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"Oxygen levels, stable."
Charlie removed his helmet and glanced around the vast wasteland. Everything had a tinge of pink to it.
Must be sunset, he thought.
He turned back to look at his wrecked spaceshuttle. As soon as he had entered this new atmosphere, everything in the shuttle had gone haywire and misfired. Something about the cosmic rays on the planet did not align with his aircraft. He was lucky to have escaped without more than a racing heartbeat.
"Initiating...to observe and study Planet Her."
Charlie looked down at the talk box strapped to his chest. It was misfiring again. Probably due to the waves in the air.
"Come on," he muttered hitting it several times. It stopped after a few more taps and the turning of the FM knob.
Charlie walked away from his space ship. There was nowhere else to go but forward. Maybe by some miracle, there were locals on Planet Her that might get a signal to the space station back on the moon where it all began.
As Charlie walked on, he couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu. When he was ten years old, he and his father had made a one week trek across the Great Sahara back on Earth.
Planet Her felt like a pink Sahara.
Charlie slowed down and wondered if he was seeing a mirage. He rubbed his eyes once and looked again.
Nope. Definitely not a mirage.
There was a river. And in that river was a white kayak. He looked back to see if there was anyone around.
Coast was all clear.
Finders Keepers.
As he sailed through the water, Charlie couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A giant pink lady?
He slowed the boat down to a slower speed and just stood there watching her. The giantess was moving around seductively and blew him a kiss.
"Hi, there," she said.
On all the other planets he had ever been to, all of the inhabitants had been no taller than him.
So this was new.
"Cat got your tongue?" the woman asked.
No, his mind had to be messing with him.
Charlie sailed on hoping she wouldn't follow. He took one glance back as she blew him another kiss.
