingly while he circled his desk while lost in thought. Stopping at the corner about a meter from Cooper’s projection, he turned back to Cooper. “Is she there with you now?”

“Yes, sir.”

McClaskey frowned and cursed under his breath. Wiping the expression from his face, he took a deep breath. “How soon will you be returning to the colony?”

“As soon as we finish treating Anderson, sir.”

“What happened to him?”

“Injured, sir. He got hurt pretty bad. We’re patching him up as we speak, sir.”

“What about the rest of the expedition into the pyramid?”

“All present and accounted for, sir.”

“Injuries?”

“Only Anderson, sir.”

The colonel’s confused look was unmistakable. Scratching his temple absentmindedly, he looked away for a few moments before posing his question. “My understanding from Captain Marshall is that six of you, including Ms. Foster and her friend Fuller, fell through that trap door in the middle of the pyramid. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, he also told me that you requested a medic, because you had injured.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Was Anderson injured from the fall?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see.”

Pacing around his desk, McClaskey capped his bottle and returned it to one of the drawers. “It seems odd to me that, of the six of you – four of which are civilians, only Anderson got hurt.” Facing Cooper again, the colonel cocked his head with an inquisitive look. “Doesn’t that sound strange to you?”

A feeling of dread descended upon Anna. She prayed Cooper would not give away their current location. One of the last things she wanted to see was the military getting their hands on the Altiki’s hidden
research center.

“Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely, sir.”

“Denied. I want a full report from you when you get back here.”

“Yes, sir.”

The colonel moved to stand almost toe-to-toe with Cooper and leaned in. Anna would swear that their noses would have touched if they were physically in the same room. “And, I expect you to include everything. Is that clear?”

Cooper leaned away slightly, his face working to hide the effect of McClaskey’s intimidation. “Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Cooper saluted again. Before McClaskey could return the gesture, Anna cut the signal. The soldier blinked and rubbed his eyes as the light beneath him faded.

“Are you okay?” Anna swerved around the panel and moved toward him.

He nodded before pulling his hands away from his face.

“You don’t feel queasy or anything?”

“No, I’m fine.” His voice was stern, sounding more like when she first met him.

Anna sighed and reached for his forearm. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

Cooper ripped his arm away from her grasp, and his expression hardened. “You think?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I… ”

“I don’t need the colonel breathing down my neck! I just want to get back there, file my report, and pretend this whole thing never happened. God damn, woman! Back off!”

Anna withdrew a few steps, her hands in front of her defensively. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I don’t care what kind of relationship you have with Bryce or the beings that built this place. Right now, I couldn’t care less if you were fucking the whole lot of them. But from now on, we’re following my lead. I’m the one in charge of this expedition. It’s my responsibility to get us home.”

Cooper’s words stung. His insults crossed the line. “Now, wait a minute!” She moved toward him, pointing an accusing finger. “All I’ve been doing…”

Her words ended
abruptly, as he struck her across the jaw with his fist and sent her to the floor. The pain from the blow stunned her, and she lay sprawled out, cradling her chin.

“As soon as Anderson is back up, we leave.” Cooper stooped down and activated her wristcomp’s communicator, opening the exit. He stepped over her and left her lying on the floor in pain.

Anna walked into the infirmary several minutes later and immediately spotted Cooper lying on the bed next to Anderson while Bryce continued the operation. He lifted his head and scowled before dropping his head back down. She ignored his reaction and stepped with purpose to Bryce.

The teen spoke without ceasing his work before she could say anything. “I have been informed that you and your cohorts will be departing soon.”

Anna shot a glance at Cooper and replied before returning her gaze to Bryce. “That’s right.”

“I recommend you change clothes before you do so.”

Taken aback, she looked down her body. Her clothes were in good condition and clean, despite the blue flakes stuck to the left shoulder of her shirt.

“Why is that?” Her voice betrayed her confusion.

“As soon as you exit this facility, the clothes you currently wear will disappear. They are holographic.”

“What?” Silence answered her. “How? What about the clothes I wore when I left the first time? Those were real.”

“Those were your original clothes. We created holographic facsimiles of them to wear during your stay while we mended them.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna noticed Cooper raising his head again. She looked at him for a brief second. Then, she huffed, “Don’t you have any real clothes here for me?”

“Other than the garments you wore when you arrived, no. I suggest wearing them again.”

She frowned, disappointed. “Okay.”

Anna shuffled from the room and returned to her quarters, where she found Cary and Tomomi asleep next to each other on her bed. Feeling less energetic, she retrieved her leather outfit from the dresser. Then, she turned and leaned back against the drawers to scout the room for a place where she could change in relative privacy. Short of moving to the hall where anyone walking by would easily spot her, the only option was to use the head. Without a door, either of the scientists could have a full view of her while she did so.

“Better them than Cooper,” she mumbled as she shuffled into the adjoining room. Before taking off her fake clothes, she paused before the mirror and examined her face. Though the left half of her face was still tinted blue, she could see through the dusky light that the area of her jaw where she had been struck had already turned purple. She replayed the incident in the communications room in her mind’s eye. How dare Cooper attack her! She had done nothing to deserve it. Anger built within her chest and she felt the urge to cry. Fighting to keep the tears in check, she unclasped her tool belt and gently set it on the floor next to her leathers. Standing again, she pulled the T-shirt over her head and felt a drop of wetness hit her cheek.

* * * * *

“Anna.”

No response.

“Anna.”

Again, no response.

“Anna.”

She stirred, groaning slightly as her head lolled to the side before she opened her eyes. Bryce stood next to the medical bed with a mild smile on his face.

“Yes?” she moaned as she stretched.

“The operation is complete.”

She blinked hard a couple of times before fully opening her eyes. “How did it turn out?”

“See for yourself.”

Anna looked toward the other beds as she pushed herself up by her elbows. Jason, Anderson, and the sergeant were all awake and chatting, recounting their discovery of the alien complex. Jason, still sitting on his bed, looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. “You’re awake! Come here.”

Swinging her legs over the side, she sat up and stretched her back again before offering a suggestion to Bryce. “You should consider installing a mattress on these beds.”

“I will take that into consideration.”

Anna dismounted and moved with Bryce to join the group, ignoring Cooper’s sour look at her. “It seems you’re fit, Anderson. How do you feel?”

“I feel good.” His cheerful voice confirmed his statement. “I feel like I’ve slept for days.”

She chuckled, “Not too far off. What is the last thing you remember?”