As Our World Crumbles
First, there was blackness. Chloe couldn’t open her eyes or even feel her limbs. The first sense that came back was her hearing, but she almost wished it hadn’t. The ringing that followed was deafening. The next sense that came back was her sight. At first, Chloe’s vision was blurry. Red and white brutal light streamed around her, and the unpleasant smell of blood reached her nose. She opened her mouth to try and call for help, but dirt and dust scratched her mouth and lungs. Chloe couldn’t hear her voice over the ringing in her ears. But, even with blurry vision, she could see the dark shapes. They were prowling around her, circling like a pack.
This experience was hell on earth. She should have planned better.
Mere hours before, Chloe had been full of joy and wonder. She was staring out the window of the rocket at the planet Zyra, trillions of miles from Earth. It had looked so beautiful, with its deep purple and light green coloring. It proved that they were no longer anywhere near Earth. They were by themselves. They had their future ahead of them.
“It looks beautiful,” she whispered.
“It is,” Chloe turned around and looked at the person standing behind her. He was tall and dark hair framed his shining blue, somewhat arrogant, eyes. If Chloe remembered correctly, NASA chose him for his leadership qualities. Looking at him, at his cocky smile and his wrinkled button-down shirt, Chloe was sure that she remembered wrong.
“We’ve only seen blurry pictures of Zyra, and now we’re there. Soon, we’ll be there. Forget being the first man on the moon, I’ll be the first man on our second Earth.”
“Don’t be so hasty.”
This time Chloe could recognize the voice without turning around. Gruff and tinged with worry, it had to be Blair. “We will first have to send a scouting mission. Besides, who decided that you should be the first to touch Zyra?”
“The scouting mission,” Wylie smiled smugly. “Well, I figured that Charles and I should check out the landing site.”
“I’ll come as well,” Blair said while standing up.
Chloe almost opened her mouth in protest. She had chosen the landing site. She had been meticulous in doing so, spending the last three weeks in careful consideration. There was no margin for error.
But, she stopped. She looked over at Charles. Chloe didn’t remember many of her crewmates. But, Charles stuck out. He took the fact that Zyra was an outpost seriously. Chloe looked down and smiled at Alex and Chrissy, Charles’s two kids. Charles was a family man and had bigger things to worry about. He didn’t care about who chose the site. What he cared about was his family, his kids.
There could be no margin for error. Chloe couldn’t risk anything happening to the two little, bright-eyed, and rosy-cheeked smiling souls. Besides, Blair was going with them, and Chloe trusted Blair. Her pride should not come before the mission.
“At least,” Chloe thought before drifting back into unconsciousness. “At least I didn’t let my pride get the better of me. Still, I should have picked a better landing site. I should – should have gone instead of Wylie. I just hope that I – we – can do better next time. If there is a next time,” she sighed a terrible haunting gasping breath. “I hope there is a next time. They – they deserve a second chance.”
Her eyes closed. As they did, she thought that she saw wild beasts approaching.
In the present, Blair was standing near Chloe. Blood and sweat both soaked through Blair’s clothes. Her hand lay clenched on her gun. Even though she had used it before, killed beasts with it before, it lay uneasy in her hands.
“Knock it off,” she told herself. “This is what you trained for. This is why you’re here. You’re supposed to protect the crew.” Protect the crew, as if the crew would still be alive or have any chance. They were all as good as dead.
Still, it was her job to give everyone a fighting chance. She stared at the strange beasts that were patrolling around Chloe’s body. People were counting on Blair. Blair had let them down the last time. She would not do so again.
Wylie, Charles, and Blair landed at Chloe’s chosen landing point. At first, all was calm. Then, there was a wonder; dense forests of tall purple spires, beautiful purple earth, glowing red particles, green skies, small flitting creatures, and things moving behind the spires. There was light and beauty and majesty. There was hope.
The first thing that Blair did was to remove her thick lab coat. There was no need for it.
Wylie smiled. “There doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about. Chloe managed to choose a decent spot. It seems as if we have a decent shot.”
Blair was still uneasy. She turned towards Charles, who had his face pressed up against the glass. Blair followed his gaze, hand clenched on her gun. She wasn’t one to let her guard down. The beauty could just be a painted mask. But, Blair still gazed out at Zyra, taking in the beautiful landscape. She glanced at Charles, looking for confirmation. Was it safe? Could the others land?
Charles looked down at some instruments on a control panel. He began to check them, running his fingers across every one of them.
“Everything seems to be in order,” Charles said to himself. “What do you think, Wylie? You’re this mission’s scientist. We need your ‘All clear’ before we proceed and tell everyone else that it’s safe to land,” Charles smiled. “I can’t wait to show Alex and Chrissy this place. They are going to love it. It will blow their little minds.”
Wylie’s face was also up against the glass and his hand was straying towards the latch. “Everything looks fine. Let’s press the button and give everyone the ‘ok.’ ”
Blair tentatively nodded. Wylie was smart, and it was his job to know these things. However, Blair thought she heard a faint beeping and saw one of the instruments spinning furiously. These things worried her. But she shoved those thoughts aside and sent the ‘All clear’ message.
Blair had let everyone down once. Blair curled her hand around her gun and put her fingers on the trigger. There was no way in hell that she would let everyone down again.
BANG!
Blair shot one of the beasts that had been circling Chloe. One fell, the rest scattered. The smell of blood reached Blair’s nose. She blanched. Killing would never be easy. Blair rushed over to Chloe, realizing that the smell could be from the dead beast, or it could be from Chloe. Blair put her hand over Chloe’s heart. A pulse. Still-
Blair couldn’t wake Chloe. Neither shouting, nor pulling, nor hitting could wake her. Chloe was limp and as useless as a ragdoll.
Blair stood and raised her gun again. She had to trust herself and depend on herself. The beasts would be back, and Blair would protect Chloe. If she could protect her, save just one person- Blair readied her stance. If she could, It could mean all the difference in the world.
Mark ran across the crash site as quickly as he could, jumping over piles of sand and dust. His speed was diminished by the girl he carried in his arms, Charles’s daughter, Chrissy. She lay limp in his arms. Some of her bones seemed to be broken, but besides that, she looked ok. Mark had been searching for survivors and bringing them back to the place where others had begun to set up a temporary medical station. Luckily, the overwhelming majority of the medicines had survived the crash.
“Who else is left?” Mark called after depositing Chrissy.
“Just Blair and Chloe. We haven’t been able to locate either of them.”
As soon as he heard the words, Mark was off running again. Inside, he was cursing his foolishness. If only he had been more observant, if only he had worked harder, if only- Mark shook his head, trying to clear it. There was no point in worrying about what could have been when people were dying in the present. Though his legs were tired and his arms shook, he continued onwards. He was as much running from his self-doubt as he was running toward Chloe and Blair.
Right before the crash, Mark had been in the seed bank. White chrome and cold steel covered the walls. Others had found NASA’s bare walls unappealing and bland. On the other hand, Mark welcomed the purity and cleanliness of them. Besides, it was a clean background on which to place the seeds and shoots.
Mark thrust his hands deep into the soil, stirring up the sweet earthy scent of loam. Large jars of the stuff had been bright on their mission. Zyra most likely wouldn’t have the right dirt for growing Earth-plants, so bringing dirt was imperative. Mark vaguely heard the sounds of others talking in another room, but he paid them no heed. The dirt and the seeds had enthralled him. Zyra was a new opportunity. Too busy dreaming of what could be, he missed the first few warning signs.
Mark was working, happy. He hummed to himself. But, he was uneasy. What was the noise? It kept rising in volume, growing louder. Eventually, it filled Mark’s ears, permeating the entire room. Something had to be wrong. The landing! It was supposed to happen now. If something went wrong- Mark, realizing this all too late, rushed out of his room.
The first thing he noticed were millions of tiny grains of sand all pelting and scratching against the window, obscuring Zyra’s landscape. But, the things that worried Mark the most were the deep gashes in the walls. The quickly moving sand had some straight through the ship. Mark could see everyone, Chloe and the rest, working, trying to patch the holes. If the sand got into the engine…
BOOM!
Mark had been lucky. He hadn’t been hurt too badly and could put his strength towards rescuing the ones who were. The only people still in dire need were Chloe and Blair. Mark hoped he could get to them in time. As he was running, Mark heard a gunshot. Blair! Mark knew that she was the only one to keep a gun on her person at all times. Hopefully, she wasn’t hurt too badly.
Rushing towards the sound of the gunshot, Mark found Blair, knee on the ground, soaked in Chloe’s blood. When Blair saw Mark, she stood, gasping for breath.
“Help me carry Chloe,” Blair said through shaky breaths. “She isn’t doing well. and isn’t conscious. She needs to see a doctor.”
Wordlessly, he grabbed Chloe by her legs. Blair stood up on shaky feet and grabbed Chloe, picking her up by the shoulders. Working together, they carried Chloe to the camp, added not only with Chloe but also with their pains and doubts.
Wounded people were everywhere. Some lay on beds, others only got blankets, and an unfortunate few others only got cold Earth. Chloe was one of the unfortunates. Despite this, she started to recover. It was a surprisingly quick process as the colonists had the newest advancements in medical technology. However, it was supposed to last for many years.
While bedridden Chloe found one joy, Chrissy. During the storm and subsequent crash, both of Chrissy’s legs had been severely hurt. If Mark hadn’t reached her, she would have died. As it was, she had lost the use of both of her legs. Despite this, nothing ever got to her. Chrissy was always smiling.
Though the outpost had begun with a rocky start, there would always be a tomorrow. There would always be a second chance. Maybe the colonists, like Chrissy, would be able to smile as night gave way to dawn.
Great writing! I can picture it in my head…thrilling!