Event Horizon

by Scott McElhaney

  Ephraim Year 85 Week 30

  Doreen took the rag out of her pocket and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was utterly exhausted after making what felt like a hundred trips back and forth to the lumber pile. She returned the rag to her pocket and then proceeded to rub the ache from her own shoulders. Warren looked down at her from his position on the roof.

  “I think it’s time for a break,” he said, hooking the hammer onto the loop of his pants.

  “Are you sure the boat is going to be worth all this? Most of our time is being spent building things we need to build the boat,” she said, holding the bottom of the ladder steady as Warren started down.

  “Hey, we seriously need a platform to build the boat on and to launch it into the water. And we need this baby here for steaming the lumber,” he said, patting the side of the small structure, “And if this all works out, we’re going to need all this for building other boats. We’ll build ourselves a whole Navy.”

  He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Yeah, just what we need. So how soon before we even start building the boat?” she asked, following Warren toward the sandy beach.

  “I don’t want to stop halfway to get more wood. Edwin and the boys are milling everything we need. You and I will be done with this steaming shed today. The dry dock is done, so I guess we’ll start building in a couple days,” he said, “This ship is going to be sweet, honey. It’ll have four bedrooms, a full kitchen, two bathrooms, and even two storage rooms for long journeys.”

  “Why so many rooms?” she asked, “I thought this was like a fishing boat or something similar.”

  “I showed you the diagram, honey. This yacht is meant for sailing the globe. And like I said, it’s not just for recreation. We may need it to get away from the Sharks someday,” he said, putting an arm around her.

  They sat down on the beach beside the cloth bag and water jugs they had brought with them earlier. She opened the bag and pulled out the loaf of bread she baked last night. Warren took the lid off one of the jugs and lifted it to his mouth.

  “What happened to us over the last several years, Warren?” she asked, breaking the loaf of bread in half.

  He swallowed thirstily, then brought the jug down and pushed it firmly into the sand. He wiped his chin and gazed out at the Tau-pigeons tiptoeing in the frothy surf.

  “Mixed up priorities, I guess. Too many people started relying on me and I lost sight of you in it all,” he said, turning to her, “Remember when it used to be just us in this whole world? No one else seemed to exist at all.”

  She smiled, giving half of the loaf to him.

  “We were dangerous back then. Remember coming down here in the middle of the night for no reason at all. We’d sit out here in the sand and watch the waves come in. Like you said – we were the only ones on the whole planet. I want that again, Warren,” she said, taking a bite of the bread.

  “So do I. I want to forget about all the others and the Sharks and that other spaceship out there. Maybe that’s what heaven is like. Maybe God will give that to us as our reward in heaven. You, me, and the beach,” he said.

  “Why wait until heaven? The sky is supposed to be clear tonight,” she said, “Let’s reclaim what was always ours.”

  He set his bread down on the sand and leaned over to her. He pressed his lips to hers and before he knew it, he was kissing her like he used to so many years ago. She put her arms around him and lowered herself onto the sand, bringing him down on top of her. He kissed her passionately, feeling his heart melt for her all over again. He ran his hand up the back of her shirt, feeling a need to bring her ever closer to him.

  “Dad? Mom?” Danny shouted from the boat platform.

  Warren glanced up to find Danny, Johnny, and Edwin looking their way.

  “Uh oh, kids. Let’s go back to the sawmill and cut a few more boards,” Edwin said, grabbing them and turning back toward the woods, “Sorry, Warren.”

  “How embarrassing,” Warren whispered, propping himself overtop of her.

  “Well, they’re leaving now, so where were we?” she said, putting her hand behind his neck and drawing him back to her.

  “But what are we going to say?” he asked while she kissed him gently on the side of his lips.

  “We’re going to say that we’ve been married for thirteen years. What do you think we’d say?” she said, kissing him again, “Besides, we’re the only ones on this whole planet. Just you and me.”

  He looked down at her as she smiled flirtatiously at him. He had lost control with her so many times over that same smile and she had done it again. They were alone in the world again.

  . . . . .

  Shauna knocked again on the door. She had already heard some rustling behind the door before she knocked for the first time. Erica was awake in the wagon, but she wasn’t fussing at all. She seemed to enjoy these wagon rides. Shauna knocked again before the door suddenly opened.

  “Hi, I hope I’m not intruding,” Shauna said.

  “Of course you’re not intruding. I live alone. What can I do for you?” Rodney asked, leaning on his cane.

  “Erica and I were just out for a walk and we just decided to stop by. Can we talk?” she asked.

  “Brennan didn’t send you, did he?” Rodney asked, “I was joking with him a while ago and he seemed to take me a little too seriously. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

  “No, he didn’t send me, but I am coming by on his behalf. Did you know that until recently, he thought of you as an older brother?” she said, still standing in his doorway, “I must say – I’m blind and I can see that you’ve been pushing people away from you over the last couple of years. Brennan was probably the last friend you had.”

  He sighed then stepped aside.

  “Grab Erica and come on in,” he said, “I’ll show you to the couch.”

  She reached down into the wagon and lifted Erica to her shoulder. When she returned to the doorway, he took a hold of her forearm and led her to the living room sofa. The house smelled musty and damp, but she pretended not to notice.

  “I read a lot,” he said, sitting across from her, “I find joy in books. There isn’t a book on this planet that I haven’t read… well, as far as I know.”

  “Ah,” she said, not understanding what he was getting at.

  “I figured that would answer two of your questions. One – why does it smell like old books in here? And two – why don’t I ever leave my home and associate with people? I’m a hermit and I know it,” he said, trying to situate himself comfortably in the chair, “Did you know that Drake Morgan was friends with Admiral Jacobsen’s son?”

  “I don’t know who that Admiral is or who his son is,” Shauna said, kissing Erica on her cheek.

  “Admiral Jacobsen was essentially Drake’s boss in the Space Administration. He was in charge of Space Warp generators. He’s also the one who theorized about the use of a Gravitation Field Ring instead of that dangerous Central Warp Field Generator that was used on our ancestor’s ship,” he said, “His son was Shiloh Jacobsen. Shiloh worked in the SA shipyards as a welder.”

  “I’m sorry if you lose me. I’m not up on my spaceship science or Earth history,” she said.

  “When Drake and his fellow church members stole that ship, I think it was a huge slap in the face of the Admiral and his son. I’m sure they were very surprised to discover that there was a Christian so high up in the ranks of the Administration. This Christian fooled a lot of people and now he stole their biggest achievement. It would take years to build another ship like that one,” he said, clearing his throat, “Drake understood all this and wrote this in his third journal. He was forgiven by God, I’m sure. He prayed about it. But he didn’t believe Shiloh would forgive him. Shiloh told Drake in confidence one day that he was going to steal that same ship and escape to the new planet in the Tau Ceti system. He was going to take his family and leave and never ever return to the oppressive government that kept him locked in the shipyards for 80 hou
rs a week.”

  “Oh my. So when Drake stole the ship, he must have been furious,” she said.

  “I’m sure it was just a dream of Shiloh’s that he never thought he’d have the guts to pursue. But when Drake pulled it off, it was probably like his lifelong dream was stolen from him,” he said.

  “I wonder why he didn’t invite Shiloh along. The ship was big enough since it was made for fifty people,” she said.

  “I’m sure it was at least partially because his father was the Admiral. Would you risk such a thing when your friend’s father also happened to be your boss? He probably figured Shiloh was just a dreamer who never intended to really pursue those dreams. If Shiloh backed out and told his father, all the plans would be ruined,” he said.

  “Wow. How horrible,” she said.

  “But you’re probably wondering why I told you about this. Shauna, people don’t like me because I always deliver bad news. I investigate everything all the way and I have a habit of telling people why something won’t work. You can bet I’m already looking into that yacht that Warren is building. Deep down, I simply don’t want anyone to get hurt. And yes, I’m deathly afraid of the water. Through all that I’ve read, I have no reason to be. And for the record, I’m afraid of this ship headed our way… and I do have a reason to be.”

  “What did you find out?” she asked.

  “Shiloh and his crew built a lot of ships in his time. Mostly, they were small to medium-sized ships meant to deliver supplies to back and forth to that base on Saturn’s moon,” he said, looking down at his hands, “Ever since his crew got charged with faulty engineering on the Titan VI, they started autographing their ships. You see, they didn’t even build the Titan VI, but thanks to poor recordkeeping, it was listed as one of their ships. When it blew up for no reason, they took the blame. After that, they welded an autograph into two locations on every ship they built. Their autograph was simply… a shark.”

  “You’re kidding,” she said.

  “I wish I was. Obviously Shiloh would have been dead by the time we were attacked by the Shark Colony. I’m not saying it was him, but I do believe it was designed like a shark for a reason. I think his vengeance was felt throughout his family and I’m sure that colony was sent here for two purposes - to get revenge on Drake and his people, and to start a new life of their own. And I think SA knew nothing about that ship,” he said.

  “So this ship that’s coming now only knows about an SA ship that was stolen a hundred years ago from the Space Administration. They see us as nothing but a colony of criminals who are no longer subject to their laws. This could be the Revolutionary War all over again as far as they’re concerned,” she said.

  “You are blind, but you see very clearly,” he said, “Even if that ship was sent to start a Space Administration colony, it would be fully prepared for war. Better yet, it would be prepared to prevent a war. A sneak attack on us would save many lives in their view.”

  She shook her head and snuggled Erica close to her face. Erica grabbed a hold of Shauna’s nose.

  “I don’t like being the bearer of bad news. I look out my window and see the happiest people in the universe. Despite hardship, you all are happy. Edwin and Ariel are always so happy and in love with each other despite the fact that their new house is going to be postponed. Doreen and Warren and their boys are so happy in all that they do, even though they toil and work a dozen hours each day. You’re blind and you’ve lost your husband, but you are the happiest person I’ve ever met. Brennan just lost his wife and you know what? You make him so happy and it’s so unfair to me. Why is everyone so happy while this ship is coming to kill us all?”

  “I can tell you, and you won’t find the answer in any of your books. It’s love. Plain and simple, it’s love,” she said, “As a colony, we love each other and we work together. We look out for each other. Brennan said that you were upset about me living with him. You know what? I love him. I always have. Is this bad? I also love Warren and Johnny and Danny. I love Dawn and Doreen and Ariel and Edwin.”

  “I’m sorry for offending you,” he said sullenly.

  “I have a duty to my fellow colonists. That duty is to love them and help out in whatever limited ways I can. Brennan is alone and he loves me. I am alone and I love him. My duty and choice is to marry him if he’ll ever get up the nerve to ask me. Is it wrong of me since Edna just died? I don’t think so.”

  He just stared at her and shook his head.

  “If there’s a blind person in this room, it’s been me all along. Can you forgive me?” he asked.

  She nodded in his direction.

  “Of course I can, because I love you too. I do forgive you, but I think you need to get out and talk to some people. I think you need to be a part of our community again. I think you need to share the story of the Sharks with everyone also,” she said.

  “Thank you, Shauna,” he said, rising from the chair, “I’m glad you stopped over today.”

  “So am I,” she said.

  Ephraim year 85 Week 36

  Jared tugged harder on the wagon, finally getting the front wheels over the rock. The items clanked loudly together as the wagon started to pick up speed down the hill. Jared pushed his weight against the handle in an effort to keep the wagon from going any faster. His attempt to slow down the wagon was futile. Quickly realizing that the wagon was about to run him over, he stepped aside and watched it sail past him toward the beach.

  “Look out below!” he shouted.

  He didn’t see anyone along the projected path, but it was best to be safe. The wagon finally hit an unseen obstacle and flipped over. All the pipes, axles, and shanks that he spent the last two days making flew toward the beach. The wagon itself shattered as it hit a large rock.

  “Good one, Jared-the-blacksmith,” Edwin said from behind him, clapping loudly.

  “Thanks, Edwin the woodsmith,” he said.

  Jared acquired the name Jared-the-blacksmith because there used to be two Jareds. When Shauna’s husband, Jared the dairyman died, they could have just started calling him Jared again. In truth, Jared never liked being called Jared-the-blacksmith. He simply wanted to be Jared.

  “What happened?” Edwin asked.

  “The hill was steeper than I thought and the wagon weighed more than I thought,” he said, starting down the hill, “I should have made a couple of trips.”

  Edwin followed Jared down the hill. Edwin inspected the remains of the wagon while Jared gathered up the several pieces of iron and copper from the sandy beach.

  “What do you think of Rodney’s theories?” Edwin asked.

  “I think he’s onto something. I think we need to be in that cave when that ship gets here,” Jared said.

  “You think they’ll bomb us?” he asked, dragging the largest piece of the wagon onto the beach.

  “Yes. The cave might not be a lot of protection, but at least it’s something,” he said.

  Just then, they heard some screaming coming from the direction of their homes. Edwin glanced over at Jared. They both dropped what they had and ran toward the path that led back to the colony.

  Partway through the woods, Edwin recognized the screaming as those of Danny and Johnny. What he originally assumed to be cries for help were actually just screams to get the attention of the whole colony. Someone had apparently recruited them for their ability to be a human alarm.

  “Come to Brennan’s house!” Danny shouted, “Hurry!”

  . . . . .

  Everyone was gathered around Brennan’s viewing panel. Warren peered past Doreen to see that the ship was no longer displayed on his screen. Now it looked like he was reading a document on the screen.

  “What’s that?” Warren asked.

  “It’s a message from the ship up there. They hijacked our signal and sent us a message,” he said.

  Rodney squeezed past Warren then knelt next to Brennan.

  “Well read it to us,” Doreen said.

  “It’s four pages long!”
Brennan complained, “But it basically says that it’s a ship full of dead people. The children are now running the ship. No joke. There was a plague six years ago that killed almost ten-thousand people aboard. The kids investigated and found out that it was spread intentionally by one of Drake Morgan’s descendants. The guy had discovered a plot to kill our colony once they arrived, so he chose to burn the whole mission. The Captain is an eighteen-year old girl named Autumn and a sixteen-year old boy is navigating the ship into orbit next week. He’s the one dictating this message.”

  “How can kids run a ship? How did they survive the plague?” Dawn asked.

  “Apparently the leadership followed typical protocol. As people started showing symptoms of an unknown disease, they would be isolated from the rest of the crew. After such an outbreak, you eventually discover that it’s really the non-infected who become the ‘quarantined’. Parents would have started isolating their children before they could get sick,” he said, shaking his head, “There are only 76 people… children up there. They acknowledge our fear of them and have accepted that we have no reason to believe their story, so they are going to locate our colony and land on a different continent altogether. He says that it’s for their safety as well as ours. Without two-way communication, there’s no way to fully trust each other.”

  “Amazing,” Rodney said, “Absolutely amazing. It says here that they discovered a Bible aboard and have chosen God as their commander-in-chief. He says that if we are still Christians as our ancestors were, we should trust them based on a common leader. Amazing.”

  “Do you believe them?” Edwin asked.

  “Yes,” Rodney said, clearing his throat, “They went to a lot of trouble to hijack our satellite signal just to tell us that they intended to land safely away from everyone here. They never had to admit that they uncovered part of the true mission of the ship. Why tell us that we were originally going to be annihilated? Perhaps to warn us of future missions?”