To Be Alive Is To... - 03

Gunfire erupts in my ears, screams and shouts everywhere. “Shit! Get down!” An even larger explosion creates static over the tape. “We are activating-” Another deafening boom destroys the audio “Get to any pods, T-minus.” The next explosion cuts all audio and the tape ends.

“What the fuck?” I question, I look around and try my best I can to gain information from my surroundings and take stock of items I have.

• A digital map (Most of which has corrupted)
• Body condition, it shows my entire body with my heart rate behind it, it glows green.
• Fuel/Power which is already dropping into the orange at around 75%.
• O2 is currently resting at 99%.

Oh, oh fuck. That’s an O2 meter, I’m on a sealed oxygen supply which could possibly mean outside this door is a fucking void. I feel a cold rise over me, isn’t this opening too hard for me? This game needs to be balanced more! I feel around the pod for anything else and I grip ahold of a large pistol. It’s a space survival pistol, or so I’m told by my database. Not directly designed for combat because the trigger guard is so large to accommodate space suits, holding six rounds if one is in the chamber. Most likely to be used to commit suicide if you get spaced without a way back to the station. I have nothing to keep it on me so I keep it in my left hand. Is there a way to… Save the oxygen in this capsule? My helmet flashing and drags my attention to a button next to the capsule door, I hit it with a fist.

“Draining Oxygen... Equalising pressure.” I hear soon after that, a low hiss starts but then fades to inaudibility. I scan around my seat some more and click a red button that is highlighted to exit the pod. The pod slowly slides open and in front of me is a dark hallway, but intact. ‘This doesn’t look so bad…’ I think to myself as my suit helmet light flickers to life automatically.

I grab a hold of the edge and slowly pull myself out of the pod, getting adjusted to the free range of movement that is Zero Gravity. Looking right I see a pitch black corridor with more pods within my immediate distance and the I look left. The station ends abruptly around fifteen meters down that way, torn from whatever location anchored it into position. I watch the stars spin as the station flies rotates freely around in space. I turn around and face inwards to where I was seated, hoping for anything else that would make it easier. My eyes glance under the seat and I spot a bag, reaching underneath I find rope, batteries, knife, water and food.

I secure it to my back and throw myself to the next pod, empty and has no power so I can’t access that one’s survival kit yet. I follow down the hallway drifting silently, I wait until I can’t see anymore and then turn on the flashlight. There’s so much to do and I have no idea how to do it.

“Menu.”

Two options appear, one to close the menu the other to logout. I press logout.

Warning!!! You must be in a safe, habitable area to logout!

I frown at the notification, close the menu and make my way back to the pod.

“Hey Dom…?” I call out.

‘Yeah?’ A message pops onto my helmet’s display

“I think I need some tac-advice on this game.”

‘What’s troubling you?’

“It’s a survival game right now.”

‘I can see that.’ The writing looks sarcastic but I truly know he’s interested.

“Any help then?”

‘Get a good view of the station, take inventory. I’ll google shit for you.’

Seemed like a plan to me, thinking something along the lines of ‘Google, saving virtual lives since creation.’

Rather than searching through the entire station for a storage room that may or may not have spare solar panels I decided to tie my rope against the capsule and throw myself out into the massive tear on the left of the corridor to give myself an outside view of what I’m working with. I make sure to tie my rope extra securely because I don’t want to waste the limited fuel I have in my EVA suit which could be necessary to kick start a different engine if I need to cannibalize it.

I slowly drift out and away from the station, I have around fifty meters of rope to work with, It’s kinda hard to see everything but I appear to be in deep space. The solar system is shagged, no planetary bodies or other things, currently in an empty void of space. Just the station and I, me, myself and the station and holy shit.

That’s a lot of station.