1899- Journey to Mars

Billy said, “All right, then. We will leave you alone. Heal up fast though, we’re on another planet and don’t know what’s out there. We need you.”

Guthrie nodded, “I will leave you now and begin my repairs.”

Dakota watched Guthrie walk away and said to his father, “I’m glad we’re down. That last thing you did, Dad, it almost squished my belly out the bottoms of my shoes.”

Billy tousled the boy’s hair and said, “I hope that is the only time we have to do that.”

Ian asked, “Do ye ken where we be in relation to yer friend?”

“I put us down in the canal just south of where the fighting was going on. Koothrappally said he would be in this canal but north of the fighting.”

John said, “Can we fly there?”

“We’ll need to check the exterior for leaks because we took a lot of hits, but if the Argent is intact, then we should be able to fly there and pick him up in no time.”

“That is some good news.”

The Argent suddenly tilted up on one side. Everyone slid across the floor and slammed into the far wall. “What is happening?” Avi said.

The Argent rolled down again and then the other side tilted upward. Billy, Ekka and John held to various structures as the others rolled down the incline to the far wall.

Bixie looked at Billy and said, “Da Ten-Legs has us. It may be our finish.” Bixie looked scared, and that frightened Billy more than whatever the thing was outside the ship.

[ 63 ]

Billy pulled himself along the wall, working his way toward the command room and the windows. Even before he got there, Billy could tell there was not much light coming through the window, and what little there was gave everything a pale rose color.

He started to grab another sconce and pull himself forward when the ship fell back to its original position. Billy hurried to the front and heard most of the others coming behind him. He glanced back and saw that John and Ian were not among them.

Pat said, “What in blue blazes...?”

The windows were covered in a dozen layers of what looked like long, reddish, rope-like vines that extended beyond the edge of the glass. Billy walked to the window and put his face close to it. The vines were as thick as his forearm, and it appeared they were slightly sticky with a thin film of a clear sap.

The front of the ship lifted, but not at a severe angle. Everyone braced, but that was it. For the moment.

The Argent was then dragged across the ground at a steady rate. It stopped once, then started again.

“I can’t see anything to shoot.” Pat said.

John and Ian entered the command area to join the others, and their faces were grim. John said, “We can’t open any of the hatches.”

“Are the locks stuck?”

“No. There’s something on the outside holding the hatches closed.” John noticed the front window. “And my guess is that the Argent is wrapped with those things as tight as piggin strings around the legs of a roped calf.”

“What do we do?” Avi asked.

“It is logical that we would wait until whatever is dragging us stops.” Guthrie said. “Until that time, might I bring any of you some cookies or refreshments from the galley?”

Bixie was unusually silent, and Billy moved beside her. He didn’t speak, simply offered her his nearness for comfort. The interior grew darker and darker, until it was like a moonless night, and still the Argent was dragged along.

Pat said, “Why don’t we start the engines and take us up, see if that won’t shake these things off the hull?”

“We haven’t had a chance to inspect the ship yet. We can’t chance destroying the only way we have to leave this planet.”

“Can we at least have some light?”

Billy said, “Sure. Let me feel along the wall here and find a control panel.” It took him a few minutes, but he found the panel, flipped it open and by memory and feel knew what switch to flip. The soft yellow light filled the interior and it seemed to make everyone relax a little.