S T R A N D E D // Mark Watney

Sol 6

The day of the disaster.

// Samantha's POV//

I never actually saw myself chasing a career as an astronaut. I've seen too many alien and space films that contributed to me being paranoid. It wasn't until I got into college that I realized that this was the way to go.

(By the way, my name is Samantha Barnes.)

And what'd you know? I'm now standing on the surface of Mars helping my one of my crew members, Mark Watney, collect dirt samples. We're living the dream, ladies and gentlemen.

The whole crew was poking insults at each other during this time. I didn't care to join in until Martinez spoke up.

"Hey guys! Mark just discovered dirt," he teased. "Alert the media!"

I let out a slight giggle and thought of the best comeback for this moment.

"I'm sorry, Martinez. What is it that you're doing? Making sure the MAV is upright?" I replied sassily.

That earned me a smile from Watney. Mission accomplished.

"Barnes, you keep leaving your channel open... Which leads to Martinez responding, which leads to us listening, which leads to me being annoyed," Commander Lewis noted.

"Martinez," Watney finally chimed in. "Commander Lewis would like you to please shut your smart mouth."

I laughed and gave him a thumbs up for his amazing comeback. Martinez deserved it.

Dr. Chris Beck also took a break from his work to get in on the fun.

"We would prefer you use a different word to describe Martinez' mouth," he responded.

Johanssen was right along with Commander Lewis. They were both starting to get annoyed.

"Happy to turn off their radios from here, Commander," she suggested. "Just say the word."

Watney was not so fond of this idea. "Constant communication is the hallmark of a --"

Our radios fell silent. Mark throws his arms up, pissed off. I gave him a little half smile and we went back to getting our samples.

A couple minutes later, we noticed Commander and Vogel make their way inside the Hab. Watney and I decided to follow.

"We got a mission update," Johanssen began. "Storm warning."

Lewis stared at the screen. "We'll be inside long before it hits."

Johanssen continued to type and click a few more times. "Never mind. They've upgraded their estimate. The storm's gonna be a lot worse."

"The MAV could tip in this wind," I butted in.

Mark started to look a little nervous. "Guys, let's wait it out."

There was silence. Mark spoke up again. "Let's wait it out."

"Commander?"

Lewis thought for a moment before deciding what to do. "Prep for emergency departure."

The six of us head into the airlock. We were going to have to face the storm if we wanted to leave. We had to get the the MAV (where Martinez is waiting for us).

As soon as the airlock door opened, the gusts slammed into us. Most of us were knocked off our feet. I helped Johanssen back on her feet while Mark had a grip on the wall.

We all started walking towards the MAV in a single file line.

Was I scared? Not exactly... I was never really find of deadly storms. Then again, who is?

Watney began talking about making sure the MAV doesn't tip over. "We could use cables from the solar farm... And the rovers could be anchors. The trick would be getting around the--"

Suddenly, Watney was cut off by a piece of the antenna. IT SLAMMED RIGHT INTO HIM. He went flying off until we couldn't see him anymore.

"WATNEY!!" I screamed out.

"What happened?" Commander asked.

"Something hit him!" I replied, panicking.

"Watney, report!"

No answer.

"Watney, REPORT!"

There was still no answer.

The crew started talking amongst themselves. I completely zoned out. Mark was gone... Mark was... Gone.

I turned toward the direction I saw Mark fly, and started walking through the storm.

"BARNES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Commander Lewis yelled at me.

I didn't reply. I couldn't even focus right now. I had to find Watney... I just had to find him and bring him home.