“How I’m Remembered”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Mother Teresa

The alarms continue to blare throughout the ship. I sprint through the halls toward the nearest evacuation chamber.

Willams was supposed to wake me at during an evacuation alarm. But no, he decided to leave without me like the good little droid that he is. So now, I’ll be lucky to find an evacuation pod that hasn’t been launched yet.

To be honest, I’m not completely sure why we’re evacuating. Last I heard, we were heading to Gormath-918, a small planet in the Vitterel System. The path was supposed to be clear of asteroids, planets, and other ships, so I’m not sure what could’ve triggered the alarm. A hostile alien ship perhaps? In any case, I need to hurry.

I’m one turn away from the pods when I hear a wail coming from a nearby room.

I hesitate. If the ship is about to explode, I’d rather be on a pod far away from it. However, if there’s still someone else on board, I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself for not helping them reach a pod.

That’s it, my mind is made up. I skid to a halt and duck into the room, following the cry. I follow the sound through the room and out into the hall on the other side. The cries grow louder and louder over the blaring alarm.

Finally, I think I find the location of the sound. I push open the door and my eyes widen.

There’s a whole crowd of Niffilions in here.

They stare up at me with wide, scared eyes. Of course they wouldn’t understand what’s happening; they have no ears!

I kneel down in front of the first one and signal to him in the Niffilion language what’s going on. He nods slowly before pointing down at the rock that forms his feet.

My heart sinks. They can’t move by themselves. I’m going to have to carry them. But there’s no time; the alarm is getting more and more insistent, almost like it’s warning me to leave now because it’s my last chance.

I take a deep breath. I’m just going to have to hurry.

I grab the first Niffilion and race to the nearest evacuation pod. I stuff him in before running back to grab the next.

Every step feels slow. Every second feels like it flies by. I’m not going to be able to save them all.

No, I can’t think that way. I will save them all.

The ship starts shaking. She groans under some unknown pressure.

I run faster.

Finally, I’m finished. I’m amazed that the ship hasn’t blown up yet, considering the horrible noises she’s making.

I take a deep breath and close the pod door. It shoots away into the night, the Niffilions looking around with those same big eyes.

Sweat trickles down my cheeks as I sit down, exhausted. The alarm has either stopped or my ears just aren’t registering it anymore.

Even though there are no more pods, my panic is gone. I saved lives today.

I hope that’s how I’m remembered.

Final Comments: I haven’t written a sci-fi story in a while, but it feels good to be back in the genre.

Overall Rating: 😌