Running away from smelly alien slugs turns out to be the easy part of the escape plan. As Dad and I dash down the cavernous corridor we soon leave the Gezundhai behind, a faint whiffed yell of ‘Come back now!’ clinging to our noses.
Our footsteps clatter off the metallic floor, the eerie lights that seem to track our path pulsing along the curving walls. I don’t know where we’re running to. I don’t even know if we’ll ever get there as the corridor seems to stretch on for ever.
‘How do we get out of this place?’ I ask, gasping out the words as I run.
‘We’ve got to find an escape pod,’ Dad replies. ‘All intergalactic spaceships this size have one on every level. If we can find it then we’ll be able to climb in and blast off back to Earth.’
He slows to a halt, his gaze snagging on a circular control panel that’s fixed halfway up the wall.
‘Just give me a second, Jake,’ Dad calls out. ‘I think this might be it.’
Grateful for a breather, I glance back nervously over my shoulder as Dad taps at the panel. Above my head I see the lights that have followed us along the corridor suddenly blink into darkness. Turning back in surprise, I then see the curved walls of the corridor in front of us start to slowly slide apart to reveal a glittering circle of stars.
At first I feel rush of panic, thinking that maybe this is some kind of airlock that’s going to blast me out into space, but then I feel Dad’s hand on my shoulder.
‘Don’t worry,’ he says, following my gaze as I watch the transparent bubble bulge outwards. ‘It’s completely safe. This is the escape pod – its shell is completely see-through. We just need to wait for the pressure to equalize before we can step inside.’
I don’t believe it. Dad thinks we’re going to escape into outer space inside a bubble. Does he think we can just float back to Earth?
But the impossibility of this idea fades into insignificance as I stare out into the widening darkness. I can see thousands of stars – no, millions of stars – all looking so much brighter than I’ve ever seen them before. Each piercing point of light gleams with an icy fire. And as I peer into the black spaces between these stars, I realize that this darkness is filled with even more stars. It looks like the entire universe is shining down on me.
I nod my head, almost unable to speak, but then I realize what I can’t see.
‘Where’s Earth?’ I croak.
Peering out through the escape pod window as its widening circle comes to a halt, Dad points his finger towards a tiny blue dot, barely visible amongst the silent glitter of stars.
‘That’s Earth,’ he says, his voice gentle in my ear. ‘We must be out past Neptune by now.’
I stare at this pale blue dot, feeling so far from home. I can’t see the land or the oceans, just a tiny blue speck all alone in the universe.
Then Dad puts his arm around my shoulder and suddenly I don’t feel so alone.
‘I always wanted to show you this, Jake,’ he says. ‘The universe is so beautiful and it belongs to you too. I always thought that one day I could take you to the stars, but I just wish it wasn’t like this.’
As we stand there together, I can almost fool myself that we’re back in our garden at home, staring up at the stars. Any minute now Mum will come to the back door and tell me that it’s getting past my bedtime.
‘That’s it,’ Dad says, as the transparent wall between us and the bubble starts to dissolve with a hiss.
But then I smell something rather unpleasant and turn around to see a single eye-tentacle staring back at me through a hole in the sock.
‘Surprise! Surprise!’ the Gezundhai belches, and as the stinking spray hits my face, I feel the lights blink out inside my head. The last thing I hear before I hit the ground is Dad’s voice calling out my name.