Secret of The Red Planet

by Chris Hawley

CHAPTER THREE

  LAST MINUTE PREPARATIONS

  ‘Er Dad!’ I said the next morning. ‘I’m off to Mars tomorrow.’

  ‘Are you, son? Well, have a good trip!’ He winked at me and gave a chuckle.

  ‘You don’t believe me, do you Dad?’

  ‘Of course I do, son.’ He smiled a knowing smile. ‘Have you told your mum?’

  ‘Not yet. Dad, do you think the people on Mars are friendly?’

  ‘Sure to be. I bet they are more friendly than the people in this street.’ My father was always critical of the neighbours. He said they were stuck-up, about what he couldn’t say, because they didn’t have anything to be stuck-up about. He was never afraid to express his opinion and it was not always greeted with enthusiasm by the hearer.

  Anyway, his opinion of Martians really pleased me. I couldn’t wait to be off.

  ‘Don’t forget to bring me a stick of rock from Mars,’ was his final comment as he went out of the door. Dad was a large man in his early forties, with thinning brown hair. He often suffered with his back, and as he disappeared down the hall I could see he was having one of his bad days.

  He still doesn’t believe that I’m going to Mars tomorrow. But when my spaceship lifts off at 5 o’clock in the morning, he will know I was not joking. I smiled as I saw the vision of my parents at the bedroom window, open-mouthed with surprise as a spaceship disappears into the sky, trailing a stream of vapour.

  I hardly slept that night; I was so excited. Well, wouldn’t you be? It’s not every day you set off on a journey into space.

  At 4 o’clock in the morning it was getting light. I got up and, as quietly as I could, I washed and dressed. I had to laugh when I looked in the mirror at the bundle of sweaters standing there. The comedy would be complete with a fishbowl on the top!

  I tiptoed down the stairs, being careful to avoid the creaky floorboards. I wrote a note and left it on the kitchen table.

  HAVE GONE TO MARS. BACK IN ABOUT SIX WEEKS.

  DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME. I’LL BE FINE. LOVE, BILL

  As I entered the shed, I looked back at the house. There was no sign of life. I must admit I had a few misgivings about going at that moment. Would I ever return? Would I die a lonely death in the far reaches of the Universe? Would I find a beautiful Martian girl and settle down on Mars, have a dozen half-half children and live happily ever after? In that case, I would send a message to my parents and invite them to Mars for the wedding. I wonder if they would let me roam with my mobile phone as far as Mars. With that interesting thought, I set about preparing for takeoff. But wait! I forgot one thing, my digital camera. Nobody is going to believe my story unless I produce some photos. I crept back into the house and returned with the camera, which I stowed in a pocket next to the control panel.

  I opened the roof of the shed and climbed into Silver Streak, buckling myself tightly into the seat. I turned on the ignition and saw the red light appear. So far, so good! I held my breath and pressed the starter button. A whirring noise and then………….the engine burst into life. The spacecraft started to vibrate and I was afraid the engine was going to come off. But the next moment there was a loud whoosh and………..Silver Streak was airborne. I gave a shout of joy. I am on my way at last! Mars, here I come!