Chapter Nine

A piercing whistle jarred Devon from a deep sleep. Wind rushed by his face, making it difficult to gain his bearings. The ship shook violently, making it even more difficult to focus. After a few moments, he realized that the whistling was coming from wind whipping through the cabin of the drop ship. He immediately knew something bad had happened.

Devon forced his head to the side to check on his friends. Flim looked at him in terror, his eyes pleading. From where he sat, he could not tell if Jacinda and Merrell were awake. Devon could not imagine anyone sleeping through the chaos and noise, but if their sleep-wave generators were still operating then they could still be asleep.

The ship bucked again, clacking Devon’s teeth together. From his place in the front row, he could not see how the rest of the expedition was faring, but if everyone else was being thrown around like him, he felt sorry for them. With effort Devon turned his head the other way, trying to glimpse something out of the small window. Blue sky and clouds raced by at an amazing rate.

The shaking increased and the whistling of the wind was accompanied by a new sound. The sound of roaring engines rumbled under the shrill wind, but it did not sound right. The engines stuttered, not the constant, reassuring howl Devon expected. A claxon rang out through the ship, even louder than the engines and the wind. From the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of green through the window.

Before what that meant could register, the ship slammed to a stop. For a moment there was utter silence, then came the sound of moans and frightened voices. The cabin lights flickered for a moment and then went out. Devon could see Jacinda and Merrell immediately stirring. He struggled with the safety harness for a moment.

“What are you doing,” Flim asked his voice on the edge of tears.

“I have to check to see if anyone is hurt,” Devon responded, his voice more confident than he felt.

“Won’t the crew do that?”

Devon hesitated for a moment. If they were okay, the crew would already be hard at work helping everyone. Suddenly the harnesses relaxed in unison and rose up, freeing the passengers.

“I’m just going to go check to see if I can help out.” He winced in pain as he slipped around Flim and into the aisle. His shoulder was sore, but he could live with it. With the cabin lights off, the only light came from the small windows next to each row of seats. To make things even more difficult, dirt swirled through the air of the cabin from several broken windows. Devon checked the door to the crew cabin but it did not budge. It must be locked from the other side. He banged on it but there was no answer. He thought for a moment and then decided that he needed some help and started toward the rear of the ship.

He checked everyone as he made his way back. Everyone was confused and upset, but nobody seemed seriously hurt. Near the rear of the ship he finally found Deke. Deke was sitting in the window seat, still seemingly asleep. He had a large, purple welt on his forehead and the window next to him was cracked. Devon realized that Deke’s head must have hit the window during the crash. Terry was seated next to Deke, but just sat there staring at nothing. Leaning close to Deke, over Terry, Devon could tell that the unconscious man was still breathing. Suddenly Devon felt someone tugging at his jumpsuit. He realized that Terry had grabbed him.

“Please help me! I can’t die young. I’m too important. My parents couldn’t handle it. I’m an only child.”

Devon took Terry by the shoulders reassuring him.

“It’s okay Terry, don’t panic. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Devon hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. He was still very concerned that no one had emerged from the crew cabin at the front of the ship.

“No, it’s not gonna be okay!” Terry shouted. “We’re all dead!”

The children around Terry listened as he began to lose it. As he continued, the others looked on the verge of panic as well.

Devon freed himself from Terry’s grip and tightened his grip on Terry’s shoulders. He looked angrily into his eyes and spoke, a threat in his voice.

“Terry, you need to stop this. You are scaring the others. If you don’t stop, I’ll pop you one. I swear it.”

Devon’s anger snapped Terry out of his panic. He pushed Devon away, an angry look on his face. “Get your hands off me,” he growled at Devon.

“Now, that’s the nasty attitude I have come to expect.”

“Oh, shut up and get away from me.”

Devon gave Terry another angry look. “I need to check on Mr. Jacobs. I can’t get anyone in the crew cabin to respond and I can’t get the door open. Mr. Jacobs is the only other adult on board.”

“What? The crew is gone?” Panic crept back into Terry’s voice.

Devon showed Terry his fist. “Remember what I said about scaring the others. Now, go sit in my seat and I will see if I can wake up Mr. Jacobs.”

Terry rolled his eyes, but got up from his seat. He pushed past Devon and headed toward the front of the ship. Devon slipped into Terry’s now vacant seat and began to check Deke’s vital signs. Part of his training for this trip had included basic first aid, but he could no find any injuries on Deke, other than the bump on his head. Devon reached over and gently prodded Deke. The unconscious man stirred, moaning in pain.

Devon prodded him again.

“Mr. Jacobs, we need your help,” he said, trying to wake Deke.

Deke’s eyes fluttered open. He turned to Devon, looking at him in confusion.

“What happened?”

“I think we crashed”

Deke reached up to feel his head. He winced in pain when he felt the bump. “I must have hit my head. Where is the crew?”

“I’m not sure if they made it,” he whispered. “I tried to get into the crew cabin, but the door won’t open.”

Deke rubbed his head again, trying to gather his wits.

“I had better check it out. Is anyone else hurt?” Deke asked, wearing a worried expression.

“I don’t know. You were he first one I really checked on.”

Deke unbuckled his seat belt and nearly swooned as he tried to stand up.

“Whoa, Mr. Jacobs. I don’t know if you should try to get up yet.

“Maybe you’re right, but we need to check on the crew. We need to find out if they were able to send a distress call.”

Deke sat silently for a moment, gingerly probing the bump on his head.

“Devon, I need you to do some things for me. First, I need you to check the emergency exit and see if it is blocked. We may need to get out that way if there is a problem.”

He paused for a moment, blinking slowly.

“Second, I need you to keep an eye on the other kids. You are the only one who managed to keep their head. If I get worse, I need you to keep everyone calm. I’m betting that the Boadicea is already mounting a rescue operation. It is just a matter of time before they come for us. We need to sit tight and not panic.”

Devon nodded, “I can handle that. How long do you think it will be before they come?”

“I can’t be sure. It shouldn’t be more than a day or two. We will need water and food in the meantime. There should be plenty in the galley at the front of the ship. If we can’t get that door open we may have to look elsewhere. That means we have to get to the baggage compartment in the belly of the ship.”

“So, what should I do now?”

Deke looked thoughtful for a moment.

“See if you can find the hatch that leads below deck.” He closed his eyes and moaned. His chin fell to his chest, unconscious.

Devon gently prodded Deke. “Mr. Jacobs, what do I do after that? Mr. Jacobs?”

Devon turned with a sigh. The only thing he knew was that he had to check the emergency exit and then find the hatch that led to the cargo compartment. Before the drop the crew had pointed out the emergency exits. One of them was just down the aisle. He walked over to the row with the emergency exit as casually as he could.

“Excuse me,” Devon said as he leaned over the students sitting in that row. “How are you feeling? Any injuries to report? Mr. Jacobs asked me to check around.” He tried to keep the attention of the children as he checked out the emergency exit. Everything appeared in order and the door did not appear to be blocked from the outside.

Satisfied that they could use that exit if necessary, Devon excused himself. He then began moving back toward the front of the ship, eyes focused downward, searching for anything that might be a hatch. He noticed a seam in the carpeting. Devon kneeled down, trying to peel back the carpet. It took him a moment, but he found a recessed release switch at the edge of the aisle. The children sitting in the nearby seats watched him intently. Devon gave them friendly nod.

“Just running an errand for Mr. Jacobs, nothing to worry about.”

The children relaxed visibly, reassured by his casual attitude. Pulling the switch, Devon stood back as a section of the floor slid back. He could see a flashing yellow light below, illuminating a metal ladder leading below. Devon peered into the opening, trying to see if this was the cargo compartment. All he could see was a narrow, passage ending with what looked like an airtight door.

Devon knew that he had to check to see where this led. He assumed that it was the cargo compartment, but it could just be a service hatch. He looked up at the watching children and smiled again.

“I’ll be right back.” He swung down on to the ladder and climbed to the bottom. The yellow light was harsh and its slow flashing made it difficult to make out many details but he could see enough to move around. It only took a few steps to reach the door. He examined it carefully, but could not find any indication of where it might lead. Still determined to find the cargo compartment, Devon took a deep breath and levered open the latch on the door. There was a short hiss as the pressure equalized and then the door swung inward.

Dust wafted in from the compartment beyond, making it hard to see inside. Devon waited for a moment for the dust to settle and then peered inside. Success! He had found the cargo compartment. Racks of baggage filled the compartment in rows. Several had broken free from the deck in the crash and spilled some of the children’s bags into a large pile, blocking part of the floor.

He climbed over the mound of spilled luggage to see where the dust could be coming from. He was able to wriggle through to the row of racks against the far right-hand wall of the compartment. The source of all the dust became apparent as he neared the far wall. There was a large tear in the side of the ship. The jagged edge of a large boulder protruded into the cargo compartment; the obvious cause of the large gash in the side of the ship. The gash was very large, large enough, for a person to crawl through with no trouble at all. Dirt and debris had spilled in through the gash, but there did not appear to be any other damage. Unfortunately, that gash meant that this ship would probably never be space-worthy again.

After a quick look around he did not find anything that looked like it might have supplies in it. He wondered if they would be marked in some way to make it easier to find them. Devon thought he had better go check with Mr. Jacobs. As the leader of the expedition, he obviously would have a better idea of what kind of supplies might be down here.

After scrambling back over the mound of luggage, Devon began climbing back up the ladder into the main cabin. Several faces peered down at him. He recognized them as Flim, Jacinda, and Merrell.

“What are you doing?” Merrell asked.

“Just checking on something for Mr. Jacobs.”

Flim snorted a laugh through his nose as Devon climbed up through the hatch. “Deke asked for your help?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. He hit his head and isn’t feeling well. I think he passed out.”

“Oh, no,” Jacinda’s breath caught in her throat. “We had better help him. Everyone at the colony is taught to be a medic, just in case there is an accident. That’s because we practically live inside the mine. I’ll go check him out.” She immediately jumped up and hurried toward Deke’s seat. Merrell followed her a moment later, like a lumbering shadow.

“You guys shouldn’t be out of your seats,” Devon brushed the dirt off his coveralls as he gave Flim a stern look.

“With Terry sitting in your seat? Not likely. It didn’t take him two minutes to start bad-mouthing Deke and the crew. He said that he would have them all fired.”

Devon gave Flim a pained look. “He may not get the chance.”

Flim stared in confusion at Devon for a moment and then blanched. “Oh, dear. You think it’s that bad.”

Devon pulled Flim close. “It could be, but we can’t let anyone else know. We have to keep the others calm. If everyone panics surviving this gets ten times harder.”

“So, what do we do if people start asking questions?”

“We just gotta hope Mr. Jacobs wakes up before then.” Devon shook his head, a worried expression on his face.

Devon’s moment of reflection was disturbed by someone’s approach.

“What did you find, Devon?”

Devon smiled in relief when he saw that it was Deke who was speaking. The man swayed a bit unsteadily, but seemed otherwise okay.

“The emergency exit I checked out looked fine; no blockage. I also found the cargo compartment. Some of the luggage has broken loose and there is a big gash in the side of the compartment, but that looks like about it.”

“Good, good.” Deke nodded his head vigorously and then had to catch himself on the nearest seat. His eyes spun, as if he were dizzy. “I guess I am not as well as I thought.”

Jacinda came up behind Deke and took his hand. “You had better sit down, Mr. Jacobs. We’ll take you up to our seats.” She pulled on Deke’s hand, leading him up the aisle like a protective mother hen. As they passed, children asked Deke if everything would be alright. He reassured them with a slow nod and a confident smile.

Devon sealed the hatch in the floor and followed the others a moment later.

It only took a few moments for them to reach the front row, but Deke looked very much worse for wear. Sweat had broken out on Deke’s forehead and he was breathing heavily. Jacinda and Merrell helped him sit down carefully, but he still winced.

“Easy, kids, I’m a bit fragile at the moment.” He managed a weak smile, but even that soon faded.

Terry looked over from across the aisle, a sneer on his face. “I thought this guy was supposed to be tough. He doesn’t seem it to me.” He sniffed, grinning.

Jacinda turned on him and snapped, “Okay, Terry, how about I smack you in the head and see how tough you are.”

“Yeah, right,” he said with a laugh.

Jacinda drew in a deep breath, ready to give Terry a fierce tongue-lashing. Fortunately for Terry, Merrell stepped between the two. He loomed over Terry, a burly giant in the cramped aisle. “How about I smack you in the head, Terry?”

Terry’s face turned pale. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I’ve wanted to do it for four years, ever since I met you. Want to test me?”

Terry’s face fell, filled with fear. After a moment the fear disappeared, replaced with a look of Bravado. “Okay, I have been friends with you and your brothers for a long time, so I’ll let this go this time. But just this time.”

Terry slipped past Merrell and rushed down the aisle toward his old seat.

Merrell watched Terry hurry away and smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Terry.” He turned to the others, a huge grin on his face. “Wow, did that feel good.”

The others smiled back. Flim slapped him on the back. “Well, I guess you aren’t the slack-jawed buffoon I thought you were. Good show.”

Jacinda glared at Flim, but the alien boy just grinned. She just did not understand boys. She did not realize that any sign of weakness was simply an opportunity to tease your friend about it.

“Thanks Pal.” Merrell returned Flim’s slap on the back, perhaps a little hard, as Flim nearly fell over but they exchanged friendly grins and then turned back to Deke.

Their guide was barely conscious. He seemed to be drifting in and out; barely able to function when he came out of his fog. His eyes fluttered open for a moment and he looked at Devon and his friends.

“Pretty soon the others will realize how long it has been since they ate or drank anything. I need you people to see if you can gather all of the food and drinks up here so we can hand them out a little at a time. I’m not sure how long we will be down here, but I wouldn’t be good if we went through our supplies too quickly.” He paused for a moment, trying to clear his head.

“The Galley is right in front of us, so I want you, Merrell, to try and get that door open. If you can’t, that is no problem. There should be supplies stashed down in the cargo compartment. If you can’t get into the galley then I want two of you to go down below and gather as much as you can. You can tell which cases have the supplies because…” Deke swooned, his eyes closing and his head dropping to his chest.

Devon and the others looked at each other. Jacinda nodded her head, looking like she knew exactly what to do.

“You heard him, Merrell. See if you can get that door open.” Merrell responded immediately to the authority in her voice. He motioned for Devon to stand aside from the door leading to the crew compartment and then grabbed the handle. His face twisted with effort as he tried to turn the handle. It did not budge at first. Gritting his teeth, Merrell redoubled his efforts. His face turning red, he pulled on the handle. It slowly began to shift. He could feel the bolt holding it closed begin to slide. With one final grunt, he forced the handle to turn the rest of the way. They all heard the bolt click open but the door still refused to open. Something else must be blocking it. Merrell set his shoulder again and tried one final time to push the door open, but it still would not move.

“I guess we need to go down below and see if we can find any supplies.” Merrell sighed as he spoke.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Jacinda added, smiling at Merrell.

As a group, the four friends made their way back toward the hatch that led below. Devon opened it much more easily this time. He climbed down the ladder, followed by Flim, Jacinda, and Merrell. The cargo compartment was exactly as he left it.

Devon wondered where they should look first. Each of the students had been given a small amount of emergency rations to include in their gear, but he knew that it would be better if they could find a larger amount of food and water all together. That way they would not have to go through everyone’s personal items.

Jacinda looked at the pile of spilled luggage and nodded. “Okay, I suggest we try to find any extra supplies that were included for the expedition. From what Mr. Jacobs said, the boxes with the supplies are marked somehow. Try to find cases with the same markings. I’ll bet those are the supplies. Each of us needs to take one part of the cargo to check. Let everyone else know if you find anything.” Her suggestions echoed Devon’s own thoughts and he nodded in agreement.

Each of them moved toward a different corner of the cargo compartment. Flim and Devon had to scramble over the pile of luggage to get to their corners. Devon watched Flim gawk as he passed the gash in the side of the ship.

Nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching passed before Flim cried out.

“I think I found something.” The others started toward his voice. Devon was the first to reach Flim. The alien boy was grinning widely and pointing to a large stack of stout looking travel cases. Each case had the shipping line’s logo stenciled on the side along with the words Emergency Supplies.

Flim smiled, “I could be wrong, but I think these may be it.”

Devon laughed at Flim’s joke just as Merrell and Jacinda reached the pair.

Jacinda examined the cases carefully, a serious look on her face. “Excellent work, Flim.” She immediately turned to Merrell. “How heavy do you think these are?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Let’s open one up and see what is in it before we start moving them all up the ladder.”

“Good thinking”

Flim and Devon were suddenly feeling out of place. Jacinda had taken charge so naturally that they had not even realized it. It seemed that she and Merrell worked very well as a team. Devon and Flim could not help but feel a little left out.

Sensing their discomfort, Merrell turned to Devon and Flim. “What do you think, guys?”

The two nodded in agreement and then began to wrestle one of the cases out of the rack onto the floor. It hit the floor with a thump, but did not seem too heavy. Devon flipped open the old-style latches on the case and raised the lid. All sorts of supplies were packed inside. He could see food concentrates, a large first aid kit, and two containers of water. The others crowded around behind him, examining their prize.

Jacinda reached out and closed the lid of the case. “Okay, no time to waste. Let’s start getting these up to the top deck. They look light enough for each pair of us to handle one.”

They all nodded as Devon fastened the latches on the case they had examined. He scooted it toward Merrell and Jacinda who lifted it up and turned back toward the ladder. Devon and Flim retrieved another case and followed the others. It took quite a bit of effort to drag the cases over the pile of luggage, but they managed. By the time Devon and Flim got their case to the ladder leading up Merrell and Jacinda were still pondering the best way to get the case up the ladder.

Finally, Jacinda climbed the ladder and then Merrell picked up the case over his head with one end toward the open hatch. Jacinda reached down and grabbed the handle of the case and was able to lift it slightly. Merrell immediately began climbing the ladder while pushing the hanging end of the case with his shoulder. After a few moments the two were able to lever the case through the hatch and into the passenger compartment.

Devon looked over at Flim. “I don’t think either of us are big enough the pull that off.”

“Yup,” Flim nodded in agreement.

Just then Jacinda’s head appeared through the hatch. She was smiling widely.

“Let’s go, you two.”

“Ah, I think we need some help.”

Her smile grew even wider. “As long as you admit you need help. That is the important thing.” There was no trace of meanness in her voice, only good natured teasing.

Merrell clambered back down the ladder. Once at the bottom he motioned for Devon to climb up.

“After you.”

Devon scurried up the ladder and through the hatch. He reached down, just as Jacinda had and helped Merrell bring this case up as well. Merrell followed the case through the hatch. Flim was right behind him. The four friends carried the cases to the front of the ship and set them on their empty seats.

Jacinda paused. “Let me check on Mr. Jacobs before we go back down for more supplies.”

She bent over Deke, who was still unconscious, and began to check him over.

“He doesn’t seem to be too badly injured, but I can’t be sure.” She shook him lightly one last time. He moaned as his eyes fluttered open. All four friends let out a sigh of relief.

Deke gave them a weak smile. “I’m back now. How long was I out this time?”

Devon began to speak, but Jacinda spoke up before he could begin.

“You were out for about thirty minutes. We found the supplies in the cargo hold.”

Deke nodded, obviously pleased. “Good work. Are they easy to get to?”

“They are a little tough. We have to drag them over a pile of luggage, but other than that, it is a snap. We even brought up two cases already.”

“Excellent work Jacinda.”

Flim groaned loudly. Jacinda looked sheepish for a moment.

“It wasn’t just me Mr. Jacobs. We all helped, especially Merrell. I guess I just took charge.”

“You can say that again.” Flim laughed.

Jacinda blushed, suddenly aware that her earlier assertiveness may have been a little overpowering for the others.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Devon put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “It’s no big deal, Jacinda. We’ll let you know when you officially get bossy.”

Everyone, including Jacinda, laughed at that.

“You have all done good work,” Deke added. “I need you to do something else for me. You mentioned that there was a hole in the side of the ship. Is it big enough for you to go through easily?”

They all nodded.

“Good, then I need the four of you to go and check out the ship from the outside. We need to make sure that it is not in any more danger. Also, we need to see if we can access the cockpit from the outside. The crew may be trapped in there and might need help. While you are out there I also want you to check out the nearby area. Make sure you don’t go too far, but I’d like to get a general lay of the land. You four are going to have to be my eyes and ears until I feel up to going outside. Any questions?”

Flim raised his hand. “Deke, what about the wildlife? What if there are any of those bowzers out there? They mentioned them in the briefing on our datapads.” Flim’s mention of the bowzers made everyone think about the picture that had accompanied their description in the briefing materials. Bowzers were big, four-legged predators covered in bristly black fur. They looked very similar to Earth wolves, but were quite a bit bigger. They also had jaws more akin to a crocodile than a wolf. All in all, they were about 250 pounds of pure mean.

“Very good, Flim. I’m glad you did your homework. However, the briefing also mentioned that the bowzers are strictly nocturnal. As long as it is light outside, you should be fine.”

The four friends nodded in relief.

“What I want you to do is see if there is any other damage to the ship. Also, check to see if there is any high ground nearby. We might be able to set up the emergency transponder there. While you are out there I want you all to stick together. Never be out of touch with your partner. Make sure you all have your WristVids as well. We should have short-range communication using those. Don’t wander too far from the ship, though. I want each of you to take a pack with food and water, just in case.”

There was silence for a moment and then Devon stepped forward. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that leaving the ship is a bit scary. I know the bowzers don’t come out during the day, but it still makes me nervous.”

“I can understand that, Devon, but I need you to do this. I can’t explain it right now, but this is really important. All I can do is to ask each of you to trust me.”

The four friends slowly nodded.

“Thank you, now please hurry. You have to get back before night fall. Remember the bowzers.”