Flashes of Sanity #71: Shades Part 1 – Failure

Welcome to Flashes of Sanity! Your weekly (during July it is daily!) dose of flash fiction on 500 words or less.

As a part of my one year with Flashes of Sanity celebration I will launch an event that will be the culmination of some threads in previous entries.
Good entries to have read/previous entries in the event:
Gray: A retailers dream
Baby boom
Bidding war

Welcome to Flashes of Sanity’s first event: Shade

Today’s entry: Shades Part 1: Failure

Enjoy!

”We are ready for launch.”
The two friends starred at the speaker. The button turned from red to green.
Garret swallowed. ”It’s go time then.” A phrase used so eagerly in the past it now felt empty.
He hovered above the button. ”I don’t think I can.”
”We must,” his friend said.
They both looked through the window towards the rocket.
”Do you think they will make it?”
Garret’s friend glanced at the spaceship floating above the cloud.
”It’s called a suicide mission Garret,” he sighed and rubbed his temples. ”I am sure they won’t make it.”
A tear rolled down Garret’s nose. ”I guess I should be lucky it’s not my kids in there.”
”I repeat, we are ready for launch. Confirm message delivery.”
Garret put his mouth to the microphone and pushed the button on it. ”Message delivered. Launcher is fighting with conscience.”
”We all are Garret,” the voice in the microphone said after a moment of silence. ”We all are.”
Garret looked at his friend. ”Together?”
”I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” his friend said, then he took Garret’s hand. ”Off course, we will do it together.”
The two men raised there hands above the green button. They looked at each other. They prayed for the children to get a painless death.
”For mankind,” they said and both hands fell on the green button which immediately turned red.
”What have we done?” Garret whispered.

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