Space Race (Space Race 1) Nathan Hystad (ebooks children's books free .TXT) 📖

it didn’t, it would be awfully close. “Thanks, Bard.” I stomped away, feeling like I’d been had. He was drunk out of his mind, but it didn’t stop the hair from raising on my arms.

“I think we’d better go. We have another big day tomorrow.” I rested my hands on Jade’s chair, and the team finished their drinks and the last few bites; then we were off.

Bard’s ominous predictions repeated in my mind as we returned to the Racer.

 

 

 

Nine

The halls were quiet at this early hour, and Jade hadn’t been thrilled about my plan to investigate the mysterious red door at the end of the hallway. She was still half-asleep when I knocked, but she was dressed in a SeaTech jumpsuit nonetheless.

She ushered me inside her room, which was surprisingly messy. A couple of dirty plates and glasses sat on the coffee table, and she had clothing slung across the table chairs.

“What do you expect to find?” she asked.

“Bryson can’t be this virtuous. He’s climbed too quickly, and I can’t shake the feeling this entire place is a façade.”

“If he learns we were sneaking around…”

“He won’t, because you’re going to make sure of it.” I pointed at her Tab, and she grabbed it. Her hair was pinned back today, exposing her earrings. “I’m sorry about your brother.”

“Thanks. I miss him.”

I nodded, but I was an only child. I did know what it was like to lose someone you loved, though.

“Can you block the cameras and access the door?” I asked, looking over her shoulder at the PersaTab. Whatever program she was in looked far too complicated for me. Coding and symbols danced across the screen while she typed hurriedly.

“I can get in.” Jade stared at me. “You sure we’re doing this?”

“I am.” I needed to know if Bryson was up to no good, and after Bard’s cryptic alien-invasion timeline, I was more curious than ever.

We entered the hallway, and I peered around, making sure we were alone. The coast was clear. The end of the corridor wasn’t too far, and the only encounter we had on the walk was with a mindless cleaning drone. It hummed over the floor, sweeping up invisible dust.

And there it was, the red entrance I’d been barred from the first day I’d set foot down here. It was at the end of the station.

“If someone’s in there, we’re toast.” Jade had her Tab out, ready to break through the lock codes.

“What are we doing?” The voice was deep, and I jumped as I heard it. Luther stood behind us, wearing a white bathrobe.

“Luther, you scared the hell out of me,” I told him.

“You didn’t answer my question.” He rubbed an eye and gazed at Jade.

“Arlo thinks there’s a conspiracy at SeaTech, and apparently, it all starts behind this door.” Jade pointed at the red metal barrier.

“I’m in.” Luther crossed his arms, like he was waiting for us to argue.

“Okay, then. Jade, would you do the honors?” I was getting nervous, but my suspicions were nagging me forward.

Two minutes later, the keypad beside the door beeped and blinked green. We had access. Jade opened it, and we stepped through into a room.

Only it was something more than that. It was a shrine.

“Who is she?” Jade asked while the door slid closed, sealing us in.

I’d visited a museum on Mars once with my grandfather, showcasing the history of the red planet, and that was all I could think about when I entered the space. Every corner was tailored for the woman Bryson Kelley had married twenty-five years earlier.

“It’s his wife. Catarina Kelley. I read about her, but all the records say is that she died when Holland was little. Five, I think.” As I walked across the room, a projection began playing. It was Bryson and Catarina, slow dancing in the middle of the empty space. The hologram was tinged in blue, but their happiness exuded from the feed.

“She’s so beautiful,” Jade whispered.

We looked at articles of her clothing, her wedding dress hanging on the wall. Luther found a Tab with dozens of letters from Catarina to Bryson on it. Once we knew what it was, we quickly discarded it, not wanting to breach his privacy. It was a little late for that, since we’d already broken into this personal memorial.

A series of projections was listed in the control panel, highlighting special moments for Bryson. A chair sat on the floor, and I pictured the CEO recalling the past in solitude. It was heartbreaking.

“Let’s go.” I hadn’t discovered the great mystery like I’d expected, but perhaps I understood our leader a bit more.

____________

We broke the goal set by Bryson two days later. A week after, we were heading into the dark recesses of space, gaining distance from the sun at a seventy-degree trajectory from Earth. None of us had spoken about what we’d discovered in Bryson’s private room, and we definitely weren’t going to bring it up with Holland. I wondered if he was even aware such a place existed.

“There’s nothing nearby, not for quite some time,” Luther said, combing the maps. The last thing we’d seen was a SeaTech space station, and we’d stopped there for the night, taking advantage of the base before settling ourselves into the comfort of the Racer for a week or so.

The ship was more suited to space travel, and I found myself more confident in the pilot’s seat out here than over the ocean, but I appreciated the fact that Bryson had made us meet goals within Earth’s atmosphere first. In retrospect, it was the proper training decision. I was anxious to start the Race, but we were still weeks from the epic event.

I loved being in the middle of nowhere. The viewer gave me a great panoramic shot of my surroundings, and I stared at the distant stars, wondering how many of those systems contained life. The Board had always suggested we were alone, but I hadn’t quite believed them. Not for a second. My