SF Drabble #401 "Rattle and Roll"

"She'll hold." He said it to no one in particular, over the roar of the atmosphere battering the heat shield and the whine of the air system trying to keep them from roasting in their crash webbing and the clattering of his own teeth. "Passing below forty kilometers!"

"I've never been to Earth, you know," Mintz shouted from the jump seat.

"I know. You told us before. A couple times."

"I'm just saying." Mintz shouted as the noise intensified. "It would be a shame to come all this way and burn up on re-entry."

"She'll hold!" He yelled. "Thirty-eight kilometers!"