He nodded to the rear of the ship. "She went to the machinery room," he said. "Morrie's in the kitchen."
I shuffled back to the kitchen. Morrie's spacesuit lay in a heap on the floor, but there was no sign of him.
He wasn't in the lavatory, either. I pushed open the door to the machinery room just in time to hear Gail scream.
I stood there a moment, hardly believing what I saw. Morrie had forced her to the floor. He had almost torn her uniform from her body. She was trying to fight him off, but his arms held her tight.
I pushed myself away from the bulkhead. In the center of the ship there is very little centrifugal force and I literally sailed across the room to drop lightly on my feet beside the struggling pair.
I reached down, caught Morrie savagely around the neck with my arm, and pulled him back, away from Gail.
He squirmed out of my grasp and threw a savage punch which struck me in the shoulder. But he hadn't been set to deliver the blow and I hardly felt it. I was angry now and I lunged forward, grabbing his arm with both hands. His feet left the floor and I literally hurled him across the cabin into the water purifier on the far side of the room.
He hit with a crash.
I turned to Gail. "Are you all right?"
"I—I'm—fine," she choked. Then her eyes focused on Morrie across the room. "Look out, Bill!" she screamed.