Above A Whisper (Whispers of A Planet Book 2)

by Sean Clark

  Cecil looks over at the source of the hollow crash. Cyrus holds his forehead. “Sorry, I just had a head rush there for a second.” He says, rubbing his eyes and bending down to pick up the tray. “This place just feels weird to me.”

  “We’re only at one third Earth Gravity here. About the same as Mars.” Cecil explains. He notices Nikomedes and Galen pulling their gazes up to him.

  “He’s right.” Atreo concurs, face still buried in the book.

  “It’s to help us get used to it.” Cecil continues. “When I first arrived on Mars… I was woken up from cryo sleep on the surface. I would say it was worse there. That feeling in your stomachs now… both empty and full, that’s because of the gravity. It’s different from zero g’s, isn’t it?” Cecil nods at Nikomedes.

  “Certainly.” The bald man replies.

  “Your inner ear doesn’t know how to process it either… it will be a while before you feel steady again. It throws off your sleep cycle, how your muscles work, and how your body absorbs oxygen. It takes a week or so for your body to get used to it, although some would say that it never actually does. That’s why we were woken up here on the ship, rather than the surface, isn’t it Atreo?”

  “Mhm.” The director mumbles, finally closing the book. “If we don’t know what conditions we face down there, then having to wait around for you to get acclimated is dangerous. Not to mention a waste of time.”

  Cecil shoves the tray into the slot for the compactor. Pulling away, he looks down at Atreo, who stares back confidently. The others look on, and Cecil breaks his regard, turning around to take a deep breath.

  Cecil wipes his mouth on his hand and retreats out of the room. The familiar squeaky door closed behind him, leaving him alone. The long window on the outer hull faces out into the darkness, starlight shifting slowly up past his view. Cecil hears the door open and close once again.

  He hesitates before turning around. Atreo speaks before Cecil has the chance to face him. “How are you feeling?”

  “You already asked. I’m fine.” Cecil shrugs his shoulders, still faced the other way.

  “It was a long journey… for me at least. There was plenty of time to think about, well, things. I thought about what you said before, about how we were putting out men through undue strain to get here.” Atreo pauses, swallowing hard. Cecil turns back around, away from the window. Atreo begins to pace, continuing his speech. “We know what we’re doing. That’s why we do try to limit how much hibernation one person undergoes. You… you’re a special case. This is the third time we’ve had to put you through this, more than most astronauts would undergo during a decade. Even if you’re fine now, your condition may not stay the same.”

  Cecil rolls his head back and forth. He can feel the popping of his spine, and the tightness of his neck muscles. “We’ll jump that bridge when we get to it. There are more important things.”

  “By that time, it may be too late for you.” Atreo admits, calmly.

  “I’m willing to take that risk.”

  Chapter 28

  Cecil feels his muscles cry out in pain. His fingertips stretch, reaching out to make contact with his toes. Galen pushes lightly on his back. Cecil grunts, unable to reach any farther.

  “Okay, now me.” Galen says, letting up. Cecil takes a deep breath, groaning loudly as he lifts himself off the floor.

  Nikomedes and Cyrus attempt the same stretch across the room. Cyrus pushes at Nik’s knees, trying to keep them lying flat against the ground. Nik’s face had turned red, trying to breath between his gritted teeth.

  “Slow down kid. We want to loosen up, not get hurt.” Galen growls a warning over to them. “We need to find out if you suffered any injuries from being transported in cryo. It’s a good trust building exercise too… knowing that your partner could hurt you, but being sure that they won’t.” He announces threateningly.

  Cecil shifts around behind Galen, pushing on the man’s shoulders as he folds over easily. “Don’t be a wimp. Gimme more.” Galen grunts confidently, wriggling his fingers outwards as Cecil reluctantly applies more pressure. Galen reaches up and over his toes, curling his fingers over the point of his foot. “That’s about right.” He vaunts, releasing the position.

  Cyrus and Nikomedes had already stopped. The old man had taken up sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor, while Cyrus stops to do push-ups in rapid succession.

  “Heh, check this out.” Cyrus shows off, folding one of his arms up behind his back as he continues the push-up motion. “I could have never done this before.”

  “It’s only because of the reduced gravity.” The bald man rolls his eyes at him. “You could probably do about three times as many as on Earth, because you only weigh about one third of your Earth weight. Don’t expect it to last, though.”

  Cyrus loses grip with his single palm and slides to ground sideway. “Why’s that?” He asks.

  “The lower gravity will kill your muscles mass and bone density.” Nikomedes slides up the loose sleeve on his coveralls, revealing his slender arm, draped with a layer of baggy skin. “There’s less strain on your skeleton and muscles, so they wither away. On the ISS, we worked out every day. When we had down time, it was always the exercise bike and treadmill.”

  “No lifting weights, I’m assuming?” Galen jokes. Nikomedes rolls his head in synch with his eyes.

  “How was it for you, then… Cecil?” Cyrus sits up, looking over at him.

  “When I came back to Earth, I could barely move.” Cecil says, peering down at his hands front of him. “Our work on the surface would keep us in shape most of the time, working at least a good 14 hours a day on and off. Being an engineer, I was always working with big heavy stuff. When I had my accident though, I was in a coma for three months.” Cecil places his hands down on his thighs, looking up at the Cyrus. “I could get around some after, but it was tough. Soon after, I had to be send back home without any sort of rehabilitation to prepare me again for Earth gravity. Those were the most difficult, most painful weeks of my life.

  Thanks to the supplements we get there on Mars… my bone density was still intact, but holding myself up felt like trying to bench something twice my weight. Repetitive action like trying to bring a fork to my mouth was a workout on its own. They told me my recovery would be like I was recovering from an eating disorder. I drank protein shakes to bulk up again, did cardio to keep my heart strong, and had massages to promote my muscle growth.”

  “Did you get those… scars up there, Cecil?” Cyrus asks hesitantly. Cecil looks up to see Nikomedes slapping him on the back, and looking over to Cecil with an apologetic look.

  “I did.” Cecil speaks. “It was a random accident, and had nothing to do with my normal duties there. It could have happened to anyone.”

  “Are you afraid to go back?” Galen asks, intently looking at Cecil.

  Cecil sit silently in thought before finding the words to respond. “At this point… it’s not a matter of whether I’m afraid or not. This is something I have to do. If I’m afraid… that just means that I’ll just be facing my fears. If I said I was looking forward to seeing the surface again, I would be lying. However… the planet does feel a little bit like home to me… regardless if that sounds crazy or not. The people… the work I was able to do there…. It let me forget about my troubles on Earth, if not just for a bit.”

  ◆◆◆

  Cecil lays down in his bunk. The hum of the ship pleasantly enters his ears, but the lights from outside the curtain seep into his consciousness whether he has his eyes open or not. Turning to face the back wall of the bunk, the cold, blank surface gives him a feeling of loneliness. He run his fingers across the hard surface, the metal squeaking subtly in contact with his fingertips.

  Finally rolling over on his back, the underside of the bunk above stares back at him. There was nobody there in that bed. The others had spread themselves out amongst the other corners of the cabin. He can pick up the sound of the faint breathing of the others
, along with at least one person snoring lightly. He shifts about, adjusting the pillow under his head.

  “Cecil.” He hears a whisper, thinking it is his imagination at first. Tugging at the covers, he attempts to shield himself from the cold air of the ship. “Cecil.” His eyes shoot open, recognizing someone calling his name.

  “Huh?” He mutters under his breath.

  “You can’t sleep either?” Whispers the voice, blankets rusting from across the room. Cecil pulls open the privacy curtain just a bit, peering out into the darkness that is dotted with LEDs that seemed to float in midair.

  “No.” Cecil rubs his face with his hands. Grabbing for his glasses, he puts them on and shifts his legs out of bed. The dark figure of Cyrus sits on the edge of his own bunk. Above the curtain is a small light mounted on the underside of the bed, which Cecil fumbles with until it turns on, casting a dull glow over the floor. Squinting through the light, Cecil stares at Cyrus, who blinks rapidly, shaking the exhaustion from his eyes.

  “Come on, let’s walk around a bit.” Cecil stands up, flicking off the light. The door is bordered with a strip of tiny lights, showing the way out. Cecil taps the button on the wall and it opens with a whoosh. Cyrus ruffles his covers some before getting up and following Cecil out.

  Cecil stands at the window, looking out at the tiny lights dotting the blackness. Cyrus comes up behind him, touching his hand to the glass. “How do you do it, Cecil?” He speaks. Cecil looks over at him, fully knowing what he had asked. He waits for Cyrus to continue. “It’s weird knowing that the people I know down there have been without me for months now, yet… it only feels like a couple days for me.”

  “It’s just homesickness. You’ll get over it soon.” Cecil says unassumingly.

  “It’s not like that. To them, I don’t even exist in their lives anymore. Don’t you have someone who would have been waiting back at home for you?” Cyrus shakes his head back and forth.

  “I did. My mother died during my time up here last. She was my only real connection back to Earth. When that happened, it was just the opposite for me… in my mind it was like Earth didn’t exist to me anymore. It didn’t matter.”

  “Did you not want to leave Mars?”

  “I didn’t even consider the possibility of doing so at that time.” Cecil eyes adjust to the darkness outside the ship, as he looks upon the bright stars in the distance. “After my accident, they threatened to send me back. It was jarring, heartbreaking, but what could I have done? I assumed there was nothing I could do in my condition. I lost hope. It was then when I found out what had happened to my mother. I can’t describe the feeling, but I fought tooth and nail to try and make myself helpful, even in my pathetic state.”

  “You eventually did come back to Earth, though.” Cyrus looks over to him, eyes turned down.

  Cecil sighs loudly, his breath casting a fog on the glass. Turning his back to the wall, he slides down to sit on the ground. “There was no way out of that one… other than me dying up there. They didn’t want that of course. When I found myself back on Earth… it was if reality had all caught up to me in a single moment. I was alone and helpless. I told myself that I should have died up there on Mars.”

  Cyrus takes a place on the ground besides Cecil. “Now you’re returning.” Cyrus hesitates, his voice shaking. “You’re not going to try and fulfil that wish, are you?”

  Cecil turns to him, giving a weak smile. “No. Giving up your own life is one of the most selfish things one can do, I feel. A voice… somewhere in my mind, I guess, made me realize that. Up on Mars, we were working for the people back on Earth. Giving up on ourselves would mean we were giving up on them. Right now, we have to work for the people on the planet as well.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Cyrus stands up, pulling Cecil up by the arm with him.

  Cecil’s gaze turns out the window just in time to see the red sphere pass by, then quickly out of sight again. “I’m not the only person you can talk to, you know. I’m just a batty engineer who has been through too much. Usually, I’m the one getting talked to about not feeling like shit.”

  “No, you’ve helped settle my mind.” Cyrus folds his arms in to his chest, his body letting off a slight shiver. “Besides, all those people knew where I was going and what I was going to do. I even knew so when I volunteered…” His phrase is interrupted by a big yawn. Cecil taps him on the back.

  “Let’s get some sleep.” Cecil suggests, Cyrus nodding back in agreement. The two make their way through the automatic door again, the squish from it closing causing the other members to stir.

  Cecil watches as Cyrus’s shadow climbs back into the bunk. Cecil turns around to feel in the direction of his own bed, doing the same. As he pulls the covers up over him and the curtain closed, he hears Cyrus settle in. His breathing fades a regular rhythm. Cecil, laying on his back, stares up at the darkness of the bunk above him once again.

  Chapter 29

  The crew crowds around the screen, displaying Lia talking at them. The device had been folded up from the center of the table, and the group had shifted around to all face the angled screen.

  “Make sure you all follow the landing procedures outlines in the checklist. While the touchdown sequence is mostly computer driven, it may not fully account for any strange weather patterns that the surface may be experiencing…”

  Atreo cuts the volume in half, beginning to speak over the pre-recorded clip. “We have one hour before we start fully experiencing the planet’s gravitational pull. Before then, make sure everything is stowed. Take a piss, take a shit, do whatever you need to do before that happens.”

  The group nods in sync, and the director continues. “We’re preparing three suits for immediate disembarkation. Galen and I will stay aboard. I want the rest of you to be suited up twenty minutes before touchdown to work out any issues and to get acclimated. Everyone needs to make sure that they are able to fully suit up on their own, but do double check your partner to make sure he is fully sealed.”

  “Yes, sir.” Cecil and the others acknowledge. The recorded footage loops to play again, and Atreo flipped it off, causing the screen to retract into the table’s compartment with a low hum.

  “Cecil. I shouldn’t have to worry about you, right?” Atreo says, examining him up and down.

  “No, sir. I can manage getting on a suit by myself, and I will not allow myself to be distracted while I'm there on the surface either.” Cecil explains, trying to hold himself back from snapping. He feels himself sweating as he turns away from Atreo.

  Separating himself from the other men, Cecil wanders out through the automatic door once again, peering out at the darkness beyond the glass. The tiny dots of light dot the seemingly endless vacuum. Cecil squints his eyes as the bright planet surface creeps into view, larger than ever before.

  The red surface is haunting and desolate. Unlike Earth, there are no shapes that conjure up thoughts or memories of places down below. There are no continents, oceans, or other land masses that stand out. No lights show up to pinpoint areas where life may exist. The color is dull, devoid of shades cast by life. The various shades of red and brown splay out on the surface as if splattered and churned by some unknow force.

  “Funny, it’s not as pretty as it seems in pictures, is it?” Cecil jumps as Nikomedes speaks, having snuck up behind him.

  “No, I guess not.” Cecil mumbles halfheartedly.

  “Not that I mean to rain on your parade… if that makes sense. Something about how you speak of this planet tells me you have some sort of intimate connection. Atreo has mentioned something to that effect as well.” Nikomedes leans his arm on the frame beside the window.

  “It’s not the planet itself, but rather the feeling of it… the feeling of me being there, doing my thing. I’ve had many interactions with- on the planet… maybe too many.”

  “I felt the same way after being on the ISS for several months. Space isn’t something you can easily give up… it’s like a drug. Being ab
le to wake up every day to face the Earth in full form is something very, very few people have been able to experience. In that way, I feel very fortunate. But, like most good things… it doesn’t last forever. Going back to Earth was a bit of a heart break. Possibly you might say it’s the withdrawal from that drug that you call space. It hits hard.” Nikomedes chuckles.

  “I’ve only seen the pictures you guys take of Earth, never done it myself.” Cecil looks over at Nikomedes. His face seems to be scrunched up, squinting at and examining the red planet.

  Nikomedes licks his lips before speaking up again. “I would like to say you’re missing out, but… I really can't. You’re young… you may see it one day, as an experienced astronaut as you are.” He finishes, looking over at Cecil with a warm smile on his face. Cecil dodges the glance and looks down at his feet. “After we’re done here, do you think we’ll go straight home, or do you think we’ll end up staying?” The bald man muses.

  “I think that depends on how long this all takes.” Cecil rests his forehead against the cold steel below the window, hands hanging off the window frame.

  “Let me rephrase that… would you like to stay here after we avert this crisis?” Nikomedes fixes his gaze back out the window. “I know that with your previous time up here… you had to be shipped off due to unforeseen circumstances. Now, this is your chance to make it home, as it may be.” He rubs his finger across the windows, putting a line through the specks of dust.

  Cecil stands up and turns away before answering. “I have a feeling that I don’t have a choice in the matter this time either. It’s possible that you all will be stuck in the same situation, too. Your health and well-being would be at risk if they expect you to go back in cryo after such a short time. Personally… I doubt I could handle it again, my body at least. Cryosleep isn’t doing any favors for us… it’s like it’s killing us…” Cecil says grimly, immediately regretting uttering the words.