Atlas Abandoned

Ghost Stories (2 years since the crash)

Atlas, his mother, and Gressam sat around the campfire on log benches, enjoying a feast of rhino meat and preserved rice and beans from the ship that they had been saving for a special occasion they weren't sure would ever come. It was the best thing Atlas had ever eaten. It was challenging for him to even take a bite, though, because his mom was hugging him so tightly, over and over, the whole time. They had wept tears of joy and even Gressam was even laughing and smiling- something Atlas' mother assured him never happened. They promised each other not to start asking the million questions they all had until after they ate.

"Betcha wish you never snuck aboard, doncha?" the soldier joked in between bites. Atlas tried to respond, but his mouth was stuffed at the moment. "Swallow your damn food, boy!" Atlas swallowed his food.

"Ha-ha," Atlas laughed very sarcastically, "I told you a million times it was an accident." he and Gressam never exactly got along during their voyage on The Persephone, but they were both trying to forget that given their circumstances.

"Oh stop it, Gressam," his mother said.

They finished eating, sustained an awkward silence for a little bit watching the sky return to normal after the green cloud vanished through the warp gate, and then Atlas started the dialogue.

"So...it's just you two?" he looked at his mom. "I saw 6 graves on the other side of the valley. Does that mean-?" she teared up when Atlas didn't finish the question.

"Your father didn't make it, Atlas," she sniffed as she told him, "It's just Gressam and I now." Atlas looked at the ground.

"Hey, your old man saved our asses," Gressam offered, "all of ours." He went on to describe Atlas' father's heroics during the crash, including how he got Atlas out first, and proceeded to make sure each of the other crew members had a shot at surviving by kicking the pilot out of his seat and taking the helm.

"Why did he do that? His life was just as important!"

"Atlas, your dad knew there was another engineer in the crew. There was only one pilot, and the ship hadn't broken apart yet, so he was probably thinking of the chance that this bird could take off again. It'd need a pilot if it did." Atlas ignored the soldier's explanation.

"You should have done it, not him!"

"I tried," Gressam sighed, "but I saw the look in your dad's eyes. Stubborn bastard. Atlas, he wasn't going to let anyone else do it. We would have both died."

"So the rest of you survived the crash?" Atlas asked in wonderment. Gressam nodded with a half smile. His mother explained how it went down from 8 survivors to 2. One woman sustained a grievous wound during the crash, lost a lot of blood, and fell to an infection while she was recovering. The whole group had gone down into the valley to scavenge supplies from the other half of the ship and were attacked by raptors, which they fittingly called slashers. They lost two more to that attack. Gressam took over for Atlas' mother in explaining the other 3 deaths. Two of them were tougher for Gressam to explain. During the very first night of fireworks, a crew member named Jacob, who was having an especially hard time adjusting to life on this planet, started going a little crazy. 'We're saved! We're saved!' Gressam used exaggerated hand gestures to recreate how Jacob was yelling on and on. They had no idea what was going on at this point. The other crew member, Zane, used to be a Mammoth soldier but got kicked out for fighting. He was the ship's mechanic. He was already frustrated and Jacob must have pushed him over the edge. Zane lost it and started beating on Jacob to shut him up. Gressam explained that he thought they'd calm each other down by throwing a few punches, but before he realized it, Zane had snapped Jacob's neck. Gressam lost it and threatened to kill Zane right then and there, but Atlas' mother convinced him not to. Over the following months, trust issues built between Zane and the rest of the survivors. Nobody trusted him. The tension was hindering their ability to focus on survival. One night Gressam took the initiative on behalf of the pilot and Atlas' mother and took Zane out while he slept. The pilot went off on his own after a year of survival. They figured he knew what he was doing, whether he was hunting or scouting, but they didn't see him again for months until Gressam found his body, burned to a crisp. The pilot had been sleeping low on the ground and knocked out by the butane gas that lingered on the surface. His was too close to his fire and Gressam let Atlas' imagination finish that story. Atlas did his best to ignore the murders and the immolation.