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Alone, that’s all that
could be said about my situation. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of
miles away from any other humans. Locked in a small spaceship, barely large
enough to stretch out comfortably. Some would find this restrictive,
suffocating, or even terrifying, however, I enjoyed the solitude. Certainly, I
would enjoy my eventual return to civilization, but for now, I simply wanted to
embrace being alone.
My modest vessel wasn’t
much, but it had become home for me over the past few months. The pilot chair
was large and comfortable amd the back had enough room for basic exercises. I
even had plenty of food, games, and books to kill time. If only the food were
any good.
It wasn’t easy to get
this mission, I had to outshine several equally qualified candidates. A few
used underhanded methods to try and steal the job out from under me. But,
“someone” was smart enough to let their activities leak to the selection board.
I always chuckle at the memory of those guys getting reamed out by their
superiors, one of them was discharged from service. As for the rest, well I’m
no stranger to brownnosing, so I slipped ahead just enough to secure my spot.
Most of my former
competition took it surprisingly well, all things considered. I bet most of
them were just happy to see me gone for the foreseeable future, which meant
more big jobs for them to take. Although the fancy care package was a bit much,
they might as well have said, “Take this and get out of our hair. Don’t let the
doorknob hit you on the way out.” Although I must admit, the food they gave me
does taste better than the processed crap I’ve had to stomach on this flight.
Sadly, I was down to the
bit of sustenance in the care package, a liquid meal tucked into the corner of
the original box. It was unlabelled, but through the clear plastic, I could see
a brown liquid. It resembled some of the meat flavored meals I’ve enjoyed
previously. I slurped it down carelessly, I should have rationed it out a
little longer, but my body craved genuinely tasty food.
I leaned back into the
pilot’s chair to rest after my meal, I let the auto-pilot take over while I
tried to slip into a light nap. However, it wasn’t long into my rest that I
felt a bit off. My stomach began to churn, but it didn’t feel like nausea or
illness. Instead, it felt like my insides were twisted in on themselves. I
wanted to stand up and grab some water or medicine to combat it; however, my
body felt limp and weak.
Terror swept over my
body as I broke into a cold sweat. I could barely move, I wasn’t even able to
scream. The churn in my insides became a sharp pain, which was contrasted by a
cold numbness which assaulted my limbs. My mind raced to figure out what was
wrong with me, until it settled on the obvious, the unlabelled liquid meal.
Would my colleagues be
so bold as to poison me? It’s not like they would be caught, but I never
considered they despised me so much as to plot my murder. Was it those who I
exposed for their underhanded acts? They could have easily slipped it in under
the pretense of “no hard feelings.”
I cursed my
carelessness, I cursed my murderous colleagues, but most of all, I cursed my
sudden fate. I enjoyed this solitude, but I never intended to die alone. The
fear of my sudden death formed its own pit of nausea in my stomach, my heart
raced as my body continued to fail me. In hindsight, it could have been a
simple allergic reaction to the liquid. If I hadn’t drunk it so quickly this
might not have happened.
I felt my body bloat and
twist, although I wasn’t sure if that was real or just my own delusions. I
wondered if I would vomit, but in my paralyzed state I’d be lucky not to choke
on it. My body slid down the pilot’s seat and flopped along the side as my view
of the world grew dim. It felt like my ship had spun out of control and hurtled
through space. Was it all a trick of my ill-struck mind, or had a numb limb
brushed the auto-pilot and turned it off.
Uncertain of my fate, I
let the darkness take me. Would ever awaken, was there even a chance? If I did,
would everything be the same or has that cursed meal caused permanent damage? I
let these thoughts consume my mind as it all went black.
~~~~
A tale of revenge or a careless mistake? Even if you are correct in exposing another for their misdeeds, does not mean you are immune to retaliation. Likewise, there is a reason succumbing to temptations is looked upon poorly, it can easily end poorly for you. Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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