Earth was calling me, pulling and begging me to leave. It hurled my arms backwards, letting them skim the slate before they could find a foothold. My limbs were planks, stiff and cold, too weak to even attempt to fend off the millions of hands pulling them down. Or was it up?
The moon felt as though my sense of direction didn’t apply to it. Everything was happening at once- the stars twinkling, supernovas exploding- planet Earth pirouetting to a new song.
My palms grew sweaty beneath my gloves, loosening their grip on the rock.
Just pull yourself up, I urged myself.
My brain scattered with irrational thought, adrenaline gradually stifling my calm.
Breath collected on the visor with each attempt, thin, hopeless lines of condensed water collecting on the glass. They made it hard to see; my peripheral vision soon clouded like darkness but foggier, more unknown.
The pads of my fingers pressed into the rubble of the satellite, the very satellite I was trying to save, to discover. I kept despairingly trying to hoist my body back onto the shuttle, and with each heave, it became more impossible.
The shuttle’s cool metal exterior glinted in the low light. How appealing it looked now. Its glossy edges welcomed my eyes, as I dreamed of the fresh, recycled air inside. It stood with its retracted landing gear upon the horizon, its one window reflecting the sun’s scathing gaze.
Even the sun, the very energy of our solar system, feasted on my demise. Its heat was merciless upon my skin, seeping through my space suit and boiling my body. Alarms started to blare through my helmet. Accepting my fate would only mean less pain. This destructive thought churned in my brain as I floated away aimlessly; who knows how long this will last? It will all be over at some point, and unconsciousness will engulf me, easing my restless mind, and my body will continue to float away aimlessly- until it is found by someone (or something) else, or sucked into the abyss of a black hole.
