The immense pull of Earth’s gravity swallowed Alex’s tiny craft. As she plummeted toward Earth, she continued to gain speed. Alex braced for an impact that would surely kill her. It would be a noble death, provided the device did what it was designed to do. In her final thoughts, she prayed to her mother.
As the ground fast approached, the excessive g-force was too much for her body to handle. The blood drained from her brain, causing her to enter a state of cerebral hypoxia and black out. She slumped over, remaining pinned in her seat from the five-point harness.
Overhead was a magnificent swirling vortex. It was a shame Alex was not conscious to see her handiwork. The vortex grew to become quite large, encompassing the entire sky, affecting Earth’s natural weather patterns. The sky turned black as multiple storms emerged from nowhere. Tornadoes and hurricanes decimated cities as tidal waves wreaked havoc on unsuspecting shorelines. Lighting discharged from the sky like pulsating veins of energy. The crackling thunder that followed roared with the ferocity of an angry god.
Anyone who was outside at the time the mega-storm hit ran for shelter in a hastened panic as the debris-cluttered sky was being swallowed by a massive black hole. The people of Earth had no idea what had just hit them and were certainly not prepared for it.
Directly beneath the epicentre, Alex’s ship was being sucked up along with everything else in the vicinity. The craft was still travelling toward Earth, but the gravitational pull of the black hole had slowed her momentum considerably. It was enough to allow her pod to approach at a safer speed.
The exploration pod raced a few metres above the ocean, occasionally touching down like a stone skipping across a pond. In its wake, the craft left behind a massive rooster tail and a mist of steam as the red-hot metal made contact with the cold ocean water. When the momentum of the craft was no longer able to keep it airborne, it plunged into the churning waters, where it bobbed up and down from the powerful waves and was sent adrift.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Turbulent winds and raging waves slammed against the craft, echoing throughout the cabin. Eventually, Alex regained consciousness and was in a state of confusion as her brain began to clear out the fog. She had no recollection of the recent events in her life. As she looked around her immediate surroundings, she began to piece things together.
She grimaced in pain with each movement. The straps that held her to the seat during re-entry left large bruises on her torso. As she unfastened the harness, she felt a sharp pain in her side, most likely from a fractured rib. Every laboured breath felt like a hot knife was being jabbed into her side.
Rain poured down on the pod, obscuring the view from the windshield. Alex looked up anyway to see if her plan had worked, but it was too dark to see. A crackling lightning bolt lit up the night sky for a brief moment, allowing her to momentarily grasp the severity of the storm. It was complete chaos, but inside the protective craft, she was shielded from the unrelenting weather. She decided to wait before venturing outside to explore the unknown land that she had drifted to. She gazed at the ground surrounding the craft, looking for any signs of familiarity, but there was none. Unfortunately, the light was too low for her to identify anything significant that could help determine her location.
With the atrocious weather, Alex decided to hunker down in the ship and wait out the storm. She was fatigued anyway so it was a suitable option. As she remained in her seat, she shifted her weight away from her damaged rib to become more comfortable. With the rhythmic rain beating down, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
As soon as the sun peeked over the horizon, the light entered the glass dome of the ship, but that was not enough to bring Alex out of her slumber. After a few hours, the sun rose higher in the sky, allowing the rays to warm the inside of the cabin. Alex awoke in discomfort. Her mouth was dry and her body was sweaty. She tried to sit up and immediately felt her stiff bones and sore muscles resist her movements. The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was look skyward. The serene blue sky was calm and there was not a cloud in sight. Alex gleamed with joy.
“Oh my gosh, it worked!” she celebrated with an uninhibited jubilation. Her injuries reminded her to take it easy. After grimacing in pain, an ear-to-ear grin grew on her face. She gazed through the prism of the filthy glass windscreen, but to get the full effect, she needed to be outside.
“Open hatch,” she commanded. Her voice trembled as she was unable to contain her excitement. The mechanical hatch door unlocked and lifted open. Alex’s deprived senses suddenly became flooded with sensation. Her eardrums popped and everything became much louder. The sweet sounds of waves crashing and birds chirping had never sounded so good. The warm ocean breeze whistled by her body, causing the hairs on her arms to stand up. She inhaled a deep breath of the tropical air and then climbed out of her ship. When she stepped onto the sandy beach, she stared up at the gorgeous blue sky. It was the most breathtaking sight she had seen in a long time, perhaps ever. She took great comfort in having a big blue dome encapsulate the planet. In its purity, it represented hope, salvation, and a new beginning.
She spun around to capture the full view of her surroundings. In every direction except one, the ocean, which now had an uncharacteristic indigo tinge to it, stretched out to the horizon. She turned around to examine the island upon which she had drifted. From the shoreline, she could take in the whole scope of the mountainous terrain, which was populated by dense landscape. She saw exotic birds flutter amongst the tall trees, but was unfamiliar with their variety so she was unable to use them as clues to pinpoint where on the map she had landed. She figured perhaps once she ventured in deeper, she would stumble upon some jungle critters that would provide more information as to her location.
From her limited vantage point, the island did not appear to be inhabited by people, but that had yet to be confirmed. It did occur to her, briefly, that she had died and was now in some paradise in the afterlife. She dismissed the speculation and began to consider the more likely scenario that she was stranded on a deserted island with limited supplies and no method of contacting the outside world. She then came to the inevitable conclusion that her troubles were far from over.
Without the aid of her access pod, she would have to rely strictly on what she already knew about survival, which was not much. She re-entered the exploration pod and rummaged through every compartment looking for anything she could utilize. The obvious items she found were a utility tool, a parasite detector, a water purifier, and a fire starter. She figured she could strip some metal rods off something to make skewers for cooking, use a container to carry water, and wires for traps and to bind things together. She pocketed the utility tool and left everything else in the ship.
Building a shelter seemed unnecessary considering she had a weatherproof pod to sleep in. Her primary focus then became obtaining food and fresh drinking water.
Alex kept her eyes on the sky as she trekked up the soft sandy beach. When she reached the treeline, she began to look for anything that could be used as a food source. From the ship, she had obtained several dried food packs that would last her about two weeks if she rationed them properly. Fishing was an option, but unless the fish provided her with more energy than she would exert catching it, she did not see the point. She kept that as an option in her mind and plotted some more as she stomped through the thick bushes.
She continued to hike to higher grounds with the hope of stumbling upon a pond or some wild fruit.
After traversing through the jungle for several hours, she decided to rest for a few minutes. When she stopped moving, she heard the sound of running water in the distance. At first, she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but with each passing second, she became convinced it was real. Without wasting any more time, she set off once again. She followed the sound about a hundred metres until she came across a waterfall and a small pond in a serene location. The trees parted just enough for the sun to light up the forest floor and cause the wate
r to sparkle. It was so beautiful and until she actually touched it, she was not fully convinced it was real.
Alex set down her belongings and knelt by the water. With an insatiable thirst, she cupped her hands together and began slurping up the cold liquid. The refreshing water cooled her insides and quenched her thirst. She scooped a few more handfuls of water for drinking and a couple for cleansing her face.
After a long and exhausting hike, Alex had worked up quite a sweat. With the sun’s warm rays at her back, she peeled off her sticky clothes and then walked into the pond until she was submerged up to her neck. As the cold water engulfed her warm body, she felt exhilarated. She then inspected her body for damage. Her rib was swollen and slightly protruding, but it did not impede her movement too much. Aside from that injury and some nasty bruises, she was still in one piece.
Chapter Fifty
In the morning, Alex set off early to hike through the jungle. With so many repeated trips, a small path had been carved out. By now, she had a routine and was growing accustomed to surviving on her own. She was kept alive by the fresh water source she had found on her first day and the dry space food, which was quickly dwindling.
Every day, she would explore a new part of the island in search of food. She supplemented her diet with different varieties of berries that she had discovered along the way, but it was not enough to maintain her required caloric intake. She was losing weight and each day her health was deteriorating as her body was feeling the effects of poor nutrition, a lack of oxygen-infused sleeping, and her illness. The nosebleeds had yet to stop and were becoming more frequent.
Along her travels, she would routinely stop and observe the many unusual plants, bugs, and small critters she encountered. It was one way to keep her mind occupied, but it also created an opportunity to learn about some rare species up close.
When she finally reached the waterfall, she was exhausted, much more so than on previous days. She stopped for a long rest and a quick dip in the waters. She told herself the water had magical healing powers that would restore her health and bring her vitality. It was of course an absurd notion, but if she truly believed it, perhaps her brain would send signals to her body to heal itself.
She had a powerful belief system that had proven to be effective in the past and accomplished feats that science could not yet explain.
At dusk, Alex made a fire and sat on the sandy beach, watching the sun make its descent. In those moments, she reflected on all the events in her life that led her to being where she was. She thought about her friends and family, who were on the other side of the planet, and wondered if they were thinking about her.
When the sun finally rested below the horizon, Alex climbed into the cabin of the small craft and sealed the hatch. There was something very psychologically satisfying about being sealed in there – she was protected from the elements and away from any creepy-crawlies. She leaned back in her seat and stared up at the starry sky. Living in a light-polluted metropolis had robbed her of this experience for so many years. Now she had a chance to marvel at the grandness and beauty of the cosmos.
The next morning, Alex felt vastly worse than the days prior. She began her day by entering the jungle just like she had done so many times before. On her way up to the waterfall, she barely had the strength and collapsed several times. As she struggled up the mountain, her head felt light and disorientated. It bobbled around her thin neck and her bony shoulders. The dense leaves overhead provided her with shade from the sun, but it was still muggy. The thick air was difficult to breathe and at times she felt as though it was suffocating her. In the distance, birds and other jungle animals squawked, almost as if they were mocking her.
Her stomach growled loudly and all she could think about was food. She shuffled through the twigs and fallen leaves that littered the forest floor as she could barely lift her feet. When she eventually arrived at the pond, she collapsed and had to drag herself across the dirt the rest of the way. Inch by inch, she crawled forward until her unrecognizable face reflected back off the glassy water. Her muscles shook relentlessly as she lowered her face to the water and began to drink. If tomorrow ever came for her, she would certainly not have the strength to make it back up there. She knew this would be her final trip to the sacred waters that had failed to restore her health. Without fresh water, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.
Why is the universe so cruel to good people? she wondered.
Even with her mental faculties seriously impaired, Alex knew she had a choice to make. She could either remain by the pond and be close to a fresh water source, or trudge back through the jungle and down to the ship. The hike would certainly be her last, but she could at least have shelter and one last meal.
The hours ticked by, which felt like days. She had worked up an incredible fever, made worse by the scorching sun. For the next few hours, she positioned herself up against a rock by the pond, convinced it would be her final spot of rest.
Alex laid back and stared up and the beautiful blue sky that she had revealed. High overhead, a vulture circled, signifying the end was near. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, her weak and dehydrated body clung to the last scraps of life. It was only a matter of time until she met her demise.
Chapter Fifty-One
Alex did not hear it, but in the distance was the sound of hope. A large rescue pod hovered twenty feet over the ground and came to a halt directly next to her craft on the beach. Mara was the first person to jump out. She rushed over to the pod calling out Alex’s name, but there was no answer.
Mara and her small crew came across the path that had been carved out in the forest. She led the way through the tall trees and thick bushes, following the blinking light on her access pod. When Mara was less than one hundred metres away, she spotted Alex and began to run toward her.
“Alex!” Mara screamed out in a panicked voice.
She ran over to her dying daughter and cradled Alex in her arms. She checked for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.
“Come on, let’s get her in the vehicle,” Mara demanded. Three men rushed over, picked Alex up, and carried her limp body into the craft. Once on board they immediately hooked her up to a TPN intravenous drip, which consisted of vitamins, salts, glucose, lipids and essential amino acids.
“Hang on, Alex. I’m here to bring you home.”
The craft lifted off the ground, displacing a small cloud of sand as it pivoted in place. It then accelerated across the Atlantic and back to Megalopolis.
On board the craft, Alex’s status was monitored by a team of medical experts. Mara did whatever she could to help, which included holding Alex’s hand and speaking to her. When they finally arrived at the Megalopolis hospital, Alex was immediately transferred to her own room and a team of the best doctors in the world attended to her.
After administering several medications to her, Alex was placed inside a special hyperbaric chamber that enriched her body with oxygen and nutrients.
Over the next few days, Alex remained unconscious as her body recovered. She was still frail, but was slowly regaining weight. The whole time, Mara, Milo, and Aris did not leave her side.
After being in the hospital for nearly a week, Alex’s eyes slowly peeled open.
“She’s awake!” Milo shouted.
Mara jumped to her feet, rushed toward the chamber, and pressed her face against the glass dome. When she saw Alex’s eyes flutter open like a newborn baby, Mara immediately began to cry. She knew Alex could not hear her, but through the glass she signed a message that caused Alex to smile. Everyone else in the room hovered over the glass and Alex made eye contact with each of them.
“Can I hold her?” Mara asked the doctor.
The doctor reviewed Alex’s stats and then permitted the request. The glass dome slowly opened, allowing Mara to hold Alex’s hand.
It took a moment for Alex to fully register what was going on, but Mara explained it to her.
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�Where am I?” Alex mumbled. “Am I dead?”
Everyone in the room could not help but chuckle.
“No honey, you’re not dead. You’re safe inside the Megalopolis hospital.”
“You are very fortunate that someone came along and found you,” the doctor said. “Had that not happened, you would have likely died within the hour.”
“How did you find me?” Alex inquired.
“You sent me a message.”
Alex looked puzzled.
“We had no idea where you were until one day your voice came flooding into my head with such clarity. You described your surroundings, told me about the plants and trees, the positioning of the sun, moon, and stars. Based on that information, we determined you were somewhere in Southeast Asia.”
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down much,” Alex said.
“You’re right. We were searching random beaches in the Southeastern hemisphere for days. Most of the crew thought I was crazy, but somehow I knew you were alive and trying to reach out to me.
“The next time your voice came to me, you were expressing your reluctance to eat a small lizard. You described the markings on the back of the critter, which identified it as the Kwam Vallen salamander. We looked it up and that lizard happens to be indigenous to one very specific region of Thailand. Once we were close enough, we could track you using your chip. We were very lucky to have found you in time.”
“I don’t think luck had anything to do with it,” Alex said. “After the events that have transpired in my life, I’m convinced I was put on this Earth for a reason.”
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