In and Out The Hole

“In and Out The Hole” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Lungu Alexandru, Palatul Copiilor, Focsani, Romania.

In and Out The Hole

I woke up and looked around.

My view was rather blurry and my head hurt. It’s like...I couldn’t remember anything.

My name is...umm...Aidan? Yes...Aidan! This ship, on which I currently am, is shaking and there’s this loud beeping. And yet, I don’t hear anyone. Wait, why am I on this ship? Think,

Aidan, think!

I remember! My father took me here, on the Kebuchet, in order to... uhh… find or do something. Now that I feel better and my view has fully recovered, it's time to see the problem with this ship. Let me check the ship’s overview:

“The Ship is approaching a big object ahead; it is moving at high speed; hull damage is inevitable, evacuate at once!”

Oh god, I must get to the escape pods ASAP! I run as fast as my body can, but, when I arrived, all the pods had gone.

The pod room was completely empty, which solved the mystery of why everyone had disappeared. They just took the escape pods and, well, escaped.

Part of me was frustrated because literally the only thing that had destroyed all my chances of survival was a goddamn headache. But the other part of me was happy that, from such a big crew, the only person who didn’t make it was just some 14 year old boy.

Well, guess this was it for me. Everyone dies, but I didn’t expect my doom to come so soon. Still, even though death is a subject that strikes fear in the hearts of mortals, this feels rather relieving. Mostly because...wow! Now, all of my worries have faded. I feel so fresh, light and relaxed. I decided to go to the control room to look through the glass and at least know what object has taken my life, but I see nothing.

There’s no way! There has to be something further away, I just can’t see it!

'Zoom in! Zooming in.”

What?! Nothing?! All of this chaos for a glitch in the system!

In that case, I’ll go back to my room and check a few things. I entered the room and went to the ship overview monitor. Even though you can’t directly interact with the ship through them, putting one in every room sure was a clever idea. It says that the ship’s oxygen supply will last for 7 days. In conclusion, I have a week to get out of this place and come back to Terra, or else I’m screwed. Hmm, seems manageable. And plus, what do I have to lose even if I fail?

If I do try and leave Kebuchet, at least there is a chance I get to Earth and don’t suffocate.

Now that I have a plan, I should probably look around my room to see if there is anything of use, and I don’t mean food, I have enough in the cafeteria. Right, how could I forget about Walter? Looks like he’s charging up at his station, next to my bed.

At first, I asked my father how these metal cylinders with sheets in them could possibly be considered beds. He told me I’d be surprised if I slept in one of them, and he was right! These things are more comfortable than my actual bed! Now I spotted that my bed’s window was punched so hard it cracked. Must have been my father, trying to save me. It’s probably at least one of the reasons I woke up.

Anyways, back to Walter:

”Wake up, sleepyhead! Wait, I have to give him a specific command. Walter, on!”

”Initiating voice recognition process...scanning...speaker: Aidan Morrison. Access granted.

Following commands…”

”Ugh, I don’t have time for this, Walter!”

”Sorry, Aidan. I just had such a good, long sleep that I needed to do a short reboot.”

”Wish I could say the same. Now, we have some important things to do…

-Sounds concerning...