Escape Pod

Sirens blare while deep red flashing lights illuminate the grey aluminium steel walls. Allister grabs every part of the walls of the spaceship he can to push and kick himself forward. The artificial gravity of the spaceship had already failed, making him weightless. But weightlessness doesn’t make it easy to navigate the windy corridors.

Only two corridors left until Allister reaches the escape pods. The walls of the spaceship shake as if an earthquake is happening. Allister hopes the ship won’t fall apart before he can reach the safety of the escape pods.

He turns around the corner and sees a closed blast door that separates him from the escaped pods. He curses. There is not enough time to go around.

Allister looks around. Against the ceiling, he sees a floating corps of a metalworker. The corpse is wearing the typical blue uniform. Next to the corpse, an orange toolbox floats. “Jackpot”, Allister whispers. This might save him.

He opens the toolbox and directly finds what he is looking for, a phaserblade. Allister picks it up. It looks like a large knife or a small sword. On the side of the hilt, there is a small button. Allister presses it, and the blade’s edge glows purple. He smiles. He floats to the blast door and slashes it with the blade. It cuts through the steel doors like a knife through butter. After a couple more slashes, Allister made a hole big enough to fit through.

Behind the door, there are rows and rows of escape pods. Some of them have already been launched, while others are broken, indicated by either a yellow or a red light. Allister scans the lights with his eyes. Then he spots a single green light, indicating an escape pod is ready to launch. He floats towards it.

When he arrives at the pod, he sees two people floating toward him from the other direction. One of them is carrying a phaserblade in his hand, just like Allister. The other one is floating slightly behind, and her leg looks wounded. The woman holds on to the guy’s arm as if her life depends on it.

The man spots Allister and waves with his phaserblade.

“Hello there. It looks like we got here just in time. Mind if we share an escape pod?” He smiles. “My name is Cahl, and this is my wife, Alex.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Allister,” Allister replies.

He looks inside the escape pod and points at the sign next to it. “I think we have a problem.”

“What is it, Cahl asks.”

This escape pod is only made for two people.

Cahl looks at the inside of the escape pod. “I am sure it is big enough to fit all three of us, although it might be a bit tight.

“Yes, but that is not the issue. Alex interjects. The life support system can only supply enough oxygen for two people. If all three of us enter, we will suffocate before landing safely on earth.”

“Then there is only one solution,” Cahl exclaims. He presses the button on the side of his phaserblade and points it at Allister. “My wife and I are taking the escape pod.”

Allister floats a bit back and also activates his blade. “You wanna fight for it? Be my guest.” He waves his blade in Cahl’s direction.

Alex pulls on Cahl’s arm. “Darling, please don’t. You know that even a scratch from a phaserblade will give someone radiation poisoning. If you start fighting now, the loser will die here, and the winner will die a painful death before they reach earth.”

The spaceship shakes again as the alarm blares. A robot voice sounds over the alarm.

“Hull breached. Destruction of the space station is imminent. Please evacuate to the nearest escape pod immediately.”

The spaceship shakes again, and everything goes dark. The three people are only illuminated by the faint purple glow of the two phaserblades.

“Please”, Alex begs. “There has to be another way to solve this rather than you guys fighting to the death.”

The walls of the spaceship begin bending and tearing. Some tears and cracks appear, and Allister can see and feel the air running out of the hallway into the vacuum of space. The earth is visible through one of the holes. It looks beautiful from up here, like a big blue marble. Allister focuses back on Cahl’s blade. Cahl seems to contemplate something. His eyes express regret and doubt. Allister braces himself, believing that Cahl might make a desperate move at any time.

Suddenly, Cahl turns around. In one swift movement, he lobs off Alex’s head. Blood spatters over the metal walls, and her heads slowly drift away. Cahl kicks her body with his feet, and it starts gradually drifting away too. Allister looks at him in disbelief, mouth open wide.

“Now there are two of us. There will be enough oxygen. Are you happy now?”

Allister shrugs. “I guess that works.”

Both men enter the escape pod, and with a mall push on a big red button, the doors close, and the escape pod launches away from the spaceship, back to the safety of earth.