He gazed into the clear night sky. He noticed that he did not recognise most of the patterns of stars, but quickly realised why. He was viewing from the Southern Hemisphere. At one time he had been fascinated by the universe, but that interest had been replaced by other things.
He recognised one familiar pattern, Orion’s Belt. To its left and low in the sky was a distinct orange dot, Mars. Zak was sure that it wasn’t normally so prominent. The distance between Earth and Mars varied tremendously. Dad had told him their journey to Mars would take one week. In the coming months, it would get much longer. Once he had averted this trip, it would be too much hassle for Dad to come back and get him.
Zak laughed quietly to himself. It would be a bold escape. He was about to have some real-life adventure.
