Alex.J.Cobalt

“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 Joining Payment
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• Can’t Do It
  “I can’t do it,” Felruza slammed her fist against the table. Why was it so damn hard? Why could everyone else do this one simple thing and she couldn’t? “It’ll come,” … More Can’t Do It
• Like the Sky at Sundown
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  Fathie pulled her headphones over her ears. The noise of the city, the thrum of the cars and the rhythmic thudding of footfalls were drowned out in an instant. Breathe, she … More Reclaiming Ara’banthe
• The Document (A Teacup Story)
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• New Love (A Teacup Story)
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