SECRET SALVATION

by Chad Josey

  Motionless Mary remained.

  “So… where do we go from here?” Mary asked unsure what to do, and why Gabriel was meeting with her now in person.

  “Mary, I could have continued our conversations over the phone. But, I got the sense you were getting close to telling him.”

  “Um… uh.”

  “For our services to work, they must remain secret. So, you cannot tell him or anyone else. Continue calling the number. Now, you understand who we are and what we are all about. You can even give us more details of problems you’re having, and we will take care of it. It’s as simple as that.”

  People passed by as they remained sitting on the bench. Mary so wanted to run away and hide among the crowd forgetting this conversation. Gabriel had forced Mary to rationalize her thoughts about what was happening.

  If he gets this job in Paris, we may need Gabriel’s help here? Hell, what’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like I’m telling them deep, dark secrets about us… but, how can I keep this a secret from Joe?

  “And, Mary, trust me. There will come a day where I will tell you everything about our firm. Who knows… we may even end up saving both your lives someday?” Gabriel said.

  PRESENT – 6:54 P.M.

  Somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean

  1,681 Days Prior to Impact

  MARY FACED a stark reality. Her thoughts of how she met Gabriel vanished. Joe sat before her in tears.

  Honey, it’s okay… I know everything… don’t worry.

  “What the hell, Joseph? We need a doctor to check out your head,” Mary said. She freed her hands placing them on either side of his face. “I don’t feel any lumps.”

  Joe pushed her hands away in frustration, stood and walked to the table where he had placed the red notebook. With a heavy sigh, he sat again in front of her and opened the pages on her lap.

  “See this black dot here?” Joe asked pointing to a photograph taken in 1957.

  “Uh-huh.”

  He turned the page and pointed. “Now, this dot here… it’s bigger?” He flipped back-and-forth between the two pages. “The second photograph is from 1965.” He turned through the next several pages. “Mary… look… the dot… gets bigger.”

  “So?”

  “The impact when it happens in 2020 will destroy the Earth. No one else in the world knows about this except for those involved with the Eden Foundation.”

  “But, if you have these pictures, what stops others from seeing the same thing in the sky?”

  “Gabriel explained the Foundation hacks into all the observatories preventing other discoveries of this object. The telescopes can’t scan this area of the sky.”

  “And, Gabriel… he gave you this… in Colorado?”

  “Yes. And, he gave me all the data, how long they’ve been tracking it, its composition…. everything.”

  “And, you believe it… this information isn’t fake?”

  “At first… I couldn’t… I didn’t want to believe it… it’s not possible that a planet could destroy Earth… it’s all too crazy.”

  Joe lowered his head onto the red notebook opened on her lap. Mary sat in stunned silence, unsure what to say next or how to react.

  “But… I examined their calculations and asked to see it. At the facility in Colorado, they had one of those large telescopes. And, I saw this for myself. Everything is true, Mary.”

  Should I be upset now or wait? I should still think he’s hit his head. I need a reason to get angry with him.

  “Did you ask what the government has done to stop it?” she asked.

  Joe was explaining the calculations of the planet’s orbit in excruciating detail. Her question brought him back to reality. The most unbelievable part of the secret was yet to be revealed.

  “Well, that’s just it. They’ve tried. They’ve sent rockets with nuclear weapons attempting to break it up or knock it off course. But, it’s too big and dense, and moving too fast… all the attempts failed.”

  “And, the Public wasn’t aware of these launches?” Mary asked in a sarcastic tone hiding the information she had known.

  “How many times have we watched the news? There’s always a report of a military launch with a secret payload.”

  Mary listened planning her next statements.

  “Or, the space shuttle releases a top-secret satellite into orbit. All those were missions to destroy it. Even the astronauts involved didn’t know what was happening... the Foundation controlled everything.”

  “You sound like one of those conspiracy theory guys on the Internet or something.” Mary took his hand into hers. “You don’t believe this, do you?” she asked.

  “Uh… yes… I do, now.”

  “So, what are you saying? This thing will hit Earth in 2020… What happens when it does?”

  “Well, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, they think it was only six miles in diameter.”

  “Only six miles? That sounds big.”

  “Six miles is big, but not compared to what’s coming in a few years. The Moon is 2,100 miles across. Earth is 8,000 miles… this black dot here… is 4,000 miles in diameter.”

  Mary sat in disbelief. Gabriel had shared some of the information to her before, but not all the exact details. Salvation to her was a remote island where Gabriel had promised they would be safe.

  “This means the impact will kill everything on Earth in an instant. If it’s a direct hit as the calculations show… it will cause Earth to explode.”

  Mary pushed the notebook off her lap onto the floor. Its pages raced across the tiles. She stood rushing to the door.

  “Joseph, that’s crazy. Gabriel has some explaining to do if he’s the one who gave you that and filled your head with this shit.”

  The locked door surprised Mary. She banged against it with both palms yelling, “Gabriel! Gabriel!”

  “Mary… I asked him to lock the door. We didn’t want you to run out until I explained everything to you.”

  “What the hell, there’s more?” Mary’s response came with one last simultaneous slam against the door.

  Joe leaned over from his chair and scooped up the reports from the floor. He held in the air the last pages.

  “Mary, but there’s good news. The Foundation selected us to go here because of my research. This is where we will live.”

  Joe pointed to pages of pictures, some at least twenty-years old, while others were from a few months ago. The pictures showed living spaces, dormitory rooms, gym equipment, and laboratories.

  Mary turned from the door and approached Joe. They were the same pictures Gabriel had shared with her before persuading her to continue in her monitoring role.

  Gabriel had promised Mary she had a place in Salvation. The details of how large this planet is and its destruction of Earth were both absent in his explanations. Mary had thought Salvation was where the boat was taking them on its present course.

  “What… where were those taken, and how is that going to protect us?”

  “Mary, this is Project Salvation. When they discovered the planet and realized it would destroy Earth, the government developed this complex.”

  “The government? What government?”

  “Well, I call it that. I don’t think the Eden Foundation belongs to any formal governmental agency.”

  “This agency, are they American?”

  “Gabriel told me there is no distinction between countries. The people who discovered this object attempted to inform our government. No one believed them.”

  “Why not? The pictures? The data?”

  “We have these high-resolution pictures and sophisticated computer models now. Back in the ’50s, it was only a few pictures of black dots and handwritten, mathematical calculations.”

  “If no one believed them then, how did this Salvation place even develop?”

  Joe held the notebook on his lap. “I’ve been struggling with this question, too. I mean, the money and resources that had to go into developing
Salvation are unbelievable. But, I guess someone with power believed them?"

  “A lot of money? I don’t know about that because it looks like pictures from college as far as the dorms and labs go,” Mary said. “If the Earth explodes, where is Salvation? How will it save us?”

  “Ah… Mary, this is so hard for me to tell you.”

  “That’s okay; I’m not even sure I believe you.”

  “Well, if you haven’t believed me, yet, you’re not going to now. These pictures… they come from Project Salvation… and… uh… that’s on Mars, Sweetie.”

  Mary studied the pictures trying to comprehend what Joe had told her. “Mars?… as in the planet, Mars?”

  “Yes… and, I didn’t believe it either when Gabriel told me.”

  “Mars!” Mary yelled with a pale-faced stare. “You want me to believe a planet will kill everything on Earth, let alone destroy it, five years from now. And, we’re escaping to Mars?”

  Gabriel, you didn’t tell me this, you son-of-a-bitch.

  “Uh-huh, I know how crazy it sounds, Mary, but please—”

  “Do you? Do you? I don’t think you do, Joseph… and, this secret you’ve been keeping from me since Colorado?” Her hot breath rolled toward him from across the small room.

  “Um… yes… Gabriel told me not to tell anyone.”

  “Not to tell. Last time I checked, I’m your wife, not Gabriel.”

  Joe approached her. Mary pushed his hands away turning around taking a deep breath.

  “Where are we? This is a joke, right? Ha ha ha, you’ve got me, Joseph.”

  He tried to calm her. “Mary, I wish this was a joke.”

  “No, just stop,” she yelled as he attempted to place his arms across her shoulders. “Stop, let go of me.” Mary slapped his hands away.

  “Mary? Come on; I know it’s upsetting.”

  “I don’t think you do… my husband sounds like a mad man… the world is going to end… we’re escaping to Mars… what the hell?”

  Mary backed herself toward the door while making eye contact with Joe on the other side of the room. She was unsure if she knew this man, whom she had known since they were ten-years-old.

  When her back hit the locked door, tears filled both eyes. She repeated to herself in a low voice, “It can’t be… it can’t be…”

  Her emotions were unexpected. Gabriel had informed Mary everything Joe was telling her… except for Salvation being on Mars.

  Mary had rehearsed her planned reactions with Gabriel. But, real emotions escaped from her as Joe explained what was happening. The release due to years of pent-up guilt for being in contact with Gabriel. All this time not knowing the full truth behind his intentions.

  For months, Mary had kept the secret of Salvation from Joe. Gabriel had promised them safety. This promise coupled with her guilt of monitoring Joe forced her to comply with Gabriel’s demands.

  While Joe felt the burden of his guilt leave him, Mary’s guilt became crippling. She knew she could never tell Joe what she had done.

  November 25, 2015

  Stony Brook, New York

  GROCERY SHOPPING the day before Thanksgiving can be a contact sport. Mary faced this task this morning by agreeing at the last-minute to cook a holiday dinner.

  Since Charlie’s funeral, the past month had been terrible for Joe and Mary. Gone was their larger-than-life friend, and gone too were Becky and her girls.

  Joe and Mary hoped a Thanksgiving dinner would help put their sadness behind them. It was their chance to start anew.

  If inside the grocery store is a circus, then the outside parking lot is a zoo. Mary drove around the lot three times attempting to find any open spot.

  On her last loop around, she saw a car backing out of a space at the far end. Mary sped through the parking lot exchanging menacing looks at the people she passed.

  Thank God, there’s a place.

  She parked and turned off the ignition. The light rain pelted the windshield as the noise from the engine fell silent.

  To her sudden fright, her passenger-side door opened. A man in a long, black raincoat with a black fedora got into her car.

  The collar of the coat covered his face while the hat hid the top of his head. Mary reached for the mace bottle affixed on her key chain, ready to defend herself.

  “Mary! Mary! It’s me… Gabriel,” the man said as he pulled the black fedora and his collar off his head and face.

  “Gabriel? What the hell?” Mary said. The mace can rocked back-and-forth from her fingers.

  “Hey, Mary, there’s no need for that,” Gabriel said taking the mace from her.

  “Why are you here? You scared the shit out of me.”

  “I thought I’d check-in with you since you have not called me in weeks.”

  “Huh… I haven’t felt like calling. It’s been a pretty, shitty time, here.”

  “I heard about your friend, Charlie, and I’m so, so sorry for your loss.”

  Rain fell heavier on the windshield, tapping on the roof of the car. The rain drowned out their conversation causing them to speak louder.

  “Great. It’s raining… Gabriel, I don’t have time for this. I need to go inside for groceries. I promise to start calling again next week.” Mary had hoped her response would be acceptable enough for him to leave.

  “Mary, that’s fine, but I’m here because I need your help.” Protected under his coat, he pulled out a red notebook and turned its pages. “I need to share a secret with you and explain the real reason you’ve been contacting us.”

  Mary sat with a bewildered look. She had been calling and reporting to Gabriel for so long; it had become automatic for her. Each call was fairly generic. Gabriel’s basic questions related to their activities during the past week. To her, she was living up to her end of the deal… checking in with him in return for payment and supposed protection.

  “I need to confess something else to you… I am the person Joe flew to Colorado to meet… what I am about to share with you is the same information I shared with him.”

  “You met Joe? If he already knows about you, then why the hell do I need to keep doing this?”

  “This is entirely different, and to be honest, I’m worried about him.”

  “Worried? Why?”

  “Mary, let me assure you I have only yours and his best interests in mind here. Trust me; you’ll be thankful you’re both going to be a part of Salvation.”

  The Eden Foundation has kept Project Salvation in secrecy for decades. Here, in the front seat of her car in a crowded parking lot, Gabriel was about to share everything with her… almost everything.

  As Gabriel opened the red notebook on his lap and slid it closer to her, the rain fell even harder. The running water down the windows created a veil of secrecy ensuring their privacy.

  “Mary, do you see this black dot here in this picture…”

  26-Arrival

  PRESENT – 8:15 P.M.

  Somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean

  1,681 Days Prior to Impact

  CRYING FILLED the small, gray room on the boat as Mary sat on the floor, her back against the door. Tears streamed down her face. Joe crawled and sat beside her.

  “Mary, it’s okay,” he said rubbing the back of her shoulders.

  “I knew, Joe.”

  “You knew what?”

  “I… uh… I… knew you were keeping something from me.”

  “Honey, I didn’t want to keep this from you. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

  Mary leaned forward, burying her head into his shoulder crying. The stress building inside her for years had grown worse since Thanksgiving.

  I can never tell him what I've done.

  “So… so… this is really happening, huh?” Mary said, Joe’s shirt muffling her face.

  Joe rubbed her back. The more he tried to comfort Mary, the more he felt his emotions build inside him. In an instant, Joe cried. His body trembled against hers.

  Ev
erything they had known… everyone they had met… will be gone. Anticipated fear encroached upon them cowering in the corner of the room by the door. The reality of traveling to Salvation… to Mars hit them as they held each other, both sobbing.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Mary said, pulling away from him and crawling to her knees.

  “It will be okay, Sweetie,” Joe said trying to reassure her.

  “No, really, I’m gonna throw up—” Those were her last words Mary said as she reached for a trash can behind them.

  Joe leaned over to her making sure she was all right. The door clicked open. Gabriel entered the room.

  “Can I bring you anything?” Gabriel asked.

  “Please, some water,” a frail voice from Mary said buried in the trash can.

  Gabriel left returning moments later with a glass of water.

  “Sorry to see how the news has affected you, Mary. Like I’m sure Joe told you, it was me who gave him the order to keep Salvation a secret. It was for your protection.”

  Gabriel took the empty glass from her. “We wanted to give Joe plenty of time to prepare to bring his research to Salvation. I know it’s hard to understand why we did not tell you before, but over time you’ll come to understand, why.”

  The water brought her immediate relief. “I guess it was too much to hear, and I…”

  “No need to explain or worry about it,” Gabriel said reassuring Mary everything was okay.

  Joe helped her to her feet walking back to the two chairs in the opposite corner of the room. Mary flipped through the red notebook and said, “So, when do we leave?”

  Gabriel smiled and stepped closer to them. “Well, good news. We leave Sunday. Tomorrow morning, we arrive at the island where we will launch from.”

  “Sunday? What? No training or preparation for the flight?” Joe asked.

  “We’ll spend the day tomorrow going over the flight plans and preparation. You’ll get the instructions for what to do onboard.” Joe and Mary stood with surprised faces.

  “Only one day of training?” Joe said holding Mary’s hands.

  “Guys, you’re just passengers on board. There’s nothing for you to prepare in flying there. Our flights have become routine for us over the years, like flying an airplane. We’ll explain what to expect and how to maneuver around the ship.”