The Descent

Chapter 48 - Dark and Cold

When Denton came to, everything felt wrong. His head was pounding, his throat felt dry and raspy, and his body ached everywhere. As he opened his eyes and found himself laying sideways and tilted backward inside the trekker, it took him a moment to remember where he was and what had happened. He took a couple of deep breaths, opened and closed his eyes a few times and then tried to focus on the instruments in front of him.

One of the two control screens in front of him was cracked, flickering on and off on irregular intervals. The other screen flashed angry red warnings, pointing out the various systems on the trekker that had failed. At that point, Denton also realized that warning chimes were sounding every few seconds, its rhythm synchronized with the flashing warnings on the screen in front of him.

A glance at the canopy revealed that the trekker was partially buried in the snow. Stars were visible through a large section of the left front part of the canopy. He felt a surge of relief. Never before had he been so happy to see the celestial neighbors of Proxima b. It meant that his situation was not as grim as it could have been. He was alive and not completely buried. That in itself was better than what he had expected.

His relief was short-lived. His mind started to analyze his situation and came up with a number of grim scenarios. The canopy was closed. He was half-buried in the snow. Was the canopy air-tight? Was there a risk he could run out of air? Even if he made it out, would he freeze to death? He felt his chest contract as the thought of running out of air and suffocating slipped through his mind, pushing aside the sense of relief he had felt just moments earlier. Sweat formed on his forehead, and it felt as if the walls of the cockpit were pushing in closer. He had to get out.

His fingers found the belt clasp that held his body in place and was just about to press it when he paused. He took a deep breath and tried to let his rational thinking take over. As uncomfortable as he was, laying there on his side, if he released the seat belt he would be operating the trekker controls from an unnatural position. It would make an uncomfortable position awkward, maybe even more difficult.

He decided to stay put and returned his focus to the readouts on the screens in front of him. He had to figure out a way to get out, but it was better to take his time and do it right.

It didn't take long for Denton to verify that the trekker was stuck. The track of the trekker and the drive unit was offline, and no amount of settings and sub-menus on the on-screen controls would change that. It wasn't going anywhere. His only option seemed to be to try to get the canopy open and climb out. The prospect of leaving the trekker behind was not appealing to him, but he also knew that he didn't have much choice.

He pressed the button and waited. Nothing happened. A second attempt yielded the same result. Nothing moved. The canopy remained firmly shut in place.

Denton tapped a couple of menus on the screen and found that the power to canopy opening equipment had been diverted to the life support system. All he had to do was redirect the power back to the canopy, and he'd likely get out.

As his finger hovered over the button to execute the transfer, he hesitated. Turning off life support was not a decision taken lightly. Did he have any other option? Not one that he could see. To survive, he had to get out. Whether he liked it or not, he'd be on his own up there.

He pushed his doubts aside. With a few quick taps on the remaining working screen, he rerouted power to the canopy and tried the opening sequence again. This time, he heard the distinct click of the latch unlocking and the groaning as the engine that opened the canopy engaged.

At first, nothing happened. The only thing he could hear was the whining of the engine that grew more intense by the second. He expected the engine to blow up, but instead, the canopy flung open. Snow particles rained down on Denton as his lungs and face were greeted by subzero temperatures, momentarily paralyzing him with shock.