Wildfire Juice

Wildfire Juice
By Scott Wilson
Word Count: 393

Lime green liquid dripped slowly out of the tube running from a beaker to an intravenous drip bag suspended from the side of the workbench. Professor Wright lowered his bifocals to check the level in the bag, then the level of the fluid remaining in the beaker.

“We might just have enough to do the trick this time,” Wright said to his assistant, Gerard Farnsworth.

“I certainly hope so, Professor. There won’t be enough oxygen left in the suit to go out and collect many more crystals.”

Wright looked over his spectacles at Farnsworth and shook his head.

“You need to have more faith, son.”

Farnsworth took his position on the titanium chair and clicked the ankle braces in place, then one of the wrist braces.

“I do have faith in you, Professor.” Farnsworth said.

The final drops flowed into the bag, Wright unplugged it and inserted the drip into Farnsworth and watched the glowing fluid run into his vein.

“What about the last shackle, Professor. Just in case.”

“Yes, best be prepared now, hadn’t we?”

Wright clicked the last shackle shut, then sat down and waited. Farnsworth’s veins throbbed, slowly rising through his skin in pulsing green stream. His pupils’ dilated and the white’s turned bright green, glowing brightly in the dim light of the ship’s laboratory.

“How are you feeling, Farnsworth?”

“It burns, Professor. But I think its working. The air smells different now.”

“Let’s give it a try then?”

Wright unshackled Farnsworth slowly while closely watching his reaction. Farnsworth stood up, losing his balance and collapsing to the floor. He quickly regained his composure and got to his feet.

“I need to get outside. The air in the ship is getting hard to breathe.”
They walked to the airlock and Farnsworth closed the interior door behind after entering then opened the exterior door and breathed in the alien air. He paused briefly, and then stepped outside onto the hard, rocky green ground.

“How are you going?” Wright asked Farnsworth on his intercom.

“It worked, Professor. The air on this planet is beautiful. I can breathe it now. You’ve done it, Professor.”

Wright looked at the monitor and sighed. Farnsworth stood amidst the corpses of the other dozen crew.

THE END