THE END

Chapter 5

We ride for what seems like an endless amount of time without any change. The first few hours we spend just looking out the window at everything, amazed by all the lights. After a while I have to pee so I go to the tiny little bathroom in the back. It consists of only a toilet smaller than my head, and sanitation wipes instead of a sink. Not cool.

When I'm done I try to find the snacks that the officer mentioned, but it proves to be quite the struggle. I squeeze my way past Neil's seat and open all the compartments and cupboards within arm's reach. Dang, this pod is tiny. I maneuver my way to the last cupboard in sight and open it, snacks spilling out onto the floor. Freeze dried food, water bottles, prepackaged snacks, and more.

"Jackpot!" I shout. "What do you want?"

"How about that bag of Crispies?" Neil said, pointing to the bag of chips at my feet. I pick it up and toss it to him. He catches it and I pick out a bag for myself. Suddenly a red light flashes over head.

"What's that?" I ask. I look around for the source and find a tiny mechanism on the ceiling of the pod, flashing bright red. A  siren starts going off, practically blasting out my eardrums, and an automated voice comes on over the speakers.

"YOUR POD HAS GONE OFF TRACK, REPEAT, YOUR POD HAS GONE OFF TRACK. PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND CONTACT ANOTHER POD TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR DESTINATION."

"Shit." Neil muttered, unstrapping himself from his seat and jumping up to look through the manual. "The officer said we could use the radio to get help."

"Well where's the radio?" I say, looking around the tiny pod trying to find anything useful.

"YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES UNTIL YOUR POD HAS STRAYED OUT OF BOUNDS. ONCE OUT OF BOUNDS, YOUR POD IS BEYOND HELPING. IF YOUR POD GOES OUT OF BOUNDS IT WILL BE FOREVER LOST TO TIME AND SPACE." The woman says in a sickeningly calm voice.

"Shit!" Neil shouts. "Okay okay okay, where would the radio be?" I try to remember if I saw it when I searched through all the compartments. I fling open cabinets practically ripping them from their hinges, turning over everything. Then I remember seeing something on the other side of the pod, right by the door.

I make my way there and shove the cupboard open. Inside I find a little box attached to a small cord, like the radio speakers truck drivers used in the olden days to communicate. "YOU NOW HAVE TWO MINUTES UNTIL YOUR POD IS OUT OF BOUNDS. REPEAT, TWO MINUTES."

I let out a string of profanities and then cry, "How do you work this thing?" Neil comes over with the pod manual and flips through it frantically. I find a button on the side of the little box and push it, talking into the speaker. "This is pod number- Neil what pod is this?"

"Uh- two thousand eighty."

"Right. This is pod two thousand eighty, and we've gone off track. We were on our way to Jupiter and we are at risk of going out of bounds. We need immediate help!" I wait for a moment to see if I'll get a response. "Hello? Is anyone out there?"

"Hello?" A young female voice comes from the little box, sounding tinny and far away. "This is pod two thousand twenty, on my way from Jupiter to Earth. I am within close range. I may be able to tow you back to Jupiter."

"Oh thank god." I say to Neil, and then I press the button to speak to the girl. "Oh thank god. How fast can you get here? We have less than two minutes left-"

"ONE AND A HALF MINUTES UNTIL YOUR POD IS OUT OF BOUNDS."

"Make that one and a half minutes." I say.

"Can you tell me your coordinates?" The voice says. I look to Neil in desperation and he searches the pod for anything that might tell us. He opens a compartment and finds a small screen, about the size of my hand. It shows an image of the pod, and the path from Earth to Jupiter. We've gone way off to the left.