Introduction
This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 240 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day.
30. Just Two Days 21 February
"I'll be blunt. You have just two days' worth of oxygen left. We're truly sorry." The commander's face was grey and he was frowning slightly.
"Thanks for letting me know.” This sort of end had always been on the cards. They were prepared. That was why his salary was so high and his pension would carry on at exactly the same rate. At least Susie and the kids would be fine.
"Make yourself really comfortable. Shall we keep in touch?"
Brad shook his head. "No, it would just be a reminder."
"Al right. Call us up if you need anything. And we suggest instigating protocol 500 in thirty-six hours."
"Will do."
The vintage champagne had been supplied for when the centre was fully open. Well, that wasn't going to happen now. After three quarters of the bottle he began to feel a little light-headed. Bets get something to eat.
The smoked salmon and caviar was just right.
He watched his favourite old films noir: The Wolf Man, Le Corbeau and Arsenic and Old Lace.
He wrote a long letter to Susie and slightly shorter ones to Beth and Sam.
Thirty-three hours passed really quickly. He looked at the instructions for protocol 500. He would just have to attach the tube to the permacanula. They suggested then lying down and listening to music of his choice. Simple enough really. He had a play list of soothing classics. That would do nicely.
He broke open the sterile packaging and was just about to insert the tube when the communicator buzzed. The commander again. "Hold fire, Jackson. We've rectified the fault and your oxygen supply will be back to normal in two hours."
About the author
Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.
She edits CafeLit and writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation.
She teaches Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.
http://www.gilljameswriter.com
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