Julia

Night seemed to pass quickly for John and as he woke he could taste his own breath. After seeking out one of the minty dental tools he felt an urgent need he had been avoiding gripping his gut. ' I hope that works!' he thought gazing at the small room located at the very back of the cabin. The door had been secured so he found the stewards key unlocking the door hurriedly. Turning the handle he suddenly forgot why he was there in the first place!

A warm gust of air rose from the heated room along with, the scent of a woman!

Lolled over between the sink and commode was a woman in a smart blue uniform. A small amount of dried blood on her forehead. She was breathing very shallowly, her face pale.

He gently moved her across to the stewards couches covered her and cleaned and bandaged her wounds. The first aid kit had one IV kit with a rudimentary instruction manual.

Lifting her arm he found a vein, opened a sterilization pad , swabbed and inserted the needle. After about an hour her breathing became deeper, John endeavoured to read the first aid manual regarding concussion and shock. Hours had passed and the bag was nearly empty. Remorsefully, he removed the needle, he had no more medicine.

Just then she opened her bright blue eyes!

She looked at the ruined cabin, her face showing complex emotions, and reached up at the butterfly bandage and gauze wrapped about her forehead and down at the band aid on her arm. "We crashed?" her first words were an understatement. "Who are you?" John introduced himself. "Julia?" John queried noticing her name tag. Julia Bowman shined brilliantly in gold letters.

Time passed as the conversion flowed between the two survivors, as they discussed their mutual plights. Julia it turned out was 30 years old, 5 years his junior as the top student in her class at Yale she had excelled at business law and been hired straight out of school by Mr Musk and groomed for his 'girl Friday' position. She had goffered for him solving some of the most insurmountable problems he faced with relative ease. He envied Mr. Musk, his assistants all resembled Velma Dinkly. Julia was a knockout!

Her great dream in life had been to travel in space and leave the bounds of the planet, in typical Julia fashion she had found a creative way to solve this problem too forcing her way into crew training as a Stewardess' , slipping effortlessly past other candidates. Mr. Musk was all too willing to repay the manifold debts he had accrued and looked past her crew placement, whilst eagerly anticipating her return.

John found the sanitary facilities functional after he cleared a path to the discharge pipe. Such a noisy device, it sounded like a vacuum cleaner. Placing an oversized crate lined with plastic caught the discharged wastes. (He secretly hoped they wouldn't need them. ) The temperature outside had plummeted and the wind had picked up making rustling noises in the cabin.

An even bigger find was the built in cistern also survived, the water in this tank would be distilled in order to prevent build up in the lines, it main use was for electrolysis to provide oxygen and hydrogen for various systems throughout the craft. Water served as a. concentrated fuel source. The was a God send.

The mini galley held enough rations for fifty passengers on a seven day flight, as well as luxury items to satisfy wealthy paying tourist class passengers. Champagne, caviar, pate and shellfish adorned the stewards pantry, as well as many snack items in space faring container's.

He utilized the small microwave oven in the mini galley to heat water for instant soup for both of them. Julia showed him the crew lockers and found coveralls for them, 'one size fits all, he thought as he squeezed into the tight outfit, his biceps made tearing sounds as they squeezed into the papery sleeves, at least this was somewhat warmer. Later he would get into his luggage in the storage compartment.

The cabin battery meter was still in the green at 79 percent and had moved very little. In the back of his mind he knew this would be a problem to be faced soon, but frostbite was not a fair trade for a few more hours of survival. He looked at the aisle and took note of the location of several access panels, some that lead to systems, others to the main storage area. He needed to explore these spaces, but today he had no more energy.

The two of them slept soundly beneath piles of blankets she had dragged out of a hidden. cupboard. The thermal blankets were now layers thick as John added to their shelter from elements, it rustled threateningly as it was buffeted by the wind. Warm air wafted down from the ECU like a campfire allowing them a good nights sleep. Tomorrow he would try the radio again.

He dreamed he smelled scrambled eggs and bacon. What a wonderful dream, his mouth watered, his bellybutton felt like it was touching his backbone. "Come eat" it was Julia's voice. These won't keep long so we had better finish them" she gestured towards the frozen breakfasts she had pulled from one of the crews portable coolers. "Good thing I remembered this contraband" someone had obviously smuggled the frozen breakfasts aboard to avoid the freeze dried fare. They consumed their I'll gotten booty while sipping hot tea. These might be the last eggs they would ever have, or at least enjoy.

"Thanks so much" he truly appreciated the food and helped gather the packaging, although he had no ideas how they would re purpose it. His brown hair was starting to feel oily although he didn't dare utilize any of their precious water for hygiene. So far hand sanitizers and wet wipes were enough. He found some roll on deodorant in one of the crews carry on bags. He also found several packages of toilet paper, even though the toilet had a built in bidet.

Unwrapping several ties he half laid aside the makeshift barrier and they both went outside. He could see the scene much more clearly now, and before he could stop her he heard e sound of gagging, as she came upon the scene. He did his best to comfort her holding her as she wept, recognizing the passengers and crew that had died there.

For the next few hours they both took on the grim task of gathering remains and placing them in the airtight cargo crates. John made sure that they were piled in the shadows so the bright sun didn't warm them up. Then the two of them stood together and John recited what would stand as a cross between a commemorate speech and a prayer. John wasn't a religious man, but he believed that a higher power existed, agnostic? no maybe just skeptical, the mere fact he was alive was a testament to miracles. Whatever he could say about these luckless people now surely was inadequate both to Julia and his creator.

After they finished the ceremony she stared intensely at him, but he found himself unable to read her emotions. Night was approaching and e temperature falling once again. They made their way back to the cabin. John for the first time saw the true extent of the damage on the hidden side of the wreckage and realized how fortunate they were that the center was intact.

The fuel tanks had broken off cleanly but the cargo sections had survived, also he remembered that the solar panels were still stowed! They hadn't had time to deploy them!

He secured the cabin flap noting Julia by the SATCOM terminal, "It's not locking on" she stated. "Were probably beyond line of sight" he said." "Let's try in the daytime"

He decided to give one of the small panels in the aisle a go. Jackpot! lifting the ring and twisting revealed a small compartmentalized toolbox meant for maintenance mechanics. It was a gold mine of specialized wrenches and pliers and cutters, keyed screwdrivers, torx wrenches an electric driver, and battery powered soldering iron, even a neon bulb and small multimeter. These were things he could really use. He pocketed a leather man and hacksaw blade. He had all he needed to start now.

Julia had brewed them both tea, he thanked her and settled down in the countout couch next to her. They both were amazed by the view beyond the window, the Earth could clearly be seen, as a blue beach ball laced with silver, the moon was a tiny white dot to the right of the Earth. They both silently stared, taking the sight, meditating silently. How could they possibly survive? Who could help them. John was sure of one thing, he wasn't ready to die yet, and looking at Julia he was pretty sure neither was she.