JACKIE CHUN
Nothing. Nothing except the rocks and earth ruled deep in the underworld of the Earth`s surface., at least for the most part. Allthough that part of the world was never disturbed by sound
since the creation of the planet, there was a disturbance now. A sound of turning steel, squealing like a beast. Deep beneath the grass of the surface world a steel behemoth was dying as
it countinued to make path. But it was to no avail as the doom of the vehicle was sealed. But nobody knew this....except for the pilots running it.
Sitting in the tight quarters of the control room was a six-man crew. All of them were staring at their screens, looking at the same information. Besides the loud humming of the machines
controlling the machine the only other sounds were the sobbing of one of the pilots and the increasing crushing of the back of the vessel. Another had tear traces on his cheeks but otherwise
a dead silence ruled among them. Their lives went through their minds as they accepted over and over again the data which confirmed they would not be able to make it to the surface
alive.
Due to the theoretical basis on which they worked, the geologists incorrectly judged the soil at this depth and mistakenly claimed it wasn`t very rocky. But due to the large amount of rocks
in the soil, the earth collapsed behind them a lot quicker, thus slowly but surely destroying it. If they countinued, the vital parts of the engine would be crushed, thus causing a massive
explosion. If they stopped, the crushing would slow down but it would have only been a matter of time before they would run out of air and supplies, not to mention the vehicle would
still slowly get squezzed. Either way, their options were far from good.
The sobbing pilot could not stand it any longer and cried out: "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!? Why does it have to end this way?!?!?! Why do we have to die and in the middle of
nowhere?!?! CHRISTINAAAAAAAA!!!!" Allthough the other pilots didn`t respond in kind, their minds were also filled with their lives. One of them quietly cried as he looked at the
picture of his family, located next to the computer screen. The main pilot turned his head upwards, looking towards a small, thick plastic window which was needed to indicate if they had
come outside. Naturally, only dirt and stones could be visible currently in the weak light of the cockpit. He saw only one option in this desperate situation. One chance to prevent their
deaths from being sensless casualties...
"We won`t......." he told his crew who immediatly turned attention to these strange words. He countinued determinly: "We will get as close to the surface as possible. That way, they
should at least find out why we died and prevent others from dying the same way. Set the course for the surface."
The other pilots looked each other, but soon found logic in his words. If they had to die, it should at least prevent others from facing the same fate. Despite facing their ending, the pilots
placed their lives on the side for a second and concentrated on their goal. The vehicle now moved upwards. As the back was falling apart, the main pilot nervously watched his screen:
"Come on, come on....a bit more...."
The squeezing had its effect on the engine and the axis of the drill in front of the machine was turning ever slowly. The leading controller yelled: "COME ON!" The other pilots looked
nervously, losing hope that they would achieve their final goal.
Suddenly, the cockpit shook vigirously and the lights went out. But another light substituted it...
It seemed that they entered a tunnel they drilled out as suddenly sunlight entered through the small plastic window. All of them looked at it. It wasn`t easing just to their eyes but to their
souls as well. It filled their hearts with peace and made them realise that death was just another path we all must take. At that moment, the final event occured within the engine as the
toring electric wireing squezzed itself to a leaking oil tube. A logical reaction followed.
The seismograph of the geological station of the expedition created a large wave sign. A sign that six lives extinguished.
