A small buzzing sound.513Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWV8LuJVxz
"Christ!" swore Kirk, glancing at the cockpit dash. "The fuel! There's no damn fuel!"
"I told you, whenever we take a trip," said Pike, "you should always top off the tank."
"What about the reserves?" asked McCoy.
"It's on reserve now."
"Terrific," said McCoy.
"I'll start to circle," said Kirk, "find us a flat place to set down."
Pike was staring out the window. "There's a hell of a lot of nothing down there, Jim."
In all directions there was nothing but yellow sand, spills of jagged rock, and low, reddish cliffs.
"There, over that way," said McCoy, "other side of those cliffs. Maybe---a place to land?"
"Yeah, looks like we'll have about 4,000 feet. That should be enough." Kirk extended the landing gear, banked the aircraft sharply, and skimmed over the desert basin. "Everybody strap in. This ain't going to be smooth."
"You sure you know how to land this bird?" Pike inquired, as he used the safety belt.
"Land it? Nope, I only got up to the lesson on how to fly it. Not to worry, though."
All at once they were touching down, the wheels digging into the sand. Yellow clouds rose up, spinning around the jet. The ship bounced, swayed, and came to a stop, nose down.
After one moment Pike said, "That was fun, daddy. Can we buy some more tickets and do it again?"
McCoy unbuckled. "Didn't do the plane much good. Busted up the wing some."
Kirk was out of his seat, getting the cabin door open. "End of the line, all out."
The three of them wiggled their way out of the ruined jet and dropped to the bright sand. Everything glared---the mountain ridge on their left and the dry, flat desert that extended in every other direction. There was a scattering of scrubby brush, but nothing else. Not one sign of life or water.
"Well, we didn't get to Mars," said Pike, "but this is damned close."
Shielding his eyes, Kirk was looking skyward. "I figure we got about a 20-minute lead on them. It's going to be easy to spot this plane from up there," he said. "We've got two choices, as I see it: We stay together, or we split up and head out of here in different directions."
McCoy kicked at the sand. "I suppose we'll do better if we split up."
"Theoretically," said Kirk.
"Well, if we go in three different directions," said McCoy, "we triple the odds of one of us getting through."
"That's the point," said Kirk. "But going solo adds to the individual risk. As a team we can meet an emergency better."
Pike shook his head. "Yeah, but we can't afford that luxury, Jim. The important thing is for at least one of us to reach civilization and blow the whistle on this caper."
"Okay, agreed," said Kirk. "We split up."
"They probably packed a survival kit in this thing." Pike boosted himself back up into the lopsided ship. A moment later he returned with a gray metal box. "Got it." He carefully placed the box at their feet and squatted to open it.
The survival kit contained three cans of water, a flint, and a .38-caliber pistol with twelve rounds of live ammo. There were also four flares, a first aid kit, a transistor signal radio, an inflatable life raft, a mirror, a flashlight, and a box of matches.
"Can I have the raft?" said Pike. "With all this sand, I could use a beach toy."
"Okay, there's a can of water for each of us," Kirk said, as he doled out the water ration.
"No Pepsi?" said Pike, slipping his can inside his jumpsuit.
"One flare each." Kirk handed them out, keeping the extra one for himself. "Leonard, you take the flint. Chris and I will split the matches."
"I don't need matches," said Pike, taking them. "I was a boy scout."
"How about the gun?" asked McCoy.
Kirk said, "Want it?"
"Guns make me nervous."
"I always shoot myself in the foot," said Pike.
"It's mine, then," said Kirk. After he stowed the pistol and the ammunition on himself, he picked up the mirror and snapped it in two. "Half for me, half for you, Leonard."
"None for me?" inquired Pike. "I just know my makeup's going to get ruined in this dreadful desert."
Kirk leaned for a moment against the fuselage of the jet. "Remember, if anyone gets caught, or can't make it, try to set off a flare. That way the others'll know," he said. "I'll continue west. Leonard, you try south, and Chris, head north. We came from the east, so we know that's the wrong way.
"I saw John Wayne do something like this in a movie once," said McCoy.
"Yeah, but he had Sophia Loren along with him," said Pike.
Straightening up, Kirk said, "There's not much time, so we'll skip the farewell speeches. Let's go." He took a few steps and halted. "I figure we'll all make it, but in case someone doesn't----well...."513Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8WxN8Vj1G
"Did I ever tell you the one about the guy who had a job giving enemas to rhinos? He..."
"Save it for when we get home," McCoy interrupted Pike.
After a few more seconds of hesitation, they separated, each heading away from the downed plane alone.
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