EvO (Darverius, House of DaR #16)

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

QWIN

EvO doesn’t say anything at first. He must be able to tell it’s a hard subject for me. He goes over to his bed lounger, re-adjusting it so that we are now facing one another comfortably. His piercing eyes gaze at me unjudging, so I start at what should have been the beginning.

“ I can remember Grandma saying things, like the weather, and these storms are far more intense than usual. Nothing was normal anymore and that all the seasons were becoming unfamiliar in one way or another. Like it was hot when it was supposed to be cold and vice versa. As I got older and started paying more attention to the news. Hurricanes would come ashore and instead of breaking apart like they always did on land, they would get stronger. We even started experiencing tornadoes in our area, and that had never happened before.

“ Every time you turned the TV on, another dam had broken, or an earthquake destroyed another town. Lakes and reservoirs ran dry while deserts flooded. Farmland burned. Mudslides took out roads, leaving people stranded to the point that they had to desert their homes, and livelihoods as they were flown out of the now uninhabited area. Most had nowhere to go, and no funds to start over somewhere else. Some were allowed to stay in makeshift shelters, while others were homeless on the streets.

“ There was no way to prepare, or even see what was coming, as nothing was normal. A simple rainstorm in a drought area could destroy forests and take out the electricity for weeks on end. Our country’s infrastructure was over a hundred years old. So , things that were built to protect us failed because they were not kept up properly. Many died in places that could have been prevented if the money had been put towards maintenance, instead of ending up in someone’s pocket.

“ Many asked questions when the weather kept turning for the worse. Only to be told they were being foolish or causing trouble. Despite the leaders’ strong investment in space travel, the limited time left prevented proper testing for larger ships. The pods were designed on a whim. The Scientists there really had no idea if they would make it or not.

“ They were not advertised as the end of the world escape. They were sold as, let me quote, ‘do you want the chance to propagate another world?’ The rich took this as an opportunity to be the rulers somewhere else. Ember’s parents were all over the news, discussing what their plans were for a better Earth . How foolish they all were.

“ Even though I was working firsthand with the pods, I never thought they would actually launch. Overnight , things turned from bad to catastrophic, and you know the rest of the story.”

“ Qwin , I hate that I don’t know how to comfort you. I can feel your sadness like it is my own, and it hurts my heart that you’ve had to experience this. As you have been telling me this, all I can think of is how upset the survivors are going to be when awakened. How can we make this easier on them?”

“ I truly don’t know, EvO .”

A voice suddenly surrounds us, makes me jump. “ Captain , Master Rafe needs to speak to you.”

“ Put him through, Destroyer .”

“ Hey , EvO . I hope you guys can hunker down in there with some extra blankets and stuff because it’s going to start getting cold fast.”

“ Are we approaching the outer layers?”

“ We are, but I need to inform you of something, the drain to push through is going to put a major strain on the Destroyer . Her fuel tanks are already dangerously low and I have a feeling that even if we make it out. We might still end up floating freely. Stranded , until we can get some help, if there is not a recharging sun close.”

“ Where is the crew going to be while we are in such low temperatures?”

“ Many will be at the helm with us, as ViN naturally puts out a huge amount of heat. I figure if it gets too cold, I can piss him off and we will all be shucking off the blankets quickly. You and the little human have me more concerned than any of the others because you are already cut off from the primary heating source of the ship now.”

“ How long do we have?”

“ A couple of ticks, LeX is on his way back to the lab to see what he can slide over to you guys.”

“ The ship is in your hands, Rafe . I trust you and ViN to see us through this. Destroyer , get us out of here.”

“ Acknowledged Captain . I will be logging off, only answering in basic form once we start pushing through. I am not expecting it to be easy nor without problems, sir. However , I will be pressing hard so that we can re-stabilize the life support systems to more comfortable conditions, quickly.”

A knock on the glass behind me has me turning around. LeX’s odd features appear worried as he runs around the other room. He comes closer with a handful of items. “ EvO , Qwin . I am sending over some thicker clothing and every blanket available in this room. You two will need to use each other’s body heat to help survive this massive drop in temperatures.

“ EvO , I’m not sure how Qwin’s body will react to this, and I have no way of helping. Bundle up as much as possible, there is substance in the replicator that should stay warm for a short time. Eat as much of it as you can. This will help your inner core stay warmer longer, as it will have something to do.”

“ We will make do, brother. Get to the helm and help the others.”

Both of us watch as LeX hesitates to leave, but then the door slides open and he is gone out of sight. I see EvO look down at his comm unit then back up at me.

“ What ?”

“ Here , let me help you up so that we can get as much of this clothing on you as possible. We will need to double stack our mattresses also, so that the temperature of the floor doesn’t penetrate as easily. I promise Qwin , I will do everything I can to get us both out of this.”

“ Wait a minute EvO , just how cold is it going to get?”

“ I would prefer not to tell you.”

“ I am not a child, spit it out.”

“ It could be worse.”

“ EvO !”

“ Qwin , the haul is triple-insulated, and this room has even more layers from the outside because it was designed for any type of containment. Nevertheless , we are still looking at possible negative temperatures. That will be substantially warmer than the negative four hundred it is outside right now.”

“ What do you need me to do to help?”

“ Hold your arms up.”

I can’t help but giggle as EvO puts one shirt over another, to the point I almost can’t put my arms down. “ Ok , big guy, I get that it’s gonna be bad, but heaven help us if I have to pee. We need to take a couple of these off.” When he hesitates, I start wiggling the last one off on my own, while he is distracted with rearranging the beds. The second he has them the way he wants, he starts hitting what to me looks like invisible buttons on the walls. Drawers and cabinets open up out of nowhere. When he slams one of the drawers, I jump.

“ EvO , what’s wrong?”

“ The temperatures are going to be dangerous for you. I was searching for anything that could be used as a heat source. There are heating packs somewhere in here, there has to be, it’s a fracking med chamber.”

“ What do they look like, maybe I can help?”

“ I would rather you sit down and eat before it starts cooling down in here. The replicator has plenty of options, let me show you how to activate the choices.”

“ What about you? Shouldn’t you be preparing?”

“ I can withstand lower temperatures than you can. As I am slightly larger, my mass naturally holds more heat than your smaller frame does. I will put on a few more layers as it gets colder. I should have asked Rafe how long we had to prepare.”

“ Does your talking watch thing no longer work?” I point at his arm.

“ You mean my Comm unit? It’s showing offline, so that means everyone is busy working on something or they are logged off. Due to the Destroyer and her communications being locked down.”

“ Here look at these choices while I glance through some of the other drawers in here. If I could find just one heater, it would help.”

I can tell by the look on EvO’s face that he is hiding something from me. Up to this point, he has seemed calm and unfazed by much, but whatever he read on that watch thing upset him. Hitting the first thing that looks a little familiar on this food machine. I stand there watching him tear through the drawers like a madman. Whoever has to straighten this up later is not going to be happy. The room is in shambles as he leaves drawers and cabinets open as he searches frantically through them.

I am just getting ready to take a bite when I see his features relax. Turning my way with that smile that makes my insides melt, he holds something in his hand. “ Thank the Lord of Light there are two.”

Walking over to our beds, he lowers the packages down before heading back to me. Hitting a few buttons, he stands there in deep thought, waiting for his meal to emerge.

“ Qwin , how is the substance?”

“ Different , not good or bad.”

“ Eat as much as you can stand. Once all this is over and we are out of this room. I am sure Ember will know what is more agreeable and familiar to eat in the replicator. When I get done, I’ll help you to the refreshing chamber before we settle down to wait this out. I can already feel the room temperature changing.”