The Expanding Universe

by Craig Martelle

  I shake my head. “Dad thinks Willow will come tomorrow. He’s been fighting with Mom; she wants to come home tonight and go back tomorrow. The doctors won’t let her.”

  “I don’t blame her. I hate hospitals. That’s one reason I’m not going to have kids, and because there is no way I’m going to get fat.” She waves her slim finger.

  “She’s not fat, she’s pregnant.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Chairs squeak on the tiled floor as my friends prepare to leave. I’ve been surrounded all evening yet I feel alone, and empty at the thought of going home.

  “Happy birthday, Brooke,” my friends say, and hug me as they leave.

  “Are you not leaving?” Jessica asks as I sit back down.

  “Just waiting for my leftover food box.”

  A yawn escapes Jessica’s lips. “Sorry,” she says.

  “Don’t worry. You head home.”

  “Are you sure?” I see Jessica’s ride waiting by the door.

  “Of course. See you tomorrow.”

  Jessica and I hug, then she leaves.

  I scroll through my phone and open a message from Dad. Willow didn’t arrive yet. Dad hopes I’m having fun. There are other messages from my friends.

  A bag with a box of food is placed in front of me. “Thank you; is there a knife and fork in there?”

  “Yes,” says the waitress as she leaves.

  I gather up the leftover bread and place it in my bag. Nice dinner.

  I grab my belongings and an unopened water bottle I’d ordered earlier and head out of the restaurant.

  When I get outside it’s already dark with a chill in the air. It’s a good thing Mom’s not home.

  The brake lights of my friends’ cars glow red as they leave the parking lot. Alone in the parking lot, I hurry over to my car, carefully placing the food on the passenger seat.

  As I turn the engine on, all the street lights go off, and the restaurant lights as well. Dammit—my car goes dead. What the hell is going on!

  I turn the key again, but nothing.

  How can a power outage affect my car?

  I watch the street lights, waiting for them to turn on, but they don’t. This is just weird.

  People start to pile out of the restaurant. I can just make out puzzled looks on their faces.

  “What’s going on?” I ask them, abandoning my car.

  “Power outage,” one of them says, then goes back to speaking to her friend.

  “But my car’s not working,” I say, but it falls on deaf ears.

  I go back to my car and try the engine again. I really have to get home, Paige is going to worry, and she may end up telling Grandad. Home’s only a thirty-minute walk; I could get the car tomorrow.

  I grab the food and lock the car.

  People are still standing around the entrance. Waiters are holding flashlights, informing the customers that the lights will be back on soon. I always like it when people say ‘soon.’ How long is soon? Soon could be five minutes for one person and 24 hours to someone else. How do they really know how long it will be, unless they have control, and they turned it off? Which isn’t likely, because as far as I can see the street lights are off.

  Great, I’ve got to walk home in the dark. Even though my town is pretty safe, I don’t feel that safe. I turn the flashlight button on my phone on, and pick up my pace, which is now a cross between walking and running. The bag of food swings as I move quickly along the sidewalk.

  I glance over my shoulder, and in the distance I can see that the restaurant lights have flicked back on. It’s like they did it on purpose! It would take me as much time to get back to the restaurant as it would to walk home. Well maybe it’ll take longer to walk home, but I’ll get to Anna quicker, and if she’s out tonight she’ll no doubt be hungry. Poor kid is always hungry.

  Street lights start to flick back on; at least I won’t have to walk home in the dark.

  I turn left down Main Street, and there she is, little Anna. As always, she is sitting on the bench under the street light.

  “Hey, Anna,” I say as I approach, not wanting to scare her. Part of me was hoping I wouldn’t see her tonight.

  A smile wraps around her face—not at me though, at the bag in my hand.

  “I’ve got your favorite,” I say, passing her the bag.

  “What is it?” she asks as she opens the bag and shoves bread into her mouth.

  “Roast chicken and all the trimmings.”

  “What? Like a Thanksgiving dinner?” Bread crumbs fly out of her mouth; she holds the bag of food closely to her chest.

  “Yes.”

  “Boy, Brooke, it’s a full portion. Did you eat any?” She gingerly holds the open tray towards me, hoping I don’t want to share.

  “I’m good. Portion sizes at Marco’s are big enough to feed a family.”

  Anna lowers her head at the word family.

  “My mom’s gone into labor. Willow should be here tomorrow,” I quickly say, trying to distract Anna.

  “On your birthday? Sorry, I forgot to say happy birthday.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Your mom told me.”

  “How long have you been outside?”

  “Just a few hours.”

  “When can you go home?”

  Anna shrugs her shoulders. “Soon.” There’s that word again, ‘soon.’ Anna always says that since the day I found her sobbing on this bench after running away from an argument at her home. She’s safer out here than in there.

  My phone rings.

  It’s the home phone—has Mom had the baby? “Hello?”

  “Hey, Brooke, it’s Grandad,” he says, like I wouldn’t be able to tell by his voice. “When will you be home? I know you’re out with your friends. Just your dad asked me to check and …”

  “And?”

  “And Paige won’t go to bed until you’re home, something about being scared of the shadows. I thought she would have grown out of that by now.” Grandad whispers the last part.

  “I heard that!” Paige yells in the background. “Brooke, I want to go to bed,” she pleads.

  “Tell her I’ll be home soon,” I say and hang up.

  Anna looks at me soberly, then plasters a fake smile on her face, as if to try to make me feel less guilty.

  “Thanks for the food,” Anna says, getting to her feet.

  “I thought you said you’ll go home soon?”

  “Soon is now.”

  Chapter Seven

  Anna heads home and I do the same. I hate to think what she’s going back to.

  When I told Mom about Anna’s living conditions, she did everything she could to get Anna into a safe home. I’m not sure what good that did, since Anna denied everything. After that, Mom thought it was best that we became her guardian angels, of sorts. We made sure she had food, and was warm. She refused to accept any other gifts, telling us her parents wouldn’t allow it, and they’d ask her questions.

  Anna wasn’t scared of her parents, she was terrified of them, yet she still cared for them. Just as I care for my family, talking of which, I’d better get home before Paige says anything else to Grandad.

  I sprint the last part, turn down one street and then the next, then down a back street behind some stores.

  Then I stop in my tracks.

  At the end of the street, only meters away from me, is the man I saw in the field by the school, with the golden aura around him.

  I quickly look over my shoulder; the same man is also standing there. There are two identical men at each end of my path. I’ve got nowhere to go.

  “We mean you no harm, Brooke,” the man blocking my path says in a deep, eerie tone.

  “How do you know my name?”

  “Your mother informed us.”

  “You know my mother?”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s been protecting you for us.”

  I scowl at him, and walk towards him nervously. I wrap my fingers around my c
ar keys.

  “Protecting me from what?”

  “The Tide.”

  “The Tide?”

  As I get closer to the man, I can see the pureness of his skin, unscarred like a baby. His hands are calmly held together, like he’s about to pray.

  I move closer to the wall. He doesn’t move; neither of them do.

  “We are here to make sure you have a safe passage home—where you have to make your decision.”

  I edge around him.

  “What decision?”

  “To let The Tide take you or come with us.”

  I lean back. “I’m not going with either of you!”

  “Then The Tide will take both of you.”

  “No one is taking anyone!” I yell, sprinting towards my house.

  I look back as I get to the front door and the men are gone. Weirdos!

  Quickly I get inside my home and lock my front door. The house is eerily quiet—Grandad must have gotten Paige to bed.

  My thought was correct—they have gone to bed. It’s eleven o’clock, and the presents are still on the kitchen table. I will open them when my parents get back from the hospital. All I want to do now is crash in my bed.

  I gingerly open my bedroom door. Paige is asleep, hugging her teddy tightly.

  What if those weirdos were right, and Mom has been right all this time? And it wasn’t my worn-out mind playing tricks on me. Are our lives really in danger?

  I pour the glass of water which I was planning to drink across the threshold of our room, making sure I don’t miss a part like Mom did last night. I save a bit of it and pour it across the windowsill. I feel crazy doing it, yet at the same time it’s reassuring.

  Once I’m all done, I fling my leather jacket over my chair and put on my sleeping clothes and crawl into bed, as I’m worn out from the day.

  My eyes are heavy as I watch the red numbers flick to the next number. I hold my breath as it gets to twelve, which is the time something came yesterday, but nothing comes; the house is silent.

  I allow myself to fall asleep.

  “Stay silent or you will wake Paige. It’s time to make your decision,” a voice says, waking me from my sleep. The weird man is in my room. It’s like there is an invisible circle around him, stopping The Tide from touching him. Somehow he puts me at ease.

  “Who are you?”

  “A Watcher.”

  I’m standing in the middle of my bedroom, and a black mass of tiny atoms is coiled around my ankles, like quicksand.

  I try to free myself from The Tide, but the force grows stronger as it rises up my legs, pulling me towards the door.

  The water didn’t work; it didn’t stop it from coming into our room. I poured it too early, it must have dried up.

  The Tide has left Paige alone as it swirls around me; she’s safe for now. I’m not.

  “Help me.”

  “Once you choose.” When he speaks it’s like everything freezes.

  “I can’t leave Paige; I don’t want to leave my family.”

  “You will have no family if you stay. Each second you spend here puts her life in danger. You are a beacon for The Tide; it will take everything that stands in its way.”

  I grip hold of the doorframe, trying to stop The Tide from taking me. As I do I get a glimpse of my reflection in the window. I have a golden aura glowing around me like the man in my room. I am a beacon.

  “Where will you take me?”

  “May I?” asks the Watcher, as he rests his hand over mine. “I will show you.”

  “Yes.”

  Warmth washes over my body as soon as his hand touches me. I feel like his radiating golden glow is pouring into me. Filling me with hope.

  Images of people swirl past me; they are smiling, they are happy.

  “Welcome, Brooke,” a lady dressed all in white says, “I’m your guide. Today your eyes have been opened to life beyond your world. To help your world and other planets.”

  “What?”

  “Our time is limited. Come with me.” She takes my hand, and with a blink of my eyes, we are somewhere else.

  I catch sight of a hunched figure and I know it’s Anna. She’s on her bench. Blood is dripping from her nose as she stares out blankly.

  “Anna, what happened?” What have her parents done to her? I hurry to her. Anna doesn’t answer me. She looks older, no longer the child on the bench; she looks right through me.

  “What’s happening?” I ask my guide.

  “The Tide has come to take over your planet.”

  “What’s The Tide going to do?”

  “They will release a virus that will kill half of your planet. Then they will infect others with The Tide and use them as their slaves. To do the tasks they can’t. Your species will no longer be free to live on earth.”

  “You have to stop it.”

  “We can’t. That’s not our role.”

  “What? What’s your role then?”

  She turns me in another direction. It’s full of cornfields blowing in the gentle breeze.

  “It can’t be …” There are two moons in the sky. “Where are we?”

  “Your new home.” I step back, confused.

  “We need you to help find other like you and rebuild your planet here.”

  “Why can’t we just stop The Tide?”

  “Because we are Watchers. We can’t get involved.”

  “Isn’t you filling this planet with people from earth getting involved?”

  My guide smiles. “We are preserving your species.”

  “Our species?”

  She nods. “You get to start again.” Her hand brushes over the top of the corn. “Everything you need will be here. Would you like this to be your home?”

  “Yes,” I say without thinking.

  “Very good.”

  “But my family, my friends?”

  “You will be able to bring them here when they are ready.”

  “Why not now?”

  “They aren’t ready.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without them.”

  “That is your choice. If you elect to wait, you and your family will never make it here.”

  “Why not?”

  “The Tide will take Paige, Willow and yourself.”

  “I don’t get it, why can’t you rescue us now?”

  “The golden aura hasn’t appeared on your younger siblings. They need that to be able to live here; it’s part of their transformation into the next wave of your species.”

  “If I come with you now, will they be safe?” I gulp.

  “Yes. The Tide will flow to the other golden auras when you leave. They are attracted to you.”

  “Will it come back when the golden aura appears in my sisters?”

  “Yes. Your mother will watch over them as she did with you until you return. To bring them home,” she says, waving her hand. The alien sun beams gently down, making the field glow.

  “It’s time for you to make the decision.”

  “No, I’ve got more questions.” Her hand releases mine.

  I’m standing outside my home and The Tide has a tight grip on me. It’s suffocating me.

  “What is your choice?” the Watcher asks.

  I try to fight with The Tide, but it makes it worse. The air is being squeezed from my lungs and the black atoms race up my body.

  I have no choice.

  “I will go with you.”

  The Watcher steps towards me, and the atoms drop to the ground, releasing me from their suffocating grip.

  “Take my hand.”

  “Can I say goodbye?”

  Epilogue

  “Willow.” I gently stroke my little sister’s chubby cheeks. I put my finger in her hand, and her tiny fingers close around it. She’s strong, just like her big sister. Her grip loosens.

  “See you soon.” I kiss her forehead.

  “Mom,” I whisper, trying to wake her and not startle her at the same time.

  “Brooke?” she croaks. �
�What are you doing here? Oh …” Sadness fills her eyes.

  “Don’t look sad, Mom,” I say, stroking her hand. “They said I will be back soon.”

  “I knew you would make the right decision. Still, it’s hard,” she sighs. “Have they told you what you will be doing?”

  “Yes,” I say, excited.

  Mom’s face brightens up. She places her hand on her heart. “My daughter will prepare a new world for us.” She looks over at Willow’s crib.

  “They said I can’t visit until—”

  “The day The Tide comes,” Mom whispers, as if to hide a secret.

  “Yes. Until that day.” I place my hand on top of my mom’s. “Keep Paige and Willow safe for me till I return.”

  The Watcher enters the room. “It’s time to leave.”

  “Thank you for keeping me safe all these years. Sorry for not believing you.”

  “I didn’t believe Grandma when she told me either.” Mom winks.

  “Watcher?”

  “Yes.”

  “Watch over my daughter.”

  More About H.J. Lawson

  HJ Lawson is an English author who currently resides in New York. When she's not writing, she spends her time watching movies and hanging out with her family. She is the author of the following young adult books: The War Kids Serie, The Sanction Serie, Infinite Time and Hidden Vampire Slayer Serie. See her Amazon Author Page for more.

  Genre: Genetic Engineering

  Sequence - Origins of the Gemini Project

  by E.R. Starling

  Science fiction is hailed in modern terms as a genre where the improbable is made possible; whereas fantasy attracts attention as a genre where the impossible is made probable. As a combination of the two, Sci-Fi-Fantasy gives a scientific veneer of realism to things that simply could not happen in the real world.

  Interestingly enough this series, like the genre it has found a home in, is also build with a recurring theme of duality. Sequence will not appeal to readers of Hard Sci-Fi or Science Realism. But for readers who enjoy the mystical and metaphysical side of science fiction, this is certainly the place for you.

  Chapter 1

  The soothing ripple of sound, the hum of machines saturated the air. Unfortunately, even the comfort of the faded neon blue lights and drone of the lab technology could do little to ease the tension that hung in the atmosphere.