History of the Future: A Science Fiction Anthology

A Cruel Place

"Mission log, day 27, around noon. Run out of other options, we decided yesterday to explore the cave. Gillian claimed she knew enough about speleology to make this sound like a piece of cake. The Doc supported her, and so I didn't tell them about my claustrophobia. Anyway, we were in for a major surprise. We traveled further through the arching stone, our feet weighted down by water. But once we reached the end of the tunnel we realized that this cave was no ordinary cave. No, it was a portal to a strange, new world."

The wind blew my hair back as I carried Gillian through the desert. Sand filled my mouth, heightening my craving for water. The Doctor glanced over again. Something was bothering him, I could sense it. Perhaps he was puzzling over how we got here - wherever "here" is.

Whatever happened yesterday, I knew for sure that we weren't on Mars anymore. We don't have this kind of intense, everlasting heat on our planet.

"Have you figured out where we are yet?" I asked the doctor. The doctor paused, inhaling a deep breath.

"I ran a few samples while you were sleeping last night. The closest match that I could find to these tiny pieces of rock is on the planet Earth."

"Earth!" I exclaimed in awe. "How?"

"I'm not totally sure," the Doctor answered. "But I think we may have fell into an old wormhole from the second Galaxy war."

"But weren't they all destroyed?" I questioned.

"Evidently not," he replied.

I started to walk again, though my limbs begged me to stop and take a rest. Out of my peripheral, I noticed that the doctor was not following me.

"Come on," I urged.

The doctor shook his head. "Jason, you're going to tire out if you continue to carry her," the doctor fretted. "Really, you must put her down."

Anger flashed through me. "No! Gillian can't walk. She needs to rest," I asserted. I had been carrying her ever since this morning. She wasn't awake when the doctor and I were about to continue our trek. I decided to carry her so she could get more sleep. It didn't matter to me that she was weighing us down, forcing us to go slower. Gillian was going to survive this expedition, even if I lose my life in the process.

The doctor had reprehended me for carrying her. It was almost as if he was suggesting that we abandon her in the sand dunes. All day, he had pressured me to put her down, but I wasn't going to cave. No way, Gillian needed to save her strength. Besides, she was still sleeping.

We continued in silence, the choleric wind expressing my feelings of frustration. I was angry at the doctor for wanting me to put my wife down and leave her to die. I was angry with the martians back home, who assigned this mission to me and my wife. I was angry with myself for letting Gillian come with me on this mission. I should have known that it would be too much for her.

"Jason, look!" the doctor yelled. In front of our eyes, a city loomed up from the dunes. Much to my horror, Henry broke into a run and disappeared from sight.

He actually did it, I thought. He actually left Gillian and me behind.

"I guess it's just you and me," I told Gillian. "You'll be just fine. We can rest soon." We were at the mercy of the relentless sun. I longed to be back home, where Gillian would be safe from harm. I pulled her closer to me, careful not to press on her belly. I hoped the baby was going to be OK, though I knew Gillian's lack of water could jeopardize the child's health. I needed to reach that city and get water. It was the only way we could survive.

After another eternity of walking, I saw a group of people moving towards us. As they drew closer, I could see that the doctor was with them. He hadn't forgotten us! He was bringing help!

"Gillian, look. We're saved! The doctor came back for us!" I whispered in her ear.

The doctor yelled to the men on the camels in an unfamiliar language, and they quickened their pace. They hopped off their camels and dashed over to us. One of the men carried a large container. Carefully, I laid Gillian in the sand.

"It's water," the doctor told me. "Drink it."

"Give it to Gillian first," I insisted. "I don't want her to get dehydrated."

The doctors face darkened. "Jason, Gillian is long past dehydration. She's..."

"NO!" I screamed. "Stop saying that! She is strong, she is still alive!"

A man crouched over Gillian and touched her wrist. His face was grim.

"See for yourself," the doctor stated.

I knelt by Gillian and placed my hand over her heart. It wasn't beating.

"No," I shouted. "No, NO!"

"I tried to tell you," the doctor said gently. "She was dead this morning when we woke up."

"She can't be dead. How could she be dead?" I lamented.

"Dehydration," the doctor informed somberly.

"But the baby," I cried, "What about our baby?"

"I'm afraid it's too late. Gillian's been dead for more than eight hours."

Tears slipped down my cheeks, and my brain was foggy. A man offered me the vessel full of water, but I ignored it. I heard the doctor murmur:

"The desert is a cruel place."