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Authors: Michael J. Daley
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shutting tight. Another second, and she would be trapped, she would suffocate. Rat seized the last roll of liver-wurst and held it before her like a shield. She kicked off toward the shrinking arch of dimness. Whiskers brushed metal on both sides. She heard a click back near the tip of her tail.
Rat landed on her side and bounced once with the liverwurst. She lay still, panting. She had nearly lost her life.
Her fault? Another mistake? But she never touched the wire, or the switch. As more air got to her brain, Rat remembered the words: Emergency meteor decompression. A moment longer, and they made sense. Not her fault.
The tunnel walls seemed too close suddenly. What if more meteors came crashing through? She got up to search for a way out. The liverwurst was heavy, but she could not leave it behind. She did not want to lose everything she had worked so hard for. She did not want to escape decompression only to starve.
An open shaft led out of the tunnel. Rat shoved the liverwurst in. She followed, pushing it along ahead of her. The shaft angled steeply and the liverwurst started to slide. There was too much dust for Rat to get a grip and she slid helplessly behind it. The walls disappeared. A moment in air, then a floor, thump ânot hard enough to hurt. The liverwurst lay next to her.
Rat felt bigness all around. She was in the forgotten room. It was silent and dark. The sounds of the emergency couldnât be heard here. Though her lungs burned for air, lots of air, Rat forced herself to breathe in tiny, nearly silent sips.
A door whooshed open, the sound dull and distant. Light blazed a narrow wedge through the center of the room. Not near Rat. She stood absolutely still. She planned where she would run. She might have to leave the liverwurst.
Rrriiippp! A Velcro boot. Rat recognized it.
What was the boy doing here?
Then the sniffer got her.
C HAPTER F OURTEEN
T HE R ESCUE
Jeff pressed the button over and over. But he could not make the elevator go in any faster. He sagged against the wall. There was time to catch his breath; time to think. Only bad thoughts came: What if Nanny ⦠What if Mom and Dad ⦠What if the rat â¦
The loudspeaker spluttered: â Emergency! Emergency! Decompression in Ring Eight section D. Nanny, report for damage control. Emergency! â
Yes. Go away. Go help, Jeff thought. Forget the rat.
Jeff had never felt the space station jiggle so sharply or so often. The meteor hits nearly knocked him off his feet as he ran to the elevator. There must be a big hole somewhere, or more than one. Somebody might even be hurt. But Ring 8, section D wasnât anywhere near where his parents worked. It wasnât near the Mid-Ring workshop, either. Good thing, because heâd forgotten the air mask.
The elevator stopped, and its door snapped open. Jeff looked across an unlit corridor as wide as a street. He gagged with his first breath. The air smelled spoiled. Opposite him the elevator cast a square light on a huge door crisscrossed with bands of steel. The sign read: MID-RING WORKSHOP MAIN ENTRY. Jeff took a step.
Rrriiipppp.
His knee flew up out of control and knocked against his arm. The gun jerked up and hit him on the chin. He stumbled back into the elevator. The clack of his teeth echoed like a cackle in the vastness.
Stupid!
Jeff ran his tongue over his teeth. Nothing broken. No taste of blood. He should have adjusted his step to the gravity here, but worrying about everything else, heâd forgotten. Mid-Ring had half the gravity of Outer Ring, where Jeff spent most of his time.
Nanny didnât make mistakes. What chance did he have to save the rat, making mistakes like that? But then he remembered: Nanny had been called away.
Jeff stepped out of the elevator again. He kept a stiff leg and walked with a shuffle. Sensing the motion, the lights in the corridor turned on, popping and flickering. Half of them didnât work. Dust swirled all around
Rat landed on her side and bounced once with the liverwurst. She lay still, panting. She had nearly lost her life.
Her fault? Another mistake? But she never touched the wire, or the switch. As more air got to her brain, Rat remembered the words: Emergency meteor decompression. A moment longer, and they made sense. Not her fault.
The tunnel walls seemed too close suddenly. What if more meteors came crashing through? She got up to search for a way out. The liverwurst was heavy, but she could not leave it behind. She did not want to lose everything she had worked so hard for. She did not want to escape decompression only to starve.
An open shaft led out of the tunnel. Rat shoved the liverwurst in. She followed, pushing it along ahead of her. The shaft angled steeply and the liverwurst started to slide. There was too much dust for Rat to get a grip and she slid helplessly behind it. The walls disappeared. A moment in air, then a floor, thump ânot hard enough to hurt. The liverwurst lay next to her.
Rat felt bigness all around. She was in the forgotten room. It was silent and dark. The sounds of the emergency couldnât be heard here. Though her lungs burned for air, lots of air, Rat forced herself to breathe in tiny, nearly silent sips.
A door whooshed open, the sound dull and distant. Light blazed a narrow wedge through the center of the room. Not near Rat. She stood absolutely still. She planned where she would run. She might have to leave the liverwurst.
Rrriiippp! A Velcro boot. Rat recognized it.
What was the boy doing here?
Then the sniffer got her.
C HAPTER F OURTEEN
T HE R ESCUE
Jeff pressed the button over and over. But he could not make the elevator go in any faster. He sagged against the wall. There was time to catch his breath; time to think. Only bad thoughts came: What if Nanny ⦠What if Mom and Dad ⦠What if the rat â¦
The loudspeaker spluttered: â Emergency! Emergency! Decompression in Ring Eight section D. Nanny, report for damage control. Emergency! â
Yes. Go away. Go help, Jeff thought. Forget the rat.
Jeff had never felt the space station jiggle so sharply or so often. The meteor hits nearly knocked him off his feet as he ran to the elevator. There must be a big hole somewhere, or more than one. Somebody might even be hurt. But Ring 8, section D wasnât anywhere near where his parents worked. It wasnât near the Mid-Ring workshop, either. Good thing, because heâd forgotten the air mask.
The elevator stopped, and its door snapped open. Jeff looked across an unlit corridor as wide as a street. He gagged with his first breath. The air smelled spoiled. Opposite him the elevator cast a square light on a huge door crisscrossed with bands of steel. The sign read: MID-RING WORKSHOP MAIN ENTRY. Jeff took a step.
Rrriiipppp.
His knee flew up out of control and knocked against his arm. The gun jerked up and hit him on the chin. He stumbled back into the elevator. The clack of his teeth echoed like a cackle in the vastness.
Stupid!
Jeff ran his tongue over his teeth. Nothing broken. No taste of blood. He should have adjusted his step to the gravity here, but worrying about everything else, heâd forgotten. Mid-Ring had half the gravity of Outer Ring, where Jeff spent most of his time.
Nanny didnât make mistakes. What chance did he have to save the rat, making mistakes like that? But then he remembered: Nanny had been called away.
Jeff stepped out of the elevator again. He kept a stiff leg and walked with a shuffle. Sensing the motion, the lights in the corridor turned on, popping and flickering. Half of them didnât work. Dust swirled all around
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