In a grim voice, Dusty responded, “No, I don’t. Damn!”
Letting out a tired breath, Tom had to decide their next move. He assumed Explorer was probably being blocked by one of the hills surrounding them. The question was, which one? Dusty was probably down to thirty-five minutes of air, only enough to go in one direction. Something in Tom’s gut was leading him to go a certain way. He lifted his arm and pointed. “I think we go to the right, over that hill.”
Dusty lifted his sun visor, allowing Tom to see his partner’s eyes. Dusty shook his head. “I think it’s to the left.”
Tom swung his arm and pointed to where Dusty was looking. “Over that hill? How do you know?”
“I don’t. It’s just a feeling.”
As the commander, it was Tom’s call, and this was going to be a do or die decision. Dusty did not have enough air for Tom to be wrong. He looked down at Anne’s lipstick impression. What do I do, babe? Tom looked in the direction Dusty wanted to go. Something didn’t feel right about that vector. But Tom wasn’t positive his route was right either. In fact, he figured it was probably a fifty-fifty shot either way, and if Dusty’s gut was right, he would redeem himself after losing the rover.
Tom asked, “Are you sure?”
Dusty nodded with a grin. “Sure enough to bet my life.”
Looking back in the direction Dusty wanted to go, Tom closed his eyes. He hoped for divine intervention. The unexpected image of Dino running around with Anne’s wig and Dusty catching the wild mutt flashed in Tom’s mind. He smiled at the amusing memory. I guess that’s my sign. “Okay, let’s go left.”
“I think you’re making the right call, Commander.”
NERVOUSLY, DAVID TAPPED his pen on his desk as he continued to send out periodic calls over the radio, trying to reach the Apollo 16 moonwalkers. “Tom, this is Houston. Do you copy?”
Only static came from the other end. A hand dropped on the CAPCOM’s shoulder, causing him to jerk slightly. Standing over him was his boss, who looked concerned.
Dick pulled out a nearby chair and sat down. “Have you heard anything?”
David shook his head. “Nope, not a peep, and I’m worried.”
Dick’s eyebrow shot up.
David felt he needed to elaborate on his concerns. “A controller just informed me he calculated exactly how far they will walk by following the tracks back to the LM. It’s almost five and half miles. I did my own calculations on how far they would walk in a straight shot back, and I calculated it’s roughly four miles. If I’m right and Dusty’s backpack has failed, he won’t have enough air if they follow the rover’s tracks. I’m convinced Tom knows this. I bet you he took them off the tracks in a more direct route back to Explorer.”
Dick’s eyes widened. “Damn.” He looked out toward the front of the room. After a long, motionless beat, he turned back with a solemn look. “Well let’s face it. If we don’t hear back from them within two hours from their last contact, and you’re right, Dusty will be dead.”
Shocked by his boss’s bluntness, David caught Joan out of the corner of his eye leaning against the VIP room’s glass barrier behind him. He couldn’t help but look back. Before acknowledging her, he felt a strong grip on his arm.
“I want you to look straight ahead.”
David turned to see his boss looking forward, not at him. Surprised, he asked, “Why?”
Without turning his head, Dick commanded, “Look forward.”
David followed the order and looked straight ahead.
Not moving, Dick instructed. “I want you to turn your head to me, smiling. Then I want you to point to the monitors and tell me Tom and Dusty should be okay, and do it so the VIP room can see you talking.”
Finally understanding what his boss was up to, David obliged and did as requested. Dick then turned with a wide smile and patted David on the back. He exaggerated his pronunciation of his words. “That’s great news.” He turned back toward the front of the room. With his face back out of view from the visitors, Dick instantly dropped his fake smile and said in a soft whisper. “The last thing I need is a panic in the VIP room.”
ANNE HAD BEEN studying the activity in the control room like a hawk and thought she saw something encouraging. “Did David just say everything’s okay?”
Standing directly in front of Anne, Joan had her hands up against the glass divider as she peered down into the room. Without moving, Joan gave a simple response. “Yeah.”
Anne tilted her head slightly. “You don’t sound too convincing.”
Not budging, Joan answered softly, “Yeah.”
“YOU OKAY?” The nasty spill Tom’s partner just took could have been serious.
Dusty slowly rolled over in the lunar dust and struggled to get up onto his hands and knees. He spoke in a tired voice, “I’m fine. Sorry about that.”
Droplets of sweat formed on Tom’s face. He rubbed his nose on the inside of his helmet to get rid of an annoying droplet. “Buddy, it wasn’t your fault.” Gloom hung over the two men. Neither one had spoken of the possibility of dying, keeping any negative thoughts to themselves. But the fact was, the clock was ticking and they still had no confirmation they were headed in the right direction. Without hearing from mission control, the pressure mounted with every step they took. Tom had been sending out calls periodically to Houston without getting any response. He bent over and helped his friend up.
Dusty wobbled slightly from exhaustion before standing. Tom steadied his friend and gave him a couple of light pats to clean off some of the gathered filth. Clouds of dust floated off the astronaut in all directions.
Tom’s emergency oxygen supply that Dusty was sharing, was running low. Since the spacesuits were not designed to share the main air supply, his partner would not have enough air to survive if Explorer wasn’t over the hill. Tom had over an hour and half of air left in his main system and would be able to continue the search. Leaving his dead friend behind would be devastating, a grim thought Tom pushed out of his mind. “We should be hearing from mission control any minute now.”
Dusty flipped up his sun visor, a concerned look on his face. “That’s if I was right.”
Staying encouraging, Tom answered, “I wouldn’t have gone this way if I didn’t believe in your gut.”
With a weary smile, Dusty flipped down his visor. The two continued their climb and soon approached the hill’s gentle shoulder. Though the other side was still hidden beyond view, Tom was getting worried. With the stronger antenna on the LM, he was sure they were in position to start hearing something from Houston, if in fact, Explorer was there. Tom anxiously sent out another call. “Houston, do you copy?”
Even with the cool air rushing over Tom’s face, droplets of sweat kept forming due to the tension in his body. “Houston, this is Apollo 16. Do you copy?”
A soft crackle came over the radio. “T…”
The hair on Tom’s neck stood on end. Did I just hear something? Tom quickly raised a hand, calling for a stop. Both men halted in their tracks. Tom held off asking Dusty if he’d heard anything in order to keep the radio clear. He closed his eyes and tuned out the sounds of his backpack so he could focus on any incoming radio signal.
“…ston …ead?”
There was no disputing the fact he was hearing something. Tom practically jumped out of his suit. “Dusty, did you hear that?”
“I sure did, boss!”
Excitedly, Tom radioed in, “Houston, we copy.”
Even though the communication link stayed garbled and unclear, the two men were getting the signal they were praying for, letting them know they were on the right track. With a second wind kicking in, both men bounded over the hilltop with a sudden burst of energy. Tom’s eyes widened as the most beautiful sight he had ever seen came into view. As if by magic, their safe haven and ride home, Explorer, was there, glowing as it patiently waited in the center of the desolate valley.