Offworld by Robin Parrish Page B

... well, if things were what they now were.
    She zipped open the duffel bag she'd packed back at Kennedy
and threw on some clothes. Wandering out of the room but wishing she'd stayed in bed, Trisha was unsurprised to find that all was
quiet. Owen snored softly on the couch. Teriy was no doubt deeply
asleep somewhere else. Chris wasn't in sight, though she already
knew where he would be right now. And Mae-well, she had no
idea where Mae was, and couldn't bring herself to care.
    Trisha rubbed her eyes and shuffled into the kitchen, curious
about what sort of breakfast foods might be found there. Her first
thought was cereal, until she remembered that the world's entire
stock of milk would have soured over a month ago. And with all of
the animals gone, there was no way to get a fresh supply.
    That's so sad, she thought, fighting the urge to give up and slink
back to bed. I really miss milk.
    The mineral supplement NASA had developed for them to
drink while on Mars to help their bones and muscles resist breaks
and atrophy may have been white and thick, but it just wasn't the
same.
    She searched the cupboards and the foul-smelling refrigerator,
hoping to supplement what they'd salvaged yesterday. It wasn't long
before she was making a little too much noise, slamming doors in
weariness and frustration, while under her breath asking the universe why she was always the one who did these kinds of things.
She didn't want to be the mom of the group.
    From seemingly out of nowhere, Mae appeared just outside the
kitchen.
    "Need help?" she asked, yawning.
    Trisha didn't meet the girl's eyes. "No. Thanks."

    Mae walked away without comment.
    Trisha frowned. Why am I being so snotty to her? She didn't do
anything.
    That we know of.
    Toast was out of the question; there was no such thing as fresh
bread. As she settled on some frozen waffles in the freezer, Chris
jogged through the open front door, wearing an oversized hockey
jersey and a pair of mesh basketball shorts. She figured it was the
only gym-wear he could find in the house. He was sweating but
smiling, hands on his hips as he caught his breath, clearly enjoying
the endorphin high of his morning run.
    "Good morning," he said cheerily.
    "That's debatable." She yawned and pushed her hair behind her
ears. "Sleep any? I sure didn't."
    Chris glanced at where Owen still slept on the couch, oblivious
to the world. "No, not really. Trish, can I talk to you for a second?"
    She knew that tone of voice. Her morning grumpiness was quickly
pushed aside and she put down her breakfast.
    He stepped into the kitchen. "I've been having more of the
dreams," he said, voice low. About my missing time. And not all of
the dreams have been happening while I'm asleep."
    She was momentarily silent before she caught his meaning. "You
mean you've been blacking out during the day?"
    Chris tilted his head sideways. "Not `blacking out' exactly. More
like being hit with a sudden jolt of memories, and losing track of
where I am. It just happened again while I was out running, and it
made me trip and almost crack my head on the pavement."
    Trisha stepped toward him looking for injuries. `Are you all
right?"
    He held up his hands, not to stop her but to show off some
vicious scrapes on his palms. "I didn't hit my head. Caught myself.
I'm okay."

    Trisha shook her head and began searching their bags for antibiotic ointment or alcohol.
    "I fell into a lava tube," he continued.
    Trisha stopped what she was doing and stared at him, wideeyed. Then she blinked. "Well, we always knew there were dormant
volcanoes, and there were the veins on the satellite images.... I
guess it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that they're real.
But I can't believe you were actually inside one!"
    "Shh ..." he whispered, looking out into the living room to make
sure Owen was still asleep.
    "How'd you get out of it?" she asked.
    "I don't know yet. But I do know I only had an hour of oxygen
left