Grow

by Heather Heckadon

  Everyone else twiddled their thumbs and looked at the ground. We all stood silently, waiting. We paced around, trying to air out our sweaty palms, until we heard the announcement over the intercom.

  A lighthearted female voice rang out, “We will begin loading at this time. Please align yourself with your team. We will take teams by names assigned, alphabetically. Once one team has left in the elevator, the elevator will make its way back down to the lobby. Once the elevator has returned, the next team will come up. We thank you for your patience and cooperation.” The sweet voice cut-out.

  “Okay, then. Guess that means Agricultural Team is up first,” said Spencer, clapping his hands together. “Let’s do this!” As he began walking towards the elevator, the rest of the team followed suit.

  Hesitation overwhelmed me as I stepped onto the elevator. Was I really ready for this? We laughed and joked the whole way up, but everything felt surreal. The air in my lungs caught in my throat and threatened to suffocate me.

  Once the door opened, we were greeted by Captain Idris. “Alright! Let’s get these MACE suits on and get this show on the road!”

  Bright orange suits lined the metal mesh wall, waiting for us. Idris quickly handed each of us a suit and assisted us in putting them on over our white suits. They were heavy and bulky but made me feel more at ease.

  MACE stood for Modified Advanced Crew Escape suits. Basically, if anything bad happened during launch, they were equipped with anything you could possibly need to survive. Individual knives, rope, and even lifeboats were packed into survival backpacks attached to the suit. Heavy helmets locked on, as well as gloves. They were bright orange to stand out and be noticed; there wasn’t a thing on the MACE suits that didn’t serve a purpose.

  We quickly slipped them on and made sure everything was secure. Our helmets were applied and our helmet headsets checked to make sure they were functioning properly. Communication would be nice, but once the launch began, they would be shut off until we were stable. The flight crew would be able to communicate with each other, but as passengers, it was unnecessary.

  Lack of communication scared me, but also put me at ease. If I needed to cry, no one would hear me.

  Once completely dressed out, Captain Idris helped us into the craft. Situated horizontally until the moment just before liftoff, it wasn’t too difficult to get strapped in. The repeated simulations had prepared us for this. Checking twice to see that our straps were secure and fastened appropriately, he gave us a salute and dashed off to get the next team wrapped up. We all ensured that the oxygen feeding our suits was functioning properly and sat back to relax.

  I took the time, once I was fastened, to look over our quarters. The stark white walls were bright, as were the seats. There seemed to be compartments secured inside the walls and there were no windows to look out of. Not being able to see outside scared me, and I felt my heart flutter for an instant. I calmed myself, though. I didn’t need to see outside. It was probably better this way. For something they made such a big deal about, it didn’t seem like this was going to be so bad. That was before my mind went crazy while waiting.

  Being the first team to be loaded into the craft turned out to be the worst thing ever. We waited for what seemed like hours. Deafening silence inside our helmets echoed screams of anxiety. We sat next to our simulation partner, and the rest of the team sat in rows of two in front of us to put our minds at ease a bit and make it feel more like the simulation. But I couldn’t have been further from calm. The beating of my heart pounded in my ears, until a voice came through our headsets.

  Captain Idris spoke clearly. “We are all loaded onto the craft and will begin take-off preparation shortly. Please be patient, and remain calm. In a couple minutes, the craft will turn vertically to align with the accelerators. Don’t be alarmed. Once we have reached a stable situation after take-off, communication will come back up.” There was a long silence, until he added, “Let’s hope for a safe trip, okay folks? See you on the other side.”

  The radios cut off and I looked down to see my hands trembling. A few moments later, through the helmet, I heard a loud crash, and then we started to tilt upwards. Leaning my head back and wrapping my arms around my torso, I tried to relax. Slowly we turned until we were lying on our backs, looking up towards the front of the craft where a wall blocked us from seeing the flight crew. All we could see was the back of the seat in front of us and a white wall.

  Realizing there would be no warning for the lift-off, I panicked. Quickly grabbing at my straps, I began to look around, frantic. Hyperventilation came quickly, and my helmet began to fog up. The claustrophobia and anxiety already present gripped me tightly, until I felt a hand grip my leg. Attempting to see through the fog of my helmet, I saw Garrett’s face through his visor. Mouthing words to me, since we couldn’t hear each other, his lips moved to say, “It’s okay. Calm down. I’m here.” Slowly the fog started to dissipate, and I could see him more clearly.

  He held onto my leg, and I held onto his hand with both of mine. When the ship began to lift-off, the roaring was unimaginably loud. The entire craft shook but I never let my eyes leave his. I felt tears stream down my face into my ears and quiet sobs left my lips, but I never once looked away. Neither did he.

  After about five minutes of commotion, everything became smooth. No more shaking, no roaring noises, just calm. Shortly after a voice came in through our headsets. “Houston, we have left Earth’s atmosphere and look forward to entering Circadia’s soon!” Idris exclaimed. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to announce our departure. We could hear the headsets become universal, so that each team could hear each other’s teammates.

  “Hey, you alright?” asked Garrett. His eyes searched mine.

  “Yeah, I actually think I’m great.” I smiled at him, and his mouth opened wide in a perfect smile back at me.

  “Good.” He removed his hand from my leg and looked forward towards the team. “Is everyone alive?” he asked.

  Chuckles from everyone were heard through the headset.

  “Barely,” Smith uttered.

  “Can we do that again?” Jane asked ecstatically.

  “No!” a collective vocalization came from the entire team.

  The team’s voices shut off and Captain Idris’ voice rang through my helmet once again. “Alright people, I believe we have stabilized and are now on our way to Circadia. As you know, this is a three-day trip. We have enabled semi-gravity, as we have some livestock on board as well, so take advantage of that and get some rest. We would like to encourage all of you to stay in your pods with your team and make the best of our tight living spaces for the short time we are on this flight. As you know, we would like to keep clean living areas, and please don’t touch anything. Other than that, enjoy the ride.”

  Chapter Seven

  We dove into sorting out our living arrangements, making quick work of setting up sleeping bags and tiny living areas. The ship was cylindrical and very small, so each sleeping bag was right next to another. A small room separated a restroom from the rest of the living quarters, and an efficient kitchenette was stationed just to the left of the small room. The utility stations of the kitchen folded out from the white walls. But until they were extended, you would have no idea that a kitchen area even existed, which helped with space.

  We had heard that food would be terrible during the three days in space. All of us had, of course, researched previous space missions and heard horror stories of the food being like toothpaste, but the truth was far from it. Dehydrated or freeze-dried foods were carefully packed, but once we added hot water or used a machine similar to a microwave to heat it, it was just like the food on Earth—or at least resembled it.

  For three days, eating and sleeping were about all we did. With the flight crew running the ship, we didn’t have a lot to do. All of our supplies had been shipped to Circadia before us, so there was nothing to go look at or play with. We were encouraged to stay in our own cubicles and not vi
sit with the other teams, so there was no company but ourselves. There were no windows to look out into space and wonder, nothing. No one had planned for the three days of boredom before the new planet, only for the new planet itself.

  I found my way to our carry-on boxes and retrieved mine. I removed my notebooks and pencils and wrote about our launch; how I felt about leaving my home and the nerves I felt before reaching the new planet. Describing my teammates in painful detail, and my living quarters, I started to feel sorry for myself. The conditions were not wonderful, seeing as how I was not a fan of people, and I was stuck on a tiny spaceship with a lot of them. It wasn’t my idea of perfect, but then again, it wasn’t meant to be. As long as I got to Circadia, that’s all I cared about.

  One morning, Captain Idris opened the door to our cubicle, and walked in, ducking underneath the circular door. Having a seat amongst the scattered sleeping bags, he smiled at all of us. “So, how’ve you all been the past two nights?”

  “Bored out of our minds,” replied Garrett.

  “No way, just Garrett. I’ve been having a great time!” Spencer said, and shot his thumbs up into the air with a wink. “At least compared to you, since you're stuck with the camera crew...”

  Everyone laughed quietly.

  “Well, today is the day, right?” He was timid in his question, looking around at our faces.

  It all felt so surreal that it was actually hard to get excited. We hadn’t really discussed how or where we would be landing either, and the thought was daunting.

  “In about six hours, we will be ready to make our arrival on Circadia, our new home. There wasn’t a lot of discussion about landing beforehand, mostly because the network was worried it would frighten some of you away. But you’re here now so it’s really a no-brainer, right?”

  All of us looked back and forth between each other. Some faces carried looks of disgust, others excitement, some anger. The mixed feelings about the arrival, or descent, made me nervous. What could possibly be worse than take-off? I thought.

  “Not to worry, though, it’s all automated. We will need you to have your suits on and strapped in to your seats in about five hours. When the time comes, we will make an announcement through the headsets that will give countdowns for each of the teams’ pods. At the end of the countdown, each team’s pod will detach from the rest of the ship and land on Circadia. One by one,” Idris said.

  “By land I assume you mean crash, right?” Garrett accused sternly.

  “Yes. Basically,” Idris replied.

  “What?” I didn’t intend for the word to escape my mouth.

  “Once your team’s pod detaches, it will float for a bit but it will be caught in Circadia’s gravity. It will act as a shield as you fall into the atmosphere and will deploy multiple parachutes to slow your descent. When you get close enough to the ground, your pod will sense this and automatically shoot off rockets on the bottom of the ship to bring you a soft landing. It will take you around three to four hours from the time you detach to land on Circadia. Once you reach the surface, make sure to double check your oxygen, but it should be safe to remove your helmet.”

  “And we just strap in the same seats we launched in?” Spencer asked.

  “Yep. No different procedure than launch, just a little different ride.” Idris smiled.

  Jane and I shot each other a glance that was telling of our attitude about the situation.

  “Anyway, I get the lovely task of telling this to every team in every pod, and then I get to go with the film crew. Aren’t I a lucky man?” he asked sarcastically. “I gotta go if I’m going to explain this to eight more teams. Wish me luck!” He climbed out of the porthole and into the next pod.

  The room was silent.

  At 1700, five hours since we talked to Idris, we were all in our suits and strapped into our seats. We had been sitting for nearly fifteen minutes when we heard the voice come through our helmets.

  “Good evening! We are sure that Captain Idris has given you all some idea of what is going to be happening here shortly. We want to ensure that everyone has their suits on and is securely strapped in,” a sweet—as always—female voice said.

  We all laughed a bit. What if someone isn’t strapped in? I thought.

  “I want to direct your attention to the screen populating in the right corner of your helmet,” she continued. Immediately, a map of Circadia popped up with a tiny red dot circling its atmosphere. Us. “This is your GPS and map. You can see where you are as well as where other pods are once you have landed. We would like to encourage you to help your team out of the pod by opening the hatch labeled with your pod’s number. After you have secured your team, we recommend you seek out another team to offer assistance. Once you have reached Circadia, the map will give directions to the landing site of the supplies sent on the previous mission. Once all of the teams have reached this rendezvous point, there will be a meeting. We thank you for your patience as we detach multiple pods and receive intel from the ground. See you on Circadia,” she said and then cut out.

  A string of silence was broken by a strong, male voice that dominated the airway. It was Idris announcing the first pod to release and then the countdown. “Pod Nine. Launch time T-Minus sixty seconds. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven...” The numbers droned on and on, until there was a short silence. Then the ringing voice was back. “Pod Eight. Launch time T-Minus sixty seconds. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight...”

  First to load, last to leave. I had thought it would be terrible to be the first ones to go, but now I thought differently as the anticipation built. Just like being loaded into the craft first, we had to wait. Certainly not as long as the loading for the launch, as in less than eight minutes we would be detached from the craft and hurling towards Circadia. The alien planet was waiting for us, as we flung ourselves toward it, not knowing what to expect.

  We began to feel the detachments as each pod, one by one, grew closer to us and left the craft. Finally, we heard it. “Pod One,” Idris said. I looked quickly towards the hatch labeled one, just to ensure it was ours. “Launch time, T-minus sixty seconds. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven, fifty-six, fifty-five...” What had seemed like such a long countdown for the other pods, seemed to fly by for ours. “Five, four, three, two, one.” Silence. We felt a jolt, and then nothing. Absolutely nothing.

  Looking into my helmet, in the right corner, I could see ten red dots, and nine of them were floating away. We were Pod One, but the ninth to launch, and in my helmet we were a slightly bigger dot than the others. I watched as the first dot suddenly plummeted towards the surface of Circadia, quickly followed by the second dot. They were entering the atmosphere.

  We watched as all of the dots before us descended into the atmosphere. Then it was our turn. When we entered the atmosphere, even though we had no windows to look out of, we knew something had changed. The entire pod began to rattle with crashing noises. Internally, the temperature began to rise quickly, causing me to sweat in my suit. The roaring outside of the pod was deafening.

  Jolting suddenly in my straps, my neck flew forward, assisted by the weight of my helmet, and snapped back. Looking around, I noticed everyone had been hit pretty hard by this quick deceleration. That must be the first parachute, I thought. We’re getting close. The rattling and roaring outside simmered down after the first parachute.

  The next couple of parachutes that were deployed made the pod jump a bit, but not like the first one. It was still a rough ride, but it had slowly turned into a lull. Waiting to get to the surface was like waiting for a meal to get out of the oven when you’re hungry, excruciatingly slow. Checking the GPS in my helmet, I noticed we were close.

  I looked over to Garrett and gave a wave to get him to look in my direction. I mouthed, “We’re close!” and tapped my helmet. He nodded and held on to his straps harder. I was confused about why he felt the need to do that until I remembered the impact thrusters would be firing once we got close to the surface to give us a softer landing. He
must think it’s going to be bad, I thought.

  Only panicking for a second, I gripped my straps tight and braced myself. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and waited.

  The thrusters were heard clearly through the pod. Once they fired, it shifted the entire pod and gave such a push of energy that I felt as though I had just been in a head on collision. Directly after feeling the thrust of the soft landing, the impact onto the surface hit. Every bone in my body rattled and my neck cracked as my head jolted forward too fast. The group yelled out as we came to a stop. Everything in the pod went dark, except for the red dots visible in my helmet.

  We landed facing up, as though we were getting ready for takeoff. Everyone sat in the dark pod, too nervous to move, or too sore. The pod groaned and carried on until it settled and went quiet. Once everything had stopped completely, our communications came back online and the lights in the pod came back to life.

  Spencer was the first to speak, “Hey guys, we made it.”

  “No shit, Spencer!” said Jane.

  “Hello, I’m ready to get out of here, people. Let’s do this,” Garrett said, unbuckling his straps quickly.

  I undid my straps as well, and Garrett and I began helping the rest of the team down from their seats high in the air. Once everyone was down, we realized we would have to climb to the top to reach the exit. Smith volunteered to be the one to open the hatch. Climbing to the top, we all watched as he deftly cranked on the handle. After turning the wheel multiple times, we heard an audible click. Looking down to us with darting eyes, he looked back to the top and slowly lifted off from the chair he was standing on to open the hatch wide.

  Chapter Eight

  Fresh air enveloped the pod. Quickly sensing a change in temperature, we were all relieved. The heat of the pod from the landing was quickly alleviated by the wind and moisture of the air. It was warm with a cool breeze that was immediately refreshing, like a storm blowing through in the middle of summer.