Page 5 of Atmosphere

When he blinks, she cannot tell if it is purposeful. “I’ve got it,” she says to him. “I’ve got you.”

She cannot pinpoint the exact moment he passes out. Only that soon, his hand falls away and now her hand is the only thing keeping him alive until the cabin pressure in the airlock returns. She checks for any indication of blood under his suit. She sees none.

She can hear the commotion and the voices of her crewmates as they try to coordinate. Steve’s voice calms her, but Lydia’s is starting to rise in pitch.

She realizes she has not heard Hank speak in at least thirty seconds.

That moment grows longer and longer. And Vanessa gets a sinking feeling.

When she was six years old, her mother told her that her father died. Vanessa does not remember what her mother said. She only remembers that before her mother said anything, her mother looked at her but could not speak. It was a brief moment, no more than a second. But Vanessa knew something bad had happened. And it was not by what her mother had said, but the silence that had precededit.

Vanessa thinks of that silence now.

Ray stands up. “Flight, thisis Surgeon. John Griffin’s heart rate is dropping.”

Joan has been working to slow down her breathing.

“Hank has lost consciousness,” Lydia says through the loop. And then: “I think Steve has, too.”

Jack goes pale. He looks to Joan. “Stay on Danes.”

“Copy that,Navigator,” Joan says on the loop, each word feeling heavy in her mouth. “We read you.”

Jack: “Keep Danes on the leak. But she also has to make sure the N2is all the way up. Keep Ford on Griff in the airlock.”

“Roger,” Joan says, and then she gets back on the loop. “Navigator,Houston. Danes, we need you to find that leak as soon as possible. We are reading that the N2is funneling in, but we are not seeing an increase in cabin pressure.”

“I think I—” Lydia’s voice cuts out.

“Navigator?Navigator,this is Houston, do you read?” Joan says.

Nothing.

“Lydia Danes, do you read me?”

There is no answer. This feels inevitable to Joan now, even though just one second ago she would have said it was nearly impossible. Losing all three in the cabin was something topretendwas a real fear, but it would never actually happen.

Joan leans forward. “Navigator,this is Houston, come in.”

Ray: “Flight, this is Surgeon. Given the rate the pressure has been dropping, Hagen, Redmond, and Danes are certainly unconscious, suffering from the bends. But, given the length of exposure, I believe they may be dead.”

Joan can feel the mass of this moment as it takes hold in her brain stem, making her neck stiff, her head heavy.

Greg: “Flight, EECOM—the cabin pressure is rising.”

Jack: “Rising? Confirm you said rising.”

“Rising, sir. PSIA returning to normal levels.”

“Danes found the hole,” Jack mutters.

Joan gets back on the loop. “Navigator,this is Houston. Can you confirm you have found the hole and patched it?”

Ray: “She’s not going to be able to answer.”

“Lydia, come in,” Joan says again.

Nothing.

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