But it looked nothing like the Earth houses she’d seen on her nano. A shiver worked its way through her. Her instincts screamed that she should remain alert. Who could say whether the Earth humans were really here to help, or not? If this was all a cover-up, Knot 27 could have followed Atlas and his men into a trap.

She untangled herself from Elara and leaned across to the window beside Thrym and Phobos, confirming their car was the only object in the high-roofed building.

A prickling tickled the back of her neck.

Where was Deimos?

Not wishing to cause undue alarm, Romy quietly squeezed through the jumbled legs of her friends and tried the handle.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the door swung open. If the Earth-dwellers—or crash survivors—meant them harm, surely the vehicle would be locked. She eased the door open, just enough to slip out, before resting the door so it appeared closed to the casual observer. Her chest rose and fell in even beats.

A panel on the side of the building was illuminated with daylight.

Romy approached with soft steps, one ear listening behind her for any signs of the knot waking. She felt across the panel.

Where was the handle?

Romy swallowed back her misgivings, recalling the nuclear fusion automobile. Maybe this held more advanced technology.

“Open panel,” she stated clearly.

When this didn’t work she tried “Open door”, “Requesting exit”, and “Let me the hell out”, to no success.

Crouching down, Romy felt her way along the panel on her hands and knees. She was grimy, tired, and hungry, and wasn’t used to being in charge. Space soldiers were made to follow, not to lead and ask questions. At this point a memory wipe sounded like a good time. Falling asleep to wake with no memory of any of this would be a blessing. The image of the sun rising over the ocean stirred before her eyes and she blinked it away. Well, maybe not. She gazed down at the door and discovered a slim metal handle along the smooth surface.

Moving into a squat, she gripped the handle with both hands and heaved up with all her strength. The door whipped around in a coil at the top with a bang! Romy winced at the crashing sound, even as she raised a hand to protect her eyes against the glaring light.

It turned out that door wasn’t locked either. . . .

Eyes watering, Romy stepped out of the empty building and into the light. The sun was barely in the sky, signalling early morning.

When her vision cleared, she gaped at the sight before her.