Single Event Upset by Cole J. Freeman

Author:Cole J. Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Brown Wall Publishing
Published: 2014-02-09T05:00:00+00:00

Day Eighty-Five

The waves washed over her feet, and submerged them; the water rose up to her ankles. The sea swelled around her feet and carved the sand away, leaving her to stand on small sandy pillars. Then, the tide sucked the sand under her feet away and her feet sank deeper into the beach, buried by swirling sand. After a while, her feet would completely disappear. When this happened, she would pull her feet out of the sand and start over.

The sun was setting again. It was beautiful. She stared at it, enjoying the warmth of the Pacific Ocean on her feet and the humid air on her face.

A figure stood on the beach to her right. At first, the glare of the setting sun silhouetted the person, but as the sun turned from orange to pink, she began to be able to identify the physical features of the stranger.

The individual was a male, and he was tall and muscular. Handsome. He had chiseled features and a strong jaw. He had muscles toned to form an athletic build, a physique that more closely matched a swimmer or a soccer player than a weight lifter. He had blue eyes and dark hair that managed to look just right, even when tousled. He was her fiancé.

“You abandoned me,” he said without emotion.

Another voice, a female voice, spoke behind her. The second voice caused a feeling of familiarity and safety to well in her chest, to fill her with warmth that she missed and desperately longed for. She had known this voice as a child, and this voice had given her comfort.

“Rebecca?” her mother asked.

“Oh mama,” Lennon cried, and turned to hold her mother, to cling to her.

Her mother stopped her with a crooked finger, holding it up in the air. That sweet face that had always beamed with love and acceptance was instead angry and trembling with emotion. She pushed her finger in Lennon’s face and whispered just loudly enough for Lennon to sense an accusing tone.

“I can’t hear you, mama,” Lennon said, “what’s wrong?”

“You left me to die,” she hissed, and shook her finger.

Lennon woke with a jolt and a gasp for breath. It was not a pleasant awakening; rather, it was a troublesome arousal. It left her panting, with a pounding heart and a sweat-covered brow. She glanced at her watch. The illuminated hands pointed to 2:45 in the morning.

The lights in the ship were set on a timer. At 21:30 mission time—or 9:30pm—the lights would automatically dim. At 07:30 in the morning, they would brighten. This helped the astronauts to set their internal clocks, just as the sunrise and sunset would do on Earth. The astronauts could override the lights in each individual room, of course, including the lights in the astronauts’ personal areas. In Crew Quarters, one small light always remained on. It was a guide, much like the lights in movie theaters. Lennon rarely bothered with the lights, except to turn the ones in her personal area completely dark when sleeping.

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