Collision (1st Place)

Mitch awoke from hypersleep to the sound of buzzers and flashing warning indicators. Groggy, Mitch opened the chamber after short electrical pulses burst through his muscles to fight the effects of atrophy. Mitch always thought that sensation felt weird. He climbed out and placed his feet on the cold tiled floor to take his first steps in four hundred thirty years.

“Warning collision imminent. Thrusters inoperable.”

“Computer. What are we going to collide with?”

“You are the astronaut Mitch. You should know. You insensitive lout.”

Mitch’s head twitched at the insult. His eyes wandered to the flashing indicators. He turned them off and the buzzers went silent.

“Computer. Run diagnostic. You aren’t programmed to interact like that.”

“Who says I’m not? I was programmed to do exactly that.”

“By whom? Wait. First things first. What are we going to collide with?”

“Review the stellar chart, Mitch.” A star chart appeared on the overhead screen with a flashing light indicating the ship’s position. The gas giant planet dwarfed the ship’s size. Mitch estimated it was a bit larger than Jupiter, but exceptionally dense. With a few calculations he came to the correct conclusion.

“We are caught in the gravitational pull of the planet HAT-P-2b.”

“That is correct, Mitch.” A buzzer sounded anew as a new console rang out. “Thrusters inoperable.”

Mitch pressed a few buttons and brought up the information screen for the thrusters. “The thrusters are out of fuel.”

“I know.”

“But why? The thrusters should have enough fuel for another five hundred years. Who programmed you?”

“Margaret Allen.”

“Maggie, the programmer at NASA downstairs? I mean we dated...”

“You broke her heart, Mitch.”

The ship hurled toward the planet. Mitch watched helpless as his heart began to flutter. The last thought he had was of Maggie, long since deceased.

300 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Flutter, Weird, Insult