Yes! The flashing light did, in fact, indicate the location of an evacuation station. Emilia dodged a couple of slower-moving individuals and threw the boys through the door ahead of her. Caleb stopped howling and whooped at the unexpected ride. Twin oofs sounded as the boys landed.

The station A.I. would determine when the pod should launch. Emilia’s responsibility was limited to strapping herself and her children into acceleration chairs. As she worked, hushing the two boys who were now in full wail, more people poured through the hatch. Sobs and moans dominated, only the occasional person asking questions into the air.

Another quake struck, this one bigger than any of the previous. A klaxon sounded in the pod and the hatch slammed shut. An artificial voice announced launch in thirty seconds and admonished all passengers to be seated.

Emilia put her hands to her mouth. There was no way that everyone could have gotten to pods. And she had no idea where her husband was, or if he’d managed to get to safety. She pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. She was unsurprised to see the NO SIGNAL indicator. Silently, so as not to further frighten the boys, she began to cry.

The automated escape pod launched right on time, only half full. Once the roundabout had lost atmosphere, the automation had correctly concluded that there would be no more passengers. Emilia held hands with her boys, one on either side of her. Their crying stopped the moment the pod began the launch sequence. Now they lay in their acceleration chairs, fascinated by the experience. Watching them, Emilia felt a wave of melancholy wash over her. They weren’t old enough to remember the trip from Earth, except maybe in bits and snatches. Paradoxically, this would be their first real experience with space travel.

Emilia turned and stared at the ceiling. Still no word from Bruce. She kept reminding herself that communications would be spotty or non-existent until the emergency was over. And the emergency personnel would rightly place non-essential comms at the bottom of their priority list.

It took less than twenty minutes to arrive at the space station orbiting Mercury, but they spent almost two hours queued to be unloaded. By the time their turn came, the boys were whiney and starting to display the hyperactivity that came with hunger and boredom. Emilia had run out of threats and bribes, so the sudden activity through the portholes was a welcome distraction. Other passengers were happy to let the boys have the prime view—anything to shut them up. Emilia tried to be offended at the thought, but found she was simply too honest to pull it off. She wanted to kill them, herself.

As the pod mated with the station airlock, her phone dinged and she pulled it out quickly.

Message from Bruce showed on the display. He was alive and on board. Emilia blinked back tears.

* * *