I’m so tired of being abandoned. Commander Shoreditch’s message is reassuring, but it hasn’t helped. I’m exhausted, in every way.
Losing Molly is bringing back the awful feeling of when I lost my parents – less severe, but exactly the same. It’s this horrible drop in my stomach, like when the artificial gravity malfunctions and everything stumbles, tilting sideways momentarily.
Love takes so much energy, and it just leads to pain. I think it’s probably best for people to be self-sufficient. If I was strong enough to be independent, then I wouldn’t be so desperately lonely, I’m sure of it.
I just want someone who holds on. Someone who won’t ever let me go, whatever tries to tear us apart. Is that too much to ask?
I’LL HOLD YOU
by TheLoneliestGirl
Fandom: Loch & Ness (2042) Relationship: Lyra Loch/Jayden Ness Tags: Hurt/comfort, canon-compliant Summary: Lyra gets hurt in the field.
Author’s Note:
I’m not sure why I’m sending this any more, when I know Molly won’t be able to read it.
“Jayden,” Lyra cried, grabbing on to his arm. “It hurts.”
Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the rain.
Jayden’s hands were pressed against her stomach, trying to quench the flow of blood from the werewolf bite. She could see it trickling between his fingers, staining his skin a red so dark it was almost black.
“Lyra! Don’t you give up on me, Lyra, not yet. I need you. Just hold on a little longer,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers. It was a circle of heat in the cold numbness spreading through her. “Lyra, I’ve got you. The ambulance is on its way.”
“I can’t…” she gasped.
“You can, Lyra,” he said fiercely. Teardrops clung to the tips of his long eyelashes. “You can do anything. You’re stronger than you realize. I believe in you, Lyra Loch.”
“We never even…” she said, thinking of all the missed opportunities, the almosts. They’d never even kissed, and now she was going to die.
“We will,” he said, and she could feel his breath, soft against her cheek. “We will. This isn’t the end.”
Then she heard the sirens, and summoned up all her strength. “We will,” she repeated.
fin.
DAYS UNTIL THE ETERNITY ARRIVES:
346
From: The Infinity Sent: 16/03/2067
To: The Eternity Predicted date of receipt: 20/06/2067
Hi Commander Shoreditch,
I hope all is well on The Eternity. I’m writing because I’ve been going through all the news articles that NASA has sent me over the last three years, looking for information about Earth’s political climate and cursing myself for not reading about it more thoroughly in the first place.
There’s been the usual political tension between countries for months, but nothing that I would expect to become a full-blown war this quickly.
Besides which, how could a war even have affected the DSN facilities that NASA uses to communicate with our ships? The telecommunication antennas are located in countries with very strong alliances – the United States, Spain and Australia. For them to suddenly engage in war doesn’t seem feasible. Not as I currently understand it. At the very least, NASA would still have access to the antenna in California. They should be able to send short messages regularly as the earth rotates and points the antenna in our direction.
In the past, NASA have filtered the information they transmit to me, leaving gaps in newspaper articles. I think they
censor out any media content with a personal connection to me and The Infinity so I don’t get upset.
It makes sense that they’d do the same for news about the war. I think they were trying to stop me from panicking.
You have more recent knowledge of Earth’s political situation. Please tell me everything that you know, even if your response won’t reach me for months. I can’t work out how the jigsaw pieces fit together in a way that explains this situation.
Romy Silvers
I wonder where Molly is now. I think I’m going to carry on sending her messages every day, along with any fics I write, just in case there’s a chance she’s reading them. She’d be worried about me if I stopped.
I just wish I knew if she’s still there. I hope Molly is waiting in the lab for permission to send me messages once the war has died down.
What has she been doing while her last message travelled through space towards me?
Is she dead?
DAYS UNTIL THE ETERNITY ARRIVES:
338
I think I’ve worked out a way to contact Molly. I need to get in touch with someone on Earth besides NASA. Even if they’ve stopped using their antennas because of the war, there must be someone else picking up signals, on some continent, in some other organization. If I can just get a message to them, they might be able to pass it on to Molly somehow. Then she can let me know if she’s OK.
I find a list of all the government space agencies around the world, and track down the coordinates of their antennas, satellites and space stations orbiting Earth. It’s a long shot – some of the organizations might not exist at all any more, or might have shut down their operations because of the war too – but I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t even try.
From: The Infinity Sent: 24/03/2067
Predicted date of receipt: 05/12/2068
To: ESA; ISRO; CNSA; JAXA; RFSA; AEM; APSCO; UKSA; ISA; ASI; KCST; KARI; CNES
Subject: FAO Dr Molly Simmons – URGENT
Dear Sir/Madam,
This is Commander Romy Silvers, broadcasting from the NASA spacecraft The Infinity. I am transmitting this message to Earth in the hope of reaching someone who is still scanning for signals from deep space.
I wish to be put in contact with Dr Molly Simmons, an employee at NASA who used to be in charge of my communications with Earth. I have received no information about her whereabouts, and since the war started she might have relocated, but I know that she is a trained psychologist and therapist with a degree from Harvard University. Her sister is a general posted at the military base on Antarctica. She has a cat called Nino.
If there’s any way for you to determine the current location of Dr Simmons and send her this message, I would be very grateful. I would like to know whether she is safe during the conflict on Earth.
I will be for ever in your debt if you could grant me this favour.
Yours faithfully,
Commander R. Silvers
Message to Dr Molly Simmons as follows:
Molly,
I really hope you get this message. I’m completely out of other ideas for how to speak to you.
I’m so worried about you, and I just can’t stand not knowing whether you’re safe any more. Are you OK? Please, please be OK.
I hope your sister is safe too. I hope she’s not fighting in the war, or at least that she’s not on the front line.
More than anything, I just want to hear from you again. I’ve been very lucky, as I have Commander Shoreditch of The Eternity to talk to. His support has been incredible. But I miss you so much it hurts.
Stay safe, for me.
Romy x