FOUND, page 1
Contents
Dedication
ISBN ebook
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgments
To Mike, always.
ISBN: 979-8-218-47262-7
PROLOGUE
WHEN ALL else fails, go to Mars.
Michelle squirmed, trying to find the position of least resistance. Interplanetary transports were statistically safer than airplanes, but, somehow, the seats were even less comfortable.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Mars Colony. Please remain seated with your seatbelts securely fastened until otherwise notified. Thank you.”
Michelle snuck a glance at Phil as she snugged down the safety harness. He tore his gaze away from the viewport just long enough to make eye contact before refocusing on the starfield outside. “Where’ve you been?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t sleep very well last night.” The twin berths were serviceable, but not more than that. “I was just trying to sneak in a little more before we land.”
“Before you see Dave again, you mean,” Phil teased in a singsong voice.
Michelle grinned. Her teenage brother wasn’t wrong. Three months was plenty long enough to be literal worlds apart from her husband, especially when those three months made up half their marriage. Mars wasn’t her first choice for a romantic reunion, nor to forge the next phase of their lives, for that matter, but at least Mars wasn’t Earth; that was a point in its favor.
A sharp pinch at Michelle’s hip made her jump. Phil was tugging on her belt rather than his own. “Hey.” She elbowed him.
“Hmm?” He didn’t even bother to turn her way.
She nudged him again. “Adjust your own belt, kiddo. Mine is fine.”
“What?” Now he looked down at where their seats met. “Oh.” When he looked up, his grin spread wide across his face. “Heh.”
She couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. “Yeah, ‘heh’.”
The red glow of the planet looming large outside the window caught her attention. Phil followed her gaze.
“Mars, Shelle,” he whispered. “We’re going to live on frickin’ Mars.”
“Language,” she murmured automatically. Her heart skipped a few beats; she was caught up in the view. Their future loomed increasingly larger with each breath.
The transport vessel began to shimmy and jolt as it broached the upper atmosphere. Michelle’s jaw clenched of its own accord as her grip tightened on the armrests. She closed her eyes and began deliberately breathing through her nose. Beside her, Phil cackled softly with excitement.
Michelle filled her lungs completely then let it out in one great whoosh. This ought to be the last of it. The last of the almost unbearably rough road that had brought them to this place, of all places, to start over as a new version of their family. If she could just breathe through this final turbulence, just push through her discomfort one last time, then before she knew it, they’d be on the ground. Dave would be waiting and the three of them would go to their new home and start settling in, start establishing the Arensen-Collins household.
The squeeze of Phil’s hand on hers made Michelle open her eyes and look at him. He was watching her carefully, and when they made eye contact, he smiled gently. She turned her hand over so that her fingers were grasping his and squeezed back.
They’d come through so much already. Their first interplanetary landing would be small potatoes.
“You’re missing the view,” she said, gesturing to the viewport with her chin.
Phil visibly relaxed. Shooting her another brilliant smile, he turned back to the viewport, eager to watch their official arrival at their new home.
CHAPTER ONE
GOOD WINE WAS hard to come by on Mars.
So, though it was a poor substitute, Michelle sipped rose hip tea, courtesy of the colony’s greenhouse plants, as she gazed at the seemingly endless vista. Dave sat beside her, absently rubbing her thigh, as they waited for Phil to finish washing the dinner dishes. The sun was setting behind Elysium Mons. The volcano hadn’t erupted for millennia, but its inactivity did nothing to detract from its beauty. The entire landscape, from the lifeless, arid plains, to the jagged volcano, to the dusky sky, was an homage to hues of red she never saw together on Earth. As the dusk gave way to evening, double moons rose and illuminated the miles of desolation.
It was hostile, cold, and unforgiving. It was also one of the most beautiful things Michelle had ever seen.
Things were working out better than she’d expected. It was a huge change, uprooting their lives and starting over on Mars, given that Michelle’s usual idea of adventure was eating breakfast for dinner. But the past eight months had allowed them the space they needed to heal. Phil was happier than she’d seen him in a year. Her insomnia had all but disappeared and she didn’t feel as anxious. Dave was a positive, calming, and stabilizing influence on them both.
Michelle felt more hopeful this evening, their first Halloween on Mars, than she had for the past two years.
Dave’s warm hand enveloped hers. While not a bulky man, Dave was quite tall, and his hand dwarfed hers. He gently tapped his thumb three times on her knuckles and lifted his brows, the silent way of checking in on her that he’d developed since Adam died.
Michelle squeezed his hand and nodded.
“Done,” Phil announced, tossing the dishcloth aside on the counter. It only took a few steps to move from the small kitchen sink to the dining area where Michelle and Dave were waiting; Phil claimed his spot at the table in a heartbeat. “All right, let’s play.”
The living facilities were far from luxurious. For their family of three, they had a small, simple, two-bedroom, one bathroom unit with a kitchen/dining area and living room that, altogether, was about the size of her one-bedroom apartment back on Earth. It was cozy at best, but it worked.
So far, everything worked.
Dave released her hand and shuffled the deck, showing off a technique he’d learned during a college trip to Las Vegas. Once the game started, the time passed quickly. Hands were won and lost, trash talk was traded with gusto, and they all took turns answering the door when the few miniature ghosts and goblins who lived in the colony came to call this evening of October 31st.
Michelle had always loved Halloween, and since she’d become the one handing out treats instead of hoarding them, her favorite part was the kids’ reactions. Granted, these kids were getting fruit from the greenhouse instead of the candy of her own childhood, but they were trading that buzzy sugar bliss for the rare privilege of trick-or-treating on Mars. It seemed like a fair trade to her.
~~~
THE EVENING QUIETED down after a little while, as there weren’t that many children in the colony, and the three of them played uninterrupted for a couple of hours. Phil and Dave were both a bit competitive and the good-natured rivalry between them was entertainment for Michelle. Just before ten, Michelle yawned so big that her jaw popped. Rubbing her eyes, she laid her cards on the table. “I’m gonna call it a night, you guys.”
“You can’t, not right now. Look at the score!” Phil thrust a notepad at her; he and Dave were tied.
She looked at her husband.
“One more hand?” He gave her a hopeful grin.
Michelle was bone-tired, but between Dave’s attempt at charm and Phil’s desperation, she nodded. “All right, one more. But this is it, though.”
“Yes!” Phil fidgeted in his seat. “Gimme the deck.”
Dave handed Phil the deck and sat back in his seat, watching his brother-in-law deal the cards, then deal again as everyone traded some in hopes of improving their hands.
Michelle scooped up her cards and looked at the pitiful combination she held. “I’m out.” She laid the cards back down on the table.
Phil eyed her suspiciously. “Are you just saying that ‘cause you’re tired? ‘Cause that would make you a quitter.”
She barely resisted rolling her eyes at him. “Oh, I’m absolutely a quitter.” She flipped her cards over so that everyone could see that she had absolutely nothing. “When I have this good a reason to bail.”
Dave looked at the hand she’d revealed and hissed. “Ouch.”
“Not a quitter, then,” Phil taunted. “Just a loser.”
Dave hissed again. “Double ouch.”
She shook her head, chuckling under her breath. “And one of you guys is gonna be a loser with me. So who’s it gonna be?”
Dave and Phil locked gazes. Dave was the first to taunt. “Bring it, buster. I’m taking you out.”
“I think you’re bluffing.” Phil squinted at his brother-in-law critically.
Dave shrugged. “Guess you’re going to have to find out.”
“All right. You think you’ve got something, let’s see it. You’re going down, man.”
“Oh, yeah?” Dave displayed his cards, spreading them in an arc in front of him on the table. “Straight flush, King high.”
Phil’s jaw dropped. “Shit.”
“Language,” Michelle murmured, though she couldn’t have said it better herself. Phil was screwed.
Reluctantly, Phil showed his cards. A straight, Jack high. A strong hand.
Just not strong enough.
“Hello, loser number 2,” said Michelle.
Dave sighed in mock sympathy. “You weren’t even first loser.”
Phil laid his forehead on the table and groaned. “I can’t believe it.”
“You have to play the hand you’re dealt, grasshopper,” Dave said in an overexaggerated voice of wisdom before grinning widely. “Too bad you dealt it to yourself.”
The teen snorted and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You’re mine next time, Collins. And real wise men don’t actually call anyone ‘grasshopper’.”
A laugh burst from Michelle. “I think he might have you there, babe.” She stood. “All right, it’s bedtime. C’mere, you.” Phil got to his feet and gave her a hug and Dave a wave before heading off to his room, closing the door behind him with a click.
Michelle meandered over to where Dave still sat at the table, gathering up the cards. She came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders.
Dave’s arms relaxed to his sides and he moaned. “That feels amazing.”
Michelle leaned down and nibbled at his ear as she trailed her fingers along his chest and over his abdomen. “Oh, I can do better than this.” She leaned in and whispered, “Someone’s going down tonight, Collins.”
Without missing a beat, Dave bolted up, grabbed Michelle’s hand, and beelined it for their bedroom.
~~~
THE NEXT DAY started as the days usually did. Dave left for work at the crack of dawn, waking Michelle with a kiss right before he went out the door. Michelle then wrangled herself out of bed and woke Phil up on her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them both. Breakfast wasn’t a grand affair; the menu was pretty limited: protein ration, scrambled or fried, and fruit. Happily, though, the supply ship that came every twelve weeks always brought coffee with it, and it had only been three weeks since the last resupply, so there was still plenty lovely bitter, rich, elixir of life left.
Michelle had just plated the protein, which she scrambled today, with a side of leftover Halloween berries, when Phil appeared at the table, hair still wet from his shower.
“Morning, kid. How’d you sleep?”
Phil groaned. “Why’s school have to start so early?”
“It’s a time-honored way to torture teenagers,” she said, setting a glass of water in front of him.
The left corner of his mouth turned up. "It works.”
She hummed. “I know. I lived through it, too.” She plated her own meal and sat down beside him. “You ready for your botany test today?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Don’t know why I have to learn that stuff, though. I’m not gonna work in the greenhouse.” He said it with a dismissive sneer, but the mischief in his eyes gave him away.
Michelle pointed her fork at him. “That’s what I said, and now look at me.”
He scoffed and finished the last of his breakfast.
“Already?” she said as he took his plate to the sink. “What are you, a vacuum?”
“It doesn’t take long. It’s not like the food fights back or something.” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and picked his backpack up from the sofa, slinging it over his shoulder. “See ya,” he called on his way out the door.
“Love you!” she called back, watching his long legs eat up the ground the way the boy himself devoured breakfast.
She polished off her protein and berries. With the guys successfully out the door, now it was her turn. She’d hit the shower and go to work, expecting that her scheduled eight-hour shift in the greenhouse would turn into ten hours or more, as it did more often than not. Michelle didn’t love what she did, she had trained as a linguist, of all things, but at least the greenhouse work was useful here.
Utility was the only measure of value in the colony. Everyone had to do their share, pull their weight, or this, humanity’s third attempt at colonizing Mars, wouldn’t be any more successful than the first two had been. Except that it already was. This outpost had lasted for just over four years already, a little more than twice as long as its predecessor, Mars 2. Mars 1 had been such a short-lived endeavor it almost wasn’t worth measuring.
Michelle smiled as she stepped into the shower. This time, the colony was going to be just fine.
And so were they.
~~~
CHAPTER TWO
THE GLORIOUS SYMPHONY of color in the Martian sunrise lit the sky as Michelle walked to the greenhouse. While the planet’s atmosphere and geology created stunning vistas on the other side of the transparent atmospheric dome, the climate was always temperate on this side of it. Today was November first, the time of year when the rain started turning to snow back home. Here, there was no rain, no snow, no heat waves, no cold snaps. Every day within the dome had the same weather as the day before. It could be hell on small talk.
But conversational acuity wasn’t what had led Michelle to Mars.
Not long after Dave graduated, all of his hard work culminated in the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to intern under Dr. Ellen Aiani, a brilliant visionary currently in charge of managing all aspects of the intradome atmosphere on the colony. To work with her, though, Dave had to leave Washington State and relocate to Mars for at least the next three years.
Michelle and Dave had been engaged for just over nine months when he was selected for the internship. If he accepted, and of course he would, Dave would have to be on Mars no later than four months after the offer, including the two-weeks it would take to get there. So the very next week, at a small, sweet, courthouse ceremony with Dave’s parents and Phil as witnesses, Michelle became Mrs. David Collins.
She still went by Arensen, though, because Phil shouldn’t have to be the only one bearing their family name.
Dave loved working with Dr. Aiani, and Michelle was glad for it, because her own situation wasn’t nearly as rosy. Michelle was a trained linguist, a skill for which there was as much demand on Mars as there was naturally occurring water. But, while families were welcome in the colony, there was no capacity for waste. Everyone had to be useful, so Michelle helped out in the greenhouse. She also stopped in at the Records Department once a week to help them catch up on any backlog they had. Julius, the lovely man who ran Records, was a joy to work with. The perfect foil to Dr. Morgan.
Petra Morgan was at the forefront of her field, creating hardier, more resilient, more prolific plants through advanced genetic manipulation. It was fascinating work, producing eggplants that provided all the iron a body needed in a day, even if they did taste like chalk. But while Michelle respected the hell out of the woman for her professional achievements, she was glad that she was far enough removed from Dr. Morgan that she didn’t have to work with her every day. Their typical semiweekly interactions were sour enough for Michelle’s tastes. Dr. Morgan was consistently prickly and demanding, crude and rude and beyond arrogant. Dr. Morgan was an unwavering believer in her own superiority.
Michelle couldn’t stand her.
Greenhouse staff didn’t enter by the main door, but by the office door around back. Someone was always in the office, as was the case with most posts on Mars Colony. Every function was essential, so someone needed to be there day or night to instantly handle anything that arose. The wrong malfunction left to itself could spell disaster for the entire colony.
Emilio Barrigan was sitting behind the desk when she walked in. Emilio was one of the two poor souls who had the misfortune of working directly with Dr. Morgan on a daily basis, and Michelle had no idea how he maintained his easygoing attitude. At the sound of the door, he looked up from the display he’d been studying. “Hey, Michelle! How’s it going?”
