Chapter 4
Driven awake by a horrible nightmare Isaac bolted upright, and looked around with frightened eyes at the small, dimly lit, nondescript room he found himself in. He was unable to recall where he was or how he got there, and eerily reminded of his past by the room's plain, sterile appearance he immediately started to panic.
Oh no. It was a dream. The whole thing was a dream.
His breath began to hasten, his muscles tensed, and he instinctively feared that at any moment, his Marker-crazed benefactors would burst into the room, hellbent on subjecting him to more torture. He looked down and noticed that he was lying on a small, bedded cot, and his fear quelled in the face of an odd realization.
Bedsheets? And a pillow? That wasn't like his gracious hosts.
He pulled the off the sheet that was covering him to find that he was bathed clean, and clothed in a fresh white t-shirt and pair of cotton cargo shorts - a palpable breach of protocol from the standard patient attire and straitjacket. Curiosity began to unfold exponentially from there as he pulled the sleeve of his shirt back and saw that his shoulder had been repaired, fully bandaged, and the pain had reduced substantially. His eyes then shot to his left hand, and he slowly held it up to behold the clean, glove-like wrap that concealed the hole through his palm. Though he couldn't see whether the hole had been sealed, the returned feeling and improved mobility of his fingers were promising indications. He then looked around, and saw that his RIG, plasma cutter and the travel pouches from his suit had been carefully placed on a chair next to the door, along with a towel and pair of grey thong sandals. His pounding heart finally began to slow, he drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out.
Ok. So he overreacted.
Released of the fear that he was back in Titan Memorial, his mind jumped to the next, most prominent memory.
"Ellie?"
His voice echoed harshly off the room's bare walls, but he heard nothing else in response. He stood up from the cot and reached for his RIG, looked it over and checked the system status to ensure it was okay. When it booted up without any negative indications, he put it back down on the table and checked the two pouches lying next to it to see if the contents were still inside. He examined the plasma cutter, and seeing that everything appeared to be in order Isaac finally grabbed the sandals, dropped them to the floor and slipped them on. He then turned to the door, cracked it open and peered outside.
"...Ellie?"
The hallway outside his door was empty, and again he heard no response. Figuring he should go find her, he exited the room. He found himself in a long hallway that stretched in both directions, and as he gazed around at all the dust and clutter, trying to decide which way to go, the memory of where he was gradually started coming back to him.
"Anybody here?"
He continued down the hallway toward his right, looking cautiously around until he could hear voices. He stopped and listened to what sounded like conversation between two people, and he recognized one of the voices to be Ellie's. He followed the sound to the end of the hallway, beginning to detect a smell reminiscent of roasted coffee, then looked to his right to find a small kitchen area with an island and set of chairs in the middle of the floor. Ellie was sitting in one of the chairs, wrapped in a bath robe and holding a small mug between her hands, and standing at the nearby counter was the man he recognized as her friend, Alan. Isaac stopped just out of their line of sight, and watched silently from the shadows with wide, open eyes as they chatted with one another.
Was it really her?
It was the very first time Isaac had seen Ellie under normal circumstances, and everything about her - from her hair to her face, from her posture to her color, even the energy of her expressions as she spoke - had so dramatically changed from what he had seen over their short time together that for a brief moment, Isaac wondered if he had mistaken her for a completely different person. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, and appeared to be years younger; freshly bathed, dressed in a tank top and pair of shorts under her unfastened bath robe, and there wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere on her person. Her hair had been thoroughly cleansed, freed from matted pigtails and now hung loosely about her shoulders like a shimmering auburn waterfall. Her face was refreshed and bright, enough so that it further minimized the appearance of her flesh-toned eye patch, and the only marks still left on her face that stood out with any emphasis were a few minor cuts, and the natural freckles that dappled her nose and cheeks. Her skin glistened fair and soft, full of color and her lips were spread into a beautiful smile that appeared to be more relaxed than he had ever seen from her. Stunned, Isaac just watched until Ellie eventually sensed his presence, and she looked in his direction. When she realized he was standing there, her eye went wide with joy.
"Oh, hey you!"
Too eager to await his response, she jumped to her feet and came over to him.
"I can't believe you're awake. How are you feeling? I was getting worried."
Though inside he was just as equally happy to see her, thrown off balance by her radiance up close, he backed away.
"Worried? About what? I'm fine."
A look bordering mock insult crossed her face.
"What's the matter? I'm not going to bite you. So, how are you, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I feel ok. What's the big deal?"
Ellie appeared to be somewhat surprised by his question.
"What's the big deal? You've been out for about 20 hours, now, that's what."
His face slackened in shock.
"What?"
"Yeah. What happened?"
He didn't readily answer her, sparking her to query him a second time.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"... I don't know. I remember getting off the ship, talking with you two... That's about it."
She paused a moment to see if he might continue, but when it produced nothing, she relented.
"It's okay. We can talk about it later. Hey, you want something to eat? You must be starving."
His face twisted with mixed emotion.
"Ehm... maybe. I don't know. Still feel a little... I dunno."
At that point Isaac felt Alan's eyes upon them both, so he looked up to address him.
"Hey, Alan."
Alan responded politely with a smile.
"Nice to see you made it, son."
Upon Ellie's reaffirming tug on his arm, Isaac followed her back to the table where she was sitting. He then turned to Alan, and motioned to his shoulder.
"... Thanks. Thanks for everything. You did a great job."
Alan took a drink from the mug in his hand.
"No worries, there. Does it feel okay?"
"Yeah, feels fine."
"And the hand?"
"Yeah."
Alan glanced briefly at Ellie, then smiled again.
"You certainly had your friend here worried about you."
Upon Alan's remark, Isaac shot a short, apologetic look at Ellie. Finishing up his drink, Alan placed the mug down on the counter and brushed his hands.
"Well, I'm sure you two have plenty to catch up on, so I'll get out of your hair. I gotta get back to that transmission, anyway. I'll be in the shop if you need anything. And Paul, make yourself at home."
Ellie bowed her head.
"Thanks, Alan. We'll check on you later to see if you need any help."
With a friendly expression Alan swept out of the room, and disappeared down the hall. When they were alone, Ellie turned to Isaac.
"You want some coffee? You look like you could probably use some."
Isaac took one of the seats across from her at the table. He wasn't sure how he was feeling, but he wanted to remain cordial.
"... Yeah, sure, I guess. Black is fine."
She got up and stepped toward the counter, where an old, industrial style coffee maker stood in the corner. It rumbled and popped as she prepared a cup, emitting a few blasts of steam around the loose gaskets along its warped steel housing. Isaac just watched her quietly, beginning to feel a little more at ease as she came back to the table and handed him a steaming mug.
"Here you go."
She then returned to her seat across from him, and gently sipped on her own cup for a few moments in silence. Isaac shot a covert side glance at her, taking the opportunity to examine her beauty up close while trying not to give the impression he was leering at her. She didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't let on that she did.
"So... You okay? How's your eye?"
"Oh - it's good. I don't feel a thing. I mean, in a good way. Alan took care of us."
Isaac slowly nodded in agreement, his long gaze returning to the table in front of him.
"What happened while I was out?"
Ellie shook her head.
"Not much. I've just been helping Alan out in the shop."
Isaac's face took on a much more serious countenance.
"No, I mean... what happened? I feel like..."
Ellie cut him off with a gentle pat of his hand.
"No. Everything's okay. Nothing... happened."
Her quickness to answer him, as if having anticipated it, combined with the pregnant pause in her speech, all betrayed her otherwise noble attempt to reassure him.
"Ellie, tell me what happened."
She slowly lowered her eyes.
"It wasn't anything bad. Just, wierd."
Her face twisted with a hint of embarrassment.
"I know this is going to sound like a silly question, but... do you have a habit of sleepwalking?"
He blinked at her.
"Sleepwalking? No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"
"Well, I really think you were sleepwalking."
Fear began to compound in his mind; it was certainly out of character for him, but there was no reason for her to lie about something like that. And ever since the Marker... well, who knows.
"What makes you say that?"
"I don't know how to explain it. You got disoriented in the medical room, you fell over onto the table and passed out. We had to carry you to the couch after Alan finished up working on you. We thought it was because of all the blood you lost. Then all of a sudden, you just woke up, like nothing had happened."
Ellie's brows sank as she continued to recount her story.
"But, something was different. You were awake, you even talked to us for a little while. But, it was like... like you were on playback mode or something. You were there, but you weren't; I don't think Alan noticed it, but I did. Then, after Alan went to bed and we were alone, you started talking all this stuff I didn't understand... codes, equations, something about... sympathetic attenuation, or attribution, or something... I don't know. And then, you must have been really thirsty, because you went straight to the kitchen, and drank about a gallon of water. That part was pretty funny."
Isaac's face turned to solid stone.
"Wow... I don't remember any of that."
"... You took a shower, and finally, after I showed you to your room, you walked in and just fell down on the bed right in front of me. And you've been there until now."
Isaac stared down at the table, drawing rings nervously around the lip of his coffee mug with his finger, in total silence.
"It was odd, but I figured we did just come out of a pretty traumatic situation, and maybe it was some sort of psychological response. It's not that uncommon, lots of people do it when they're under stress. I was really more concerned about the fact that you literally had not moved an inch in almost an entire day."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I was just... tired."
She softened her expression, and a mild smile slipped out.
"Whatever it was, you seem to be okay now. You really do look a lot better."
Isaac glanced up at her, unable to suppress the hint of a coy grin.
"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing about you."
Tiptoeing on the verge of an adoration she was yet too afraid to express outright, Ellie simply looked away. Isaac enjoyed the moment, but not wanting to make her uncomfortable by being obvious about it, he moved on.
"So, I guess we know what I was up to. What have you been doing with all your free time?"
She cleared her throat.
"Helping Alan, mainly. He's got some ongoing projects that he doesn't usually get to on his own. We had a lot to catch up on."
Isaac nodded his approval.
"He's a pretty decent guy. Thanks for bringing us here. I know I was being unreasonable about it earlier, but honestly, I really don't know what I would have done without you."
She shrugged it off.
"It's the least I could do, Isaac."
"I don't know about that... you've done a whole hell of a lot for me so far."
"As you have for me. Let's just call it even, ok?"
Isaac leaned back in his seat and smiled.
"What happened with the gunship?"
"All taken care of. It's the size of a toaster."
He raised his eyebrows as he attempted to take a sip of his coffee.
"Really?"
"No. I was just exaggerating. But it's definitely not a gunship, anymore."
"Good."
They both fell quiet, each reflecting on all the things they wanted to say to one another. Eventually Ellie spoke up, though not about what she was really thinking.
"Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I took a little initiative to get you some leads. Alan knows someone who runs one of the apartment complexes in the west quarter, said he could get you a good deal on a place if you're looking to stay. I also talked to him about hooking you up with a little extra work, since I figure you'll probably need to find a job at some point."
He smiled at her, a bit impressed.
"Well, thank you. Aren't you industrious?"
"I knew you were going to have to do it anyway. So if you want, we can head down there and check it out today."
"Sure, sounds like a plan."
He briefly looked down at himself.
"I should probably change before we go."
"Of course. There a locker in your room, you should be able to find something that fits you."
She chuckled under her breath.
"I dunno, though - you wear the flip-flop look rather well."
Feeling more relaxed as she felt the same, Isaac jokingly stuck his tongue out at her.
"Yeah. I'm guessing that was you who put my stuff in there?"
"Yes. Your suit had to be tossed but I checked it, and made sure I got everything off of it. Did I do okay?"
"Yep. Everything's there, thank you."
He took another shallow sip of his coffee, and stood up.
"I suppose I should get ready. I'll be back."
He started to to make his way down the hall, when he turned back with a lost look on his face.
"By the way, where's the bathroom in this joint? Seriously, I gotta take a piss."
A little while later, Isaac and Ellie headed out of the warehouse together. They briefly checked on Alan, who was busy welding some metal joints in the open workspace in the back, and left the compound through a side exit that led to one of the enclosed walkways connecting the colony sectors. So far from the center, traffic in this area was light, as only the occasional passerby wandered down the otherwise empty walkways. Ellie took the lead and Isaac followed her, trusting in her direction.
"There's a shuttle stop just a couple blocks down, it'll take us to the main hub."
They reached the tram station a few minutes later, and jumped aboard the next arriving shuttle. As they took their seats toward the back, Isaac sank back in the seat and crossed his arms in front of him, eying the few other passengers that were aboard with them. His eyes shot from one person to the next, suspiciously searching for any signs of Unitology, EarthGov, or any other indication that they might be being followed. Ellie noticed the pensive look on his face.
"You alright?"
Isaac looked at her, and nodded. The rest of the shuttle ride was spent in silence between them, and within a few minutes the tram arrived at the next station.
"This is our stop."
Ellie stood from her seat and gripped the rails as the shuttle slowed to a halt, and Isaac joined her when the doors slid open. They made their way through the doors, trailing a few others who exited along with them, and once on the loading dock they both looked around. Isaac started to see signs he barely recognized, from his previous visits to Luna years past.
"I remember this place. I guess I'd just never been on that side of the colony before, but this place looks familiar."
Ellie checked her RIG, then pointed down one of the pathways leading to the center.
"The place we're looking for is this way. It's called Red Moon Apartments."
They made their way down the path and into the New Horizons main hub, and Isaac looked around wondrously at all of the buildings, various shops, and holographic neon advertisements that lined the promenade. The traffic here in the main sector had picked up significantly, and the massive amount of stimuli coming from all around was almost overwhelming; it seemed like there were far more people than he remembered, and so many things appeared to be different. Even the clothing people were wearing and the technology they were using had changed. After his time spent in isolation aboard the Sprawl with no contact with the outer world, Isaac was beginning to realize that the world had left him behind, even after only a few years.
Trailing behind Ellie, he solemnly observed the ocean of bodies all moving in a seemingly synchronous wave of constant action and reaction. As overwhelmed by his surroundings and as paranoid about being discovered he felt, Isaac couldn't deny that it felt nice to be among normal people again - people not scattering around in panic, fighting for their lives, being torn to pieces right in front of him.
As they rounded a corner, he saw a small corner shop with a sign that read "J. STIMUS - OPTOMETRY" posted above the doorway. He tugged on Ellie's sleeve and pointed to it.
"Hey, is that the optometrist Alan mentioned?"
Ellie stopped alongside him, looked at the sign and nodded.
"So, you remember that? Yeah, that's the one. I already checked it out when I was down here earlier."
"And?"
She shrugged.
"Alan was pretty much right - the cheapest model they have is 1,500."
He looked at her, expectantly.
"So, you gonna do it?"
She smirked with disappointment.
"I can't. I don't have that kind of credit on me. After Teidemann fucked me over back there, I lost access to everything - my documentation, my credit account, even my passport. I still have my ID, so at least I can prove my name... and about 300 credits. Not much else."
"What? That's not good."
She shoved her hands into her pockets dismissively.
"It's not a big deal. Once I find some work, it'll take me a week or two at most to save up. I don't mind waiting."
Isaac looked displeased.
"No."
"What do you mean 'no'?"
He crossed his arms.
"I don't accept that. You need it. I'll get it for you. You said I owe you one, right?"
Her eye went wide, and she shook her head desperately.
"What? Oh, no. No. I didn't mean that literally. You don't have to do this."
He frowned at her and started to reach for one of the pouches on his belt.
"It's my fault you got hurt in the first place. I should have never left you alone with that guy."
Beginning to feel embarrassed, Ellie pulled her hand to her face.
"Isaac, I can take care of myself..."
He stared her down.
"I won't take no for an answer."
He pulled out of his pouch several credit cards, each one she could see was loaded with various sums of currency. When she added it all up, she was certain that it accounted for a little over 120,000 credits. She gasped, and darted a few nervous glances around her.
"Holy shit. Where'd you get all that?"
"I like to think ahead. I knew we would need it."
She leaned in a little closer, and lowered her voice.
"Did you steal it?"
He weakly shook his head, then paused, then shook his head again with a little more conviction.
"No. No, not all of it. Some of it's mine. I stopped at a Store kiosk on our way out of the Sprawl, and cleaned out all the accounts I had before Tiedemann could fuck me over, too. Even if he didn't, I still can't touch anything in my name now, all that is traceable. I didn't want to lose it."
"But, you did steal some of it, then."
He looked up at her.
"Ellie, it isn't stealing if the people you're taking it from are dead and don't need it any more."
She paused for a moment, mulling over the logic of his thinking.
"Damn, you're a pretty sharp guy. I wish I would have thought of that."
"It won't last forever, but it'll float us at least until I can figure out what I'm going to do with myself."
Locking on to his choice of words, she tilted her head.
"Us?"
"Yeah. Here, take this."
He split the cards in his hand into two equal stacks, and handed her one of them.
"This is for you. Do whatever you want with it. Take it, and start a nice, new life somewhere."
Feeling belittled by the extent of his generosity, Ellie threw up her hands.
"No, that's way too much! I can't accept this."
"You can, and you will. Please."
Ellie just stared into his eyes, feeling eternally grateful and thoroughly ashamed at the same time. Then, swallowing back the lump developing in her throat, she reluctantly took the stack of cards from his hand.
"... Thanks, Isaac. You're a real pal."
Seeing as she finally accepted his offer, he smiled.
"Well, alright. Now, let's go get your eye taken care of."