Mask by C.C. Kelly Page A

stories.”
    “Propaganda and lies.”
    Lane bounced her roughly off of the door.  “No, not lies.  I was there, at Outpost 3, just after.”
    The other men sucked in air.  This was a revelation.
    The tears streamed down her freckled face. “ But Lane, please, I’m begging you.”
    Lane leaned his face against hers, dropping her wrists and hugged her tightly.  “We must, please believe me.  You can’t imagine what happened there.  If you knew, you’d never want anyone to go through that.  They are monsters beyond imagining, Glenda.”
    “No!”  She screamed and pushed Lane away, “Never.  I’m taking the enviro-suits.”
    Lane studied her face — she’d gone over.
    “They won’t fit Polly.  She will hardly be able to walk, much less run.”
    “No, we’re going and you can’t stop me.”
    “Glenda, we can’t let you just —”
    “What?  You going to murder me right here, Lane?”
    She turned to open the door, but Lane grabbed her again and squeezed her bicep with a workman’s hardened grip.  He squeezed until she yelped.  She pulled back from Lane’s sudden rage, but he did not let go.
    “Fine, Glenda, do what you must, but do it quietly.  We can’t have you going back out there and creating a panic.  Do you understand?”
    He squeezed even harder, she gasped.
    “ Yes Lane, I understand.”
    He gripped her chin with his other hand and pushed her back against the door and stared into her eyes.  “Are you sure?”
    “Yes Lane, please.”
    “I want you to go find Corporal Dix.  Do you understand?”
    “Yes, Dix.”
    “Have him come see me.  He’ll help you with the suits and run the air-lock for you.  Got it?”
    “Yes Lane, please, you’re hurting me.”
    “Glenda, do you have it?”
    “Yes, yes, have Dix see you, yes Lane, please.  I just want to go.”
    She collapsed against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.  He held her up and stroked her hair like she was a child.  She looked up and nodded.
    “You good?” Lane asked.
    “No, but yeah.  Yeah,” she said as her composure reluctantly returned, “I’m good.”
    Lane nodded.  He released her and gently pulled her to the side and opened the door.
    Glenda turned back and placed a trembling hand on Lane’s chest, “Thank you.  God Bless all of you.”  And then she was gone as the door clicked closed behind her.
    When the door closed he dropped his head against it.
    Doc Larson stood up and put a hand on Lane’s shoulder.
    “Jesus,” Wally said.
    “You were there?” Allen asked.
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”  He faced each of them down, making eye contact and said quietly, “I’ll go last, because nothing’s going to break my resolve.  You’ve all read the reports, but unless you’ve seen it, you have no idea what they are truly capable of, no idea at all.”
    Wally and Allen just stared at him.
    “Why did they lock the weapons up anyway?” Allen mumbled.
    “Because Eton knew that when everything went to shit, we’d have folks like Glenda,” Doc Larson answered.
    “Enough dicking around,” Lane said, “let’s get this shit over with, we’re running out of time.”
     
     
    ******
     
     
    Lane stood at the windows of the Rec-room.  It was a large, open space on the main floor with a domed glass ceiling.  He looked up and watched the two moons stare back.  Allen was right, we should have never come out here , he thought.
    Behind him the scientists, lab techs, maintenance workers, wives, mothers, husbands and fathers talked quietly and occasionally hugged their children, but more often pulled back at the last moment, like reaching for an apparition.  He fought back tears.  They were all being incredibly brave.  They understood and that was good, because this was going to be very ugly before their work was done.
    “Lane,” Allen called from across the room, pointing out the windows.
    Lane looked out to see seven figures walking away to the north wearing orange enviro-suits.