The Descent

Chapter 6 - Exit

Denton threw his head back and laughed as he ran his hands through his hair. "I did it," he shouted out, "I actually did it." He shook his head and grinned to no-one in particular. He took a deep breath and exhaled. His VR fantasies had paid off. He had actually piloted a pod and survived. Never in his wildest imagination had he ever considered the possibility that it might actually happen.

"Ok," he said to himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt, "Let's get out of here." He reached for the pod hatch. As his hand touched the flat surface of the hatch he realized that there were no handles. It was completely smooth. With a furrowed brow, his fingers ran around the outer edge of the hatch. Nothing. He felt nothing.

"What the..."

The video display that had shut down on landing flicked back to life. The camera, which during the descent to the surface had been pointed vertically towards the landing spot, was now directed horizontally in the same direction as the hatch. It showed the landing and crew support structures around the landing pad. In the distance, he saw the jagged edges of a mountain range. The wind kicked up a small twister of dust that danced across the landing pad before it disappeared out of view. He saw everything he expected to be there. Except for the support crew. They were not there. No-one was out there.

He struggled to get out of the remaining restraints. His breathing increased as both his hands reached for the edges of the hatch, his fingers feeling around its edges and the hull that stretched beyond the hatch. There was no handle or button. Nothing.

He sat back down in the chair and felt a cold sweat form on his forehead. For a moment, his mind was empty and he wasn't sure what to do. Then, he reached for the headset.

"Hello, anyone out there? Gabi? Tanner? This is Denton."

He waited, trying to calm himself. The comms were shut down before launch but no-one had ever mentioned anything about after the landing. Someone had to be out there, listening. Right? They wouldn't just leave him deserted in the desert with no way of getting out of the pod. Or would they? Was that the plan all along? Kill him to kill the investigation? He took another deep breath and ignored the little voice that spewed doubt in his mind. He pressed the headphones harder against his ears and inadvertently held his breath as he listened. Besides the static in his headphones, there was only silence.

"Anyone? Hello? I can't get out of this thing. I need help. Anyone?"

There was no answer. Did they even know where he was? Where was the support crew? Surely they kept a support crew on standby in case the backup shuttle would be needed. Or had they been shipped back to the staging facility when it had been confirmed that The Vanquisher had been lowered into its launch position? At that point, there would be no need for them to remain at the landing site. After all, their services were no longer needed.

He suddenly felt exhausted and frustrated. The air inside was getting stale and the temperature was rising. His head hurt and he suddenly felt dizzy. He fought off the urge to throw up inside his confined space. What is going on? Why was he suddenly not feeling well? He glanced back up at the video screen and was surprised to see that it was blurry. He reached out and tapped the screen gently with his fingers. Was the screen failing now too?

Then, it dawned on him. He was running out of oxygen. The pods were not intended to be used after the landing. The racers were extracted immediately upon landing and tended to as needed. They never stayed inside the pod long enough after landing to experience the decreasing oxygen supply or the sweltering heat that the desert sun caused. Denton had never heard about it and he had no doubt Gabi had not even thought about telling him. Or had she?

"I'm going to die," he said out loud. How much time did he have? He had no idea but the symptoms had to be related to oxygen deprivation.

Suddenly, the headset crackled to life. "Denton, are you there?" he heard a familiar voice say between the static hissing.

Denton sat straight up and nodded furiously.

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

The voice on the other end laughed a nervous laugh of relief. "I'm glad to hear your voice."

"Who is this?"

There was a momentary silence before the voice answered. "Tanner, of course. Who did you think it was?"

"Tanner, you need to get me out of here. I can't get out. I'm running out of air and I'm cooking in here."

"Who else can hack into a system designed to prevent outside interference? Who else, Denton?"

Denton sighed.

"Tanner, I'm sorry, of course, it had to be you. My mind is a bit foggy over here. I'm running out of oxygen."

"Well, of course, you are. The pods only have a limited supply. Weight restrictions and all that stuff."

"Yes, I can tell. Are you going to get me out of here or just sit and chat?"

"The landing crew is on their way. They should be there any minute now."

"They better move it, Tanner. Otherwise, the only thing here to greet them will be a dead body."

"Just calm down. That will help extend your oxygen supply.."

At that moment, Denton saw movement on the monitor in front of him. A vehicle pulled to a stop and he saw a dozen crewmen running towards the pod. As they reached the perimeter of the landing site, he felt darkness intruding in the corner of his eyes. It was becoming harder to breathe. Every breath required more effort than the one before. He heard the faint noises of the crew outside the pod, metal against metal, as they engaged the tools to remove the hatch.

"Hurry, Tanner," Denton whispered as he felt consciousness slip away. Just as he was about to pass out, he was overwhelmed by a bright light. His face was whipped by a rushing hot wind as he felt his body yanked out of his seat. His body was put down on the ground with half a dozen cyclops standing over him. Monsters.

"No..." he whispered as the world disappeared from view, replaced by darkness.

~~~

Alright!  Denton (and maybe even you?) thought he was safe when he landed. Now he's finally out of the pod. What do you think? Safe? Finally safe? Who are the cyclops? What do they want?