Thirty Days

Day 1

“Ohhhh…” I awoke with long groan. My eyes creaked open like they were solid lead. A great light blared in my visor, blinding me. I could scarcely make out my surroundings. Apparently, I was inside some unlit room, which also seemed to be upside down, as I could feel a large reservoir of blood in my head. A large, metal object pinned me to my seat, which was attached to the ceiling, in a most uncomfortable manner. My memory ran blank. I had no recollection as to how I ended up in this predicament.

“No,” I thought grimly, “My ship!” I squirmed around, trying to get myself out of my dented cockpit. I clearly wasn’t floating through the vacuum of space, my ship must have landed. But where? I pressed the “open” button on my control panel, but there was no response. I tried once more, but still nothing. I grabbed my handy-bar and used it to pry the cockpit window open. I tumbled out and landed on my rear ungracefully outside of the Dolphin. The ground was soft porous, but I was too concerned with my ship to notice my surroundings.

I quickly turned to see the tragic state of my poor ship.

It was the most horrific sight I had ever laid eyes upon. The Dolphin jutted out of the charred crater it sat in like a colorful blemish. Sparks perpetually sprayed the area around it and several inner mechanisms stuck out of the hull, attempting to run, but to no avail. A continuous stream of smoke flowed up and out of the ship, and several important jets, antennae, hull pieces, and other gadgets were nowhere to be seen. Even the main engine was completely missing from its stationary spot at the bottom of my ship. I then remembered my eventful collision with that large meteorite.

Superb.

As I had suffered crash landings before, I would not have been normally worried. However, this time the Dolphin had been near shredded into tiny metal pieces. My orderly, civilized mind kicked and told me to inspect and list what was missing from my shipwreck, but I noticed the bright flora I was stepping on. I completely forgot my situation as I looked around and found one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen.

I was in the middle of an absolutely enormous forest. Plants and flowers of the most unimaginable shape were growing in every crack and crevice in the green glade. Bright, blooming blossoms and vines added a colorful flare to the lush woodland. And most of the plant-life was several times my own size. I felt like an insignificant insect next to the building-sized trees and stumps. The Dolphin and I were dwarfed next to the staggering immensity of our alien environment. But I soon discovered yet another dilemma.

Where in the galaxy was I? As a youth, I had always had a deep interest in alien life on other worlds, and nowhere in my studies had I ever heard of planets as rich and full of life as this. Absolutely breath-taken, I took my helmet off to better view the forest, but I was met with an unpleasant surprise.

I took a deep breath, and found myself instantly choking on the air. I gagged and coughed uncontrollably. I fumbled desperately for my helmet and managed to fit it back on quickly. I collapsed onto my knees in shock. My vision was blurred, the world around me felt slower, and I could feel my nose bleeding. I trembled like a frail leaf in an autumn wind. I took several deep breaths to regain my vigor, and pressed a button on my air pack.

“Analyzing air components,” it quacked noisily, “Results: 78% nitrogen/21% oxygen/1% carbon-dioxide, water vapor, and argon.”

“Oxygen?” I thought, frightened of my situation far more. My species found oxygen as poisonous as carbon monoxide is to others. I was quaking in fear as I pressed a button next to my Atmospheric Analyzer. It stated “Life-Support Systems functional for approximately 30 days.”

“Great Gamma,” I thought to myself panicked, “Thirty Days!?” I stared at the ground in disbelief. I couldn’t believe it. I refused to. But it was undeniable. Here I was, ship-wrecked, on an unknown, alien world with high amounts of poisonous gas, with only a month’s worth of air and no means of communication to others. I was absolutely hysterical. What was I going to do? Find all of the missing parts? I didn’t know where they had landed, or even where I had. And my family! Would I ever see them again? My beautiful wife and children, what would they do without me? My children were so young and I was the only source of income, and my wife couldn’t get a job and run the house. What will happen…? No, no, no, what could happen, not what will…