Empty Planet

by Lynette Sloane

  “One more thing old man,” Anna added cheekily.

  “What’s that?”

  “When we married, you were eighteen months older than me. You’ve been here for three years, so that makes you nearly twenty-eight … but I’m still twenty-three,” she said laughing.

  Chapter 25

  I had ever been so happy. I was living in a log cabin with my daughter, reunited with the wife I loved more than life, and now she was giving me a son.

  Anna looked at me, “Steve?”

  “Yes Sweetie?”

  “It’s getting light.”

  I turned and looked through the window behind me. Anna was right. I could just make out the pine trees against the early dawn sky. We had been talking all night. Exhausted, she walked back to bed, got in and fell straight to sleep.

  I was far too excited to sleep so I walked over to the aluminium chest Dad and Zee had sent through the vortex. It opened easily. Inside were Anna’s clothes and some smaller aluminium cases, each neatly labelled. The top one read, medical research. I knew Jumpers didn’t get ill but they might require medical care during childbirth or in the case of accidents. Equally there was the possibility of us finding a native population who might be in need of medical knowledge and provisions.

  Some of the other boxes were only labelled with names. This chest obviously contained extra things that Section considered we might need. Suddenly feeling very tired, I joined Anna in bed. The boxes would have to wait until the morning for distribution.

  I hadn’t been asleep long when I was awakened by a gentle knock on the door. I reluctantly got out of bed and pulled on some jeans. Everyone secured their homes at night, not because they mistrusted the other Jumpers, but because there was always the possibility that some as yet undiscovered native population might find our settlements. I unbolted and opened the door letting in the cool, early morning air.

  Carla, the spokesperson for our settlement—Pinewood Heights—stood outside the doorway. “Can I come in,” she asked.

  “Oh yea, sorry. Didn’t mean to leave you out there.”

  Carla walked in, her eyes fixed on the aluminium trunk.

  “I know it’s early but I couldn’t wait any longer. Have you opened the trunk yet?”

  “I had a peep inside last night,” I admitted. We kept our voices low so we didn’t wake Anna. Lillie however, was a different matter. She bounded off her bed and ran into the room throwing her arms around Carla, excitedly calling out, “Auntie Carla.”

  “Sssh, you’ll wake Mummy,” said Carla.

  Lillie looked back to where her Mum still slept peaceably. The little girl wasn’t certain of her yet and made no comment.

  “Can I play out ’til you make breakfast Daddy?”

  “Ok, but stay by the cabin and don’t wander into the woods.” Lillie shrieked with happiness and ran out of the door.

  “Every day’s an adventure when you’re that age,” Carla commented.

  Carla and I walked over to the chest. I opened the lid and lifted out Anna’s clothing and shoes so we could get to the other boxes more easily. Carla said she would send some of the others over to collect and distribute the items to the appropriate people.

  “I’m glad there’s several medical boxes,” she said lifting them out and examining them, “and there’s quite a lot of scientific literature. I used to miss modern day conveniences like the dishwasher, car, washing machine, computer and television, but I hardly think of them anymore. If I had the choice I wouldn’t go back to living that way. I love my life as it is now.” I agreed wholeheartedly.

  The last box, about the size of a shoebox, was labelled “Steve Blakely.”

  “You want me to leave while you open it?” Carla asked.

  “No, it’s all right.”

  I carried it over to the table and sat down. Inside was a personal letter from Dad and two large folded maps of our area. I decided to save the letter for later so I could savour every last word without interruption.

  Also in the box, underneath the maps, was an envelope with ‘family pics’ written on the front. It contained several photographs of Dad, my mother, George, David, Charlie and me as children, and a larger photograph of Anna and me taken as we left the church on our wedding day. The photos brought out a mixture of emotions and memories of happy and sad times, of time spent with my family, and of my mother’s untimely death. It was hard to accept that I’d never see any of these people again, at least not this side of eternity.

  “Oh weren’t you the sweetest little lad,” said Carla.

  I grinned, hiding my true feelings, “Of course.”

  I looked back in the box.

  “There are some more envelopes here,” I said, “one says ‘Section Interior in natural time’, and the other, ‘Pics taken through the vortex on the 11,000 year jump’.” The second envelope sounded more interesting so I carefully opened it.

  The first photograph showed Gemma and I sitting with the cave people. There were several close ups of the cave dwellers and their children, and a really nice one of Sari, the little girl Gemma and I had spotted in the cave where we’d found the old pottery. Another showed Rachetta and Chenzira, the child’s parents.

  None of these people had known they were being photographed; I wondered if they even knew what photographs were.

  The first envelope contained pictures taken in various caves at Section Headquarters. They were less than exciting, but nevertheless stirred up memories.

  Carla said, “Let’s look at those maps.”

  I took the larger map, unfolded it and spread it out on the table. It showed our settlement areas and the surrounding countryside in natural time: low lying hills, the valley, several main roads, a river, and a large town with schools, shops, gardens and a hospital near the location of the settlement.

  Dad had written on the back of the smaller map, ‘This is how I envisage the area looking in your new time. You can fill in the locations of your settlements if it helps. The entrance to Section Headquarters is marked with an ‘S’.’

  WHAT? I thought. Carla and I looked at each other in complete surprise. Unbeknown to us, we’d been living near to Section Headquarters for the last three years, although what would still remain after twenty thousand years was anyone’s guess. This map was much plainer, only showing the hills, the river and the shape of the valley and surrounding area.

  Our eyes drifted over to a mountainous region possibly a couple of days walk away from the settlement, where we found a very clear S written in black ink at the base of a mountain.

  Carla said, “You’d better read John’s letter now; I’m intrigued.”

  She went into the kitchen and made us both some nettle tea while I tore open the envelope. The letter read:

  Dear Steve,

  It’s been eighteen weeks since you left, not that I’m counting, and I miss you terribly. Charlie is fine; he eventually had his vaccination the day before the super-virus started to fall. It’s a good thing the jabs had an immediate effect. I sent a party to track him down and bring him into the cave system. They found him a couple of months ago and he now has your old cave. When I told him about you he said, “Typical, I always knew that little brat was different,” and grinned.

  Seriously though, Zee and I have another mission for you. This is why I sent the photographs. The RDs collected from all around the world have shown that no Jumper has ever found any trace of a native population. I see only two possible explanations for this. 1) Mankind is extinct, having eventually succumbed to the super-virus, or having found a way of destroying itself, or 2) Humans still survive underground in the cave systems.

  Taking the latter to be the case we are sending similar chests containing the same information and supplies to Jumper settlements all ’round the globe.

  The ‘S’ on the map marks the location of Section Headquarters. You’ll need to get inside and check it out. Be careful and take a group with you; if you find anyone show them the pictures of Section Headquarter
s taken in natural time, and the pictures of the cave dwellers as evidence for what you say. Once again, the future of humanity lies in your hands!

  I may never know the result of your new adventure—and you know how much that frustrates me—but good luck, even though I don’t believe in luck.

  Say hi to Lillie, and give her a kiss from me.

  Love you forever,

  Dad.

  P.S. – You must take Gemma on this mission because she is pictured with you on a couple of the eleven thousand year jump photographs.

  Well, I thought with a chuckle, Dad and Zee have been dead for twenty thousand years and they’re still giving me orders.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Carla bringing in two mugs of steaming nettle tea. I told her.

  “Oh, something to fill our time before lunch,” she joked. “Keep the map safe and I’ll speak to a few of the other leaders. Obviously the other settlement groups should come in on this.” She immediately left to put her ideas into action.

  Anna wandered into the living area, so I gave her Carla’s untouched drink.

  In the bottom of the box, under the photographs, was a much smaller envelope with ‘to be opened in private’ written on it. I waited for Anna to go back in the bedroom room with her clothes from the trunk before I opened the envelope. Inside was a wedding ring and a small note from Dad:

  Steve,

  I don’t know if we will be able to send another vortex to your timeframe, but just in case we find a way I’ve placed a small tracking devise inside your mother’s gold wedding ring. If Section ever sends another vortex it will home in on the tracking devise and find you, no matter where you travel.

  When she is older, explain the ring’s significance to Lillie, so that after your lifetime she will always wear it and I will be able to find her.

  — Dad

  I put the ring on the smallest finger of my left hand—it was a perfect fit—and decided not to tell anyone about this, except Anna.

  A couple of days later just over twenty of us gathered to make the journey to the caves that had housed Section many thousands of years earlier. The group was made up of a few representatives from each settlement. It had been a unanimous decision that if too many of us came along, any cave dwellers might consider us a threat, thinking we had come to invade their territory. More importantly, in our absence we might have been leaving our own settlements open to danger.

  Carla, Geoff and Tim handed us all survival packs, this time containing bottles of drinking water, sandwiches made from homemade bread, hunting knives and makeshift torches made from wood that Geoff had wrapped around with rags and dipped in oil to light our way through the caves.

  Carla, Geoff, Gemma and I headed the expedition joined by Gab, whom Gemma and I had met when we jumped into the office block on the one hundred and ninety year jump, and Sam, one of the primary Jumpers who partnered Alison on the jumps.

  We didn’t know who or what we were going to encounter on our journey so I was glad Sam was along; he was tall, muscular and an expert in several martial arts.

  Even so, Anna was concerned for my safety. She and Lillie walked with us the first few hundred metres to see us off.

  “I didn’t travel twenty thousand years forward in time to loose you now,” she said.

  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

  She and Lillie walked with us as far as an ancient, gnarled oak tree where we kissed and said goodbye.

  “Lillie, will you look after Mummy for me?” I asked my small daughter. She nodded. Lillie had allowed her mum to hug her the previous night, which had made Anna very happy.

  “You’ve got the Photos haven’t you?” Anna asked me.

  “Yes love.”

  I waved goodbye to my little family, and we set off making for higher ground.

  Gemma remarked, “I thought she was going to ask if you’d brought a handkerchief.”

  I gave her a playful thump on her shoulder and said, “Be nice, the last hanky came in very handy when you cut your head.” It was only friendly banter; Gemma and I still joked and teased each other like brother and sister.

  We walked for a couple of hours, the hot sun blazing down upon us. A discovery of a small stream was a very welcome surprise, so we stopped and rested for a while, then refilled our water bottles. The icy water was delicious; unlike watercourses in natural time, it contained no industrial impurities.

  An hour later everyone stopped for a sandwich break while Carla, Geoff, Gemma and I poured over the map. The river had changed its course slightly over the millennia, but it was still possible to chart our progress using the hills as points of reference.

  By late evening we’d crossed the lower hills and had reached a more mountainous region where we decided to make camp for the night, continuing our journey at daybreak. We ate around the campfire, spent some time getting to know people from other settlements, and then, feeling encouraged, settled down for the night.

  __________

  Rising with the dawn chorus, we gathered our things together, Carla, Geoff, Sam, Gab, Gemma and I once more taking the lead.

  Geoff addressed everyone in a raised voice so those at the back of the group could hear, “We should reach the caves by noon.”

  I heard a few people saying, “Jolly good … spiffing,” and laughing quietly. They were poking fun at Geoff’s well-educated accent. Fortunately he was a pleasant mannered chap with a good sense of humour. He turned to face them, grinning, “One can hear you, you know.”

  We followed a valley between two fir tree covered ridges, then made our way up the side of what Geoff referred to as a ‘much larger hill’. Just when I thought we were nearly at the top, another steeper gradient came into view. Everyone groaned at the prospect of climbing up it in the blazing heat.

  “That’s our destination,” said Carla, pointing to a shear rock face still some distance away behind a mass of tall pine trees. That’s not a large hill, I thought, it’s massive … it’s a mountain. Half an hour later we stood staring up the rock face towering a good hundred metres above us. Moss, grass and small flowering plants grew on it randomly in little fissures. Quite weary from the uphill trek, I was glad we weren’t going to have to climb too much further. Even so, the pathway ahead looked quite demanding. Loose dirt and scree littered the area, some of it sliding down the hillside as we walked over it.

  “Careful below,” yelled Geoff. Several of our party leapt to one side to avoid the ‘landslide’ he had started—which grew in size as it slid further down the slope. The emergency over, we continued through the last few trees until we saw a small opening in the rock face. The members of the heading party waited next to it for the rest of our expedition to catch up. Gab had originally been leading the expedition with us and grinned sheepishly as he approached. He’d fallen behind and was eagerly talking to June, a pretty young woman from one of the other settlements.

  When we’d all assembled Carla told us to keep quiet and follow closely, making sure we never lost sight of the person in front.

  The cave opening was no more than two metres high and about half as wide. Geoff informed us that the strong cave draft confirmed what we already knew: there was a very large cave or a series of caves inside the hillside.

  He struck a flint to set the first torch alight, and passed it down the line for the rest of us to use to light ours. We entered the cave system carrying our flaming torches, which nearly blew out several times in the cave draft, and followed a narrow manmade passageway in single file: Sam entering first, followed by Geoff, Gemma, Carla and the rest of us.

  After about sixty metres the light grey limestone walls widened considerably taking us into the largest cavern any of us had ever seen. The roof had to be about two hundred metres high and the walls least a hundred metres apart. The floor however, wasn’t flat but was covered with huge boulders and pools of water. To our right was a rock formation resembling a large, white waterfall frozen in time. Calcite rich waters must have dripped down this ama
zing cave wall for thousands of years leaving their mineral content behind as they evaporated, each crystalline particle gradually adding to this very slow-growing formation. I knew calcite had florescent qualities and wished I had an ultra violet light to shine on it and make it glow. Stalactites grew down from the ceiling several metres, some of them as thin as knitting needles and others thicker than a man. Quite a few stalactites had met the up-growing stalagmites forming pillars that appeared to hold the ceiling in place.

  After clambering over rocks and avoiding seemingly bottomless pools for about twenty minutes we came to a much narrower part of the cave system where we had to climb over a boulder and literally squeeze through an opening to get into a passageway leading out of the cavern. Once past the entrance the passageway widened a little and took us up a steep gradient for several metres. In places we had to climb over large rocks fallen from the roof. The next cave was smaller and much drier. After the first five people had passed through the passageway we heard a sound cave explorers and pot-hollers dread. Several large boulders and smaller rocks crashed down blocking the opening we’d just come through, one of them narrowly missing Carla who had been the last of the heading party to pass through the aperture.

  “What are the chances of that,” I exclaimed. “This passageway’s probably been open for thousands of years and it gets blocked as soon as we walk though it.”

  We all pitched in trying to dig our way back through the rock fall to the rest of our party, each throwing smaller rocks out of the way before finding larger ones that were impossible to move. Many were the size of small cars so there was no way we could budge them. I hoped no one was trapped underneath.

  “Hold on a moment,” said Geoff. “We’re never going to shift some of these rocks. Maybe we should look for another way through.”

  Carla nodded in agreement. Still a little shaken, she said, “Wait … I think I heard something.” We all listened. “There it is again.” We kept really quiet. Suddenly a tall, muscular man of mixed race jumped down from some nearby rocks, his dignified, regal posture demanding our attention. He wore a short, wrap-around skirt, a collarless open tunic, and sandals, his long, raven hair tied back in a single plait behind his head.