Picnic

"Picnic" by Stephen Marlowe is a science fiction story set in a time when asteroid picnics are a normal family outing, but one trip turns perilous. Burt wants a pleasant day with his wife, Marcia, and their kids, Johnny and Joan, but things go sideways when he finds a wrecked spaceship on the asteroid they're visiting. Soon, the family faces a strange force that shifts the landscape and threatens their lives. As fear rises, Burt suspects the asteroid is alive and influencing what's happening. They narrowly escape the asteroid, and Burt is changed by the ordeal. After the deadly experience, Burt decides to end his family's tradition of asteroid picnics for good.