A Voyage in the Near Distance 1: From Here to Nearly There

by Alec Merta

  The demon, or rather the girl stolen by the demon, died before my eyes. This time, I heard the belch of a rifle. This time, I was looking right at the poor victim when the round ruined the crest of her head. She lingered on her feet for some time before falling to the floor in a crumpled mass.

  I was unable to reflect on this horrible vision at the time it happened, as even more sound filled my ears. These ached and my body shook as the great bellowing sound of a ship’s horn filled the world.

  When I turned around, the sight of the Near Distance filled the sky. She hovered some distance away; small clouds puffing from all along her hull. I saw at once that her tender bay door was open. The figure of Nadia stood, a rifle pressed to her shoulder.

  I helped Dana to her feet, and the three of us moved to the edge of the platform. If they meant to rescue us, it needed to be done quickly. The possessed were filing up through the hatch. Time and again, Nadia’s rifle coughed, and others perished. She was obviously skilled, but no lone rifle could hold back such a tide.

  My hopes began to waiver as I saw bright flashes lighting up all along the underside of the Near Distance’s hull. She was taking fire from the ground.

  “How long can she take that?” I shouted to Allie.

  “Forever. She’s built to shrug off micrometeorites.”

  Inevitably, Nadia’s rifle was overwhelmed. One of the possessed made it through and fell upon Allie. She struggled in vain to fight him off, but he held fast. I, without thinking, wrapped an arm around his neck and, so secured to him, wedged my foot between he and Allie. I levered him off of her.

  Then I threw him from the platform.

  You know me, I think, to be a fairly ordinary man. This is so, I assure you. I make maps. Mapmaking is peaceful and serene. Never have I threatened another human with anything more serious than a sternly written letter. My whole life, I have wished to live in peace. With that one action, I was no longer the same man. I fear that a good part of me has gone away.

  At the time it happened, I gave it little thought. I only wished to remain alive. Nadia managed to hold the tide back for only a minute or so longer. That was, as it happened, time enough.

  Ropes fell from the sky.

  As I recall it, I am not sure if I heard the great boom of helicopter blades abusing the air above us. I simply do not remember the sound. I only recall the lights shining from above and the silhouettes of the men fast-roping down to save us.

  We were taken off the platform by means of a harness that was winched upward. I watched as Dana and Allie went before me and were pulled to safety aboard the machine. Finally, my turn came. I floated into the air like poor Mr. Wendell being taken; my arms fell outward and my body dangled like a rag doll. The light from above was so bright. Then I was safely aboard.

  Allie and Dana sat on extended seats in the cabin. I joined them. As soon as I was buckled in, the pilot flew away. The Near Distance was already gone.

  As the aircraft turned, I looked down at the platform. I had no expression on my face as I examined it and thought of the carnage being crafted inside.

  I blinked. My vision was blurry, and I tried to clear it. I rubbed my eyes and looked back at the platform.

  The demon stood there. Its head was only wreckage. It was waving its arm in a gesture of farewell. At least, that is what I thought it was doing. I peered down and saw that in the waving hand was the bracelet device Allie had placed on my wrist.

  Before I could turn to her and speak, I saw Allie’s wrist light up. She looked down. I saw her swallow and look over at me. She extended her arm so that I could see what was written on the display. It was a single line of text:

  I cast thee out.

  Epilogue

  We flew several miles away from the village. Once safely away, the pilot brought us down and landed in a field. The Near Distance hovered nearby.

  Dana said nothing to either of us. She climbed out of the helicopter and walked to a waiting SUV. That might seem rude, but, if I am honest, I said nothing to her either. We did not even wave goodbye. The night was done, and nothing else needed saying. In any case, I knew we would see her again.

  Allie and I made our way to where the graceful form of the Near Distance hovered. When we came under her, the lift dropped down. The captain, or his computer, kept the ship at a perfect altitude. The bottom of the lift stopped only an inch or so above the ground. We climbed aboard. As the door closed, I saw the first rays of sunlight appearing in the sky. We rose into the air.

  Even before the lift doors re-opened, the ship had begun climbing away from the ground. Had I not been weary and abused, I would have marveled at the thought of this. As it happened, I just felt queasy.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked Allie.

  “I’m going to drink something. Then I’m going to sleep for a month.”

  “Want some company?”

  “For the drink, sure. But I think I’ll sleep alone if that’s all right.”

  Despite all that had transpired, I still had it in me to be embarrassed.

  “I didn’t mean-”

  She smiled. I did the same. I could not help it. Standing before me, despite the trials we had been through, was the strange girl who had stolen my notebook and smashed a computer to bits.

  “I’d love some company, Carver.”

  We found an ample supply of strong liquor in the sky lounge. Each of us consumed one drink with haste and then poured more. As tired as we were, we did not sit.

  Instead, we leaned along the handrail that ran the circumference of the domed observatory. I rested on the sturdy woodwork mounted to the glass by way of brass fittings. It, like everything else aboard the Near Distance, was elegant and luxurious. I did not care. I did not care about the ship or aliens or demons. All of that was pushed aside as the captain flew that lovely ship high into the clouds where the rising sun was casting its light. Then he flew higher. Higher until we passed out of air and into that realm where so few are blessed to travel. It made for a very memorable sunrise.

  I stood on a spaceship; in a room domed with glass, and I gazed into infinity. The Earth lay beneath my feet. My home. All of it was before me.

  Allie put her hand on my shoulder.

  “You ok?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, me neither.”

  “Allie, what…” I trailed away, losing my train of thought.

  “Just enjoy the scenery. Then have another drink. Then go to sleep.”

  I nodded and said, “I will, but I have a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “How does Annette Hanshaw fit into this?”

  She smiled and looked down.

  “That’s what you want to know?”

  “It’s bugging me. What’s the story?”

  “It’s just a song. There’s nothing important about it. But it’s from Earth. Earth.” She said the word as though it signified romance and mystery. “We knew about other worlds and other races. We had seen crude similarities between peoples; always on a sort of evolutionary or superficial level. But when they picked up that song, it was…impossible.”

  “Someone heard it? You picked up a broadcast from Earth?”

  “Yes. For a long time, people thought it was an echo from Rhedel bouncing back toward us. Then we heard other things. We examined this little spot in the sky and began to hear more and more languages and phrases that existed on our planet. And the voices we heard talked about things that existed on our planet. Cars and earthquakes and kings. All sorts of things like that. It meant something very important to us.”

  “It meant your planet had a twin.”

  “More than a twin. Rhedel was linked with Earth in some way. Had to be. And then other connections started being made. Things that were frightening. We started observing changes on our world. They were subtle, and not too many people talked about them. But they were there.”

  “Rhedel has aliens and demons also,” I said.

  She nodded her head and then
went back to considering the world outside.

  She said, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The problem is, it’s a lot smaller than I thought it was.”

  “Yeah. A lot.”

  “You said we met on the Moors, but we didn’t.”

  “We kinda did. When the Earl was checking you out, I was a few feet away. In the trees. You seemed pretty harmless. Definitely not the sort of person who isn’t afraid of demons.”

  “That’s as much a shock to you as to me.”

  She yawned. Given her state, I could not expect anything more. I took a robust sip from my glass and said, “What now?”

  “We go home. Well, I go home. You come along. Then we go talk to some very clever people and hope like hell they know what to do next. I hate to say it, but I doubt they will.” She seemed to waiver for a moment.

  “Carver,” she said, “Would you be too put out if I went to bed and left you alone up here?”

  I shook my head.

  She smiled and said, “We’ve got a few days between here and Rhedel. I wouldn’t blame you if you slept the whole way there. That’s my plan, anyway.”

  “Good night, Allie.”

  “Pleasant dreams, Carver.”

  She exited.

  I stood there and followed Allie’s advice. My second drink was finished and then followed by a third. All the while, I examined my home. It was breathtaking. It was unutterably beautiful.

  I considered pouring a fourth drink but, in the end, opted not to. I did not want anything upsetting the slumber I had so richly earned. Even so, I stood for a while longer and considered the mysteries that lay both outside the Near Distance and within. Even this became too much, and I decided to abandon all activity. It was time for bed.

  The voice of the captain came over the main circuit. He announced that he would burn the engines for a short time to prepare for what he called ‘injection.’ I did not know what that term meant. A faint glow came from the stern, and the Earth began to diminish in size. I really was leaving now.

  I turned to go. As I did, I noticed that Allie had left her bracelet device behind. I picked it up and noted that the demon’s parting words were still displayed. Taking a guess, I managed to figure how to enter my own message into the device. That done, I told it to transmit. It too was only one sentence:

  I have no fear of you.

  I made my way down toward my cabin. I was walking in when the response flashed on the screen. It said:

  Enjoy your trip Mr. Carver. We’ll look after the place while you’re gone.

  I stripped off my clothes and climbed into bed. Above me, the curvature of the hull granted me access to a rather panoramic window. I did not see the Earth, as this was surely behind us now. Instead, I saw stars. Countless stars. Endless, ageless space that contained all the mysteries that ever were or ever would be.

  I pondered on what Allie had said. Rhedel and Earth were more than twins. They were connected. The people of both worlds were connected. That thought gave me a measure of hope that I would be able to cope with setting foot on an alien planet. I might even come to understand it.

  As sleep overtook me, one final thought flitted through my mind. I had no idea where we were going. I knew a name, but I did not know how much space we would be crossing. I did not know the name of the star Rhedel orbited or the Earthly constellation it occupied.

  I decided that it did not matter. Wherever I was going, I knew that when I awoke I would be nearly there.