Confrontation (The Seamus Chronicles Book 4) by K. D. McAdams Page B
Authors: K. D. McAdams
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reactor I didn’t have. They never came.
What would the punishment be? Maybe they would force me to stand outside the containment field for a set amount of time? Or would they force me to skip a meal or two?
Locking me in a cabin wouldn’t make much sense. While there is more down time and the buffer of supplies has been growing regularly, we still need every able body contributing. What is the worst job in the village? They would make me do that for days or weeks.
“Good morning, Seamus.” Sofie’s presence startles me.
“Hey,” I answer with a weak smile.
She’s waiting for something. I need to compartmentalize my issues and think about her for a few minutes.
“Do you have dreams about Earth?” I ask. I like my unplanned, spur-of-the-moment question.
“Sometimes. Mostly I dream about floating? Weird, isn’t it?” she answers with a smile.
I don’t answer immediately because I am crawling into my head, thinking about why floating would be the focus of her dreams. Sofie always knows when I am lost in thought. I’m not sure if she can see it on my face or how she can tell, but she does. For most of our relationship, she would call me out on it and I would apologize. Lately she doesn’t call me out; she just walks away.
I need to break that cycle though. Pulling myself out of my thoughts for five minutes will help our relationship.
“Floating, like in the water, or floating in space?” I ask. It’s a curious dream, and instead of theorizing on my own, I try to bring her into my thought process.
“Not really sure,” she says. “I can’t remember being weightless during the space warp, so I’m not sure if that is what I was dreaming. I don’t know. Maybe it’s more like flying.” She shrugs.
“I dream about the beach,” I say. I didn’t realize that was true until just now.
Sofie searches my face for clues. “The beach here, or one from Earth?”
“Actually, the one in San Francisco, where you took me when we were trying to figure out the database,” I tell her.
“Really? And what are you doing on the beach? Or is it we?” She’s a little excited.
“It’s us both, and I’m not sure I should say.” It’s dark and I’m surprised at myself.
“Oh, now you have to say,” she insists. “Unless it’s perverted, then you should keep it to yourself.” Sofie and I don’t talk about sex.
“Not perverted, in that sense. I dream that we are just sitting there holding hands and it’s sunny and warm and perfect. And then you start coughing.” I think about her mortality.
“Like, ‘sore loser’ coughing?” she asks, even though she knows that answer has to be yes.
“Yes, ‘sore loser’ coughing. But then I kiss you, and I start coughing, too. The weird part is that the sun never sets and we never fall asleep. We just cough and then I wake up.” The dream is real, but I have never thought about it while awake.
“If spooky sweet wasn’t a thing before, it is now,” Sofie says. She leans in and kisses me deeply.
After washing up and getting dressed, we walk together to the central cabin. The specter of being caught and punished has faded in my mind. I know they won’t put me to death, which means I can handle whatever it is they decide.
Sofie and I are the last to arrive at the table with the exception of Luke and Sonjia, though the others don’t know they won’t be coming. I grab some fruit and a small chunk of unleavened grain loaf; it’s definitely not bread, since wheat doesn’t want to grow here. It’s unleavened because our yeast cultures don’t seem to work well on Locus.
“David, would you run down to Luke’s cabin and let him know I’d like to address the village?” Mike asks.
Now is the time. Dad always told me to be honest. He has always said honesty would mitigate anger and frustration when the truth came out. If I stop David, I can avoid Mike’s frustration of having waited to find out that Luke and Sonjia have left. That is, unless I
What would the punishment be? Maybe they would force me to stand outside the containment field for a set amount of time? Or would they force me to skip a meal or two?
Locking me in a cabin wouldn’t make much sense. While there is more down time and the buffer of supplies has been growing regularly, we still need every able body contributing. What is the worst job in the village? They would make me do that for days or weeks.
“Good morning, Seamus.” Sofie’s presence startles me.
“Hey,” I answer with a weak smile.
She’s waiting for something. I need to compartmentalize my issues and think about her for a few minutes.
“Do you have dreams about Earth?” I ask. I like my unplanned, spur-of-the-moment question.
“Sometimes. Mostly I dream about floating? Weird, isn’t it?” she answers with a smile.
I don’t answer immediately because I am crawling into my head, thinking about why floating would be the focus of her dreams. Sofie always knows when I am lost in thought. I’m not sure if she can see it on my face or how she can tell, but she does. For most of our relationship, she would call me out on it and I would apologize. Lately she doesn’t call me out; she just walks away.
I need to break that cycle though. Pulling myself out of my thoughts for five minutes will help our relationship.
“Floating, like in the water, or floating in space?” I ask. It’s a curious dream, and instead of theorizing on my own, I try to bring her into my thought process.
“Not really sure,” she says. “I can’t remember being weightless during the space warp, so I’m not sure if that is what I was dreaming. I don’t know. Maybe it’s more like flying.” She shrugs.
“I dream about the beach,” I say. I didn’t realize that was true until just now.
Sofie searches my face for clues. “The beach here, or one from Earth?”
“Actually, the one in San Francisco, where you took me when we were trying to figure out the database,” I tell her.
“Really? And what are you doing on the beach? Or is it we?” She’s a little excited.
“It’s us both, and I’m not sure I should say.” It’s dark and I’m surprised at myself.
“Oh, now you have to say,” she insists. “Unless it’s perverted, then you should keep it to yourself.” Sofie and I don’t talk about sex.
“Not perverted, in that sense. I dream that we are just sitting there holding hands and it’s sunny and warm and perfect. And then you start coughing.” I think about her mortality.
“Like, ‘sore loser’ coughing?” she asks, even though she knows that answer has to be yes.
“Yes, ‘sore loser’ coughing. But then I kiss you, and I start coughing, too. The weird part is that the sun never sets and we never fall asleep. We just cough and then I wake up.” The dream is real, but I have never thought about it while awake.
“If spooky sweet wasn’t a thing before, it is now,” Sofie says. She leans in and kisses me deeply.
After washing up and getting dressed, we walk together to the central cabin. The specter of being caught and punished has faded in my mind. I know they won’t put me to death, which means I can handle whatever it is they decide.
Sofie and I are the last to arrive at the table with the exception of Luke and Sonjia, though the others don’t know they won’t be coming. I grab some fruit and a small chunk of unleavened grain loaf; it’s definitely not bread, since wheat doesn’t want to grow here. It’s unleavened because our yeast cultures don’t seem to work well on Locus.
“David, would you run down to Luke’s cabin and let him know I’d like to address the village?” Mike asks.
Now is the time. Dad always told me to be honest. He has always said honesty would mitigate anger and frustration when the truth came out. If I stop David, I can avoid Mike’s frustration of having waited to find out that Luke and Sonjia have left. That is, unless I
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