“Here.” Gin grabbed a bundle of pillows from the nearby lounges and threw half of them at Maren. “We may as well get comfortable. We might be here for a while.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The hours ticked by slowly. Both Maren and Gin watched the screens, trying to keep track of Holly and Mark, who had split up to rove through the station. Every now and then, they would return to one of the rec room’s four doors and try to open it, first by pressing on the handle then by entering their access codes, but Maren and Gin had no intention of opening any of the passageways if they could help it.

Saul stirred a few times before falling into what Maren hoped was a natural sleep. When she pressed her hand to his forehead, she found it hot and feverish, so she’d used a small amount of their precious water to wet a cloth and dab it over his face. Gin took stock of what was kept in the rec room’s fridge and found a few cans of fruit juice, some packets of chips, gummy sweets, and a bag of dehydrated fruit slices.

They ate some of the food to replenish their energy and drank enough water to keep themselves hydrated. Maren ran the calculations through her head a half dozen times: if they drank just enough to stay healthy, they would have enough fluids for three days. They would either need to be rescued or have to take their chances in the pantry again.

Saul’s leg would need to be set, and soon, before the bones started fusing. Neither she nor Gin knew enough to do it themselves. Suriya had doubled as their medical officer during the hibernation.

Mark and Holly stalked the hallways of the station for nearly four hours before settling down in the pantry, hidden behind the rows of shelves. Nearly an hour passed before Maren saw more motion on the screen.

“Hey,” she said, nudging Gin, who’d fallen asleep on her shoulder. “Look.”

Suriya shambled down the central hallway. She moved slowly and erratically, pausing frequently, her head swivelling to watch the passageways around her. Her right hand gripped a long, sharp serrated knife; Maren could see the fluorescent light glinting off its edge.

Gin shivered and rubbed at her face. “Jeeze, I’d forgotten she was still here. You don’t think…”

“She’s still human,” Maren said, watching in fascination as the older woman bent forward to look down one of the side passageways. “That’s why Mark and Holly were going through the station; they were searching for Suriya, but she must have managed to hide somewhere they didn’t think to look.”

“Jeeze,” Gin muttered. “Should we let her in?”

Suriya turned to glance behind herself, and for a moment, Maren was able to see her face. The commander’s eyes bugged, her lips were drawn tight, and there was an edge of ferocity to her that Maren hadn’t seen before. Suriya swung the knife slowly as she turned forward again, and Maren realised what was so disquieting about the way she was behaving. She wasn’t hiding; she was stalking. Instead of trying to reach a safe part of the station, she was searching for prey.