"Kathryn, that's dangerous.
You should never swim alone."
"I'd rather do that than spend time with people who are
going to be moping around waiting for dire things to
happen."
She stood rock still, eyeing Mary and Emma sternly. As she
expected, they couldn't hold the look; their eyes danced
away nervously and scanned the Martian hills. "Well?"
Kathryn shot at them, and Mary looked back at her first.
"We said we'd come and we did. Let's not argue about it. 11
Kathryn nodded and turned back in the direction of the
quarry, heard the other two follow her, and breathed a sigh
of resignation. They seemed so young to her. How could they
all possibly be the same age? They were climbing a rise
that was studded with huge boulders and rocky outcroppings;
they had to weave their way through narrow passageways that
twisted and wound like a maze. Then they emerged into the
open, and found themselves standing on an upward-sloping
expanse of flat rock beyond which they could see nothing
except sky; a sheer drop-off awaited them. As they neared
the edge Emma and Mary hung back, approaching slowly.
Kathryn went to all fours and then stretched herself out,
inching toward the drop-off. The abandoned quarry was
arrayed before her: steep, chiseled stone walls that still
bore the marks of ultrasonic drills, plummeting down fifty
meters to the surface of a clear lake some five hundred
meters in diameter. It was a foreboding sight, stark and
mysterious, and Kathryn felt her blood tingle with a
mixture of apprehension and excitement.
"How are we supposed to get down there?"
whispered Emma. Kathryn turned to her.
"Why are you whispering?"
Emma turned to her, dark eyes wide, face pale. "I don't
know. It just seems weird here."
"It's strange and beautiful-kind of wild. I like it."
Kathryn's eyes were scanning the terrain as she spoke,
looking for a route to the water below. The quarry walls
weren't smooth, but craggy, with plenty of handholds. They
could make it down.
"We climb. With rough rock like that, it'll be easy."
"I'm not doing that." Mary stood up, looking down at them
with total resolve. "That's just asking for trouble."
Kathryn started to retort, but suddenly they all heard the
unmistakable sound of footsteps-someone was climbing the
rise behind them, moving through the maze of rocks. Mary
dropped back to her knees, and guiltily, they all tried to
press themselves behind outcroppings. Was it one of their
parents? Had someone seen them leave the colony and strike
out across the Tharsis plain?
The footsteps came nearer, scuffling on the gravelly
ground. A few steps more and the person would emerge from
the rocks and out into the open. Kathryn held her breath;
she was sure it would be her father, furious with her for
having broken an explicit rule.
A figure emerged from the passageway, backlit by the sun
and unidentifiable, but it was a man, and he was tall and
slender-and Kathryn's stomach turned queasy. It had to be
her father.
"Hello, ladies. Going swimming?" The voice was familiar
but was definitely not her father's.
Kathryn rose and as the figure moved closer, he turned and
his face was illuminated.
Hobbes Johnson.
Relief and dismay struggled for supremacy inside Kathryn:
that it wasn't her father was a vast comfort, but the sight
of Hobbes Johnson, lanky and dull, was about the final
dismal touch in a day that had been rapidly going downhill.
"Hobbes, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Aren't the quarries
offlimits to you?" "At least there are three of us. You
came by yourself. That's foolish."
"No, it wasn't. I saw you leaving. I figured you were going
to the quarries."
Kathryn felt a rush of annoyance, which, on top of her
frustrations with Emma and Mary, pushed her from irritation
to anger. "Don't you think if we'd wanted your company,
we'd have asked you?"
Hobbes paled at the attack, and Kathryn was immediately
sorry. She didn't mean to
You should never swim alone."
"I'd rather do that than spend time with people who are
going to be moping around waiting for dire things to
happen."
She stood rock still, eyeing Mary and Emma sternly. As she
expected, they couldn't hold the look; their eyes danced
away nervously and scanned the Martian hills. "Well?"
Kathryn shot at them, and Mary looked back at her first.
"We said we'd come and we did. Let's not argue about it. 11
Kathryn nodded and turned back in the direction of the
quarry, heard the other two follow her, and breathed a sigh
of resignation. They seemed so young to her. How could they
all possibly be the same age? They were climbing a rise
that was studded with huge boulders and rocky outcroppings;
they had to weave their way through narrow passageways that
twisted and wound like a maze. Then they emerged into the
open, and found themselves standing on an upward-sloping
expanse of flat rock beyond which they could see nothing
except sky; a sheer drop-off awaited them. As they neared
the edge Emma and Mary hung back, approaching slowly.
Kathryn went to all fours and then stretched herself out,
inching toward the drop-off. The abandoned quarry was
arrayed before her: steep, chiseled stone walls that still
bore the marks of ultrasonic drills, plummeting down fifty
meters to the surface of a clear lake some five hundred
meters in diameter. It was a foreboding sight, stark and
mysterious, and Kathryn felt her blood tingle with a
mixture of apprehension and excitement.
"How are we supposed to get down there?"
whispered Emma. Kathryn turned to her.
"Why are you whispering?"
Emma turned to her, dark eyes wide, face pale. "I don't
know. It just seems weird here."
"It's strange and beautiful-kind of wild. I like it."
Kathryn's eyes were scanning the terrain as she spoke,
looking for a route to the water below. The quarry walls
weren't smooth, but craggy, with plenty of handholds. They
could make it down.
"We climb. With rough rock like that, it'll be easy."
"I'm not doing that." Mary stood up, looking down at them
with total resolve. "That's just asking for trouble."
Kathryn started to retort, but suddenly they all heard the
unmistakable sound of footsteps-someone was climbing the
rise behind them, moving through the maze of rocks. Mary
dropped back to her knees, and guiltily, they all tried to
press themselves behind outcroppings. Was it one of their
parents? Had someone seen them leave the colony and strike
out across the Tharsis plain?
The footsteps came nearer, scuffling on the gravelly
ground. A few steps more and the person would emerge from
the rocks and out into the open. Kathryn held her breath;
she was sure it would be her father, furious with her for
having broken an explicit rule.
A figure emerged from the passageway, backlit by the sun
and unidentifiable, but it was a man, and he was tall and
slender-and Kathryn's stomach turned queasy. It had to be
her father.
"Hello, ladies. Going swimming?" The voice was familiar
but was definitely not her father's.
Kathryn rose and as the figure moved closer, he turned and
his face was illuminated.
Hobbes Johnson.
Relief and dismay struggled for supremacy inside Kathryn:
that it wasn't her father was a vast comfort, but the sight
of Hobbes Johnson, lanky and dull, was about the final
dismal touch in a day that had been rapidly going downhill.
"Hobbes, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Aren't the quarries
offlimits to you?" "At least there are three of us. You
came by yourself. That's foolish."
"No, it wasn't. I saw you leaving. I figured you were going
to the quarries."
Kathryn felt a rush of annoyance, which, on top of her
frustrations with Emma and Mary, pushed her from irritation
to anger. "Don't you think if we'd wanted your company,
we'd have asked you?"
Hobbes paled at the attack, and Kathryn was immediately
sorry. She didn't mean to
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