by Nhys Glover
Spring 2337 New Atlantis, GAIAN CONFEDERACY
And then it was chaos, blinding, noisy chaos and the only thing that was real was the jacket he clutched in his fist. Just when he thought he would go mad from it all, they fell out onto a stone dais with Pia close behind them. Then the light and the noise were gone.
For a moment, he lay where he and Paulo fell, gasping for breath, heart still racing. The silence was as deafening as the noise had been only seconds before.
‘Thank God you made it!’ The red-haired girl called Jane rushed out of the darkness and threw her arms around Pia. They were suddenly both crying and laughing at the same time.
However, their joyful reunion was short lived as Jane turned to him and yelled, ‘you selfish bastard!’ If she hadn’t been such a fragile looking woman he might have been afraid.
‘Jane, no!’ Pia cried.
Ignoring Pia, the young woman stood her ground, fury streaming off her in waves. ‘Get up. I’m going to hit you hard for what you did back there. I nearly lost my friend because of you! Get up!’
Marco clambered unsteadily to his feet brushing his hair back out of his eyes. He watched the girl approach him in a fighter’s stance.
‘Do it!’ he said, offering her his chin. ‘I deserve it. I never meant for Pia to stay behind. I never wanted to risk her!’
Jane stopped to stare at him furiously. ‘What did you expect her to do? She loves you and you left her!’
‘Jane,’ Pia pleaded, dragging at her friend’s arm. ‘Do not. It is over. We are all safe.’
‘No. It isn’t okay, Pia. This arrogant idiot had a chance of a lifetime with a woman far too good for him and he was willing to throw it all away. Throw you away, for god’s sake! It’s not okay.’
‘Jane!’ This was her husband Peter, who stepped up onto the bottom stair; his face was dark with censure.
‘I went for Paulo. He deserved to take my place. I didn’t believe it was real until I saw the light.’
‘Your place?’ Jane demanded, ignoring her angry husband.
‘Yes. I knew that only one of us could go. He deserved my place. If I had realised it was real earlier, Pia would not have had to risk herself.’
‘You think she would have gone without you? You really do deserve a beating. Goddamn it, man, she loves you! These people don’t love lightly. You were Pia’s only shot at love. You had no right to try to change things that you had no understanding of. Take your place? Honestly!’
Her husband was at her side now, placing his arm around her shoulder carefully as if he feared she would lash out at him.
‘Come Querida, there is a party above ground and we are missing out. All’s well that ends well.’
Jane tried to shrug out of his arms but it was only half hearted. Her temper was cooling now and, after a moment, she allowed her man to lead her away.
‘You hurt her again and I'll beat the shit out of you, I promise you,’ Jane said as a final warning as she was led down the dais stairs. In the heat of the moment her accent sounded a lot like the steward called Jacko, Marco thought vaguely. It was not the English accent familiar to him; Jacko had said he was Australian.
The red-head's husband glanced Marco’s way with a relieved laugh. ‘And she can do it, too. My wife is the best fighter we have.’
‘Not as good as Luke,’ Jane conceded grumpily.
‘Every bit as good as Luke. Better, on a good day, Querida. Come now, we deserve champagne. We did it! There is a celebration to be had!’
As Jane was led away, Marco looked across at Pia, who stood with her arms wrapped protectively around her body. She was shaking. Not sure if she had forgiven him or not, he stepped toward her tentatively, reaching out for her. After a moment’s hesitation, she flew into his arms and began to sob in earnest.
‘I thought I had lost you,’ she sobbed against his chest, her whole body quaking under the intensity of her emotions.
'I am sorry, so sorry. I did not think I meant so much to you. I did not know.’ He muttered endearments into her hair as he stroked her back.
‘Okay… it is okay now,’ she said as she tried to bring herself under control. He tightened his arms around her a little more and nodded, not willing to trust his voice any more.
‘Wh… where are we? Wh… what is this place?’ Paulo asked in shaky Italian, all memory of English seemingly gone under the enormity of what he was experiencing.
‘It is safety, garzone, safety. The Titanic has sunk and we have survived. And now our future is here. This place is called “New Atlantis.”’
As Pia stepped back, Marco extended one arm and drew the boy up and against his other side. Then, as Pia guided the way from her position under his right arm, they made their way down the stairs and along the marble floor toward the far end of the Cavern.
From the darkness the tall, Nordic giant appeared.
‘You are home safe, Pia. I am very, very glad,’ he said gently.
Pia grinned at the man and nodded. ‘We have one more than we counted on.’
‘It is better than losing you, dear girl; far better than losing you. Young man, you have a great deal to answer for,’ the giant said, as if he were an old man and Marco a child.
Then Marco realised that this man might not be his own age as he appeared to be. Maybe he was as old as Pia.
‘Yes sir, I am very sorry,’ he said respectfully, just in case.
‘Well, I may have been in the wrong for not bending on this one. Come along. There is a party going on and you are all invited. Gentlemen, it is mid-morning up at ground level on a warm spring day. Be prepared.’
‘Did he say…?’ Paulo started to ask in Italian.
‘Sí, Paulo. Warm spring morning. This is not a dream and you have not lost your mind. You have travelled through time and space to the future. Accept what your eyes are showing you. It is the only way,’ Marco told him in Italian.
‘Sí.’
