Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 8 - Change of Plans

Disclaimer: The following chapter is the non-edited draft of what was written during NaNoWriMo 2018. My apologies in advance for plot holes and other inconsistencies. I know they're there.

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Lincoln considered waking Marie up for a moment but changed his mind as his eyes drifted towards the empty wrappers strewn across the table. A rumbling from his mid-section told him something he had tried to suppress since getting out of his hospital bed. His body was desperate for nutrition and with reinforcements more than three hours away, this could be the break he desperately needed.

With the snoring continuing unabated from the bed, Lincoln opened the cabinets and pulled out a few random cartons of rations. Beef and chicken. Salmon with vegetables. Turkey and gravy. Naturally flavored, it said on the packages. Farm raised. Sure they are.

He ripped open the beef and chicken, ignoring the odor the bar emitted and the questionable flavor of the chewy substance. With a sigh, he sat down at the table, chewing slowly. He glanced at the sleeping figure mere feet away. His body desperately craved rest, yet he had a feeling it might be a while before that would happen. Three more hours, then who knew how many more hours until they were back at base. Maybe he'd be able to catch a few minutes of sleep on the way there.

As the final pieces of the ration slid down his throat, his eyelids began to feel impossibly heavy. He felt himself nodding off when a voice across the room startled him.

"Lincoln?"

He looked up, wide awake. Marie was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hair going everywhere, her eyes squinting.

"Marie."

"Where are we? What are you doing here?"

Lincoln looked at her. Was she confused? Did she really not remember the ride to the surface?

"Marie, we're on the surface."

"Surface of what?"

"Earth."

Marie furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "What do you mean, Earth? Where were we before?"

Lincoln blinked, taken aback by the question. The obvious answer was that they were in orbit. Had she not realized that? Did she not know that Earth was not inhabitable. Or, so he had thought.

"Marie," he started, then hesitated briefly before continuing. "We were in orbit around the planet."

The color of her face turned white as if someone had flipped a switch. She gasped and her hands went up to her mouth. "You mean, the orbital colonies survived?"

Lincoln nodded. "They did. Everything on the surface perished."

"Wha-" Marie started then shut her mouth as she leaned forward, her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Marie, you're not even supposed to be here."

"Yeah, I know," she snapped and glared at him. "I heard you two talking about me, back in the hospital room. Or whatever it was."

Lincoln felt the color of his face drain as he realized the implications of what Marie had just said.

"You, you heard everything?"

Marie nodded and crossed her arms across her chest. "Every word."

"Listen, Marie," Lincolns started but stopped when Marie held up a finger in the air. He sighed.

"It was all a charade, wasn't it?"

"What was?"

Marie stepped forward and put a finger on Lincoln's chest. "You can me. It was all a game, a means to an end."