In 500... (or less)

A Safe Place to Land

Davidson scanned the fast-approaching surface for a spot to land as alarms wailed within his craft.

"I know!" he shouted at the computer. "I'm working on it."

Below him, the surface swayed and rolled, not at all solid, but not quite liquid. He needed a solid spot to set down the escape pod.

He glanced over his shoulder at Gray, propped up in a seat and bleeding, but still alive. He hoped he could save her once they landed.

Fiery streaks lit up the sky above him. The wreckage of the ship tumbled violently into the atmosphere. He didn't know what happened, Davidson only reacted to the explosions. The captain gave word to abandon ship, he dragged the unconscious body of his crew mate to the escape pod. He hoped others had made it out as well.

The fuel alarm continued blaring, solid or otherwise, he was going to have to put it down soon.

"There!" he yelled out, pointing to spot off to his right. The ground wasn't moving there, it looked solid.

Davidson yanked on the stick, firing a burst of fuel to guide him toward the landing spot. He wasn't going to make it.

"C'mon!" He needed the rest of the fuel for the retro rockets to slow his descent, there simply wasn't enough fuel for maneuvering.

He glanced down at the instrument panel verify the readings. Either drop like a rock for the last 120 feet, or land in the goop a few dozen yards short of the solid ground. He tapped on the retro rockets switch for a moment before flipping it on.

"Squishy ground it is," he murmured, hoping he could get out of the craft before it sank.Just as he was about to contact the surface, the solid ground seemed to move under the craft. The ship gently rocked as it came to a rest.

"I'll be damned, Gray. We made it." She sat slumped in the seat, still bleeding and still breathing.

Davidson popped off a panel to retrieve the medical kit and began patching her up.

"First, we'll have to inventory the supplies, then look for resources." Gray was unresponsive, but it helped Davidson to vocalize his thoughts.

The prospects were not great. Perhaps a month worth of supplies in the pod if they rationed it, they might be able to stretch the battery power to match their consumables.

"Hopefully we got out a distress call before the ship went down," he said. Even then, it was doubtful that a rescue party would reach them within a month.

Off in the distance, the ground swelled for a moment, along with a rhythmic squishing sound.

"Two of them? Those were delicious the last time!"

"Hold tight, this time there's a male and female. If we're lucky, they'll mate and we can have our own ranch full of them!"

Neither Gray nor Davidson noticed as the swaying ground outside the landing zone solidified, complete with plants and pools of water.