THE CONNECTED

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space... or so they say. I don't know if whomever or whatever was there could hear his scream or not, but I felt it. I felt it in every fiber of my being, down to my core. I felt his immense terror shrieking in my soul, across all those miles from above, and when I close my eyes, I can almost see whatever it was that grabbed him, that had come for him... to end him, take him, and he knew, I felt that.... he knew that it was there for that reason." Dirk drew a deep, shaken breath before he continued. "I felt it, this thing. It sensed me too. It was aware of me, through mine and Derek's connection. I sensed Derek's horror as he drifted helplessly in space... in those last seconds of his life... like a mouse being pounced on by a cat, in that brief instant before the end, he knew... he KNEW he was prey." Dirk stared at his hands a moment, trying not to feel. "I know it was something sentient, like a person, but not. Some unknown... something that was floating up there with him on that spacewalk. I felt it. I felt Derek's agony when it punched it's... whatever... stinger, through his suit and into his belly. I could feel something, like ice cold metal in Derek's guts and the sensation of ... I dunno... of suddenly being injected full of liquid fire, and just as suddenly, having everything sucked right out of my body... Derek's body, then the stinger thing ... tentacle... whatever, withdrawing ... letting what was left in my brother to escape into space... and then, nothing... except a second or two of the... the thing. I sensed it's sinister delight, like a sadistic satisfaction, in what it did. It took the same pleasure in knowing I was feeling it all too." Dirk sighed deeply and put a hand over his mouth, stifling the urge to break down, or perhaps throw up. He scrubbed his palms togehter briskly for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued, "It sensed me too, through the connection between me and my brother, and, at least for a brief moment, was fully aware of me... here on Earth." Dirk fought off a shiver and looked away from his interviewers briefly before continuing. "I don't know if it understood who, or what, I was, but I could feel it searching through my mind, just as it searched through Derek's as he died in it's embrace." Dirk shook his head, trying to turn off the images and sensations he was reliving. He ran his fingers through his tousled auburn hair and let his closed fists drop to the table in a mild bang. "Wheew" he blew, trying to release some emotion and keep composed. He collected his thoughts and cleared his throat before going on, "It still doesn't seem real to me, my twin brother being gone. We've always had a unique connection, me and Derek, always knew what the other was thinking or was about to say. We knew when the other was excited, or afraid, or in pain... like, I could feel his exhilaration the first time he jumped out of a plane... or when he felt my adrenaline rush the time I went cave rappelling and my harness almost failed, and I dropped 50 feet, stopping only a couple of feet above the cavern floor." A mischievous smirk spread across Dirks face and he laughed and blushed as he remembered something and continued. "Hell, the first time Derek got lay- ... his first time having sex, I knew it. I was working on a paper at the library, all the way across town, and he was at home, and had snuck his date into his room, and I knew as soon as they started, I could feel his excitement and, well, something new, and when he... you know," Dirk made finger quotation marks in the air, " 'finished', I uhm, you know... 'finished' too... in my jeans, right there in the middle of the library!" The two men across the table chuckled and made Dirk's face a deeper shade of crimson as he grinned, relieved to finally have a light moment. "Sorry" Dirk apologized, "But you guys said you wanted to hear everything." The interviewers' chuckles subsided and one, waiving his hand, gesturing "it's nothing", said, "Oh, no, it's fine. We do want to hear everything, every detail about your connection.... please, continue" Dirk scratched the ginger scruff on his face and went on, "It was embarrassing as hell, at first I thought something was wrong with me, and then, well, I knew what had happened." Dirk's smile faded and his face went serious again. "We always knew when the other was up to something, or in trouble. He felt my fear and agony the moment I lost my leg... which, as you know, is why it was him up there instead of me... or both of us." Dirk bit his lip to fight back wet eyes. His interviewers gazed at him without expression, listening intently as the young man paused to maintain his composure. Dirk smiled and chuckled lightly as he continued, "We were going to be the first twins in space. We have always said that, since we were kids, that we were going to be astronauts, the first twin astronauts in space." Dirk looked at his hands again and sighed as he continued, "We achieved the astronaut part, or at least were both selected as astronauts, but then you guys asked us, well, basically insisted, that we participate in your 'twins study'. That's how he got to space and I stayed here on the ground.   And then, the accident... and suddenly my career at NASA was over, and now... my brother is gone."

The older of the two men interviewing Dirk took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he started to speak, "We're very sorry about your losses, Mr. Bruner, or do you mind if I call you Dirk?" Dirk nodded his approval and the man continued speaking, " I can't imagine how tough it's been, going through the things you've gone through. As you already know, NASA is going to see to it that you are well cared for, and the same goes for your family." The gray haired gentleman put his glasses back on, breaking his gaze with Dirk as he looked down and opened a folder marked "Classified" and pushed the folder toward Dirk a few inches, as if offering him a look at the file. "I understand you've not read the report on Derek's, uh... passing?", the older fellow inquired. Dirk gave an expressionless headshake, staring directly into the man's eyes. Images flashed through Dirk's mind, visions of the decriptions he guessed were in the report mixed with what he felt Derek experience. His imagination over-embellished some too, he expected. Dirk pushed the folder back to the man and said, "I'm not ready for that." Dirk was more than eager to cooperate, especially if it meant helping discover what exactly took his brother, but he had grown tired of this interview and just wanted to talk and think about something else for awhile. The younger interviewer picked up on Dirk's waning willingness, and as the other man was about to speak, interupted him, saying, "I think we need to give this young man a break, Mr. Pollard. He's been through a lot, and it's a lot for us to ask of him to keep reliving it over and over." The younger man smiled at Dirk and asked, "How about some dinner? We can have anything you want brought to your quarters." Dirks expression became that of concern, laced with frustration and borderline anger. His fair complection turning rosy was always a dead giveaway when he was upset or embarrased, even when he tried to conceal his feelings, and he usually hated that about himself, but this time, he wanted his vexation known, and it conveyed in his tone when he asked, "What? Are you saying I can't leave?" Mr. Pollard put a hand up in a gesture meant to calm, but Dirk perceived it as controlling, and reacted with, "You can't keep me here! I'm not a damn prisoner! I'm not even part of NASA anymore! Who the hell do you guys think you are?!" Pollard's raised hand went higher, and closer to Dirk's face, infuriating him even more, and as Dirk was contemplating what to say next, Pollard said calmly, "It's only a request. You're not a prisoner." Dirk calmed down and relaxed his stance as the man continued, "We'd like to ask that you, voluntarily, of course, remain on base for a few days while we piece together the information we have and pair it with your experience - Derek's experience. We were hoping you would continue cooperating with the interviews, and perhaps some tests, all for the purpose of discovering what happened." Dirk sat back in his chair and listened, as Mr. Pollard kept talking, "We recognize the strong bond and connection you have with your brother. Your participation in the 'twins study' proved that connection and your statements about your experience are consistent with our findings outside the space station and with your brother's, uh... remains. You are extremely valuable to us, and we don't want to risk, even slightly, losing you and what you bring to this investigation." Pollard paused a moment, looking down at the folder, then back at Dirk and said, "Asking you to remain here is also for your protection." Dirk replied, with a stern tone and said, "First of all, it's HAD". Mr. Pollard quickly interrupted with his curious reply, "Excuse me?", and Dirk, keeping the pace, continued, "I HAD a connection with Derek, but not anymore... and secondly, what exactly are you protecting me from?" Mr. Pollard and the other man glanced at each other. Pollard nodded at the younger interviewer, and he looked Dirk in the eye, with a slightly solemn expression and said, "We... have to consider the possibility that whatever it was up there, whatever killed Derek... whatever connected with you, can connect with you again and, perhaps somehow locate or track you. If it does... and if it is capable of coming to you, capable of coming to the surface, we need you someplace safe where we have the capability of protecting you if need be, where we are more likely to be able to deal with... whatever we're dealing with." Dirk felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, kind of like the one he felt when he was told his leg would have to be amputated. That wasn't a possibility Dirk had considered, whether or not the thing up there could connect with him again, or could find him, or would want to find him, or could come down and get him. He wasn't comfortable with this new thing to worry about. He felt himself craving a drink, he needed to buzz, to not feel or think, or to simply, sleep... if he could.