Cold Hell - 9. Chapter 8

Calvin was worried about Danni. For the past few days he’d barely said two words, going about his work at the processing plant with a dazed look on his face. He cleaned the stalls of the animals and picked the fruits and nodded and grunted whenever Calvin spoke, but Calvin knew he wasn’t really paying attention. It reminded him of the look Calvin’s mother, Lucia, got when she’d taken her daily dose of morphine.

It was impossible to say how well he knew Danni. They’d only known each other for a month, ever since Danni had started working at the processing plant. He’d glimpsed the track marks on Danni’s arms and figured he must’ve been a drug user in the past. He was quiet usually and offered no details about his past life. When Calvin tried asking casually about his life on Earth, Danni either changed the subject or said nothing at all, making it clear he didn’t want Calvin to ask. So he stopped asking. But now Calvin couldn’t stand the silence. It was like talking to a zombie.

“Danni, what’s wrong with you? And don’t you tell me nothing again either, I know better.” He realized he was using the same stern voice Lucia had used with him and his sister Antoina, when they were kids. It must’ve worked because this time Danni looked at him. What do you know, Calvin thought, someone’s actually home in that beautiful head.

. They were in the greenhouse section of the plant today, picking vegetables. Currently they were picking onions and throwing them in plastic bins. Turbines worked above their heads, spraying fresh water on the vegetation; within a week's time a shipment would be delivered to the pavilion where everything would be distributed throughout the three colonies. For Calvin this was his favorite part of the plant. The greenhouse was easy work, not so laborious as the other departments. You could actually hear yourself think.

“I went into the sauna yesterday,” Danni muttered.

“Ah.” Calvin lifted an eyebrow and smiled mischievously. “Did you have some fun, finally?”

“I bumped into Mikael.”

Calvin immediately felt his smile vanish. He already had an idea what had happened. There were stories about Mikael from the workers at the brothel, those who were fortunate to survive an encounter with Mikael anyway. There were wicked sharks in this colony and Mikael was probably the biggest. “What did he do to you?”

“He tried to rape me.” Danni’s voice was flat when he said this. Most people would have burst into tears but not Danni. Calvin was used to his lack of emotion. It was just like being friends with someone who had autism.

“I’m sorry.” He reached out to put a hand on Danni’s shoulder and immediately drew it back when Danni gave him a warning look. He’d forgotten about the other quirk he had: he didn’t like to be touched, not even a pat on the shoulder. “Did he hurt you?”

“Almost.” Danni tossed an onion into the crate. “I managed to fight him off.”

Calvin was angry. By nature he wasn’t a violent guy; there were a few people on the planet who were nothing like their ancestors. But he was fiercely protective of the people he cared about. Over the past month he’d become infatuated with his new friend, despite his odd nature. “I ought to kill that motherfucker...”

Danni moved quickly, grabbing Calvin’s hand in a vice grip. His eyes bore into Calvin’s, almost paralyzing him with their intensity. “Stay away from him Calvin. I mean it. I don’t want you going anywhere near him. He’s dangerous.There’s something wrong with him. If he gets a hold of you he will kill you for the simple fact that he gets off on it. Because he thinks it’s fun.” And then just like that he released Calvin.

“Promise me,” Danni said. His sudden shift in demeanor frightened Calvin more than he would have ever felt comfortable admitting to. “Promise me that you’ll stay away from Mikael, that you won’t do anything to get yourself killed.”

“I promise.”

Seeming satisfied Danni nodded and went back to harvesting the vegetables.

They worked in silence for the rest of the shift. To make the time go faster Calvin played a guessing game with himself, ticking off the possibilities of what Danni could have done so bad to get sent here himself. He didn’t seem like some mega serial rapist - he didn’t even seem to like to be touched. He didn’t seem like a manic who went around just killing people for some reason. Terrorist was the word his mind became stuck on. Maybe Danni had rebelled against the government back on Earth. This guess seemed far more plausible. And Calvin wasn’t the only one. There were many people who were speculating about who Danni was, particularly the nature in which he’d been delivered by the dropship. To have been delivered by himself, off schedule he must have done a lot of terrible things.

The sky was starting to darken already by the time they left the plant. By Earth’s time it was six o’clock in the evening. Planet Redemption’s three moons cast their glow through the numbing flurries of snow, looking like giant coins; the aurora shifted beneath the faces of a thousand watching stars. Even with the proper clothing on, Calvin was freezing.

“Wanna go to my place?” he asked Danni. “You could meet my mom and sister.”

Danni shook his head. Instead he said, “I want to go to the brothel.” Due to the breathing mask and the weak lighting it was impossible to read his facial expression.

“Uh, after what you told me about what happened at the sauna I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“That’s where you go to get drugs, isn’t it?”

Drugs? Calvin remembered the track marks he’d seen up and down Danni’s arms. “Danni, just come with me to my mom’s. You can meet her and my sister and have dinner with us.”

Danni now turned to face him so Calvin could see his eyes. “I know you don’t want to come with me. Just go home, Calvin, where it’s warm and safe. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Before Calvin could yell after him, Danni was already walking in the direction of the brothel until the snow and shadows swallowed him whole.

                        …

The brothel was in a two story building at the edge of the colony. Danni gripped the railing with gloved fingers, climbing the stairs carefully. The metal treads beneath his feet were slippery from the ice. The hatch leading into the building slid open and a man and woman stepped out, hand in hand, dressed from head to toe in dark clothing.

The open hatch revealed the dingy interior beyond. Upon entering the building Danni thought of a smaller scale version of The Harbinger. Glowing, flashing lights, rumbling music. People sat at the bar, or danced off to the side, men on women, men on men, and women on women. He was sure many of them were doing more than just dancing. The interior smelled of sweat and cheap booze. Naked men and women danced atop bright glass top tables, sliding and swinging around metal poles. They seemed not to care about the hands that touched them, caressing, tweaking, and squeezing. On Earth, Danni thought, this place would have been raided by a SWAT team. But here on Planet Redemption there were no laws.

Sets of metal stairs led up to catwalks where more people were dancing and doing questionable things. By the bar Danni spotted a woman kneeling before one of the dancers, her head bobbing up and down. The dancer's head was hanging back in ecstasy, his eyes slanted. Danni was overwhelmed by the familiar barrage of emotions within a confined space. The inside of the brothel, despite the below temperatures outside, was turgid.

Danni was about to head towards the bar when a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. He turned, hands clenched into fists, prepared to defend himself by whatever means necessary, only to realize it was Calvin. He was wearing a thick jacket and gloves. Ice crystals, starting to melt, clung to his eyelashes.

"It's not polite to sneak up on people," he shouted over the music. But he smiled a little; he was glad Calvin had decided to come along after all, even if he could never have brought himself to say so.

Calvin shrugged. "I would feel bad if someone came up and stabbed you in the back to take your rations card. Of course I know you'd kill them first but that's what I kept having to tell myself in order to traverse the fucking cold again." Calvin grinned back before turning serious. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Danni looked around at the crowd, his face glowing in the neon lights, one second red, the next blue. He didn't know it but for a moment, long enough for Calvin to see, there was a haunted look on his face. "I have to do this."

Calvin took a step closer and leaned in so he didn't have to shout this time. "You always have a choice, Danni."

Danni looked away guiltily. Just this once, he thought. I just need something to help me get through this darkness. But deep down inside he knew this wasn't true. Trying heroin only once was all it had taken to turn him into a drug addict - the kind of person his father would walk away from in disgust, and Danni had already been a disappointment to him.

Knowing all this didn't make him feel better, didn't give him the willpower he needed to walk away. With one touch Mikael had infected him. He thought of his mother, sitting in her bedroom, slowly wasting away, and knew if he did not get his hands on heroin or a mood altering drug the same thing would happen to him.

"Take me to the person who can get me what I need," said Danni.

The flash of disappointment in Calvin's dark eyes only made Danni feel worse.

"There's a man named Rowe upstairs in a room at the end of the hall. When you go up there be careful. I hear he's very sly and dangerous."

"You're not going to go up there with me?"

Calvin shook his head."I won't help you poison yourself more than I already have. I've watched my mother waste over the years, I won't stick around to watch the same thing happen to you."

Danni nodded, accepting Calvin's disappointment in him and his own self hatred. He turned to face his only friend on Planet Redemption and said. "I'm not a good person, Calvin. I know you think I am but I'm damaged goods. I wouldn't be on this God forsaken planet if I wasn't."

Calvin’s eyes filled with tears. “I know.” Then he turned and began shoving his way through the crowd.

                        …

Calvin brushed his way to the bar. The music boomed and crashed in his ears, the light stabbed into his eyes like needles. His throat felt tight, like it was trying to close in on itself. He hated himself for being overly emotional, for not being able to get himself under control. A drink would help with that.

He loved Danni, this much he knew; he also knew Danni didn’t love him. Sometimes he wondered if Danni was capable of loving anyone or feeling anything at all. Rejection hurt. It hurt even more that Danni was willingly going down a path Calvin would never be able to follow. Years of living with a mother who was doped out every minute of every day made it impossible to associate with anyone who did drugs. And everyone pretty much did drugs on Planet Redemption.

Everyone except Calvin...and he rarely drank. A majority of his rations as well as Anastasia's went towards keeping a roof over his mother because she was incapable of working, a burden that at times became so heavy Anastasia and he could barely carry it. Her drug habits were very expensive.

To hell with it. He ordered a bottle of bootie from the bartender. In exchange for the drink he handed over his rations card for it to be scanned. The burn of the bootie going down his throat was so strong it made his eyes water.

“Not much of a drinker, eh?” a voice said from beside him.

Calvin looked at the man sitting next to him. To his surprise it was Everest. He’d seen Everest walking around the colony, always in the presence of warden Dinah Fezald. He was as intimidating in size and stature as Mikael Mannu, even more so because he rarely ever spoke. Even sitting down, he towered over Calvin. It was only fitting he was named after the mountain on Earth, a mountain Calvin had only read about in books.

“Not usually,” said Calvin.

Everest held up his own bottle of bootie. “This shit will make you feel like you have no throat left.”

Looking at Everest’s broad stubbled face, Calvin was tempted to say, Is there something you want? but resisted the urge, fearing the big man might beat his face in if he did. You didn’t go around running your mouth if you wanted to keep it on Planet Redemption, so he just nodded.

“I saw you with the new clansman,” said Everest. “Danni.”

“What about him?” Calvin asked. He didn’t realize how defensive he sounded until the words came out of his mouth.

“How is he?”

Calvin hesitated. Everest had sounded both curious and interested when he asked. Calvin turned his head to see if Danni was still standing where he had left him but Danni was nowhere in sight. Of course he wasn’t. Calvin smirked bitterly. “He’s just fitting right in. Enjoy your bootie.” He lifted his bottle to Everest in a salute and got up from the bar. It was time to get the fuck out of here.

He pulled on his breather mask and gloves and stepped out into the cold. He immediately felt a shiver go up his spine. Outside of the brothel it was at least fifty degrees below zero.

Looking down at his feet, lost in thought, Calvin climbed down the metal steps. He was so lost in thought he bumped into someone.

“Hey,” a deep voice said, “watch where ye’re going.”

Calvin muttered a quick apology and looked up into the face of Mikael Mannu. Oh shit, you got to be kidding me? Everest might look intimidating but Mikael was a bloodthirsty shark. Calvin had heard stories about him, the kind of stories that would keep one up at night, the kind that made one avoid him at whatever cost. The look on Danni’s face when Calvin had mentioned him at the processing plant had only frightened Calvin more.

And worse yet Mikael wasn’t alone - there were four other men with him. One of those men was Skot Volksy, the man Danni had sent to the clinic. None of them looked too friendly.

“Sorry,” Calvin said hastily and made to walk away.

“Wait, hold up.” Mikael grabbed his arm roughly and wrenched Calvin around so he was facing him. Mikael’s fingers dug through the thick material of Calvin’s jacket, into his arm. There was a murderous look in Mikael’s bulging eyes; the dark circles around them indicated he hadn’t slept in some time. He jerked Calvin closer to him so he could smell the bootie on his breath. “Where is that little freak friend of yours?”

“I-I d-don’t know,” Calvin stammered. He felt his bladder let go. Warm urine was trickling down his leg. The air around them seemed to have dropped another thirty degrees, stinging his face.

“My friends and I were going to get a hold of 'im and take our turns with 'im. I know Skot here is especially pissed. I guess you’ll have to do for now.”

The fear that had been mounting within Calvin broke out, rabid with hysteria. “Danni!” he screamed. Before he could scream again, Mikael’s meaty fist slammed into his nose. Danni felt cartilage snap and a fountain of hot blood begin oozing from his nose. Mikael growled something but whatever he said was lost in the pain and fear coursing through his body. The other men were cheering. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of them reaching down to the crotch of their pants to massage their hard on.

Mikael roughly slammed him against the wall of a building. The metal was so cold it immediately numbed his cheek, freezing flesh to metal. The blood coming from his nose had already frozen to his face. Two of the men held his arms down with both hands while another yanked his pants down so his buttocks were exposed to the air.

“Skot, wanna do the honors?” Mikael asked.

“Aye.”

“No!” Calvin screamed. “No! Danni - please somebody help!” But Danni was back at the brothel, probably getting high, not worried about him - and even if there was someone in sight no one else would help him. People knew better than to get involved. This was simply a matter of the strong overpowering the weak.

A second later he felt a burning stab of pain as Skot thrust to him. Screaming in agony, Calvin closed his eyes and waited for it to be over.

                    …

As Calvin was going to the bar, Danni climbed the steps leading up to the second floor of the brothel. He watched as one of the workers led a man down the hallway. The worker, completely naked except for a skimpy pair of panties, appeared to be female except for the bulge at the front of her crotch. She led her client halfway down the hallway before pushing him through an open hatch, giggling the whole time.

Danni wasn’t interested in the sex worker or what she and the man might be doing. What he was interested in was the man standing in front of the hatch at the end of the hallway. Dressed in a black shirt and dark sunglasses, with a hulking stature, he reminded Danni of the bouncer guarding the entrance to The Harbinger back on Earth. From where he stood, Danni could see the sidearm holstered to his side. Thanks to Calvin and mere observation, Danni had learned it was difficult to get a hold of firearms in the colony. You either had to have some serious connections and rations or you were one of Dinah’s squires/bodyguards. There was only one way to find out if Danni could get one. He had a feeling Rowe was behind the door.

Several whores waited in the hatchways, watching him expectantly. Danni walked past them resolutely without looking at them. The guard watched him but said nothing.

“I need to see Rowe,” Danni said.

“Do ya have an appointment with 'im?”

“No, I didn’t know I needed one.”

“Let me see yer rations card.”

Danni handed it to him. The guard held up a monitor and scanned the card, deducting some of the rations Danni had saved up. “Don’t cause any trouble,” the guard said as he handed Danni’s card back.

The hatch slid open with a hitch and Danni entered the room beyond. The room was large and well-heated. Set up like a lounge area, there were tables and leather booths all around. It was immediately clear whoever Rowe was he was important. Even on this frozen planet you had your mob bosses, those who made making profit their priorities.

A man sat at a black top table in the center of the room. He had dark skin with shoulder-length dreadlocks and wore bright colored garb, a variation from the dark color clothing everyone in the colony wore. He was marked as a clansman of Clan Wuxia. Two guards stood behind him in opposite corners. Like the guard standing outside, Danni noted they also had sidearms. As he took all this in, Danni went through all the details in his head: Three men inside, two of them armed. Third one might be armed. Another man standing outside, also armed. Only one way in and one way out. He also mapped out in his head how he might kill everyone in the room.

“Hello,” the man with the dreadlocks said, speaking with a Nigerian accent. “I am Rowe. You must be a new colonist. I have not seen you around here before. That’s okay, everyone comes to me sooner or later, needing something. What is your name?”

“Danni.”

Rowe smiled, revealing several gold-capped teeth. “Danni, pleased to meet you.” He waved a hand at the chair across from him. “Please, have a seat.” Once Danni was seated he waved a hand. One of the guards came to the table with an innocuous wooden box. Rowe opened the box, revealing a small plastic bag full of Cocaine no bigger than the size of Danni’s hand. Rowe dipped a straw into the bag and snorted the white powder through the straw into his nose. He offered the straw to Danni.

“Want some?” he asked.

Danni shook his head.

“Not a cocaine person?” Rowe asked conversationally.

“Not really,” said Danni.

Rowe grinned, cocking his head slightly to the side. “No, I bet you’re more of a heroin fanatic.”

Danni was impressed. “What gave it away?”

“I can always tell what someone’s vice is - it’s like this psychic thing I have. If heroin is what you’re looking for, then you’ve come to the right person. I can get you anything you need - drugs, weapons to defend yourself with - as long as you have the rations. The drugs are cheaper than guns. Except for knives. Knives are cheaper than drugs. If we were on Earth weapons would be cheaper but not here on Planet Redemption.”

This last bit had captured Danni’s interest. “You’re from Earth.”

Rowe nodded. “I’ve been here for ten years, and let me tell you it wasn’t easy to get where I am today. I was a notorious arms dealer in Nigeria. Here I’m on the top rung of the ladder. So,” he said, clasping his hands together with another smile. “What will it be?”

                        …

The sunlight reflecting off the snow stung Danni’s eyes after the dimness of the brothel. He lifted his mask and climbed down the steps into the snow.

He was glad to be outside the cramped confines of the building, away from all the emotions and heated, sweaty bodies rubbing up against one another. Out here in the cold it was more silent and there were few people venturing about. Eager to get home he cut past the back of the buildings, wanting to be alone, wanting to be unseen. He kept one hand in the pocket of his jacket where he could feel the baggie of heroin Rowe had given him: a week’s supply of pills for a month’s worth of rations. It had been costly but Danni would have his rations back up within a week’s time.

Up ahead, the voice of some screaming alerted Danni to a commotion. Muscles tensing up, Danni lifted his head. Several men had gathered around a smaller man. One of the men had the other pushed up against the wall of one of the buildings and was thrusting into him madly while the others laughed and cheered. One of the spectators was Mikael. The other was the man Danni had put in the clinic.

Danni's first thought was to duck out of sight before any one of the men could see him. On Earth it might have been a different story. On Earth he’d been fighting for a cause, trying to save people, or at least so he told himself. And look where that ideology got me, he thought. Forever stuck on an ice planet. Since waking up from the CryoSleep chamber he'd done his best to stay out of trouble and keep from making enemies. He knew he'd already made enemies out of Mikael and Skot. He didn’t want to be a hero and he didn’t want to fight anymore. He just wanted to live the rest of his life as peacefully as he could.

But then he saw the rape victim turn his face, ripping a layer of flesh off, and looked at Danni and said his name. Blood had frozen to the lower half of his face and more was dripping down his freezing legs.

It was Calvin.

Seeing Calvin, someone who Danni considered a friend, awoke the primitive force in Danni that he’d been trying so hard to avoid. He felt a rage he’d thought to have died since that heartstopping moment when he had pressed the muzzle of the gun to Danni Aamodt the IV’s skull. He clenched his hands into fists, felt his teeth grind together. Calvin was looking at him, full of pain and terror, praying for Danni to do something.

No one knew Danni was there. They were too busy taking turns with Calvin, raping him. Danni reached into his pocket - not the one with the drugs but the other one with the knife in it. The knife he’d bought from Rowe with his rations. The knife hadn’t cost as much as the heroin, but it had still cost another two weeks worth of rations. The knife was meant for hunting, with a dangerously sharp, six inch serrated blade.

Hunkering down low, Danni snuck stealthily up behind the man closest to him. The man never even turned around when Danni lunged up, grabbed the back of his head with one hand and pressed the blade of his knife to the man’s throat with the other.