Event Horizon

by Scott McElhaney

  “I brought some wood for a fire,” Danny shouted into the cave as he rubbed his forearms.

  “Thanks. Bring it on in here and we’ll see how well our chimney works,” Warren said.

  He looked down at the stack of broken limbs. To his left, he saw something large break through the surface of the ocean. He stared out across the water to see if it was just his imagination. There have always been rumors of sea dragons out there. A large fish broke the surface again and sunk beneath the waves just as quickly as it appeared.

  “Dad, there’s a huge fish out here. Or maybe it’s a sea dragon,” Danny called.

  “Forget about it and bring me the wood before it gets any colder out here,” his voice echoed from inside the cave.

  “I’m serious, Dad. Come here and watch,” Danny said, watching the hump of it rise up and sink again.

  Warren stepped out of the cave and looked at Danny. Then he followed his gaze out to the horizon. Danny pointed his finger in the general direction.

  “Watch out that way,” Danny said.

  The large fish leapt from the water this time and fell back to the surface with a splash.

  “Wow!” Warren said, “That’s probably the largest native creature on this planet.”

  “Told you,” he said, turning back to the stack of wood, “Maybe there are sea dragons here after all.”

  Warren bent down and took one of the large limbs from the stack. Danny grabbed a few branches and followed his dad into the dark cave. His father had already lit two lanterns inside, but it didn’t do much to dispel the darkness. In the center of the cave was the beautiful fire pit they had spent all week building. They dropped the limbs and branches into the middle of the concrete ring.

  “This is going to be great,” Danny said, watching his dad toss a fire-starter cube into the pile of logs.

  The cubes were some of the conveniences left over from the original settlers. They brought over a million of these small cubes when they arrived. All you had to do was pull on a string from the side and toss them. They would burn brightly for up to five minutes. Even once those were all used up, they still had hundreds of butane pocket lighters. Danny looked up at the circular vent in the roof of the cave. Danny and his father had chiseled and drilled a one-foot wide hole through five feet of solid rock in the roof. Then Jared-the-blacksmith created a bell shaped intake right above the fire pit. If it all worked according to plan, the smoke should rise up the chimney and out of the covered vent above. The smoke from the fire-starter was already headed up in that direction.

  Danny sat down on one of the wood benches that he built yesterday. His father sat down on the other. The log above the starter finally began to burn on its own.

  “We just might be alright after all,” Warren said, gazing into the fire.

  “Are we staying here tonight?” Danny asked.

  “We might as well. We’ll get a huge fire going and we can just sleep on these benches.” Warren said, tossing a blanket to Danny.

  Danny took the blanked and draped it over his shoulders. The wood crackled and popped, shooting a bright ember across the pit.

  “Why does it seem like it’s always you and me hanging out together while Mom spends all her time hanging out with Johnny?” Danny asked.

  Warren looked over at Danny.

  “I think it’s just that you and I have more in common than me and your mom or me and Johnny. Your mom and I had a lot more in common when it was just the two of us. Once you and Johnny came along, I ended up getting a lot more responsibilities that I didn’t expect,” he said, looking into the flickering light of the growing fire, “Pretty soon, I was hardly ever home and I guess your mom and I just sort of drifted apart. She clung a little more to Johnny, and… well, you tended to like the outdoors. You started hanging around with me and I didn’t mind that at all.”

  “Dad, can I say something without you getting mad?” he asked, tossing some small branches into the fire.

  “Sure,” he replied, looking over to Danny.

  “I don’t think you should just accept that you and Mom have drifted apart. I don’t think that’s good,” Danny said, “I think I read something about that in the Bible you gave me.”

  Warren nodded slightly then dropped his gaze to the fire.

  “You’re right, son. You’re absolutely right,” Warren said.

  Ephraim Year 85 Week #16

  Brennan reached behind the viewing panel and turned it on. The solar panels hadn’t been able to fully charge his household power cells due to the overcast skies this week. Thanks to the four straight days of rain, he had to start powering things down to conserve energy. This morning, he decided to perform a quick scan of the Ceti system. When the viewing panel finally powered on, he typed in the command to connect with the satellite. Three seconds later, it verified the connection. Then he aimed the telescopic lens at the projected path of the incoming spacecraft.

  Yesterday, he sat down with all the reports of the initial scan. He had to dust off the math skills he had nearly forgotten over the years. He figured that if he put everything together, he should be able to determine the ship’s location at precisely 0900 today. All he currently had from the report was the direction of the warp stream as the ship left warp. From there, he could make educated assumptions about the speed of the ship and how quickly it would begin braking procedures based on the old Operations Manual they still had from the SA Planet Chaser. He also had to take into consideration the estimated size of the ship. Using all that he had from these estimates and the policies from the Operations Manual, he determined that they should have begun turning about 50 million kilometers higher than the orbital plane of the system to begin its direct course toward Ephraim. This, of course would bring them slowly down in line with the orbital plane as it headed toward them. Through the telescope, he should be able to locate the ship to the left of planet Drake and a little higher than its northern pole. This is where the telescope was currently aimed.

  He took the image on his screen and divided it into 30 equal squares. Starting now, he would take each square and magnify it several times. If he found nothing, he would lower the aim of the scope and do the same thing all over again. He was determined to find the ship today.

  . . . . .

  The umbrella was doing a good job of keeping the rain off Erica, but Shauna found that it was serving very little purpose for her. She could feel her feet sinking deeper into the mud with every step. The cold rain was coming down at an angle and pelting her legs. Erica started to fuss in her arms, so she tried to walk a little faster along her trail. She held tightly to the rope handrail that marked her trail, trying to keep a hold Erica and the umbrella at the same time. The rain started to come down harder as she rushed up the porch steps.

  “Brennan?” Shauna called, “Edna?”

  She tapped the door with her umbrella. Brennan opened the door and didn’t even waste time with a greeting. She was drawn into the house so quickly that the umbrella snagged the doorframe and tumbled from her grasp.

  “What are you doing out in this?” Brennan asked, taking Erica from her arm.

  “My roof is leaking something fierce. I have a river in my bedroom and now the water is even creeping up through all the floorboards,” she replied, slipping her muddy shoes off, “Is Edna home?”

  He snatched a blanket from the back of the sofa and draped it over Shauna.

  “She’s sick in her bed. She’s had a fever for two days now, but it’s finally starting to come down,” he said, “I have a good fire going. Let me drag the sofa in front of the fireplace for you.”

  “No, please don’t go out of your way. I just came over to borrow the protection of your roof,” she said, reaching for her whimpering baby.

  He ignored her protests and proceeded to push the sofa toward the fireplace. Shauna bounced Erica in her arm as the baby continued to fuss. Brennan returned to Shauna and put an arm around her, leading her to the sofa.

  “I feel like I’m impos
ing,” she said, “And now I feel worse since you’re already busy taking care of Edna.”

  He laughed as he knelt down and slid another log onto the roaring fire.

  “No one takes care of Edna. You should know this,” he said, “It’s difficult enough for me to keep her in bed.”

  She chuckled then sat down on the couch. The warmth of the fire felt good on her damp legs. She tugged her wet socks off while the baby’s whimpers morphed into cries.

  “I’ll go find you another blanket then I’ll leave you to your baby. She sounds hungry,” he said, “After that, I’ll just be over there at the relay terminal if you need anything. As you probably figured, I’m still searching for that ship out there.”

  She nodded, taking Erica out of her little blanket. He returned and placed a blanket over her lap. He patted her on the shoulder then returned to his previous task. Edna was already out of her bed and ambling slowly down the hall by the time Shauna had quieted the baby.

  “Is something wrong?” Edna asked, placing a hand on Brennan’s shoulder.

  “Her house is floating away,” he whispered, magnifying the screen in front of him, “We may need to get out the extra bed.”

  “Oh my. Are they okay?” she asked.

  “Yes, and I’ve got everything under control. I want you to just focus your energies on getting better,” he said, placing a hand on hers, “I need my healthy wife back.”

  She looked over toward the sofa. The flickering light of the fire danced on Shauna’s features as she held her baby to her beneath the large blanket. Edna knelt down next to Brennan and rested her head on his lap, drawing his attention away from his work.

  “Honey, I need you to get to bed. Why do you always think that you have to be up and about?” he said, running his fingers through her unusually sweaty hair.

  “I don’t think I’m going to get better,” she whispered, “I think something is seriously wrong. I have the same symptoms that Julianne had.”

  Julianne was their oldest daughter who died six years ago. She started out having a fever that wouldn’t go away. One week later, she died in her sleep. He stared down at the woman who knelt beside him.

  “No. You’re getting better,” he said, feeling her forehead with his hand, “But… but the fever was going away.”

  “No, I just was cooling myself in the bath. My fever is staying the same, just like Julianne’s,” she said, “It’s time we seriously think about this.”

  He pushed his chair back and knelt onto the floor. He took her into his arms and held her tightly to him. His wife truly felt unnaturally hot in his grasp.

  “You will not do this to me. I forbid you,” he said as she started to cry in his arms.

  “I’ve prayed and prayed and I only feel weaker and weaker. Julianne got weaker everyday. Brennan, I’m leaving you and I want you to know that it’s not my choice,” she cried.

  “I refuse!” he shouted, suddenly, “Get up so I can draw you another bath. You felt better after that yesterday.”

  “Brennan? Edna?” Shauna hollered from the couch, “Are you guys okay?”

  “No, Shauna, we’re not,” he suddenly burst out in tears, “Edna tells me she’s dying. She says the fever is the same as Julianne’s.”

  Shauna rose suddenly from the couch and turned to them. She took a step with Erica in the crook of her arm then stopped. The baby was still attached to her breast, but a small blanket protected her modesty. She reached down and held onto the sofa as she took some baby-steps in their direction.

  “I don’t know your house, so I can’t come help you. What can I do?” she asked.

  Edna attempted to stand up. Brennan helped her to her feet.

  “There’s nothing in front of you, Shauna. Come straight to my voice and if you can help me get her to the tub, that would be great,” he said.

  “I can make it, Brennan. I’m just a little weak,” Edna said.

  Shauna approached cautiously then wrapped Edna’s arm over her shoulder.

  “You lead the way, Edna. I’ll just be your support,” Shauna said.

  “That’s just what I need. To be helped around my house by a blind woman,” Edna said.

  “Let me tell you something. The only two people who have always been there for me have been you and Brennan. I recall your husband shouting ‘I refuse’,” Shauna said, walking toward the bathroom, “Well, he’s not the only one. I refuse to let you put all the weight of helping a blind woman on Brennan’s shoulders. If you die, that’s exactly what it’s going to be. I have a daughter now and we both rely on the two of you. I’m not one to use my handicap to get my way or to get sympathy. Now I am.”

  Brennan was already in the bathroom pumping water from the well. The tub was slowly filling with cold water.

  “You want cold water? Go stand in the rain,” Shauna said, turning toward the bathroom with Edna, “Or better yet, go stand in my house.”

  “I can’t believe you walked over here in this,” Edna said, starting to crouch down toward the floor.

  “Why do you keep kneeling down, honey?” Brennan asked, rushing over to her.

  “I wasn’t kidding about this, Brennan. Something is wrong in my abdomen,” she said, “Just like Julianne. This is the pain she had on her… on her last day. It feels better when I hunch down.”

  “No, Edna,” Shauna said, kneeling beside her, “Why are you acting like this is no big deal?”

  “It is a big deal, but it’s out of my hands,” she cried, turning her attention back to Shauna, “Shauna, can you do me a favor?”

  “Of course,” she replied, holding onto her arm.

  “I need you to take care of Brennan when I’m gone,” Edna said.

  “You’re not going to be gone,” she growled through clenched teeth.

  “Yes I am. Can you take care of Brennan - yes or no?” Edna asked.

  Shauna sighed, making no effort to hide her disdain.

  “Yes, of course I will. You’re asking a young blind widow to take care of an old man,” she muttered, “But I think your husband would be the one taking care of me.”

  “And he will,” Edna said, crawling toward the tub, “Brennan likes to take care of people and he tries so hard to take care of me. You’ll be giving him something to live for.”

  “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room,” he said, helping her up to the side of the tub, “And I’m twice Shauna’s age. Don’t guilt her into spending the rest of her life taking care of me. If she believes this is your dying wish, she’ll do just that.”

  Shauna helped Brennan to remove Edna’s housecoat. She had been wearing no undergarments, so she was ready to go into the cold water. He helped her over the tub’s edge. She slowly submerged her foot into the icy water.

  “Oh my. This is cold,” Edna said with a chuckle.

  They stood at each side of her, helping to keep her upright. She put another foot in the tub and slowly tried to lower herself into the water.

  “Shauna, d-do you n-need Brennan?” Edna asked, fighting against the shivers, “Do you need us to help you sometimes?”

  “Well, of course I need you two,” she replied.

  “And Brennan, do you enjoy helping Shauna and me? And don’t lie,” she asked.

  “Of course, dear,” he replied.

  “Do either of you have anything against each other. Are you disgusted by each other or find each other unappealing in any way?” Edna asked, lowering herself further into the water.

  “Stop this, honey. I don’t…” Brennan started.

  “Listen to me. Whether you want to hear it or not, I’m dying. Whether you believe it or not, I’m dying,” she shouted, bursting into tears, “Wouldn’t you like to hear my wishes? I love you, Brennan. I love you with all my heart and I always have. If I’m not going to be here, I still want you to somehow be happy. I would never do anything to hurt you and now I’m losing control of that choice. I’m going to hurt you and I wish I wouldn’t. Give me the peace of hearing me out. If you
two don’t dislike each other, please tell me you’d be willing to give my request a try. If it doesn’t work out, that’s alright with me. Will you try this if I die?”

  Brennan looked over at Shauna who still managed to keep her infant daughter attached to her. He tried to catch her gaze, forgetting for an instant that Shauna couldn’t see him.

  “I’m willing,” Shauna muttered.

  “Me too,” he whispered, “But this doesn’t mean you’re getting my blessing in choosing to die. I only agree if you promise to fight this sickness with everything you have.”

  Edna snickered as she finally submerged her body in the cold water.

  “Like I said – I don’t ever want to hurt you. If I die, it’s going to be against my wishes. You keep a hold of that statement and remember it’s true. I’m soaking in this freezing tub because I don’t want to die,” she said with a sigh, “I’m fighting, Brennan.”

  “Thank you, sweetie. That’s all I can ask,” he said, standing up and taking a hold of Shauna’s arm.

  He led her from the bathroom and brought her back over to the sofa.

  “Brennan?” Shauna whispered, sitting down and bringing Erica up to her shoulder.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you really okay with her request if she…” she said, searching for the words.

  “Yes, I’m alright with that. If anyone gets the raw deal, it’s you. I’m fifty-eight and you’re twenty-two years old. If you ever wanted out of it, I fully…” he started.

  “I’m blind, Brennan. I know you by your voice and by your actions. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I love you. I love you and I love Edna. I don’t know what age looks like, but if you and Edna define age, then age is beautiful,” Shauna said.