Page 28 of Accidentally Abducted
"Looks like they're closing in," I warned.
I helped Lola into the pod and then climbed in. My knees rammed against the controls. This was not built for a species my size.
The double doors were thrown open and a small wave of blue guards came running.
"Zeysor!" Lola screamed.
I pulled the escape pod closed and began pushing buttons. The engine finished warming up, and the rails pushed us to the back of the airlock.
"Come on, come on," I urged the machine.
Laser shots ricocheted off the fiberglass pod.
Automatic belts emerged from our seats and locked us in place. The computer said something in a foreign language that I didn't understand. The screen flashed, asking for coordinates.
The airlock began to close as the guards approached.
"Go, go!" Lola cried to the machine.
I punched in random coordinates that I remembered from the Mars surface, praying that they were right. This pod wouldn't get us far, but it could get us to safety on the red planet, which we were still in orbit.
Another barrage of lasers hit the pod as the airlock closed with a hiss. The doors behind the pod were flung open, and the pod was fired from the old freighter ship. The tiny pod spun like a child’s toy, traveling in an arc.
The lights flashed and beeped until the pod steadied itself, zooming straight downwards towards Mars. The red planet was a small dot in the center of the windshield, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. Sparks flew as we hit the artificial atmosphere.
Lola screamed, clutching her safety harness as we were buffeted around by the unseen force. "I think I'm going to be sick!"
"Try not to," I grunted, holding onto the controls, even as the g-force pushed me back against the wall.
More lights started flashing. The bright red let me know something was wrong. Very wrong. The computer spoke in a foreign language and warning signs flashed on the screens.
"What's going on?" Lola shouted.
"I don't know, but it's not good," I admitted, fiddling with the switches and knobs.
This escape pod was near ancient. It had probably never had a test-run or a technician look it over since it was installed. This wasn't good.
The pod spun again as it hurtled towards Mars.
"We're going to die!" Lola screamed.
"No, we're not." I said, jamming the buttons until I found the manual override entirely by chance. A steering joystick appeared, while the computer spoke instructions I didn't understand. I grabbed the joystick and forced the pod to steady again.
"Do something!" Lola shrieked.
"I'm trying!" I shouted back while jabbing every button I could. Normally, I would have been embarrassed to fail in front of my mate, but there was no time now. If I didn't get this right, we would die.
Strips of the pod's outer layer were flying off and burning up. The desert of the red planet filled the front window.
Finally, my frantic button-pushing did something right. The pod shuddered and jerked abruptly as safety parachutes were engaged. Giant white pillows inflated and slowed our decent dramatically.
"Hang tight," I said to Lola. "This is going to be a rough landing."
Lola squeezed her eyes shut, gripping her safety harness with both hands.
Alarms continued to blare as the pod hurtled towards the ground. The flapping parachutes ripped as sand sliced them to shreds.
"Here we go!" I hissed through my teeth.
