“When You’re Fifteen…”

Author’s note – I was a fifteen year old in 1976 in Ms. Drolen’s Communications class when I wrote this story, which I titled “Thoughts” for some reason. Got an A- on it 🙂

The year is 2167.  Myself, Sargent Smith and my crew of thirty men and women will leave in fifteen minutes.  The work crews are now putting the finishing touches on our D-219 interplanetary space vehicle.  I stand alone in the dress area, putting on my suit.  Right now, just a few minutes before liftoff, I am getting scared, terrified with the mystery of space.  I have trained for this moment for 15 years, doing it over and over and over again, but now I seem to have forgotten everything.  But I must go on.

I finished putting on my suit and headed for the D-219.  I walked very slowly, trying to absorb all of the Earth in one glance, for I knew I may never, ever see my world again.

After checking with the field crews, I boarded the ship and checked our systems.  Everything was perfect.  There had been a problem with our suspended animation booths, but that was cleared up.  On the rocket pad.  Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen – we are heading to Pluto – twelve, eleven, ten – our trip will take three years – nine, eight, seven – the engines began firing – six, five, four, three, two, one, liftoff!  The sky and ground around us become smoke-filled and dense.  I caught a final glimpse of the Earth on the way up.  Just a glimpse, but it meant the world to me.

As we passed the ionosphere, we set the controls on automatic, and the crew and I lay back in suspended animation.  A deep sleep.  A very deep…

After three years of rest, the ship’s systems started my vital functions and my glass enclosure opened. I slowly climbed out and looked at my comrades. Their bodies convulsed and faces turned blue. I knew what was happening, but no matter how much I pounded on the glass, it stayed firm, trapping them. My comrades battling bodies began to quiet and fall to the floor of their tubes. Soon, I was all alone.

Around the ship I walked, looking at the lifelessness of the flashing lights and ready machines.  I realized that no one man could control the ship, so I decided to leave for Pluto.  I boarded a mini-ship and left the empty hull.  All the way to Pluto, I thought of the death and of the future.

After landing on a small plateau, I began to take readings on my tricorder:  Temperature -200 degrees Fahrenheit; Air Content 90% carbon dioxide, 8% oxygen, 2% carbon monoxide.

Just as I was about to take the humidity, a strange sound wheeled me about. All around the ground was cracking. I ran, but was swallowed by the terrain. I screamed in terror, but no one heard.

I never hit bottom.  Two search parties came for us.  I tried to warn them. All they heard was the wind. That’s all I am now.