Chapter 16

As the cheers died down on the bus, Nash became aware of alarms sounding throughout the dome. People ran left and right with tense looks masking their faces. He and the others clambered off the bus, staring all around them. It seemed pandemonium had broken loose.

‘What’s going on?’ Nash asked, grabbing Tara as she was running past.

Tara stopped, glancing at George and the kids with fear in her eyes. ‘The heating system burst. There’s a crack in the dome and the dust is weakening it further. It’s all hands on deck.’

‘A crack in the dome?’ Raj shuddered as he stared at the glass shield protecting them. ‘That sounds bad.’

‘Oh, no!’ Alex groaned. ‘This is all my fault.’

Nash rested his hand on Alex’s shoulder to reassure him. ‘How can this be your fault? You were with us.’

‘It’s my job to check the heating system and relieve the pressure valves. Dad asked me to fix it before we left on the scouting mission, remember? But I forgot!’

‘Oh.’ Nash’s face fell. ‘I remember.’

‘Surely this isn’t all because of that,’ KC said. ‘That’s one little oversight.’

‘It is my fault. I have to find my dad.’ Distraught, Alex ran off.

‘You kids get to a safe place,’ George said. ‘I’ll go help out.’

Nash spun around on the spot, unsure what to do. ‘I think I should find my dad too.’ He held up the bag. ‘I need to get these parts to him.’

‘We’re coming with you,’ Raj and KC said.

The Space Kids ran through the domed houses, calling out for Orson. He was nowhere to be found. Overhead, the sound of cracking glass could be heard. ‘The reinforced steel framework should be holding it,’ Nash said. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘It’s the dust,’ KC said. ‘It’s too heavy.’

‘And the wind,’ Raj shouted above the sound of the storm outside.

‘It sure is tough living on Mars,’ Nash panted as they ran through the buildings. ‘The landscape, the weather, it’s all so … extreme.’

‘Makes you feel lucky we have Earth, doesn’t it?’ KC said.

‘Sure does,’ Raj said.

‘If we make it back to Misty in one piece,’ Nash said as he shot a worried look towards the dome ceiling, ‘I promise we’re all going for a holiday at my place. We’ll go swimming and bush walking and hang out at Cole’s place. All kinds of normal Earth things.’

Raj’s eyes lit up. ‘You mean that?’ he said.

‘Absolutely,’ Nash said. ‘I’ll have all my friends together for the first time and after this adventure we deserve a holiday!’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ KC said. ‘But for now, where is your dad?’

Alarms continued blaring as the colonists scrambled to stabilise the dome roof. The kids eventually found Orson with Commander Best in the medical centre. They were shocked to see Yuri lying unconscious in one of the hospital beds with bandages on his face and hands. Various tubes and equipment were attached to him. A heart rate monitor beeped beside him. The nurse hovered nearby while Alex watched his father, tears streaming down his face as he wrung his hands together.

Nash had to look away. As he did, he caught KC’s eye. She blanched, looking afraid and worried.

‘He needs specialist medical care if he has any chance of surviving,’ the nurse said. ‘We don’t have the facilities to treat him here.’

‘Dad!’ Nash tugged his father’s arm. ‘What happened?’

‘The heating system overheated and burst,’ Orson explained. ‘Unfortunately, Yuri has sustained some major burns, broken ribs, and a broken arm.’

‘I told you, it’s my fault!’ Alex sobbed. ‘I was meant to check the system before we went on our scouting mission.’

Nash, Raj, and KC gathered around Alex to comfort him, but he struggled out of their grasp and ran out of the room, sobbing.

KC shook his head. ‘The poor boy, he blames himself.’

‘Well, he shouldn’t,’ Orson said. ‘The heating system malfunctioned because it’s on the same circuit as the oxygen converters. It’s not his fault at all. The entire engineering system used by the colony is breaking down. We have catastrophic damage registering across all systems.’

Nash held the bag of spare parts up. ‘Will these help Dad?’

Orson checked inside the bag. ‘You got them all?’

‘I think so.’

‘Good boy.’ Orson turned to the others. ‘Well done, kids. I’m going to do the repairs now. With a bit of luck, I’ll be able to get our systems up and running again.’

‘What about the dome roof?’ Raj asked.

‘Felix is working on that with the others,’ Orson said. ‘You kids find Alex. He needs your support right now.’

‘You’ve got fifteen minutes, Orson,’ Commander Best said. ‘Then I want to see you and whoever can be spared from outside operations in the meeting room.’

‘I need more time,’ Orson said.

Commander Best stiffened. ‘Sorry, that’s all you’ve got.’