Small Talk at the Edge of the World by Thrassos Bogiatzer
Into the vast black of space, the little spaceship was like a droplet of blood running through a black canvas. With a sudden move, the vehicle turned to its side, drifted, and the fire of its engines turned light blue until it finally stopped. Behind it there was a mosaic of stars, like small shiny pins keeping the canvas in place, and at its nose there was only the darkness.
“Is beautiful, isn’t it?” Peter asked, as he bent over the yoke and pressed the gravity activation button.
“Nope,” Jack replied sharply, spreading his legs over the dashboard.
Peter let out a small grunt and stood up. He put his hands on his waist and swayed. He was getting older and his body kept reminding him.
“Dude,” Peter said softly, picking up his thermos full of coffee. “We’re looking at the final frontier, how can you be so grumpy?”
“Wait…” the co-driver murmured as he rooted through the front pocket of his green cargo jacket.
Peter knew what Jack was after—they had been partners for five years, after all. He waited with a small grin on his face, taking small sips of his coffee. Finally, Jack pulled out of his pocket a conical rolled cigarette, looking at it with the same affection a father looks at his baby.
Peter squinted his eyes. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked seriously.
Jack turned to him with his eyes wide open. “The devil’s lettuce,” he replied with pomposity, and stuck the blunt into the side of his mouth.
“You know it’s illegal to get high at work, right?” Peter played along.
“Firstly, we have a break, and secondly, I don’t give a fuck!” Jack responded and lit it up with a dramatic move.
He took a big puff and stared at the darkness unfolding in front of the ship’s bow. “Nah, still don’t like it,” he stated as he exhaled the smoke.
“Oh, come on,” Peter said as he sat behind the yoke. “You don’t want to live an adventure? It’s just a click away…” he said and nuzzled the yoke to the front. The small spaceship let out a little purr, lights going off and small liquid green lights starting to dance on the windshield. “You see? Vilma is ready!”
“Mate, we are in a fifty-year-old ship that barely stays in one piece. You can’t venture to the unknown with this trash can.” Jack frowned.
“First of all, Vilma is a classic…” Peter said, patting the dashboard.
“…Because all the other spaceships its age have probably become needles by now,” Jack interrupted him.
“You are mean…”
“I am a mechanic—I was born this way.”
Peter reclined his seat and laid back, staring at the void beyond him. He took a sip from his thermos and ensconced himself deeper into the seat. His nose caught the odor of Jack’s smoke, a sweet scent with lemon notes. He loved that smell, even though he was against any kind of addiction, except coffee. Every time he smelled it, it felt comfy.
“Jack,” Peter said under his breath. “You don’t want to do something great?”
“Elaborate, please.” Jack replied, gazing at the snuff of his blunt.
“I mean, we are two nobodies thrown to the corner of the world with our only purpose to keep the galactic highway clean from the shits others make.”
“…And you think that there will be glory for us if we march toward the darkness? That our names will pass through the eons and children will learn about us in history class?”
Peter hesitated for a moment. “Something like that…” he whispered.
Jack took his feet off the dashboard and turned to Peter, giving him a long-lasting stare into his eyes. He took a big puff and blew the smoke into Peter’s face.
“So, you are not familiar with the word ‘final,’ are you? Let me break it down, ‘final’ means the end. This pitch dark in front of us is the end of our world. We are standing at the far-most point of the universe that little poor bastards like us could ever reach. Dudes like us usually die on the same planet they are born on. We have already exceeded the norm. There is no glory or greatness for us out there, only death, a desperate slow death.”
“And what if all this darkness is just a veil? And beneath it there are galaxies and stars and all this stuff…” Peter replied.
“And what if our entire universe is just a ball made of thin fragile glass?” Jack stood up and began gesturing wildly. “And the darkness we see is eventually the inside of this ball. So, if we march toward it, we will break it and the universe will pour out.”
“Man, you are really high!” Peter laughed.
Jack stopped his acting and looked with suspicion at his cigarette. “Nah, I think I have to ask for my money back.” And he began laughing.
Their laughs stopped abruptly as the intercom of the ship started buzzing. Peter tsked and pressed the comms button.
“RX-35, what’s your order?” he asked, unnerved.
“RX-35, please proceed to the area AKR1698, debris reported.” A frigid woman’s voice filled the hull of the ship.
“Oh, a new adventure!” Jack exclaimed and buckled up in his seat.
Peter began flipping switches, getting Vilma ready. The small spaceship came to life. The lights went out, the pipes of the ship began clunking, and the windshield filled with info. He steered the yoke and pushed it forward. Vilma’s engines howled as she gained more speed.
“You know, I really believe there is something out there,” Peter stated.
“Sure, the land of rainbow-farting unicorns,” Jack replied and threw the butt of the blunt onto the floor.
“Maybe we can try it on another break,” Peter said.
“Maybe in another life,” Jack replied.
Peter laughed, Jack laughed, and the blood droplet continued its journey through the black canvas.
Thrasos is a software developer by day and a fan of the macabre by night. His love of science fiction and horror has led him to dabble in writing, scribbling down tales of alien invasions, terrifying monsters and places where humans shouldn’t go. When he’s not tapping away at his laptop, Thrasos can be found exploring new galaxies and worlds (in his imagination, of course). You can also find him on Twitter.