13

Elizabeth Davis was aware she was moving. Where she was going, in what vehicle, or with whom, she couldn’t say. The occasional bumps made her think it was some kind of a rover. She could hear a man and a woman speaking somewhere far away. She let sleep take her.

Davis had no idea how much time had passed when she woke up. This time she **** herself to open her eyes. She was indeed, in a rover. The inside of the vehicle was narrow; and across the hallway, was another bunk with a sleeping man in it. There was a heavy jolt, and she heard a curse. She looked forward to see a woman sitting at a driver’s seat and Martian landscape was visible beyond the windshield.

Terror flooded Davis’s mind. Was she being kidnapped? Where was the rest of her crew? Where was the SpaceY lander? She felt her hands shaking under the blankets of the bunk she was laying in. The fear only increased when she saw the man in the bunk was awake.

“Good morning,” the man said sleepily. “Hey Li, we got a live one back here.” The driver, the one the man called Li, stood and walked back to Davis’s bunk.

“Hey there Elizabeth. How are you feeling,” the woman, Li, asked.

“Where am I,” Davis asked, trying not to show her fear.

“You’re on a rover headed to the Green Mars Habitat. You’re safe,” Li assured her.

“Wait Green M…” she started, then stopped, the fear welling up inside her. This couldn’t be, they are enemies she thought.

“It’s OK it’s OK,” assured Li, who knelt beside the bunk to be at Davis’s level.

“What am I doing here? Have I been kidnapped?”

“Jesus,” the man in the bunk across from hers said, sounding depressed.

“No hun you’re not kidnapped, listen, try to get some rest, we’ll explain everything,” Li said softly.

“No I no,” Davis stuttered. She was desperately tired still and becoming increasingly aware of how bad the headache she had was. “I… where am I?”

“You’re on the Green Mars Corp rover miss Davis,” Li repeated. “There was an accident, but you’re safe now.”

Davis felt exhausted and like her head could split wide open at any second. She tried desperately to fight the desire to sleep, but even as she was trying to will herself up, or at least awake, her eyes shut.

A jolt woke Davis once again. It was bright in the rover and through the windshield of the rover she could see the cold light of the sun. I’m on Mars, she thought with wonder. I’m on fucking Mars. Where she was on Mars was another matter.

“Good morning,” said Li happily. She was standing in what looked like a small kitchenette in the back of the rover. She and the man, who was now driving, were wearing grey jumpsuits. “I made herbal tea, want some Elizabeth?”

“I um, sure,” Davis said. Her head was much less painful, and she tried to sit up in the bed. Her head spun momentarily but she recentered herself, adding a mumbled “thanks,” when Li handed her a steaming cup. “What happened?”

Li sat down on the bunk across from Davis.

“So, my name is Min Li, we met last time you were awake.” Li said, and Davis nodded. “That over there is Eric Alain. We both work for the Green Mars Corporation.”

“What am I doing in this rover?”

“Well, there was an accident,” Li said, looking hesitant to break the news. “We think your O2 system may have experienced a problem. We were hoping you remember enough to tell us what happened exactly, if you feel comfortable sharing.”

Memories started injecting themselves into Davis’s consciousness. She did remember parts of what happened but it was foggy. She remembered the announcement from the CEO that they had to hurry or they’d run out of air. She remembered putting on her suit and… The rest? The rest was so very foggy and disordered. Falling. She remembered falling.

“I um, we were running out of air and I… I dunno I…” she stammered, trying to get her thoughts in some order. “Did you… Where is everyone?”

“They uh, they didn’t make it Elizabeth,” Li said softly, her eyes full of sadness.

“What do you mean they didn’t make it,” Davis retorted, fear creeping back up.

“Elizabeth you’re… you’re the only survivor,” Li said softly.

“What? That’s not… That’s not,” tears poured down her face. “That can’t… no.”

“I’m sorry,” Li said quietly, and reached out to hold Davis’s hand. “Do you need a minute? I’ll give you some space, I’ll be right here though OK? ”

Davis nodded and Li stepped away to sit next to the driver, who Davis remembered was named Eric. She felt like a panic attack was building and tried to push it down but failed. She tried to control her terrified breathing, curled up into a ball on her little bunk, and hyperventilated, tears streaming down her face. She tried to picture the face of her boyfriend on the ship, but nothing came to her. Memories of the CEO assuring the crew they would be alright now felt bitter.

“Where are you taking me,” Davis sniffed.

“Back to our habitat,” Li said, walking softly back over to the bunk across from Davis. “It’s the only safe place to take you and we couldn’t just leave you behind.”

“I should talk to the company. They should know what happened,” she told Li.

“We can probably arrange that. Once we get back you can meet Tara, and she can tell you what’s up. That OK with you?”

Davis found herself nodding along. She tried again to remember what happened, but it seemed like a half-remembered dream. She remembered that awful sensation like she could breath, yet she was ****. She remembered fumbling for… something. Something threaded?

“Where… how did you find me,” she asked.

“Well, we were told to observe your landing, but when no signs of activity was detected, we went in to check and found… we found the atmosphere wasn’t breathable. Everyone was strapped into their bunks. Everyone but you,” Li explained.

“Only me?”

“Yes,” Li continued, "just you. We found you on the floor with an O2 bottle connected to your suit. You must have got enough air to sustain yourself from it cus it was empty when we got there.”

Davis’s mind spun. How was she the only one who got an O2 bottle? Where did she even get it? She wished beyond words could express that she remembered.

“I have to ask you ma’am,” interjected the Eric Alain, “did your company send a distress signal?”

Davis wracked her brain. The CEO had told them about the emergency she remembered that. She remembered being told they would be safe. She remembered falling and guessed that occurred after she connected her O2 tank. But a distress signal?

“I don’t know, I… I don’t know,” she said, feeling at a loss.

“Listen it’s OK, we’re just trying to figure out what happened,” explained Li. “If they’d sent a distress signal when the fault had been discovered or when they knew what would happen, then well, we may have been able to do more.”

“I wish I could tell you, but the flight wasn’t my thing, I had like, other duties,” Davis tried to explain.

“Don’t worry; you only know what you know. No pressure here. We just um, wish we could have done more,” Li said sadly. Davis nodded silently. The tragedy of what transpired, the confusion, it was all too much. She tried to stand, but found herself lightheaded again and stayed sitting.

“Take it easy, you’ve been comatose for a couple days now,” Li told her as she tried again to stand.

“A couple of days,” Davis sobbed. “What the FUCK?!”

“I’m sorry hun, you were in a coma, we couldn’t wake you. We didn’t even expect to meet anyone else on the trip, we’re not doctors but we did what we could,” Li explained, sympathy in her voice.

“Where’s the um, toilet,” Davis asked, and after Li indicated it was at the back, stood up. She was woozy but stayed upright and staggered down the narrow hall isle to the small door. She didn’t want to admit to Li that she almost passed out trying to get the door latch open. When she finished and left the bathroom, Li was standing with a grey jumpsuit folded in her hands.

“Your clothes were uh, soiled, so I got you this. I hope it fits.”

Li and Alain turned around so that Davis could have some privacy to get dressed. Until she got up, she had barely noticed that she was only wearing a tee shirt and some nondescript grey shorts.

Davis ran her hands through her short, blonde hair and wished for a shower. She stepped into the jumpsuit and pulled it up. She guessed it was Li’s jumpsuit by the fit: Davis was of average height, but that made her several inches taller than Li, and she noticed it in the sleeves and ankles of the jumpsuit. She was as slim as Li and guessed when she zipped up that they had a similar chest size.

Davis looked down at her attire, her plain grey jumpsuit, then outside at the Martian landscape passing them, and she burst into tears. The adventure she'd spent so long preparing for was ashes in her mouth.

“You’re gonna be OK hun,” Li assured her. “This is fucked up so take what time you need to process it. You’re in good hands.”

“T-thank you,” she stammered as wet tears dropped onto her grey suit. “Everyone I know is dead,” she blurted out between sobs.

“I’m sorry Elizabeth, it’s… it’s terrible. I know our two companies have had beef but nobody wanted to see this happen. We'll find a place for you in our home,” Li said earnestly. Davis wondered if she was lying but it didn’t matter: The dead were dead. Her boyfriend, her best friend, her CEO, and dreams of her life on Mars: all dead.

“It’s Liz. Call me Liz.”