Horror Island

Horror Island Ch 3

Mia began listening in to the conversation going on up front.

"Houston, how's the weather looking down there. Over."

"MARC 1, it's looking sunny and calm at your proposed landing site. Over."

Some more pilot jargon between the copilots. Then...

"Houston, we will begin reentry in five, four, three, two, one. Reentry."

"MARC 1, closing radio contact. Have a safe trip and we will see you on the ground. Over."

Mia closed her eyes yet again as the small capsule gently began rocketing toward the ground far below. She consoled herself with the fact that they were still ninety miles above the earth's surface.

Soon she noticed the orange glow outside the small window. Then the almost imperceptible shaking and the pull of gravity. The signs that signaled her return to Earth.

She began shaking, her muscles rapidly contracting and releasing as her mind became panicked. A tiny trickle of saliva came out the side of her mouth. Soon her brain was no longer able to handle the fear and stress, coupled with the g-forces acting upon her body. Her vision contracted, narrowing to a small dot right in front of her until she finally lost consciousness.

Mia awoke to calmness. She was still strapped into her chair and her sleep-addled mind told her to tug at the straps. They didn't come loose and she felt slightly foolish for doing so as she became more alert. The two pilots were still engrossed in whatever they were doing at the moment. Looking out the window, she could see clouds, streaks of white moisture slowly passing the window. The parachutes had deployed.

She breathed deep, sucking in the stale air around her. Mark turned in his seat, shooting her a bright smile. "We're here!" he said cheerfully.

Yuri turned to Mark, whispering forcefully. She couldn't hear everything they were saying but she did catch the words "GPS" and "radio" and "unable" and finally, "malfunctioning."

Mark turned back to Mia. "Looks like it might be a while before the military picks us up. Our tracker is malfunctioning."

Yuri had been engrossed in his tasks while Mark was talking but he looked up long enough to say, "Brace for impact."