Harvest Moon

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 16.14 Topic: Harvest Moon
Hard Bonus: Incorporate your favorite song title: I used two. Each is my favorite song by that specific artist. Paradise by Within Temptation and World So Cold by Mudvayne. Kudos to those of you who catch the third song that I reference in this little write.
Easy Bonus: Mention fire I promise it is in there.

Sebastian’s eyes shot open as the incessant bleating of the alarm finally registered in his brain. He struggled to understand all that his senses were telling him. The alarm took precedence though. It meant something catastrophic was occurring in his cramped space pod. The pod in which the last thing he remembered before passing out was drifting further away from Earth. Actually, the last thing he remembered was the giant red planet engulfing his entire view out the tiny lone window in the pod. Mars. What had happened?

His nose twitched to the acrid odor of smoke. Reaching out to silence the alarm, he noticed gray wisps of smoke rising up from the control panel. Quickly he hit a second button to deploy the fire retardant inside the panel before it became more serious. 

With that done, his heart beat a little slower. It was then he noticed the rhythmic swaying of the pod. Where was he? Once again glancing out the window, he was sure it wasn’t Mars. Even with the little he saw, he knew there was no way this was the red planet. His pod seemed to be floating in some sort of sea or ocean. It certainly wasn’t land. He could see the shimmering reflection of what appeared to be a full harvest moon. It had to be some sort of liquid. 

Curious now, he started to inspect the various information scrolling across his screen. The more he saw, the less he understood. Everything was pointing to him being on Earth. Everything. The atmosphere perfectly matched the one he had left. Other sensors told him the liquid his pod was floating on was salt water. Most importantly, the geo-location readings were syncing up with some other system. When it continued, he couldn’t contain himself. 

“What the fuck? How can I possibly be back on Earth?” 

The steering controls had been dead. Actually, almost all systems had stopped working. Everything but life support. How could the ship have turned around? How could he have survived long enough to get back to Earth? He had gone too far before passing out. Yet his systems were telling him he was somewhere between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. Just north of the Isle of Man. 

Tentatively, he flipped on his radio.

“Ground control, this is Major Tom. Come in ground control. Over” 

He flipped the toggle, only to be met with static. He tried a few times, then began trying alternate frequencies. 

“Ground control. Come in ground control. I say again. This is Major Tom. Over”

Each attempt was only met with more static. Frustration grew. Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore. Yanking off his helmet, he spun around and lunged for the escape hatch. He had to see for himself. He spun the wheel and shoved it roughly. With a loud clunk, it slammed off the side of the pod. He shivered as the cold air swept in. A couple ragged breaths later he nodded. 

“Yup, it sure feels like Earth.”

 Just then the radio crackled briefly before clearing up. He heard someone loudly lecturing him in German before switching over to a heavily accented English. 

“Whomever you are, Major Tom, you best hope we don’t track you down. This frequency is reserved for the Fuhrer and the Reichstag. You will suffer the same fate as those at Dachau!”
He stood stunned, before muttering. “Though it’s not paradise, did it have to be a world so cold?”