The Forsaken

the helmet’s glass visor, taking shallow breaths. The helmet is musty and dank, like it hasn’t been used in a long time, maybe years. I smell the tang of ancient sweat. I start zipping the suit up and around the base of the helmet, where it makes a seal.
    “How’s it feel?” Gadya asks, her voice muffled.
    “Warmer.” The helmet starts to fog up for a moment, but then it clears. I want to sit down and rest, but I have to keep moving. By now we probably only have half an hour left until Liam’s pod departs the Silver Shore for good.
    I rapidly take down a suit for Gadya, so she can put it on and try to warm up too.
    “I’ll be back soon,” I tell her as I help get the suit over her clothes and injured ankle. The swelling is obvious, even through her boot, although at least the bleeding seems to have stopped now that she’s not standing up. “Hopefully with Liam.”
    Gadya nods weakly. “Do the best you can. For both of us.”
    “I will.”
    I clamber over to the elevator. The whole structure is made of metal wire, like a chicken coop—walls, floor, and ceiling. Walking in the suit is difficult because of the helmet, which adds at least twenty pounds. In my right hand, I’m holding the spare suit for Liam, and in my left, a spare helmet. If I can figure out how to save Liam first, then we can ferry our other friends back one by one.
    I glance behind me and see Gadya watching. I never thought it would be me right at the end like this. I would have guessed anyone else: Liam, Gadya, Markus, Sinxen, David, or even Rika. I can’t let them down.
    I pull back the metal grating that serves as the elevator’s door, and peer at the touch-screen display hanging on one of the walls. The buttons on the screen are large, designed to accommodate the clunky gloves of the zone suit. I raise my arm and push the button marked LEVEL 20 . A second later, the elevator begins to move.
    I expected the ride to be smooth. Instead, I hear a grinding squeal as the elevator lurches downward a few feet and then just hangs there.
    I stumble sideways, banging my helmet on the metal grating, trying to keep my balance in the rickety cage. I drop the extra suit and helmet. In my haste, it hadn’t occurred to me that the elevator wouldn’t work.
    It’s probably falling apart, like everything else in this abandoned city, I think. My mind flashes with terrible images. What if I get stuck? Or what if the cable snaps, and I plummet straight to the bottom?
    Then the elevator lurches again, heading downward. I clutch at the railings, but it’s too hard to grasp them with the gloves on. I press myself against the intersection of two walls. The elevator moves faster, metal still screeching.
    Gadya is now many levels above me. I can’t see her anymore when I look up through the grating, because the angle is too severe. So I peer down at my destination—the sprawling blackness that lies beyond me in every direction except for the few dots of light.
    I glance at the elevator panel. Judging from the buttons, there are sixty-six levels. It’s like descending into some frozen version of hell. I focus on those twinkling lights in the distance. I don’t know how much time I have left before Liam’s pod is taken. I’m guessing it’s not long.
    The elevator finally arrives on level twenty with a juddering halt. I slide the door open with a clatter and stare into the darkness.
    For a moment, I wish Clara were still around, so I could ask her where to go. From here, it’s harder to see the lighted pod that holds Liam’s body. I can barely make out faint traces of illumination around the corner of a narrow walkway, about a quarter of a mile ahead.
    I pick up the extra suit and helmet, and lug them out of the elevator. The sound of my breath is loud in my ears.
    I sense frigid temperatures beyond the confines of the suit. I can only wonder in horror what it would be like to get flash frozen like Liam. One second you’re alive—warm and human—and the next, you’re encapsulated in an airless icy pod for the rest of eternity. Or until you get dissected.
    Dragging the suit and helmet behind me, I start walking along the metal catwalk leading toward rows of pods. I turn back occasionally to stare up at the lighted horseshoe of windows way above me. I feel like I’m at the bottom of the ocean. There’s no sign of Gadya.
    It’s so dark that it seems like a dream. There are levels below me, levels above. But there is nothing to guide me. I