Horror Island

Horror Island Ch 2

The small MARC did not have docking capabilities so they would not be "dropping in for tea," as one of the ISS cosmonauts had so eloquently put it. Instead, the three Americans would be descending by parachute into the Pacific Ocean. Because their take-off had been so hasty, they were not able to carefully choose their own destination and would be landing in Polynesia, the group of small islands in the South Pacific. It would take an estimated 38 hours for an American military ship to be close enough for pickup.

As Mia closed her tired eyes, she thought about the risks involved. The rocket had already been on the launch pad when the collision happened but many double and triple checks had been neglected for the sake of time. Things could still go wrong and this was one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission.

As she thought about the potential dangers, she heard Mark again.

"Mia, thirty minutes until reentry."

She opened her eyes, a little panicked. Where had the last half hour gone? Had she fallen asleep?

Suddenly, she realized she had forgotten something important. Her sedative. It was in the medical pouch, strapped in place underneath a panel right behind her. She had taken it for every single reentry so far and this would be the most stressful one she had ever endured, the stress augmented by the adrenaline rush of success only two hours ago.

"Mark." she said breathlessly. Both Yuri and Mark craned their heads to look back at her. "I forgot to take my meds!"

Yuri turned back around and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mia, but you cannot get out of your seat. We have already begun reentry and there are strict guidelines against moving about the capsule while it's entering or exiting the atmosphere."

Mark looked at her sympathetically. "He's right. You're just going to have to tough it out this time, babe."

Yuri looked at Mark sharply and then Mark noticed his slip. Mia groaned internally. Her and Mark had been sort of seeing each other lately but they hadn't told anyone at HQ about the relationship.

Instead of saying anything, Yuri just turned around and shook his head. Mark shot Mia a look and she did the same. Then they broke eye contact and Mark turned back to the console.