The flight fell quiet as everyone turned in. Sure, some lingered in that state of being awake a bit longer than the others but, for the most part, all took some time to rest. Having trained long and hard for five solid years, these soldiers never caught up on sleep. This nap was welcomed and it would eventually be missed, for the moments they arrived at Earth, naps would be nonexistent and sleep could be a rare thing.

For the most part, the trip was smooth. As instructed, Zeke woke up his commanders and informed them of the situation. It was really not issue for the team of pilots though, as they had been training for this day once a week for five years. The ship took minimal damage and some who slept were uninterrupted, allowed to keep dreaming. Of course, the happiness soon came to a jarring halt.

Alarms began to sound and in mere seconds, the ship was in a tizzy. People were running to their stations and the fasten seat-belt sign pinged its caution.

"What the hell is happening?" Jenny tried to speak over the ceaseless droning noises and alarms. Her concern went unanswered. Moving to free herself from her seat, the woman was met with a shaking head. It was not wise to move for just as the head shook, the ship collided into debris.

Heads bobbled and necks were put under serious strain.

"GET YOUR MASKS ON," Jenny screamed to those who weren't prepped for entry. "ZEKE," she leaned forward, but was jerked back by the recoil from the collision.

"Prepare for a crash landing!" Zeke grit his teeth and tried to handle the ship to the best of his ability, but the thing was large and clunky. They were losing oxygen fast and Earth's pull was causing them to pick up speed. Flames started to burn away at the shuttle's wings and the cabin got unbearably hot.

"COME ON, YOU BASTARD," Zeke broke himself free from autopilot and now took the entire crew's lives into his own hands.

Three bodies were already floating lifelessly about the cabin. One, a pilot who took the main display to the face. The other two were victims of slow response times; they never got their seat-belts on and were sent colliding into the door frame at an ungodly speed. The one was bleeding profusely -- thank god the helmets and masks were on!

Spinning and falling out of the sky, the crew probably felt their stomachs turn. It was hard to keep anything down as life flashed before their eyes. As the cabin got hotter -- now about 110 degrees Fahrenheit -- the soldiers would fight with slumber. Their bodies, trying to preserve life, kicked into shut-down mode.

No matter how much they fought, the heat would subdue them and things would just fall silent and...

Black.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

It was growing annoying. The beeping didn't stop. It refused to stop. A nagging headache caused Jenny to growl and force her eyes open. Screen plastered in dirt, mud, and blood, she immediately lost all fatigue as her body filled with fear.

They... they crashed!

"Row call," her voice cracked. Grasping at branches and debris, she yanked her body from its muddy hole. She was absolutely filthy; and her body felt like it had been steamrolled. With a groan, she rolled up and over to give her body a once-over. Her wrist was out of alignment and her neck ached, but that was all. No punctures and no serious bleeding.

Eyes scanning over the mangled shuttle, she looked for others, survivors.

"Row call," she squeaked again.

At this point, fear was setting in and her breathing became heavier at a rapid pace. Keep it together, Jenny -- she told herself. It helped, some. Okay, so it didn't help at all, especially when two more bodies came into her view.

With a light scream, she fumbled backwards. Sprawling up and out, she moved onto solid ground before she started panting.

Was she really alone? Sweat consumed her brow and her eyes wildly looked about. Fear, it was all around her. She wasn't trained to do this whole mission alone.

CRACK!

Something moved from behind. Hitching up her bladegun, Jenny's fear purged from her system and that coldhearted killer emerged. Although, the second a friendly face poked through the brush, she gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank god," she muttered before running forward to embrace the survivor.

Meanwhile, Zeke was busy drowning in the water he crashed into. His body was jerked from the ship and sent sailing into the air. With high-tide rolling in now, his face was underwater. The second he rasped in the water, he yanked back and onto the sandy, white beach.

"Beach?" He looked around and saw another stirring body flinch from the water. "The hell are we?"

Peeling his cracked helmet off, Zeke held his breathe for a second. He prayed he wouldn't die by breathing in Earth's raw air. Heart stopping, he sucked in the air.

A smile crested his face. It wasn't toxic!

"You," he shifted toward the other person the beach beside him. "You okay?"

---

We have officially crash landed on Earth. We were supposed to land in Europe, as it was rumored to have the least amount of contamination. However, after being bumped off course by debris, our heroes are now on the white sandy beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. At first, they might not know where they are, but in time, they will come across giant signs and shops that list Cape Cod. They will learn that they are on an island and that the only bring off the island is miles away. They are in Provincetown (the tip) and will need to walk to Sagamore Bridge. It's about 60 miles away (a 20 hour hike). It's doable but, as expected, they will not be alone....

You are free to write about the crash and then coming to. You're welcome to have your characters alone or near others. If you are alone, feel free to have them run around to look for the group. They aren't super far from one another, about a 10-mile spread. Zeke is on the beach and Jenny is by Shank Painter Pond (they are about 2-miles apart).

__________________