(repost)
(An alternate ending inspired by the climax to the movie GRAVITY. After all, you know how I enjoy writing uw peril stories.)
Blue sky!! She could see blue sky outside the capsule!! She was going to make it after all!!
For awhile there she’d had her doubts! Death had seemed more than a little determined to claim her! And for a moment there she had almost obliged!!
Then Kowalski had appeared. Had it been a dream… a hallucination? Or had it simply been oxygen deprivation?? No matter; she had decided not to give up… had decided to keep on fighting!
Now here she was, almost home! The damned Chinese space station had started breaking up and had tried its best to kill her in the process!! But somehow she had gotten inside the capsule in time. Now she was coming down and…
Uh – oh. Land or water? Coming down on land would be rough; she might suffer trauma… internal injuries…
Please let it be water – please let it be water – please let it be water…
TOUCHDOWN! Water it is!! Thank GOD!!!
…and then there was an acrid smell as smoke began filling the capsule…
What??!!
NO!! Electrical fire… right there behind the panel!! Death was still hunting her down, that vindictive bitch!!
Stone had no idea why she had just feminized the grim reaper. Maybe it was because of how Death had been so persistent, so relentless… like so many bitches she had come across. Some of them were such that if they didn’t get their way… WATCH OUT!
Gotta get out – gotta get out – GOTTA GET OUT!!
She lunged for the controls and blew the hatch. It flew away with a distinctive pop! Now she could ditch the smoking capsule…
HA!! I’m out, bitch!! Thought you had me, didn’t you – NOO!
She was right there about to climb out when water came pouring inside! It pushed her away, slamming her across the interior of the capsule! She tried to rush the hatch but there was simply too much water pouring through!!
What???!!! Stone was incredulous!! Why the hell had the Chinese put their hatch so close to the damned water’s surface upon touchdown???!!! It was unbelievable!!!
That Death bitch!! She won’t let me go!! She wants me DEAD!!
Stone coughed and sputtered as the capsule began to sink beneath her. She knew right away what that meant!! The damn thing was taking her down!!! She had to get out now while she could!!
That BITCH!! If she can’t smoke me out, she’s going to drown me???!!!
The capsule sank rapidly, taking her with it! How far down would it go?! Would the pressure kill her the deeper she went??!! Stone had no idea, but she knew she had to get out now!!
The hatch was underwater and she made another try for it. But water was still rushing through, forcing her back against the far wall. She bubbled anxiously until she burst up coughing and sputtering.
A smoky air pocket…
At least the fire was out…
She tried to catch her breath, her heart beating wildly. How deep was she going??!! Then she felt a thump below her as the capsule hit the bottom. It threw her around and she slipped under the surface with a glub.
Stone burst back up; thank God the air pocket was still there!! She gasped for breath, figuring it was time to get out of here NOW before that bitch Death came back to claim her! She was back on earth now and she was NOT giving up without a fight!!
She submerged and headed for the hatch, only to feel something hang her up… What the hell??!! She burbled in panic as she went back up for the air pocket instead. Then she felt around her legs for the obstruction. But there was nothing there!!
What??!! I think that bitch wants to DROWN ME!! Not today, you bitch!!
Stone took a deep breath and then made another dash for the hatch. This time she squirted right through! Then she was safely outside the capsule in water not much more than thirty feet deep!!
Shore!! I’m close to shore!! You sure fucked this one up, you bitch!! If you were going to drown me then you should have dropped my ass in the middle of the ocean!!
Stone began pulling confidently with her arms. This was a piece of cake!! She could easily hold her breath long enough to make it up to the surface!! It wasn’t all that deep and she could…
NO!! I’m going DOWN??!! Death is taking me DOWN???!!!
It was her suit, her damned space suit!! There was so much material absorbing water that it was too heavy to swim it up to the surface!! She had to shed the damn thing and fast!!
Stone grunted and bubbled as she struggled to get the unwieldy material off her body. She had to shed it all or the damn thing would keep her on the bottom!! Otherwise she might still drown and she just couldn’t believe it!! She hadn’t survived this long just to end up back on earth in the ocean to be served up as fish food???!!! That Death bitch was so vindictive!!!
Get it off – get it off – GET IT OFF ALREADY! Hurry – hurry – HURRY!! You can’t hold your breath much longer!!
Stone finally got it off her legs – SUCCESS!! Nobody’s drowning ME today, you BITCH!! Then she turned and swam right into some waving reeds!! Death was trying to hamper her escape… still trying to find a way to drown her!!
Reeds??!! Is that the BEST you can do, honey??!! But her lungs were on fire and she had to get up NOW!!
Stone swam upward just as hard as she could as the capsule’s parachute drifted down all around her. She swam around the billowing canopy… and then she felt something hang her up again!! This time it had grabbed her ankle; she was sure of it!!
She grunted and bubbled as she looked down in alarm. It was the cords to the capsule’s parachute, wrapping vindictively around her ankle!! It seemed that Death wasn’t about to let go of her prize just yet!!
NOOO! You BITCH!! You can’t have me!! It’s not fair!! YOU CAN’T HAVE ME!!
Stone grabbed at the cords, tugging and pulling in a frantic attempt to yank them free. But they weren’t coming loose… and her lungs were heaving!! Her chest was on fire and she was all out of breath!!
NO, DAMN YOU!! LET ME GO – LET ME GO!!
She jerked and tugged on the parachute cords, frantic to free herself. But the stubborn ropes refused to let go!! She had gotten tangled up just enough… and now she was going to drown??!! This simply couldn’t be happening to her, not after surviving everything that had been thrown at her up in space???!!!
Stone jerked hard one last time. Then she thought she heard something in her head… the sound of a female cackling triumphantly??? Death was going to get her after all???!!! Why that BITCH!!!
She screamed her breath away as she suddenly pulled hard for the surface with her arms. She flailed frantically, her lungs heaving in her chest. Then she glubbed as she swallowed water.
Dr. Ryan Stone coughed and then instinctively inhaled. A moment later her body began to spasm and convulse as she coughed up bubbles. Her lungs began to flood and her body reacted violently, sending her into a coughing fit that only succeeded in filling her lungs even more with the killing fluid.
Her struggles for the surface lessened and then ultimately ceased. She stared upward in surprise with her mouth agape, shocked over how it had all turned out! Her body spasmed gently as little bubbles slipped out past her lips to rush freely to the surface.
You BITCH!! You vindictive BITCH!! You just had to kill EVERYONE, DIDN’T YOU???!!!
Was that laughter… the faint sound of female laughter?? Or was she imagining things?? Stone didn’t know. All she DID know was how much it hurt… and that she was still conscious… painfully conscious…
Remember that article on drowning in salt water? You don’t want to fall out of the capsule and drown in salt water because it takes so long and because it’s so damned painful! Oh shit; it hurts so bad!!
…and then Dr. Ryan Stone shuddered as her consciousness ebbed away, leaving her body tethered to the ropes of the capsule’s parachute. Her arms hung outward like some bird ready to take flight, her head looking upward at the surface world she would never again experience. Death had indeed claimed them all…
© 2014
(written Mar 9 by riwa)
(Inspired by the Final Destination movies and the ending to the movie Gravity. Vidcaps used for illustration purposes only)