by Steven Webb
Carl watched as the crew buckled themselves into their seats. He had been ahead of the game, making sure he was locked in upon reaching his work station, knowing in his heart that something was bound to go awry. Earth took center stage, the boosters playing their cacophonous song to usher it in.
“We’re almost clear,” Joseph’s voice could barely be heard over the defining roar. “Come on, just a little ….” the sound of twisting metal stopped him mid speech. Grinding sounds hummed through the framework. The Bridge lights faded from green and into red. The sound of the engines faded away. The ship began to lose its gravity as the momentum was interrupted.
Carl felt his limbs lift up, a puppet master controlling their every movement. “God, please don’t let us die.” he cried out. The only thing that came to his mind was the Lord’s prayer.
“Our father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name,” The crew was panicking around him. Over his prayers, the only voice he could distinguish was that of Captain Somers barking orders to the crew. “Seal the doors. Change our trajectory now.”
“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.” Everyone but Carl worked furiously to alter the incoming fate, but no matter how much they tried, the outcome remained the same. The ship was hurtling towards Earth, completely unhindered. Carl was in disbelief. His skills were of no use. It was the exact same feeling he got during the emergency scenario training, the only difference being, this time there was no door he could walk out after failing to prevent disaster. “On Earth as it is in heaven.” as the lines came out he stared at the planet growing ever closer.
“Zea I need a life support status.” the Captain tried to control the panic filled room.
Carl continued out loud, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
“We lost a lot of air from the ship. We’re running on backup. It’s enough to last a few hours.”
Carl watched Zea. “And forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He caught himself clinging to her visage to to try and get through. The thought of being with her gave him motivation to try anything he could to get them out of this. He sprung to life, pounding furiously at the computer, attempting to recall the training procedures. He checked engines, nothing. He ran the systems checks on his computer hoping something would catch his memory. It was in this moment of furor that the sound of muffled sobs, and sniffling caught him off guard. It was coming from Sophie. He hadn’t realized that in all the confusion she was even more terrified than he was. With all the focus he could muster he attempted to tune out her cries of desperation. The Earth was getting closer with each second. All concept of time went out the window. The sobs grew less frequent, a sign Sophie was getting worn out.
As if to wrangle the entire crew into it’s open arms, the Earth’s gravity swept over Carl’s body. The odd sensation of weight, after being in zero gravity for so long was enough to temporarily confuse his mind. The effort it now took to lift an arm or shift in the chair required some thought.
Captain Somers screamed out, “Shit, we’ve hit the upper atmosphere.” The ship was gaining velocity, it’s trajectory now headed directly towards the Surface.
Carl’s body slammed into the seat. A red glow obstructed the observation window. Heat flowed into the ship. The warmth became unbearable, making it hard to breath. Sweat began beading up on his skin. His body remained immobile as the ship flew out of control. Every attempt to hold his eyes open were met with incredible resistance. He could only catch glimpses of the horror around him.
“Joseph what the hell are you doing?” Rocco groaned over the crackling of the ship’s hull.
The sound of bay doors opening hit Carl’s ears. Why would he open a door right now. Such a waste. He just couldn’t figure it out. We’re going to die and… his thoughts got cut short, as the ship suddenly decelerated. His body slammed against the restraints testing their capacity to hold him in place. His arms and legs flew in front of him, and his head jerked forward. Then just as quickly they snapped back. The muscles in his neck tensed up. Out the window parts of the ship could be seen flying past, independent of the bridge.
Rocco grinned from ear to ear. “Did you just deploy the solar sails?”
“Yeah I hoped it would slow us down. Seems to be working so far.” Joseph’s face was a mix of surprise and relief.
There was a twang of metal snapping, followed by the ship speeding up, though the pace was much slower than their initial descent.
“One of the wires snapped!” Trent bellowed.
Another one could be heard snapping, followed by another.
The ground was approaching quick. The ship started turning being pulled along by the remaining grasp of the solar sail.
Captain Somers whole body tensed up. “Everyone hold on, we’re about to hit.”
Carl closed his eyes and grabbed his cross. God won’t let anything happen to me that I can’t survive. He repeated this mantra to himself. The ship began crunching into the ground. A cloud of dust flew up from the far end of the ship blocking the window. The impact threw his body around inside the restraints. The cross ripped from his neck. In an instant the roof of the bridge slammed into the ground and started to collapse. Carl watched the chaos around him. Glass, metal, and plastic flew everywhere. Computer parts collided with the framework around him. He closed his eyes trying not to watch the disaster unfolding. Something punched him his stomach. A moan crept out of his lungs. Finally the ship came to a complete stop. Carl opened his eyes. The stomach pain was gone. In fact he couldn’t feel much of anything. An itch hit his lungs and out of instinct he coughed to relieve himself. A fine red mist sprayed from his mouth followed by a sharp pain. I must have gotten hit harder than I thought. He took a deep breath and wailed out in pain. Zea hobbled over to him. In his dizziness her visage seemed to light up. The voice was muffled as if he were under water. She climbed over bits of wreckage. Standing a few feet under him, her warm hands embraced Carl’s face. His arms hung down past his head. He reached over with his right hand to touch her arm. She was all he had wanted. He couldn’t figure out why she had tears in her eyes. It was in that moment he felt a warm sensation moving down his body. It crept over his chin. A warm metallic taste filled his mouth. The liquid continued on and ran into his eyes. He wiped away the liquid. Why was it raining. He thought. Why was Zea upside down. He struggled to speak through belated breaths, “I’m getting real tired.”
Zea stood there with tears rolling down her face. In an unsteadyvoice, she spoke, “Don’t move. I’m going to figure out how to get you down.”
“What do you mean down?” He forced out. He looked towards the restraints that held him in. “Why is there a metal pole sticking out of my stomach. Where’s my bed? I’m ready to lie down.” The world began fading around him. “Is it night already? How far am I from my house?” Everything was a blur. His entire body shook uncontrollably. “I’m freezing. Is it snowing out?” Carl closed his eyes, letting the fatigue over take him.
ZEA
Smoke billowed out of the ship’s smoldering core, carrying the scent of burning metal through the air. Chaos had broken out around the site of the crash. Strange whooping noises, accompanied a chorus of shrieks, and howls. The voices of the crew were faint. Despite all this, the only thing Zea cared about was Carl. His body was staked to the seat, a river of blood flowing from the wound. Training would have her leave the rod in until a way to stop the bleeding was available, but deep down she knew there was no way for Carl to survive. Zea unlatched the belt meant to keep him safe. With every ounce of strength she could muster, Zea began pulling at the rod. As she braced herself, a searing pain shot through her leg. Instantly she lurched over in agony. Letting out a loud moan she pulled herself back up. Determination drove her on towards her goal. Her hands wrapped around the metal. she struggled to pull with all her might, but any signs of progress eluded her.
Struggling to stay on her feet, she pulled again but still to no avail now sobbing at her inability to
do anything to free her friend. Zea placed her head on the pole unable to focus past the crying. Suddenly a hand graced her own. There stood Nova, her suit torn to shreds, blood trickling down her arm. Without a word, she picked up where Zea had left off. Finding her strength Zea joined in once again. This time the pole budged a little. A few attempts later and the long pole finally released it’s hold upon Carl. Zea threw her arms underneath the falling body in an attempt to slow it’s drop, but the lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Zea dropped to her knees and grabbed Carl’s head, stroking his hair.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, “Come on Carl! I can’t lose you like this!” She slapped his face, hoping to awaken him despite knowing full well he was gone. “Wake up, dammit.” Her sobbing grew louder.
“Zea! Are you alright?” it was Nova, trying to yell over all the ruckus.
In her grief Zea was unable to be swayed away from the tragedy which she cradled in her blood soaked arms.
“Watch out Zea.”
Her gaze never left Carl’s body, as a sharp pain shot through her head. Her eyes slammed shut in an attempt to deal with the pain. With no control over its actions her hand jerked up and clutched the left side of her head.
“Shit,” Nova rushed to Zea’s side. “You’re bleeding.”
Zea’s quivered as she showed her two bloody hands. “That’s not my blood. I tried… but…but….I couldn’t save him. I should have been able to do something.”
The smoke burned her lungs making talking painful.
Nova’s gentle hand graced the side of Zea’s face. “No I mean your head. I’m sorry about Carl. I promise we’ll give him a proper burial but right now we need to get your head taken care of.”
“I can’t leave him here.”
Your not leaving him. Let’s get you up.” The hand moved from Zea’s head to Carl’s body removing it from her lap. A gentle pull brought her to her feet.
Zea slumped in Nova’s grip. “Just leave me here.” A blow struck the side of Zea’s face, tossing her head to the side. Without any warning Nova had slapped Zea full force. Her cheek throbbed.
“You need to get your shit together. Your the only hope the rest of the crew has to survive, but your so caught up in your own fucking self loathing that your fucking useless.” Nova turned and stormed off.
What am I doing? With pain shooting through her injured leg, Zea grabbed Carl’s arm and slowly began dragging him out of the wreckage. Weather it was her animal instincts kicking in or maybe hope that Carl could still be saved, she found herself determined to ensure Carl’s body didn’t remain in the smouldering ashes. The deadweight dragged along the ground fighting every pull and tug exerted on it. Her lungs ached. Her leg was in complete agony. Still, she worked her way around the broken metal and broken computers. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving her sapped of energy. She let go of Carl’s arm, and struggled to catch her breath. Light was streaming in through the haze, meaning escape from the fiery hell was near. With all she could muster, Zea gave it one more try. Two figures came into view on the edge of the smoke.
Trent had his arm wrapped around Captain Somers’ neck, leaning on her for support. The Captains mouth had a strip of cloth wrapped around it. Trents free arm held a similar strip up to his mouth and nose. “Rocco I found another one,” Captain Somers attempted to shout, her voice completely horse.
“Good.” Rocco’s gruff voice came through the ambient noise. His large figure broke into view. “Between the four we have outside, you finding Trent, and Nova finding two others that just leaves Diego unaccounted for.” Rocco made eye contact with Zea. “You finally made it out.”
“Of course I did” Captain Somers responded with confusion. “I’ve been com…”
“No not you. I was talking to Zea,” he gestured towards her with a nod of his head. “Why the hell are you trying to take stuff with you. You need to get out of here.”
Unable to speak, Zea grabbed the body and pulled it towards them. Bits of glass jetted from the blood caked skin, and clothes.
“Oh God,” Trent heaved, his face wracked with horror by the sight that lay before them. “Is that Carl?”
Captain Somers removed Trents arm from around her shoulder. “Can you walk on your own?”
“Yeah but there’s no way I’m touching that.”
“You won’t have to, I’ll help Zea. Just get yourself out of here. Rocco finish looking for Diego and make sure to keep your mouth covered.”
The smoke thinned out as Zea and bore the load of her friend through the gaping maw of the ships once gargantuan observation window with the assistance of the Captain. Her eyes were greeted by a strange land. blueish dirt crumbled under her feet, soft but seemingly dry. What could only be described as a forest in quantity of objects alone surrounded them. Tall, stretched out cone like structures covered in orange ribbons that seemed to emerge randomly from the reddish shell. They twisted out to form several canopies like layers up the entire length. Bunches of squirming blue tentacles stretched skyward with translucent bowls that seemed to pulsate in the wind. Large smooth green bubbly masses appeared to be erupting from the ground, a yellow liquid running down them. Tiny red branching growths sat in clumps amongst the plants.
Captain Somers stood steadfast before everyone. “Keep moving. We need to get away from the ship. Just get to where everyone else is.” There, just ahead, huddled beneath the strange plants, sat the crew. Joseph was spread out on the ground, Taylor seemed to be in shock, curled up in front of a large plant, and Nova was talking to Sophie.
“Where the fuck are we?” Zea asked in complete shock.
“I don’t know. Let’s worry about that later.”
They followed Trent as he slowly made his way towards the others. Drawing closer, Nova could be heard attempting to sooth Sophie’s Fragile nerves. “Breath Sophie. Calm down.”
“Don’t fucking touch me.” Sophie screeched, tearing Nova’s hand away. “I’ll calm down when I god damn well feel like. I’m not a fucking kid. DIEGO…. DIEGO Where are you.” She stumbled on unsure feet towards the inferno. Trent stepped into her path, unflinching as she pounded on his chest screaming. Her war path seemed stalled until she kicked Trent’s leg forcing him to the ground.
Zea watched Sophie run past a crumpled up mass of a man on the ground that was spewing profanities, and disappear into the thick smoke. As the scene stole Zea’s attention she instantly felt the full weight of Carl’s body. Before she could comprehend what was going on the Captain ran after Sophie. Looking at the remaining crew, Zea knew precisely what the Captain would have her do. She released Carl’s body and hobbled over to Trent. She ran her hand down the length of his right leg checking for any signs of injury.
In response, Trent scream in agony, “She broke my fucking ankle.”
Zea lifted his pant leg to see the injury, swollen and controted. “Does this hurt,” she asked touching just around the edge of the ankle.
“God dammit, yes it hurts.”
“Bare with me for a second,” her right hand wrapped around his foot and her left hand around his calf. A loud pop emanated from his ankle.
Screams of agony lept from Trent’s mouth and his fist dug into the dirt.
“Stay here while I get a splint made up.” A nearby scrap of metal and cloth torn from her jumper, made quick work of the ankle. “You should be able to walk but try and stay off it.”
She gave him a hand up and guided him towards those who remained outside the burning ship. With Trent situated against a boulder, Zea went about checking on the others. She found Joseph unconscious on the ground. His vitals were dim. Each shallow breath barely perceptible. Lacking any equipment, all she could do was keep an eye on him and make him comfortable. Just as she finished her check up Rocco emerged carrying Diego.
Rocco spoke with a commanding through his face cover, “Zea, Diego needs your help.”
He collapsed to his knees dropping Diego who moaned as he hit the ground. A bloody stump now repl
aced what was once Diego’s left arm. Pale skin indicated severe blood loss. Not far behind them came Sophie yelling out orders, but it was clear she was in a state of panic.
“I’ll be right back. Keep him distracted while I work on him.” Zea grabbed a metal scrap and ran towards the ship. She reached the metal into the fire but it’s heat caused her to retract. The flames licked the air in front of her. she once again placed the metal into the fire, her hand burning from the heat as the metal began glowing red. She scurried back to Diego and touched the metal scrap to Diego’s wound. The skin sizzled and the blood baked. It’s heat was dissipating quickly. She ran back towards the fire and repeated the process. With the wound fully sealed, she realized the Captain still wasn’t back. “Sophie where’s the Captain?”
“I don’t know. She was with you.”
“No she ran in after you.” Before she could go any further Rocco was up and walking back into the wreckage. Zea followed closely behind. “Wait for me! Get Diego over by the others. I’ll check on him when I get back.”
She hadn’t realized before but the heat was overwhelming. What was left of her under shirt got pulled up over her mouth to filter out some of the smoke. She held onto Rocco’s shirt so as not to lose track of him. The two made their way slowly over bits and pieces of ship. Leaning up against one of the shattered desk frames sat Captain Somers.
“Captain, we need to get you out of here.” Rocco knelt down in front of her.
Zea followed suit checking for a pulse. She placed her ear against the Captain’s chest. “She’s not breathing. We need to get her out of here.”
As a team they struggled with what little strength they had left and pulled her out into the fresh air. Zea immediately went to work. The Captain was placed on her back with her head tilted back. Both hands placed on the ribs produced a cracking sound as Zea began compressions. A few breaths into the mouth and right back to compressions, she went over and over hoping for some signs of life. She refused to lose another one of her companions. She placed two fingers on Captain Somers neck searching for any signs of life. No such luck was afforded her. The pain in her leg grew as she remained knelt over the body which only succeeded in driving her on.