Dream Come True

I sat in the cockpit staring at the dark ocean outside the window while thumbing the dolphin charm on the silver necklace my wife had given me. Four years had passed since she had given it to me. I was sitting by her side as the cancer in her body slowly killed her. My head was throbbing because of how bright the lights reflecting off of the polished white floor were. Maggie was sleeping; her small and fragile body was half of what it used to be. Her cheekbones were visible and her skin was blotchy. She used to be so beautiful, but at that moment she looked like someone that was living on the streets. She died two hours later, but not before taking off her necklace and handing it to me.

            “No matter where you go, or what you do, this will protect you, Bill. I’ll always be with you,” she said. Those were her last words. With Maggie gone, I had nothing to live for anymore. Every night after work I would go home and strip down to my boxers. I would sit on the couch with a bottle of scotch in one hand and a pistol in the other, contemplating whether or not I should drink myself to death, or put a bullet through my head. But each morning, there I was, headache pulsating through my veins as I drove to work. I wanted to die, but I couldn’t do it because I knew how ashamed Maggie would be if I had just given up.

A drop of blood from the gash on my forehead slid down over my eye, drawing me out of my thoughts. I reached up and wiped it away. I needed to get up and look around the ship. I stood up and began making my way towards the center of the disc shaped vessel until I stumbled upon Jimmy, my co-pilot. He was lying face first on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. I knelt down next to him and rested my hand on his back.

            “Jimmy. Jimmy, wake up,” I pleaded. A low groan rumbled from Jimmy’s chest as he tucked his arm under his torso and rolled onto his back. His face looked like hell, much like our surroundings. Paper, metal, food, and furniture littered the floor as if a tornado passed through. His face was cut open in multiple areas including a large gash beneath his left eye.

            “Jesus Christ, Bill. What the hell happened,” asked Jimmy?

            “Engine one blew out upon re-entry and we crashed in the ocean,” I replied. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Jimmy and I were tasked with transporting a small team of scientists from the year 2334 back in time so they could study the Earth before technology and pollution consumed it.

            “What year did we travel to?” He asked.

            I replied, “Before the birth of Christ, brother.” Bill hung his head, realizing that help wouldn’t be on its way, at least not for another six thousand years. We were going to die down here.

            “Where is everyone else,” queried Jimmy.

            “I’m not sure. I was making my way towards the back and you were the first person I found.” Bill pushed himself up into a seated position and scooted backwards until his backside was resting against a tipped over couch.

            “I’ll go look for them,” I said. I stood back up and made my way to the back of the ship. The outer ring of the vessel was made up of small bedrooms. There wasn’t a whole lot of space in them, which made nap time a claustrophobic experience. When I reached the back of the ship, I began looking inside each of the rooms, hoping that the Geeks survived the crash. Room by room I searched and I couldn’t find anything. After all of the rooms were cleared, I decided to go downstairs to see if they were in the laboratory. I marched down the steps, listening to the hum of the vibrating metal my footsteps brought to life.

I was about half way down the steps when the horrific scene caught my eye. The overhead lamps were hanging from the ceiling, some of them still flickering brief sparks of light. Shattered glass was spread out all over the floor, stools had been knocked over, and large machines were flipped upside down. The Geeks were all dead. From where I was standing I could see their crushed bodies and caved in heads. Those heavy machines caused the damage. I rested my back on the wall behind me and slid down to sit on the stairs. I dug my wife’s necklace out of my pocket. The metal felt cool in my hands as I began rubbing it. Seeing the scientists like this made me realize how serious this was. No luck would save me from this.

            “Holy shit,” cried Jimmy. “Oh my God!” He sat down on the step above me, placing his bloody face into his hands. He began to sob. I watched him for a moment before I erupted into a fit of laughter. Jimmy stopped sobbing and looked up at me with awe.

            “What the hell is wrong with you?” He asked.

            I ceased laughing long enough and replied, “The last four years of my life I wanted to die because I felt empty without my wife.” I stared down at Maggie’s necklace. “And here we are at the bottom of the ocean with no possible way to reach the surface, no chance in hell of getting rescued and about three months to live before we run out of oxygen and suffocate. We’ll be nothing but bones when we’re discovered. Now that I know how and when I’m going to perish, I want nothing more in the world than to be alive.” I continued laughing at my ironic fate, just wishing I had one last bottle of scotch.