Stars Fell on Alabama

by M. Alan Marr

  Dev, wide awake, spends time at his desk working on his journal entries for the trip to Zurich. At around 11:00 pm, Dev is hungry again and orders a pizza, which the concierge delivers to the penthouse about forty minutes later. Dev brings the pizza into the living room and decides to watch a movie called Always, about pilots of airborne firefighting aircraft. Love story. Life. Death. Afterlife. Romance. It’s a nice film. Dev keeps the volume low so as not to disturb Chaz, even though Chaz could sleep through almost anything.

  A short while later, sleepy Chaz emerges from the bedroom and makes his way to the living room. Dev sees him and pauses the movie.

  “I fell asleep.”

  “You did,” Dev says. “About four hours ago.”

  Chaz takes a slice of pizza out of the box. It’s still warm, but only just. Dev hands Chaz some napkins from a small stack and then gets him a bottle of cold water.

  “That guy was such a dick,” Chaz says while chewing.

  “You’re still irritated with the banker?”

  Chaz snorts. “It just amazes me he was so nasty.”

  “Chaz, he’s a despicable little man. Besides, it’s not like you gave him the money. He’s an administrator. And you made him stay after work.”

  Chaz laughs some more. “Yeah, I did.”

  “By several hours.” Then, for good measure, Dev adds, “And by the way, you left his office and boarded a Boeing Business Jet. He went home to quickly sleep before returning to the bank, where his days are spent with the people Franz and Annette can’t stand to be around.”

  “That’s true,” Chaz agrees. “Let’s finish the movie.”

  Part II

  Autumnal Equinox

  Mission Time: 186 Days

  Chapter 16

  Startled!

  The pizza box is strewn with crusts and two untouched slices. The movie just ended with the guy getting the girl (of course) and living happily ever after (obviously). Dev’s desktop iMac suddenly flashes to life in the dark study. The cosmos program begins sounding an alert tone. Almost immediately, Dev’s iPhone and laptop all begin sounding the same alert, even though his laptop is closed and sitting on the dining room table.

  “What the hell . . .” Chaz says.

  Dev is instantly on his feet and freezes for a moment before walking to the study with a sort of forced calm. A forced calm that does not fool Chaz for a minute. Something is wrong and he knows it. The alert tones stop a moment later. Dev walks behind the desk fixates on the bright computer screen; he doesn’t even notice Chaz standing at the doorway watching him. Nervously, Dev’s eyes dart across the cosmos program. Nothing is moving. The dashed line disappears. Chaz turns on the lights to the study, startling Dev.

  “What is it?” Chaz says cautiously, waiting at the entry.

  Dev hesitates. “The program just . . .”

  “The planet program?”

  “Yeah . . .” Dev frowns slightly as the program shifts scale to show the entire solar system. A rapid succession of orbits and astronomical data begins appearing on screen. Dev is confused, thinking What the hell is this?

  “Are you okay?”

  Dev answers blankly. “Yeah.”

  “You’re not—what’s going on?” Chaz says with growing concern.

  Dev is flustered. “I . . . don’t know . . . it . . . it . . .”

  “Calm down, Dev. Tell me what happened with the program.”

  Dev rubs his forehead, then has a distressing thought. He looks at Chaz. “What’s the date?”

  “The date?” Chaz looks at the clock on the wall. “It’s just past midnight, so it’s September 22nd.”

  Dev whispers, “Equinox—”

  “Huh?”

  Dev says, dropping his hand from his face, “There are two each year. Vernal equinox in March; Autumnal equinox in September.” Dev suddenly gets nervous. “We use equinoctial timing for critical . . . events.”

  “Can you fix it?”

  Dev watches the display. The extraneous data disappears. The computer plots a parabolic arc extending from Earth, bending around Saturn, and extending in a long outbound course with a terminus near Pluto. The small numerical boxes at the bottom of the program fill with pertinent associated data and freeze in place. Dev looks horrified. A yellow bar appears across the top of the screen: a timing window segmented into years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and tenths of seconds. The last four boxes quickly populate from right to left. The box turns blue and begins counting down from T-minus twenty-three hours. Dev takes a sudden short breath.

  Chaz startles as well. “What?”

  Dev whispers. “Holy shit.”

  Chaz is very concerned. “What is it?”

  Dev looks at Chaz for a few moments before quietly answering. “I have to . . . go to the lake.”

  “What?”

  “I have to go to the lake. Tomorrow.”

  Chaz approaches the desk and sees Dev terminate the program. “Whoa. I’ve seen that program running since the day we met, and this is the first time you’ve ever shut it down.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s . . . finished.” Dev’s anxiety level is obvious.

  “You’ve had issues with it before and you fixed it.”

  Dev takes a breath and shakes his head. “Not like this.”

  Chaz considers the situation. He really can’t do anything to help with computer programming issues. That’s a language Chaz doesn’t at all understand. “Well, maybe going to the lake is a good idea.”

  Dev looks away to conceal his panic.

  “It will be okay, Dev.”

  Dev doesn’t say anything.

  “In fact, going to the lake is a great idea. We can camp, go fishing, and forget all about Atlanta, and computers, and bank accounts. Trust me.”

  Dev pauses and then nods.

  “Come on, let’s get some sleep. Things will look different tomorrow.”

  Dev begrudgingly agrees. “Yeah.”

  Dev does not sleep. He tosses and turns and lies awake. Staring at the ceiling for who knows how long finally gets to him, so he gets up and returns to the study and restarts the cosmos program. Entering a few commands brings up additional information. A new and much shorter trajectory line appears from outside the star system, also bound for Pluto. He now realizes the countdown was triggered by the inbound intercept course. A tag appears near the new trajectory.

  “Adonis,” Dev says aloud to himself. The timer reads 19h:23m:04s:28t and counting down. Dev hangs his head and closes his eyes. Clearly, his lack of communication has not gone unnoticed. Maybe his satellite message never made it to the Crown. Maybe they think he’s lost. Maybe they think he needs help. Whatever the reason, the Admiralty sent a warship.

  “Dev?”

  He didn’t hear Chaz get up and is once again startled. Being jumpy is not in Dev’s character, but twice this evening he reacted the same way.

  “What’s wrong?” Chaz says quietly.

  Dev tries to be nonchalant. “Oh . . . this program . . . it—I was just surprised it stopped when it did.”

  “It’s really late.”

  “I know. I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “That’s all right. Want some chamomile tea? It will help you sleep.”

  “Sure.”

  While Chaz is in the kitchen fixing the tea, Dev takes a deep breath and shuts down the program. He’s just been recalled and there is nothing he can do about it. Dev’s time on Earth is up, six months early.

  An exhausted and despondent Dev walks into the kitchen, where Chaz used boiling water from the instant hot tap to make their tea. Chaz gives him a concerned smile and hands him a mug of soothing chamomile. Dev takes the tea and stares blankly at it.

  “This isn’t like you, Dev.” Chaz says with care. “You’re all spaced out.”

  “Spaced out . . .” Dev says with a slight chuckle.

  “That program’s been running for months.”

  “Six, in total.”

  “I
s there anything I can do?”

  Dev shakes his head. “No. There’s nothing anyone can do.”

  They sip their tea in the kitchen. The condo has a chill in the air, as Dev likes sleeping in a cool temperature. Out of bed and overtired, Dev is physically and mentally drained.

  “Camping is a good idea,” Chaz says, trying to be positive. “We can sleep under the stars.”

  It almost sounded ironic. “Under the stars.”

  Dev manages to fall asleep, thanks in part to Chaz’s chamomile tea, but mostly just his being so supportive. Chaz sleeps as well, satisfied the camping trip will take Dev’s mind off a computer program that apparently just ended badly.

  Dev wakes up with a start at 10:00 am. He quickly grabs his phone and checks the countdown timer. Just over thirteen hours remaining. It’s tonight, he thinks. He hears the shower running. Out of his periphery, he sees a venti Starbucks sitting on the bedside. Chaz had woken up earlier and made a coffee run.

  Dev takes his coffee and walks into Chaz’s room. He hears the shower running and knocks on the partially open bathroom door.

  “Thank you for my coffee.”

  Chaz is lathered up in the shower. “Hey good morning! I figured since you were up half the night, I’d try and let you sleep.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Are you feeling better?”

  “Yeah, not bad.”

  “That doesn’t sound convincing.”

  “I know.”

  “You were pretty flustered last night. Hey, if you still plan on driving to the lake today we should think about getting going.”

  “Yeah. Before we go to Alabama, can we make a quick stop first?”

  “Sure, where?”

  “The terrain at the lake is a bit rugged. I’d like to buy a new vehicle.”

  “You want to get rid of the vintage Bronco?”

  “It is somewhat dated.”

  “It’s in mint condition, though. You’ve obviously had it garaged the whole time.”

  “Oh, it was garaged.”

  “Don’t get rid of it,” Chaz urges. “It’s a classic. You should hang on to it.”

  “All right.”

  “But we can definitely go car shopping. Any idea what you want to look at?”

  “No, that’s sort of your area,” Dev says. “What would you recommend?”

  “Rugged terrain? Range Rover.”

  “Range Rover it is.”

  A salesman at the Range Rover dealership watches as a brand-new sapphire blue Porsche 911 pulls into the lot. He positions himself near the door to greet the two men entering the showroom. Chaz dispenses with all the nitty gritty stuff, and cuts to the chase, telling the salesman they are only interested in seeing what is available for immediate delivery. Immediate as in now.

  Since they want a full-size Range Rover, it comes down to a single choice: the demonstrator vehicle. It is either that, or wait for the next shipment of vehicles to arrive. The salesman walks with the men back outside to the demo vehicle. “This baby has all the bells and whistles.”

  “What does that mean?” Dev says.

  “It’s fully loaded,” the salesman says, and then begins to talk about all the options.

  As the salesman goes on and on, Chaz catches Dev anxiously checking his iPhone, his attention drifting elsewhere. Chaz sees Dev is preoccupied and knows he is still obsessing over the planet program, so he interjects to speed the process along.

  “Listen, we’re on a tight schedule today.” Chaz takes out his black Amex card and hands it to the salesman.

  “You want to put a deposit on it?”

  “No, I’m buying it.”

  “But we haven’t discussed price.”

  Chaz walks around the side of the car and looks at the window sticker. “Sticker minus five percent. That’s the price.”

  “Five percent? These vehicles are in high demand. We can’t even keep them in stock.”

  “This is a demo vehicle with mileage on it. Five percent.”

  The salesman is a bit taken aback. “I’ll . . . have to speak to my manager.”

  “Fine, do that. Put the whole thing on the card.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “I’m not sure my manager will agree to that.”

  Chaz looks at the salesman with determination. “If not, there’s a Cayenne GTS at the Porsche dealer, and they know me very well over there. This vehicle, that card. Take it or leave it.”

  They took it.

  Dev wasn’t paying attention and sees the salesman walking away. “What happened?”

  “I just bought you a Range Rover. This covers the hundred grand in Zurich.”

  The Range Rover, since it is a demo vehicle, requires minimal prepping. In the end, the time it took to complete the sale corresponded with the exact time it took for the dealership to confirm and clear the charge with the credit card company.

  An hour and a half later, the Range Rover and 911 are parked next to the Bronco in the Gillespie garage. Chaz and Dev head up to the penthouse to pack for their trip to the lake. Dev secures his laptop and changes into more rugged camping attire: jeans, shirt, and a Lands End vest and then returns to the study to secure his desktop computer and check the cosmos program one last time. Chaz sorts through his camping gear in the storage bedroom behind the kitchen and collects everything they need and prepares to bring it all down to the garage. It would be easier with some help, but he knows Dev is distracted, so he manages to carry everything himself.

  “I’m ready when you are,” Chaz says on the way out the door. “I’ll go down and load this stuff in the truck.”

  Dev answers somewhat vaguely. “I’ll be right down.”

  The stress is building. Dev anxiously paces in his study until he hears the elevator chime in the foyer. Now motionless, he listens as Chaz and clanking bundle of camping gear steps inside. As soon as the elevator doors close, Dev quickly snaps into action, opening the safe behind the bookcase. He quickly shoves a few items from the safe into his computer bag (his off world belt, interlink device, and platinum bangle chronometer) then carefully pulls out a holstered weapon. Dev draws the gun and tosses the empty holster in his bag. Weapon in hand, he looks in the direction of the elevator foyer, narrows his eyes slightly, then pulls the slide back on the gun. This is it. No matter how the next few hours play out, one thing is absolutely certain: this will be the last day on Earth for at least one of them.

  Dev stashes the weapon in his front left pocket of his vest, grabs the computer bag and heads for the doors. From the foyer, Dev hesitates a moment. He turns around and takes one last look at the penthouse, then closes the doors and rings for the elevator. Duty calls and there’s no turning back now.

  Down in the garage, Chaz is loading the last of the camping gear, fishing poles, and tackle box in the Range Rover. Dev arrives and stashes his computer bag in the backseat.

  “Is that your computer bag?” Chaz says with accusatory smile.

  “Yes, but I promise, I won’t use it.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” Chaz smiles. “Ready to go?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Dev replies with the slightest of apprehension.

  “Do you want me to drive?”

  “Nah,” Dev replies, “I’ve got it.”

  They climb into the Range Rover and drive away.

  Chapter 17

  Starring Camelopardalis

  The drive in the new Range Rover is very comfortable, but the closer they get to Alabama, the more pensive Dev becomes. Chaz takes over driving after Dev nearly swerves off the road a couple of times, lost in thought. They stop to gas up and eat at a greasy spoon just inside the Alabama border. Dev orders a bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon.

  Just after sunset, the screen in the Range Rover signals they are approaching the coordinates Dev entered in the GPS. Chaz slowly traverses the narrow and winding path, being careful not to scratch the paint with the brush and vines lining the way. The tru
ck emerges in the clearing above the lake. Chaz parks in the middle of the clearing and shuts off the engine. Dev gets out without saying a word and walks down the hill and stares out across the lake. Dusk yields to early evening, and the view is both tranquil and picturesque. Dev has so many variables running through his head at this moment, he can’t focus on a single thought. He is nervous.

  Chaz opens the Range Rover’s back gate to unload the gear and looks around for Dev, but he’s nowhere in sight. Dispensing with the unload, Chaz walks toward the edge of the hill, where he sees Dev standing at the lake’s edge. Chaz watches him for several seconds, then heads down the hill and joins his side.

  “I don’t know how in the world you found this place, but it’s beautiful.”

  Dev looks at Chaz, then turns back to the lake. “Yes, it is.”

  “You’ve barely said a single word in the last hour. Something’s on your mind.”

  “Does it show?”

  “How long have I known you?”

  Dev sounds a bit distant. “Five months, twenty-six days.”

  The exactness makes Chaz smile. “Just five months and twenty-six days? Seems longer than that.”

  “It does,” Dev agrees, the thought warming his heart. “I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

  “At some point, you’re going to have to tell me what’s going on.”

  “There is something.”

  Chaz looks concerned. “Are you having second thoughts about me moving in together?”

  “What? No.”

  Chaz lets out a sigh of relief. “Well, tell you what, how about I go up to the truck and get a bottle of wine and some of that great cheese I brought?”

  “We have wine and cheese?”

  Chaz remains upbeat. “We do. So I’ve got dinner covered for tonight. But there better be fish in that lake or tomorrow we go hungry,” Chaz jokes. He at least brings a slight smile to Dev’s face. Chaz is clearly doing his best to make Dev feel better. “I’ll be right back.” Chaz jogs up the hill and out of sight.

  Dev turns to the lake and closes his eyes, his anxiety starting to surface. Soon after, he hears Chaz screaming—not yelling, screaming— at the top of his lungs. Instantly, Dev is sprinting up the hill toward the clearing, ripping open the Velcro pocket on his vest and drawing his weapon. Near the back of the Range Rover, Chaz is standing before a very large bear. Chaz holds the bottle of wine in one hand, and the cheese in his other. Dev stops short and trains his weapon on the animal. The bear turns to Dev then back to Chaz, who flips the wine bottle around, gripping it by its neck, to use it as a club. The bear stands upright and roars. Dev quickly re-aims and fires. An intensely bright beam of energy strikes the bear, vaporizing it completely. The blast of the weapon echoes like a rifle shot in the distance. The flash and short burst of wind from the vaporizing bear clears almost instantly. A strange silence fills the air after it is over. Chaz stands motionless. It takes him a moment to process what he’s just seen. He catches his breath and looks over at Dev, who is still standing with the weapon poised for action. The normal chatter of the insects returns a few seconds later. Dev relaxes his stance and points the muzzle of the weapon upward in a safe direction.