by T. S. Smith
Interviewer: You’ve done us all a great disservice, Susan. You haven’t fooled anyone. Your statements are completely inconsistent with the data records found in the emergency vehicle. I know that you’re covering for him but the public needs an answer for this mess and if you’re not willing to give it to us, well then perhaps the judiciary needs to be involved. Just between us, I’m sorry, you should be a hero but I can’t tell you what will happen now. I’ve come a long way for this nonsense.
2nd Officer S. Roberts: I never asked you to fly out here and ask me foolish questions to begin with. You guys brought me here, remember?
Interviewer: Well then, you have a good day, Ms. Roberts, this has been a severe waste of my time. I’ll inform my superiors of your compliance, or lack thereof, later this afternoon. Goodbye, Susan.
The interviewer stood up in haste and took hold of his briefcase. 2nd Officer Susan Roberts’ eyes opened wide. On the two most forefingers of the man’s right hand, a black shade had begun to crawl.
EPILOGUE:
HOLLAND’S DREAM
I had a dream the other night of my father, just me and him, walking next to the dockyards out East and watching the long skiffs and fishing boats bob up and down and settle in the blue-green water like we used to do when I was a boy. We sat down on one of the concrete benches that lined the yard and I asked him how he had been so strong even after what Mom had done and got up and left as she did. He went quiet for a while and then tried to answer but I could tell he couldn’t quite find the words. I don’t know why I did it but I stood up and turned to leave but before I got the chance to, he started talking. And he told me that at some point you can lose yourself in your own sorrow, you can lose yourself in the misery because it’s always there, it’s always pressing at you from behind, riding at your heels a bit, but a time comes when you just kind of feel that everything is going to be okay and it was just something that went right for him instead of wrong. He then told me that I needed to let go of those feelings, that I needed to forgive myself for the accident and that it wasn’t my fault. He said that sometimes things happen in life that are incredibly difficult for a person to feel and they hurt so much but that the past needs to stay in the past. I started to say something back but I woke up and I was here, on the Poseidon with no life to live, alone with only my dream of deep space on a ship.
AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHOR
Horizon 616 was a project for me that had been long in development and long on the shelf. Originally, the story was written in the summer of 2012 during my days as a coffee barista at the local Starbucks in Southern California where I worked to pay my way through college. In those days, the story was even shorter than it is now by about half, can you believe that? I had a few proofreaders go over it, nothing special, and put it to rest in the drawer. After it sat and collected dust for half a decade buried in the dark recesses of my computer hard drive while I wrote the dystopian novel Utopia One, and after I went on a long-planned vacation to Virginia with my family, I thought it was time to pull it out and offer the story up for the world to see. My goal when writing Horizon 616 was to call back to the science fiction of the eighties, the best science fiction in my opinion, and in doing so to write an entertaining story that could potentially thrill and horrify the reader at the same time. So I hit the computer and after about 30 drafts and revisions to the story which you are reading right now on your device, this is what popped out. Don’t blame me, it just happened. Some things in life just happen and writing is no different. I hope that I was successful in my own mission, unlike that of Roy Holland, of getting a delightful and entertaining story in your hands that may fill your day with some interesting events and thought-provoking ideas. My intention is to write more for you, the reader, and I wanted to thank you for making it this far. There will be more to come and eventually Susan’s story will continue, maybe just not yet though and maybe not in the fashion that we expect. Until I see you again, thank you.
-TS
Special Acknowledgments
To my mother,
all of my family and friends,
and to my content editors, Gary O’Neill and Lindsay Hughes:
This story would have never been possible without all of your love, support, and patience with me as I bugged you all over and over again.
Thank You.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE STILL READING, I SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AS WELL.
A NEW STORY IS SET TO ARRIVE IN LATE FALL OF 2017.
If you enjoyed this story, leave a review at the retailer where it was purchased! Every bit helps the author develop more stories for the enjoyment of the fans and the readers. To know more about the current works of T.S.Smith, visit the author’s website at the following address:
www.tssmith.org
Or connect on twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/Author_TSSmith
Table of Contents
HORIZON 616
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTERVIEW: PART I
1
INTERVIEW: PART II
2
INTERVIEW: PART III
3
***
4
INTERVIEW: PART IV
5
***
6
INTERVIEW: PART V
7
***
8
INTERVIEW: PART VI
9
***
10
INTERVIEW: PART VII
11
***
12
***
13
***
14
INTERVIEW: PART VIII
15
***
16
INTERVIEW: PART IX
17
INTERVIEW: PART X
EPILOGUE:
HOLLAND’S DREAM
AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHOR