The Dark Side of Space

Chapter 17

Rebecca comes into my room without knocking. She looks around as if she expects me to be doing anything other than staring at the wall. "Good evening," she says. Her half-hearted greetings are the only way I ever know what time it is anymore. I've had eight more showers, so I know at least a week has gone by at this point. I think if I wasn't so depressed, I'd be losing my sanity sitting in here all alone. I haven't seen anyone other than Rebecca for a few minutes a day. Not even Hephaestion.

"I have news," Rebecca announces. "I'd hesitate to call it good news but-"

"I'm pregnant," I finish. My stomach drops.

Rebecca nods solemnly. She tries to look less upset. "They would have kept you here until you were, so at least it worked on the first try. And now you can finally get out of this boring room and join the others. They're about to have dinner."

I don't want to eat. I know Rebecca knows that. But I'm so anxious to see how Naomi is doing. That's all I care about at this point.

I nod.

Rebecca takes a deep breath. "Remember what I said about hurting yourself... or the fetus now." I don't respond. "Come on, I have to take you to dinner."

My legs feel like jelly when I stand up. I follow Rebecca out of the room. She doesn't try to make small talk with me on the way, which I'm grateful for. I haven't been on the other side of the base in over two weeks. We pass the large windows in the middle of the foyer. The sky is black. It makes the idea of windows seem useless. Rebecca leads me to the door at the end of the hallway. She waves her hand over the pad next to the door. The door slides open.
The mess hall is dismal. Everything is made out of the same, boring metal. My eyes go first to the corner of the room where the ACTS employees are sitting, staring and laughing at a large TV. I immediately miss my room. At least there, I was alone. On the other end of the room, I see Naomi, Adam, and Joseph. They're sitting in a small circle.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Rebecca says with another half-smile before leaving me.

Joseph spots me walking to the table first. He bumps Naomi's shoulder and she looks up quickly. Her eyes widen.

"Grace!" Naomi says, standing up to hug me as soon as I get to the table. I hug her about as tight as I did my mom when I said goodbye to her. I want to cry, but I won't in front of any of these employees.

Naomi finally lets me go. Even though it's only been two weeks, I can tell she's lost weight. Maybe it's been just as hard to get her to eat. I sit down next to Naomi. She squeezes my hand.

"How are you?" Naomi asks. She cuts her eyes as one of the cafeteria workers sets a plate of food in front of me.

I don't know how to answer that question. I don't even know if I can. I shrug.

"They let me out two days ago. They wouldn't tell me when you'd be here, but we did all ask," Naomi assures me. She nods her head in Adam and Joseph's direction. "They've just been hanging out." Even though she's trying to sound lighthearted, I can detect the resentment in her tone. It isn't fair. While I was strapped to a bed and then isolated in a room like a prisoner, Adam and Joseph have been walking around the base without a care in the world. I know it's not their faults, but I still hate them a little for it.

"They're fucked up for doing this to you," Adam says. He looks more disturbed about it than Joseph. "I'm going to be pissed if I have to pay child support for a damn alien baby."

I want to laugh but I can't. There's nothing funny.

As if my life couldn't get any more frustrating, Nick gets up from his table and makes his way over to us. A sense of foreboding overwhelms me. I can't look at him. My hands shake.