Skyfall
by Phil Temples
The ship fell
from the heavens in an uncontrolled descent. When
it encountered the edge of the planet’s
atmosphere it was buffeted about mercilessly,
like some ancient earth schooner riding an angry
sea.
On board, the
Captain furiously punched at a row of buttons on
the console. Angry buzzers annunciated the crew’s
impending doom.
“Shut
those damn things off, Henricks!”
“Aye,
Captain.”
“Jeffries,
what about turbos?”
“Off line,
sir.”
“Retro
thrusters?”
“Failed,
sir.”
There was a
brief moment of silence.
“We’re
screwed.”
No one
challenged the Captain’s last statement.
“Lady,
gentlemen--it’s been a pleasure serving—“
The aft wing
sheared off and shattered the command module
portal. Everything not fastened down flew toward
the gaping hole. In seconds, all the air was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A bipodal
creature looked up into the cloudless sky. What
he saw terrified him. He began to run, shouting
loudly.
“I saw
the sky on fire! Something was falling! It’s
going to come down on our heads! You should all
run. Take cover while you can!”
The village
elder shook his comb in disgust.
“Listen
very carefully, because I’m only going to
say this once, Chicken Little. You shut up!”
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