I Try!

A Landslide

"A Landslide! If you would have told me there would be a landslide on Earth, Rusty, I would have told..."

"Alright there, Young man! Let's go we haven't got all day."

Young grabbed his phaser and stumbled after Rusty as the spacecraft door began to close. Even after extensive training he found walking on Earth's gravity like having his feet stuck in quicksand. He made it out but was knocked over by the dry coarse wind which scrapped his helmet. Quickly, he got to his feet and trudged towards Rusty who had stopped 50 steps ahead.

"What are we looking at?"

"Done inspecting the sand, are you? So, what did you find?" Rusty chuckled.

"Oh! Nothing ... I was only ... checking the sand texture ... but never mind ... do we climb over this thing?" Young pointed trying to remember Earth's Geography.

"It's a hill. It might have been a mountain at some point of Earth's history but now it's a hill." Rusty began to climb. The howling wind encasing them as a body in a coffin. Unable to bare the silence, Young stomped the sand bringing Rusty out of his trance.

"I suggest you stop that unless you like making sand angels and tumbling down hills!"

"No... I wouldn't want to... Rusty what were you thinking back there..."

Young had completely missed the joke yet Rusty wasn't surprised. The old ways had become children's stories or space party entertainment. Already, humans were divided into Native Humans, Martians by Birth or some other criteria. Both men stopped. For a nanosecond, Young thought he had crossed that fine line between captain and junior.

"Young, I am 150 years and this is my last mission but even I have never seen it... My grandfather used to tell me about it. This planet ... it used to be called 'The Blue Planet' ...

"What?"

"Yes!" Rusty continued both his story and his climb. "It had brown soil and greenery and huge bodies of water. Observed from space, it looked blue. It used to be home animals and swimming creatures that lived in the water."

"You're pulling my leg! I am not falling for that!"

"It's true! I've seen pictures when I was very young. They belonged to my great grandfather but they were destroyed when we moved to the underground living spaces more than 500 years ago. As for this place this is all there's left now. A dry empty barren wasted planet."

They had reached the top. Before they could express what lay before them, Young lost his balance and tumbled away. Rusty rushed after him.

SLASH!

"Get it off! Get me out of this! Help! Rusty!"

"Hold still! And stop yelling!"

Rusty grabbed Young's arm and dragged him out and left him to dry. He couldn't believe his eyes and stood staring like a mute unable to answer Young's frantic questions. Rusty continued to stare at his reflection. After what seemed like eternity to Young he whispered

"It's a lake."

Word Count - 500 Words.

This is for the #justwriteday Reflections prompt challenge @Justwriteit

Note -

Meaning of Reflections

A thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation

Consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose