Her friend trailed off and Gemma’s eyes narrowed. There was something she wasn’t saying.I don’t have time for this!
Still, Charlie was her best friend. She owed it to the girl to listen, now that she finally could.
“What happened?” she asked softy, putting a hand on her arm.
Charlie took a deep breath. “I’d been talking about my little brother when the lights went out. It was pitch black. I got a little freaked out. Hid in the corner. I could hear the doctors talking. The woman, Beyhard, said they needed to figure out what was going on. Grimm said something about—something about it being midnight—like he expected it to be dark. I don’t know exactly what they were talking about.”
Charlie covered her face with her hands, muffling her words. “Beyhard went out, saying she was going to find out what was going on. I thought Grimm followed her. I might have started crying. Don’t tell anyone!”
“I won’t,” Gemma said in a comforting tone.
“Turns out, the asshole wasn’t gone. He found me in the corner and sort of… made me feel better I guess. Stayed with me until the lights came back on.”
There was still something Charlie didn’t want to say, but Gemma wouldn’t push her. It wasn’t as if Gemma was eager to share what she’d been doing during the blackout. “So maybe he’s not so much of an asshole then?”
Charlie chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far. You should hear the things my brother tells me about him.”
Gemma frowned. It was Charlie’s dementia, re-writing the code in her mind. “Do you ever think that maybe you’ve got the wrong impression about him?”
Charlie crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s a bully, Gemma.”
Gemma lifted her hands, palms out. “Okay, okay, I won’t argue. Let’s see if we can figure out what Grimm’s doing. Maybe then we can think of a proper plan to distract him.”
They walked down the hall toward the common room, Charlie leading Gemma by the arm like usual. The common room had a smattering of staff and some patients but the doctors were nowhere to be seen.
Gemma could see the red dust blowing at the window, similar to how it had on a Tuesday six years prior. Red dust on the red planet.Mars. Radius of 2,106 miles. Surface gravity only thirty-eight percent of Territh’s, requiring planetary gravity stabilizers for inhabitation. Two moons, Phobos and Deimos, twin sons of the ancient deity for which the planet was named. Fear and terror.
Gemma started to tremble.No. It can’t come back. Not yet.
Please.
She looked away from the window and concentrated on her friend. Charlie led her back up the main hall, peeking down the corridors that branched off. She finally spotted Grimm at the entrance to the green ward. He was in deep conversation with the two female doctors.
Charlie stiffened. “I can do this,” she whispered to Gemma. “You go, get into the office. I promise I can buy you at least fifteen minutes, maybe more if I’m lucky.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Leave that to me,” she said, pushing Gemma back down the hall. “Hurry up, and don’t let anyone see you going into the office.
Gemma nodded, giving her friend a grin and a salute. Then she was hustling back down the hall, headed for Grimm’s office.
