A Horror Anthology

Mutiny of Devotion - @mserrur

Written for the 'Something' contest hosted in collaboration with the Science Fiction profile. 

By mserrur

"Faster," Captain Kiel shouted as his spacecraft hurtled toward the asteroid field.

"Can't push her any faster, sir," replied Corporal Hutchinson. "Any increase is sure to burn out the propulsion system."

"Next time I need an anniversary present for my wife," Kiel barked, "I'll be sure to ask for your opinion, Corporal, but for now, how about you listen to your ranking officer and follow the god damn order."

Corporal Hutchinson glanced over at First Officer Dirks. His copilot shrugged as they both stared out the cockpit at their impending fate. The nine other crewmembers sat silently. For the past eighteen months they had followed Kiel around the solar system, and they weren't going to abandon him now.

"Fine," Hutchinson grunted. "Emptying fuel cells."

The propulsion engines kicked into gear and the craft jettisoned full-speed towards the asteroid field directly in front of them.

"Dirks!" Kiel shouted. "Type in those coordinates, NOW!"

"Coordinates?" Hutchinson muttered to himself. "What coordinates..."

But Dirks sprang into action, slipping open the control pad and manually inputting a long line of code. Finally, he keyed in 236.5 sector 57c. He clicked a green flashing button on the console.

The change happened abruptly. The spacecraft altered its course; instead of speeding towards the asteroid field, the nose tilted upwards and the craft rapidly began a vertical ascent. A deafening sound rattled through the shuttle.

"Buckle your seat belts, gentlemen!" Captain Kiel shouted to his crew. Corporal Hutchinson found himself thrown from his seat, but Dirks grabbed him by the shoulder before he rolled back through the shuttle.

Although now rushing upwards, the spacecraft still hadn't cleared the asteroid field.

Kiel yelled. "Keep her climbing, Dirks. We're not out of this mess just yet."

"Understood, cap. I'm juicing the remaining battery supply," Dirks shouted back.

Through the curved glass of the cockpit, Hutchinson could see the heavy chunks of stone floating weightlessly in front him. They were inching closer.

Buck, another crew member, nudged his buddy. "Hey, Chucky. How you feeling?"

"Like shit," Chucky said back. "I don't know what Cap was thinking with this one. Could've got us all popped."

"Yep," Buck nodded.

"I don't know about you," Chucky said, "but I was serious when I signed up for twelve months—not eighteen months, not twenty-four months, not the rest of my damn life. I'm sure my wife is worrying herself to death."

"Same, brother. Only being able to communicate at star stations once a month isn't gonna cut it."

Chucky bit down on his knuckle. "And I can only imagine what Claire is doing back on Earth."

Concern swept over Buck's face. "You really think she'd do that to you?"

"How the hell should I know?" he grumbled. "She's probably thinking I'm out here doing the same. You think your girl is that loyal?"

But before Buck could answer, a loud BANG rocked the ship and thrashed everyone around in their seats. The gears sputtered and kicked, and a terrible grinding sound could be heard towards the back of the shuttle.