chapter 45
TEAM 1 & 2, YEAR: 1200
Time Remaining: 16 hours, 27 minutes
At the camp, Clint’s release from the cube brought a renewed urgency to leave the drama behind, push forward and focus on the goal. With the Moles retired, the team focused on their final task of blasting away the remaining rock that encased the Elevanium deposit and clearing away the debris.
Despite the forward progress and no new catastrophes, tensions ran high around the camp. Knowing a person or people were lurking around the camp at night left the group feeling uneasy and on edge. Confirmation of an intruder prompted Maya to do an inventory of the food supply and discovered their levels were far lower than anticipated. Jake suspected that the late-night roamer had been living on their food supply for some time wherever he had set up camp. While Darren did a remarkable job of turning NRD food rations and the remaining unpopular vegetables into appetizing dishes, the meatless meals left everyone hungry and compounded the group’s strain.
After the final blasts that shattered the Elevanium deposit into millions of pieces, Jake and the team surveyed the spacious cavern. Jake watched the silvery dust glisten in the overhead light as it fell lazily to the cavern floor. Unlike the chalky grey dust that hung in the air after blasting away the bedrock, the Elevanium dust sparkled like tiny diamonds. The heaping pile of white rocks looked otherworldly, glowing like an extra bright, extra white heap of snow.
Jake noted some of the cavern’s ceiling had succumbed in the final blast and lay atop the glowing pile of Elevanium. He dismissed the tired crew for dinner; as the dusty team began their ascent to the surface, Jake cleared away the boulders that could obscure the zeno rays. As Jake compressed the massive rocks into little pebbles, relief flooded over him. They had completed blasting and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. No problems, no theft, no bad attitudes and, best of all, nothing unexplainable.
Jake turned when he heard a noise behind him. Lexi appeared from the far side of the deposit and dropped an armful of rocks into the stationary dump bucket behind him. Jake discarded his last load of rock debris then walked the perimeter of the vast cavern looking for any remaining large stones that may interfere with the set up of the guns in the morning. Confident the cleared area would meet Riley’s high standards, Jake hit the UNLOAD button on the floating bucket and it began its steady ascent up the long tunnel.
“Man, that is exhausting work,” said Jake. A puff of grey swirled around him as he brushed the rock dust from his face, arms and body.
“You’re not kidding,” yawned Lexi. “I’m done. Let’s eat.” As Lexi turned to leave, she stepped heavily into a deep crevice created by the blasting and fell forward. She reached out to break her fall and landed hard on the floor’s uneven surface.
Jake sprinted to her side to help her up. “Lex, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, I’m such a klutz.” She put her weight down on her left leg gingerly and inhaled sharply. Lexi saw genuine concern in Jake’s eyes and it eased her pain. “I’m alright, I just twisted my ankle. I just need to walk it off.” Jake supported her weight and she put her hand on his to steady herself as she took a few steps. After a few steps, she felt the pain working itself out. “See? It’s getting better already.”
Jake let her walk unassisted and, true to her word, it seemed to improve. “Alright, but I still think you should get Maya to look at it.”
“That’s fair.” Lexi pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes and tucked them behind her ear.
“Lex, you’re bleeding,” said Jake looking at her temple.
Lexi touched her forehead where she had brushed it moments ago but felt no pain. She looked at her hand and saw a jagged cut on the heel of her hand. Blood oozed from the cut and had dripped down into her palm.
“I don’t like blood. Especially my own.”
He took her hand in his and pushed her baggy sleeve back to inspect the damage. “Jesus, Lex. You’re lucky you didn’t hit an artery or something.”
Now having seen the laceration, the pain began to register and she winced. “I better take care of this before dinner. Go and eat. It’s been a long day.”
“Lex, you can’t do this one-handed. I’ll help you. We’re already late anyway. What’s a few more minutes.” He looked at her and smiled.
They began the long trek up the tunnel slowly, so as to not aggravate Lexi’s ankle. “I can’t believe how crazy it’s been here for the last couple of weeks,” said Lexi.
“I know,” chuckled Jake. “Remember the good ‘ole days when the Moles did all the work and all there was to do was invent games in Mole Control to pass the time?”
“And at the end of the day, there was a hot, meaty meal waiting for us?” Lexi chuckled. “I guess we can’t complain, though. We’re in a good position for tomorrow. Everything should go off without a hitch…”
Jake pretended to cover her mouth with his dusty hand. “Don’t even say it. You’ll jinx us.” They both laughed as they continued up the tunnel. A few moments passed before either spoke again.
“So what are you going to do when you get back?” Lexi asked. “We’ve got, what, a month off after this?”
Jake knew that to most people, the idea of time off with pay was highly appealing. But he worried that returning to his empty house for a month’s vacation would undo all the healing he had done. He planned on resuming work and taking the month in pay for a down payment on a cabin. But that was not a fun story.
“Well, I think I’m going to sell the house.” Which was true. While the thought of leaving the house where so many good memories had been made would tear his heart out, he knew if he stayed he would never be able to move forward. He wanted to save the good times but close the chapter and move on.
“And I think I’ll make a point of getting out more and move on with my life,” said Jake. Lexi caught his eye and he smiled at her warmly as he shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m going to keep my options open for a little while anyway. Maybe do some travelling, but no more time travelling!”
The pair chatted until they reached the trailer they now shared. Jake retrieved the first aid kit from the closet and, seeing his dusty handprints on the white plastic case, he washed up before opening the lid. Lexi cleaned the cut carefully in the bathroom sink, flinching as the warm water washed over the cut.
“Jake, I can do this myself,” said Lexi, sitting on the lid of the toilet.
Jake sat across from her on the edge of the tub and placed her hand gently on the sink’s vanity. He applied LiquiStitch from the nearly empty bottle and let it dry for several minutes before covering the wound with an Xpress-Heal bandage.
“You seem pretty good at this,” Lexi said. His skin was rough, but his hands moved gently.
Jake shrugged his shoulders. “From having kids, I guess,” He smoothed the bandage gently over her cut. “Alright, Miss Grant. I think you’re good as new.”
To Jake’s surprise, Lexi fell quiet and looked contemplative. She looked from the bandage to him. Her sudden silence confused him and he tried to recall if she had hit her head when she had fallen. He had thought not and wondered if perhaps this latest accident had been enough to finally break her down. He always had a hard time reading women. The only woman he had ever paid attention to was his wife and she required no reading. She was generally always happy, and if not, she would tell him so he could fix whatever it was he had done.
“Lex, are you alright?”
To Jake’s surprise, Lexi leaned forward and brushed her lips softly across his. Startled, Jake stood and the room filled with ear-splitting silence.
Okay Jake, say something, thought Jake, frantically. Obviously there’s a miscommunication here. You just have to clear it up. Speak. Say something. Say something now! This is far more awkward for her than it is for you.
Jake stammered. “Oh, Lex…”
Lexi’s face turned red and she looked away, not before he saw the mortification a
nd hurt in her eyes. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her good wrist.
“Lex, I’m sorry. If I did anything to make you think I was interested in you in that way, I apologize. I’m married.” He saw her look anywhere but at him. “Well, I still feel married.”
“I thought you said you were ready to move on. We get along really well, and then you moved me in here. You were so protective and concerned.”
Jake could see her eyes welling up, more likely from embarrassment than anything else. Unsure of what else to do, he pulled her into a hug. “Lex, I’m sorry. I’m not ready to move on. I won’t be for a long time. Probably years. I can’t even think about anyone else right now. I know if my wife could see me, she’d kick my ass and tell me to get it together, but it’s so hard.”
“She was very lucky.”
“No, I was the lucky one. I’m very flattered, though. You’re a great girl, and I know I’m going to look back to this moment some day and kick myself.”
The two stood in silence and Lexi pulled herself together. She felt silly for acting on feelings built on signs she had conjured in her mind. She picked up the bandage wrappers, tossed them in the garbage and quickly left.
Everyone wolfed down the meagre meal like it was a $300 steak. Darren tried his damnedest to make something memorable for the final dinner of the operation, but baked macaroni casserole made from NRD-issue food rations and steamed, freezer-burned broccoli, a celebratory dinner it did not make.
Finn ducked out early, yawning and claiming he was eager to hit the sack for their early morning. Owen knew the only sack Finn wanted to hit was the large bag of junk food squirrelled away under his bed. He made a mental note to pay Finn a visit later. Lexi also left immediately after finishing.
The night passed with no celebration despite the milestone reached. Privately, Jake felt that any day where progress had been made and catastrophe had been averted was a day worth celebrating.