Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
My curiosity is going to be the death of me. With a heavy sigh, I push myself to my feet and step outside my compartment door for the first time since it was assigned to me. The hallway on the other side is empty.
I remember Sayer’s comments from a couple of weeks ago about the computer operating system. He’s briefly come in to visit me—or the baby I should say—here and there, but when I’m in a mood, which is more often than not, all I get is a nod of his head and he bails. I smack my forehead. Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? The shock must have sapped every iota of intelligence straight from my brain.
“Uvie?” I say aloud, feeling somewhat foolish talking to thin air.
“Yes, Grace,” her automated voice responds.
Forgetting myself momentarily, I say, “You know who I am?”
“Of course. Sayer programmed me to answer your voice patterns and to answer any questions you may have. Would you like me to page him for you?”
“No,” I blurt, then say more calmly, “No, thank you. I’m wondering if you can tell me where Molly is?”
I didn’t want to think about Sayer being considerate. He must have known I’d come out of my self-imposed isolation at some point and it irked me that he thought he knew me at all. I didn’t want to be indebted to him in any way possible, but the show of consideration made me feel it all the same.
“Molly is in the command center. She fell asleep waiting to hear from her daughter.”
Her daughter.
I brush the thought away, although it takes root like a bitter-tasting seed in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t selfish of me to be concerned with my own needs, my own fate after having everything ripped from me so cruelly, so completely. I didn’t ask for this. Even so, my cheeks run hot as I navigate the halls looking for Molly through the small windows in the doors.
Two of the freaks pass me, but I keep my eyes forward, my nose upturned. One of them was the freak with the crazy hair—Jareth. Today his knuckles are bloody. The sight of them from the corner of my eye nearly causes me to do a double take, but I don’t dare look back at him. Of all the aliens, he’d been the only one who actively seemed to hate me. The feeling was mutual, but I didn’t quite understand why he disliked me so much.
Musing over it allows me to forget my shame until I come to the right door. Using the armband I’ve been given, I wave it over the sensor as I’ve seen the others do, and the door glides open. Molly is slumped over a control panel, snoring slightly. The glow of lights from the monitors flicker over her face. Even in sleep, I can see the dark smudges underneath her eyes, the deep shadows in the hollows below her cheeks. Her bubbly personality, the light that seems to shine when she’s awake, has dimmed and I can see behind the cheerful façade. I’m not the only one who’s had something taken from me.
I take a hesitant step closer. “Molly?” My voice is rusty from disuse. I clear my throat and say again, “Molly?”
She bolts upright, her eyes bloodshot and wild. “What? Draven?”
“No, it’s me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Her gaze focuses on me and she presses a hand to her heaving chest. “Sweet stars, you gave me a heart attack. What time is it?”
I lift a shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, you gave me a start. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” Molly turns to the monitor and taps at the keys. “Any change, Uvie?” she asks and from the tone in her voice I can tell it’s one of those questions she’s asked a thousand times before. Despite this, there’s a tinge of optimism there. A wave of longing sweeps over me. I wish I could be so hopelessly positive in the face of certain adversity.
“No additional data has been received,” Uvie responds, tearing me from my thoughts.
Molly droops but forces a smile. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. I guess I missed our chat today. Sorry about that.”
“You’re looking for your daughter?” That damn curiosity again. Perhaps stoked by the little one I feel growing inside me each day. I’ve never planned to be a mother. Reconciling that with the life stirring as we speak takes more mental power than I possess.
Molly’s eyes fill with tears and I wonder if I’ve said the wrong thing. “Willow. Her name is Willow. I had to leave her…when they took me away. She’s grown up now.” Her voice wobbles, thick with tears. “With the time difference and the cryosleep, I reckon it’s like that movie Interstellar. You know, the time space continuum?” She waves her hand in the air like I’m supposed to just know what that means though I’ve never seen it. “My baby girl is all grown up. She sent a transmission and Sayer has been helping along with Uvie to try and locate her. Here, listen. Uvie, repeat transmission.”