Out of the window, the sky was turning black, as the atmosphere became thin. Zak couldn’t help but gaze out. In all the space pilot games he had played, none had done justice to the view that now presented itself. Earth gleamed a brilliant blue. White cloud formations swirled across most of the surface, and where they broke, patches of green and yellow distinguished land from sea. Zak tried to identify the coast from the fragments of colour, but found it difficult to make sense of them, as the shuttle was still rising vertically, and he was having to look over his shoulder.
Suddenly, the shuttle banked sharply to the left, triggering more gasps. Zak now found as he looked out that he was facing almost directly down towards the Earth. Due to thin cloud cover, he soon realised that he could see western Europe. A solid white sheet extended from the North as far down as the tip of Scotland. Britain was white from the snow cover but just about framed by the blue sea. Zak hadn’t realised that the ice sheet had advanced so close to home.
As he wondered what might really happen when the ice sheet reached the mainland, he became aware that he was weightless.
The noise of the shuttle intensified, and Zak became alarmed by the sound of loud pinging. The Captain’s soothing voice brought another announcement.
‘Apologies for the noise. We’re just encountering some orbital debris. Nothing to worry about, this shuttle has a very hard nose. Enjoy the rest of the flight, we will be arriving at Earth One in fifty-five minutes.’
The pinging eventually stopped, and within the time stated by the Captain the shuttle slowed and came to a stop. Zak couldn’t see the Space Station out of his window, but the passengers were instructed to leave the shuttle.
Now was the time. Zak braced himself for the escape. He took his time and fumbled around, much to his family’s frustration, so that they were among the last people to leave their seats. The stewards watched intently to ensure everyone left the carraige.
