The Solar Wind Read online

  “Helena . . .”

  “Ava please, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Besides, someone at work told me about a better place to buy groceries, a place that even I can afford.”

  “Where is this fabulous grocery store?”

  “It’s down on Level 11. Tomorrow’s payday and I’m going there after work.”

  “Helena, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go down there. When I nearly fainted in the square a few weeks ago, Wesley warned me not to go past Level 9. He said it wasn’t safe. Is it worth risking your safety for food when I can help you out?”

  “It will be fine Ava. What’s going to happen to me down there? You should come with me. Nothing’s going to happen to us if we are together.”

  “I don’t know Helena. I’ll have to think about it.” The instinctual warning bells began sounding in Ava’s head.

  “Well, I’ll be leaving here around six tomorrow. You can meet me here if you want to come.”

  Ava felt mixed emotions for Helena’s situation as she walked home. Helena was her friend and she liked her, however she did not know what she should do about her exploring one of the lowest levels of Orionis to buy less expensive food. Should she let Helena go alone or should she stay with her hoping to have safety in numbers? The dilemma continued to plague her mind, so much so that Ava had a hard time falling asleep that night. The next day Ava put the predicament out of her mind until she left work. Friday night. It was 5:30 and Ava decided to walk to Helena’s to try and talk some sense into her.

  “Hi Ava! I’m so glad you came. Don’t worry, I know the exact address of the store. We will be in and out of Level 11 before you know it.”

  “Helena, I don’t want to go to Level 11. I’m worried about your safety.”

  “Not that again Ava.” Helena said as she ushered Ava out the door which locked behind them. She started to walk towards the avenue that lead to the lifts. “What makes you think this Captain knows everything? You probably won’t even see him again.”

  “I don’t know that he knows everything Helena. But he and Naomi were kind to me and gave me great advice on other issues. I believe that they wouldn’t make something like that up.” Ava had to walk fast to keep up with Helena.

  The two women continued to argue as they approached the lifts. The doors glided open and Helena, with several other people hustled in. Ava hesitated and then stepped into the lift beside Helena, still hoping to talk some sense into her.

  “Helena, what if something does happen to you down there, what would your parents think?”

  “Ava, enough. Nothing’s going to happen. If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”

  The lift made several stops on its way down. Most everyone got off on Level 9. A few more on Level 10 and then it was just Ava and Helena on the lift. The lift slowed to stop on Level 11 and a gust of stale air burst in the lift as the doors slid open. Ava and Helena peered into the avenue, which was poorly lit with a flickering street lamp somewhere nearby. The strobe like effect appeared eerie. Ava wasn’t sure what to expect. The Avenue seemed fairly quiet with only a few people moving around in the distance. Ava could see a few dimly lit stores and what appeared to be bars or nightclubs a little further away.

  “See Ava. Nothing to worry about. Are you coming with me or not?”

  Ava’s eyes scanned down the avenue again. She thought of her night in the square. Wesley’s voice sounded as clear in her mind as the moment he said it “Whatever you do. . .” At that moment Ava came to a decision, the struggle was over. “I’m sorry Helena.”

  “Fine. I’ll see you later then,” she said calmly as she turned and started to walk away.

  “Helena, please don’t!” Ava shouted the words. Helena kept walking and Ava stepped back into the lift. The doors closed as Ava watched her only friend walk away into the dimly lit avenue.

  Ava felt as though her stomach was tied in knots as she rode the lift back to Level 4. She had a bad feeling about this, though there was nothing she could do now except go home.

  Chapter 5: That’s Life

  Ava waited until noon on Saturday before making the first attempt to call Helena to find out if she was O.K. No answer. She left a message asking Helena to call her back. By Sunday Helena had still not returned Ava’s call. Ava tried again. Nothing. Ava started to worry. Even by Tuesday, Ava still had no word from Helena and her concern for her friend overwhelmed her. After work she walked to Helena’s apartment and knocked on the door. A spark of hope flickered as the door began to open, but it was quickly doused. It was Samantha, Helena’s roommate.

  “Hi Samantha, I’m looking for Helena, did she come home on Friday night? I haven’t heard from her since then. Has she been here?”

  Samantha began to ramble in French which frustrated Ava. The only word Ava could understand was “no” and by the way Samantha was gesturing it didn’t look good. Ava thanked her and left. Now what? Ava decided to check the crime reports online. Nothing that mentioned Helena. Ava hesitated and gravely decided to look up the online obituary list. She knew about it only because her patients often mentioned it in their visits, to check on lost loved ones. Ava reflected on how sad it was when a person’s only sure way of checking on the status of someone they cared about was to check to make sure they haven’t died. Ava clenched and unclenched her fists nervously as the lists loaded. She gasped as she saw the vague description. “Helena Marks, Female, 24, died of cardiac arrest on Level 11.” The tears slid down silently as Ava shrank away from the computer monitor. A twenty four year old dying of a cardiac arrest? Ava wondered what actually happened to her.

  The rest of the week dragged by at a snail’s pace until Friday came once again. After work Ava went straight home just as any other night. She hadn’t been in any mood to socialize since learning of Helena’s death. After dinner she wrote Alexis a long update on her situation and what happened to her friend. Ava hoped Alexis wouldn’t worry. She didn’t believe there was a reason to worry; she had no plans to venture past Level 9 ever again. On Saturday afternoon Ava decided to escape her feelings of cabin fever and explore more of Level 9. She needed to go to Infinity anyway. Ava walked the avenues slowly for a several hours, stopping in and out of the stores randomly. She still didn’t have many credits saved and resisted the temptation to buy anything. Once she had more stability she would like to buy a new backpack to carry groceries, new boots, and some clothes. Although she did not buy anything, it was nice to see the different stores and make mental notes which ones carried the things she wished to buy soon. Even though Helena seemed immature at times, she was nice to Ava, and Ava missed having company when she shopped. She never seemed to escape the loneliness.

  After Ava finished exploring she stopped at Infinity to buy some groceries for the next week. She had many staples at home and just needed a few basic items. Ava slung the knapsack over her shoulder as she left the store. After a short distance, the threadbare knapsack finally gave out, the strap ripped and the bag began to fall off. Ava caught it before it hit the ground. Luckily nothing had fallen out or was broken. Ava breathed a quick sigh of relief. That’s great, Ava thought as she wondered what else would go wrong this week. It would be a long walk home carrying the knapsack in her arms.

  Level 9 had a nice variety of lighting. Some avenues with more retail shops were brightly lit where the avenues with more restaurants had lower lighting for ambience. As she turned the corner to the main avenue that lead to the lifts, Ava saw a small group of people standing close to one of the tall hexagonal street lamps near the entrance to one of the restaurants. The fancy illuminated neon red sign simply read “Asia” to describe its cuisine. A blonde woman stood sideways next to a tall man with medium length wavy hair. Ava recognized her as Naomi. She also recognized Wesley in his leather jacket standing with his back to her talking to a few other people she had never seen. He had a backpack over one shoulder. She suddenly became happy that she finally had a chance to meet them again and thank them for their
advice on the grocery store. As she approached the group Naomi turned and recognized her. “Ms. Amherst. It’s nice to see you again. How are you?”

  As she spoke Wesley and the other people in the group turned to see whom Naomi was speaking to.

  “Hi Naomi. I’m well. I’m glad I ran into you again. I’ve been wanting to thank you and Captain Robinson for all of your advice.” Ava glanced at Wesley and the others.

  “Ms. Amherst, I’m glad to see you are feeling better. How do you like Level 9?” Wesley had an even, calm voice Ava found appealing.

  “Oh, please call me Ava. I like Level 9 very much. It definitely has more of a fun and casual atmosphere than Levels 3 and 4. I wanted to thank you again for your tips on shopping. It has made my life a little easier.”

  “No Problem, Ava. I’m glad everything worked out for you,” he replied pleasantly.

  “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have the opportunity to thank both of you again. This is a huge station. You never know if you will be in the right time and place to run into someone you have met.”

  The seating hostess came outside of the restaurant and spoke to the woman in the group with red wavy hair and green eyes. It was time for the group to be seated. Ava saw this and took this as her cue to leave. They must be hungry after their travels and she didn’t want to hold their dinner up.

  “Well, I don’t want to keep you. It was nice to see you both again.” Ava smiled.

  “Ava, do you have any plans right now?” Wesley asked as he looked at the heavy bag in Ava’s arms.

  “I was just on my way home from buying groceries.”

  “Perhaps you would like to join my crew and I for dinner?” The invitation took Ava by surprise.

  Naomi smiled. “Yes Ava, why don’t you join us? It will be fun. It’s a new place; we have never eaten here before. It has a reputation for hot and spicy Asian cuisine. I’m sure it will be fabulous.”

  “Do you have anything perishable in there?” Wesley gestured towards Ava’s knapsack.

  “No, but I probably shouldn’t go in there with this. They might have regulations about bringing groceries into their restaurant.”

  “Here, you can put that in my backpack. No one will be the wiser.” He handed Ava his well constructed black backpack which had “The Andromeda” stamped in small silver worn block lettering on one side. Ava hesitated. She could either go home and spend the evening alone in her apartment watching a movie or spend some time with them. Maybe this is what she needed. She hated to be alone all of the time and they seemed like good, honest people. Why not?

  “Well, . . .okay.” She slid her bag into his backpack and pulled it up onto her shoulder.

  As a group they followed the seating hostess to their table, which was in a more private area in the back. The restaurant was decorated with a red and gold color scheme with sheets of sheer red fabric draped strategically for dramatic effect from the ceiling. The lighting glowed low and soft, festive music flowed, and the wave of spices in the air was enough to make anyone hungry. There were many people there and servers moved about tending to their customers. After all eight of them sat down, Ava next to Wesley, he made the introductions.

  “Ava you know Naomi Regnier, my public relations officer and scheduling coordinator. This is her husband Andre Regnier, my first mate.” He had pointed to the tall well built man with wavy mid length dark brown hair, green eyes and a long straight nose. He had a warm smile. Wesley continued to point around the table. Next, to a quiet, fair, tall man with short light blonde hair and blue eyes. “This is Justin Gaines, our medic and his wife Rowan Chandler, our chef and botanist.” Rowan was the petite woman with the rich wavy red hair and green eyes. She waved and smiled at Ava as Wesley introduced them. “Rowan also manages the oxygen garden on our ship.” Finally there were two younger crew members, a man with short dark brown hair and sky blue eyes. “This is Ash Engelhart, our main pilot and navigator, and last but not least, Mia Ambrose, our newest crew member.” Mia looked as though she had Italian ancestry with olive toned skin, long straight dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. “Everyone, this is Ava Amherst. She is a Nurse Practitioner at the OMC on Level 3 and is also a new resident on Orionis.” Ava observed that they all seemed to range in age from about twenty four to the mid thirties. They all appeared well nourished and healthy.

  The crew welcomed Ava as the server arrived. Rowan had pre-arranged an impressive tasting menu of several courses for the group. As the server went around the table everyone ordered a drink. Ava had only had an alcoholic drink once before, a glass of wine at her wedding reception almost a year ago. Alcohol was very expensive on Earth; Ava could only imagine how much it would be here. She hesitated. She wasn’t sure what to do.

  “They are going to bring everyone some hot tea. Why don’t you also have a drink? The Mai Tai’s should be pretty good here. Don’t worry, everything’s taken care of,” Wesley commented softly.

  Not wanting to be the odd one of the group Ava agreed. “Okay, I’ll have one, only one though.”

  After the drinks were ordered everyone settled down into a single, and then sometimes separate conversations. The crew was curious about Ava and Ava was curious about all of them and their travels. The evening seemed to flow very well. The crew definitely appeared to be a lively bunch. They kidded and poked fun at each other and laughed a lot. To Ava they seemed like happy, intelligent, mature, and well rounded people. She almost felt as though she belonged with them. She vaguely sensed that she was fitting in and realized she was having a good time, the best since she had since arriving on Orionis. Ava spent a lot of time alone since Nathan’s death. Alexis and her family had been her closest friends. She longed to find a close network of friends to associate with.

  The food tasted incredible. Ava hadn’t eaten so much food in a long time. The flavors and textures were amazing; she cleaned her plate with each course.

  “Excellent choices, Rowan,” Wesley announced after everyone was done. The crew echoed his opinion enthusiastically.

  The servers were now removing the empty plates and tidying up the table. He handed his card to the server who vanished behind the scenes with it and promptly returned. Ava couldn’t believe that he had paid for the entire group all at once. It was now near eleven o’clock and Ava started to feel sleepy after the huge dinner. She definitely wasn’t used to it. Everyone slowly got up and congregated outside of the front of the restaurant. Since it was so late there were very few people milling about in the Avenues. Ava began to worry and wondered if it would be safe for her to walk home alone; however she did not want to trouble anyone. Just then the entire captain and crew’s Personal Communication Devices, or PCDs as they were called, started beeping frantically. Everyone had one hooked onto their belts or personal effects. Wesley pulled it off of his belt and one handedly pushed a few buttons on the device.

  “Looks like someone has been poking around the outside of the ship and activated the security system. We’d better check it out.” He didn’t sound particularly concerned.

  “I hope everything is O.K.” Ava didn’t want anything bad to happen to her new potential friends.

  “I’m sure it’s just some security officer or someone else messing around. It’s late anyway, I’ll bet that you’re tired after being around all of us tonight.”

  “No, I mean, yes I’m a little tired, but I had a really good time tonight. I hope that I will see all of you again soon.”

  “I’m certain of it,” he said with a smile. “Naomi and Andre will see that you get home safely.”

  “That’s so nice of you. I really appreciate that,” Ava said to them.

  “Good night Ava.” Wesley started to walk away.

  “Good night, thank you for dinner. Wait! What about your backpack?” Ava still had it slung over her shoulder.

  “You keep it Ava, how about I let you know if I need it back?” He turned and then he and the rest of the crew were off, leaving Ava with Naomi and Andre.

  Ava turne
d back to Naomi and Andre and the three of them set out in the opposite direction towards the lifts. As they walked Ava noticed Naomi and her husband holding hands. It reminded her of how nice it must feel to have someone to be close to in an unforgiving world. She felt happy for them and tried to push the unhappy thoughts of her past from her mind. It has been almost a year since Nathan’s death and she still missed him terribly.

  “Did you like the menu tonight Ava?” Naomi asked pleasantly.

  “Yes, it was delicious. It was so kind of you all to invite me to join you.”

  “We were glad you could come. Perhaps next time you can invite your friend.”

  “My friend?”

  “When we were in the Square you mentioned that you had a friend on the ship that brought you here from Earth.”

  “Yes. I did have a friend. Unfortunately I won’t be able to see her again,” Ava said sadly as she stared at the ground.

  “Why not?”

  “She had a difficult time affording groceries, even though I took her with me to Infinity. Then she wouldn’t accept my help. She told me that a co-worker suggested she visit a store on Level 11. They promised her that she would be able to afford the groceries there and she decided to go. I tried to stop her. I told her that you and Wesley advised me never to go down there but she went anyway. I even rode down the lift with her to Level 11 but she still didn’t listen to me.” Naomi raised a concerned eyebrow. “After she left I never saw her again. When she didn’t come back I checked the obituary list and it reported that she died of a cardiac arrest. I’m not sure I believe that.”

  “Oh Ava, I’m so sorry to hear that. It sounds like you did everything you could to prevent her from going down there. Whatever happened to her was not your fault.”

  “What do you think happened to her? It’s unusual for a seemingly healthy twenty-four year old woman suffer a cardiac arrest.”

  It was Andre who spoke next. “Level 11 is not a safe place for several reasons. Many of the businesses are fraudulent. Not to mention that illicit drug use runs rampant down there. If your young friend died of a heart attack she most likely overdosed on something, either willingly or unknowingly.”