CHAPTER 12

When Brooke peered up at the opening, the sky was on the dark side. “Jesse, we got back late. It must be night.”

Jesse looked at his wrist panel. “No, there should still be daylight.” He stared up. “I think it’s a sand storm up there.”

Brooke held her hand up in the light from her helmet and noticed a dusty mist drifting around it. “You’re right. I can see it now. Boy, this stuff is fine.”

Mark tried to scoop some up in his hand. “If we can grab enough of it, maybe we can make a beach to lie on down by the lake.”

She giggled. “You never stop, do you, Mark?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Jesse moved toward the dangling ropes. “Enough already. This stuff can gum up the rover, and I don’t want to walk back to the base, so let’s get going. Brian, get up there.”

Brian saluted. “Aye, aye. I’m on it.” He took hold of one of the lines and planted his feet on the wall.

Brooke watched him scamper up the rock face. “The guy’s a human mountain goat.”

When Brian reached the top, he waved down. “Okay, Brooke, you first.”

She took the rope and hooked it to the harness on her outfit. Grasping the climb line, she began her slow ascent. She could feel Brian’s tug from above as she grabbed onto the pitons he had placed. This is easier than I thought it would be.

She stepped onto each spike like a staircase, keeping her eye on the opening above her head. About two thirds of the way, her foot slipped from one of the spikes. Clinging to the rope, she twirled in midair then banged hard against the rock face. Jesse’s voice rang in her com system. “Hang on, Brooke. Brian’s got you.”

She looked at the wall and realized she wasn’t falling, only dangling. Reaching around with her foot, she found one of the pitons to secure her footing. “I’m okay, just got bumped a bit.”

Grabbing another spike, she once again began her journey up. When she got to the top, a wave of relief flooded through her as Brian grabbed hold and pulled her to safety.

“You okay?”

She detached the line from her suit and handed it to him. “Yeah, I think so. Just a little rattled.”

“Well, stand back so you don’t trip over the ropes while I help the other two up.” Brian lowered the line, and Brooke walked over to the rover.

As she stepped around the many stones strewn on the ground, something caught her attention up and to her left. She paused to watch a large bubble floating down through the storm. Sand swirled all around it, but none entered. Isn’t that weird?

After a moment, the oddity headed straight her way so she stepped backward to avoid its path. Doing so, she tripped over one of the stones and landed heavily on the ground. A warning siren blared from her intercom. She glanced at her wrist panel to discover the flashing red light indicating the seal of her suit was compromised.

Jesse’s voice came over the com. “Brooke, what happened? What’s going on?”

“I…I fell. I’m leaking air! I think it’s my helmet again.”

“I’m on my way up. Listen! You’ll only have one chance to do this right. Your suit will decompress quickly so you’re going to have to do what you did before and get the seal to take. That means taking off your helmet and re-seating it. You’ll have only about twelve seconds to do it before you black out. Fifteen, tops. Take several deep breaths then completely exhale before you do it. Otherwise, the bends will get you, and we’re too far away from the base to pressurize you to get rid of the nitrogen in your blood.”

She brought her hands to her helmet but couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Jesse, I’m scared.”

“You can do it, Brooke. You have to. Take off your helmet and re-seat it. Do it now!”

“Okay, okay. I’m doing it.”

She grabbed hold of her helmet with both hands and gave it a twist to free it from the attachment ring. Just as she completed freeing it, to her amazement, the bubble descended and enveloped her. What the hell?

She could feel a dizzy spell coming on and tried to focus on the task. Something black flew into her right eye, and she winced them both shut. Forcing the helmet back into place, she twisted again and the siren’s wail stopped. Colors flashed before her, and a terrible sense of vertigo caused her to collapse. Alternate flashes of black and white exploded in her vision then darkness took over.

***

“Brooke, can you hear me?” Nothing. No reaction. Jesse lifted her into a sitting position and leaned her against a rock. “Brooke…Brooke?” He placed the glass of his helmet next to hers to see as close as possible. She was breathing. Her eyes were closed. He raised her arm to examine her vitals on her wrist panel. The sand continued to whirl about him but not enough to obscure the readings. Everything was green. “Thank god.”

Mark knelt down on the other side of her. “How is she?”

“Her suit is functioning fine. The containment is complete, so she must have been able to re-seat her helmet, but she’s out cold. Her vitals are fluctuating a bit. I can’t really interpret it like this. My guess is she’s suffering from the bends. It’s probably why she blacked out. We need to get her back to base, pronto.”

“Hey, you’re the doctor here. Let’s get going then. I’ll give you a hand to lift her.”

Together, the three of them hoisted Brooke off the ground and carried her to the rover. Once they had her strapped in, Jesse jumped into the driver’s seat. “Let’s hope I don’t spill this thing, but I’m going to open it up as much as I can. If she’s got the bends bad, time is of the essence.”

Mark grabbed hold of the roll bar overhead. “Let ’er rip!”