Day 21

CHAPTER 12 Glass

“You can’t do this,” Luke said, finally breaking the silence that filled the small repair room. They were in the now-abandoned guard station that stored the suits Luke and his fellow engineers used for spacewalks. “It’s beyond dangerous—it’s suicidal. If anyone goes out there, it will be me. I’m trained to do it.”

Glass placed her hand on Luke’s arm and was surprised to feel him trembling. “No,” she said, looking him in the eye for the first time since she’d told him her plan. “It would be insane to have you risk your life on a spacewalk, only to be shot once you get to Phoenix.”

“There aren’t exactly going to be guards waiting for me at the airlock. I doubt they think anyone would be crazy enough to try to get across on the outside of the ship,” Luke said. Not only were spacewalks performed exclusively by Luke and the rest of his highly trained team, they only did so when absolutely necessary, and only with everyone running support, monitoring oxygen and pressure levels, keeping an eye out for debris, providing backup in case of equipment failure. Glass tried not to think about the fact that she would be crossing without any of that.

“Opening the airlock will set off alarms. They might arrest me, but they’re not going to shoot me on sight,” she insisted.

“Glass.” Luke’s voice was hoarse. “I can’t let you do this.”

“I’m not just doing it for us.” She looked up at him, willing herself to stay calm. “By closing the skybridge, Phoenix left all of Walden and Arcadia to die. I can’t let innocent people suffer, not if there’s something I can do to help. I need to open the skybridge.”

Luke sighed and closed his eyes. “Okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Then let’s get started.” He began methodically reviewing the equipment, explaining how everything worked—the pressurized suits, the clamps, the cord that would keep her tethered to the ship. His tone was calm and businesslike, as if he’d convinced himself that he was briefing a new guard, and not the only person he loved left in the universe.

He led Glass to the large window next to the airlock and pointed out the handholds that stretched all the way across. “The airlock on Phoenix can be opened from the outside—just untwist the big wheel; that will let you into the airlock chamber. Once you’re inside, I’ll head to the skybridge and meet you there.”

“It’s a date,” Glass said, managing a smile.

Luke pulled out one of the guards’ thermal jumpsuits and handed it to Glass. “Sorry,” he said. “This is the smallest one.” It was clearly made for someone much larger, but it would have to do.

Glass quickly pulled off her shirt and stepped out of her pants, shivering as the cold raised goose bumps along her arm. As she fumbled with the thermal, she looked up to see Luke staring at her with an intensity she’d never seen before, like he was trying to commit every line of her body to memory.

“You’re getting it all bunched up,” he said, his voice thick. “It won’t work if it’s not right next to your skin. Here.” Glass stood perfectly still as he ran his hands over the fabric, smoothing out all the wrinkles, his fingers traveling deftly across her shoulders, down her back, over her hips. She shivered. Each time his hands moved to a new spot, she felt a tiny pang of loss. What if he was touching her for the very last time?

Finally, he stepped away and reached for the space suit, checking various pieces of equipment before carrying it over to her.

Neither of them spoke as Luke helped her step into the bottom part of the suit, fastening it tightly around her waist. He instructed her to raise her arms and pulled the top portion over her head. His face pale, he locked the two sections into place. There was an audible click, and Glass inhaled sharply. “Are you okay?” Luke asked, taking her hand.

She nodded. He opened his mouth to respond, then changed his mind and reached for the gloves, which he pulled, one at a time, over Glass’s hands.

Only the helmet was left. “I should’ve put my hair up first,” Glass said, holding up her gloves.

“I’ll do it.” He reached into her pocket to remove the elastic band for her, then stepped behind her and smoothed her hair back into a ponytail, gently tucking a few stray strands behind her ears and wrapping the band around it tight.

Luke smiled shakily as he stepped back. “I guess it’s go time.” He wrapped his arms around her, and even though she couldn’t feel the pressure through the suit, Glass felt warmer inside. “Be very, very careful out there, okay?” he said, his voice muffled. “If anything happens, come straight back. Don’t take any risks.”

Glass nodded. “I love you.” She couldn’t count the number of times she’d said those words, but they seemed different now. She could hear the echo of every past I love you in them, and the promise of a lifetime more.

Luke lowered his head and kissed her. For a moment, Glass closed her eyes and allowed herself to pretend that this was just a normal kiss, that she was a regular seventeen-year-old kissing the boy she loved. She leaned forward eagerly—and felt the weight of the bulky space suit jar her back to reality.

Luke pulled away and picked up the helmet. “Good luck,” he said, bending down to kiss her forehead. Then he lowered the helmet over her head and locked it into place.

Glass gasped as the world became dark and suffocating. She was back in Confinement. She couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. But then she felt Luke squeeze her hand through her glove, and she relaxed, taking a deep breath as air from her tank streamed directly into her nose.

After days of oxygen deprivation, being able to breathe like this felt euphoric. She was suddenly wide awake, able to do anything. She gave Luke a thumbs-up sign to let him know that she was ready, and he walked over to the control panel. There was a crackling sound in her helmet, and then Luke’s voice was in her ear. “How you doing in there, spacewalker?”

“I’m okay,” she said, not sure where she was supposed to speak. “Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” he said. “Radio’s all set. Feel like a stroll?”

Glass nodded, and he led her to the airlock. The suit was lighter than she’d expected, but walking still required a great deal of thought, almost like she was a toddler, experimenting with each limb before she tried to move it. Luke punched a code into the panel next to the heavy metal door, and it opened, revealing the tiny airlock chamber. On the other side was the door that led outside, to a minus-270-degree vacuum.

He fastened a cable to the front of her suit, then checked again to make sure it was secure. Luke showed her where it attached to the ship, and how it extended and retracted to follow Glass’s movements. “Okay,” he said, his voice coming from somewhere behind her right ear. “I’m going back inside to close the first door. Then I’ll let you know when it’s safe to open the second door. You’ll have ten seconds to make it through before it closes automatically. Just grab on to the first handhold and swing yourself out.”

“Sounds like a breeze.”

Luke gave her gear a final check, then squeezed her hand. “You’ll be great.” He tapped the front of her helmet. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” she echoed.

He disappeared back through the door, leaving her alone, with nothing between her and the vast emptiness of space except a metal door and a three-hundred-year-old space suit.

“Okay,” Luke’s voice came from the speaker again. “Get ready. I’m going to open the second door.”

Glass dragged herself forward, her legs suddenly heavy. After the longest eight steps of her life, she reached the door. “I’m ready.”

“All right. I’m entering the code now.” There was a loud beep, and the door in front of Glass slid open.

For a moment, all she could do was stand there and stare as she got a clear view of space for the first time. Now she understood what Luke meant, when he said that it was beautiful. The darkness was rich, like the velvet her mother had made into a skirt once, and the stars sparkled against it, so much brighter than she’d ever seen them through a window. For once, the hazy gray sweep of Earth looked more mysterious than frightening. It was incredible to think that Wells was down there, walking around, breathing… if he’s still alive, the cynical part of her brain added.

“Go for it,” Luke’s voice whispered in her ear.

She took a deep breath and reached out for the first handle, forcing her gloved fingers to wrap around it and pulling herself through the door.

And then she was in space, grasping a single handhold while she stared into the dizzying sea of stars and gas just waiting to swallow her whole. Behind her, the door closed with a thud.

Glass swung herself around, briefly reveling in the thrill of weightlessness. Then she saw the path to Phoenix, and her mouth felt suddenly dry. It had never seemed that long when she was running to see Luke, but from this perspective, it looked endless. She would have to make her way around the entire side of Walden before she could even see the skybridge.

You can do this, she reminded herself, gritting her teeth. You have to do this. One at a time. She moved her left hand to the next rung, then pulled her body across. In the absence of gravity, it required minimal effort, but her heart was pounding at an unsustainable rate.

“How are you doing out there?” Luke’s voice echoed in her helmet.

“It’s beautiful,” Glass said quietly. “Now I understand why you were always so quick to volunteer for this.”

“It’s not as beautiful as you.”

Glass swung from handhold to handhold, falling into a rhythm. “I bet you say that to all the girls from mission control.”

“Actually, if I remember correctly, I’ve used that line on you before,” Luke said. Glass smiled. Back when they used to sneak to the solar fields, they would look at the stars through the window, and Luke would always tell Glass that she was prettier.

“Hmm. It sounds like you need some new material, my friend.” She swung to the next handle and risked a glance back. She couldn’t see the release door anymore. “How much farther?” she asked.

“You’re coming up on the skybridge, which means you’ll have to be careful not to let anyone see you. There’s a second set of handles under the bridge. Use those, just to be safe.”

“Got it.”

She moved steadily along, trying not to think about what would happen if something went wrong with her suit, which suddenly felt very fragile, a flimsy protection from the vacuum of space.

The skybridge appeared in the corner of her eye. It was still barricaded, with an airtight barrier between the Walden and Phoenix sections. Crowds of people still swarmed the barrier from the Walden side, helplessly pounding on it, hoping to break through. As she got closer, Glass saw the second set of handholds Luke had mentioned, the ones that led under the bridge instead of along the side. There was a significant gap between the last rung of the set she was on and the first rung of the next set—much too far for her to reach.

Glass paused. If she pushed off the side of Walden with enough force, she could throw herself in the direction of the handhold. Even if she missed, the worst that could happen was that she’d float for a few seconds until Luke retracted the wire and pulled her back toward the ship.

“Okay, I’ve got to jump to the next handhold,” Glass said. She twisted her body so both feet were against the side of the ship and stretched her left arm out so she’d be ready. She took a deep breath, tensed her muscles, and pushed off, grinning at the brief sensation of soaring through space.

But she’d apparently overestimated the force she’d needed, because she flew right past the handhold, her fingers grasping at nothing but empty space.

“Luke, I missed it. Can you pull me back in?” She’d started to spin and was losing her sense of direction. “Luke?”

His voice never came.

All Glass could hear was the sound of her own breath. She kept spinning, farther and farther from the ship, the wire rapidly uncoiling behind her. “Luke!” she screamed, flailing her arms.

“Luke!” she called again, wheezing as the oxygen seemed to vanish from her helmet. She’d taken too big a breath, and needed to wait for the ventilation system to readjust. Don’t panic, she told herself. But then she caught a glimpse of the Colony, and gasped. She’d already drifted too far—Walden, Phoenix, and Arcadia were in view, and growing smaller by the second. The wire seemed far too long. Should it have caught and snapped her back toward the Colony by now? Then another thought hit her, sharp as a knife. What if the cord had broken? Glass knew enough about momentum to know that unless she collided into something, she would keep spinning in the same direction. In ten minutes, her oxygen would run out, and she would die. And then her body would keep floating, forever and ever, into the distance.

She felt herself crying and bit her lip. “Luke?” she asked, trying not to use too much breath. Her head hurt from the disorienting spinning. Every time the Colony flashed into view, it was smaller. This was it.

Then there was a sharp, violent tug on the front of her suit, and the cord went taut. “Glass? Are you there? Are you okay?”

“Luke!” She had never been so happy to hear his voice. “I tried to jump, and I missed the rung, and then—what happened?” The wire began to slowly retract, pulling her back toward the ship.

“We had some… unexpected visitors in the control room, people scavenging for supplies. Don’t worry, I took care of it.”

“What do you mean?”

Luke sighed. “I had to knock them out. There were four of them, Glass, and they wanted to—” He paused. “They weren’t being friendly. You were in danger, and I couldn’t take the time to explain what was going on.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Then she caught sight of the skybridge, and the series of handholds. She flexed her fingers in anticipation. There was no way she was missing it this time.

“I’m almost there,” she told Luke. The handhold was approaching rapidly. Glass stretched out her arm, fixed her eyes on it, and reached out—“Got it!” she shouted as her fingers locked onto the metal rung.

“That’s my girl!” She could hear the smile in Luke’s voice.

Glass exhaled loudly and then swung her other hand over the adjacent rung. It didn’t take her long to traverse the underside of the skybridge and make her way up toward the Phoenix airlock.

When she finally reached the entrance, she planted her feet against the side of the ship and used all her strength to rotate the heavy handle. The door slid open with a satisfying hiss. “I’m here!” She grabbed the edge and pulled herself into a small antechamber, almost identical to the one on Walden.

Luke gave a joyful whoop. “Okay, I’m on my way. Meet you at the skybridge.”

“See you there.”

Glass waited for the outer door to slide back into place, then unhooked herself and hurried toward the second door, which opened automatically. Without missing a beat, she took off the helmet, and began struggling with the suit. It took her longer to get out of it than it had taken Luke to put it on, but she managed.

There didn’t seem to be any guards in the corridors. There didn’t seem to be any people at all. Glass’s exhilaration gave way to concern as she imagined what her mother might be doing. Was she alone and panic-stricken? Or were the Phoenicians pretending that everything was business as usual, ignoring the fact that two-thirds of the Colony had been abandoned to die?

There were only two guards at the skybridge, neither of whom was paying any attention to the controls. They were both about a third of the way down the bridge, their hands on the guns at their hips, watching the partition at the middle of the skybridge. So many people were pressed against the clear wall that it almost seemed to be made of human flesh.

Men and women were pushing their faces against it, screaming, holding blue-faced children up for the guards to see. No sound came through, but their anguish echoed in Glass’s head nonetheless. She watched palms grow red from the banging. An elderly man was being crushed against the wall by the surging crowd, his face white with panic as he slid down the barrier toward the ground.

There wasn’t a choice. She had to let them through. Even if it meant less oxygen for her, for her mother, for Luke.

Glass scrambled over the side of the unmanned control booth. The switch looked simple enough. There wasn’t a great deal of nuance to the technology. The bridge was either open or closed. She took a deep breath and flipped the main switch.

By the time the alarm started ringing, it was too late. The guards spun around and looked at Glass in shock and horror as the partition began to rise into the ceiling.

An old man was the first to slide under, pushed by the frenzy of the crowd. Then a few of the smaller women crawled underneath on their stomachs. Within seconds, the partition had completely retracted, and the skybridge was flooded with people—shouting, weeping with joy and relief, taking huge lungfuls of air.

Glass rose up onto her toes, looking through the sea of bodies for the only one who mattered to her. There he was, at the other end. As Luke came toward her, a proud smile on his face, she hoped they had done the right thing.

She’d just saved hundreds of lives—and drastically shortened hundreds more. Including their own.