Lost

From an image prompt posted by Erica Drayton on May 10, 2023. I could only hear the sound of my own breathing and the beating of my heart. The batteries in my suit had failed, so the readouts on my wrist-mounted computer were no longer feeding me information about my location or my oxygen supply. I could feel exhaustion creeping in, clutching the back of my mind, dragging my eyelids closed. Footfall after heavy footfall, I plunged forward in search of my rover. Was it just around this next rock formation? Step. Breathe. Step. I laboriously lifted my eyes to the horizon. Were those men on horseback? How did I get here? Share this post and write your own flash fiction based on this image prompt. Subscribe to The Artifact for more image prompts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theartifact.substack.com