The space man watches as debris fall alongside him. The light from the explosion illuminates his suit and helmet as he frantically searches his body for the emergency shoot release string. His body begins to warm as he continues to increase speed. Then a cold shiver through his body takes ahold of his nervous system as he realizes that what he was wearing was not a parachute. This is the end for him. There seems to be no hope for the spaceman, so he relaxes his muscles and lets himself fall. At that moment he had accepted his fate. But as he closed his eyes the space man hits something that feels like fabric. He fights to untangle himself as a sweet smell makes its way through a crack in his helmet.
"A giant maple leaf?" the space man asked.
He had landed on a leaf that was floating across the heavens, drifting with the storm winds. He was relieved, something finally had given him hope and a possibility of saving his life. So the space man held on for dear life and used the leaf as a parachute to slow his fall. He still was falling quick, and he did not know if the leaf would hold.
"What shall I ever do? Is this going to be the end of me?" the spaceman asked himself, trying to assess the situation.
The leaf gave him some hope but, at the same time, it gave him fears. What would ever happen? Would he grasp onto the leaf until it landed on firm ground, or would he let go and seek some other kind of surface to land on? He checked his wrist panel and realized that if he were to let go, he had to time it just right because he only had enough fuel on his jetpack to slow himself down just enough to survive the fall.
The choice was tough, but he was alone at that moment; it was up to him to decide. So, he looked into his options and remembered something an alien once said, "When troubles come, one must not act upon instinct nor impulse. One must remember to evaluate the situation, and be patient, even if it's for a very short while. As patience is a key that opens many doors but will be useless if action does not follow it."
Still, those words were strange.
To be continued...
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Testers
Short StoryWho would have thought that a planet level threat would bring together a very unlikely group capable of saving the universe. Yeah I know its a cliche, but its a fun one. The universe might feel cold, or it might seem dark, but I like to think that i...
