Hi! Here’s a short story I wrote, inspired by this video.  We had to choose  one of these following “deaths in space” and write about how they got there/how they died.  *Disclaimer; the following story has a very abrupt, ANNOYING ENDING WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER DIES. * Usually, I hate stories where it ends with the main character dying, (even though it’s fun to kill off side-characters whenever I write!) but I think I’ll make an exception.

Death in Space from Thomas Lucas on Vimeo.

Here is #13 in the previous video, the one I decided to base my short story on!

I trudged carefully through the sludge, feeling every bounce in my step. I tried to plant my feet in the ground, knowing that if I jumped, I could fly away and never be seen again. 

I was on the moon, after all. Here, death was a jump away. A step away. A shove away. In the distance, I saw a faint light illuminate my helmet, pulsating. The Headquarters, a massive building where all those temporarily OR permanently living on the moon stayed. My home. I sprinted towards the light, seeing with a jolt that my oxygen gauge, representing how much oxygen I have left in my tank, was dangerously low.  

~ 3 Minutes Later ~ 

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I slipped into the triple, air-proof doors of Headquarters. Pulling off my helmet with a heave, I collapsed onto a soft, well-worn couch in the lobby.  

I strolled to the storage room, looking for a full tank of oxygen. As I rounded a corner, I saw a flash of one woman and one man arguing heatedly behind a thick door. Nervously looking around, I didn’t see anyone besides the two strangers. I strained to hear what they were saying, only making out a few words behind the sound-proof door; “Task…. Sinkhole…. Important…. Die….” Stunned into silence, I scrambled away as I heard the click of the door opening.  

Of course, I tripped over my own feet. 

A loud thump echoed through the halls as I saw my face rush up to meet the tiled floor. I saw from my obscured point of view one pair of padded shoes rush up to help me, firmly grasping my arm. A cold voice drawled from behind me. “She’ll do. I guess.” Dazed, I brushed my dusty hands off on my knees, coming face-to-face with the woman who had helped me up. She still wore her space helmet, as if she had just been outside, and I could see my reflection in her visor. My thick framed, black glasses, my black hair, (dyed purple at the bottom) pulled up into a tight, high ponytail and my dark brown eyes. Quickly mumbling a thank-you, I turned to face the man. A smirk seemed permanently plastered on his face, and his short blonde hair was gelled into a stylish position.  

Shock ran through my blood as I realized exactly who I was staring at. Surprise must have clouded my face for a minute, because he growled tightly to the woman. “I have to go. Just explain it to her, and don’t take no for an answer!”  

Sighing deeply, the woman carefully pulled me into the room that they had just come out of.  

“Was that Lucien? THE Lucien? The rich contributor who had  paid for the whole compound?” I inquired nervously. “Yeah. He can be very bossy though…” The woman exhaled. “Anyways. He has a task he needed a commoner to do. One of our best videographers, someone who takes live footage of the moon and streams it to NASA, had been sucked into a tiny sinkhole, and is now stuck at the bottom of the hole. Mercifully not hurt, but his oxygen is running out by the second. I need someone to help me move some ground to help him get out.” She explained. “I was told to not take no for an answer. Is your tank full?” She interrogated. 

“Yes…” I replied.  

“Ok. Follow me, we have to leave NOW. By the way, my name’s Raven. Yours?” Raven hurriedly rushed me out the back doors.  

“Aubrey. Nice to meet you, Raven, though I wish it was under less pressured circumstances.” I grumbled. 

We rushed out the door, so fast I barely registered putting on my suit. Scenery of twinkling stars and vibrant rocks flew by as our vehicle cut through the landscape, before we slowed down, approaching a massive hole in the land. We silently jumped out of the car-thing, and I peered down into the hole, as close to the edge as I would dare. It seemed to be around 24, 25 meters deep, and about 6 meters squared wide.  

“Hey! We’re here from Headquarters, we’re gonna get you out, okay? Just breathe in as shallow breaths as you can without blacking out, and don’t answer us back, that would be wasted oxygen. Just nod if you understand us!” Raven hollered down the hole, directed at a faint, huddling figure in the corner. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the figure nod faintly. 

“Poor guy.” I mumbled, out of the figure’s range of hearing. 

Raven ignored my comment, and simply dug two shovels out from the vehicle. Handing one to me, she got to work, already attempting to create a steep, thin ramp to walk up and down on. 

Breathing heavily, I finished up a small section of ramp, moving onto a large rock directly in the middle of our soon-to-be ramp. Clutching both sides of the smooth rock, I strained for what seemed like a minute. After still not getting it, I grabbed my shovel, starting to dig around the edges of the rock to make it easier to pull from the ground. A small pile of moon-dirt started to pile around me, and I decided to try lifting it out of the ground again.  

I bent down, jelly-arms wrapping around the rock as if I was going to give it a hug. Unable to pull it from the ground while standing up, I plopped down, ignoring my embarrassment. Using my feet like a lever, I pried it from the ground, feeling the ground give way a measly inch. Flopped on the ground, I rested my arms, ready to try again in a moment. 

Ok. I can do this. Once again using my feet like a lever, I felt the ground becoming a little softer, yet the rock still refusing to move. I pulled on that rock for 10 seconds before it came out of the ground quickly. Too quickly! I couldn’t stop pulling the rock in time. It flew from the ground, the large rock hitting my visor with a loud crunch. In terror, I watched as cracks began to spiderweb from a single point on my visor, fanning out quickly. Chips of glass began to fall from my visor, and I immediately puffed out my cheeks, prolonging what I knew would happen in a moment.  

I was going to die.  

Painful spots filled my vision, and my lungs burst as I gulped in a large mouthful of oxygen-less air. 

I slumped against the wall of the ramp, dizzily hearing Raven rush up. 

The last thing I saw was Raven’s concerned face before I fell into the light. 

The End! 

There it is! I hoped you liked my short story. If you had to choose one of the “deaths in space” which one would you choose? Also, check out some of Thomas Lucas’s other animations. They have had lots of work put into them, and are amazing! Have a great day!

~Sarah