“Hello?”
The radio crackled in response. Gaeia pushed her knuckles into her forehead, trying not to cry.
This was day forty one. Forty one days of no response from the base down below.
“Anything?” Hua asked behind her, floating upside down outside the cockpit door. He liked to do that, showing off his gravity genetics.
“Nothing,” Gaeia replied, putting the radio back into the holder. Out of the window she could see the grey-yellow clouds of home swirling in the sky. They had been there for forty one days too, appearing overnight following the solar storm.
“It’ll be alright,” Hua replied. He reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. He had as much as Gaeia to lose if they couldn’t get back in contact – a young family, their homes, their livelihoods.
Without contact, no one would come and pick them up from their orbital craft. If they stayed out of contact for fifty days, they would be declared dead.
“The storm is too strong for the signal to break through, if we power up the signal-”
“We lose more oxygen,” Hua said.
Gaeia sighed. They had tried that on day ten, to no avail. The oxygen sickness had put Gaeia on bedrest for a week.
“Okay, we wait for another day,” Gaeia said, “then we try the signal booster again. If it fails…”
She let the silence do the talking. If they didn’t make contact before day fifty, they would be left here until they died of starvation.
“It will work,” Hua said, “it has to work.”
Gaeia nodded, wishing she could believe him.
Stories on a Theme is a writing challenge to write flashfictions set on a particular Weekly Theme. It’s running from 6th July to 30th August – Check out my IG for more info on how to join in!
- The Document (A Teacup Story)“You got it?” Fethna asked as Nattali got into the car. “Ye of little faith,” Nattali said, pulling out the folder from under her jacket. It hadn’t been a particularly hard … More The Document (A Teacup Story)
- New Love (A Teacup Story)“So,” Iuen asked, “what do you think?” Ealia looked over at Iuen. Part of her wondered absently if he would ever get the grass stains out of his grey officers robes. … More New Love (A Teacup Story)
- After the Battle (A Teacup Story)“How are you doing, now?” Yinla asked. Oaleth poked the fire with the end of a stick. The smoke curled upwards into the night sky. “That’s a loaded question,” he replied, … More After the Battle (A Teacup Story)
- Daylight (100 Words)Minria peered out of the crack in the door. She could see the daylight streaming through the gap, illuminating the dust motes of their hide out. Three months Below had been … More Daylight (100 Words)
- Peace (Stories on a Theme – “Hope”)“What do you think?” Ilyen asked, taking another bite out of his dinner. The burrito juice dribbled out of the end of the paper wrapping, spilling onto the metal of the … More Peace (Stories on a Theme – “Hope”)
- A Green World (Stories on a Theme – “Hope”)Nadine woke to the sound of birds singing. It was still weird, to hear that instead of the constant hum of the city traffic. Even after fifty years of the banning … More A Green World (Stories on a Theme – “Hope”)
