«It's a cover, dumbass» Anna said aloud.
Jordan simply shook his head and returned to focus on the controls of the Atenavan.
«A co–, a co–cover?» Yan stammered, glaring at what Anna was holding in her hand.
«What a drama queen» the girl commented, continuing to shake her head at her friend, still wearing a confused expression.
«I wanted to see if that thing flew on you, you could never know! Then, what's the point of putting covers in a place without beds...»
«We'll sleep on the floor» the girl hypothesised, folding the cover and placing it on a seat. «I guess we'll use these things as beds. What else is there?»
«Ah, you look, I've had enough of aggressions.»
The girl shook her head and decided to check herself.
Shortly after the entire Atenavan was crossed by a tremble and all the lights were suddenly turned on. Everything was followed, one minute later, by a series of “bip bip”.
«Yeah!» Jordan exclaimed, and finally came out from the cockpit. «It works splendidly. From there you can monitor all the levels of the Life Support System, the speed and trajectory. There's also a kind of computer, but I still don't know what it serves for, I'll leave it to you» he addressed Yan.
«Ah, and all levels are nominal, therefore we can take the helmets off» he concluded removing his.
«You know» Jordan began. He was sitting at his driver's seat, Yan was next to him and Anna was leaning against the entrance of the cockpit. They had just finished to check every corner of the rover and finally Jordan had explained to them the functioning of the main driving commands, so that during the trip they could take turns. «Few hours ago, while sleeping, I had a dream» he said vaguely, his gaze lost on the console buttons.
«Well, tell us» Yan said turning by three quarters towards him.
Anna observed him with curiosity.
They used to tell each other what they dreamed at night anytime it was particular or bizarre.
«I was in the Huygens Crater, I guess. There was a big rocket» at those words, Yan and Anna gave him their full attention, without blinking. «And that rocket was going to leave for Earth, a one-way trip to Earth.»
«And you got on it?» Yan asked.
«No, no. The alarm rang before I could decide what to do» the boy answered, giggling nervously, but he stopped at Anna's question.
«Would you get on it?»
A moment of silence followed, Jordan stared into space while Anna and Yan stared at him.
«Well... I don't know, a sandstorm was coming, I guess, it didn't look that safe.»
«Rockets are projected to stand and resist against the sandstorms for emergency lift-offs, Jordan. This wasn't the point, I–»
«Yeah, I know what you meant» Jordan interrupted her. «And... come on, I don't know, there are many things to take into account. Why, though, would you?»
Anna remained silent for some minutes, observing the boy intently, as evaluating whether to speak or not. Jordan was certain that Anna was going to say no. Let alone, an all-laws-and-discipline such as herself would never imagine to push so far.
But unexpectedly...
«Yes» Anna replied with determination, «Yes and without thinking twice» Jordan and Yan widened their eyes at the same time, the girl continued. «I mean, haven't you ever wondered who you really are? What are we? Here, far from everyone, because yes, they're all out there, whether you accept it or not. Well, I have been wondering about it, but I haven't found an answer yet and it's frustrating! I read, I read books on books. Why? Because I look for answers. But the truth is that the more I read, the more I discover that actually all the answers are out there, on Earth.»
It was the first time that one of them had spoken so openly about that topic. Usually it was always avoided or bypassed, but neither they knew why. Jordan found himself being perfectly mirrored in Anna's words. He didn't read that much, he didn't look for answers, he just wondered. He thought his questions would never find an answer. Evidently his friend hadn't given up yet.
«But what do you mean?» Yan asked, scratching his forehead. «I mean, I know who I am. My name's Yan Heng, I was born in the Hong Se De Du of the Aresland on Kanya 24th, 226 and on top of that, I'll shortly turn nine years old.»
«Those words describe you, Nunki, but they don't say who you are» Anna explained with a strangely sweeter tone. «Instead of asking what's your name,» she continued, «Ask yourself what's your purpose in life, ask why were you born right here.»
Yan found himself staring into space with narrow eyes.
«Okay, I've got a headache now.»
«Exactly. It hurts thinking, doesn't it? And yet, I want to know.»
«Me too» Jordan interjected and Anna moved her attention on him, «I happen to think about it too, but effectively I've never tried to go deep into the issue. Then, you never know, maybe there's no purpose. It's just the way it is.»
«I think there is one. You just need to be patient.»
«Uh-uhm» Yan mumbled, catching the attention of the two. «I don't mean to disturb your mind twists but it happens to be four fifty-two, therefore I'd suggest an immediate evacuation, since our risk probabilities are increasing by ten percent each minute that passes by.»
Even before Yan had finished to speak, Anna had already run to put on her helmet and Jordan had turned the engines off, throwing himself behind Anna. The three sealed their suits, ran quick verifications, then Jordan turned the Life Support System off and they left the Atenavan to rush towards the Aresland.
EIGHT
~ 181 sols before ~
When the Aresland general bell rang in every dome at 6:30 am, the following morning, Jordan had fallen asleep just one hour before. He was heavily dragged away from his blissful, dreamless sleep, but when he opened his eyes he realized how much his brain refused to stay awake. He laid still in his bed for the following ten minutes, with the red blanket pulled up above his eyes, trying to make a point of the situation. He mentally recapped that little time before he had been onboard the Atenavan with Anna and Yan, that he had taken a bunch of food from the kitchen, from the storage room and from the greenhouse and that everything was ready for the departure.
Then he thought that it was almost seven by now and that at that moment he should have been preparing instead of laying hidden under the blankets and finally he also considered that he couldn’t absolutely go late to breakfast or class and he couldn’t show that he had lost some hours of sleep that night. He breathed profoundly, slightly blowing the sheets above him, then he got up.
Once in the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was dishevelled and his face still sleepy, underlined by a pair of dim shadows under his eyes. He felt his eyelids heavy. He washed his face with cold water and tried to make himself presentable.
When he arrived in the Main Base, everyone was already sitting at the long table, one next to the other, eating and chatting. He entered nonchalantly, but when he noticed that the only remaining free place was right next to Frank Larsen, his stomach twisted. For a moment he froze where he was, but then he resumed to walk right away; luckily enough no one had noticed it. Effectively they saw him only when he took his seat at the table and they greeted him cheerfully, as nothing new. He felt relieved and began to eat a little more peacefully. But that peace faded away as soon as he caught some words of what Frank was saying while chatting with George and soon he felt like he could throw up everything he had just ingested. He stopped with a blueberry stuck in his fork, half-way from the plate to his mouth.
«I swear, it was the noise of the door closing» Frank was saying. «I don’t think I imagined it, I’m sure I heard something.»
«Old age plays tricks on you, Larsen» George chuckled.
«Oh, speak for yourself, Jenner! I say there was somebody.»
«But please, anyone of you yestersol night was hungry maybe?» George asked aloud, keeping a hint of sarcasm.
Jordan was still imm
obilized with the blueberry half-way to his mouth and his gaze stuck to his plate. Some chuckles were aroused from the table.
«Yes, I’m wondering the same» Klara intervened above the other voices with a serious tone. «This morning was my turn to prepare breakfast and I noticed the lack of an entire package of muesli and a jar of dehydrated fruit.»
Jordan, that for a single moment had believed he could get away with it, stiffened even more.
«Told you» Frank mumbled.
«Oh, now this! Come on, we’re all adults here, who went to the kitchen yestersol night?» George asked more seriously.
«We’re not all adults» Frank commented with a sharp hint and only then he turned to look at Jordan. Everyone turned to look at Jordan.
All that the boy managed to do was bring the blueberry to his mouth and begin to chew it slowly, his gaze still stuck to the plate, ignoring everything that was happening around him. Shortly after he raised his head and turned to look at all those eyes fixed on him. He lifted his eyebrows, mocking a questioning look and swallowed the blueberry.
«What? Is it my hair?» he asked, as nonchalantly as possible.
«Jordan, be serious» George intervened, «Do you know anything about the disappearance of some food from the kitchen?»
«Wha– really? I know nothing» Jordan frowned, it was his last chance of salvation. «Perhaps you were just confused, maybe that package and that jar have never existed» he said, shrugging, before resuming to fill his mouth with scrambled eggs in order to make it clear that he had finished to participate in that discussion. His opinion seemed to convince them, or at least, it was convincing enough to move their attention from him.
He had escaped big trouble. He wanted to leave that table as soon as possible, despite he hadn’t finished everything. His hunger had faded away already.
Once in the Krasnij Gorod he was happy to see Anna and Yan. They had a quite relaxed look. It meant that nothing had gone wrong. The three exchanged meaningful looks and entered the classroom together, where Nastya Ivanova was ready for the hour of chemistry. That was going to be his last class before the departure, Jordan thought. He meditated on what would happen once everyone discovered their night escape. Probably nothing was going to be like before. Nobody had ever taken the initiative to go away from the Aresland before and Jordan had no idea of what future was going to expect him, once they would leave.
They sat silent for the entire lesson, paying very little attention to Nastya who was explaining a new kind of chemical reaction, because more urgent thoughts roamed in their minds. Jordan could say that Anna and Yan were tired as well for the hours they had lost that night. They both had a sleepy expression, a dead look in their eyes and a little too many yawns escaped their mouths. But Nastya seemed not to notice them.
Once the lesson was over, at eleven, they decided to return to their rooms and try to sleep for one more hour till lunch. They absolutely needed to get rid of that heavy sensation or they would never bear waking up in the middle of the night a second time.
The sol proceeded placid and peaceful as usual in the bases of the Aresland, it could be a very normal sol like any other. Jordan, Anna and Yan didn’t see each other after class, too busy in their daily activities of the sol solis. Apart from that morning at breakfast, the escape plan didn’t meet other risks and Jordan was about to convince himself that everything was going to be fine. All was ready. It was just a matter of hours.
After dinner he was about to head to his room, happy he had gotten through that sol of pretty frustrating wait when, before he could enter the corridor, George Jenner’s voice stopped him.
«Jordan, a word» he said to call him back.
The boy turned to the man with silver hair who had just swallowed his last bit of dinner and was cleaning his mouth with a paper tissue. «Have you got anything urgent to do or we can talk for a moment?»
«Uhm no, nothing. I’m available» Jordan replied while countless thoughts crossed his mind and his heartbeat accelerated, sensing something was wrong.
He stood still and silent until George got up and reached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. From his body language, Jordan understood that he wanted to walk, so they started down the perimeter of the dome, bypassing the entrance for the corridor which led to his room and continuing alongside the zone with the Life Support Systems, with a slow and thoughtful pace. Jordan didn’t understand what he had to tell him so urgently right now that he longed for nothing but going to sleep.
«You know, you seem changed lately» George began, bringing his hands behind his back. Jordan breathed deeply, thinking “There, we’re at it again”. «But do not misunderstand, not in a bad way. Often changes bring to improvements. You grow up, you change.»
«You’re not the first one who tells me, George. But I don’t understand, I am always me. I don’t feel changed.»
«Eventually you’ll understand» the man answered, then a minute of silence passed. «Recently I’ve noticed a certain chemistry between you and Anna Taykeeva and, you know, I couldn’t help but think that something could have been born between the two of you, more than a simple friendship.»
At those words, Jordan’s feet glued to the floor. That was the last thing he expected to hear.
«What!?» he exclaimed, his cheeks flushing slightly. Also George stopped, they had surpassed the airlock and they were almost in front of the greenhouse. «No, no, no. I mean, Anna is an extraordinary girl, I admire her intelligence, but we’re friends. Friends» he repeated as to convince even himself, despite within himself he knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
He felt a weird heat surrounding him. He absolutely wanted to change topic or rather, he wished that topic had never been brought up. In that moment he would rather talk about the escape plan than what was there with Anna.
«Oh, well. It was just a thought of mine» George assured with a smile.
They resumed to walk.
«Was it all you had to tell me?» Jordan asked, a bit more sharply than he intended too.
But his nerves were too tense. He took a silent, deep breath to calm down.
George didn’t answer right away, the boy felt a bit uneasy.
«Jordan, you know you can trust me and everyone else in the Aresland, don’t you?»
«Yes, I know.»
«And that if anything’s wrong, you got to say it right away…»
«Yes, sure.»
They kept walking silently until George stopped and the boy did the same. Few meters after they would already reach the table, completing the round of the dome. Jordan leaned slightly to see, but it seemed there was no one sitting by now. He noticed that they had stopped in front of George’s private room. He raised his gaze and found a couple of clear eyes observing him with a strange glint.
«Is there anything you have to tell me, Jordan?»
The boy looked at him feeling even more uncomfortable. That twinkle in his eyes made him wonder how much did he really know about everything that was secretly happening. He had never lied to George before. It turned out more difficult than he imagined. But he couldn’t betray the plan. He clenched his jaw and shook his head.
«No» he forced himself to say, «Nothing» he added, hinting a reassuring smile.
George looked at him intently for some more instants, like trying to read his mind, but then he simply nodded.
«Very well. Then good night» he said smiling and moving a step towards his room
«Good night» the boy replied smiling back briefly.
He turned and was about to leave, when George’s voice called him again.
«Ah, Jordan?»
He turned, giving him a questioning look. The man seemed hesitant at first, but then he spoke with decision.
«Do not forget the Red Planet’s Law.»
And with that he disappeared in his room, leaving Jordan astonished.
Jordan returned to his room staring into space. He kept wondering what was George trying to tell him with that last wa
rning and albeit the answer seemed right in front of his eyes, he did his best to avoid it. The Red Planet’s Law said that Mars doesn’t forgive. Jordan fell asleep promising to himself that he wasn’t going to give Mars any reason to punish him.
But his body was crossed by so many adrenaline rushes that he woke up at two in the morning, just one minute before his alarm rang. He didn’t even need to change as the evening before he hadn’t bothered to put on the comfortable clothes he used to sleep. He didn’t even stop by the bathroom, he didn’t need it and then he would have made too much noise. In that case, he was going to do everything on the Atenavan, once they would leave. He felt a certain nervousness that made his stomach sting, but he ignored it. He found that some trepidation was normal, after all he was about to flee from the Aresland and no one knew anything.
Or at least… He kept hoping so.
He didn’t take his laptop because he knew that there was already one on the rover and it was going to be enough. He put on his sneakers, fixed his bed covers just a little bit and then, after turning the light off, he approached the door. But before leaving, he turned back once again. He couldn’t tell why, but looking at his room, he felt a weird sensation. Was he going to leave it like that? He didn’t know for how long was he going to stay away exactly. His eyes landed inevitably on the framed picture on his nightstand. The darkness hid what it portrayed. He breathed deeply, staring at it. Then he decided. He went to slip the picture out of its frame, he folded it in a half and tucked it into an inner pocket of his hoodie. That was the only picture he had with his mother. It had always been there with him in the Aresland and now he was going to take it with him. He felt that maybe, somehow, it was going to protect him.
And so he left his room for the last time. Actually he was going to return, but in his mind it kept feeling like a last time and he didn’t know why. He walked away from his father and Dounja, he passed for one last time through the corridor which led to the Main Base, he went to the storage room for the last time in order to slip into his biosuit. The night was peaceful and calm. Although that darkness gave him chills, he found that all in all everything was quiet. Ready, with his helmet under his arm, he walked around the central cylinder until he reached the airlock. There was still no one, but shortly after he heard some light, stealthy steps arriving in his direction and then Anna and Yan appeared. The three didn’t say a word, their eyes spoke volumes. They nodded their heads once before putting their helmets on and running all the safety procedures. They entered the airlock without looking back and a door definitely closed between them and the Aresland.
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