I’ve not done a blog battle for a while, so for a bit of fun I thought I would take part this time and see how it goes. The weeks theme is Darkness.
Leaping the Void:
The darkness was enveloping her mind and vision. Overloaded with the sensations of sounds and the crippling force that brought her to where she was now. Was she dead? Who was she even? What was it she could hear? Voices? The roar subsided and slowly the sounds became clearer. She was breathing fast, she knew somehow this was bad and tried to control her breathing. For a moment she lay there, collecting her thoughts, looking up and the bright blue and a white gem against the black sky, peppered with stars.
“Kristen, are you there? Please respond” was what she could hear, over and over. Dazed she lay there some more before she realised.
“I’m Kristen” she said out loud, still breathing hard, slowly getting control. She pressed the intercom button “Science officer Bowman here control, I’m here… I’m not sure what happened”
“Bowman, thank God you’re there. You’re heart rate is really high, you’ve got to get your breathing under control. Where’s Mendez and Harrison?” Kristen truned to rest on her elbow, her mind returning to the events. The massive quake, she had been looking right at both Mendez and Harrison when they vanished. Kristen looked round, now slowly sitting up, amazed that her life support system wasn’t damaged.
“I can’t see them contol!” She replied “I’m fairly sure they’re gone – they vanished in front of me.” Kristen picked herself up as the only way one can in a space suit. Finally getting up and standing as close as she dare the huge chasm that had appeared where her friends once stood. “What happened control?” She asked.
“We’re not sure Bowman, but we need to get you back here. What’s your oxygen level indicating?” Control was sounding concerned, the moon walk had already been going on several hours and they were due back soon anyway.
“It’s showing at 14 percent control” For a moment there was silence.
“Acknowledged Bowman, we need to find you a way over that chasm. You’re only a ten minute walk away from here. But it will take you three hours to get round the chasm, and about forty minutes to drive the Mule round. But you only have thirty minutes of air left and that’s if you’re careful.”
For a moment, Kristen stood there thinking. “I’ve got an idea” she finally said “You’re going to like this.” Kristen walked slowly and steadily toward the Mule. Once she got there she reached into a side compartment and pulled out a firearm. Looking round she could see that the Mule would be useless anyway, it’s front wheels sunk into the Lunar dust. Carefully she climbed onto the Mule’s cabin, looking round she could clearly see the base just the other side of the chasm.
I’m not going to die here like this. She thought to herself as she turned around and sat on the circular hatch atop the cabin. Her back was to the base, taking out the firearm and gripping it in her left hand she began the release procedure for the hatch.
“Bowman? What in God’s name are you doing? This really isn’t…”
In space, there is no sound. Which is a good thing in some ways as right at that second the hatch blew open and catapulted the determined woman up and across the chasm.
“Ohhh…myyy… Gooooddd!!!” Kristen shouted as she felt herself shot up and away from the Mule. Regaining her senses, she fired the gun.. one, two, three, four times. Each shot pushing her further and further away from the Mule and toward the base.
For what seemed like an age she was flying over the Lunar surface, no one had ever done this before. No one had needed or wanted to and she could see why. A red light in her helmet flashed, only 8 percent oxygen now. She had very few minutes of oxygen left. Finally she was descending, but at a hell of a rate. Turning to face the base… somehow in flight. As she got nearer the ground she pointed the gun toward the ground and fired one, two, three, four times. That was it, no more rounds left. Kristen had slowed but was still moving fast. She had not only cleared the chasm but was so close to the base. Moving her arms and legs as if to run.
Suddenly it was all a blur and once more Kristen was looking up and the blue and white globe that was the Earth. The red light was flashing and now there was a buzzer telling her that she was dangerously low on oxygen. Her visor was cracked and was only vaguely aware of being pulled into the Lunar base. Then, there was nothing.
“Wake up Bowman… wake up! Hell of a stunt you pulled off out there!” Kristen slowly opened here eyes, Scott Williams the base commander was sat next to her. She was laying in the base infirmary but all she could think about was the damn, thumping headache.
“I made it?” Kristen whispered weakly.
“Sure did Bowman, we had to pull you in becasue you crashed so hard. You’ve been asleep there for two days. Sorry about Mendez and Harrison, but we’re glad you’re back safe.”
With that Williams got up and left, Kristen was lost in her thoughts. She had made it, just. Thinking about her missing friends she lay there watching the medic checking her.
“Why me?” Kristen asked.
“What?” the medic asked, confused at the question.
“Why did I make it?” Kristen asked.
“Ask God, becasue I can’t aswer that. from what I hear it didn’t come easy.” The medic checked some instruments and adjusted a couple of levels and walked off, leaving Kristen alone. Alone to wonder why against all the odds, she had made it back.
©2017 Simon Farnell
No ownership claimed on images.
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