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FireflyOct 08 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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Ten minutes. Aaron Calhart had ten minutes left. Fifteen, if he took small, short breaths. He floated in zero gravity silently, considering what to spend his last ten minutes alive doing. Thinking about the accident? Re-enacting the whole thing in his mind? There was the small, fist-sized chunk of rock flying through space that ripped through the shuttle he had been on, triggering a series of electrical short-circuits and an internal fire that would've killed him right then, if he hadn't gotten to the lunar lander and escaped in it. And then the horrible feeling in his stomach and lump in his throat when he realized that the shuttle was also damaged, and that he was floating hopelessly out into space. Ten minutes. Ten minutes of air left. Aaron floated there in the lander, unable to name or describe what he was feeling. It felt like every possible emotion was running through him, constantly changing. He reached out and gripped a handhold, and pulled himself across the lander to a seat. He strapped the seat belts on, and laid his head back. The seat belts. Aaron could always strangle himself with them. He could end it all now. It's not like anyone would ever find him. There were plenty of things in the lander that made suicide very easy, and very tempted. Lots of sharp, metal objects; plenty of hazardous materials that he could expose himself to; or he could just open the door of the lander, and let himself be sucked out into space. Tempting, indeed; but he eventually decided against it. Aaron closed his eyes and thought of his family back home. His wife, Julie; and his daughter, Sally. Little Sally. Only seven years old. She had a dance recital this weekend, he thought to himself. But he couldn't be there, because of the launch. Aaron thought about the night before the launch, when he had to tell her. "You aren't coming?" She had asked, quietly. "I'm sorry, Sally," Aaron told her, "But I have to work." "Daddy's going into space, pumpkin!" Julie had told Sally, trying to take her mind off her father's future absence in two days. "I don't care! You have to come!" Sally said, angrily. "I can't honey. I'm really sorry, but I just can't." Sally was too young to understand. The recital meant the world to her right now. Sally was almost crying out of anger. "I hate you," Aaron said to himself, sitting inside the shuttle. Sally had told her that she hated him, and walked out of the room. She didn't say a word to him the next morning, before he left for the launch. His daughter's last words to him were "I hate you." A tear welled up in Aaron's eye. He blinked, and the small droplet of water popped off his eyelid, and gently floated out in front of him. He watched it for a moment, and turned his head away. The air was getting colder, and Aaron shivered. Thinking about the cold reminded him of the air gauge, and his short time left. He started to turn to look over at the gauge, but then stopped himself; Aaron suddenly realized he didn't want to know how much was left. Then, his radio started crackling. "Calhart, come in. This is mission control. Do you copy? Repeat, this is mission control. Are you there, Calhart?" The radio's signal was weak and the voice faded in and out, but it was coming in, all the same. Aaron took off the seat belts and floated to the radio. "Mission control, this is Calhart. I copy, but barely." There was a lot of static, which then faded as the voice came through. "Calhart, we can't do anything. You're moving too fast and you don't have much--" "I know," Aaron interrupted quietly, with no emotion. There was no response from mission control. "I know," he repeated sadly. "We're sorry." The radio said, "Everyone here is...really sorry." "There's nothing that you could've done. There wasn't a mistake; neither of us did anything wrong. It was...just bad timing, I suppose." Aaron could feel more tears forming in his eyes. There was a long sniffle from the other end of the radio. "Will you do me a favor?" "Anything you want." "Tell my wife that I love her. And tell her that if Sally says anything about the other night, to say that I forgive her and that I love her. I will always love her." Aaron started to sob a little, and took a deep, sniffling breath. "Tell her I know she's a beautiful dancer." "I'll tell her, Aaron. I promise." Aaron's sobs became deep gasps for breath. He wheezed, and then took in another deep breath, but felt no relief. He wasn't breathing in any air. The air tank was empty. As his body started to continually gasp involuntarily for air, Aaron used his last bit of control to switch off the radio signal. He didn't want anybody hearing what was about to happen. Aaron began to take quick, desperate breaths, sucking in hard, and breathing nothing out. He reached for the handhold so he could pull himself to the chair and strap himself into it, but it was too late. His body jerked suddenly, and he continued to have sharp, jerky spasms as his brain started to die. It all ended with a long, harsh cough, and Aaron's body became still, floating in the lander as it continued to drift silently out into space.  |
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