Red Horizon (The Martian Fanfiction)

Chapter 49

The MAV's small, stripped-down cabin felt impossibly cramped in the weightlessness of space. As Olivia floated beside Mark, tethered to him, every muscle in her body tensed with anticipation. There was no going back now. The final stretch of their journey was here, and everything hinged on the insane plan unfolding before them.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the thrum of adrenaline mixing with fear and disbelief. They were so close to the Hermes, their home away from home, yet the distance between them felt like an ocean. Mark's words echoed in her mind—calm on the surface, but Olivia knew him well enough to sense the storm of emotions beneath his usual humor.

The reality of their situation was absurd. They were about to rely on a makeshift explosive and a thin tether to cross the final distance between them and safety. And yet, there was Mark, cracking jokes about memorials, as if this wasn't the most dangerous thing they had ever faced.

She met his eyes, her own lips twitching into a faint smile despite the chaos. His teasing words, his defiant refusal to give in to fear, anchored her. "Of course you're joking at a time like this," she said, her voice shaking slightly with nervous laughter.

Mark's grin widened, but Olivia could see the worry behind his eyes. This wasn't just humor—it was how he coped, how he managed to keep moving forward even when everything around them was falling apart. And they needed that now more than ever.

Her fingers traced the thick tether connecting them, her mind racing. She had double-checked it, tightening it to make sure they were secure, but it didn't stop her from feeling vulnerable. They were exposed, floating in space with nothing but the strength of that strap to keep them together. Her body ached from the pressure of the launch, the weight of Mars' gravity finally lifted, but the fear hadn't left. It was just a different kind of weight now—one that clung to her chest as they drifted in the cabin.

Lewis' voice cut through the comms again, her tone stern, commanding. "Absolutely not."

But Mark wasn't backing down. His next words came out in a teasing drawl, but Olivia could sense the edge of desperation beneath them. "See, the thing is, I'm selfish. I want all the memorials back home to be about me. Just me."

Lewis responded with a wry laugh, trying to keep the mood light despite the mounting tension. "I should have left this guy on Mars."

The exchange pulled a real laugh from Olivia, a shaky, breathless sound that felt out of place in the chaos. But for a brief moment, it worked. The weight in her chest lightened. "Of course you're joking at a time like this."

The banter helped, as it always did, offering a brief reprieve from the reality of what was happening around them. But as much as they tried to inject humor into the moment, there was no denying the tension in the air. The stakes were too high, the risks too great. Their lives were dangling by a thread, and Olivia could feel the strain in every breath she took.

"Open Airlock 1," Beck's voice came through the comms, steady and professional, but the gravity of the moment wasn't lost on anyone.

Johansson's response was immediate, sharp with urgency. "I'm on the way to Beck."

In the brief silence that followed, Vogel's dry humor broke through, his thick accent carrying a weight of reluctant acknowledgment. "Let's just hope this is a good idea, guys."

Olivia could feel her pulse in her ears, her hands gripping the tether tighter as they floated in the silence of the MAV. It was madness, all of it. Every decision, every action felt like teetering on the edge of a cliff, with only the thin tether keeping them from falling into the abyss.

The air inside the MAV felt stifling, even in the weightless environment. Olivia's breaths came quick and shallow, the sound of her own pulse a deafening roar in her ears. She could feel Mark's presence beside her, their shoulders brushing as they waited. The cabin, once their last lifeline, now felt like a prison—a cramped, suffocating space where every second ticked by with agonizing slowness.