Marooned – Out shortly.
Preface
Mary Klempers heard the doorbell ring. She moved towards a blister window and glanced out. Her heart immediately sank because she could see a police car parked up below. Pulling back from the window in case she was seen, Mary rushed out of the kitchen and into the small lounge and gasped, “It’s the police.”
Rob Kinfrank gave her a sharp look and said, “Go into our bedroom and hide under the bed. And keep quiet.”
A few seconds later, there was a ring on the bell; Rob Kinfrank calmly walked to the door and activated the intercom. After pushing a button to allow the police access, Kinfrank let out a mild curse and kicked a pair of Mary’s slippers under a chair.
A minute later, the lift arrived, and two officers came to the door. One was still wearing his environmental helmet. The other had removed his helmet and had replaced it with an I’ve-got-bad-news face.
After checking he was at the correct address and speaking to the right person, Bad News said, “Can we come in, sir?”
After allowing both officers in, Kinfrank wrung his hands and said, “Is there something the matter, officers?”
Bad News put his face into words, “I’m afraid there has been an accident, sir.”
“Accident! What sort of accident?”
“I’m afraid your wife’s body was found in a car in Sector 25 of the Valles Marineris,” Bad News replied.
“No!”
“I’m afraid so,” Bad News replied. “Your son is alive but very poorly.”
“My son’s alive!”
“Yes,” Bad News replied, “Injured but still alive.”
After providing details of the son’s general condition and of the hospital looking after the crash victim, Bad News said, “There was another fatality, a male of about your age was also in the car.”
Kinfrank made no attempt to disguise the truth, “My wife left me over a year ago. She ran off with another man, officer.”
After he’d provided information about his wife’s new lover, the two officers asked him if he could identify the bodies at the mortuary and then left.
Once the two officers had driven off, Kinfrank walked into the bedroom and told Mary she could come out of hiding. He then explained what had happened.
Mary gulped, “Does this mean we won’t be able to leave on the Empress of Incognita.”
Kinfrank said, “No. We will still be leaving. I’m not hanging around on Mars for a day longer than absolutely necessary. Once Mars signs the new extradition laws, I’m cooked.”
“But what about Bee Bee, your son?”
Kinfrank’s lip curled, “As long as he’s well enough to travel, it looks like we will have to take him with us.”
Noting the expression on Mary’s face, Kinfrank said, “Don’t worry, I’ll play happy families until we reach the Kepler-452 system.”
Chapter One
The Empress of Incognita hits a mine.
Hello, diary I’m back.
My arrival started as it usually did. I was flying upwards, and on all sides, boney arms and hands were reaching out to claim me; I could tell they wanted my soul.
As I continued to rise through the strange dark pyramid, a bright light appeared at the top, and more boney arms and hands reached out as if desperate to grab me before I reached the light.
My mother’s face appeared. I could tell that she was trying to tell me something because her lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear what she was trying to say. Then her face disappeared, and the old dream, the one that had haunted me for months, returned.
I was no longer flying upwards. I was falling, falling, falling down.
Okay, I hear you say a standard falling dream, except mine always ended the same way. Before I hit the bottom, I saw an image of my father, and he was laughing as if amused by my predicament. I heard his voice, but it seemed far away, and I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then my mind cleared, and I realised what was happening to me; I was coming out of suspension.
God, how I hate coming out of suspension!
I must have moved because a reassuring voice called out, "Are you wake Bee-Bee?"
It was my stepmother’s voice.
My alias, by the way (not my real name), is James Kinfrank,
I'm fifteen years old, nearly sixteen, and I have a smart-talk editor on my tablet to help me write this. I also keep a handwritten diary that contains more personal secrets. One other thing you should know is that people call me Bee Bee, but I'm not going to tell you why because it's embarrassing.
"Are you wake Bee Bee?"
On the second time of asking, I said, "Yeah, I'm awake, Mary."
If you think it's impertinent of me to call my step-mum Mary, she prefers it that way. She's a lot younger than Dad and very conscious that no one can replace my late mother, and I think she wants me to look upon her as an older friend.
While I was lying there recovering, a powerful light shone through one of the portholes as a repair droid went about its business in the darkness of deep space. The beam then split, diffracted by the glazing and began creating fairies on the ceiling. While my eyes were still following one particular "fairy," it lit up an empty recovery bunk.
As Dad’s unexplained absences had started to worry me, I extracted my tablet and activated it. I then checked the history and discovered what I suspected. My tablet had been turned on shortly after I had gone into suspension.
A few taps later, Dad’s craggy face appeared on the screen, but he didn’t seem to realise that he’d triggered the trap I’d set for him.
As there was a precise date/time mark in one corner of the recording, there could be little doubt that Dad had been checking up on me while I was in suspension. He’d been caught in the act!
As his face continued to stare out at me, his pale blue eyes seemed to bite into my soul as if trying to discover my innermost secrets.
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