His blue eyes darkened. "We're going Out tomorrow. We have to go to the Southern Colony and deliver some of our experiment results." At the sight of the protest in her eyes, he added, "I know you don't want me to go, but the official messengers haven't arrived yet. We've got two more months before they get here and these results can't wait until then."
Alainah nodded, but fear flashed across her face. "Who else is going?"
"It's just me and Carrin. We can't spare too many of our researchers right now, what with all the tests we're running." His eyes were pained but he forced a smile. "I'll only be gone two days... And this data could save someone's life."
"I guess you're right. But, I-." Alainah abruptly cut off her last statement. But I feel like you're not coming back. She grabbed his hand and stepped toward the door. "Come on. I think it's almost time for supper."
~*~
That night, Alainah twisted restlessly in her sleep. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified as she thought about what the coming day would bring. Jaaryn, her Jaaryn, was going to be leaving, entering the Winds. The statistics nagged at her; only a tiny percentage of people who ventured into this planet's terrible winds ever returned. And now the one person who ever really supported her, the one researcher here who didn't look down on her because she was only eighteen and the rest of them were at least twenty, was leaving. And who knew if he would return? What would she do if he didn't? Burning tears stung her eyes as she cried, releasing all her fears. It was the sobbing that finally dragged her to sleep.
~*~
Alainah awoke early the next morning, before even the Base's first wake-up alarm. She dressed in her red dress, the one that Jaaryn loved. He always told her that she looked "so stunning" in it, and it would always make her giggle and blush. And then he would give her his quiet grin and she would feel like she was floating on air. Just thinking of him made it so she couldn't keep the smile from her face.
The sun was just now rising over the horizon, and almost instantly a piercing alarm ripped through the Base, effectively waking anyone still asleep. Alainah clicked the button to open her Capsule's door and stepped into the transport-tube. She pressed the screen to activate it and then selected the Meeting Capsule as her destination. A low whoosh swept past her ears and made her hair fly around her; then, in a flash, she appeared in the Meeting Capsule.
The Meeting Capsule was a massive building with rows of tables and a stage at one corner. There were already numerous people at the tables, since the Capsule was also used as a cafeteria of sorts and it was breakfast time. Alainah took a moment to search the heads for Jaaryn and then pressed through the mass of people to his side. She reached up to give him a quick hug and stood by his side as several of his co-researchers came up to him to speak about the experiments and to wish him luck.
It was only about fifteen minutes later that Jaaryn turned to her and told her it was time to go. Alainah tried to hold back the tears that welled up at the corners of her eyes but they spilled over anyway. Jaaryn didn't say anything, but he simply took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly, then leaned forward to kiss her lightly on her lips. Then he turned away and walked through the Capsule door, pulling on his spacesuit's hood as he did so.
~*~
Two days later, Alainah woke early again, after a night of restless sleep. She hurried to dress and rushed to the Meeting Capsule, where she found several knots of people clustered around the transport-tube's exit. At her entrance, Dankyn, one of the researchers who worked with Jaaryn moved through the mob to talk to her. She smiled at him but was a bit surprised when he didn't smile back. She searched his eyes, thinking, Something's up.
He met her eyes and then looked down at his feet. "Alainah," he began. "I don't know how to tell you this..."
Alainah's eyes widened. "No," she whispered, her eyes unfocusing.
"Jaaryn, he's...ah...there was a windstorm shortly after he and Carrin exited, and...we tried to go after him but he sent out the black dot." Alainah's eyes widened. The "black dot" was a term used to tell others not to come, not to help, and that there was no way they would make it out alive.
She looked up at Dankyn. "So you had to leave him there." Dankyn nodded, though her statement was not a question. "I see." Alainah had decided, and no one would stop her. She forced a polite smile and nodded. "Well, I'm going to go...and think about this. I'll be in my Capsule."
Dankyn nodded, and she turned away, the smile fading from her face. She maneuvered through the throng of people, ignoring those who tried to give her a kind word. She stopped at the Capsule door that led to the Outside. Outside was her Jaaryn... her life. And so she would be there, too. The Capsule door slid open easily and she stepped through it, into the crimson brightness of the planet. She knew she wouldn't live long out here without a spacesuit, but that didn't matter.
Alainah stumbled along the path that Jaaryn had taken to his death. She smiled sardonically, realizing that she had known all along he wouldn't be back, and he had known too. The brilliant light of the sun partially blinded her, but she could hear the whispers of the Winds as they spawned her fate. Her hair fluttered on the breeze and her clothes twisted around her as the winds increased. In only a few moments, the Winds had created a potent and unfeeling child, a massive storm that screamed around her. Alainah reached the cliff that she had known would be her peace, even when she had first arrived here on this planet. Then, with a sigh of release, she leapt from the cliff and flew on the winds to her Jaaryn.
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