“Autumn,” he muttered, “This must have belonged to the Captain of the ship. Sarah must have been their granddaughter.”
He closed the Bible and tucked it under his arm. Then he continued his search of the house, rifling through dressers and cabinets for anything that could fill in the blanks. He sorely needed to hear the history of this colony.
. . . . .
Skylar tossed two more logs into the fireplace, hoping to send the chill back outside where it belonged. The sun had set almost an hour ago, bringing a cool wind into the city. Nearly two hours before sundown, he had stopped by the shuttle and grabbed a pillow and three blankets to bring into the library.
He claimed the library as his own after his forensic search through twelve houses, two churches, and a marketplace. The building with the largest fireplace happened to be the library and this was the final deciding factor. He located an ancient woodpile still nicely heaped up beside the bookshelves.
After lighting three oil lamps and starting a roaring fire, he curled up with his treasure trove. Sprawled out before him were his findings of the day. Under the flickering glow of the fireplace, he gazed upon two maps, three Bibles, two journals, a stack of handwritten notes and papers, and best of all – a handwritten notebook titled “History of the ISDC CetiDrifter”.
He rolled onto his side and brought the notebook closer. Then he opened it and started to read the story as told by Autumn and Chasen.
. . . . .
Skylar awoke to the sound of the crackling embers in the fireplace. He raised his head from the pillow and peered over at the oil lamp on the table. It was still lit, but now the oil was halfway to the bottom of the glass base. The world beyond the smoky window panes was still dark.
He sat up and looked down at the worn, leather-bound Bible beside him. It reminded him of Autumn’s story that he read before falling asleep.
“You gonna look up Wormwood?” a voice asked from behind him.
“Ugh, I thought you were gone,” Skylar grumbled.
“I was going to leave once you found some real people to talk to. Apparently that won’t be happening for a long time.”
She stepped over his legs then eased herself onto the floor in front of him. She drew her legs up under her and faced him.
“It’s chilly in here. So, open it up to Revelation and let’s find this Wormwood,” she said, waving him on.
He picked up the Bible and started leafing through the pages.
“So if this comet is truly in the Bible, what are you going to do?” she asked.
“Why do you have to continue to prod me? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
“Hey, I’m just asking. You keep making your science arguments every time something like this comes up.”
He found Revelation and started to read it aloud. After the first paragraph, he paused and looked at her. He suddenly remembered that this woman wasn’t really in the room with him, so reading aloud wasn’t really necessary.
. . . . .
“Stop pacing already,” she said, standing with her hands on her hips.
“I can’t disregard it all. What does this mean? Does it mean that I’m in hell?” he asked.
“Hell wouldn’t be a beautiful planet like this. I mean, sure everyone is gone, but it’s a beautiful place nonetheless. You just need to do some more research,” she said, walking over to him.
“But listen to this! ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.’ Or how about ‘The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light’. I saw the sky when I was taken to that place and it was bright, but there was no sun in the sky. You… She told me that there isn’t a sun. So why would my imagination create these things?”
“Hey, I never said you imagined these things. It sounded to me like the computer even told you that the woman you saw was real.”
“And you saw the devastation of the Earth. All the horrible events listed in Revelation – the darkening of the sky, the wildfires, the earthquakes – are all the same events that would follow a large comet or a meteor strike. The Bible predicted this and even named the ‘star’ that would fall.”
“Are you trying to convince me of something?” she asked, staring out the window, “The sun is coming up – or should I say Tau Ceti is coming up.”
He closed the Bible then stood up. He spun slowly and gaped at the bookshelves all around him. This spinning reminded him again of that joyous, beautiful lady from Earth. He longed for that summer day again when nothing seemed more important to her than just spinning.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” she asked, turning from the window and offering a curious gaze.
He stretched then yawned enormously.
“I think I’m going to do some more searching. I’d like to gather up whatever I can and bring it here,” he replied.
“Well, get dressed and let’s get moving.”
. . . . .
He was finally alone. The girl was nice company, but she only served to drive him deeper into his psychosis. He was still aware that she wasn’t real, but how long before that changed? How long before he sunk beyond the point of no return?
Skylar pushed on the wrought iron gate, but it wouldn’t budge. The grass was high around the bottom of the decorative gate and the hinges were badly rusted. He shoved harder and this time, the top hinge snapped. He jumped back as the gate fell to the ground before him.
He walked cautiously into the field that had been walled off from the community. It reminded him of a small wheat or barley field. He just found it odd that they would build a waist-high rock wall around it. Perhaps it was a safe place for the toddlers to run or maybe a kennel.
He walked a few feet beyond the gate and then stumbled over a hard object. He tumbled into the tall grass then twisted around and rubbed his shin in an attempt to ease the pain. He crawled back toward the object and pulled the grass aside.
It was a neatly carved gravestone that read “Warren – beloved husband of Doreen – Ephraim Year 102”.
“This is a graveyard,” he whispered to himself.
The name on the gravestone sounded familiar from something he discovered earlier this morning. He thought for a moment then shrugged off his backpack and set it between his legs. He unzipped it and pulled out the small duffle bag inside. He had spent the morning searching through more of the homes and discovered three objects of interest. One was a small wooden box filled with hand-carved spaceships, another was a weather almanac for Ephraim, and the last object was this blue duffle bag.
He opened the blue bag and sorted through the papers until he located the stapled packet. The papers were turning brown with age, but the quality of the paper stood the test of time. He set the packet on his lap and read the title at the top of the page again – “The History of the Planet Chaser and our first 85 years on Ephraim”
The fifteen-page composition was neatly typed and probably served as someone’s first draft. They had scribbled out a few lines in pen and jotted some notes in the sidelines. The writer remained anonymous, but Skylar believed the person to be related to this Warren on the gravestone. The duffle bag was full of papers belonging to Warren and Doreen as well as a few other people.
Under the bright mid-afternoon sun, Skylar started reading the story that would end fifteen pages later with the destruction of the Shark Colony.
. . . . .
Skylar returned to the library every evening before Tau Ceti settled on the horizon. He would refill the oil lamps and light at least three of them throughout the library. Then he would start a roaring fire the same way every night and either settle at a table with a Bible or curl up by the fire with some notebooks.
His nights passed in much the same way. Some mornings he would wake with Tiara wandering around the library, but oftentimes he found himself alone. He enjoyed the alone time, seeking it as a refuge from his faltering mind.
Almost two weeks
after arriving at Ephraim, Skylar took a journey out to the cliffs near the ocean. The sound of the surf below him was a welcome interruption into his life of silence. He crossed his arms and watched the two ships rocking next to the pier.
“The way I see it, the yacht mentioned in that colonial history is the one on the right. It looks oldest and it appears more hastily constructed than the other one,” she said, standing at the very edge of the cliff.
“Get away from…”
“I’m not real, remember?” she stated with a grin.
He stepped closer to the edge and looked down at the two ships. Both were very beautifully constructed for a colony without all the modern equipment of a shipyard on Earth.
“Maybe you’re right. The history notebook mentioned three propellers, so I guess it must have been pretty big,” he replied, turning his attention toward a cliff in the distance, “Did you see that building over there?”
He pointed to a two-story brick structure built on top of another cliff. The building’s domelike roof with a pole branching out of it resembled a typical Earth-based telescope.
“Are those shiny things all over the yard supposed to be solar panels?” she asked.
“I think so. They couldn’t very well mount them on the roof like on the other buildings,” Skylar replied.
He turned and started down the angled rock face. His companion followed behind, hollering for him to slow down.
“As I see it, that building is the weapon that shot down my ship,” he stated, climbing across the large boulders situated between the two cliffs.
“Is that the building that resembled a communication array?” she asked.
“The exact same one. I remember it being near the ocean. And don’t forget, they were communicating their threats to us, so I believe it originated right there.”
She nimbly made her way across the boulders and caught up with him on the grassy hill.
“Did you notice how none of those heavenly interruptions or apparitions have occurred on this planet? You were having them all the time on Earth,” she said.
He turned to her and paused. He nodded as he kicked a small rock down the hill.
“Yes. I think that’s because I was discovered.”
“By me?” she asked.
“No, and stop talking about yourself like you’re the woman I was talking to on Earth. That man who kicked me out of the reception… Jesus.”
She gasped. “You said it! You admitted what you really believe.”
He tried to ignore her as he turned and rushed up to the brick building. He pulled the ivy from the door then pushed it open. A light automatically came on in the small room. He found himself faced with two computer terminals and a lot of twisted machinery behind it.
The machines appeared to be built from spare parts. A humming sound warned him that everything was currently online. Wires were spliced together and odd shaped units were bolted to even crazier shaped units. Nothing was familiar to him.
“I think we found the weapon. And every bit of this is computer controlled,” she said, staring down at the scan notification on the computer screen.
He looked over her shoulder then nodded.
“They put together quite a defense system. It even continues to operate after the end of time,” he muttered.
“Funny you should say that,” she said, turning to him, “If Jesus came and renewed the Earth and all of the heavens, then why are we seeing what we are seeing? Know what I mean? How come you see the aftermath and the devastation?”
“I’ve actually thought of that. I couldn’t be in heaven - or the ‘renewed Earth’ because I never accepted the invitation. I wouldn’t be in hell because I’m not dead or judged. When it comes down to it, I think I stuck my nose where it wasn’t supposed to be and so here I am – the only man in the whole universe that doesn’t fit in. I’m sentenced to…” he said, spinning and holding his arms out, “the aftermath.”
“Forever?” she asked.
“Well, until I die. I stupidly forgot to bring anything to return me to my own time. The only way I can go back is if-”
7
In the near future
Skylar opened his eyes and peered at the wall in front of his face. It looked like he was inside of a coffin. Was he dead? Had he been sleeping? When did he fall asleep?
“Skylar?” a woman’s voice called.
“Tiara?” he whispered, closing his eyes again, “I’m so tired.”
Suddenly two hands wrapped around his ankles and pulled him downward and out of the coffin. He was now staring at an unfamiliar ceiling in a painfully bright room.
“Skylar, it’s me. It’s Gina, your sister,” she said, grabbing his chin and turning him to face her.
He stared in confusion as two more men approached behind her. It seemed like forever since he had last seen her, though she didn’t age a single day.
“Gina?” he repeated, feeling his eyes suddenly fill with tears.
He sat up and threw his arms around her.
“It’s been so long!” he sobbed, shuddering in her arms, “Talk to me Gina. I need to talk to someone and hear your voice.”
“Skylar, it’s Saturday. You just called me last night and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but I called Baker and told him what you said. I was afraid that-”
“It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. I would have been stuck there forever,” he cried, finally looking at the two men behind her.
Derek Baker was his friend as well as being the co-founder of the flaw that prevented forward time travel. He had been transferred to another project many years ago… no… he had been transferred just last month, but they still kept in contact. The other person in the room was Captain Reese who was in charge of all time travel activities. He was also the only one in the room wearing an angry scowl.
“I take it the program didn’t work as planned?” the Captain asked.
Skylar broke free from Gina’s embrace and stepped off of the table. He shook his head, wiped the tears from his eyes, then stared down at the floor.
“How much time did you experience?” Baker asked, “Was the exchange percentage what we expected?”
A security guard entered the room followed by Julie from the medical building.
“I was gone almost 14 years by my reckoning. It was… it was horrible,” Skylar said.
“Well, now you have broken the law. You’ve also made an unauthorized trip into the future which in itself carries a stiff penalty,” the Captain stated, “You will be-”
“Captain, if I may?” Julie interrupted, “I’ve been contacted by the Colonel to take him to the hospital for evaluation and questioning. Mr. Rains is to talk to no one by order of the Chronological Transport Law and he is to be quarantined until a complete evaluation has been performed.”
“This man is under my-”
“Are you looking into breaking some laws also, Captain?” she interrupted again, “Please step over here Mr. Rains. I’m sorry, but you will be treated as a prisoner until you go before a judge.”
“I’m so sorry, Skylar,” Gina whined.
“No, Gina. You saved my life. Thank you,” he replied, “You saved-”
“You must remain silent, Mr. Rains. Everything you experienced is strictly confidential under CT Law,” Julie reminded him.
He offered a sincere and forgiving smile to Gina as the handcuffs were snapped onto his wrists. She continued to cry as he was led out of the room.
. . . . .
His cell was surprisingly bland and claustrophobic. He had expected a barred door or perhaps a barred window. Instead, the room had no windows with the exception of the small one imbedded into the solid white door.
As required by law, he indeed hadn’t spoken to anyone and no opportunities arose anyway. For at least two hours, he remained locked in the cell. And for the past hour, he made it known that he needed to speak to a doctor. He shouted, banged, and screamed as often as his voice would permit.
Finally a male
voice told him to be quiet. The person also told him that a doctor would be with him shortly. He sat down on his cot and put his head between his legs. He closed his eyes and tried to block out his surroundings.
The lock on the door clicked, followed by the sound of it opening.
“Skylar Rains?” the man asked.
“That’s me,” he replied, keeping his head between his knees, “Please don’t leave me alone, sir. I can’t be alone anymore. Please. That’s my only request.”
Skylar looked up at the man when no response came. He discovered an older gentleman in a white coat. He was writing something on a clipboard.
“Follow me, Mr. Rains. We’ll go into my office and talk there,” he said.
Skylar stood up and followed the doctor out of the room. He glanced down the hall, searching for guards or someone who would place him in handcuffs. Instead, he was surprised to discover that he could walk freely next to the doctor. There were no cuffs placed on his hands and no guard following close by.
“Are you a doctor?” Skylar asked.
“Yes. I’m here to evaluate you and to discuss what you had been through. I hear that you experienced almost 14 years in a foreign environment.”
Skylar cocked an eyebrow as he looked over at the doctor. The doctor glanced at him and smiled.
“Yes, I’m familiar with the time travel. For paperwork purposes, it is listed as a foreign environment,” he stated, “Come on in to my office.”
Event Horizon Page 21
