Escape Velocity

Chapter Twenty-four

"I'll set the bot to retrace its route. All you have to do is follow it. But be careful through the water. We don't know how deep it is. It's not far, so you can swim if you have to."

It wasn't long before we got the first glimpse of Kate. The bot, tall and thin again, came through first. Like a contortionist, Kate followed. Dripping wet from her swim, she couldn't hide how thin she was. She looked fragile. Larry and Allen bundled her up in a space blanket and checked her vital signs. She drank deeply from the water bottle they gave her and told us what happened.

She didn't realize how deep she'd gone into the cave. She said the sound of the waterfall was loud. She said she hadn't heard Ben or anyone calling. Kate had screamed for help until she became hoarse, then had stopped, assuming no one could hear her.

Kate said, "I used to go hiking with my dad all the time. He used to say that once you know you're lost, it's often better to stay put and wait to be found. I figured the same thing applied to caves. My mistake was exploring too far ahead of Ben. I didn't even feel claustrophobic. In my excitement, I went on without him. Then the water rose. Stupid."

Allen shook his head. "You and Ben were both stupid. Inexperienced cavers. Not telling anyone where you were going. And you should always cave with three or more, so no one is left alone in the cave while one person goes for help."

Kate twisted sideways. "How much trouble am I in with Parallax? Do my parents know?"

I said, "Lots. Both of us are. And yes, your parents know."

"Why you? You didn't know I was sneaking out."

Huh, was Kate showing concern for me?

"It's a long story. No doubt you'll hear about it later," I said while I repressed thoughts of the coming interrogation from Parallax.

"Do you know what's going to happen?"

"Nope. They'd been working on the details of your rescue and wanted me to focus on prepping FetchBot. But they made it real clear they were unhappy about the situation."

Kate grimaced. "Tomorrow won't be pretty."

After a quick peek at my phone, I said, "Today. You mean today won't be pretty."

~~~

Melisse stood next to my bed. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

I rolled over and groaned.

"You'll have to learn to adjust to a tough sleep schedule if you're an astronaut." She yanked the coverlet down to my feet.

I shook my head to clear the fuzziness. "What do you mean? I'm probably about to be booted out of Parallax. My name will be on a NASA no-fly list for sure."

"Well, hurry up and get dressed. There's a special Parallax meeting in the dining room in twenty minutes."

~~~

I glanced around the room. "Where's Kate? They released her from the hospital already. Should we check upstairs?"

There were blank expressions all around. No one was giving me the Look of Pity, which comes when trouble is about to face-plant right in front of you, so whatever this was, it wasn't about me.

The front door opened and several voices mingled in the foyer. I thought Dr. Brunello was one of them and maybe Ms. Tyson.

Ms. Robbins entered the dining room, followed by Ms. Voorhees, Mr. Hopkins, Ms. Tyson, and Dr. Seabron. Dr. Brunello trailed behind them.

Ms. Robbins stood at the head of the table, the others behind her forming a loose semi-circle. "The announcement of the winner of the Parallax competition was scheduled to be in three days. However, we thought it best to conclude Parallax a few days early due to recent events, some of which we can't tell you about yet."