by Milo Douglas
Inspired by Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Be sure to read Airtight Part I and Airtight Part II
Lenny’s eyes lit up and he reached for the plant, but then he folded his hands.
“I can’t touch no trees. I’ll get us in trouble again.”
“‘Again’?” she puzzled. “Here.”
He took the tree.
Lenina smiled. “Tell me about your tree farm.”
“We gonna point our ship to the brightest planet and build a habitat-on-the-range!”
Lenina’s face dropped. “A fantasy.”
“No,” he insisted, “we gonna build that habitat!” Lenny tugged at a branch.
“Hey!”
“We can plant two trees in our habitat!” He yanked the branch off.
“Are you crazy? Give it to me!”
Lenny looked at Lenina and explained. “We can graft it! George needs one, too!”
His fingers brushed another branch, but Lenina swatted his hand away. The pot smashed to the floor, the tree’s trunk broken.
“You ruined it!” she roared. She grabbed him—BiNDL claws digging into his flesh— and lifted him to his feet.
Lenny howled pain. “Please, stop it!
“That was my way out of here!” Her grip tightened.
Lenny’s face became fierce and to her horror, he effortlessly wrenched his arms free.
“Wait!” she backed away.
“Don't holler at me!" Lenny scolded. "You’ll get George in trouble!”
He snatched her helmet and placed it over her head, dampening her cries.
She pounded on him.
“Lenina, be still!”
He bear hugged her.
The suit’s pressure seals broke.
Motors failed.
“It was supposed to be for George!” Lenny explained.
The room was awash with white light as Lenina launched her emergency flares sending Lenny running as she fell to the floor.
Lenina’s BinDL was irreparably crushed. Trapped within its bulk, she could only lie staring at the fractured fruit tree.
Minutes later, George and Slim entered the smoke-filled room and regarded the broken limbs.
Slim sighed heavy. “I got no choice, George. I gotta—“
“I’ll take care of Lenny,” George said gloomily.
Slim sounded the alarm just as Lenina shifted.
”Get me outta here, Slim! He meant to kill me!”
”He already did, Lenina.” He knelt and pried open her suit. “Your BiNDL is done. You and Curley ain’t workin’ no more.”
A thought jolted Slim to his feet. “George, wait!”
George found Lenny in the Rabbit Hole suited in his BiNDL, helmet in hand.
The two men embraced as Curley’s anguished cries sounded from the crew quarters.
“George,” Lenny said, “put your suit on!”
George swallowed hard. He took Lenny’s helmet from him and pointed to the dome.
“You see that red planet?”
“Yeah, George.”
“That’s our planet.” He sucked air. “Guys like us gotta keep our scratch airtight, Lenny. We’re gonna—“
“Undock and point our ship to our habitat-on-the-range!” Lenny lumbered into the airlock.
George closed it behind him.
The shuttle bay echoed with Curly’s threats.
George dropped Lenny’s huge helmet on the floor and activated the airlock intercom.
“Lenny, look out that porthole and keep your eye on our planet.”
Lenny obeyed.
George blinked away tears. “What are we gonna grow, Lenny?”
“A million trees!” Lenny sang.
The airlock doors opened to space.