"I repeat, I am UNDER ATTACK! MAYDAY!! Home Base, DO YOU READ??!"
[static]
. . .
[static]
No.
No no no...this cannot be happening!
Why won't anyone answer??
*BOOM!*
*CRASH!*
Another missile knocks one of the solar-paneled wings right off the "Blue Dragon," sending it floating off into oblivion.
This time, I've completely lost control of the capsule. Nothing is working anymore. Even the lights turn off, leaving me totally in the dark as I spiral downwards towards the moon's surface.
The gravitational pull sends me down so fast there's no time to even deploy the parachute.
One last attempt. I pound the CALL button with my fist.
"Please...anyone...CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?! PLEASE HELP!!"
I'm sure if I was capable of crying, my face would be covered in tears. Instead, my eyes flash red in the dashboard window's reflection.
Status: DOOMED
Mood: Scared
I've exhausted all options; there's nothing left to do.
I brace myself for impact.
[COMMENCING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN...3...2..1...]
D a r k n e s s . S i l e n c e .
* * * * *
[BOOTING UP...]
Status: System Failure. Booting Up in Safe Mode...
Mood: Blank
"Ugh...what's happening?"
Slowly I become aware of my surroundings as everything comes into focus.
I'm inside some kind of...vessel. A space capsule? The lights in here are dim but working.
I check the windows and survey the outside area.
Some outer parts of the capsule are broken...Did I crash?? High concave walls of glistening, whitish rock surround me on all sides. A blanket of stars twinkles overhead beyond the top opening of the deep...pit? Crater?
Where...is this?
Why am I here?
Who am "I"?
I notice the barcode on the inside of my wrist. There's a number under it: X140-728876.
What does it mean?
What exactly am "I"?
[[TO BE CONTINUED]]
YOU ARE READING
I Am XIAO: An Inktober Story
Научная фантастикаFirst published on Instagram under the username @leilacreatesthings as a response to Jake Parker's "Inktober" art challenge during October 2019-January 2020. PREMISE: In the year 2520, on the space capsule "Blue Dragon", the sole passenger, a NASA...