He could see nothing. Whatever was outside was without light. But it
sounded like water lapping against the sides, it felt like water's
forces, and the rocket seemed definitely to be afloat. Robin used his
flashlight, tried to direct its beam through the tiny camera outlet.
After a little manipulation he succeeded in getting some reflection
from outside.
It was water, and the rocket seemed to be floating rapidly along
on some sort of dark subterraneous tide. Robin sat back, puzzled.
Water--under the Moon?
He held on, still feeling a little dizzy, feeling dirty and itchy, but
suddenly beneath it all a little thrilled and pleased. He had survived
the crash by some miracle--he was on the Moon and alive! What next?
Next was quick to come. There was a sudden dip in the current and
the rocket tilted forward as it shot down a spillway, down a violent
decline on a raging torrent, sliding down an unseen waterfall for a
surprisingly long time, leveling out at a fast clip, sliding down new
tunnels through which the water raced, hitting the side of sharp turns
with occasional glancing blows, down more dips and falls, spinning
violently around in unseen whirlpools, and finally racing out on a fast
stream to gradually slow down and finally come to rest, gently bobbing.
Robin had been knocked around during this breathless ride and only
gradually did he realize it was over. Warily he raised his head from
where he was sprawled in his tiny closet-compartment and waited. But
the gentle bobbing continued.
He put his eye to the peephole and looked. There was a glow outside, a
grayish, pale glow, but he could see that the nose of the rocket was
somehow grounded on something dry while the tail was still in the water
rocking to the current.
He considered his next course of action for a few seconds. It seemed as
if he had a chance to escape from his vehicle at last. But escape to
what?
Was there air outside, wherever it was that he found himself? If there
were air, was it enough to sustain him? Might it not be poisonous or
utterly lacking in oxygen?
Well, Robin thought to himself, there isn't really any choice. If I
stay here, I'll starve to death or suffocate. If I go out, I may die
even sooner. But now or later, if it has to be, it won't make any
difference. Whatever the odds in favor of my being able to breathe
here, I've got to take them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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