Beware of Dragons: The Lost Forest

Against All Odds

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. What they don't tell you is that the scream has to be outside your own head for it to go unheard. The vacuum absorbs all external sound, but when the sounds come from the screeching in your mind and soul... from the realizing, for the first time, that your mortality isn't just some sick joke... well, that's when you can hear sound in a vacuum."

"But I digress. Screaming in space... you're probably wondering where in the seven hells such a statement comes from... and that makes two of us. You see, I always thought that, when exposed to the nothingness of space, that my body would rapidly decompress and explode. Thankfully, that didn't happen... At least, I don't think it did... I suppose it's possible that I could be talking to you from some sort of afterlife. I've never really believed in the afterlife though, so I've no clue how I would've gotten in."

The scratching of a pen on paper continues as I ramble on, occasional grunts to let me know that my words are being heard sounding in the otherwise silent room.

"But yea... So, if I didn't explode, and I'm not dead, I guess that everything I thought I knew is a lie... or something."

"And why do you say that, James?"

"I dunno.... Maybe because you picked me up... without a space suit... in the middle of nowhere... in space... is any of this ringing a bell, Greg?"

"I do recall your recovery... I understand your confusion... we're all confused... you see, you're not the only person we've recovered... but you are the only person to survive."

"You see! That, there... There is no way I could possibly be alive, right? I exploded... just like everyone else..."

"Well, not everyone exploded... but you are the only survivor."

"How?"

"That's what we're trying to find out... it's why we're here, talking."

"Nobody can survive being tossed into space without a suit or a pod!"

"And up until a week ago, I would have agreed with you..."

"Why me? Why not Todd... or Angie... or Justice..."

"Who can say? Right now, I need you to go over everything you can remember, and then we'll go from there."

"Right... right, yea... I uh, I just need a second."

"Take your time."

"So, we were cruising through Sector 11... it was a routine delivery... Our crew had 98 people... 98, Greg... and I'm all that's left. Are you sure it's just me?"

"We're sure, James. I'm sorry, but you're the only survivor. Please, continue... you said it was a routine delivery?"

"Yea, yea, it was. We got the uranium from Planet #6879 in Sector 10 and were delivering it to Sector 12... we should have been arriving... yesterday, I guess... We didn't... We never arrived."

"Yes, before your ship lost communication capabilities, your captain sent out an SOS... we responded."

"Right. Right. The Temptress, that was our ship's name... she was my first assignment, you know? For most of my team, she was our first assignment. Our Sergeant hand picked us from the academy... This was our, my, Angie, Todd, and Justice, it was our first flight. Everything seemed routine until we reached the edge of Sector 11... then we were surrounded by a group of unidentified vessels... The captain sent out an identification request, but they ignored us, so he had us on standby. We were preparing to be boarded..."

I pause as my eyes grow misty; the memories are bombarding me as I analyze the situation, wondering where we went wrong. What could I have done differently? Would it have mattered?