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Three days earlier, Bradbury had taken Derek as far back into the tunnel as he could. Where the tunnel ended, a small hole to the side was large enough for Derek to crawl through, but his robots did not possess the agility to effectively perform the same movements to follow. He hoped the same was true with the Chinese robots.
Three days had been a long time to stay hidden. The only rations he had were those from the emergency pack he had taken out of Bradbury’s back storage compartment. The pack contained a half dozen high protein bars, a gallon of water, extra oxygen tanks, and strong pain medicine to use only if severely injured. The food and water was enough for two days, three if he restricted himself. But due to the medicine, Derek had slept most of the time.
He was never one who favored using any pain relievers at all. The blisters where the laser had struck his shoulder ached from the slightest movement. Normally he was too restless to sleep for long periods of time, but this medicine rendered him unconscious. When he opened his eyes, he tapped the side of his visor to bring up the time. Stunned, he had slept another twelve hours.
Derek’s mouth was pasty. His head felt heavy. He tried to stand and quickly sat down. In the disorienting darkness, everything spun. His stomach sickened. He patted around the floor until he found the half frozen water. He uncapped it and took a couple of sips through the straw device on his helmet. The cold water made his stomach feel worse, but he forced himself to hold it down. He feared he was becoming dehydrated.
The inside of the tiny crevice was chilly, but nowhere nearly as cold as the harsh area outside the Phobos ruins. The dark cramped space made him fear he’d develop claustrophobia if he stayed hidden inside much longer.
With the pain meds wearing off, he was reminded about his blistered shoulder. The laser had melted away part of the sleeve into his flesh. It was tender and raw to the touch, but at least the pain had lessened.
Hunger pangs gnawed his stomach. He was down to his last protein bar. More emergency provisions were probably stored behind the seats in the cabs of the flatbed trucks, in case of mechanical failure or for the long haul back to Olympus Mons. But for Derek that meant leaving the safety of his hideaway and exposing himself to the climate and possibly making him an open target for the Chinese robots. He didn’t have any choice though. He needed to get out of the Phobos ruins and find a way to get back to Olympus Mons. Three days was longer than he had planned to spend hiding and recuperating.
Since his suit was missing material, his injury was exposed. By being inside small rock room, he was protected from the elements somewhat. His arm was slightly chilled, numbing the pain a little, but he needed to get to the infirmary and have a doctor examine his injury before any infection set in. He pushed a button on his belt, which signaled his smart suit to repair the damaged area around his shoulder. Inside the suit, close to where the material was damaged, the polymers released chemicals that formed thick foam over his exposed skin. The foam gelled together with the surrounding materials and healed the tear.
Besides fearing an encounter with the enemy robots, he worried about the harsh winds and the gritty sand. Should another sandstorm strike, he hoped the repaired section of the suit was strong enough to hold. At least his injury was covered for now.
Derek shivered and then he thought about Grayson’s plans to construct steel mills inside Olympus Mons. By having forges to melt the ores the heat inside the dead volcano would increase. The benefit of elevating the temperature enabled staff and guards with an added luxury of not having to wear their suits everywhere, even when they were off duty. The lack of comfortable clothing was one of the chief complaints amongst his colleagues. He agreed. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worn a T-shirt without a spacesuit over it.
A sharp beeping sound echoed inside of his helmet and caught his attention.
“Dammit,” he whispered, reading the gauge on his visor.
His oxygen levels were nearly depleted. Not only did he need to hunt for food provisions inside the truck cabs, he needed a new oxygen tank. He wasn’t certain that extra tanks were stored in the trucks, but in case of emergencies, he figured at least a few should be. If nothing else, he might be able to connect to a larger oxygen tank to recharge the one inside his suit.
Derek crawled through the small crevice, careful not to place any pressure on his injured shoulder or accidentally bump the rocky wall. Even though the repaired material covered his injury, any bump could rupture the blisters. Although that would be painful, it also opened the injury to bacteria, which might cause an infection. After he crawled past his two robots that stood guarding the entrance of his small hiding place, he stood. His robots didn’t move.
Bradbury and Isaac had turned off their verbal communications to prevent attracting the heat-seeking robots to their location. Since his robots didn’t emit the same heat frequencies as humans, the Chinese robots had not located and obliterated Derek’s prized nonhuman companions. But since he needed their assistance to get back to the base, he had to reactivate their communication signals and voices. Doing so might attract the attention of the enemy robots, but Derek could never make it back to Olympus Mons without them.
After three days of radio silence, Jonas was certain to be frantic or fuming with anger. He tended to get angry quicker than ever showing worry, even if it was about Derek’s safety. Jonas had probably attempted to make contact time after time without any success. His stress levels weren’t something that Derek had wished to increase. He loved his grandfather and regretted any moment of anguish he might have caused Jonas.
Derek hoped Jonas had sent out a search party, even though it had been against Derek’s direct wishes when he had last spoken with his grandfather. Now, he was hoping Jonas had defied the request like he always had in the past. Derek wondered if his heated rant at Jonas had gone too far this time? Had he said the words that might have soured his grandfather to let Derek learn from his mistakes, regardless of the cost? Without the radio towers working, he had no way to know. He didn’t even have a way for him to apologize, and he really wished that he could. It was a waiting game, and the Chinese robots held the upper hand.
Without any means to communicate with Olympus Mons, Derek realized the potential danger that any search and rescue team might face. Rescuers sent to find Derek didn’t have any knowledge about these heat-seekers. Essentially, the rescuers could blindly enter the area around the Phobos Crash Site. They could quite possibly be killed before Derek even had a clue that they were anywhere nearby or close to finding him.
Bradbury exited the small cave-like tunnel, followed by Isaac.
“Derek, why have you left the safety of hiding?” Bradbury asked.
Derek held his tender shoulder. “My supplies are almost depleted, and I’m nearly out of oxygen.”
His body was definitely much weaker, but he wondered if anything else might be contributing to his weakness other than lack of food and water. Could spending several days inside the Phobos Crash Site also be a factor? Radiation? Getting water and food might not be the complete remedy he needed if he had been exposed to radiation.
“Bradbury,” Derek said.
“Yes, Derek?”
“Detect radiation levels.”
“Processing,” Bradbury replied. He extended his arm. A side compartment opened on his forearm and a Geiger counter probe emerged. “All radiation is within safe limits.”
“That’s good.”
Isaac said, “Our enemies are nearby.”
Derek wondered why the Chinese robots had not simply continued marching across the Martian terrain. They must still be hunting for him, but why? Were they programmed destroyers sent to Mars to kill Grayson’s men? Did Grayson even know these machines were here?
Doubtful, he reasoned. And even more reason that he needed to get back to Olympus Mons to alert his grandfather. At least Jonas could send Grayson a message and let him know about the Chinese invasion on Mars.
Derek dared a glance over the truck’s flatbed to see what the heat-seekers were doing. He located them readily. The sun reflected off their metal armor, which definitely meant they were robots and not cyborgs. He lowered himself to prevent drawing attention to himself, but he kept his gaze on his newfound enemies.
The robots shimmered for several seconds and slowly faded from sight. Vanished. They had returned to stealth mode.
“Shit,” he whispered.
Derek was more doomed than he had thought and uncertain of what survival tactics to use.