Offworld by Robin Parrish

close to the rim.
    Nothing but air.

    Mae yawned as she entered the living room. Owen's bulky frame
still sprawled over the couch. But he was awake. She took a seat in
an armchair nearby, but he didn't acknowledge her entrance. He had
the television on and was focused on it.
    "You feeling okay?"
    "No, I feel like a building fell on me," he replied, without any
trace of warmth.
    "What's that?" she asked, nodding at the TV.
    "Home video," he said, not looking her way. The video showed
some sort of celebration. A child's birthday party, perhaps. She didn't
examine it too closely, but Owen wouldn't stop watching it.
    "They the ones that lived here?"
    Owen nodded, ignoring her.
    "Terry said you got a kid, and a wife," Mae said. She thought she
saw his jaw clench when she said it.
    Finally, he nodded. "I do. I left them. I went away, on a very
important mission. For a long time. And now they've gone away.
Maybe forever."
    She said nothing.
    He glanced at her and continued. "It's fitting. It's justice. I'm getting what I deserve."
    Mae cocked her head to one side. " 'Cause now you know how
they felt."

    He turned to look at her, and it was an uncomfortable sensation. He wasn't merely regarding her, he was examining her like a
specimen on a microscope slide. She'd already learned that he was
extremely smart, and now he was bringing that intellect to bear on
her. She didn't like it.
    She sighed and settled back into her seat. "What?" Mae asked,
her voice a little louder than before.
    "What, what?" Owen replied.
    "Been watchin' me all day long, but never said nothing. So ...
what?"
    Owen watched her, a look of curiosity or confusion on his face.
"You're the fly in the ointment. There are so many things about this
situation that make no sense. But you most of all. When I look at
you, I see a giant, flashing question mark hovering over your head.
And I can't answer it. Yet."
    "How come I'm still around?" said Mae.
    Owen made no movement to indicate an affirmative, but she
knew she'd hit the bull's-eye.
    Already said ... Don't know why."
    And the whole Earth breathed a sigh of relief," he remarked melodramatically. "If you weren't involved in what happened to everyone,
then it stands to reason that you would be more than a little curious
as to why you are the only person still here that we know of. But I've
yet to see even a trace of concern from you over this. Maybe you hide
your feelings very well, maybe you're desensitized from living alone
too long. Maybe you really do have no idea why you're still here. Or
maybe ... you are somehow right at the heart of all of this. Either
way, you're the fly in the ointment. I have spent considerable time
over the last few years solving scientific mysteries, and you're next
on the list. And I promise you, I will figure you out."
    Mae studied him, scouring every inch of his face. She was unmoved
by his words. "Don't know me. Don't like me. Don't trust me." She wasn't frowning exactly, but her face became somehow more stern.
`Just so happens ... been watching you too. On to you."

    Now she had his undivided attention.
    "You keep everybody away. Don't let nobody close-not even the
ones you run with. They're used to you-don't even see it. I see it."
She leaned forward in her seat and reduced her voice to just above
a whisper. "Don't know what ... but you're hiding something. And
it ain't nothing little."
    Owen returned his gaze to the television, very pointedly ignoring her.
    "Secrets is dangerous," she said, rising from her seat. "Awful lot
of 'em in this house tonight."

     

FIVE

    Get up, boy.!" Chris heard his father's voice, ringing in his ears.
"Snap to!"
    Open your eyes, Chris. Open. Open.
    Come on, get up!
    With considerable effort, Burkeforced his eyes open, ficshting off an
oppressive wave offatigue. He was lying flat, facedown on ... someth. ing. But there was no change when his eyes were open-everything
was black, everywhere he looked. The taste of