Peter’s breath rasps wetting the inside of his mask, and fills his ears with a harmony of desperation. Worse is the rotten stench of his recycled breath, a telltale sign of his certain grim future. Death rattles follow not far behind the sandpaper sound of his lungs and he will be given the choice of quarantine or the environment. This colony of earth was once the pride of the seed colonies, a lush haven before the discovery of the flaw. Before they knew that terraforming was only temporary on planets not as benign as O-Earth.
“You alright?” asks Elena over the comm link. She remains inside of the land rover guiding him through the endless dust and gas storms towards their goal. Elena, his resource recovery partner. Elena, who wants more.
In this world, grown in the soil of miscalculations Peter feels rather strongly that he pays a heavy price for the desperate love of those that birthed him and then abandoned him to be raised by people who lived longer than they. He can’t imagine how such a thing as hope could grow in this place where only demons nourished by the pain of his torn lungs and the emptiness of his soul would flourish.
“Peter? Respond please.”
“Yea, yea. Objective obtained,” he responds.
“Roger. Return to me.”
He pauses briefly and looks longingly at the barely discernible peaks in the distance. But it’s not his time quite yet. Not yet.
“Acknowledged. Returning home.”
***
Inspired by Trifecta’s word of the week:
MASK (noun)
Whispatory 
You create such other-worldly tales that drag me in, kicking and screaming. Such untold history — creepy and unsettling, but powerful!
No one creates these desperate scenes better than you.. and I mean that in a good way. In a great way. As your previous commenter said, they drag me in kicking and screaming.. and I’m glad to find what’s there. So imaginative. So well told.
I really like the opening paragraph. Such a depressing scene!
Enjoyed this. I always know that I’ll get something grim from you, which is why I always stop by.
Oh good! I’m glad there are some dark fantasy readers out there!
Elena, who wants more.
such a great, well-placed line!
I agree with Kymm! That line ties the drama of the environment and the predicament of the characters together so perfectly! I love science fiction. So many terms I loved too: the seed colonies, comm link and O-Earth. And your first line is memorable!
Awesome sci-fi piece!
I like – “sandpaper sound of his lungs, recycled breath” – overall, great writing.
Powerful piece, Jennifer.
Fascinating piece of writing!
I liked “grown in the soil of miscalculations” – such a great phrase. There’s nothing not to love here. In fact, I’m now finding myself wanting to go out and find a new sci-fi book to read. Recommendations? 🙂
Totally! Justin Cronin’s The Passage (I’ve just started his second in the series The Twelve.) Hyperion and the Fall of Hyperion Dan Simmons. Always, always Neuromancer, William Gibson. 2312, Kim Robinson. And my all time favorite, which is fantasy and not sci-fi but probably the best book I’ve read in 10 years, hands down is In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Oooo. Ok one more. China Mieville’s The Scar.
What a great blend of melancholy and post-apocalyptic. Thank you for linking up!