“But señor, we’ve only been out for…” Rico began, pulling back his uniform jacket sleeve to check his wristwatch. “Madre!”
“She’s alright,” Rosemary said with audible relief. She was crouched beside Constance with two fingers pressed beneath the young woman’s jaw, just above the collar of the vacuum suit that fitted like a second skin.
“Thank goodness,” Lamont exhaled, rushing to her side.
Rosemary gently nudged the colonist’s shoulder to the side until she could unfasten the collar of her coveralls. Just beneath her clavicle, the egg-shaped vitals indicator on the vacuum suit glowed a mustard yellow.
“Stop it,” Constance muttered, batting Rosemary’s hands away. She turned sluggishly to sit with her back propped against the padded platform, rubbing her eyes. “What’re you doing?”
Rosemary stepped back, kneeling a pace away from the young woman and slipping her bag from her shoulder. “We came to find you,” she explained. “How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty,” Constance mumbled. Looking past Rosemary, she noticed Lamont hovering nearby and straightened up self-consciously.
The newspaperman was so preoccupied that he physically startled at the intrusion of Rico’s voice behind him.
“Señor Lamont! It is surprising to see you.”
Turning in Rico’s direction, he could see other members of the colonist expedition stirring. They were all in various states of repose on the irregularly shaped platforms that rose from the carpet-like floor. Coming up close behind the security specialist was the lumbering form of Clyde Jackson.
“When we arrived at the garden, Anna was worried because you’d been gone so long,” Lamont explained. “So we came looking for you.”
“But señor, we’ve only been out for…” Rico began, pulling back his uniform jacket sleeve to check his wristwatch. “Madre!”
“14 hours,” Clyde rumbled. He looked down at Constance, who was thirstily gulping from the canteen that Rosemary had retrieved for her.
“Have you lot been asleep all that time?” Lamont asked incredulously.
“Since we arrived at this level,” Jackson clarified. “I reckon that’s about 10 hours. It’s the damnedest thing.”
“I woke up a little while ago and had a snack,” Rico offered, opening a big fist to reveal the foil wrappers of three ration bars.
“Good God, man!” Lamont exclaimed. The dense protein bars were typically enough to serve for two meals.