Chapter 54 - Missing

                                    

                                              
Denton unbuckled his seat belt and stumbled out of the evac pod. He collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily, laughing and coughing at the same time. Around him, one by one, he heard other pods dock, their hatches pop open and footsteps around him as others emerged, relief evident on their faces. Leah and Carter embraced while Gabi knelt next to Denton, her hand on his back, a smile on her face.
                          
"Are you all right?" she said.

                          
Denton nodded. "I'm ok, although, for a minute, I wasn't sure the pod actually worked."

                          
"I know, me too. I'm still shaking," Gabi said and helped Denton to his feet.

                          
"Where are we?" Denton said and looked around the room they had arrived in. Its circular shape was not unlike the area they had departed from in the module. There were hatches through which evacuees could exit their evac pods, a door with a red EXIT sign on it and a computer terminal on the wall next to the exit.

                          
"The other end of the evac ride," Carter said with a smile and gestured around the room with his hand. "I know, not a whole lot to be excited about but it's better than being stuck down there, right?"

                          
"What's through the door?" Denton said and gestured towards the exit.

                          
"That takes us out to the rest of the base. There's also a medical bay, should anyone need it."

                          
They all looked at each other and shook their heads.

                          
"I think it's time we get a handle on Jarell," Denton said. "Let's go find him."

                          
Leah and Carter nodded and stepped towards the exit, with Gabi and Denton behind. Carter opened the door and was just about to let Leah through them when Gabi grabbed Denton's arm and held it tightly.

                          
"What's wrong?" he said and looked at her. The color had drained from her face, and he felt her hand shaking slightly.

                          
"Carter," she whispered and stared directly at her brother as he turned around and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

                          
"Gabi? What's the matter?"

                          
"Where's dad?" she said as her eyes scanned the room behind them.

                          
Carter's mouth fell open, and his face paled as quickly as Gabi's had. Without a word, he rushed over to the control panel next to the door and furiously tapped the screen mounted on the wall. The other three gathered around him. Denton felt a chill run down his spine as his mind raced to the conclusion he wanted to avoid, the conclusion Carter and Gabi already seemed to have jumped to. In his euphoria of making it safely, he had failed to verify that everyone else had. A pang of guilt seared the inside of his chest, and he swallowed hard as he confirmed that there were only four open hatches. Jonythan wasn't there.

                          
"Where is he?" Denton asked as Carter continued to tap away, swiping through screens, tapping buttons and looking at various pages of data. Carter's shoulder slumped, and his head tilted forward as he rested his hands on the wall next to the screen. He sighed deeply and turned around.

                          
"He's still down there," he said, his eyes tearing up. "His pod hasn't initiated the ascent stage."

                          
"He's sinking?" Gabi cried out, her eyes wet with tears.

                          
Carter nodded.

                          
"How do we get him back? Can you get his pod to work? Get him up!" she pleaded and grabbed his arm tightly.

                          
"I can't. The remote backup controls are not responding. His pod isn't responding."

                          
They were interrupted by a beeping sound on the screen, and all turned to look at it at the same time. A small red icon flashed in the upper right corner of the screen.