Part 4 (2/2)

Gene, who had been in his bunk, was pressed against the wall by a giant hand. Savagely he fought to adjust himself into a more bearable position, then tried to figure out what had happened. Obviously the s.h.i.+p was veering about, out of control.

”Meteorite!” he gasped. ”We've been hit.”

He pulled himself from the bunk, slid along the wall to the door. It was all he could do to open it, but once in the companionway outside, he found that he could crawl along one wall, off the floor, in an inching progress. He made it finally to the control room, and forced his body around the door jamb and inside. Against the far wall Maher was plastered, dazed, but conscious. At his feet lay Heinie, his head crushed, obviously dead.

”Cut off the rest of the jets!” gasped Maher. ”I can't make it!”

Gene crawled slowly around the room, following the wall, until he could reach the controls, then he pulled the lever that controlled the jet blast. The s.h.i.+p's unnatural veering stopped instantly and both Maher and Gene dropped heavily to the floor.

Gene was up first and helped Maher to his feet. Together they turned to the indicators.

”Pa.s.senger deck's out!” said Maher. ”Except for a few compartments. The automatic seals have operated. But there must be somebody left alive in them.”

”We've got to get them,” said Gene. ”But first, we've got to check up on what damage has been done here, and how many casualties we have.”

”Heinie's dead,” said Maher. ”He hit the wall with his head.”

Gene shuddered, and deep in his stomach nausea churned. He thought of Ann and his blood froze in his veins. ”You take below decks, I'll go up,” he said. Ann's cabin was on the deck above.

Maher nodded and staggered away. Gene scrambled up the stairwell as fast as he could, and ran down the corridor. At Ann's door he stopped, turned the k.n.o.b. The door opened. The room was empty.

Suddenly he heard running footsteps, and Ann threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

”Where were you?” he asked, almost savagely.

”I went to your cabin, to see if you were hurt. What happened to the s.h.i.+p?”

”Meteorite hit us. Knocked out the pa.s.senger deck. Most of the pa.s.sengers will be dead, but we've got to go in and rescue the survivors.”

Doors were opening here and there and the crew members able to make it were congregating around them. They went to the recreation room. There Gene counted noses. Five crewmen were missing. Of those present, six men were injured, and one woman exhibited a black eye, accentuating her other abnormalities. The three prisoners were reported unharmed.

”What about the missing men?” Gene asked.

”Three dead,” Maher replied, ”two badly hurt. We'll need somebody to look after them.”

”I'll go,” volunteered Ann. The woman in fur stepped forward also, and they left the room behind Maher and Schwenky.

Gene faced the rest. ”We've got a real problem now. With a reduced crew, we'll have to finish a trip that would have been tough with an uninjured s.h.i.+p. But first, we've got to search the pa.s.senger deck and remove the survivors. All of you who are able, put on pressure suits and come with me.”

He led the way to the locker containing the pressure suits. Seven men, those who were not too deformed to don the suits, made up the party.

Gene led the way to the Captain's stateroom, ordered the door sealed behind them, then opened the only door to the damaged deck. The air rushed out as the door swung open, and suddenly complete silence descended upon them. There would be no more communication between them except for signs.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

In an hour they had determined the truth. All pa.s.sengers but one, a woman, had been killed instantly. The woman was unconscious, but suffering only from bruises. It had been necessary, after discovering her unpierced cabin, to return to the deck above and cut through with a torch.

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