“Helen this is Mark, you receiving?”
“Yep, what is it?”
“I’ve finished my maintenance check on the MSS(mobile servicing system), anymore task that I need to do out here?”
“Hmm- nope, the MSS was the only thing. You can come back in now, I’ll help out.”
“Thanks.”
Helen looked at the screen that showed the MSS along with Mark. When she was about to go help Mark, she saw something odd behind him, out in the darkness of space.
“Hey Mark, turn around.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Just do it, I think there’s something weird near the ISS(International Space Station).”
“Ok” Mark turned around to see a bright white sphere near the ISS. It definitely looked weird.
“Woah, what the heck is that?” Mark stared in awe.
“I have no idea, I’m sending this to NASA HQ right now!” Helen took a screenshot of the thing and sent the files to NASA.
“H-Helen!” Mark suddenly screamed.
“Mark? What’s wrong? Do you copy? Mark!” Helen went back to the screen to see an unbelievable and terrifying scene occur.
The sphere that was near the ISS was now very close and Mark seemed to be getting sucked into it, his tethers were the only thing keeping him connected to the ISS.
“Mark! Mark, do you copy?” No response. Helen quickly went to control the MSS, the arm like contraption moved to where Mark is, grabbed his tethers, and pulled him back. But unfortunately the gravitational force of the sphere was too great and it ripped the tethers from the robotic arm, sending Mark straight towards it.
Mark disappeared as he entered the sphere, and so did the sphere right after consuming Mark. It was like nothing ever happened, and Helen just floated there, dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Mark felt like he was going down an endless and puke-inducing water slide. It almost made him vomit, thankfully, it stopped a minute or two later, and space was once again visible.
As soon as his dizziness stopped, he looked all around him. Nothing! No more ISS, no more Earth, and even the Sun was nowhere to be found! It was just a desolate part of space illuminated by countless of stars!
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“What the fuck? Where am I?!” Mark didn’t know wether to laugh or cry.
He tried his voice communications with the ISS, he got something.
“Mark! Mark, do you copy?” A distressed and choppy voice of Helen came through.
“Helen! Are you receiving me? What the fuck just happened?!” Mark waited for some time, but no response.
“Helen? You receiving? Helen!” Mark desperately tried to get any more response, but in the end silence prevailed.
“HAAA FUUCK! I’m fucked!” Mark flailed his arms in frustration.
“Sigh, ok. How long do I have to live?” Mark smiled bitterly but still thought it through.
“I spent about 4 hours doing maintenance on the MSS, and the oxygen, as well as the battery in my suit will last about 9 hours per space walk. Which means in about 5 hours, I’ll be suffocating from the lack of air, while simultaneously be freezing to death because the battery that powers the heater in my suit, which keeps me warm, will run out of energy. Hah!” He bitterly laughed at his inevitable demise.
Mark, although tired, spent all the time he had left to think about his life. He thought about his parents who were always there for him, his friends who stuck with him through thick and thin, and his fiance who patiently waits for his return. Imagining their sorrowful faces when they hear about his disappearance made him start crying, and realizing that he will truly die alone in space, made him cry like a baby.
The tears just balled up on his face without gravity, it took some time for him to calm down, and even more time for the heater to evaporate all the tears that blurred his vision. When he could see again, he quickly looked at his specialized space watch and saw that 2 hours already passed. He also glanced at the small clipboard and pen on his wrist.
“Well, if I’m going to die anyway, I should at least write a message to whoever finds my body in the future.” Mark grabbed the pen and wrote at the clipboard that contained the MSS maintenance manuals.
---
[Dear future humans or aliens,
Thanks for finding my body! If you forgot by now, I was the U.S astronaut who disappeared from the ISS, on 4/22/2020, due to some mysterious events. My name is Mark Huxley, male, and I’m 27 years old. If the Earth still exists by the time you find me, I wish to be buried by my loved ones, but if aliens find me, well this is what humans look like! If you want directions to Earth, sorry, but I have no freaking clue.
Sincerely by,
Mark Huxley]
---
After writing his message, Mark pondered for a bit, until he finally made a decision. Even though he had about 3 hours more to live, he chose to end his life right here and now by taking off his helmet. Waiting for his death will probably make him go crazy, so he chose to commit suicide, even though dying by the vacuum of space is painful and very unpleasant, at least it’s faster.
Mark braced himself, he savored his final breaths, and closed his eyes. When he was about to take off his helmet, a bright light appeared in front of him! It was so bright, he could see it through his eyelids. He opened his eyes and used his hands to shield his eyes.
The bright object seemed to be getting closer, Mark noticed this and he panicked, but it was too late. He got struck by something, knocking him out, as he floated in space. Before he blacked out, he saw faint figures through a wall of glass, then blackness.