An adventure in space

เนื้อเรื่อง

An adventure in space

‘Walker! You’re fired!’

I felt as though I was splashed with liquid nitrogen. It was the pain from shame and embarrassment that my (ex-) boss showered onto me. I felt even worse as I walked past the (ex-) coworkers (They can cunningly and miraculously shout out “Loser!” without even moving their lips).

Oh yes, I was a loser.

Nothing good had ever happened in my life since the 7^th grade when my mom bought me the last cotton candy (although it was more like cotton than candy). The next day she left me and my dad (who died a month after that) forever. I was left in foster care and lived the next 15 years lonely. No one would shed a single tear if I die.

Perhaps it’s better dead than alive.

                As I walked past an electronics store, there displayed this advertisement:

                         “Volunteer for your nation!

                        NASA is in need of a brave young man from age 20-30

                        To accompany a spaceship KERES-13 to Mars

                        Join us now for a free visit to Venus!

                        Please acknowledge that NASA will not be responsible for

                        Any incident that might cause your life.

                        Otherwise, if you’re still interested please contact: 281-483-5907”

                Perhaps it’s better to visit other planets before dying.

The next day I gave NASA a call.

‘Hello, my name is Sean Walker. I would like to volunteer to accompany KERES-13 to Mars. Is there a standard for qualification?’

(‘OH! another volunteer!’) Replied a woman through the phone. (‘Only that you have to be between the age of 20 and 30, otherwise you’re fine. Please give us a visit!’)

                It was easier than I expected.

So I paid a visit to NASA. They had me fill in the application form while a middle-aged lady explained me the risk of the trip and how often people die while accompanying this experimental spaceship. She also told me that the spaceship was named after the Greek goddess of violent and cruel death. However, it didn’t bother me much.

                A month after that, I was called in and met with the co-lab rats. They looked like a bunch of miserable losers. Perhaps this was the place I longed for?  I greeted everyone with a sheepish smile as I entered the room.

I had never seen anything so beautiful

                What stood in front of my eyes was not a regular spaceship. It was even more than beautiful. It’s the gate to the new world. It was the gift from God to stop all this misery. I was in love.❤

      As five of us (the losers) got onto the spaceship. It felt as though I was walking up the stairway to heaven. Inside was beautifully decorated and there were maid robots.

                I felt like a king.

I was told that the journey would take exactly 214 days. I was also told that no one had ever survived up to that date.

                ‘I will be the first one to arrive on Mars!’ I thought to myself optimistically.

However, it seemed like God really hated me.

                Beep! Beep!

                (‘The control system has shut down due to a rare disease that was caused by an attack from the antibodies of Mars. The control system was a nice system. Perhaps the best I’ve ever known. We will have a minute of silence please.

                (Silence)

                Oh, by the way, the spaceship will explode itself in 3 minutes. Please evacuate yourself to the fire exit. Thank you.’)

                You’ve got to be kidding me!

                (‘This is an emergency’)

                Everyone was in panic.

                (‘This is still an emergency’)

                Everyone was still in panic.

                (‘This emergency is still going on’)

                Everyone was still panicking.

                (‘Counting down to self-explosion. 30…29…’)

                Everyone jumped out of the spaceship without thinking!

Did they just completely forget that we’re in the space?

                (‘28…’)

                Oh shoot!

                (’27…26…25…’) I had to see Mars before I die!

                I took a deep breath to calm myself down and glanced around the spaceship to find something that might be useful.

                A spacesuit!

                (‘3…2…1…”)

BOOM!

Oh God, I don’t want to die.

                I realized at the last moment how precious life was.

                It was too late anyway.

. . . . .

                Or was it?

                I was still breathing.

(The End)