Quinn arrived painfully, tumbling over a rocky surface. The beam hovered above. He had only minutes.
He looked around, alarmed by the devastation he saw. Something was wrong; this was a bleak, dying, place, just like home. He hadn’t travelled back far enough. He scrambled for his oxygen mask, wondering why he hadn’t already succumbed to toxic air. Somehow, he was breathing.
Bewildered, he studied his surroundings. Not the moist, green countryside he’d hoped for, then, but perhaps, if he searched …
There! Just metres away – vibrant splashes of vegetation, magnificent. He rushed to gather specimens, aware of time running out.
Copyright – The reclining gentleman
Once again this 100 word story is for Friday Fictioneers. Thank you to Rochelle, who posts a picture prompt each week and reads and comments on every story. Thanks also to all the writers who contribute inspiring and entertaining stories. You can read them here.
Friday Fictioneers are generous in their support and encouragement of members’ writing efforts outside the nurturing walls of FriFic. I very much appreciate the congratulations and wonderful comments I received for my first prize-winning story last week, and Rochelle’s kind mention of it on her site this week.
Onto the page 
What a telling phrase – ‘aware of time running out’ – well done.
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Thank you, Liz. I wanted that phrase to work, so I’m glad you liked it.
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He didn’t land in the most verdant of surroundings! Great story and well done on your fiction win 🙂
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He didn’t get to see the lush, thriving Earth his contemporaries have heard about, but I’m glad he travelled back far enough in time to be able to find something still surviving. Thank you for your comment, and for your congratulations.
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Great take on the prompt. And congratulations once again on your fiction success.
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Thank you, once again, Sandra. I appreciate your encouragement very much.
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I hope he got what he needed. Love the sense of urgency
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He got it. Anything green (or yellow) still alive will be a treasure back in his own time. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Great hints of a dystopian future!
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Yes. Quinn’s world is hanging on by a thread – I’m imagining sheltered refuges somehow sustaining human life, shielded from a poisonous planet. Thanks for your support.
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I’m glad he found a place of life… I know many places that seem devastated …
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He found enough life to get what he needed. Of course, in my mind Quinn landed in a much more devastated place than the scene in the prompt.
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Oh, great time travel story. Doesn’t he just wish they could go back far enough and unmake the destruction of their environment?
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Thanks, Gah. That’s what he’d like, for sure. If only we could.
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Lovely piece of SF. Hope he leaves some specimens for the locals.
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There’s a thought. I hope so too. Thanks, Patrick.
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congratulations, he made it just in time… and to you, too, for your first prize winning story. 🙂
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Thank you, Plaridel, on both counts.
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Yes, congrats to First Prize!
And… what a bleak situation to find one’s self in!
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Thank you, Dale. Yes, Quinn’s in a bleak place, much bleaker than the picture suggests.
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I wonder if he got any poison ivy specimens. I suspect it would do well in a toxic environment.
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There’s a thought. Perhaps he did.
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Congrats on your win; another good story here.
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Thank you, Dawn. And thanks for the follow.
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Great story! I love the sci-fi flare to it!
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Thank you, Lori. Glad you like it. I like to wander into time travel territory now and again.
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My pleasure, Margaret 🙂 and you do it so well!
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Dear Margaret,
I’m a sci-fi lover although I rarely step out of my comfort zone to try to write it. You’ve done it well. And again, congratulations on your well deserved award.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I like to read sci-fi, but only certain types, and I’d really like to write more of it. Thank you, as always, Rochelle, for your feedback and support.
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A good sci-fi story, Margaret. At least, he got to see a planet not quite as bad as in the future and get samples. Actually, the earth will survive in time. We’re the ones who have to worry. Well done. Congratulaitons again on your winning story. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Yes – that’s what worries me – that the Earth will only survive if we’re out of the picture. Thank you for your kind words and congratulations.
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I love your sci-fi take on this, Margaret. I wonder if what you think is true about us. The only way Earth will survive is if we’re not around. It makes you wonder. I don’t think we’ll ever get it right. I think it’s a question of if we will die slowly or last a bit longer. It’s not a very comforting thought. Great story! Congrats again on your winning story. How exciting!
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I wonder about it, too. I’m certainly no scientist, so all I can do is speculate. I do fear that our species is making a big mess of things, however, and I wish we weren’t. I’m glad you enjoyed my story, in any case, Amy. Thank you for your kind words, and for your congrats again.
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