The Wreckage

The wreckage of the Sopoid dome was as bad as the reports indicated. A flame pillar had struck the dome's northern side. The glass panels interlocking the girders were designed for the harshness of space. They could survive impacts from micro-meteorites to being drenched in constant heat from a nearby sun. The concentrated heat of the Marquis' attack still managed to tear through.

The video feed I reviewed was unclear on all the details, but I could fill in most of the blanks. The attack heated the glass panels until they started warping. I guess a minute crack must have formed somewhere. The difference in air pressure between the dome's interior and the vacuum of space made every air molecule rush for the opening. The force of the escaping air blew out the entire northern end of the dome. Anybody outside a vault would have been flung into space. Those who survived the whiplash would have died from exposure.

The demon's attack was still ongoing as this happened. The newly formed hole allowed its attack into the dome, where it struck the ground close to one of the safety vaults. Its shielding lasted only for a little while. The vault's walls had melted, exposing everybody inside to the vacuum of space. The second vault survived the marquis' attack but not the pressure loss. Its logs indicated an error occurred as it tried to lock its doors. The loss of pressure blew its doors out along with anybody inside.

It was a truly horrifying way to go.

I should have done better, I had thought upon entering the dome. Clean up had already started. Swarms of technicians and other civilians used zero-gravity grappling hooks to move large pieces of wreckage. Others scrambled over the rubble in a desperate search for survivors. I knew there would be none.

While finding survivors might be wishful thinking, finding resources had a greater possibility. The pressure drop would have flash-frozen many edible products, while those inside fridges and freezers would still be unaffected. Other items like canned products and sealed bottles should be safe as well. Every little bit would help ensure the colony survives until the rescue ships arrive.

My communicator beeped to life. "Vega, are you there?"

"Go ahead, Hardline."

"Cheeseburger needs someone to help him at a building to the east. Do you mind going over?"

"Sure thing. Send me the coordinates."

"Thanks." My eyes drifted upward as an arrow appeared inside my visor. The numbers underneath the arrow gave the distance as four hundred meters. Not too far. I grabbed hold of my scavenge bag before heading outside.

Despite assisting in a dome clean up over a dozen times, I had never grown used to the eeriness. Asbestos had little in the way of atmosphere, so sound did not carry well across the planes. Even so, the stillness of a dead dome was uncomfortable. Everything felt muted, and the low gravity would make everybody's movements slow and sluggish. The white buildings shone brightly underneath the naked sun, making everything seem over-saturated. Only the white suits scavenging through the dome's dead bones would give it the semblance of life. Wisps of color remained - posters that had survived the torrent of escaping air or some scattered clothing floating in low gravity. It would not be long before the solar radiation burned everything pure white. Some changes would already manifest themselves by the time the evacuation ships arrived.

I secretly wondered whether clean up operations were still needed. There were plenty of rumors stating the colony's food situation was precarious. It was true that the grocer was a shadow of its former self, but I've yet to hear of anyone who didn't go to sleep with a full stomach. The Overseer would implement food rationing if the colony was at risk. Rationing for two weeks would be bearable, especially since the water scrubbers were still functional. If the evacuation ships weren't delayed, that is. Their last transmission indicated everything was going according to plan, but space travel could be whimsical.

I played with the thought but knew I would never voice it out loud. Scavenging a broken dome was an extremely morbid job, yet there was never a shortage of volunteers. Crowds snaked outside the airlock after an attack, with many volunteers often taking a break from their other duties. I had wondered about it at first, but seeing the vigor at which everybody worked and the reverie at which the deceased was carried back to the entrance had given me the answer. Everybody deserves a proper farewell, after all.

The arrow pointed me toward a collapsed doorway past a courtyard of sorts. "Cheeseburger?" I asked as I peeked in. "I think I'm here. Collapsed doorway past the courtyard, right?"

"Yup, I see your light. Signaling mine" I stepped inside when a distant light flickered twice. "Take a right and walk to the end of the corridor. I'll meet you there."

"Coming." I put the scavenge bag down next to the door before shimmying in. It was difficult to see from the outside, but I recognized the type of building after stepping inside. Only one building type featured long corridors and square rooms as this one. School wasn't as distant a memory from me as I had hoped.

Please don't let me find any bodies in here.

"Hey." Cheeseburger dimmed his light as I approached. "I hope ol' Hardline is not implying anything by sending an Angel."

I'd heard enough such jokes for it to be nauseating, but Cheeseburger said it with such sincerity I couldn't be angry with him. "Angels bring messages of life as well as death, you know."

"Let's hope it's the former then." Cheeseburger chuckled as he pointed to the remnants of a door frame. The entrance was blocked by fallen debris. "I think the cafeteria's in there. I figured there might be some frozen goodness in there."

"I'm not sure I want to eat that."

"Anything goes when the bellies start grumbling. I'd rather not have the masses looking at me while licking their lips."

I couldn't argue with him. "Right. So what do you need from me?"

"The corridor's too narrow for me to use the gravity beam. Gotta do it the ol' fashioned way."

"What, you want to blow it open?"

"Yup." He pulled out two glowing orbs from the backpack at his feet. "If you would?"

"You could probably do this by yourself, you know?" I said with a raised eyebrow as I took one of the orbs.

"Yeah, but protocol says there needs to be at least two people. You know how Hardline feels about that."

"I guess it's wise not to invite misfortune."

"Yup. Now find a good spot and stick it in deep."

There were plenty of nooks and crannies in the debris. Finding a crevasse deep enough was not difficult. Inserting the explosive was a different matter, and I took my time. The EVA suits were made to last, but a puncture could still spell disaster. Nova would never let me live it down if I was hospitalized because of something so silly. And he'll lecture me on not being careful again, I scowled as I withdrew my hand. "Ready."

"Same. Let's stand over there."

The minimum safe distance for these types of grenades was three meters. The scavenger's rule was to multiply any safe range by three. Objects in low gravity could behave erratically, especially when thrown around by an explosion. An object the size of a nail traveling at speed would easily puncture a suit. It would be better to stand behind a corner or in a classroom, something the school was thankfully not short of.

Cheeseburger pulled a detonator from his backpack when we were inside the safety of a classroom. "Let's hope we don't get crushed, yeah?"

"I'd prefer that not to be the case," I answered.

I heard a dull thud when Cheeseburger pulled the trigger. The sound was muted, but I felt the shockwave through the floor. We nervously looked up when dust rained from the ceiling.

"Think it worked?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Only one way to find out." Cheeseburger threw the detonator inside his bag before walking out. Most of the rubble, as well as the doorway, had been converted to various pebbles and a large hole in the wall. Walking through would require a few careful steps, but the difficulty had been reduced from "impossible" to "delicate but possible."

"Looks like I was right," Cheeseburger commented as we entered the cafeteria. "Now, where do you think they hid the food?"

"Probably behind the counter." I pointed where a heap of desks had gathered. "It should be over there."

"Hmm, gravity beam should be able to clear it up for us." Cheeseburger unhooked the claw-like object from his belt.

It took over an hour of slowly moving the tables away to gain access to the counter. The lack of light made our progress even slower. Cranking the suit's flashlight to maximum did little to alleviate the problem. I wondered why the tables held their meeting in such a strange place. A hole in the ceiling above the counter answered my question. "I would have dropped through there had I known about it," Cheeseburger had grumbled. I agreed with the sentiment. I consoled myself with the thought that leaving the school would be much easier through a door instead of a ceiling hole.

"Jackpot!" Cheeseburger exclaimed as he opened the first freezer. "This alone would feed a whole family for half a week. More if the Overseer decides to ration."

"You might be right." I peered over his shoulder. "It doesn't look like anything's spoiled."

"And there's three other freezers and two fridges. We're going to have a feast at this rate."

I chuckled as the scene played in my mind. "That's one feast I'd rather pass."

"Remember that when everybody is all depressed after the next attack. There's no faster way to lift spirits than good food and merry-making."

"Your suggestion would require some "good food". This hardly qualifies."

"Anything's good if you're hungry enough." Cheeseburger closed the freezer with a soft thud. "Not many happy memories of high school food?"

"Not many happy memories of high school." I pointed to a side corridor. "You look at the other freezers. I'm gonna see if I can find any thing else."

"Hoping I get meatballs."

I turned around as Cheeseburger waddled to the second freezer.

The corridor looked inconspicuous. A solitary door waited for me at the end of the corridor. I could see several scratches over some broken tiles. I wouldn't be surprised if some tables were sucked into the group we moved away earlier. "Wonder what we have here?"

"You say something?"

"Just a minute." I turned my attention to the door. The lack of reinforced metal suggested it wasn't airtight, so I doubted whether it was a freezer. "Hey, Cheeseburger. Come here for a second."

"Coming."

"What do you think this is?" I pointed at the door when he bounced close enough.

"Hm? Oh! You might have found the motherload. That's a pantry."

"A pantry? One that big?"

"The cafeteria needs lots of stuff to make meals for several hundred kids. A regular kitchen pantry won't cut it."

"Makes sense."

"Let's check. If we're lucky, we might be able to season all the food you hate so much."

"Keep on dreaming." I smiled as we waddled over. The door gave more resistance than I thought it would, but it budged at the end. Cheeseburger had been right. Food, cans, and spices of all kinds floated throughout the room. It would be a joyous find. One that might keep Asbestos running until the evacuation ships arrived.

Yet neither Cheeseburger nor myself exclaimed a cry of joy. Floating in the middle of the pantry were two objects that would never be served as food.

"Oh... oh no."

Cheeseburger sighed. "We were bound to stumble into someone sooner or later."

"What... what do you think happened?"

"If I had to guess? They survived the initial blowout. They even managed to find themselves a couple of oxygen tanks so they could breathe. But they were injured and scared, and the temperature was dropping. Poor sods must have decided to wait it out, so they wrapped themselves in whatever they could find in an attempt to keep warm, hoping a rescue party would find them soon enough."

"How..." I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "How long..."

"It bears not worth thinking about." Cheeseburger's hand fell on my shoulder, and I felt myself nudged backward. "Come, let's give them privacy. I'll call Hardline to send somebody over."

"Yeah," I nodded, giving the pantry a last glance before allowing myself to be guided away. "Yeah..."

"At least they had each other. Nothing worse than dying alone."