“Whoa! Green ice!” Bill shouted joyfully on the commfeed, as if he and Roman had not spent the last two years grinding away each other’s sanity until only a fragile thread of mutual survival remained, as if Bill’s insults about Roman’s wife back on Earth had not happened that morning as the two ate their protein rations and powdered caffeine allotment.
On Bill’s videofeed, Roman saw green sheen over glacial-blue ice.
“I’m gonna touch it,” Bill said, extending his glove.
In Roman’s mind, alarms sounded. Don’t! he thought, but after their morning…
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Roman asked.
Jason P. Burnham has a fascination with Europa ever since he watched the movie The Europa Report.
Twitter: @AndGalen
themartianmagazine.com 