Chapter 1

PANIC AND FEAR

I was in my pod, looking out into space and trying to get a better look at Mars. My phone buzzed and I tapped the screen to answer. I grabbed hold of a stabilizer bar to keep my balance. Floating in zero gravity can be tricky!

“Hey, Allison,” I said. Allison and I talk all the time, even though she’s on Earth, and I was in our space station approaching Mars. Normally, it would take about six minutes for the phone signal to reach Earth from where we were, but Professor Will invented an amazing new phone system so we can make calls just as we would on Earth. Professor Will is great — his job is to build whatever machines we might need to help us with our missions in space.

“Hey! Are you there yet?” she asked.

“Not yet, and it feels like we’ve been traveling forever,” I said. I wasn’t exaggerating either. We’d been traveling for weeks on our way to visit and explore Mars.

“When do you think you’ll get there?” Allison asked.

“Mom said we’ll get there today, but I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Cozzie, my little brother, zipped into my room on his cruiser. “Starr! Did you see it?”

“Hey, Cozzie!” Allison called.

Cozzie put his face up super-close to the screen and said, “Hi, Allison! I wish you could see it too!” He pointed outside my pod.

“Deimos!” I shouted. “Finally! We’re here!”

“What?” Allison asked.

“Outside the pod,” I said. I turned my phone around so she could see. “It’s Deimos, one of Mars’s moons. It has two moons: Deimos and Phobos.”

“That’s so weird!” she exclaimed.

My phone buzzed. I had another call coming in. “Tia’s calling,” I said to Allison.

“I’ll let you go. Have fun and keep in touch!” she said as she waved goodbye.

“Bye!” Cozzie and I shouted.

I hung up. “Hey, Tia,” I said, answering her call.

“According to my calculations, you should be able to see Deimos,” she said.

“I’m fine, Tia. How are you?” I asked sarcastically. Sometimes Tia can be a little abrupt.

“What? Oh, sorry… How are you?” she asked when she realized I was being sarcastic.

“Fine, thanks for asking,” I said, winking at Cozzie.

Tia’s grandmother, Mrs. Sosa, leaned into view. “Hi, kids! How’s the view of Deimos?”

“It looks like a giant, floating tooth,” I said excitedly. It had craters on its surface like Earth’s moon, but it was much smaller. Deimos was grayish, with a bit of a red tint.

Cozzie giggled. “It does look like a tooth! I think it has a few cavities too.”

My older brother, Apollo, cruised in. Our cruisers help us move around the space station faster. They’re like small jets that we hold on to and steer. They’re so much fun! Apollo clicked his cruiser off and attached it to the pack on his back. “Pretty sweet!” he announced, pointing outside at Deimos. “But did you know Deimos’s name means ‘panic’?” Apollo added ominously.

“Really?” Cozzie asked, fear crossing his face.

I glared at Apollo and shook my head. He’s always trying to scare Cozzie, and it drives me crazy!

“It’s named after a Greek god,” Tia announced.

“Does it mean I should panic?” Cozzie asked hesitantly.

“Well, Mars has another moon that’s even bigger named Phobos. Its name means ‘fear,’” Apollo added, “so probably.”

“You guys aren’t even going to the moons,” Tia reminded Cozzie.

“True, but if the moons are named for panic and fear, imagine how scary Mars must be,” Apollo said, eyeing Cozzie. “It might even be cursed.”

“Ignore him,” I told Cozzie.

“The names of the moons are Panic and Fear!” Cozzie shouted, terror in his eyes. He clicked on his cruiser and raced from my room. I heard his calls for my mother trailing off through the space station. “Mars is cursed!” he shouted.