- Order breaks down between three surviving crewmen whose rocket ship crashes on an unknown world with limited water and supplies.
- A manned space mission is blasted off into space, only for the craft to suddenly lose contact with its Earth Control Team.
The ship is soon found to have crashed on an unknown world. Of the crew, only three are in decent conditon: Donlin, Pierson, & Corey. Of the three, Corey is desperate for survival, and shuns Donlin's giving water to a 4th crew member, whose condition is critical. Eventually, the 4th member succumbs to his wounds.
During this time, Pierson surmises that given the height of the sun, they must be close to Earth. However, Donlin surmises that their chance of rescue is nil, as the space agency had only create the one craft they were in.
Donlin then has Pierson and Corey go off on a scouting mission, to find life, water, or anything. As night falls, Corey returns. He tells Donlin that He and Pierson parted ways to search, but when Donlin sees Corey taking a large swig from his canteen, he suspects foul play.
Donlin gets Corey to confess that he took Pierson's canteen, and left him to die. At gunpoint, Donlin has Crey lead them back to Pierson, only to find him having crawled a ways away.
Donlin puts down his weapon, and with his last strength, Pierson attempts to point out what he saw on an upper ridge some ways off. He draws two small horizontal lines, but expires as he draws a long vertical line through them.
Donlin attempts to climb up the ridge, when Corey grabs his gun, claiming that he wants Donlin's canteen. Donlin once again speaks out against Corey's actions, but is shot. However, the bullet not only kills Donlin, but punctured his canteen, leaving Corey with only his canteen.
He attempts to climb the ridge, whose path is filled with loose rocks. When he gets to the top, a look of pain and shock spreads across his face. Down below, he sees what Pierson was attempting to draw: telephone poles. Their ship had gone up, and crashed back to Earth, in the Southwestern desert of the United States.
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