FOREIGNER
A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
Bettina Melher
FOREIGNER
A Science Fiction Short Story
Bettina Melher
Published by Bettina Melher
Copyright © Bettina Melher 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is strictly coincidental.
Cover Design Copyright © 2015 by Otto Melher
www.bettinamelher.com
Fiction – Science Fiction
Please note: The spelling in this book is Australian English
I am still amazed by the fact that I survived. It truly was a miracle, and I was grateful to have scraped by with nothing but a few bruises and cuts to show for it.
The meteoroid impacted directly with the engines and transformed the ship into a steel tomb hurtling aimlessly through space. We saw it coming only moments before it hit, but there was nothing we could have done to escape it. We barely had a chance to blink.
The impact rendered us all unconscious. I couldn't remember anything at all after the impact, and I had no idea how long we had been flying through space. It could have been hours, even days.
I woke up still fastened in my seat, the seatbelt digging into my shoulders and waist. My vision was blurry and I could hardly guess which way was up, but my hands found the buckle and I unfastened it with surprising ease.
But I wasn't free yet. I hung there with my arms stuck in the slack bands of the restraints. As I struggled to break free, every movement sent a dull ache through my entire body. Finally, I managed to slide away from the belts. My legs were weak and I let myself drop to the ground. Somewhere behind me I heard the sound of metal bending under pressure. Then something snapped and fell with a loud bang.
The sudden noise scared me and I backed away, pushing myself against the right wall of the cockpit. I tasted blood, and my head was pounding.
My vision finally cleared, and then I saw the full extent of the damage: The Alpha spaceship was a wreck, and wherever we had crashed, we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
The four seats in the cockpit were empty. My fellow crewmembers were nowhere to be seen.
I lifted myself up off the ground and managed to crouch. When I peered behind the empty seats, I saw a dismembered leg. It had been ripped off just above the knee. There was blood everywhere. I quickly turned away and emptied the contents of my stomach. After a few minutes, my stomach settled, but the image was still fresh in my mind. I remembered that none of them had been strapped in their seats. And why should they have been? We were travelling on course; there was no need for concern. As far as I could remember, Sullivan had been sleeping, and Merov and Griffin were preparing our breakfast. I, however, had been at the controls, and my personal rule was always to have the seatbelt fastened whenever there was one available. It applied to the car, plane, and the Alpha ship. Because of this rule, I was still alive.
I had to get out of there as quickly as possible, and figure out where the hell we—or rather I—was.
The ship was ripped apart at the rear end and the left side, and the nose was half buried in what appeared to be rock and dirt. I had no idea what awaited me outside.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, telling myself to be brave and keep on fighting. There was a reason I was still alive and the others had died. Although we hadn't known each other for very long, we had started to bond and form friendships, particularly over the last couple of months in training.
I promised myself I would do everything in my power to inform their families of their fate, but then realised this would only be possible if I made it out alive. By the looks of the ship, any hopes of repairing it, let alone launching it back out into space, were virtually nonexistent.
My heart pounding, I prepared myself for a brisk and half-blind crawl out of the wreckage. I managed it without looking directly at the remains of my colleagues, but when I rose up again, my hands and knees were bathed in their blood. It almost looked like I had committed the crime myself.
I shook these thoughts out of my head and peered outside. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could breathe easily. Wherever I was, this planet had oxygen.
I assessed my surroundings. It appeared we had crashed in the middle of a dense forest. The trees towered high into the blue sky, and the ground was thick with vegetation.
Strange noises came from the trees. I hoped whatever creatures were producing the sounds were smaller than me, or at least uninterested in calling me dinner.
Once I was certain my immediate surroundings posed no threat, I got to my feet, steadying myself on the outer walls of the ship. From this angle, I could see just how damaged it was, and I was certain it was beyond saving.
Standing in the middle of this forest looking at the wreckage of the Alpha ship, I realised just how dire my situation really was. How the hell was I going to get out of this alive? I wondered whether anyone back home had the slightest clue of what had happened to us. If I didn't survive, then we too would become part of the many secrets of the universe.
I thought about Anna and the possibility of never seeing her beautiful face again made me fight back the tears. I had to stay focused and strong. My chances of survival were slim at best, but I wasn't ready to give up just yet.
The sky was coloured a beautiful blue, and I could see the sun sitting high above on my right. If this planet was anything like Earth, this sun too, would eventually set and in the dark of night, safety was merely an illusion.
I circled the ship, and as I reared around the back, I saw a huge drop into a crevice of rock and dirt. It must have been at least a mile down, and if we had crashed only a little further to the right, then I too would have died.
I stood there for a moment, wondering what I should do. Survival meant water, food and shelter, and if I was incredibly lucky, I would have all three of these necessities right here. The ship, although wrecked, would provide shelter, even if it meant sleeping beside my deceased crewmembers. My only concern, other than the sheer horror of having to spend the night here, was that all this blood would attract wildlife. Given my surroundings and the many different sounds, I was sure there were plenty of animals roaming these woods. I could hear birds from high above the trees, their music strikingly similar to the birds back home.
I decided my best bet was to get a better idea of where exactly I was, at least while there was enough sunlight to do so. First, I needed to gather some water and food for the journey, in case I wouldn't make it back to the ship before nightfall.
That day really was my lucky day. The entire food compartment containing a month's supply of meal replacements for four grown men was intact, and it would last me at least four months, five or six, if I really stretched it thin. The water, however, was more of a concern. I could only find two half-litre bottles left in the compartment. The door was open, so perhaps the remaining bottles were scattered in the woods nearby. Without a doubt, I would come across many more pieces that had been sucked out from the ship before we crashed. I only hoped there were no more body parts.
After I had cleaned the blood off my hands, using only the littlest splash of water, I packed both bottles and ten meal sachets into a carry bag. The bag usually held a whole oxygen tank, but given that I was still alive and breathing, I left the oxygen tank behind
and filled the bag with food and water instead.
I was just about to step back outside of the ship when I heard a faint beating, which very quickly continued to grow louder.
I froze and held my breath. It sounded like a chopper, yes exactly like a helicopter, and it was coming closer.
Two thoughts immediately came to me - the first, ‘this planet is inhabited by intelligent life', and the second, ‘if they catch me, I would be taken away and experimented on'.
I was the alien on this planet, and if these beings were anything close to humans, I had to try anything to get away from them.
I peered outside the ship and other than the trees towering high in the sky, I could see nothing else, yet the distinct sound of propelling blades, chopping the air came closer and closer. I decided to make a run for it. I secured the bag tightly across my body and ran.
I no longer cared about the possible creatures lurking in the woods, or where exactly this forest would lead to, I only knew I had to get away.
Eventually, the sound of the helicopter faded into the background, and I knew that I was out of the immediate danger zone, at least for now. Yet, I continued to run and eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, my legs gave up. I stumbled and collapsed on the ground. I landed on my stomach and with my last ounce of strength rolled onto my back. I took long, deep breaths, and my body slowly began to settle.
The idea of staying exactly like this and falling asleep was incredibly tempting, but I knew I couldn't stay here. I had already come so far; I would not give up just because I was physically exhausted. Eventually, I peeled myself off the forest floor and noticed the trees down below were beginning to thin out. This was the direction I had to go in, but it was also dangerous. Without the protection of the dense forest, I would stick out like a sore thumb.
On top of that, my fast escape from the propelling flying object, had robbed me of the chance to see who or what exactly I was dealing with. This was a planet with intelligent life and although the answer humans had asked since the beginning of time had been answered, it gave way to a million more questions.
I figured I would spot the life forms eventually and crossed my fingers I would go by undetected, at least until I figured out if it were safe to ask them for help.
I decided to take a tiny sip of water to moisten my throat before I continued on my journey but found myself drinking almost half the bottle. I thought back to the remaining food sachets I left behind and was furious with myself. Why didn't I take them all? I knew I couldn't return to the ship, and the little food I had with me wasn't going to last long.
My luck had changed, but I dusted myself off, ready to keep fighting. The sun, just like I had suspected, was starting to set, and I had to find shelter for the night.
The woods thinned out and after an hour of brisk walking I reached a large clearing.
I could not believe my eyes when I saw houses and roads in the valley below.