Kraken Mare by Jason Cordova, Christopher L. Smith Page A

escorting her. They flipped out when they found out that she had come home from the US to save her family. They swore to make an example out of her. And they did.” I closed my eyes. I hated crying in front of people. Five years after the fact and it still pained me to even think about her death. “I heard about it and almost went AWOL to kill all of the bastards. Had a CSM literally drag me back on base so I wouldn't be counted as AWOL. He beat the shit out of me too, after roll call. I couldn't deal with anything at the time. Shelved all the pain and emotion for later. Broke down once in the barracks and just let it all out. Almost ended everything by eating a bullet. Again, the CSM kicked my ass and got my head back on straight. Asked me what Concy would think of me if she'd found out I had tried to take the coward's way out. Made me stop, made me think. So instead of ending the pain, I focused all of it into being the best Marine I could be. Got picked up for special ops a few years later, then my unit was sent to Soma to quell the civil war there…and here we are.”
    “Damn,” Gerry said as I watched sympathy and…something else fill his eyes. “You probably suffer more PTSD from that than you ever could from being on the run from AIRS rebels.”
    “That'd be a pretty good guess,” I agreed. “It hurts, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. It's worse when I think about what could have been. If I focus on what we had, it's sad, but manageable. So I lock on to the good times, like high school and stuff. Summer on the lake. Going up to Wisconsin to go snowboarding. Things that remind me of living.”
    Gerry stood up from the chair. He stuck his hand out. Uncertain, I accepted it.
    “You're going to be fine, John,” Gerry told me in a firm tone. “You'll fit in well here. Duty roster will be sent to you via PDA later tonight. I'll give you a day to get adjusted before you start your shifts. Get some rest and some food. Those are two things that we can offer down here that beat anything you got on Soma, that's for damn sure.”
    Pretty sure the strangeness of this place beats Soma any day of the week , I didn't say as Gerry walked to the door. Instead, I said, “I'm glad I'm here. I think I'll fit in well.”
    “So do I,” Gerry said and left the room. I waited a few moments before closing the door behind him. I leaned forward and pressed my head against the cool plasteel surface of the door. After a moment, I turned back and walked over to my bed. I shoved the heavy travel bag onto the floor. I crawled on top of the covers and didn't even bother to kick my shoes off. I was asleep in seconds, dreams of a smiling face looking down upon my own from the night of our wedding.

 
    Chapter Five
     
    It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me–
    And I'm feelin' good.
    –Nina Simone, “Feeling Good”
     
    Gerry gave me some time to acclimatize myself to life in the station. Over the next week, I fell into a routine – I’d wake up, exercise in the gym, shower and shave, then report for my shift. Initially, I thought a twelve-hour shift would be dull and repetitive, but further exploration of the station changed my opinion. I discovered that the fascinating creatures who inhabited the lake and rose up from The Well made the time pass by quickly.
    As intrigued as I was with them, it appeared that the creatures were even more interested in me. Multiple times while I was moving through the upper galley, I found that the aliens had banded together and were following my progress and using The Well to dive into the deeper levels of the station when I moved to a lower level. I wasn't entirely certain why they were interested in me, but some of the other guards had taken to calling me the “Kraken Whisperer.”
    It wouldn't have mattered so much if not for the inordinate amount of attention I received from the scientists because of all this.
    “In all seriousness, John, do you not realize how important