Offworld by Robin Parrish Page B

ears. Her hair looked
as if it hadn't been washed in more than a week. The girl's teeth
were mostly discolored and crooked. Freckles dotted her sunburned complexion. Creases folded beneath her eyes, the only thing that
made her look older.

    She displayed a blank, mildly curious expression.
    Chris looked back at his companions, at a loss. Their reactions
echoed his.
    The girl's striking eyes shifted between each of them, taking them
in. When she'd gotten a good look at each one of them, she opened
her mouth to speak.
    The one word she said came out long and slow, the way a small
child talks.
    "Wow."

     

THREE

    Burke blinked awake in a haze of confusion, uncertain of where he
was or how he got there.
    With a look at his surroundings, it came to him in a rush....
    Oh, right. Mars. Lost. Almost out of air.
    He was no longer leaning up against the large boulder hed sheltered against before losing consciousness. He was near it, but had
slumped over onto his stomach while asleep.
    The sandstorm had abated, but Chris' newfound visibility brought
equally had news: the sun was almost gone. It would be down in
under twenty minutes, leaving him in freezing conditions that bed
never s u rvive.
    He checked the timer on his arm. 7:15 PM. Less than two hours of
oxygen remaining. He d slept for quite a while.
    So what will it be? Freezing to death? Or asphyxiation?
    Habitat, this is Burke, do you read?"
    Nothing.
    The historic Ares mission had been graced with incredibly good luck and positive results thus far. They d made important discover-
yd advanced numerous scientific fields. Where the crew of
ies. The
Apollo 11 had once rallied a nation, the crew of the Ares had rallied
the globe. To have come this far, to achieve so much, and then have
things go so wrong ... It was a terrible thought.

    I was the first man to walk on Mars.
    I'm about to be the first man to die on it.
    The light was already waning, unless his eyes were fooling him.
Or he was passing out again.
    The Rover. Where's the Rover?
    He cautiously rose to his feet, and did a fidl three-sixty. The Martian land vehicle the crew had brought with them was big enough to
carry all, four of them if necessary. But Chris had taken it out alone
about midday to undertake a routine survey of what appeared to be
a dry riverbed, part of the crew's ongoing search for evidence that life
may have once inhabited the planet. The sandstorm had caught him
completely off guard. Hed had no warning.
    This is impossible.
    The Rover was gone. He could see fbr miles in most directions, and
there was nothing but craggy, brownish orange land and the lighter
shade of orange sky overhead-which was quickly turnings black.
    I couldn't have wandered this far from the vehicle....
    How could it simply be gone?
    The ground quaked, and he teetered over once more, facedown.
Dust swirled tip in a sudden gust of wind, the cursed orange dirt again
blocking his sight.
    After the quake died away, Chris was lying perfectly still when
he felt a subtle shy in the soil. The dry lake bed cracked right under
his chest, the cracks spreading outward like breaking glass. Slowly,
dangerously.
    He froze in place, wondering Y 'be should try to move, to crawl
away, or if that would make the cracking go faster.
    Before he could choose, the ground gave way and he foil.

    Chris staggered, but recovered quickly before he could topple.
    Another dream, or flash of memory. And this time it had come
while he was awake. He fell through the surface of Mars? How could
he have survived that?
    He looked around, getting his bearings. Right, the girl in the car
on the highway ...
    Silence filled the air as the four astronauts and the girl examined
one another.
    Chris looked upon the small young woman with nothing but
confusion. Terry put away his weapon, but couldn't take his eyes
off of her. Trisha's brows were knotted in suspicion, while Owen
remained, as ever, calm, thoughtful, and noncommittal.
    The