The Long Way Home

by Phoenix Hays

  “What truth?” Patrick asked.

  Richard’s cold stare moved from Duke to Patrick.

  “How much clearer does it need to be? God sent a string of asteroids to destroy us, and this idiot wants to tell us that God’s decision is invalid. Seriously? It’s time to end this.”

  “Wait. You were the one feeding information to the Fatalists?”

  “It wasn’t just me. Stalk was working with me until that volunteer shot him.”

  Richard began to turn the gun toward Patrick. Patrick stepped forward and quickly swung one arm up in sweeping motion, knocking Richard’s gun hand upward. The security chief fired again.

  Bang!

  Dust and small particles fell from the ceiling as the round harmlessly buried itself there.

  Patrick swung his other arm around and connected with Richard’s left temple. The blow knocked the man unconscious and he slumped to the floor.

  Patrick turned and rushed to Duke’s side. With his help, Duke slid down to sit on the steps.

  “The... kids...”

  “What?”

  “I’m not... making the trip... now,” Duke said. “The kids... Take them in... my place.”

  “Duke, we can fix this.”

  “No,” Duke said and smiled through a cough. “We can’t.”

  He reached up and lifted his jacket to reveal blood spreading across the front of his shirt.

  “Hurry,” Duke said. “Take his gun... Go find the kids... and get to the shuttle.”

  “We’ll never forget you, Duke,” Patrick said, standing up.

  Duke closed his eyes and smiled slightly.

  Patrick turned back to where Richard was laying and took the gun from his hand. He headed off in the direction of the gym.

  CHAPTER 82

  Joe and Ayrin stood at the edge of the triage center that had overtaken the gym. Mary sat next to Victor’s cot while nursing staff worked on him. Her shoulders trembled and the look on the nurses’ faces was not reassuring.

  “Joseph!”

  Joe turned toward the voice. “Patrick? What are you doing here?”

  Lilly was standing behind Patrick.

  “I need to talk to your parents. Where are they?”

  Both Ayrin and Joe pointed to the cot where Victor was laying.

  Patrick’s shoulders dropped and his face darkened. “I see. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  Patrick walked over to Mary and began talking to her.

  “What’s going on, Lilly?”

  “Patrick said we can ride on the shuttle. We can go to Sanctuary,” Lilly said.

  Joe looked back to Patrick and his mother. The woman motioned, beckoning to come over.

  Ayrin, Joe, and Lilly walked up to them.

  “You’re serious?” Mary asked, looking up at Patrick.

  “I am,” Patrick said. “Some things changed and I can take the kids with me. Lilly’s parents already gave the OK. Say the word, and they’ll be joining us to go to Sanctuary.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Yes,” Victor groaned, partially sitting up. “The answer is yes.” He grimaced, showing his teeth.

  “I’m not leaving you!” Joe said, running to his father.

  “You have to go,” Victor said. “This whole journey was about doing the right thing. You need to go. If doing all this means you kids can live, it was worth it.” The man winced again. “Remember the good times. Always do the right thing. We love you. Go. Now.”

  “But—”

  “No buts,” Mary said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “Listen to your father.”

  Joe grabbed his mother with a hug and squeezed. His eyes were pinched tight and he sniffled.

  Mary shifted to her side, allowing Victor’s arm to reach them. He grunted from the pain of the effort to give the hug.

  Ayrin reached her hand out to console the boy but stopped just shy of his shoulder. A tear rolled down her face.

  “We have to go,” Patrick said, his eyebrows were low and his face muscles tightened.

  Joe took his hands and wiped his eyes. He smiled at his parents sadly. He and Ayrin joined Lilly as they followed Patrick through the crowd. Joe looked back one last time to see his parents smiling at him.

  After hurrying through Site B’s interior, the group reached a door at the end of a short hall. Patrick opened it with his ID and ushered the kids inside. Inside the small room was a black SUV and the quickly got into it. As soon as the last door shut, the vehicle’s engine started and it drove through the garage door in front of it and into the silo of one of the previously launched ATS rockets.

  “Buckle up, everybody,” Patrick said.

  The SUV lifted off the ground, angled up and rose out of the silo. It raced over Site B and past one of the attack sites from earlier in the evening. Smoke rose from fires still ablaze from the attack. Hundreds of Fatalists meandered around in the field without a clear enemy to attack. Seeing the flying SUV, they began shouting. One of the remaining Fatalists raised a rifle and tried taking shots at them. Few rounds found their target but the ones that did pinged harmlessly against the reinforced vehicle.

  The SUV flew across the field the Bayhams had managed to escape and left Site B behind. A short ride later, the vehicle descended and landed near a large airplane hangar. It drove through the empty parking lot toward the building. Patrick pushed a button and huge doors at the front of the hangar pulled apart far enough to create a pitch-black opening that the car could enter. The SUV disappeared inside and the doors began to shut.

  Joe blinked. “What is this place?”

  As their eyes adjusted, a ramp angling downward came into view, and the SUV traveled down it. Metal walls transitioned to rock and dirt. Yellow safety lights placed at regular intervals provided glimpses of the path ahead of them. After a minute of traveling, the vehicle leveled off and the SUV entered a cavernous room. Ahead of them was a sea of similar vehicles.

  Lilly leaned forward in her seat. “Whoa. Look at that.”

  “Let’s go,” Patrick said as the vehicle came to a stop at the edge of the makeshift parking lot.

  They got out and stared slack jawed at the craft in front of them.

  A massive green cargo plane was parked there. On top of it was a sleek-looking white space craft. Its thin, swept wings flowed seamlessly from the curved fuselage. Two rows of windows ran along the side and the Space Vision logo was visible on the undersized vertical stabilizer near the rear of the plane. Another matching pair of craft were parked behind them. High pitched engine whine filled the room with the promise of an upcoming takeoff.

  “I heard we had some late arrivals,” a woman’s voice said from behind them.

  They turned toward the voice to see a woman with straight black hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a light blue button down shirt that had navy and white striped badges on the shoulders. Her navy pants stopped right at the top of her shiny black shoes.

  “I’m Captain Betsy Thatcher,” she said. “Let’s get you on board.”

  Captain Thatcher led them to a staircase next to the cargo plane and ushered them ahead. She followed the group up the steps to the airliner’s door.

  “You’ll want to head to the back and up the ramp to the shuttle. I’ll be joining you after takeoff.”

  After reaching the top of the ramp, Patrick ushered the kids through a door and into the shuttle. They passed rows and rows of Space Vision staff and found a row with two empty seats. Patrick had Joe and Lilly share one. He sat in the other. Ayrin slid past a person sitting in the row behind them. Nervous whispers filled the passenger cabin.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Captain Thatcher’s voice came in over the intercom. “We are about to complete the Ascent To Sanctuary project with the launch of these two passenger vessels. It is my unfortunate responsibility to inform you that Duke will not be joining us due to an unforeseen accident.”

  Several people gasped at the news. Joe heard a woman ask “What happened?” and a man ans
wering with “I don’t know.” A murmur rolled through the passenger cabin as similar conversations were occurring.

  “Let’s make him proud,” Captain Thatcher said.

  They felt the lurch of the airliner moving forward. It made the slow journey up the ramp. Joe and Lilly looked out the window of the ship and saw the other pair of craft begin to follow.

  Ayrin pointed further up the ramp. “Look!”

  An access door in the wall had swung open and people began streaming into the cavern. Many were wearing Fatalist masks. They ran toward the taxiing aircraft but failed to get in front of the shuttles. Most were screaming while some threw rocks and bricks as they chased the craft up the ramp.

  Joe looked at the man sitting beside them. “Mr. Weaver?”

  “We’ll be OK, kids. Come away from the window.”

  Joe ignored him and leaned closer. Lilly did too.

  The swept design of the craft allowed them to see further up the ramp.

  “Patrick, there’s a man up there!”

  Patrick joined the two children next to the window and saw a single Fatalist standing near the wall. The masked man pointed at the craft nearing the top of the ramp and turned to slap a panel next to him.

  “If you’re not already,” Captain Thatcher said over the cabin speaker, “get in your seats and buckle up.”

  “Oh, no,” Patrick said.

  Ahead of the aircraft, the hangar doors that had been completely open started sliding shut.

  “Is that dad?” Joe asked.

  Patrick scanned the ramp and walls slowly scrolling past the window.

  “Where?”

  “There,” Ayrin said, pointing.

  Victor Bayham was leaning against the wall near the front of the hangar. He held his side with one arm while the other held a large axe.

  “What are you doing, Victor?” Patrick asked.

  Victor strained to heft the axe and swung it, hitting a metal box on the wall next to him. Sparks flew and fell to the ground. He dropped the axe and swung the door of the box open. Victor stepped forward and grabbed a bar inside the box and pulled it backward.

  Grinding to a stop, the hangar doors paused their progress.

  The shuttle accelerated pushing Joe, Lilly and the other passengers back into their seats. Patrick leaned over and fumbled the harness behind Joe and Lilly, pulled the straps across the kids and secured the buckle in front of them.

  Patrick leaned over to look out of the window again. The Fatalists were streaming toward Victor at the front of the hangar. Victor was still straining against the bar.

  “Victor, you have to get out of there.”

  Just before exiting the hangar, they lost sight of Victor in the mass of people and the doors began to close again. Joe covered his hands with his face and stifled a sob.

  Jet engines below the shuttle spun up, their whine began to climb into a grumble and then a dull roar. The cargo plane accelerated down the runway.

  “Those people are crazy,” Ayrin said, staring at the Fatalists.

  Joe wiped the tears from his face and looked out the window. “What are they doing?” he asked, pointing toward the area near the end of the runway.

  “I can’t see, Joe,” Patrick said.

  A group of people were running across the field toward the pavement.

  Another acceleration pushed Ayrin, Lilly, Joe, and Patrick’s heads back into their seats. As the craft angled up and into the sky, Joe strained to look out the window. The people still running toward the tarmac were screaming maniacally.

  After increasing altitude for a few minutes, the plane leveled off.

  “Did the other plane make it, Patrick?” Joe asked, his brows were bumped together in a frown.

  “I don’t know. I hope so.”

  Captain Thatcher climbed into the shuttle through the access hatch.

  “Please stay in your seats, everyone,” she said, walking toward the front of the ship. “We’ll be separating from the plane momentarily.”

  She disappeared through the door at the front of the cabin.

  “Initiating separation in five,” she said over the speaker.

  Joe tried to count down with the fingers on his hand. When his last finger closed, the craft lurched and they were pushed down into their seats. The lights in the cabin dimmed as the shuttle accelerated and angled upward.

  The window next to Joe was already black from the nighttime sky so it was hard to tell when they actually reached space but he noticed that the number of visible stars grew until he was looking at a star field like he had never seen before. It looked like thousands of small diamonds laying on a black cloth.

  “I wish my parents were here,” he said.

  “Mine, too,” Lilly said. She reached over and took his hand in hers.

  CHAPTER 83

  Joe felt the force pushing him against the seat lessen. His stomach rose and he lifted a hand to his mouth. Nervous laughter and talk filled the cabin. He looked over to Patrick and saw the cross on the man’s necklace floating just below his face.

  “Are you OK, Joe?” Lilly asked.

  “Patrick, I don’t feel good,” Joe said.

  Patrick looked over at Joe’s green face.

  “Hang on,” he said, reaching into the bag attached to the seat in front of him. “I remember Victoria talking about the effects of weightlessness.”

  He pulled a bottle and a pouch from the bag. “Take one of these.” He held a pill out so that Joe could take it.

  Joe pinched the pill between his thumb and index finger, placed it on his tongue and closed his mouth.

  “OK. This is a drink pouch. Put the corner of it in your mouth and squeeze with your hand to take a drink.”

  Joe took the pouch and accidentally forced some of the water out. Two circular blobs floated up and away from Joe. Lilly and Ayrin stared in wonder at the odd sight.

  “Careful,” Patrick said, smiling. He reached up with his hand and did his best to catch them and wiped his hand on his jeans.

  Ayrin looked around the cabin and recognized many of the people seated around them from their time at Site B. Many had worried looks and nervously whispered to each other with wide eyes. There were quite a few people embracing each other in tearful hugs.

  “Look over there!” A man shouted from across the aisle. He pointed out the window next to him.

  People in the window seats turned, put their hands on either side of the windows, and looked out into space. As they caught sight of what had his attention, excited discussion rippled along the right side of the cabin.

  “What’s happening?” Joe asked.

  “I heard someone say ‘they made it.’ What does that mean?” Ayrin asked.

  Patrick looked at the kids with a question mark on his face. He scanned the people around them and stopped when he saw the man sitting in the seat across the aisle and one row in front of them.

  “Clarence? Is that you?”

  Clarence craned his neck around and smiled.

  “Patrick! I’m so glad to see you!”

  “You, too! What’s everyone so excited about?”

  “The other shuttle. It just caught up with us!”

  “Did you hear that?” Patrick asked, turning toward the kids.

  They smiled at the news, but the sadness never left their eyes.

  “Attention, everyone,” Captain Thatcher’s voice filled the cabin again. “Now that the Orville has caught up with us, we will be initiating the docking sequence with Sanctuary. Do not unbuckle your harnesses until I give you the all clear.”

  “We’re turning!” Lilly said, pointing out the window.

  They all looked out the window on their left to see the stars rotating downward. Joe felt a wave of nausea pass over him again and covered his eyes. He tried to hold his breath to keep from throwing up.

  After a moment, Patrick put his hand on Joe’s shoulder.

  “It’s OK,” he said. “It’s stopped and you probably should see this.”


  Joe uncovered one eye and then the other. He blinked twice.

  In the top corner of their window, he saw the silver and gray ship he immediately recognized as Sanctuary. The ship’s rings around the collection of Odyssey rockets were exactly like the hologram Joe saw in Duke’s dining room. Running lights were placed around the outer edge of the largest ring. The central spire and smaller rings were illuminated by more lights on the inside of the large ring. As the shuttle got closer, Joe could only see the back quarter of Sanctuary through the window in their row.

  “It looks just like what Adam showed us,” Joe said. His mouth hung open as he watched Sanctuary grow larger.

  “This is amazing,” Ayrin said. Her eyebrows were raised and her hand covered her mouth.

  Within seconds, their shuttle was moving along Sanctuary’s central spire. They felt light in their seats, a sign that the shuttle was slowing down. The inner wall of the largest ring began to fill their window as it arched down and away from them. Running lights shined off of the shuttle windows, creating a blinding glare.

  Joe and Lilly shielded their eyes with their hands, still trying to see the spaceship.

  “Look over here,” Patrick said, turning on the monitor embedded into the seat in front of him. “This is actually something I worked on. He tapped a command into the monitor.

  A wire frame schematic of Sanctuary flickered into view. He touched the screen and an outline of their shuttle glowed blue. It flew past the smallest ring near the central spire and then past a larger ring where the Odyssey rockets were docked.

  They felt light in their seats again as the outline slowed, approaching a larger ring. The shuttle’s outline stopped and they felt thumps through their seats followed by clunking noises, confirming Wilbur had docked with Sanctuary. A green outline showed the position of Orville. This outline moved to the opposite side of the massive craft and disappeared from view.

  Patrick touched the screen with his finger and rolled the schematic to bring the Orville back into view. Following a similar path along the central spire and past the first two inner rings like its twin, it docked with Sanctuary.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Captain Thatcher said. “Congratulations. You are all witnesses to the completed Ascent project. Stand by as we deploy solar sails and fire the ion drive engine.”