Out of the corner of his eye, George spotted Dwayne slinking away along the corridor. Dwayne was heading back to the crew cabins again. This time, George was determined to find out what he was up to.
“George, where are you going?” whispered Josh.
“I’m not going to let Dwayne out of my sight for a second,” said George. “All this could have been his fault. You stay here, try to help the others come up with a survival plan.”
Keeping his distance, George crept along, staying close to the wall. It wasn’t difficult for him to remain out of sight, because so few lights were working now. George’s footsteps were hidden by the sounds of distant alarms and automated warning voices.
Ahead of him, Dwayne could only be spotted when he passed through patches of light shining dimly from one surface or another. Now and again he threw a glance over his shoulder. George froze, concealed in shadow, until Dwayne moved on.
Soon, they arrived at the crew quarters. Most were still in one piece, although the temperature here was even lower than elsewhere, and the lights were flickering, making the room feel much darker than before.
Dwayne sneaked into his cabin.
George crept up as close as he dared and listened. There was a rustling sound, and the noise of a locker being opened. Was Dwayne about to signal to someone? Was he retrieving some sort of spy equipment? Maybe something that would help him escape the station? Maybe even a weapon, with which to control the station’s survivors?
George thought that the best idea would be to catch Dwayne by surprise. That way, Dwayne would be off his guard and George might be able to snatch away whatever Dwayne was holding.
He silently counted to three, then leapt into the cabin.
Dwayne squealed in fright. He scrambled up onto his bunk, his legs bicycling in mid-air, clutching the item from his locker to his chest.
At once, George realised that Dwayne definitely wasn’t the saboteur. Clutched to Dwayne’s chest was not a communicator or a weapon, but a small and slightly grubby rectangle of material.
“You frightened the life out of me,” cried Dwayne. Then he noticed that George had spotted the piece of material. He went as red as a slice of pickled beetroot.
“Is that why you’ve kept coming back here?” said George.
“Yes,” said Dwayne, in a tiny voice. “It’s… my snuggly. I’ve had it since I was a baby.” His head dipped and tears began to slide down his cheeks. “I’m so scared. You’ll all laugh at me now because I need my snuggly.”
George sat down beside him. “No we won’t,” he said. “You’re not the only one who’s frightened, you know. We all are.”
Dwayne glanced at him. “Why are you being nice? I ripped your baseball cap. I’m always mean and sneaky with everyone.”
George shrugged his shoulders and thought for a moment. “Yes, I suppose you are always mean and sneaky. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Nobody’s going to laugh at you.”
He stood up. “Come on, we’ve got to get back to the others.”
Dwayne stuffed his snuggly into his pocket, and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. They started to make their way out of the cabin. At that moment, the station began to shake. Things fell off bunks and shelves all around the crew quarters.
“I think we’ve just reached the outer layer of Earth’s atmosphere,” said George. “It’s going to start getting very bumpy now. We’d better hurry.”
They were about to leave when George felt something hit the side of his foot. A badly packed travel bag had tumbled across the floor beside him, and a mini-screen had tumbled out of the bag and landed next to where he was standing. He picked it up, read what was on it, and realised he’d found something very important indeed.
The two of them hurried back to the others as fast as they could. The station was beginning to shudder alarmingly.
“They’ll have come up with a plan by now,” said George. “Just you wait and see. They’re all clever people and they’ll be working together, as a team, to get us out of this.”
They arrived at the corridor to find everyone in the middle of a fierce argument. Everyone had a different idea about what they should do, or not do, or could do.
Commander Ferguson was pacing back and forth like a caged lion. “So much for the rule book! So much for regulations! We’ve followed procedure. And it’s got us nowhere!”
Panic was setting in. George decided that they needed something to snap them out of it, something to focus their attention.
“You may be interested to know …” he shouted.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. The station trembled and shook under their feet. When he saw he’d got their attention, George continued: “You may be interested to know that we can now identify the saboteur. We know who caused all this.” He held up the mini-screen he’d found. “I have proof.”
“Who was it then?” barked the Commander.
George turned to a figure who was huddled in a corner. “I’m afraid it was you, Mr Snodbury.”