window next to him was cracked. Devon realized that Deke’s head must have hit the window
during the crash. Terry was seated next to Deke, but just sat there staring at nothing. Leaning
close to Deke, over Terry, Devon could tell that the unconscious man was still breathing.
Suddenly Devon felt someone tugging at his jumpsuit. He realized that Terry had grabbed him.
“Please help me! I can’t die young. I’m too important. My parents couldn’t handle it.
I’m an only child.”
Devon took Terry by the shoulders reassuring him.
“It’s okay Terry, don’t panic. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Devon hoped he
sounded more confident than he felt. He was still very concerned that no one had emerged from
the crew cabin at the front of the ship.
“No, it’s not gonna be okay!” Terry shouted. “We’re all dead!”
The children around Terry listened as he began to lose it. As he continued, the others
looked on the verge of panic as well. Devon freed himself from Terry’s grip and tightened his grip on Terry’s shoulders. He
looked angrily into his eyes and spoke, a threat in his voice.
“Terry, you need to stop this. You are scaring the others. If you don’t stop, I’ll pop you
one. I swear it.”
Devon’s anger snapped Terry out of his panic. He pushed Devon away, an angry look on
his face. “Get your hands off me,” he growled at Devon.
“Now, that’s the nasty attitude I have come to expect.”
“Oh, shut up and get away from me.”
Devon gave Terry another angry look. “I need to check on Mr. Jacobs. I can’t get
anyone in the crew cabin to respond and I can’t get the door open. Mr. Jacobs is the only other
adult on board.”
“What? The crew is gone?” Panic crept back into Terry’s voice.
Devon showed Terry his fist. “Remember what I said about scaring the others. Now, go
sit in my seat and I will see if I can wake up Mr. Jacobs.”
Terry rolled his eyes, but got up from his seat. He pushed past Devon and headed toward
the front of the ship. Devon slipped into Terry’s now vacant seat and began to check Deke’s
vital signs. Part of his training for this trip had included basic first aid, but he could no find any
injuries on Deke, other than the bump on his head. Devon reached over and gently prodded
Deke. The unconscious man stirred, moaning in pain.
Devon prodded him again.
“Mr. Jacobs, we need your help,” he said, trying to wake Deke.
Deke’s eyes fluttered open. He turned to Devon, looking at him in confusion.
“What happened?” “I think we crashed”
Deke reached up to feel his head. He winced in pain when he felt the bump. “I must
have hit my head. Where is the crew?”
“I’m not sure if they made it,” he whispered. “I tried to get into the crew cabin, but the
door won’t open.”
Deke rubbed his head again, trying to gather his wits.
“I had better check it out. Is anyone else hurt?” Deke asked, wearing a worried
expression.
“I don’t know. You were he first one I really checked on.”
Deke unbuckled his seat belt and nearly swooned as he tried to stand up.
“Whoa, Mr. Jacobs. I don’t know if you should try to get up yet.
“Maybe you’re right, but we need to check on the crew. We need to find out if they were
able to send a distress call.”
Deke sat silently for a moment, gingerly probing the bump on his head.
“Devon, I need you to do some things for me. First, I need you to check the emergency
exit and see if it is blocked. We may need to get out that way if there is a problem.”
He paused for a moment, blinking slowly.
“Second, I need you to keep an eye on the other kids. You are the only one who
managed to keep their head. If I get worse, I need you to keep everyone calm. I’m betting that
the Boadicea is already mounting a rescue operation. It is just a matter of time before they come
for us. We need to sit tight and not panic.”
Devon nodded, “I can handle that. How long do you think it will be before they come?” “I can’t be sure. It shouldn’t be more than a day or two. We will need water and food in
the meantime. There should be plenty in the galley at the front of the ship. If we can’t get that
door open we may have to look elsewhere. That means we have to get to the baggage
compartment in the belly of the ship.”
“So, what should I do now?”
Deke looked thoughtful for a moment.
“See if you can find the hatch that leads below deck.” He closed his eyes and moaned.
His chin fell to his chest, unconscious.
Devon gently prodded Deke. “Mr. Jacobs, what do I do after that? Mr. Jacobs?”
Devon turned with a sigh. The only thing he knew was that he had to check the
emergency exit and then find the hatch that led to the cargo compartment. Before the drop the
crew had pointed out the emergency exits. One of them was just down the aisle. He walked
over to the row with the emergency exit as casually as he could.
“Excuse me,” Devon said as he leaned over the students sitting in that row. “How are
you feeling? Any injuries to report? Mr. Jacobs asked me to check around.” He tried to keep
the attention of the children as he checked out the emergency exit. Everything appeared in order
and the door did not appear to be blocked from the outside.
Satisfied that they could use that exit if necessary, Devon excused himself. He then
began moving back toward the front of the ship, eyes focused downward, searching for anything
that might be a hatch. He noticed a seam in the carpeting. Devon kneeled down, trying to peel
back the carpet. It took him a moment, but he found a recessed release switch at the edge of the
aisle. The children sitting in the nearby seats watched him intently. Devon gave them friendly
nod. “Just running an errand for Mr. Jacobs, nothing to worry about.”
The children relaxed visibly, reassured by his casual attitude. Pulling the switch, Devon
stood back as a section of the floor slid back. He could see a flashing yellow light below,
illuminating a metal ladder leading below. Devon peered into the opening, trying to see if this
was the cargo compartment. All he could see was a narrow, passage ending with what looked
like an airtight door.
Devon knew that he had to check to see where this led. He assumed that it was the cargo
compartment, but it could just be a service hatch. He looked up at the watching children and
smiled again.
“I’ll be right back.” He swung down on to the ladder and climbed to the bottom. The
yellow light was harsh and its slow flashing made it difficult to make out many details but he
could see enough to move around. It only took a few steps to reach the door. He examined it
carefully, but could not find any indication of where it might lead. Still determined to find the
cargo compartment, Devon took a deep breath and levered open the latch on the door. There was
a short hiss as the pressure equalized and then the door swung inward.
Dust wafted in from the compartment beyond, making it hard to see inside. Devon
waited for a moment for the dust to settle and then peered inside. Success! He had found the
cargo compartment. Racks of baggage filled the compartment in rows. Several had broken free
; from the deck in the crash and spilled some of the children’s bags into a large pile, blocking part
of the floor.
He climbed over the mound of spilled luggage to see where the dust could be coming
from. He was able to wriggle through to the row of racks against the far right-hand wall of the
compartment. The source of all the dust became apparent as he neared the far wall. There was a large tear in the side of the ship. The jagged edge of a large boulder protruded into the cargo
compartment; the obvious cause of the large gash in the side of the ship. The gash was very
large, large enough, for a person to crawl through with no trouble at all. Dirt and debris had
spilled in through the gash, but there did not appear to be any other damage. Unfortunately, that
gash meant that this ship would probably never be space-worthy again.
After a quick look around he did not find anything that looked like it might have supplies
in it. He wondered if they would be marked in some way to make it easier to find them. Devon
thought he had better go check with Mr. Jacobs. As the leader of the expedition, he obviously
would have a better idea of what kind of supplies might be down here.
After scrambling back over the mound of luggage, Devon began climbing back up the
ladder into the main cabin. Several faces peered down at him. He recognized them as Flim,
Jacinda, and Merrell.
“What are you doing?” Merrell asked.
“Just checking on something for Mr. Jacobs.”
Flim snorted a laugh through his nose as Devon climbed up through the hatch. “Deke
asked for your help?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. He hit his head and isn’t feeling well. I think he passed
out.”
“Oh, no,” Jacinda’s breath caught in her throat. “We had better help him. Everyone at
the colony is taught to be a medic, just in case there is an accident. That’s because we practically
live inside the mine. I’ll go check him out.” She immediately jumped up and hurried toward
Deke’s seat. Merrell followed her a moment later, like a lumbering shadow. “You guys shouldn’t be out of your seats,” Devon brushed the dirt off his coveralls as he
gave Flim a stern look.
“With Terry sitting in your seat? Not likely. It didn’t take him two minutes to start bad
mouthing Deke and the crew. He said that he would have them all fired.”
Devon gave Flim a pained look. “He may not get the chance.”
Flim stared in confusion at Devon for a moment and then blanched. “Oh, dear. You
think it’s that bad.”
Devon pulled Flim close. “It could be, but we can’t let anyone else know. We have to
keep the others calm. If everyone panics surviving this gets ten times harder.”
“So, what do we do if people start asking questions?”
“We just gotta hope Mr. Jacobs wakes up before then.” Devon shook his head, a worried
expression on his face.
Devon’s moment of reflection was disturbed by someone’s approach.
“What did you find, Devon?”
Devon smiled in relief when he saw that it was Deke who was speaking. The man
swayed a bit unsteadily, but seemed otherwise okay.
“The emergency exit I checked out looked fine; no blockage. I also found the cargo
compartment. Some of the luggage has broken loose and there is a big gash in the side of the
compartment, but that looks like about it.”
“Good, good.” Deke nodded his head vigorously and then had to catch himself on the
nearest seat. His eyes spun, as if he were dizzy. “I guess I am not as well as I thought.”
Jacinda came up behind Deke and took his hand. “You had better sit down, Mr. Jacobs.
We’ll take you up to our seats.” She pulled on Deke’s hand, leading him up the aisle like a protective mother hen. As they passed, children asked Deke if everything would be alright. He
reassured them with a slow nod and a confident smile.
Devon sealed the hatch in the floor and followed the others a moment later.
It only took a few moments for them to reach the front row, but Deke looked very much
worse for wear. Sweat had broken out on Deke’s forehead and he was breathing heavily.
Jacinda and Merrell helped him sit down carefully, but he still winced.
“Easy, kids, I’m a bit fragile at the moment.” He managed a weak smile, but even that
soon faded.
Terry looked over from across the aisle, a sneer on his face. “I thought this guy was
supposed to be tough. He doesn’t seem it to me.” He sniffed, grinning.
Jacinda turned on him and snapped, “Okay, Terry, how about I smack you in the head
and see how tough you are.”
“Yeah, right,” he said with a laugh.
Jacinda drew in a deep breath, ready to give Terry a fierce tongue-lashing. Fortunately
for Terry, Merrell stepped between the two. He loomed over Terry, a burly giant in the cramped
aisle. “How about I smack you in the head, Terry?”
Terry’s face turned pale. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I’ve wanted to do it for four years, ever since I met you. Want to test me?”
Terry’s face fell, filled with fear. After a moment the fear disappeared, replaced with a
look of Bravado. “Okay, I have been friends with you and your brothers for a long time, so I’ll
let this go this time. But just this time.”
Terry slipped past Merrell and rushed down the aisle toward his old seat. Merrell watched Terry hurry away and smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Terry.” He
turned to the others, a huge grin on his face. “Wow, did that feel good.”
The others smiled back. Flim slapped him on the back. “Well, I guess you aren’t the
slack-jawed buffoon I thought you were. Good show.”
Jacinda glared at Flim, but the alien boy just grinned. She just did not understand boys.
She did not realize that any sign of weakness was simply an opportunity to tease your friend
about it.
“Thanks Pal.” Merrell returned Flim’s slap on the back, perhaps a little hard, as Flim
nearly fell over but they exchanged friendly grins and then turned back to Deke.
Their guide was barely conscious. He seemed to be drifting in and out; barely able to
function when he came out of his fog. His eyes fluttered open for a moment and he looked at
Devon and his friends.
“Pretty soon the others will realize how long it has been since they ate or drank anything.
I need you people to see if you can gather all of the food and drinks up here so we can hand them
out a little at a time. I’m not sure how long we will be down here, but I wouldn’t be good if we
went through our supplies too quickly.” He paused for a moment, trying to clear his head.
“The Galley is right in front of us, so I want you, Merrell, to try and get that door open.
If you can’t, that is no problem. There should be supplies stashed down in the cargo
compartment. If you can’t get into the galley then I want two of you to go down below and
gather as much as you can. You can tell which cases have the supplies because…” Deke
swooned, his eyes closing and his head dropping to his chest.
Devon and the others looked at each other. Jacinda nodded her head, looking like she
knew exactly what to do. “You heard him, Merrell. See if you can get that door open.” Merrell responded
immediately to the authority in her voice. He motioned for Devon to stand aside from the door
leading to the
crew compartment and then grabbed the handle. His face twisted with effort as he
tried to turn the handle. It did not budge at first. Gritting his teeth, Merrell redoubled his efforts.
His face turning red, he pulled on the handle. It slowly began to shift. He could feel the bolt
holding it closed begin to slide. With one final grunt, he forced the handle to turn the rest of the
way. They all heard the bolt click open but the door still refused to open. Something else must
be blocking it. Merrell set his shoulder again and tried one final time to push the door open, but
it still would not move.
“I guess we need to go down below and see if we can find any supplies.” Merrell sighed
as he spoke.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Jacinda added, smiling at Merrell.
As a group, the four friends made their way back toward the hatch that led below. Devon
opened it much more easily this time. He climbed down the ladder, followed by Flim, Jacinda,
and Merrell. The cargo compartment was exactly as he left it.
Devon wondered where they should look first. Each of the students had been given a
small amount of emergency rations to include in their gear, but he knew that it would be better if
they could find a larger amount of food and water all together. That way they would not have to
go through everyone’s personal items.
Jacinda looked at the pile of spilled luggage and nodded. “Okay, I suggest we try to find
any extra supplies that were included for the expedition. From what Mr. Jacobs said, the boxes
with the supplies are marked somehow. Try to find cases with the same markings. I’ll bet those
are the supplies. Each of us needs to take one part of the cargo to check. Let everyone else know if you find anything.” Her suggestions echoed Devon’s own thoughts and he nodded in
agreement.
Each of them moved toward a different corner of the cargo compartment. Flim and
Devon had to scramble over the pile of luggage to get to their corners. Devon watched Flim
gawk as he passed the gash in the side of the ship.
Nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching passed before Flim cried out.
“I think I found something.” The others started toward his voice. Devon was the first to
reach Flim. The alien boy was grinning widely and pointing to a large stack of stout looking
Devon Blake and the Starship Crash Page 5
