Living Hell by Catherine Jinks Page B

I noticed, was heading for the door. But he stopped before reaching it. He turned to face his father.
    They were conversing into their voice patches. Firminus probably wanted to know where Sloan thought he was going. Sloan probably replied that he was on his way to the BioLab, to check on his ‘little guys’.
    Firminus, however, prevented him, and Sloan returned quietly to his seat. He didn’t even look in my direction. Sadira had already crossed to one of the Arrays; I’m not sure whether she had seen her son’s attempted departure or not. Probably not. Landry was making for the toilet again, and I wondered why. Arkwright unsealed his headpiece, pushing back the mask.
    ‘ Arkwright! ’ said Mum.
    ‘ Atmospheric readings are through, Quenby .’ I was picking up Arkwright on my mother’s signal link. I don’t think he knew that I was connected. ‘ They’re absolutely normal.
    ’ ‘ So far, maybe. Arkwright, we’re still on red alert -’
    ‘ Well, all right. ’ Arkwright swung around to face her, wearing that attentive yet utterly detached expression I knew so well from our training sessions together. ‘ You tell me. Atmospherics are normal. Temperature’s normal. Gravity’s normal. We’re not braced for impact. You’re the Chief Medic – it’s your call. Shall we cancel the seal, or not?
    ’ Mum hesitated. She glanced at Sadira, who was peering at vital-sign readouts from all over the ship . Then Mum began to ask her about pulmonary alerts and oxyhaemo-globin levels and I cut our signal link. I didn’t feel that I could cope with medical jargon. Not right then.
    Almost immediately, my voice patch beeped. I recognised the signal code as Merrit’s.
    Naturally, I gave her a clear-to-receive.
    ‘Merrit?’
    ‘ Cheney? ’
    ‘What’s wrong?’
    ‘ Nothing. I mean – what’s happening? Are we through?
    ’ ‘Yes.’
    ‘ Really?
    ’ ‘Really. Is there any damage at your end?’
    ‘ I don’t know. I don’t think so. ’ A pause. ‘ Wait up. I’ll get back to you. There’s a lot going on down here.
    ’ And she signed off. Meanwhile, Mum had given the all-clear. We could unseal our pressure suits. Masks were being dragged off from one end of the Bridge to the other.
    As always, I smelled the air when I first broke my seal – just for a few seconds. After that, I got used to it again, and stopped noticing its slightly burnt, electrical odour.
    ‘TFP’s picking up microscopic energy surges around the hull,’ Lais was saying. ‘Practically on a pico level.’
    ‘Let me look,’ said Arkwright.
    ‘They’re not quite sure what it means,’ Lais went on.
    Arkwright grunted. Dad approached him, and peered over his shoulder intently. Sadira said, ‘Uh-oh.’ She pointed at her Array. ‘Quenby? Check that out.’
    ‘Damn it,’ said my mother, and looked around. She seemed startled. ‘Where is he?’
    Sadira also scanned the room, her brow puckered. ‘I don’t know . . .’
    ‘Sloan? Have you seen Landry?’
    Sloan blinked.
    ‘He’s in the toilet,’ I observed.
    Sadira sprang to her feet. Mum said, ‘ Damn it!’ again. They both headed for the toilet cubicle; then Mum stopped and added, ‘I’ll get the Medkit.’
    ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
    But the question didn’t need answering. By that time Sadira had reached the cubicle door, and had opened it. Landry was slumped on the floor inside.
    Sloan jumped to his feet, while I fumbled with my harness.
    ‘Quenby?’ Now Dad had noticed. ‘What the hell -?’
    ‘It’s okay,’ said Mum. ‘Don’t worry.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘Look, Quenby, he’s hit his head,’ Sadira announced. She was squatting beside Landry, supporting him. He seemed only half awake.
    There was blood on his temple.
    ‘Shock,’ said my mother, yanking her Medkit from the hatch where she’d stowed it. ‘He must have been feeling faint -’
    ‘He’s been vomiting,’ Sadira remarked, with a wince.
    ‘There should have been an