I Shot an Arrow into the Air

Plot summary

A manned space flight with eight crew members crash lands on what the astronauts believe to be an unknown asteroid. Their expectations of survival or rescue are bleak. Only four of the crew survive: the commanding officer Donlin, crewmen Corey and Pierson, and a crewman who is barely alive. After they bury the dead men, Donlin and Pierson concern themselves with taking care of the injured crewman, but Corey, realizing water is in short supply, is only concerned about saving himself, setting himself at odds with Donlin and Pierson. After the injured crewman dies, Donlin has Corey and Pierson trek out into the barren desert to see if there is anything that might improve their chances of survival. Six hours later, Corey returns but Pierson does not, and Corey claims not to know where Pierson is. Donlin calls Corey out on having more water in his canteen now, than what he left with, and demands to know where Pierson is. Corey claims that he found Pierson dead and filched the water supply from his dead body. Donlin forces Corey at gunpoint to lead him to Pierson's body to see for himself.

They find Pierson, still barely alive, who with his last bit of strength draws a primitive diagram in the sand with his finger, and then dies. Corey confesses that he attacked Pierson earlier, and he then kills Donlin and sets out alone, confident that he will survive longer now that he has all of the water supply. Corey climbs a nearby mountain and sees a sign for Reno, and then sees telephone poles, which were what Pierson had attempted to draw before he died. Realizing that they had in fact never left Earth and that he had killed his partners for nothing, Corey breaks down weeping.