Shadows of Mars (Broken Stars Book 1) I.O. Adler (read people like a book TXT) 📖

sat on the floor. “We’re accelerating. This is bad. This is really bad.”

Carmen’s ears felt like they needed to pop. She again took her sister’s hand. “Jenna, if you can hear me, let me know. Whatever you’re doing is taking us somewhere. Is that what you really want to do?”

“If we keep going faster, we’ll be crushed.”

Carmen had seen enough footage of her mom and the other astronauts from the capsule camera during the last Mars mission’s launch footage. She remembered how liftoff had shaken them and pressed them into their seats. But those men and women had pressure suits and cushioned chairs.

She fought to catch her breath. She let go of her sister and joined Barrett on the floor. Her neck and back ached. Her mom had described it as an elephant sitting on top of her chest. Sounded about right. But the elephant was getting heavier with each passing second.

“Jenna?”

She could barely take in air. Her joints hurt and she could no longer move. From somewhere next to her Agent Barrett was moaning. She couldn’t even turn her head to look.

Jenna’s voice sounded from the light. “I’ve got you. Carmen, are you still there? Oh, wait—”

The voice cut out. Carmen couldn’t speak. Felt herself grow woozy. The hard floor was unyielding as her body was crushed into it. The events of the day vanished from her mind. All she could think about was that her nephews and her father would need someone to look after them after she passed.

The floor shifted beneath her. She felt support beneath her neck and spine. She was moving upward as a portion of the ship morphed into a couch like the one Jenna’s body was lying on. Second by second the pressure became more bearable. She still couldn’t rise. But at least she could draw in a lungful of air.

She lost track of the minutes as she endured the crush. Found herself nodding off. Was it moments or hours later when she looked over and saw Agent Barrett was likewise reclined on a couch made of the gray ship-stuff?

Again she faded out.

Somewhere in her stupor she heard Jenna, but the voice was muffled, as if her sister were in a nearby room and had forgotten Jenna’s hearing wasn’t perfect. The red light continued to shine.

“Wake up. Carmen, wake up.”

Not Jenna. Agent Barrett was calling for her.

He remained reclined on his couch but was looking at her. “Your sister was speaking. Said she was going to help you, but didn’t say how. If that’s her, she at least knows we’re in trouble. She’s ignoring me. Talk to her. Say whatever you can to get her to tell us what’s happening. Where are we going?”

“Sis? It’s Carmen. Can you hear me?”

She focused on listening. She knew that with the pressure in her head it would be more difficult than normal.

A couple minutes later, Jenna replied. “I’m here. There’s a delay, isn’t there? Are you okay?”

“Turn up your volume a little. I’m okay. Agent Barrett is with me. Tell us where we’re going. Are you in control of this thing? Because I’ve seen you drive…”

“Nix the sarcasm,” Barrett hissed.

They waited again for a reply.

“Oh, Carmen, if you could see what I see. Wait a moment. I’ll show you.”

Carmen felt an instant jolt of dread. If Jenna had launched the sphere without fully understanding what it would do, then anything was possible. She found herself gripping the couch’s armrest.

The sphere dissolved around them.

As the floor, walls, and ceiling vanished, Carmen felt as if she were suddenly falling even as the pressure across her body continued to pin her down. They were hurtling through space. Millions of points of light hung on the black curtain of the sky, curling beneath her and around her. The sight stole her breath away. With no point of reference she couldn’t tell how fast they were going. Was this an actual view from the sphere or was it an illusion?

Turn us around, she wanted to cry.

If Jenna was actually there and in control, she might listen to her plea.

But her sister was somehow stuck and hadn’t returned from the spaceship. And their mother was out there somewhere. There was no choice but to see this through.

Agent Barrett was laughing. It began as a mad titter at first, but he let loose with a whoop as if he were a boy riding a roller coaster. He composed himself after a moment and fought to rise and look behind them.

“It’s Earth. We’ve left Earth. I can’t believe it.”

Carmen struggled to crane her neck and immediately regretted it. She felt a fresh wave of dizziness.

But there in the distance, suspended in the blackness, was the blue-and-green circle that was her home. It was growing smaller. She settled back in and decided it would be best to close her eyes.

Chapter Fourteen

The sphere went solid around them. The interior lit up. It was as if the walls themselves had brightened, like black curtains illuminated from behind by sunlight. The red light continued to hover, but nothing else within the sphere had changed.

No, Carmen corrected herself, something had changed.

The pressure on her body was easing. Her neck felt stiff as she eased herself to a sitting position. Too fast. Her stomach lurched as if it was about to have a final say on the events over the past hours. But she kept the nothing inside her down.

Agent Barrett appeared to have passed out. He stirred when she stood. It took a moment to find her balance. She tottered towards the red light. Again she tried to touch it and the space around it.

“Jenna, are we close?”

It took her sister only moments to answer. “We’re close. Sit down again. This might be as hard as the liftoff.”

“Why?”

“Because