The Descent

Chapter 60 - Peace

The door slid open with barely a sound. Gabi came through first with Carter right behind her. Denton followed closely behind them. As the door closed behind them, a melody began to play, just loud enough to break up the silence and for them to hear yet soft enough to not interfere with normal conversation.

"So this is it," Denton said and ran his finger across the dust-covered table just inside the front door. The dark trail left behind on the wooden surface told him everything he needed to know about how long it had been since anyone had been there. "This is the apartment Jarell mentioned in his video diary. Supposedly where his mother discovered Jonythan's-"

"His betrayal," Gabi said quietly and took a few steps in the apartment. "This is where she found out. I can't believe we're actually here."

Denton walked past her into the living room. "The view is fantastic," he said and pointed towards the tinted windows facing Proxima Centauri. "I can see why they picked this place."

"Look," Gabi said and stepped up to the window and kneeled. Shards of glass were spread across the floor by the window, the silent evidence of events from decades ago.

"Do you think that's from-" Denton said, and his voice trailed off as he realized the magnitude of what he was about to say. The apartment was, quite literally, a time capsule from before the time Gabi and Carter had even been born.

"She never came back," Carter said and turned to face them, his hands in his pockets.

"Why would she?" Gabi said. "If this place were theirs like Jarell said in his diary, she would have had no reason to come back here. Every visit would have been a reminder of happier times."

Carter sighed and shook his head. "I wish he would have told us."

"Carter, he said he didn't know about the baby," Gabi said, her voice raised. "Don't you blame him for that."

"But what if he did?"

"Carter, really? You want to discuss this again? Now? What difference does it make? We'll never know. We're lucky Denton, and Tanner found the hidden video diary in Jarell's apartment in the first place. Otherwise, we wouldn't even know about this place."

Carter put up his hands and stepped back. "I'm sorry, Gabi, I didn't mean it like that, ok? Come, let's check out the bedroom." Carter grabbed Gabi's hand, and they walked through the open door into the bedroom. Denton squeezed in behind them and walked straight up to the window facing the Shadowlands.

"Wow, this view is amazing," he said, wide-eyed as he pointed towards the darker side of the planet. "It's quite the contrast too, isn't it? Darkness on this side, light on the other.

Gabi nodded and tentatively walked around the bed. A crunching sound under her shoe caused her to stop. She bent down and picked up a shattered photo frame. "Carter, look at this," she said and waved him over. Carter looked at the photo over his shoulders, and his eyes widened.

"Is that her?"

"I think so?" Gabi said and pointed to the man in the photo. "And that's dad."

Carter nodded. "He was so young." He turned and motioned for Denton.

"Doesn't she look like the woman in the photo from Jarell's apartment?" Gabi said. "The one I had to leave behind when you showed up?"

"Yeah, I think you're right. The hairstyle is a bit different, but the facial features look the same. I can have Tanner verify that they are the same person. If it is, that solves that mystery." Denton returned the photo to Gabi, who sat down on the corner of the bed.

"I'll run the analysis right away," Tanner's voice said from somewhere above them.

"Tanner?" Denton said and reflexively looked up at the ceiling.