88 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
88 lines
4.7 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> <End> </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back"><</button></a>
|
|
|
|
<h1> <End></h1>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The group sits around the pot with leftovers on the gas stove, enjoying
|
|
the view of the skyline from above. They had decided to wait on top of
|
|
one of the tallest sky scrapers the city had to offer to increase their
|
|
odds of seeing where Emily would land. The intense light of the setting
|
|
sun paints Nova Metropolis in vibrant hues of yellow and orange and the
|
|
moon is already visible in the sky. They are engaged in a conversation
|
|
about the mind-boggling vastness of space and all it contains.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="strong">
|
|
bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The alarm on Jack's watch interrupts them. He presses one of the
|
|
buttons and says:<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">It's time. Emily will be entering the
|
|
atmosphere right about now.</span><br />
|
|
They get up. James pulls a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Jack does
|
|
the same. Annie looks at both of them - her face clearly showing her
|
|
disappointment.<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">Don't worry, I gotchu.</span> says Jack
|
|
as he pulls a second pair out of his bag before they start walking
|
|
towards the edge.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Michelle and James are already leaning against the railing and looking
|
|
towards the sky. Jack and Annie join them. Jack takes a compass out of
|
|
his pocket and briefly looks at it. Then, he points in a direction in the
|
|
sky and says:<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">The shuttle should appear somewhere around
|
|
there.</span><br />
|
|
James hands his binoculars to Michelle for a moment.<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">I see it! There!</span> she exclaims before
|
|
handing them back to him.<br />
|
|
It looks like a tiny, red glowing dot in the sky, slowly growing in size.
|
|
For a few minutes, nothing seems to happen. The dot gets bigger and
|
|
bigger, turning into a black triangle as the glow dims and finally
|
|
disappears. The shuttle sheds its heat shield as it slowly comes closer.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Around the 15 minute mark, Jack notices that it has moved almost above
|
|
them.<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">That's a bit too close for comfort –
|
|
and way too fast.</span> he says.<br />
|
|
Parts appear to be breaking off from it. They watch the last couple
|
|
minutes of the fall realizing that something has gone seriously wrong.
|
|
It plummets into the city, taking multiple buildings down with it.
|
|
The ground shakes slightly. Nobody says anything for a while as they
|
|
watch the buildings around the impact crumble and the remaining parts
|
|
rain out of the sky in a mix of awe and shock.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Michelle interrupts the silence: <span class="quote speech">Guys, over
|
|
there!</span> She points into the sky behind them.
|
|
<span class="quote speech">A parachute...</span><br />
|
|
<span class="comment">reaction needed – something along the lines
|
|
of "Sie hat mehr Glück als Verstand"</span><br />
|
|
They watch as it disappears between the buildings.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Annie walks over to Jack's bag and, on a hunch, unpacks the radio
|
|
he had insisted on bringing.<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">Maybe, she can hear us from here...</span>
|
|
<br />
|
|
She hooks up the battery, flips the power switch, and turns the frequency
|
|
dial until the needle is in the position that Jack had marked.<br />
|
|
<span class="comment">Note to self: The battery is a car battery. Make
|
|
that clear at some point before this chapter. Maybe include the part where
|
|
Jack insists on bringing it.</span><br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">Emily, can you hear us? Are you okay?</span>
|
|
<span class="comment">Might benefit from proper radio protocol</span>
|
|
<br />
|
|
They hear a slightly distorted but clearly happy response through the
|
|
noise:<br />
|
|
<span class="quote speech">Yes... Yes. I'm alive... I made it.</span>
|
|
<br />
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="comment">
|
|
This is the very end of the story. I originally didn't plan for
|
|
anything to happen after this though I have managed to somehow already
|
|
write about an event after this in <a href="./%3F%3F.txt">??.txt</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class="copyright">Copyright © 2023 Jan Danielzick (aka. BodgeMaster) – All rights reserved.</p><script>let spans = ["<span class=\"paper green\">", "<span>"]; let pre_texts = document.getElementsByTagName("pre"); for (let i = 0; i < pre_texts.length; i++) {if (pre_texts[i].className != "paper") continue; let lines = pre_texts[i].innerHTML.split("\n"); let result = ""; for (let j = 0; j < lines.length; j++) {result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + " ".repeat(80-lines[j].length) + "</span>\n";} pre_texts[i].innerHTML = result;}</script></body></html>
|