Chapter 7

For a few stressful hours after the collisions, the universe remained the size of the cabin interior. Everyone stayed secure in their seats, waiting for the next unexpected impact. A sudden force from the abyss, along with a thud, rocked them all into the floor and out of their dark thoughts. They winced and sat cautiously waiting for alarms. Adrienne checked the gauges again. Pressure and power were stable. Judging from the apparent motion of the cabin, and the fact that they collected on one side of the ship, they knew they had changed course again.

A gentle bath of tinkling, like frozen rain against a window, started to raise from the ship’s exterior and a faint golden-red color faded in from the front window. The ship swayed, buffeted by atmospheric currents that formed ever wobbling channels for the ship to slide along in its descent. They could feel the speed of the ship now. The rush of sound became suddenly loud, as though they were rubbing against something.

“Strap in! We’ve hit the atmosphere… ohhhh, I hope we still have active chutes!” Adrienne yelled nervously as she hopped into her seat and back out again. In, then back out. Her glance shifted back and forth between the seat and the window, absorbed in her terror. She shook her head aggressively ‘no.’ “I can’t sit in the front! I can’t watch this happen!” Adrienne’s sheer dread resonated within Phil as the intensity of the vibrations increased. His mind focused inward as if he was watching a projection from within a safe space, staring out through his own eyes like they were the main displays he viewed safely within the ship that was his body. His gaze lowered to his hands, gripping the arm supports so hard his knuckles were white and veins swelled. A switch flipped within him and he released his grip, supinating to look at his open, marked palms while slowly easing his way back into a full presence of his own body. Phil shook the shock off, came to terms with the fact that he was powerless against their circumstance, and decided he wanted to watch the end.

Without saying anything, Phil moved to the front and pulled Adrienne’s arm to help lift her, then climbed into the front seat. Inhaling her special smell as she rubbed into him, he could sense the fear mixed in. Adrienne, shaking nervously, slid past and strapped herself into his seat. “Thank you, Phil. Thank you. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Adrienne choked slightly and shook her head as tears flowed down her face, confused between relief and fear.

“It’s okay Adrienne, just strap in. Here we go, everybody! We’re going to make it. Just imagine taking your first sweet breath down there. It could be a paradise. It IS a tropical paradise, stay positive. We’ll get there.”

The ship sailed deeper and deeper into the gaseous blanket covering the planet, and the color outside brightened. Having zoned out in the view, he caught himself drifting between images of Adrienne’s warm glowing curls and the imaginative alien landscapes below. He didn’t register their decrease in altitude until the surface started rushing up at an alarming rate and his calmness fled.

Friction washed the ship with a constant rumble, and turbulence jolted them in every direction. “Phil, fire the engines forward until we’re completely out of fuel!” Darek yelled. He was planted firmly into reality by Darek’s voice. He fired the engines, and they were yanked forward by the deceleration. Within thirty seconds, the force released. “We’re empty.” Was all Phil could think to say, noting that they at least felt like they were going slower.

There was a sudden intense vibration after what felt like a speed bump, and within seconds the ground launched at them. Screaming metallic squeals, a hard-sucking wind, and sudden hollowness numbed all other sounds. The ground hammered as solidly as it could and shook every inch of them with intense pressure, harder and faster than they could process. Abruptly, everything ended. The forces stopped. The sounds faded. The world buzzed and went black.

Chapter 6

Chapter 8

Order

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