Leave or Stay
The air inside the observation dome was thin, but Emely Valentin could still feel the weight of it pressing against her ribs. She stared at the cracked surface of Callisto, its jagged ridges illuminated by the pale light of Jupiter. The dome's glass was thick, but it was the only thing keeping the vacuum of space at bay.
Jayden Siegel stood beside her, his gloved hands clasped behind his back. He had the look of a man who had long since stopped believing in second chances. 'We have a problem,' he said, voice steady but low.
Emely turned to face him, her pulse quickening. 'What kind of problem?' Jayden's eyes were dark, unblinking.
'The shuttle's reactor is failing. We don't have enough fuel to return to the base, and we don't have enough time to fix it.' He paused, then added, 'We have a choice to make.' Emely's stomach twisted.
'What kind of choice?' she asked, the words barely escaping her lips. Jayden looked away, toward the cracked surface of Callisto. 'We can try to fix it, but it'll take time. Or we can leave one of us behind.'
Emely's breath caught. 'You're saying we have to leave someone behind?' Jayden turned back to face her, his expression unyielding.
'We have to. It's the only way.' Emely's mind raced. The base was weeks away, and the shuttle was their only way back. She looked toward Haley Boggs, who was sitting quietly in the corner of the dome.
'We can't leave her,' Emely said, her voice firm. Jayden's eyes narrowed. 'You think I want to leave anyone behind?'
'Then we find another way.' Jayden exhaled sharply, shaking his head. 'We don't have time to find another way.'
The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Emely's hands clenched into fists. 'I'll do it,' she said at last.
Jayden's eyes widened. 'What?' 'I'll stay behind. You take Haley.'
Jayden looked at her, stunned. 'You can't do that.' 'I have to.'
Jayden's face hardened, but he said nothing. Emely turned back toward the cracked surface of Callisto. The dome's glass was thick, but it was the only thing keeping the vacuum of space at bay.
The shuttle took off with Haley and Jayden, leaving Emely behind. She stood alone in the dome, the silence deafening. The cracked surface of Callisto loomed before her, a cold, unyielding presence.
The dome's glass was thick, but it was the only thing keeping the vacuum of space at bay. Emely stared at the cracked surface of Callisto, her heart heavy. She had made her choice, and there was no going back.
The wind outside howled, a low, mournful sound that echoed through the dome. Emely's fingers traced the glass, her breath fogging it for a moment before vanishing. She thought of Jayden's face, the way it had hardened when he realized what she was willing to do. She thought of Haley, who would be safe now, but would never understand what had been sacrificed. The cracked surface of Callisto reflected her face back at her, and for the first time, she looked at it not with fear, but with something like resolve.