

Age of Men

By Eduard Joseph

Published by Eduard Joseph

Smashwords edition

Copyright 2016 Eduard Joseph

Front cover design by Eduard Joseph

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This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are

not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. Any resemblance to any person or

persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved

The right of Eduard Joseph to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him under the South African Copyright Act of 1978 (as amended).

1

Australian Airways Flight 19, an Airbus A83 on the return flight of its maiden voyage, was on its way to Sydney Airport and had a crew of seventeen with a passenger load of three hundred and three passengers; amongst the passengers were Samantha Woodster and her teenage son, Alex.

She had just received a promotion for the company she worked for – meaning that she had to leave her life and everyone she knew behind to move to Sydney. The new position was at their head office and came with a six figure salary. Though it took her almost ten years, her life was finally steering into the right direction; she had a deadbeat husband who walked out on them, a horrible apartment and a job that gave her enough stress for two lifetimes, but in life you can't gain without pain... and she was finally gaining on the good things in life.

Alex on the other hand, wasn't happy about leaving behind his friends to move to some stupid island filled with kangaroos. He wanted to stay in the town he grew up with his best friend, Peter. Everyone he knew was back home, including the girl he started dating a few weeks before they moved. Her name was Michelle and though she might not have been the most popular or prettiest girl in school, Alex adored her.

They'd been on only three dates, but Alex knew that she was the girl for him and even started saving up some money from his paper-round to buy her a bracelet for her birthday next month... but, now he'd never see her again. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to her as she was away for spring break with her family when his mom decided to up and go in two days.

Samantha sat at the window staring out, though there was not much to see out in the night's sky except dark clouds spread out across the horizon like a wool blanket. Alex played a game on his portable gaming device while she dreamt about their new life in Sydney. The firm had already arranged accommodation near the beach and from the photos Samantha could tell that it was the perfect place to call home. Home was where the heart was and while her heart was steering them towards Sydney, Alex's heart was back in his old town.

She turned to Alex who had been giving her the cold shoulder for the last few days. He was at a very difficult stage of his teen years and blamed her for everything that went wrong in his life, and the move only made his case that much stronger. She knew that it was only a phase as she too once was young and misunderstood – but not as misunderstood as him.

Alex was the best thing that had ever happened to her. His father simply walked out on them when he was just a baby which was probably the best gift he could ever give her. She never heard from him since and she never bothered trying to get in touch with him either. She heard of too many women who got in contact with a deadbeat husband and then ended up in a lengthy custody battle over a child he never wanted in the first place.

Though Alex hated her at that moment, she knew – or rather hoped – that he would one day realize that she only did what she thought was best for him and that a better life awaited him in Sydney.

The flight attendant talking next to Alex made Samantha look up.

"Can I bring you something to drink?" The flight attendant asked.

"A coffee would be nice." Samantha said with a smile.

Samantha turned to Alex whom was ignoring her and the stewardess. He was more interested in his violent zombie-killing game. He decided if he ignored his mother enough she might realize what a big mistake the relocation was and change her mind.

"What would you like?" Samantha asked him.

"Beer." Alex mumbled without looking up.

She resented the rebel years, but decided to play it cool when it came to her son's mood swings. Samantha looked up at the flight attendant and smiled.

"He'll have a soda." Samantha said.

The flight attendant nodded and moved on as Alex grunted in frustration.

Samantha glanced over at Alex and wished she could make him understand that she's only trying to do what she thought would be best for him. He constantly complained that he was unhappy back home and now that they were moving he complained about that as well. Yes, it was indeed sad that the move happened when he finally met a nice girl, but he was still young and there were plenty of nice girls down under.

"I know you hate me." Samantha said.

Alex ignored her and continued with his game.

"I didn't want to leave our life behind either." Samantha said, "But the Company gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm doing this for us..."

"You did this for yourself." He grunted without looking up.

"With this new job I can give you everything you could ever want." She said, "We can finally start living without worrying about a budget or not being able to pay the bills."

Alex didn't respond and when it became evident that she would suffer his silent wrath the rest of the trip, she sighed and turned back to the window. There was just total darkness outside and the only thing she could see was a blinking light at the end of the wing. Every now and then she could spot the ocean down below between the ominous clouds.

"There is nothing out there but ocean and clouds." Samantha said, "Pretty scary don't you think?"

Alex was growing agitated with the fact that she wanted to chat. He knew that if he didn't say something she would annoy him until the plane landed. He just wanted her to shut up and let him be.

"We're in a plane thousands of feet in the air," Alex said annoyed, "On our way to some stupid island in the middle of the stupid ocean. Of course there would be nothing out there except the stupid ocean."

Alex shook his head at her stupidity and continued with his game.

That was it; Samantha finally gave up. She'd leave him alone for the rest of the flight. She picked up her eBook reader and continued reading the book she'd recently stumbled upon an author from South Africa who wrote some pretty interesting novels. His novels had almost every genre mixed into one to create fantastic and enticing reads. She had just downloaded one of his latest short stories entitled Hotel Horror Story;

In September of 1985, the Odendale Hotel in the small town of Haysville was closed down for good by the authorities after numerous complaints from the town's residents. The hotel, which was situated about a mile outside of town, was advertised per highway billboards as 'your home away from home', but residents and guests of the hotel had a different opinion.

Some of the residents of Haysville noticed strange happenings in town during the construction of the hotel and there were even rumours that the hotel was not built on ancient burial grounds like in horror movies, but that the hotel might have been some kind of doorway built by the developers – targeting Haysville specifically for the fact that they were a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Construction started in April 1980 and curious kids would go to the building site after school to watch builders build what they hoped would be the future of their little town.

Alex Jensen, aged 12, reported that he and his friends went to the building site after school on the day of April 25th, 1980 and noted that all the streetlamps leading to the hotel was on despite it being 3 in the afternoon. He didn't think much of it, until each light started switching off after another – as if drawing his attention to the site of the new hotel. He reportedly heard voices whisper, "come and see..."

None of Alex's friends noticed the lights or heard the whispers, but Alex couldn't help but feel that they were being watched by something other than the builders who occasionally glanced at the kids from afar.

On the night of April 29 while preparing herself a cup of tea, Mrs Martha Williams reported seeing at least fifteen cats running down the street in the same direction as they all growled and hissed. When another ten cats came running by, she went out onto her porch to see what the commotion was about and noticed that the cats all seemed to run down Main Road – the street that led out of town towards the Odendale Hotel.

On the morning of April 30th, 1980, construction was unable to continue due to the fact that the carcases of at least a hundred cats were found scattered across the Odendale Hotel building site – some of the cats were badly decomposed as if they had been lying there for months. It took a clean-up crew five hours to remove all the dead cats as some of them were compressed between building equipment and vehicle wheels.

The hotel opened its doors on May 29th, 1980 after a hurried construction to meet deadlines and its first guest, Peter Smith, checked in on June 4th, but never checked out. According to the front desk clerk, Mr Smith was last seen in the dining hall on June 5th, having dinner with one of the other guests, but he was never seen returning to his room. When housekeeping entered his room on the morning of June 6th, they found a message on the bathroom mirror written in what seemed to be blood; "I was here. I used to exist."

A missing persons report was filed at the Haysville Police, but it would be the first in a string of bizarre disappearances at the hotel, but with no signs of foul play, the case became known as a cold case and speculation suggested that Mr Smith snuck out during the night in a bid to avoid paying for his room.

On the evening of August 9th, 1980, Jeremy Clarkson called down to the front desk to enquire whether he was in possession of the only key card to the room that he checked into the night before. He claimed that he awoke during the night to find a woman with long white hair and a face as black as night standing at the foot of his bed, but when he switched on the bedside lamp, the woman was gone.

The front desk clerk assured Mr Clarkson that he had the only key card, but offered to have the room searched by security. Mr Clarkson declined the offer, but called the front desk again later that night at 23:05 sounding terrified.

" _Front desk." The clerk answered._

" _She's back." Mr Clarkson whispered._

" _I'm sorry?" The clerk asked confused._

" _Room 142." Mr Clarkson uttered, "The woman at the foot of my bed... she's back. I woke up and saw her standing there in the dark, but this time when I switched on the light she was still there."_

" _Is she still there now, sir?"_

" _Yes."_

" _What is she doing?"_

" _She's just standing there." Mr Clarkson whispered, "Standing in the corner of the room with her back to me... oh God..."_

" _What?"_

" _She's walking towards the bed... backwards."_

The call was disconnected and that was the last anyone ever heard from Jeremy Clarkson. The front desk clerk sent two security guards up to room 142, but it was unoccupied and the bed was made – there was no trace of Jeremy Clarkson or the woman he reportedly saw. Despite finding no Jeremy Clarkson in the check-in register, hotel management filed a missing person's report. The Haysville police completed their investigation, but with no record of Jeremy Clarkson ever checking in, they simply closed their file and shipped it off to the archives.

Samantha loved reading and read every chance she got when she wasn't working or trying to spend time with her rebellious boy. When she looked down at her wristwatch she saw that she had been reading for about thirty minutes. She glanced down at the empty tray table in front of her and then over at Alex who had fallen asleep at some point during the flight with the game console lying on his lap; paused on the main menu. Samantha took the device, saved his game and switched it off.

I wonder what happened to my coffee? Samantha wondered. She didn't recall that the flight attendant returned with their drinks. Maybe she forgot? Samantha glanced around the plane and saw that most of the passengers were asleep. Some were still reading while others chatted in hushed voices to each other.

She glanced down the isle to the kitchenette at the back of the plane, but couldn't see any flight attendants, and so she pressed the call button.

2

The two pilots in the cockpit were chatting all the way throughout the flight; Keith was the chatty one while William listened and gave the occasional response. Keith was one of those overly excited people who were amazed by the smallest of things while William was more laid back and mature for his age, and though much younger than Keith, he had the same flying experience.

"I can't wait to land." Keith said.

He'd been a pilot for almost twenty years and was looking forward to his retirement next month. He and his wife stayed in Sydney with their two dogs, Chop and Cop. They couldn't have children so opted for dogs. They tried to get pregnant for years and then after seeing fertility specialists finally gave up on the hopes of ever having children of their own.

"I have a surprise for my wife." Keith said, "Tomorrow is our tenth D- Day."

"D- day?" William asked.

"Divorce day." Keith elaborated, "Ten years ago we decided to call a quits – you know because of the fertility issue, but our priest helped us get through our tough times. We decided to celebrate that day as the day our marriage grew stronger. We've been celebrating it like an anniversary ever since."

Keith chuckled at his little joke and thought of his loving wife waiting up for him at home like she always did. He couldn't wait to see her, even though he saw her two days earlier.

"I bought her a rose pendulum." Keith said, "She has this thing for roses. Not real roses mind you, but anything that has a rose on it. She is allergic to roses and I think that is why she loves them so much – Some people love what they can't have."

William seemed distracted and was barely listening as he stared out through the window at the darkness out ahead. The darkness concerned him a bit, but he tried to stay calm as one of the first things you're taught as a pilot is to always stay calm – even if you are flying right into hell.

"We should see the airport by now." William said concerned.

Keith glanced out and realized that William was right. They should've spotted the airport lights in the distance by now, but there was nothing except darkness outside. Where were the inviting runway lights of the airport? Did they steer off course without even realizing it? Was that even a possibility with the technology of today?

"That's odd." Keith said, "Do you think we steered off course?"

Keith checked the CDI Course Deviation Indicator, but everything seemed normal and they were on course – something that raised even more concern and questions.

"Radio Ground Control." Keith said to William.

William switched on the radio and broadcast his message.

"Control, this is Australian Airways Flight 19." William said, "Please respond."

They both listened with anticipation for any sort of response on their headsets, but there was nothing – only static. Hearing static on a radio while trying to make contact with the Ground Control was something concerning. William shook his head and tried again.

"Control, this is Australian Airways Flight 19." William said, "Please respond."

Still no response. Keith was getting worried. Maybe the airport had a power failure? But they should have backup generators for emergencies. Why were they unable to make contact with control?

"I spoke to them less than ten minutes ago." William assured Keith, "They cleared us for landing."

"I know." Keith said, "I was here, remember?"

"What do you think is going on?" William asked concerned, "Do you think it is terrorists?"

"Anything is possible." Keith said, "It could be terrorists, it could be nothing. We won't know for sure."

The two of them looked out at the darkness ahead of them. They were on course according to their navigation and there was nothing wrong with the auto-pilot. It was a frightening situation. Keith looked down at their fuel gauge – they were close to empty. Upon hearing the Flight Attendant punch in the code for the cockpit door, Keith glanced over his shoulder just as she entered and then turned back to the control panel.

"We don't have enough fuel to reroute." Keith said.

"Is something wrong?" The flight attendant asked concerned.

Keith and William looked back at the stewardess. She could see they were in dire trouble from their facial expressions; she didn't need any words to tell her that they were in serious trouble.

"What do you suggest?" William asked Keith.

"Water landing, perhaps?" Keith asked.

The flight attendant gasped, "What's happening?"

Keith looked over his shoulder at the flight attendant and tried to stay as calm as possible. If he seemed calm she would stay calm – that was also one of the first things a pilot it taught; keep everyone on the plane calm in case of emergencies.

"Prepare the passengers for a water landing." Keith instructed.

3

Samantha spotted a flight attendant hastily coming out of the cockpit and calling her colleagues to a small meeting. She desperately wanted to know what was going on, but she hated prying people and never wanted to become that person. Though she couldn't hear what was happening, she could see distress on their faces. She rocked Alex until he woke up. He was grouchy when he woke up.

"What?" Alex moaned and rubbed his eyes.

Alex could see his mother's attention was transfixed on something at the front of the plane and when he glanced in the same direction he noticed the group of flight attendants talking amongst each other.

"Something is happening." Samantha whispered.

"When are we landing?" Alex asked and yawned.

"I think we were supposed to have landed already." Samantha said, "Something is wrong."

"Are we going to crash?" Alex gasped.

Samantha hushed him and looked at him. Her boy seemed like a frightened little boy – like the boy he was years ago before the teenage years. She took his hand and squeezed it. She was thinking the same thing, but had to stay strong and focused for his sake.

"We'll be alright." Samantha hushed him.

Samantha stared back at the group of flight attendants. They all seemed pale in their faces. The group disbursed and then all the lights came on. Some of the passengers immediately woke up and shielded their eyes while they moaned.

One of the flight attendant took the intercom and cleared her throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the senior flight attendant." She announced, "It seems there is a situation occurring. The pilots are unable to make radio contact with Sydney Airport. It also appears that we have somehow steered off course as Sydney is not visible from the cockpit."

A sea of gasps washed over the passengers and some got rowdy by asking questions like, what do you mean? How did this happen? What is happening? Are we going to crash?

The flight attendant raised her hand and motioned for the passengers to calm down.

"Our fuel supply is running low." She continued, "We don't have enough fuel to reroute to Auckland, and therefore I need everyone to prepare for an emergency water landing."

More gasps of horror rose up from the passengers. Somewhere a woman was crying and praying while another tried to calm down her crying baby.

"I need everyone to stay calm." The flight attendant said, "Please pay close attention as our crew demonstrate how to prepare for a water landing."

4

Professor Jack White stood at the front of his lecture hall and smiled at the young faces that sat in front of him. He'd been a professor of Paranormal Phenomena and Folk Lore for the last six years and never got tired of seeing the young and interested faces that stared back at him every day. Paranormal Phenomena, Folk Lore and mysteries were his passion and also earned him nicknames under the students like Professor Spooky or Mr. X Files. He had been with the university for just over seven years and had recently entered his late-forties – the milestone most men feared, but he embraced with open arms as he'd reach most of his life goals before his internal clock struck 39.

"Now." Jack announced, "Our next subject is Frederick Valentich; he disappeared in 1968, the year I was born."

A few of the students chuckled at the remark, but most contained themselves.

"I know that makes me ancient in your eyes," Jack said, "and yes; I've heard all the jokes from 'were you scared when they invented the train,' but that's beside the point. Anyway, Frederick Valentich was piloting a light aircraft in the direction of King's Island off the coast of Australia, but never reached his destination. Neither his body nor his aircraft was ever found. The Australian government conducted an investigation into his disappearance, but the exact cause was never determined."

A student in the third row from the front raised her hand. Jack pointed at her and she stood up.

"What do you think happened to him, professor?" she asked.

"It's all open to speculation." Jack replied, "His last radio transmission was a bit incoherent, but Frederick managed to point out the fact that he thought he was being followed."

"Followed by whom?" Another student asked.

"We'll never know exactly." Jack said, "Some say he was abducted by aliens – but that makes no sense. If aliens existed they would come to our planet for exploration. Take our own scientists for example; astronauts exploring Mars take samples like little rocks and stuff –they don't take an entire boulder, so it's safe to say that if Frederick Valentich was abducted by aliens that the aliens would've taken him alone and left the airplane – so it rules out the theory of aliens."

Jack took a sip from the bottled water that stood on his podium before continuing. He enjoyed giving lectures, but his throat started getting dry much quicker nowadays as age started sinking in. He knew his body wasn't as young as his mind told him he was, but that never stopped him from doing or accomplishing anything.

"Flannen Isles, 26 December 1900." Jack continued with his lecture, "Yes, that's the year I went to college."

A few of the students laughed and then, with a smile, he continued, "Joseph Moore, a relief Light House Keeper was on his way to the Light House of Flannen Isles to relief the three keepers for the rest of December. When he got there, the entrance to the lighthouse was locked, the beds were unmade and all the clocks had stopped at the same time; 14:08. The oil lamps were all recently filled and one was missing – suggesting that one of the missing keepers took it with him. Despite an extensive search, the three keepers were never found."

One of the popular boys in the front row smiled with confidence; he had it all figured out as it was not much of a mystery that needed cracking. Jack could tell from his arrogant smile that the jock that every girl wanted, had the wrong answer, but allowed him to speak.

"This one is easily solvable." The popular boy said, "Logic suggests that they were swept away by a freak wave or a storm."

Jack nodded approvingly and the boy smiled with pride; impressed with himself that he had the right answer. Now nobody could say he was just another pretty boy with no brain. It took him only a few seconds to crack one of Professor Spooky's mysteries.

"December of 1900 saw great sea storms in that area." Jack said as he paced up and down, "When Joseph Moore and a search party returned they found the iron railings were bent over and the railing by the footpath was ripped from the concrete; suggesting that major waves did indeed slam into the lighthouse."

The jock gave his mate to the left a high five. It was the first time he cracked one of the professor's mysteries and he was reveling in it.

"But..." Jack paused a moment.

Jack stared at the boy and could see that his pride was waning with the uttering of that one single word – 'but'. It was one of the shortest words in the English language and had the biggest implication. 'But' can steer any situation right off a cliff.

"The three light house keepers kept their log up until the day of their disappearance" Jack said, "and it clearly indicated in one of their entries that the storm hit a few days before their disappearance. The seas were calm on the day that they disappeared."

The jock's smile faded completely. His buddy chuckled then calmed down when he received a stern look from his embarrassed friend.

"And then the town of Ashley." Jack continued, "Nobody's really sure what happened, or whether such a town ever existed, but the mystery behind the town of 700 residents that simply disappeared without a trace in August of 1952 is fascinating. It's said that the town was so small that it didn't have its own police station, but instead relied on the police station of the neighboring town of Haysville. Over a period of eight days, the Haysville police station was inundated by frantic calls from Ashley residents about strange lights in the sky and the dead returning to life, but whenever the police went to investigate they were unable to locate the town."

Jack stepped in behind his podium, opened a file and started reading an old police report;

" _I, Alex Marcus, state the following under oath:_

I am an adult male aged 39 and am employed as a police officer stationed at Haysville Police station.

On the evening of August 8th, 1952 I received a complaint from the neighbouring town of Ashley about an unidentified black object hovering above the property of Jonathan Gabriels (property address 45 Killan Street, Ashley). The complainant was rambling and incoherent – unable to give a clear description of what he witnessed.

More complaints from nearby residents were received stating that they all witnessed the same thing – a growing black abyss hovering in the sky.

At about 20h30 that evening I was dispatched to the town to investigate the claims of the unidentified black object, but was unable to reach the town of Ashley as I somehow got lost. I drove along route 214 which connects Haysville with Ashley and despite the road never curving or bending in any direction, I somehow ended up back in Haysville.

Officer Andrews accompanied me on my second attempt to get to Ashley, but the road led us back to Haysville."

Jack could see from the perplexed faces before him that the strange tale of Ashley had his students dumbfounded.

"When the police were finally able to reach Ashley," Jack said, "They found nothing except a fissure in the earth. The entire town along with its 700 residents and all its buildings had disappeared into thin air."

"Government experiment gone wrong." Someone said from the back, "A bomb or something?"

"Maybe." Jack said, "That might explain why it's so hard to find concrete evidence about this lost town, but what about the black hovering sphere that was reported to the police? It's safe to say that since such technology doesn't exist today, it didn't exist back in the 1950s. You won't easily find information about this town or its disappearance as it's been covered up so thoroughly that it's become an urban legend."

"What do you think happened to the town?" A girl to the middle asked.

"It's hard to say." Jack responded, "There is little to no information when it comes to such cases, so the best I can do is theorize."

"And what's your theory?"

"Maybe the town never existed to begin with." Jack said, "Maybe the town only existed as a mirror image from a parallel universe... who knows."

"Do you have a favourite disappearance?" A boy at the front of the class asked.

"Do I have a favourite?" Jack asked amused, "That's the first time anyone's asked me that question... do I have a favourite disappearance... Actually, I do. Just like all of you, I'm fascinated by celebrities and when bad things happen to celebrities the world can't get enough. In December of 1910, Dorothy Arnold disappeared without a trace."

"Who?" The boy asked again.

"Dorothy Arnold." Jack reiterated, "She was one of the most famous socialites of that decade. Yes, socialites have been around much longer than Paris Hilton or the Kardashians and Dorothy Arnold was one of the first ones."

"What happened to her?" Another boy asked.

"Well," Jack said as he organized his tale into chronological order, "On the morning of December 12th, 1910, Dorothy left her home on 79th Street, New York City to go shopping for a dress for her sister's debutante party later that week. While out shopping, she went to various stores from Park & Tilford and Brentano's Bookstore. It was while leaving the bookstore that Dorothy ran into an old friend and started chatting before walking home through Central Park, but never arrived home."

"She was raped and killed." Someone said.

"Two in the afternoon? In Central Park?" Jack dismissed the boy, "I highly doubt it. Various people reported seeing her walk through the park. One person even reported seeing Dorothy Arnold walking along the footpath of the pond only to disappear behind a tree. Dorothy Arnold's disappearance became headline news that week – a headline disappearance that had the authorities baffled."

"Why is that your favourite disappearance?" Another girl asked.

"For the same reason you care what dress Kim Kardashian wears..." Jack said, "Because she was famous."

Jack took a sip of water from the bottle on his podium and continued, "The most peculiar case is probably the one of the reappearing astronaut... another famous story."

"I think I've heard about that one." Someone said.

"In 1971 a group of astronauts set out on a routine mission to the moon." Jack said, "Marshall Muller was one of the astronauts and it was while collecting samples from the moon's surface that he disappeared... only to reappear in 1985. Astronaut Jim Jameson claimed that he found Marshall Muller walking around on the surface of the moon dazed and confused. Back at NASA they discovered that Muller was the astronaut presumed to have died back in 1971... but he was alive and well despite not having aged a day."

"What happened to him?" Someone asked from the back.

"Muller was admitted to a psychiatric hospital." Jack said, "He claimed that he somehow stepped into a black hole on the surface of the moon – a black hole that seemed to consume nothing around it, but only drew him in. He claimed that he fell into the so-called black hole and struggled to get out of it for more than two minutes and when he finally got out, it was 14 years later."

"Maybe it was aliens?" Someone asked.

"Who knows?" Jack said, "He never claimed to have seen aliens."

Jack saw the Dean of admissions, Sarah Alexander, standing at the door of the lecture hall; she had her arms folded across her chest and seemed unhappy about something. Jack tried not to smile upon seeing her distress. Her contorted face reminded him what it was like when they were married years earlier – she always stressed about every little thing imaginable. She was in her fifties and was still a beautiful woman with her short red hair and striking green eyes – eyes that could pierce a hole right through you when she got angry.

She motioned for Jack to wrap up his lecture.

"In closing," Jack said, "We might never know what happened to people who disappeared into thin air as the media likes to call it. There are hundreds of theories – unproven theories which we will get into on Monday. Class dismissed.

The students all grabbed their bags and left the lecture hall. Once they were alone, Sarah came down the stairs to the front of the lecture hall; she had her arms folded across her chest all the way.

"Interesting lecture." Sarah said, "I only heard the last bit, but interesting nonetheless. You're a great storyteller. I especially liked the one about the astronaut."

"Thank you."

"But how do you account for him not aging a day in 14 years again?" She asked.

"The gravitational pull of the black hole. The bigger the object, the slower time moves in comparison to the space around it, and could be explained with a tennis ball and a bowling ball being dropped into the sand. The bowling ball would leave a deeper crater due to its size – almost the same thing happens to time when it comes to the gravitational pull of objects."

"I've heard the lecture before." She remembered fondly.

Jack looked at her as he picked up his sling bag and threw the sling across his shoulder. Her expression of reminiscence was replaced with one of annoyance.

"I know that look." Jack said.

"What look?"

"That look." He pointed at her contorted face; making her frown even more.

"I don't have a look." She said assertive.

"You gave me that look a lot when we were together. It either means I did something wrong or that you stumbled upon something I did wrong a while ago. Which one is it?"

"Neither." Sarah said.

"Well, you're still giving me that look."

Sarah unfolded her arms and relaxed her face a bit. She hated it when he wanted to argue with her about nonsense. She wasn't as uptight as he made her out to be – It was his immature lifestyle that made her uptight and ultimately led to their divorce. She needed someone who was reliable and mature while he was neither.

"This isn't about us for once." Sarah said, "I'm not talking to you as your ex-wife. I'm talking to you as your Dean. I need you to come with me."

"Sounds serious." Jack said.

They left the lecture hall and went into the corridor and almost drowned in the sea of students. The students in the hallways never paid attention to lecturers that passed them and didn't really care much what they talked about either.

"It is serious." Sarah said.

Some students glanced at them as they walked by, but most of them ignored the old people who scurried down the hallway like cockroaches scurrying away from light.

"You should lighten up." Jack joked, "Take a vacation somewhere exotic. Have some cocktails. All the stress of work is making you a dull person."

They turned into another hallway and walked towards Sarah's office at the end of the hallway.

"Can you stop making jokes for one second?" Sarah asked annoyed.

Jack took a deep breath. Maybe he had to turn it down a notch.

"Why he wants to see you is beyond me." Sarah sighed.

She pushed open her door and motioned for Jack to enter.

"Who?" Jack asked intrigued.

Sarah closed her office door when they entered. Jack spotted two Federal Agents sitting at her desk with their backs to them. One of them stood up and held out his hand.

"Professor White, I presume?" The agent asked.

"Depends on who is presuming." Jack said concerned.

Were his lectures that bad that the Federal government was investigating him? Who would stoop that low to make a Federal case against him for a boring lecture? Jack chuckled at his amusing thought, but composed himself when he saw the baffled face before him.

"Agent Peter Smith." The agent introduced himself and flashed a badge.

Jack shook the man's hand, but was still confused as to what was happening.

"What agency? FBI? NSA? Homeland?" Jack asked.

"All of them." Agent Smith said blunt.

Jack glanced at Sarah and then back at the agent, "Sarah was right. This is serious."

"Professor, I'm here because you are deemed the best in your field." Agent Smith said.

"The best in my field?" Jack asked, still a bit confused.

"Your field of expertise... The unexplained."

"Better than Fox Mulder?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Who?"

"Fox Mulder." Jack teased, "Only the greatest FBI agent to ever live..."

After a few seconds, he realized that the Agent might not be the biggest fan of old TV shows that one might only see as reruns on cable TV. He was the same age as Jack so it was safe to presume that the agent would've been old enough to remember such a great TV show.

"The X-files." Jack said, "One of the best TV series of all time? It's quite accurate if you think about it, except the one episode that was written by Stephen King – you know; the one about the monkey toy that killed people? That's obviously fiction stretched to its limits."

Agent Smith looked at him with a blank face and then turned to Sarah. She raised her shoulders and sighed out of frustration. She was at a loss for words for her ex-husband's nerdish behavior.

"Does he always joke around like this?" Agent Smith asked annoyed.

"Oh, he's just warming up." Sarah assured the agent.

Agent Smith turned back to Jack – his blank expression lingered and Jack was unable to read the agent nor could he tell how much trouble he was in.

"I need you to come with us." Agent Smith said.

"Go where?" Jack asked.

"It's a matter of national security. For your own safety I can't reveal the location."

"For my own safety?" Jack asked confused, "Are you going to whack me? You're going to off me, right? Did I stumble upon something I shouldn't have while giving one of my lectures?"

Agent Smith didn't respond.

"Are you taking me to Guantanamo Bay?" Jack asked.

"Professor, please." Agent Smith said and motioned towards the door, "We're not taking you to Guantanamo Bay. That's just an urban legend."

"It's not an urban legend if it was on the news."

"If you'll follow me, please." Agent Smith insisted.

Jack glanced at the door and then at Sarah. He wasn't sure what to make of it all. Why would the Federal government come knocking on his door? What did he do? He had seen too many movies in which individuals trust the government only to end up dead or go missing and though he had his reservations, the guns holstered by the agents told him he had no other choice but to go with them.

"Sarah," Jack asked, "What did you tell them about me?"

5

Jack and the two Federal agents were met outside the university building by a black Mercedes Benz. Agent Smith opened the door and motioned for Jack to get in and though hesitant, Jack got in. Agent Smith closed the door and once inside, the car started moving. It was a smooth ride and with the blackened windows, it was hard to tell whether they were actually moving.

Jack studied the car upholstery, trying to keep a poker-face he knew he didn't have. He was curious as to what the agents wanted from him. They seemed to have gone all out with the fancy car so he had to be very important to him. Usually when Federal agents wanted someone in the movies, they simply kidnapped them in a black van or something. He had somewhat of an obsession with conspiracy theory movies, especially the one starring Mel Gibson. He was never a big Mel Gibson fan, but he liked the is-he-crazy-or-is-someone-really-out-to-get-him role Gibson played.

"Nice ride." Jack said approvingly.

Agent Smith handed Jack a file marked Top Secret.

"I'd like you to take a look at this." Agent Smith said.

Jack opened the file and paged through its contents; it was about the emergency water landing of Australian Airways Flight 19. It contained official statements and photographs of the plane wreckage and survivors being pulled from the water by the coast guard. Jack was confused as to why he was being involved with a plane crash. Perhaps they had the wrong professor and were either too stupid to know or to foolish to admit their mistake?

"I don't understand. An airplane accident? What has this got to do with me?"

"This is not just any ordinary plane crash." Agent Smith said, "About six hours ago, Flight 19 had to do an emergency water landing after attempts at communicating with Sydney Airport was unsuccessful."

Jack continued browsing through the file contents, but he was still not sure how the plane crash pertained to him. Surely they had the wrong man? What did he know about aircrafts? The only thing he knew about aircrafts was that the Wright Brothers didn't come up with the idea, but rather borrowed it from a French man, Francois Le Roux and improved upon the idea...

"Did their communication system fail?"

"Radio systems, navigation and auto pilot were all in perfect working order." Agent Smith confirmed.

Agent Smith lingered a moment on his thoughts. He didn't know how to inform the professor why his help was needed as he himself didn't quite understand or grasp what had happened. He leaned in closer to Jack as if about to tell him the door-code to Fort Knox.

"It's Australia." Agent Smith uttered.

"What about it?"

"It's gone."

"I'm sorry." Jack said rattled, "I don't seem to follow."

"It's not there anymore."

"What do you mean?" Jack was still confused.

Jack was still not sure what the agent meant when he said gone. Did he mean it was bombed or what? What exactly did he mean by gone? The word 'gone' was an extremely vague description when referring to an entire continent.

"The continent of Australia has vanished without a trace. At first the pilots of Flight 19 thought their systems were faulty and they somehow managed to go off course, but their systems were in working order. Sea Search and Rescue navigated the area. Those pictures you see there – "

Agent Smith pointed to the file Jack was holding.

"That's the longitude and latitude location of Sydney Airport." Agent Smith said.

Jack was dumbfounded. What the agent was saying made no sense at all. What did he mean by that's the location of Sydney Airport? There was nothing but ocean and some scattered plane debris.

"But... there's nothing but water?" Jack said in disbelief, "How can this be? What happened?"

"That's what we're hoping you can tell us." Agent Smith said, "This is your field of expertise and you are world renowned for your theories about disappearances. The media hasn't gotten wind of this yet and that's the way we would like to keep it for now... or at least until we figure out what is happening and whether it holds a threat for our nation. The entire continent and all its people are gone. Was this a one-time occurrence? Will it happen again? We need answers and you are the only person who might have a theory as to what happened there."

Jack couldn't believe his ears. This was unprecedented. Nothing like this had ever happened. How was he supposed to know what it meant when an entire nation and its people vanished into thin air?

"My expertise is people who disappear without a trace." Jack said, "I give theories as to where they might have gone. I've never heard of an entire city vanishing into thin air, never mind an entire continent. This is beyond anything I can comprehend."

"Atlantis disappeared." Agent Smith said.

"There's no mystery there." Jack corrected him, "It's at the bottom of the ocean."

"Could it be that the continent of Australia has sunk to the bottom of the ocean?" Agent Smith asked, "Like Atlantis?"

Jack studied the photographs in the file once again; there were no debris in the water except from the plane crash; there were no floating cars, trees or animal cadavers. There was nothing in the water that suggested that the continent sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

"Possible- yes. Plausible- no." Jack said, "Cities don't just sink into the ocean without a major earthquake or Tsunami. There's no debris – besides those of the plane drifting in the water. There are no trees or animals—dogs or cats – drifting in the water. There's no suggestion of a natural disaster of that magnitude. I highly doubt you'll find answers at the bottom of the ocean."

"Some of our agents are saying rapture." Agent Smith said with a heavy heart.

"I'm not a religious man," Jack said, "But I think it's safe to say this isn't the rapture. According to the Christian belief, the rapture would take place all over the world simultaneously with the second coming. So far it's only one continent."

This wasn't exactly what Agent Smith wanted to hear. He wanted answers and he wanted them fast. Jack seemed to have no clue as to what was happening and might be a dead end, but he was all they had. He might be their one and only hope of stopping whatever disaster unfolded – natural or supernatural.

"You're all we have." Agent Smith said, "Any theories you have you must tell me. We need to follow up on anything you might have."

Jack nodded and went through the file again while taking a deep breath. Where should he start? It was a complete mystery as to what happened down under. Agent Smith's phone rang and he answered it. Jack could see from the expression on the agent's face it was not good news.

6

The black Mercedes Benz pulled up to a field office of the Department of Homeland Security a few miles from the university. A junior agent awaited them at the entrance and once the car came to a stop, he opened the door and Agent Smith got out. After assessing the situation, Jack got out of the car and followed the agents into the building.

Agent Smith was visibly upset about something, but said nothing as he scurried over to the entrance. The junior agent handed Agent Smith a document and he glanced at it as they walked. Agent Smith tore up the document enraged, but calmed himself down. There was no use in shooting the messenger, no matter how bad the news was.

"How did this happen?" Agent Smith asked enraged.

"I don't know, sir." The junior agent said.

Security at the entrance was strict and thorough; even though Agent Smith checked in on a daily basis, he had to show his identification card to pass. The security stopped Jack as he approached the security point.

"He's with me." Agent Smith said to the security.

The security guard was skeptical, but allowed Jack to pass and they continued towards the elevator. The junior agent pressed the elevator button and they waited for the elevator to arrive. Jack hated elevators, especially old ones that creaked and moaned as they moved.

"What's happening?" Jack asked unsure.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. The junior agent pressed the button for the third floor and the doors closed again.

"Damage control." Agent Smith said, "Somehow the media got wind of this."

"It was probably only a matter of time." Jack said, "I mean; you can't hide the fact that an entire continent has vanished overnight. Sooner or later people would try to contact loved ones in Australia."

"Only a select few people knew." Agent Smith said, "Gag orders were put in place to keep those who knew about this from talking. All airlines were rerouted to New Zeeland. Every precaution was taken to prevent hysteria."

"What about the public?" Jack asked, "What about the internet? Internet Calls? Our society is a technological one and you can find almost anything online. Someone onboard Flight 19 probably uploaded a tweet or Facebook status before the gag order was granted and enforced."

Agent Smith looked at Jack a bit annoyed. He clearly had no idea what the government was capable of. They were able to sweep everything under the carpet successfully until now. Somehow someone managed to lift the rug and look at the hidden dust.

"We are the government of the United States of America." Agent Smith said, "You really think we didn't think of that? Nothing got past us."

"Clearly something did." Jack said, "Your secret got out. Either you were not as prepared as you would like to think or you have a mole in your own house."

The elevator doors opened to a boardroom where ten agents sat around the table all awaiting Agent Smith's leadership. He entered the room with a confident stride which showed anyone who doubted that he was the one in control. The junior agent ran across the room and switched on the TV mounted to the wall on the other side of the boardroom.

There was a news bulletin on channel 6 about the plane crash of the night before. The studio anchorwoman was reading the news from the teleprompter while a video insert was visible in the upper right corner of the screen. It showed video footage of survivors being pulled from the watery wreckage. Nobody around the boardroom table knew how the footage leaked.

"What you are witnessing is the location where Sydney Airport used to be." The anchorwoman said, "Details are sketchy at the moment, but it does appear that the continent of Australia has vanished from the face of the earth. There seem to be no survivors and no witnesses. Officials are tightlipped about what exactly happened; leaving public speculation open to some new kind of terrorist attack."

Agent Smith reached for the remote control that lay on the table and switched off the TV. Frustrated, he dropped the remote onto the table and turned to the junior agent.

"Find out how this happened." Agent Smith instructed, "I want to know who talked and put this entire operation at jeopardy."

The junior agent nodded and left the room. Agent Smith turned to the agents seated around the table; he could see from the perplexed expressions on their faces that they were highly concerned about the events that transpired and of what might happen next. He had to be the strong leader they were expecting. When he was appointed to lead the operation he knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was handpicked by his seniors because of his strong leadership skills.

In all the confusion created by the news bulletin, he had completely forgotten to introduce Professor White to his team members.

"This is Professor Jack White." Agent Smith announced.

Jack nodded and waved at everybody, but was a bit self-conscious – caused by the concerned faces that stared back at him. He was unsure what he had to contribute to the team. He wasn't even sure he understood what was happening. Did the news bulletin get it right? Was this a new form of terrorism? Perhaps it was terrorists from a Middle Eastern country hell bent on revenge on western civilization?

"Unexplained phenomena is his specialty." Agent Smith said, "If anyone can come up with some answers as to what might have happened, he's the man."

Agent Smith turned to Jack and said, "Please tell me you have something. We've hit a wall. There aren't any pieces of evidence left that might point to terrorism, but to make sure we didn't leave any resort untapped, we have specialists looking into the terrorism angle as well."

"It could be that this was an act of terrorism." Jack said, "We don't have all the facts yet. I'm not sure I will be much use to you."

Agent Smith was a bit disappointed in Jack; he was an award-winning professor with twenty thesis papers on the bizarre and unusual disappearances of people and now that the world needed him, all he could do was shrug his shoulders. It would take some motivation to get him on board. Agent Smith took Jack aside away from the prying eyes and ears of the rest of the agents.

"You're here at my request." Agent Smith said hushed, "When I was seventeen years old my mother and I were on vacationing in a small fishing town called Neodis a few miles outside Orange County. It was the best vacation we had in years. Everything was perfect."

Agent Smith drifted off into his memories as he spoke, "We were driving back that Sunday afternoon. It was a nice summer's day and we listened to the radio all the way. I remember my favorite song came on the radio, and then the car simply died a few feet from a bridge. It was an abandoned byway, so there weren't many cars traveling on it. My mother decided to walk back to Neodis to get help. I watched my mother walk alongside the road and go underneath the bridge, but she didn't come out the other side. It was as if the shadows cast by the bridge simply swallowed her whole. I ran over to the bridge, but there was no sign of her."

There was a moment of silence as Agent Smith thought back to that dreadful day. He snapped out of his dazed state.

"I've read one of your thesis on unexplained disappearances." Agent Smith said, "The one about my mother won you your first award."

"Martha Smith..." Jack said in thought, "I remember."

"I have an open mind." Agent Smith said, "When someone you love disappears without a trace, your eyes open to a world of possibilities. My decision to get you on board was met by ridicule by my seniors, but I finally convinced them that we need to cover all possible avenues. Something like this has never happened before."

Jack could see that Agent Smith was being sincere and desperately wanted answers – answers he could possibly give them if he put his mind to it. He had to see it as an opportunity instead of something he should dread. He stood at the forefront of a history making event and could have his name embedded in history forever.

"I have a few theories," Jack reassured Agent Smith, "But none are sound. It's all speculation at best for the time being."

"If you say aliens—" Agent Smith warned.

"Aliens are unlikely."

Agent Smith's eyes were like knives and pierced into Jack as he awaited answers. Jack glanced at the other agents around the table; they were unaware of the conversation, but were also waiting for directives. It felt like the walls were closing in on Jack and he loosened his collar a bit. He wasn't used to working under pressure and the pressure was getting the better of him.

"I need some air." Jack gulped.

Agent Smith led Jack out onto the boardroom patio and closed the sliding door behind them. Jack took a deep breath of fresh air; looking a bit calmer than before, but his head was running amuck with ideas; none of which really made sense. He didn't want to let anyone down, but wasn't sure what was happening.

"I don't think I can't do this." Jack sighed, "I don't have any theories that hold up. This is beyond me. I still can't comprehend the fact that an entire continent is now missing without a trace."

"You're just stuck. It happens to the best of us." Agent Smith said, "We caught you off guard. This whole thing caught everyone off guard. We are ready for terrorist attacks, suicide bombers, anything but this. At the moment, I just need to know whether this was an isolated incident, and if not, whether America is in danger. I have the utmost confidence in you."

"I'm not sure." Jack said shaking his head, "An event of this scale has never happened. The closest thing I can think of that was on this scale is the last ice age which happened over 10,000 years ago. Maybe it was an isolated incident?"

Jack stared out at the city that stretched out before him. He couldn't imagine everything that he knew simply disappearing. He had to push himself to find answers. He had to think about his son. What if it wasn't an isolated incident? What if this happened again? How would he protect his son? They had to find a way to stop whatever was happening.

7

Jack got home just after six that evening and though he was completely exhausted he knew that his work had just begun. The world was counting on him to tell them what had happened to Australia and its people, but where to begin?

Upon shutting the front door, his five year old son, Timmy, ran up to him and embraced him around the legs. Jack looked down at his boy and smiled; he knew he had to enjoy little moments like this one before his son is all grown up and embarrassed by him. Children grew up too fast in this fast paced world of ours and had little time for their parents once grown up.

"Daddy!" Timmy exclaimed.

"Hey my boy!" Jack greeted.

He grabbed Timmy by the arms, pulled him up and carried him on his hip.

"How was your day, my big boy?" Jack asked playfully.

"It was great. The teacher gave me a golden star!"

Jack gasped and asked, "She did? What for?"

"It was for a drawing I did of you."

"A drawing of me? I'm honored to be in your drawings."

"Did you miss me?"

"Of course." Jack said and nodded, "I missed your silly face and I missed your silly smile."

Jack tickled Timmy who started giggling and fighting back as his second wife, Alicia, entered wearing an apron. She used to be a model in her younger years and still had most of her looks, though some of them were fading. She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and draped it across her left shoulder, crossed her arms and smiled at the two most important men in her life. Every day she thanked the Lord for these two precious gifts. Alicia was a few years younger than Jack and was a stay-at-home mom, but also wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that required her to go into the office at least twice a week.

"Where have you been?" Alicia asked with a soft smile.

Jack walked over and kissed Alicia on the cheek; he could see that she was worried to death. She always worried about him, not that she didn't trust him, but because she knew first hand that the world was a vicious place. Her first husband was the victim of a vicious crime while working late, so she always got worried when Jack didn't get home on time.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Jack apologized, "I got caught up in something."

"The busy life of a university professor." Alicia teased.

Jack put Jimmy down who tripled around them like a mosquito.

"Daddy!" Timmy said urgently, "Remember we're going to the park tomorrow!"

"How can I forget when you keep on reminding me?" Jack laughed.

"You're old. I need to remind you!"

"I'm old?" Jack asked astonished.

Timmy tried to hide his smile and fidgeted with his hands behind his back when Jack pretended to jump at Timmy and he ran out of the room laughing all the way. Jack turned to Alicia who still had that warm and loving smile on her face.

"I bet you are starving." Alicia said, "I made your favorite."

"Red Velvet cake?"

"Meat loaf."

"The singer?" Jack teased.

Alicia smiled at him and playfully slapped him on the upper arm.

"Sounds great." Jack said.

Jack followed her through to the kitchen where the aroma of her homemade delights tucked at his senses. She dished them each a plate of food as Jack sat down on one of the barstools at the counter. One of her many talents was cooking – she could make a dry piece of bread taste like a sponge cake and could put any five star restaurant chef to shame.

Sarah was never much one for cooking and so they used to eat out a lot – which contributed to his chubby body. After they divorced he tried to get back a slimmer physique, but that was easier said than done – not that Alicia ever minded his body. She always said that he was her teddy bear and that it made him perfect for cuddling.

"So how was your day?" Jack asked.

He desperately wanted to tell her about what happened, but he signed a non-disclosure agreement – not that it mattered since most of the world knew what happened. He did, however, find it peculiar that she didn't mention seeing it on the news. Perhaps she didn't want to talk about it, but this made him worried as she might be bottling up her fears and concerns about what happened.

"It was quite busy." Alicia said.

She placed the plates of food on the kitchen table and they sat down.

"It was one of those days." Alicia said, "I barely had a chance to go to the bathroom. How was your day sweetheart?"

"It was... interesting to say the least." Jack said heavily and she knew something was up.

"What's wrong?"

Jack battled with his conscious about the clause he signed, but then he noticed that she seemed too oblivious – could it be that his wife was the only person in the world that didn't know about the main news story of the century?

"You don't know?"

Alicia looked at him with a vacant look on her face. What was he on about?

"Know what?" Alicia asked.

Was she playing? It wasn't possible that she didn't know what had happened. In this modern day of technology there were a hundred different ways of getting the news. News of the disappearance spread like wildfire and it was impossible that someone didn't know about what happened.

"You're probably the only person in the world that doesn't know." Jack said astonished.

"Know what?"

"You're telling me that you have not switched on the TV at least once today?"

"No. Jack, what are you talking about? You're scaring me."

Jack left his plate of food, stood up and took her by the hand.

"Come on." Jack insisted.

"Jack, the food's getting cold."

"We can reheat it."

They entered the living room and Jack switched on the TV; flipping through the channels hoping to find a news bulletin.

"There has to be a news bulletin somewhere." Jack said in thought.

Alicia simply stood there and watched as Jack was seemingly going out of his mind. She didn't know what to make of the urgency; she had never seen Jack this way.

There was a news report on channel 2. Jack turned up the volume and stepped back a few feet.

"Here we go."

The anchorman was talking about news that Jack felt was completely irrelevant given what was going on. Who cared about a forest fire in California destroying the houses of celebrities when an entire continent disappeared? Get on with it! Get to the top story of the day... of the decade... of the century... no – of human history.

"Returning to our top story of the day," The anchorman said, "World leaders and top scientists are baffled at the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Australia. That is right; the entire continent of Australia has vanished without a trace."

Jack glanced over at Alicia; she stood frozen in front of the TV unwilling believe her eyes and ears. He turned down the volume, took her by arm and they sat down on the couch. She was clearly upset.

"I'm not sure I understood what I just heard." Alicia said, "How can an entire continent vanish? Is that even possible?"

"We don't know."

"We?"

"Some government agent came to me during one of my lectures today. They need theories as to what might have happened and whether it may happen to our country... apparently I'm the best in my field and probably the only person who might be able to figure out what the hell happened."

Alicia tried to stay calm. The first thing that came to her mind was terrorism; after 9/11 one can't be too careful. Anything was possible, and with technology becoming more sophisticated each day, there was a world of possibilities and a wide variety of new weapons of mass destruction just waiting to be discovered and used.

"Who would do such a thing?" Alicia asked.

"We don't know yet. We basically don't know anything yet. It might've been an isolated incident... it might be the beginning of something bigger."

"Do you think it's the rapture?" Alicia asked with a stutter.

It was the second time that day that someone used the word rapture and it struck fear into his heart. Partially because he wasn't too sure that his soul was ready and pure enough for the rapture, but also because if it was the rapture there wasn't a damned thing anyone could do about it.

Surely the rapture was only a religious myth?

"No." He assured her, "I highly doubt this is the second coming of Christ. I'm just worried that I won't be able to figure out."

"If anyone can figure it, it's you."

"What if I'm already too late?" Jack said with fear in his voice, "What if it happens again?"

8

The people of Jentu only knew the quiet life; their village consisted of only about a few hundred people and was situated along the west coast of Kyushu, Japan. The little village was surrounded by one of the largest forests in the region and was home to mostly lumberjacks and their families and was virtually untouched by the modern technology of the world beyond the region.

A little Japanese girl stood against a tree with her eyes closed as she counted down from ten for a game of "hide and seek". She and her younger sister played it all the time after their chores and homework was done – when you stay in such a small town, there's little else to keep children occupied. Their mother was not very fond of them playing in the forest, so she insisted they always play near the edge of the forest where she can keep an eye on them as she was always afraid that they might be crushed by a falling tree cut down by a lumberjack.

When the little girl reached one, she opened her eyes and started looking for her sister whom hid somewhere amongst the trees and bushes. At first it seemed as if her sister outwitted her in finding a cunning hiding spot, but she soon found footprints in dirt and immediately knew the tracks belonged to her sister. She smiled with glee at the thought winning the game and merrily followed the tracks, but it wasn't long before she realized that the tracks were leading deeper into the forest. She halted and pondered for a moment – her mother would punish them for going so deep into the forest. She wanted to turn around and go home, but she couldn't simply leave her younger sister out there in the forest. What if she fell and got injured? She knew she had to find her sister first, so she followed the trail of footsteps against her better judgment.

The tracks led her to a disconsolate water-mass amongst the trees that stretched for about a mile in every direction. She looked at the unfamiliar lake and the layer of grey fog that drifted a few inches above its surface; she had been into the forest before and couldn't remember a lagoon of this size – come to think of it, she couldn't remember anyone ever mentioning a lagoon in the forest.

She stood on her toes as she tried to see what was on the other side of the lake; whether her sister was on the other side, but she couldn't see the other side of the lagoon, even though she knew that the forest stretched out for miles ahead... it was as if the rest of the forest had disappeared.

She glanced down at her feet; her sister's tracks led to the water's edge. That couldn't be right? Her sister wouldn't go into the lagoon since she couldn't swim – where could her sister be?

She noted that the loose soil around her feet started moving in faint tremor movements as if being shaken by an unseen force. The grey fog drifted closer to the water's edge and the lagoon seemed to slowly grow in size. The girl took a step back; watching in horror as the ground at her feet was consumed by the lagoon at about an inch every few seconds. The lagoon was growing.

The ominous fog was creeping up on her and the growing lake was right behind it as it made its way towards her feet. She cautiously took a few steps back towards the trees as the lagoon grew and the fog came closer. The fog curled around a tree to her left and the tree made a portentous scrunching sound before bursting into a cloud of black ash and disappearing into the fog.

The girl let out a scream, turned around and started running back towards the town as fast as her little legs could carry her. One by one the trees of the forest around her turned to ash and disappeared into the fog cloud that increased in mass and speed with every obstacle it consumed. The lagoon grew in size until the water's edge was just a few feet behind her and no matter how fast she ran, the fog and devastation it brought was just a few feet behind her.

The horrible sounds the trees made before disappearing were deafening and closing in on her. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw everything behind her had turned into ash and disappeared into the grey fog that approached her at an alarming rate. The fog and the water's edge were moving swiftly towards her and would catch up to her within a matter of moments. Her little feet ran as fast as they could, but the ground at her heels were turning into ash and surrendering to the water.

She could see the village beyond the forest and pushed herself; she was almost home... she just had to keep running for a little while longer. She started screaming for help and could see that some of the villagers were just standing there motionlessly staring at the chasm of fog behind her. What were they staring at? Why wouldn't anybody help her?

The girl's mother came out of her house upon hearing her daughter screaming in terror. The woman could do nothing but watch in horror as everything they ever knew disappeared behind her little girl who ran as if the devil himself was chasing her. Every part of the forest ruptured into the nothingness of the fog, but nobody in the village ran for cover; everyone stood frozen in astonishment.

The girl called out to her mother as she reached the edge of the forest, but it was too late; the fog snatched her and before she could scream she exploded into black ash that disappeared into the approaching fog. The woman screamed in horror when she saw her daughter disappearing into nothingness.

The gawking villagers all started screaming and running away from the fog and ash that once was the forest, but they were not fast enough. Everything and everyone in the village turned to ash and disappeared, leaving behind nothing but fog, ash and water. A tremendous mass of water was all that was left where the little village and the colossal forest used to be.

9

Agent Smith, or rather Peter Smith, stood on the side of a misty road and despite knowing that he was dreaming, it felt real enough to him; he was an adult, but felt like a small child who was afraid of the dark.

He had never seen the road before, but for some inexplicable reason it felt all too familiar to him as he walked along the deserted road towards a tunnel which looked more like a chasm of death than a tunnel.

A car with an open door stood next to the tunnel and when he got closer, he recognized it to be his mother's car.

"Mom?" his voice echoed in the mist of the night.

He stepped closer to the tunnel; complete darkness started right at the opening of the tunnel – a darkness from which not even light could escape.

He was drawn to the darkness of the tunnel like a moth to a flame, but he knew that death awaited him so he fought the urge until he heard his mother call out to him from deep within the dark of the tunnel.

"Peter..." the darkness called out.

"Mom?"

He stepped right up to the edge of the tunnel and reached towards the darkness despite every muscle in his body telling him not to.

The tips of his fingers disappeared into the darkness and then he pulled his hand back as he tried to force himself to wake up.

"Peter..." the darkness called to him.

"Stephen..." His wife woke him.

He sat upright panting for air as she rubbed his sweat-soaked back. It's been a while since he had a nightmare and usually it was about the same thing.

"Did you have the dream again?" She asked.

"No. It was something different this time."

She glanced over at the clock-radio on her nightstand; it was just about half past two in the morning.

"It was still about the tunnel," he said, "But it was different somehow."

"It was just a dream. You're safe with me."

"It felt so real." He said, "Like always, but... I don't know."

He dragged his feet out of bed and sat on the edge staring down at the blinking light on his phone. He didn't feel like checking his messages, but picked up the phone anyway.

"I'll make you some warm milk." She said as she got out bed.

"Thank you. That'll be nice."

He had four missed calls on the phone, but it was on silent mode as always during the night so whoever called him sent four text messages as well; each one telling him in capital letters to check the news. He slipped on his slippers and hurried down the hallway to the living room; making his wife glance up as he hassled pass the kitchen.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure." He said as he picked up the remote.

She came into the room as he started flicking through the channels looking for a news report – which he found on channel 7.

The anchorman was talking about the disappearance of the Australian flight as if it were old news replaced by even more disastrous news.

"We have some startling new developments in our top story." The anchor man announced, "We have confirmed reports that the entire island of Kyushu, Japan is now the second confirmed landmass to have disappeared without a trace."

He gasped in disbelief.

What? A second disappearance? He thought. This was no terrorist attack. What are the chances of two landmasses thousands of miles apart disappearing the same way? Something else had to be going on – something he didn't quite fully grasp yet.

"Oh my word." his wife gasped, "What's happening?"

10

Jack and Alicia were both fast asleep when his phone rang; with tired eyes, Jack tried to make sense of the sound he heard and finally answered the phone. Alicia's arm slipped off him as he sat upright and brought the receiver to his ear. A call in the early hours of the morning usually meant somebody died or was in jail and needed bail money.

"Hello?" Jack mumbled as he switched on the bedside lamp

"Professor White." He heard Agent Smith's voice on the other end.

"Agent Smith?" Jack asked shocked and sat upright, "How did you get this number?"

"I'm the US government." Agent Smith said proudly, "I can find anyone I desire."

There was a moment of silence and then Jack yawned again as he scratched his belly.

"Are you watching the news?"

"No." Jack said with a yawn, "We were sleeping."

Alicia yawned and sat upright; leaning in closer to hear what the call was about.

"You need to turn on your TV." Agent Smith said.

Jack reached for the TV remote on the nightstand, but already knew what the urgency was about. If the agent called him at three in the morning then it happened again – another country disappeared without a trace which meant it wasn't an isolated incident.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Jack asked with dread.

"Yes."

Jack tuned into the news bulletin on channel 7 and turned up the volume to hear the same news report Agent Smith saw a few minutes earlier.

"Are you watching the news?" Agent Smith asked again.

"Yes."

Alicia was glued to the TV and clung to every word the anchorman said; gasping in horror every few seconds as Jack gestured for her to keep it down with a wave of his hand. He was trying to pay attention to the news report, but her insanely loud gasps of horror made it impossible. He loved her dearly, but sometimes she could be overtly dramatic.

"A second disappearance?" Agent Smith asked, "Tell me that is a coincidence?"

"I highly doubt it."

"I just want to know how the hell the media knew about this one before I did?"

Alicia was completely oblivious to Jack's call and turned up the volume of the TV when it became evident that there were new developments in the top story as the anchorman announced something new. She crawled over to the foot of the bed and sat on the edge like a little girl watching cartoons, but she wasn't amused – she was horrified.

"We have exclusive video footage of what transpired in Kyushu, Japan." The anchorman said.

Jack zoned out for a moment and glanced at the TV screen; he slowly lowered the phone as his attention shifted to the news bulletin.

"Jack?" Agent Smith's voice called out.

"Hang on." Jack said transfixed on the TV.

"Please be advised," The anchorman said, "The footage you are about to view is not for sensitive viewers... I repeat. We have exclusive video footage of what transpired in at Kyushu, Japan. If you have small children it's advisable to have them leave the room. This is footage is not for sensitive viewers."

The news bulletin aired an unedited video footage featuring one of their female field agents who was doing a story on the oldest living woman in the world. The woman's name was Ming Liu and she stayed in Jentu, Kyushu, Japan. The video showed the field agent sitting in the kitchen of the woman she was interviewing who had just turned one hundred and nineteen years old. Her face was a map of the world and her eyes were as pale as snow top mountains, but she had a smile as big as a banana and was happy to be alive and healthy.

" _I'm here with Ming Liu." The field reporter said, "She had just turned one hundred and nineteen years yesterday, making her the oldest living person in the world."_

She turned to Ming Liu and smiled.

" _What is your secret?" The field reporter asked._

The woman started talking in Mandarin and before the interpreter could interpret, they were interrupted by a distant scream coming from outside.

" _What was that?" The cameraman asked._

The field reporter's smile faded and she tried to figure out what was happening. The video recording picked up a faint rumbling sound coming from outside.

" _Do you hear that?" the cameraman asked concerned._

" _Yes." The field reporter said._

She clearly knew something more newsworthy was happening outside and decided her interview with the old bat was over. She stood up and rushed past the cameraman and gestured for him to follow her to their new story.

" _Come on!" the field reporter instructed._

The video footage was shaky as the cameraman ran out of the house and then zoomed in on the field reporter standing outside the house surrounded by a handful of villagers. They all simply stood there gawking at something in the distance.

" _What?" The cameraman asked as he filmed the villagers around him, "What's happening?"_

" _Are you getting this?" The field reporter yelled._

The cameraman pointed the camera in the direction everyone was staring; a large ominous cloud of fog was rapidly approaching the little village. The trees of the forest shattered like glass and then disappeared into the fog as a screaming girl came running out of the forest. The cameraman zoomed in on her just as she shattered and disappeared into ash.

" _Oh my God!" The cameraman screamed._

" _Are you getting this?" The field reporter yelled excitedly, "Tell me you are getting this!"_

" _Did you see that?" The cameraman screamed in terror, "We have to get out of here!"_

The relentless mass of fog, ash and water came down on them rapidly and all hell broke loose. The villagers started running, but were not fast enough and were devoured into nothingness.

The cameraman screamed and the camera dropped to the ground. Then all there was were static.

The insert ended and the anchorman along with the newsroom came back on the screen. Though he too was shocked by what he saw, the anchorman tried his utmost best to stay calm for the sake of the viewers, but his quivering hands gave him away.

"There you have it." The anchorman said, "You have just viewed what happened in Kyushu, Japan and possibly in Australia. There are no words to describe what we've just witnessed. I'm truly horrified."

Jack turned down the volume on the TV and turned to Alicia. She was traumatized by the footage – she was clearly a sensitive viewer. He moved closer to her and embraced her with his one arm.

"Do you think it is chemical warfare?" Alicia asked, trying not to cry.

"I don't know." Jack said, "We can't rule it out just yet."

"Maybe it is a prank?" Alicia asked.

The thought of it being one big elaborate prank was a bit soothing; she didn't want to accept the reality that it might be the start of a nuclear war.

"Have the police questioned that actor?" Alicia asked dazed, "What's his name, that one with the prank show on TV... Ashton Kutcher?"

"I don't think this is a prank." Jack said, "This is really happening."

Something on the TV caught Alicia's eye and she slowly turned to face the TV.

"Look." Alicia said pointing at the TV.

Jack turned up the volume of the TV and hardly noticed that Timmy stood in the doorway hugging his teddy.

"We have new reports coming in," The anchorman said, "Hong Kong is the latest in the bizarre phenomenon of entire cities to disappear. There are unconfirmed reports that New Zeeland, The Philippines as well as Malaysia are all completely wiped off the face of the earth. We are unable to contact our field reporters in those countries and fear the worst after witnessing what happened in Japan."

Jack stared at the TV in horror; more disappearances were a startling reality. It confirmed his worst fears – this wasn't an isolated incident.

"What do you think is happening?" Alicia asked.

"I don't know." Jack said.

They only noticed Timmy when he started to whimper softly as he stood in the doorway twiddling with his fingers. Jack glanced up and motioned for him to get into bed with them as Alicia switched off the TV. They had no idea he was there or how much he had heard, but he clearly heard enough to scare him. Jack embraced Timmy tightly and pulled Alicia in closer. He wanted nothing in the world but to keep his family from harm's way, but how could he do that if you don't know what they need protecting from? His boy was scared witless no matter how much Jack comforted him.

Jack... he heard Agent Smith's voice coming from the phone; he'd completely forgotten that Agent Smith was on the phone with him. He picked up the phone from the ground.

"Agent Smith." Jack said.

"Jack," Agent Smith said, "Those unconfirmed reports just became confirmed. That's five countries in less than twenty four hours."

"And it's heading straight for us." Jack said concerned.

Jack comforted his crying boy in his arms as he stared at the TV. The news bulletin was showing a world map with question marks where the missing countries used to be. Jack wondered when the next disappearance would be and how long before they were just another question mark on the map.

11

Jack tucked Timmy in and sat down on the edge of his bed and stared down at his little boy who seemed fragile and scared as he disappeared beneath the covers; only his eyes sticking out. He reached out and ran his fingers through Timmy's hair, trying to comfort him. Jack wanted to reassure him that everything would be alright, but how could he be certain? He couldn't comprehend what was happening. How could he protect his family from a pending disaster he knew nothing about? How do you assure the world that everything will be alright when there's not much of that world left?

"Daddy." Timmy whimpered from behind the covers.

The covers made Timmy feel safe whenever he got scared of the dark and he'd pull the covers up to his chin; believing that if the evil in the world couldn't see him he was safe.

"Are we going to die?" Timmy asked cautiously.

"No." Jack said with a soothing voice.

"How do you know?"

Timmy had reached an age where he realized that everyone he knew would eventually die one day. He'd worry himself sick about losing his parents or perhaps even dying himself. The startling news reports were all just confirming the fact that they were mortal and he wasn't ready to deal with death just yet.

"Because I won't let anything happen to you. I'll protect you."

"But who'll protect you?" Timmy whispered anxiously.

Jack hated the fact that Timmy worried about him as he was too young to be worried about such things. Jack leaned in closer and gave Timmy a kiss on the forehead; something that gave him a bit of solace.

"God will protect me." Jack said.

"What if God's the one who's doing this?"

"God would never do such a thing." Jack reassured him, "This is being done by a bad man and daddy will find him."

"Will he go to prison or will he be executed?"

Jack smiled and said, "You worry too much. Close your eyes and go to sleep."

Timmy yawned and said, "I'm not tired."

It was an obvious lie he told when he was tired, but didn't want to go to sleep yet. After years of playing the game, Jack knew when Timmy lied to stay up longer and smiled at the thought of his son's innocence. If the world had innocence left like his, then surely God wouldn't be behind the disappearances.

"Then just close your eyes and I'll tell you a story." Jack said.

Timmy closed his eyes and exhaled as he tried to relax his body and let his mind wind down to the sound of his father's loving voice.

"Once upon a time," Jack started, "There lived a handsome, young prince in the land of Waystron. It was a magical land filled with fire-breathing dragons, fairies, elves and unicorns. The prince had a pet unicorn with silver fur and a white horn with feathery wings that it used to soar through the sky. The handsome prince would fly his unicorn across the lands looking for his one true love, but was never able to find her until the day that they flew into a storm. The storm blew him off his unicorn and he landed in a pile of hay on a farm..."

Jack glanced at Timmy – he had fallen asleep in no time. All the excitement of school and everything that was happening with the disappearances had exhausted him. Jack gave him another kiss on the forehead and then stood up, switched off the light and closed the bedroom door. Alicia stood at the end of the hallway with her hands folded across her chest and an uncertain smile on her face. In a world of darkness he was her knight in shining armor – he just had a hard time realizing it.

"How's he doing?" Alicia asked.

"He's afraid... And he has every reason to be."

"So am I. What happens next?"

He could see the worry and fear in her eyes and it gave him the nudge he needed to step up to the plate and figure out this mystery. He wanted to protect his family and if solving the mysterious disappearances was how he can do it, then so be it.

"You get some rest." Jack said, "I'm going to the study. I have to figure out what this is and how to stop it."

"I'll make you some coffee."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and just as she turned to walk away, Jack pulled her back and gave her a decent kiss on the lips that was redolent of all the great loves that came before them and even outshined that famous last kiss in the movie Titanic.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Alicia said softly.

"We'll beat this. I won't let anything happen to you or Timmy – ever."

Those words made Alicia feel a bit more at ease, though deep inside she knew he couldn't possibly protect them against something of this magnitude. She nodded and walked away; hoping that he couldn't tell from her demeanor that she was worried even more than earlier. Jack stood a moment and watched as she walked down the hallway and admired that she still looked the way she did when he met her years earlier. She was the best part of him; she gave him the strength he needed to figure out what was happening.

He walked over to the study across the hallway and sat down behind his desk, switched on the computer and started to search for answers on the internet. The first thing that came to mind were the words 'mysterious disappearances' so that's what he searched for on the internet. All that he found were links to websites about missing persons and inexplicable disappearances he knew all to well from his own lectures. There was nothing about entire continents that disappeared, except sketchy news reports about the recent disappearances – reports that didn't help him at all. How could a vast landmass disappear? Could it be a black hole? Black holes were associated with deep space, but could it be that somehow one of these mysterious tubes landed on earth? He searched for the words black holes and clicked on one of the search results.

"A black hole" Jack read, "is a region of space-time from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform space-time to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that marks the point of no return. The hole is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits the horizon - reflecting nothing and allowing nothing to escape."

That wasn't it. Ground zero for Australia had water mass... If black holes were behind the mysterious disappearances, there would be nothing – not even water. Whatever happened, black holes were not behind the disappearances and he had to keep searching for answers.

Since his internet connection was slow and ancient, he had to wait a couple of seconds for the results to load. He had been meaning to upgrade to a better service provider for months, but just never got round to it.

Jack sat for a moment and pondered what else it may be and searched the web for the word Eddy

"In fluid dynamics, an eddy is a swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an object. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid behind the obstacle flows into the void creating a swirl of fluid on each side of the obstacle."

"That's not it either." Jack sighed.

He searched for space gamma despite knowing it's a phenomena that's limited to deep space, but he was desperate for answers. Again his search came up with no results relating to anything happening on earth. He had hit a dead end; he had no idea what it could be or what he should even search for. He sighed and rested his head in his hands; his concerns of failure were growing.

Alicia entered with his mug of coffee and could see the defeat on his demeanor.

"Any progress?" Alicia asked.

Jack looked up as she entered.

"Not really. I have no idea what to search for. My lectures are about people disappearing, not about entire continents disappearing. I don't even know where to begin."

Alicia handed him the mug and he took a sip of coffee as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

"Well, start with what you know." Alicia said, "What do we know so far? Take a look at the video footage again. Perhaps you can find clues in the video – clues others have missed."

"Maybe you have a point. I should look at this as a puzzle and just fit the pieces together."

Jack searched the internet for the news footage of what happened in Kyushu, Japan and with the slow internet connection, the video took a moment to load. They watched the video and every few seconds it would buffer before continuing – something that frustrated Jack because it took precious time away from him; time that could've been used more productively.

"This is so annoying." Jack sighed.

"I told you we needed a new internet provider."

It was with those words that Jack spotted something in the video footage – something he hadn't seen before.

"Wait." Jack gasp, "What was that?"

Jack paused the video, rewound the video frame by frame and paused it again and carefully studied the paused image; he wasn't sure what he was seeing, but one thing was for sure: the paused footage didn't belong and could just be the break he was looking for. If it wasn't for his slow internet connection, he might've missed the split second of footage that seemed to be a vital piece of information.

"What was what?" Alicia asked.

"I think I just saw something. A piece of the puzzle."

Jack kept staring at the bizarre image on the paused video footage and tried to figure out what he was looking at and what it meant. The answer was there right in front of him, but he just needed to figure out what the question was.

12

The next morning Timmy refused to go to school; he was terrified that something might happen to him or his parents and wanted to stay close to them at all times He had a horrible nightmare the night before about both his parents disappearing into dust right before his eyes and then he was left all alone. He was afraid that his dream might've been a premonition of some sorts.

While the remainder of the world slept, the entire continent of Asia had disappeared along with all its people. Chaos and widespread panic had taken a firm grip on the European nations. All international travel was suspended indefinitely, not that it would make any difference with the mysterious disappearances that were sweeping across the globe and seemed to have no end in sight. Only time would tell whether or not America would meet the same fate as some of the already disappeared nations.

The imminent, but yet unconfirmed threat plummeted the stock markets and other financial indicators and had most Americans hiding out in their basements or bomb shelters while others packed up and tried leaving major cities before it was too late.

Alicia was working on a story with deadline and had to go to the office to file her work, so she was unable to watch Timmy and Jack had him for the day when he had to report to the Homeland Security field office He took Timmy with him. He didn't want to force Timmy to go to school and didn't want to leave him home alone either.

Timmy clung to Jack's embrace like a little baby and he could tell from the facial expressions as he entered the boardroom that his son was not too welcome there. Sure, they were dealing with sensitive information, but Timmy wouldn't even understand most of the jargon they used.

"Good morning." Agent Smith said, "Glad you could join us."

"I'm sorry we're late. My son's too traumatized by what he saw on the news."

"It's traumatizing to everyone." Agent Smith said bluntly, "That is why I entrusted you to find me answers."

"And I think I found one." Jack said and the boardroom fell quiet, "Early this morning after you called me."

Agent Smith motioned for the junior agent to keep the child busy who then walked over and took Timmy from Jack's arms, but Timmy protested.

"It's alright." Jack said, "I'm right here. This nice man's going to take you to watch some cartoons."

"Come on." The junior agent said with a smile.

Timmy looked at his father and then at the stranger holding out his hand. He knew his dad wouldn't let any harm come to him and decided to go with the junior agent.

Jack watched as the junior agent took his son into the other room and then turned to face Agent Smith. Everyone in the room was staring at him with wide eyes – staring in anticipation at the only man who seemed to have an answer, but he was simply staring back at them.

"What?" Jack asked.

"What did you find?" Agent Smith said.

"Oh. Right." Jack said daft, "I did some research last night and it's not the first mass disappearance; I stumbled upon one case after another once I knew what to search for. Roanoke Island, August 18th, 1590; the entire colony of settlers disappeared without a trace. Everything was left as is – there were even tables set with food and burning candles; an indication that whatever happened, happened fast and unexpectedly. Then there was town of Hoer-Verde in Brazil. 600 hundred people disappeared without a trace on February 5th, 1923."

"Is there any connection to what's happening now?" Agent Smith asked.

"I'm getting to it... Three thousand Chinese soldiers disappeared without a trace at Nanking in December 1937 and in 1965, one of the Chinese soldiers reappeared wandering the streets of Paris, still wearing the uniform he wore on the day of his disappearance."

Agent Smith and the rest of the agents seemed confused.

"How is that possible?" Agent Smith asked.

"His name was Liu Miu Zie." Jack continued, "When the police officers confronted him, he said he was looking for the rest of the troops and was convinced that he and the rest of the missing troops were on their way to battle just a few hours earlier. He was declared insane and died six days later – after being institutionalized. Nobody knows where he was all those years or how he came back. Mass disappearances are recorded throughout history, though there are no records of buildings or continents disappearing. I guess there's a first time for everything... And this brings me to the most frightening part of my theory; when Australia, Japan and all the other countries disappeared, they didn't vanish completely. They went someplace else..."

"They went someplace else?" Agent Smith asked confused, "I'm not sure I'm following."

Jack reached into his bag and took out a DVD, handed it to one of the agents seated at the table and motioned for him to play it.

"I found something late last night." Jack said.

The agent put the DVD into the player and the news footage of Kyushu, Japan appeared on the TV.

"We've seen this already." Agent Smith said annoyed.

Jack gestured for him to be patient, took the remote and forwarded through the footage right up to the point where all hell broke loose.

"Here we go." Jack said.

He slowed down the footage just after the field reporter turned to ash and disappeared.

"There!" Jack exclaimed.

Jack paused the video and pointed at the screen. The footage was paused just before the video link died and displayed an image of a field. Everyone stared at the screen unsure what he was referring to – what was so special about the field?

"What?" Agent Smith asked unimpressed, "What are we looking at? It's a field."

"Yes." Jack said proudly, "A field – a completely different field."

His enthusiasm was met by blank faces.

"There used to be a forest and a village... not a field." He added.

Jack skipped the video footage back one frame and the disappearing village came onto the TV screen again and it was evident that the field and the town were two different locations.

"It's easy to miss this important piece of information." Jack said, "If it weren't for my slow internet connection that buffered the video playback I too would have missed this. It's only visible in one frame of video, between the villagers disappearing and the static; a mere split second before the feed was lost the camera recorded images that are not from around there. You'll note that the image you're seeing is completely different from where the little girl vanished. I think that it might be possible that Kyushu, Japan and its people didn't vanish. They were simply moved to another place."

"Another place?" Agent Smith asked concerned, "Can you be more specific?"

"I'm not sure. The theories about what happens to people after they mysteriously vanished varies from scholar to scholar. Some point to an alternate universe."

"An alternate universe?" Agent Smith was unconvinced. "I'm not a big believer in science fiction."

"It's not so far-fetched if you think in terms of heaven and hell. They too can be considered alternate universes, but it's all just a theory. Another theory could be spontaneous combustion; it's also a recorded trigger for disappearances, but there would be scorch marks in the soil and not water where the earth used to be. I think it is safe to say these people didn't spontaneously combust. I'll only know for certain if I can get to one of the sites and investigate."

"We don't have the time or luxury for that." Agent Smith said.

Agent Smith's phone rang. He reached for it and answered the call. The expression on his face changed drastically and then he disconnected the call.

"What?" Jack asked alarmed, "What is it?"

"I think you might just get your chance to investigate a disappearance site." Agent Smith said.

13

Alicia sat on one of the couches in the break-room of the office. She had handed in her column and was too afraid to go home and be alone. She would rather be at work surrounded by people she despised than be alone. When you're alone your mind starts to wander and run wild with assumptions and worries about what might happen to your family.

A co-worker rushed past her and switched on the TV mounted against the wall of the break-room; a news bulletin was on about another disappearance and within no time, everyone in the office stood up and approached the TV. Something was happening. Was it another disappearance? Alicia's heart started racing at the thought of the disappearances continuing – it all felt like a bad dream she couldn't wake up from.

The news report was by a camera-crew in a helicopter circling the ocean where Miami used to be. Sirens of emergency workers approaching from surrounding areas could be heard as the news crew filmed search and rescue helicopters flying above the scene of disaster. There seemed to be no survivors and no indication as to where the landmass and the citizens of Miami disappeared to.

"It is utter chaos here in what used to be Miami." The Camera-man said, "I'm unable to describe what I'm seeing here. It's like the air swallowed up Miami leaving behind only water. It's an amazing sight and a terrifying one. From what we can see there are no survivors."

Everyone in the office reacted differently to the news report; some started crying, others simply ran out of the office while some just stood there frozen with fear. Alicia was one of the frozen ones until her phone rang; forcing her to gather herself and answer it.

"Hello?" Alicia answered.

"Honey." Jack said, "Did you see the news?"

"Yes. America's the only continent left and it's reached our shores."

"Yes. We fear we our time might be running out fast."

"Where are you?" Alicia asked concerned, "It sounds like you're in a car."

"We're heading to the airport. We're going to Miami to investigate the scene. I need to see this from up close if I'm to figure out what's happening."

Alicia's heart sank to her feet. She didn't want her husband running straight towards danger – she wanted him with her and their son – safe in their house and away from the impending doom, but she knew that he had a job to do and that he could perhaps be the only one who could stop it.

"Is Timmy with you?" Alicia asked worried.

"Yes." Jack said, "He's with me. He's fine. He is a bit scared, but he's safe."

"Safe? You have our son with you and you're heading off to meet danger head-on? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that this might be my only chance to do this." Jack said, "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to our son. I won't let anything happen to you."

She didn't like the idea of her entire family rushing off to one of the disaster areas, but what if he was the only thing that stood between them and extinction?

"Fine. Just promise me you'll return home – both of you."

"I promise." Jack said.

"I can't imagine losing the two of you." Alicia whispered softly.

"You won't." Jack assured her, "I love you."

"I love you too." Alicia said.

14

Kennedy Airport was completely deserted as the FDA grounded all flights due to the enigmatic disappearance of Miami. The only movement in the Drop Zone of the airport was the Federal Mercedes Benz pulling up to the entrance. Once the vehicle was stationary Agent Smith, Jack, Timmy and two other agents got out, rushed over to the entrance and entered the airport building. They were heading to a private jet that stood waiting for them on tarmac 6.

Timmy held on tightly to his father's hand, but had trouble keeping up with the grownups as one of their strides was equivalent to three of his. Finally, Jack picked Timmy up and carried him in his arms. He felt better with Timmy in his arms rather than having him run next to him. He could feel Timmy's little heart beating nervously against his chest as they hurried through the empty airport.

"I still think you should've left your son at the office." Agent Smith said, "This could be dangerous."

"I appreciate your concern," Jack said, "But I'm keeping him close to me. I'm not letting him out of my sight. When you're a father your priorities change."

"Have it your way."

Jack was growing weary of Agent Smith's harsh attitude towards Timmy. It became more apparent that Agent Smith wasn't a family man, otherwise he'd understand why Timmy was so important. What use was it to try and save the world when you don't like children? Children are our future and is worth saving.

"Why are you so mean?" Jack insisted.

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever my son comes up you get agitated."

"Kids slow us down. I don't know if you know this, but we're at the front of a catastrophe and we need to move fast to avert it. Your son is going to get in the way or get you killed. When you have a child with you, you'll only think about protecting him and not the big picture."

"My son is my big picture." Jack said defensive, "If you had children you would understand."

"I'll never understand why anyone would want a child."

Agent Smith received a text message which he read and quietly cursed to himself before putting the phone away again.

"This thing is moving faster than we thought." Agent Smith said.

"What?" Jack gasped.

"Los Angeles has been eliminated."

"What? That's on the other side of the country. It's approaching us from two directions?"

15

New York City. 10:05PM

Jessica and Kim sat on a bench in Central Park having their morning coffee. Despite the fact that more than half of the planet had disappeared into thin air, it was a lovely summer day and they decided to make the best of – get outdoors for a while and soak up the sun.

The park was deserted except for a few people scurrying off to somewhere safe, but with the whole world disappearing where was safe? When the news broke that two American cities were the latest to disappear, most of the New Yorkers had packed up and tried to get out of the city. Some stayed, knowing that it was pointless to get stuck in traffic with nowhere to go and sought refuge in churches. If their city was the next to disappear there was nothing anyone could do or anywhere they could go.

Jessica and Kim were two of the few that decided to stay and take their chances. Maybe it was not as bad as everyone thought? Perhaps it would blow over? It could be blown out of proportion like they did with Y2K. Media always had a way of making things sound worse than it really was, didn't they?

Jessica took a sip from her coffee; soaking up the morning sun as a woman carrying a baby ran by frantically as she tried to get out of the city. The woman glanced at the two women on the bench with confusion as she rushed by.

"This is nice." Jessica said in a relaxed tone.

Kim nodded and stared up at the cloudless sky as a bird flew overhead towards the city.

"We should do this more often." Jessica said, "We never really take time off from our busy lives to just sit and enjoy life. I hardly see you anymore. We used to be so close."

Jessica turned to Kim. Kim was too quiet for her liking and seemed preoccupied.

"I'm glad you are here."

"Me too." Kim said a bit rattled, I'm just worried about my mother. I tried calling her earlier, but the network was busy. I just hope nothing bad happened to her."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Kim pondered about her decision to stay in the city with her lifelong friend. Her boyfriend packed his stuff the night before and ran off to be with his parents in what he called the end of days. At first she was upset that he picked his family over her, but if her parents were still alive she might've made the same decision.

"This'll blow over." Jessica said confident, "It's just mass hysteria. You remember with the 9/11 attacks how everyone thought it was the end of civilization, but then we survived?"

"Yeah." Kim chuckled uncertain.

A man carrying a briefcase ran by and glanced at them; wondering what was wrong with the only two idiots in the city who decided to stay put.

A few more people ran by; some crying as they tried desperately to get to safety before it was too late, but what were they running from? There was no indication that the city was in any danger, and besides, it proved pointless to try and leave the city as every road leading out of the city was crammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Jessica took a sip from her coffee as a small cloud of fog formed around her. Kim stood up and stepped back; watching in horror as her friend simply turned into ash while she drank her coffee and disappeared into the fog. A small pool of water formed in the spot where the park bench was and it increased as the fog cloud grew. Instantaneously the fog cloud expanded in a circular motion, engulfing and disintegrating Kim, the park, everything and everyone in it.

The ash cloud, now reaching up into the sky about a mile high, moved out in a circular impact tremor from Central Park at an incredible rate and devoured buildings, cars and people. Everything simply turned to ash and vanished without a trace. As everything disappeared, only water was left behind as the cloud of fog and ash continued on its path of obliteration with no sign of slowing down.

16

The private jet stood on tarmac 6 ready for takeoff as the immense fog bank of nothingness approached the airport at an alarming rate. Jack strapped Timmy in before buckling up himself. Along with the pilots and the agents, they were the only six people in the jet.

While Jack buckled up he noticed the imminent doom through the window; the ash-and-fog bank reached at least a mile up into the sky and stretched across the horizon with no visible ends – devouring everything in its path as it rushed towards the airport.

"It's here." Jack gasped.

Timmy started crying and Jack tried to calm him down as Agent Smith looked out the window; the pending kismet would reach them in a matter of minutes.

"Holy crap." Agent Smith said to himself.

Agent Smith glanced over at the cockpit and yelled, "Get us in the air, NOW!"

Jack's hands were trembling as he held onto Timmy's fragile, little hands. His little boy was terrified and there was not much he could do but hold onto him and pray to God to keep them safe. The moment he feared had arrived and they were nowhere near prepared to deal with it. The event had come much too fast and they still had no idea what they were facing.

"Don't worry." Jack said unto Timmy, "We'll be alright."

"What about mom?"

With those three words, Jack felt the life drain out of him. In all the confusion he had forgotten about Alicia; he was only concentrated on getting his boy to safety. As the jet started moving Jack anxiously reached into his pocket for his phone and dialed Alicia's number with trembling fingers. The number rang a few moments and then Alicia answered.

"Jack?"

He could hear the fear in her voice and he knew the event had reached her. He should've never left her behind.

"Alicia!" He called out, "Get out! Run! Run NOW!"

"It's already here." Alicia said.

There was a portentous sound of gushing wind and then the call was disconnected. Jack lowered his head at the thought of Alicia being gone. He couldn't save her. He should've insisted they go pick her up before they came to the airport. It was his fault that she was gone and there was nothing he could do to get her back.

"Daddy?" Timmy whimpered.

Jack embraced him tightly and stroked his head. He had to keep his son calm; the most important thing now was to protect his son.

The nothingness reached the airport as the jet turned onto the runway and devoured the building and other planes in a matter of seconds. Concrete, windows and metal all shattered into ash and disappeared into the cloud of disaster as it swooped across hangers and airplanes towards the runway; leaving behind absolutely nothing – not even landmass. Water from the ocean flooded the abyss left behind by the event just as it did with every other part of the world that disappeared.

Jack turned to Agent Smith and could see he was just as terrified as he clenched onto the armrests tightly – so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Are we going to make it?" Jack asked.

"You tell me."

Jack stared out the window again; the nothingness was close now and gaining on them as the jet took to the sky. The cloud of nothingness inched closer and closer to the ascending jet until it finally touched the tail of the jet. The tail started to disintegrate and crumble away into the nothingness while the jet shook tremendously as it climbed. Emergency sirens from the cockpit echoed through the jet while the pilots were doing everything they could to keep the jet in the air. They were clearing the nothingness, but then the jet took a dip and started descending at a rapid rate; they were crashing.

Timmy cried hysterically as Jack held onto him tightly and tried to comfort him.

The jet was heading towards a busy highway packed with stationary cars of people who tried to get out of the city. Some people stood next to their cars and watched frozen in fear as the nothingness and the jet approached them while others simply grabbed their kids and ran for their lives.

The jet swooped down towards the highway filled with cars and screaming people.

"Brace for impact!" The pilot screamed.

Jack, Timmy and Agent Smith ducked and braced for impact just as the jet lunged down onto the highway; crushing cars and people as it skidded across the highway to a bumpy halt.

Jack cautiously opened his eyes to see whether they were still alive and was relieved to see Timmy. He was still alive, but rattled. He glanced over at Agent Smith who wasn't moving, but there was no time to check. He had to get out of the jet and get his son to safety.

Jack glanced out the window and saw that the nothingness was still closing in on them and people were still scattering to get away. He unbuckled himself then Timmy and grabbed him in his arms, ran towards the front of the jet and saw that the pilots were not moving. Without hesitation, he reached for the door and opened it.

The jet was nestled between cars and it was a short drop from the door to the rooftop of a car. Jack noticed the approaching doom again and jumped without a second thought. He shielded Timmy's head as they tumbled onto the roof of the car and then slowly got to his feet as he glanced at the approaching ash-and-fog bank that devoured everything in its path and then he stared into the opposite direction – the cars were packed too tightly. There was no way that he could use one to get away – that's why everyone simply started running for their lives.

"Hang on!" Jack said.

Jack started running in the direction everyone else was running with Timmy in his arms who looked back over his dad's shoulder; watching as everything he knew burst into ash and disappeared behind them. Terrified, Timmy closed his eyes and buried his head in Jack's collar. Jack struggled to keep his footing as he ran through the labyrinth of cars with the approaching nothingness gaining on them. Water from the ocean flooded into the abyss left behind as everything disintegrated into nothingness behind them. Some of the people, who weren't as fast as Jack, vanished forever before they could even let out a single scream for help or gasp of terror.

Jack climbed over the roadside border and ran across a field that stretched along the highway. He glanced back over his shoulder against his better judgment and gasped when he saw the nothingness was a mere few yards behind them.

"Hang on!" Jack said, "Daddy's got you! I won't let anything happen to you!"

As Jack ran, his eyes started tearing up. He was only then realizing the situation they were in. He no longer heard people screaming or sirens or any sounds. He had no idea whether anyone got away from the nothingness. He knew that there was nothing he could do to keep Timmy safe.

They were approaching a small hill in the middle of the field. Jack had no idea where he was running to. All he knew was that he had to keep Timmy safe no matter what.

When they reached the top of the hill Jack stopped in his tracks; as he stood on the hill he had a panoramic view of the world around him – the nothingness was approaching them from every direction... there was nowhere to go... nowhere to hide. There was nothing he could do. They would meet the same fate as everyone else in mere seconds.

"I can't protect you!" Jack cried gasping for air.

He grasped Timmy tightly as the nothingness approached them. Jack kissed Timmy on the forehead just as the nothingness immersed the hill. Jack, Timmy and the hill degenerated into ash and disappeared.

17

Jack gasped for air and opened his eyes. He was still holding on tightly to Timmy... They were still alive and stood in a field with grass greener than he had ever seen. What happened? When the nothingness overpowered them he could feel his body tearing apart and every part of his soul disappearing, and yet he was still standing in the field.

He looked at Timmy who looked up at Jack with fear in his eyes and smiled at him and ruffled his son's hair... By some miracle they were alive.

"We made it." Jack said with a smile, "We're alive."

Jack kissed Timmy on the forehead. He was relieved that his son was alive. He couldn't imagine life without Timmy. He wasn't sure how exactly they survived the nothingness, but he was relieved that they did.

Jack glanced at the field around them – it was completely unfamiliar to him. The field was flat and there was no hill. What happened to the hill? The grass at his feet was lush and had millions of small yellow flowers scattered across the field that seemed to stretch on for ever.

Jack felt his pockets for his phone, but couldn't find it. He reckoned that he must have lost it when the ash cloud descended upon them on the highway and he ran for dear life.

The field stretched out for miles in every direction. Where were they? Jack studied their surroundings and then looked up at the sky; the sky was a bright, deep blue with scattered pink clouds so light one could almost mistake it for white. Jack watched as a bird soared across the sky and then noticed that there were two suns in the sky; the larger sun was setting and stretched along the horizon for miles while the smaller one was at least one tenth the size of the larger one and was a few miles up higher in the sky.

Two suns? Jack wondered astounded. Where are we?

His theory about the disappearances was right; they had been transported to another planet, but what planet was it? Why could they breathe the air? Where were the other people? If they made it to this strange and unknown planet, surely others would've made it too? Except for the bird that soared across the sky, Jack didn't see any other signs of life.

He put Timmy down and took him by the hand while they walked through the field as Jack investigated their surroundings. Jack crouched down and looked at the scattered small, yellow flowers tucked away between the grass; their petals were unlike anything he had ever seen – they seemed like little feathers and closed up at his touch.

"Daddy, what happened? Where are we?"

"I have no idea." Jack said in thought.

He picked one of the delicate flowers and scrutinized it for a moment before it withered and died between his fingers. What a peculiar plant, Jack thought. Everything about their surroundings was peculiar. They continued walking towards a small group of trees to their left.

The branches of the trees had no leaves – only small pink blossoms and dangling fruit. Jack plucked on of the fruits and hesitated as he inspected it, but then took a bite of it. It was sweet and tasted a bit like an apricot. He plucked another fruit and handed it to Timmy whom was a bit more hesitant.

"Go on." Jack said, "It's sweet. You'll like it."

Timmy inspected the fruit and cautiously took a bite while Jack stared back at the field and noticed a lonely elephant grazing into the field. Finally, he saw signs of life – life from earth. If an animal from earth made it to this strange planet, humans must've made it too. They simply had to locate others.

A little creature the size of a watermelon scurried across the grass at their feet. It looked a bit like a hippo and had antlers that looked more like tangled thorns. The little animal glanced up at Jack who glanced down at it before it scurried away. It was definitely a native animal of the strange planet.

A moment passed and then a snake-like creature hovered through the air a few feet from Jack's face. He stepped back and watched as the creature floated away on a breeze.

"If we ended up here," Jack told Timmy, "Others must've made it as well. We have to look for others. We have to find your mother."

The thought of finding others – of finding Alicia – was a comforting one; it meant that life would continue. Jack stared at the two setting suns again and was able to look at them without shielding his eyes. The density of these suns had to be different from earth's sun – which meant they were definitely not in the same galaxy. He knew very little about astronomy, but can't remember any documentaries about any known planets with two suns.

"This place is amazing." Jack said still in awe.

He took Timmy's hand and started walking again. He wasn't sure how long before nightfall came, but decided to make the most of the daylight and find others. They came across more peculiar animals as they made their way across the lush field of grass and flowers. Though the animals were wild, they seemed curious about the humans, but kept their distance. A small, blue animal that looked like a hybrid cat came close enough for Timmy to pet it with caution before it disappeared into nearby undergrowth, making the boy giggle. For a second the two of them forgot about the disaster that brought them there.

They were both fascinated about the world they found themselves in; Timmy was amazed by the majesty around them while Jack was dumbfounded about where they were and how they got there. Though the world was picture perfect, he was cautious as Jack had learned a long time ago that looks can be deceiving.

He stopped and watched in amazement as a school of brightly colored fish creatures swam through the air about three feet away. The creatures looked and moved like fish, but had wings instead of fins.

His eyes followed the school of fish as they swam up towards the two suns and then Jack noticed that he was able to see stars in the sky above them. Though it was daytime, they could clearly see a constellation of faraway stars.

About half a mile to their right a vine rolled down from a low lying cloud and a primate climbed down. Jack watched in astonishment as two more monkey-like creature climbed down the vine before it retracted into the cloud again. The primates glanced in their direction and then scurried off towards the distant trees.

"Monkeys!" Timmy exclaimed.

"I saw them, but I don't think they're monkeys."

What other marvels awaited them in this alien world? Were all the creatures as harmless as the ones they've encountered so far, or were there more dangerous creatures out there just waiting to eat them? There were many mysteries that awaited them and the biggest mystery of them all was who brought them there and why?

18

Alicia opened her eyes and found herself lying in a bed made of animal skins. Her head was throbbing and felt like she had the world's worst hangover despite the fact that she wasn't much of a drinker. She stared at her surroundings, but recognized nothing. One moment she was in the cafeteria at work and the next moment she was lying on a heap of skins in a log cabin.

Where am I? Alicia wondered as she got up. What happened?

"You're awake." The male voice said; making her nearly jump out of her skin.

She glanced to her right and saw a man sitting on a log in the corner of the cabin. He was in his early fifties and had a balding head of long, greyish hair and a short, but wild beard. He chewed on a twig while he spoke.

"Glad to see you're awake." The man said, "How are you feeling?"

Alicia was baffled as to who the man was, where she was and what had happened. Everything happened so fast; all she could remember was talking to Jack on the phone and the next moment the ash cloud engulfed her.

Oh my God! Jack! Timmy! She thought Are they alive?

"Who are you?" Alicia demanded, "Where am I?"

"My name is Bruce. And you are in a little place I like to call Utopia."

The man smiled at her and spat out the twig as he shifted on the log.

"Utopia?" She asked perplexed.

"I'm not sure this place has a name so I gave it my own name – a suitable name, I might add."

"How did I get here? The last thing I remember was my husband calling me and then everything turned into dust."

Bruce nodded and said, "That's how it happens."

"How what happens?" Alicia asked completely confused.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened, but that's how I got here."

Alicia stared at the man a moment longer, got up and then walked over to the cabin door. She couldn't linger. She had to find Jack. She had to find her son.

"Careful now." Bruce warned, "It's a whole different world out there."

Alicia hesitated. She wasn't sure she understood what he was talking about, but she pushed open the door anyway and stepped outside.

The first thing she saw was the pearly white sandy shore of an idyllically ocean and a gigantic red planet slowly rising over the ocean – a red giant with planetary rings roughly the same color of intense red.

The sight robbed her of her breath and she stared at it in admiration for a moment. She stared down at the soft sand beneath her feet – the beach as whiter than snow and stretched out without end to the left and right.

She stepped closer to the breaking waters of the tranquil ocean and only then did she notice that the water wasn't blue, but rather a light shade of purple. She glanced up at the red planet again as she tried to fathom what she was witnessing.

"Oh my lord..." Alicia said awestruck.

"I don't call this place Utopia for nothing." Bruce said proudly.

She turned around; the cabin was nestled in thick undergrowth at the edge of a dense forest that bordered the beach for miles in both directions. Bruce smiled as he stepped out of the cabin and joined her on the beach. He just loved the feeling of the soft sand between his toes; it was like stepping on cloud.

"Every day this sight takes my breath away. I could never grow tired of this view."

"It's really something." She agreed and stared down at the breaking waters again.

She turned to Bruce who was staring mesmerized at the red planet rising over the ocean as if seeing it for the first time. She glanced at the red planet on the rise as a giant bird swooped down, grabbed a fish from the ocean and disappeared over the horizon.

"How long have you been here?" Alicia asked.

"I'm not sure." Bruce said half in thought, "I was on my way to my brother's house for a dinner party when my car just seemed to turn into ash and vanish around me. When I opened my eyes I was here on this beautiful beach. Come to think of it... I don't know. What year is it?"

"2016."

The color drained from Bruce's face and his legs felt weak under the weight of his body for a second.

"Thirteen years?" Bruce asked himself, "I've been here for thirteen years? It doesn't feel that long. It feels like I've been for a year – two years tops. Thirteen years? Are you sure?"

Bruce was a bit distraught about being away from his family for thirteen years. Was his wife still alive? Were his brother and sister still alive? Thirteen years meant his dog was no longer alive and he loved that dog like it was his own son. He had lost out on over a decade with his family; a decade he will never get back.

He sat down in the sand, crossed his legs and then dug his hands into the sand like a child and sprinkled sand from his hands. Alicia sat down next to him while he got lost in his memories of his family. She could see that the news came as a big, unsettling surprise.

"Are there others?" Alicia asked.

"You're the first person I've come across." Bruce said, "But then again I haven't ventured very far beyond the forest. It's a dangerous place out there with dangerous animals putting us at the bottom of the food-chain."

"If I'm here, my husband and son should be here as well."

"Were they with you when it happened?"

Alicia wavered. She wasn't sure how she would break the news to him about what happened. How to you tell someone about what happened when you hardly comprehend it yourself?

"Something happened." Alicia said.

"What do you mean?"

Bruce looked at her perplexed; half expecting her to tell him that he was dying.

"Something." Alicia said shaking her head with uncertainty, "Entire continents started disappearing into thin air leaving behind only ocean. It happened so fast nobody could escape it. At first it was on the news and then suddenly at our back doors. My husband called me and told me to get out and run, but when I turned around I could see the entire State of New York turn to dust outside my window."

Bruce looked like someone knocked the wind out of him. He couldn't grasp the magnitude of what happened and found it hard to process.

"Dear lord..." Bruce gasped.

"My husband was the one that theorized that this was some kind of transition."

"Transition?" Bruce asked confused, "Like what the Mayans predicted? Did that ever happen? Did all hell break lose in 2012 like they predicted?"

"I don't know. I don't follow Mayan predictions, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't what they had in mind two thousand years ago."

"Oh... Well," Bruce said, "From the sounds of it your husband and son should be here as well as the rest of the citizens. But you said it started happening all over the world?"

Alicia nodded.

"So where's everyone?" Bruce asked gesturing to the empty world around them, "You're the only person I've found so far...And I found you yesterday. Surely I would've come across others by now?"

"I don't know." Alicia said, "But if my husband and son are out there, I have to at least try and find them – that's what Jack would do."

Alicia got up and turned to the forest behind them and stared at it reluctantly; disinclined to venture into the denseness. Bruce jumped to his feet and grabbed her by the arm before she could take the first step.

"Wait." Bruce insisted, "It's much too dangerous going out there at night. You don't know the area and you'll get lost. Get some rest and I'll help you first thing tomorrow morning."

Alicia seemed timid to stay and even more so to leave. Where would she begin searching for her family? Would she ever find them out there? What would happen to her if she didn't find them?

"I've been stranded here much longer than you." Bruce said, "I know this area better than you. Please, stay until morning and I'll help you look for Jim and your son."

"Jack" Alicia corrected him.

"Jack..."

"Do you think they're still alive?"

"If they don't venture off into the night, they'll be fine." Bruce said.

Alicia sighed and nodded. She knew staying put was the right thing to do; it would be stupid to venture out into the unknown at night. Bruce smiled at her and motioned for her to return to the cabin and with a deep breath, she followed him.

"Now, let's go back inside and have some Guanana pie."

"Guanana?" Alicia asked worried.

"It's a local fruit." Jack said proudly, "I call it Guanana because it looks like a banana, but tastes like a guava. It's to die for! You'll have to excuse my enthusiasm. You're the first guest I've had since I got here."

Alicia smiled nervously at Bruce and followed him back into the cabin. She was looking forward to tasting the foreign food, but also worried about her family and wondered whether they were safe. Jack was a smart man and he would probably do whatever it took to keep their son safe.

19

Jack and Timmy found refuge in the bark-cove of a massive tree that stood at the edge of a forest bordering the open field. The cove was large enough to walk around in and the tree trunk was almost the size of a house; an indication that the tree had to be at least a couple of thousand years old. It was the biggest tree Jack had ever seen and he couldn't recall ever seeing or reading about a tree of such magnitude back on earth. The planet they found themselves on was indeed a strange and peculiar place with its sweet aroma to the air, fascinating wildlife, trees reaching up to the heavens like skyscrapers and millions of insects buzzing and humming in the undergrowth.

Sleeping was touch and go as Jack didn't know what to expect - would they make it through the night in these unfamiliar surroundings? Jack was smart enough to know not to wander around in a strange new world at night, but what if something from the outside came inside their shelter during the night? The night could hide all sorts of unseen dangers and danger was not a direction he wanted to steer towards... especially with Timmy by his side.

When they decided to call the tree cove home for the night, Jack noticed that the grass all around the tree seemed to be illuminated. On closer inspection, he saw that millions of little firefly creatures grazed on the grass which in turn reflected their light. Timmy found the little glowing creatures fascinating and it took some convincing to get him into the cove, but once inside he fell asleep almost instantly.

Throughout the night Jack watched as Timmy lay asleep with his head in his lap; watching him ever so cautiously and glanced out the cove at every night sound he heard. Every ten minutes or so the tranquil humming of the insects in the undergrowth would be disrupted by the distant roar of an unknown creature – something that made Jack nearly jump out of his skin every time. The strange sounds of the night were unsettling at first, but when Jack realized they were far off into the distance he relaxed a bit and soon thereafter fell asleep.

When Jack woke up sunlight was shining down on them and illuminating the inside of the tree. He opened his tired eyes and when he noticed that Timmy was no longer in the cove. He sat upright with a jerk; his eyes searching the vicinity around him. The first thing that he thought of was that one of the growling creatures might have made their way into the cove and snatched Timmy while he slept. It was an unsettling thought for a father to endure.

"Timmy?" Jack called out.

"Daddy!" he heard Timmy's voice outside.

Jack stumbled out of the bark-cove, went outside into the sunlight and was immediately taken aback by the magnificent sight of the two suns rising to the north that created an array of pastel colors across the sky. The larger sun was a bright orange while the smaller one was a warm yellow mixed with a red vortex of colors in the middle.

He checked his surroundings frantically, but was relieved to find Timmy standing a few yards out; staring up at the rising suns. Despite being on a strange planet, Timmy was still his little boy who was intrigued by everything around him.

"Daddy, look!"

"I see them." Jack said awestruck.

A flock of creatures flew overhead looking peaceful and sang their songs as they flew off towards the rising suns.

Jack stepped closer and ruffled Timmy's hair; his boy was excited beyond words about the new world they found themselves in while Jack was worried. Everything seemed so perfect, and as the saying goes; if it's too good to be real it probably is. Could it be real? What would have brought them to such a magnificent paradise? Were they brought there by a person? Who would be able to orchestrate such a transportation, and most importantly, where was the rest of humanity?

"Come." Jack said.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to find something to eat. We should look for another fruit tree or something. And I think we should look for mom as well. She's gotta be somewhere."

"What do you think this place is called?" Timmy asked.

Jack shook his head and said, "I have no idea, but whatever it's called it's a wondrous place."

"Maybe we died and we're in heaven?"

"I don't think so."

Though heaven was a marvelous thought, Jack wasn't convinced that it was the answer.

Timmy took Jack's hand as they walked east towards a field that was covered in small, white flowers that gave the illusion of snow. As they reached the flowers, they all scattered up into flight; they weren't flowers, but instead were millions of small butterfly-like creatures – some lingered around the human as if studying them. Timmy gasped excited at the sight of the millions of little creatures buzzing all around them. Jack himself was impressed by the beauty of the small creatures. The little creatures had two small heads, two legs and two sets of white wings that flapped in synchronicity. Timmy reached out and a butterfly creature lingered near him for a moment and then flew off towards the clouds above; making him giggle with excitement.

They walked for about a mile across the field before the field of grass became a field of shrubs and finally a forest of trees. The trunks of the trees were as wide as houses and stretched up hundreds of feet into the air to form a ceiling of leaves and branches that blocked out most of the sun. The forest was alive with the sounds of birdlike creatures chirping and soaring from tree branch to tree branch.

As they walked they passed a blue frog sitting on an unearthed root. It was the size of a cat and watched the humans cautiously as they walked on by before it croaked once, sprouted wings and flew off.

Timmy was amazed by the sounds of all the unseen creatures and wondered whether they were all as magical as the flying frog. Jack, on the other hand, was a bit more vigilant. Hundreds of different animal sounds could potentially be hundreds of dangers lurking in the shadows.

The sounds of the forest around them suddenly fell quiet. Jack paused and his eyes searched their surroundings for any signs of danger. The abrupt silence was unnerving and a bit of a concern which was intensified when something rumbled in the distance to their left.

"What is it, daddy?" Timmy asked bewildered.

"I don't know, but we should keep moving."

They continued through the phenomenal forest until it finally gave way to another open field of lavish meadows. A river about fifty feet from the forest was lined with old arching pillars that reached about fifty to sixty feet into the air. Some of the arches were broken while some pillars stood askew – most of them were overgrown by creeping plants and from the looks of it they were constructed decades, perhaps even centuries ago by a civilization which has long since moved on. Jack kept staring at the arches, especially the ones that were still intact as they approached the river; wondering what they were meant for. Were they just old ruins or were they something else like Stonehenge back on earth?

Jack and Timmy reached the ravine that reached about ten feet across from bank to bank with a stream of crystal clear water running through it. He motioned for Timmy to stay put while he climbed down the few feet into the gorge and then he reached out to help Timmy down. The stream itself seemed deeper in the middle and Jack could see a school of little fish swimming in the river. If fish could survive in the water then it had to be safe to drink, so they walked over to the stream and drank of its fresh and revitalizing water.

Jack drained his cupped hands of water, shook them dry and stood upright staring at the banks, the arched pillars and the beauty of the meadows beyond. He noticed a cave in the side of the bank across the stream – a cave most probably dug by some kind of creature. Whether the creature held any kind of threat to them was another story.

He glanced up at the meadows of heavenly green grass that seemed to stretch on forever and wondered whether they would ever find Alicia. It was a vast new world and she could be anywhere. He didn't even know how far the meadows stretched – it could stretch out for all eternity and his wife could be on the other side of the planet.

A skinny, old man with wild hair and pieces of food stuck in his beard scampered out of the hole in the river bank; wildly waving a bony finger at them as if talking to a disobedient child.

"What are you doing here?" The man screamed outraged in a hoarse voice.

Jack was relieved to see another human being, but puzzled at the unwelcomed greeting they had received. He stepped closer to the edge of the river.

"Hello there." Jack greeted warmly.

"Get out of here!" The man insisted in a lowered voice.

"We're of no threat to you. We just need some water. We don't know where we are. Can you help us? You're the only person we've come across so far."

"I told you to get out of here." The old man insisted in a hushed tone, "I don't want you here."

"Please, sir. If you can just tell us where we are?"

"I'll tell you where you are." The man grunted, "You're in their territory. And you led them straight to my home. Get out of here before it's too late, you stupid bastard."

The man grunted and scampered back into his cave as he hissed and cussed to himself like a madman who lost his sanity years ago.

"Wait." Jack called out.

That was odd, Jack thought to himself. He turned to Timmy to ensure he was not frightened by the crazy old man and then noticed a shadow move across the surface of the water; the shadow was large and seemed to belong to a bird. A loud shriek echoed across the meadows, bounced off the mountains in the distance and rolled back over to the river. Alarmed, Jack searched their surroundings and then looked up to the sky to find three gargantuan flying lizards with wings of fire descended towards the gorge. They each landed on an arched pillar that creaked as their scaly claws clenched onto it. As the creatures folded away their wings, the flames extinguished and exposed fleshy wings with tears and holes in them. The one creature shook its head and grunted steam from its nostrils before lowering its head to drink water. Jack watched in horror as the creatures, too terrifying to comprehend, lowered their heads and drank water. The creatures had four eyes and razor sharp teeth measuring almost ten feet; sprouting right out of their scaly, cracked lips.

Jack cautiously motioned for Timmy to get behind him as the massive beasts drank water oblivious to the presence of the humans. What sort of creatures were these monsters? How could he ever protect his son from such giant, horrid beasts?

One of the creatures spotted Jack and let out a loud screech before it opened its wings setting them alight again. It flapped its fiery wings and ascended into flight, then swooped down towards the fleeing humans and grabbed one in each of its claws.

Jack and Timmy screamed as the fiery demon flew off to the distant mountains with them and then the other monsters followed.

20

Alicia and Bruce stepped out of the cabin; each wearing a backpack Bruce had made from animal skins. Alicia held onto the straps and gasped at the ocean in front of the cabin; it was more beautiful during the day than it was at night with the glistened waters shining like purple diamonds.

A Cirrus cloud stretched for a few miles across the sky before disappearing like mist before the rising suns to the east. The thin, wispy strands of cloud were a brilliant white and light purple that reflected the ocean below like mirages of a dream.

"We should get going." Bruce said, "We have about another fourteen hours of daylight left."

"Fourteen hours?" Alicia asked confused.

"Yes. It's difficult to say precisely without a watch, but according to my calculations the days on this planet are 32 hours instead of 24. That's probably also why I never realized how long I've been stuck here."

They started walking along the white beach towards the forest to the west and Alicia noticed a little pink crab scurrying across the sand before it disappeared into the breaking waves of the tranquil purple ocean. If it wasn't for the fact that she was worried sick about her family, it would've made for the perfect walk on the beach – it was a warm morning with a cool, light breeze that plucked ever so slightly at her hair.

"So tell me more about your husband and son." Bruce said.

"Jack's the most wondrous man. He's funny, smart and a bit on the peculiar side, but it's his oddness and quirks that made me fall in love with him the first moment I saw him. And our son, Timmy, he's just a ball of fun."

"How long have you been married?"

"Just over eight years now." Alicia said proudly.

"You'll have to excuse my prying. My wife always said I was a nosy person. I always just had to know what was going on in other people's lives. She probably died of worry after I disappeared. We never spent more than a few hours apart from each other."

Bruce's mind got lost in memories of his wife and how happy they were. He never really noticed how much he had missed his wife until Alicia started talking about her family. Was she still alive, he wondered? If she's still alive it could be possible that she too was transported to his planet just like Alicia... he just had to find her.

"I miss her so much." Bruce said softly, "Maybe she's here? Anything is possible, right?"

"Maybe."

They walked in silence for the rest of the way across the beach; each one lost in memories of their loved ones and hopes of seeing them again. After about another five minutes' walk, the beach surrendered to a group of grey boulders that looked liked balled up elephants hiding their heads in the sand and reminded her of elephants in cartoons from the 1930s. Though they couldn't see it from where they were, Bruce knew that danger lurked beyond the boulders that would eventually give way to a field of thick, bushy plants.

He turned to her as they reached the boulders and with great caution in his eyes and demeanor, he gestured for her to stop.

"You'd better watch your step." Bruce said, "The way forward gets dangerous from here on."

He climbed onto the first boulder and reached out to help Alicia, but she declined his sign of chivalry with a sincere smile.

"I'll manage." She said.

Alicia struggled onto the boulder and then the two of them climbed up two bigger boulders to get a better look at what awaited them. Alicia gasped at the sight of what lay before them; the boulders continued for about another twenty feet and then from thereon a field of frightening plants laid stretched out for about a hundred feet. The plants were enormous Venus Flytraps – each trap was about five feet wide and looked hungry to devour their flesh. The peaceful, yet frightening plants swayed back and forth in the light breeze with their open traps ready to slam shut at the slightest movement.

"You want us to go through that?" Alicia gasped.

"These plants keep my house and beach safe. They're the least of your worries out there. There are more dangerous creatures beyond these plants. As long as you don't touch one of them you'll be fine."

"You're kidding right?" Alicia pleaded, "Is there no other way around them?"

"These plants border the entire beach. The only way to get to the other side is to go through them."

Bruce stared at her for a moment, smiled and then continued across the boulders. She hesitated at the thought of being eaten alive by a plant, sighed and then followed him. Was this man insane? He seemed insane and possibly could be. Perhaps the lack of human interactions made him crazy? No one in their right mind would suggest going through a field of giant carnivorous plants. As long as you don't touch one of them... rantings of a mad man.

They made their way across the boulders; using each one as a stepping stone while Alicia dreaded the plants that awaited them. When they reached the end of the collection of boulders, they stepped off the last boulder and stared at the field of seemingly dormant plants – peaceful and oblivious of their surroundings like any other plant, but it was evident that one wrong move could spell disaster amidst the alien plants.

"Come on." He whispered, "Keep your voice down. They can feel sound vibrations."

They can feel vibrations? Alicia knew for certain that Bruce was completely bonkers. He talked about the plants as if they were human, which were clear signs of delusion.

Bruce motioned for her to follow him into the field of plants and though Alicia was hesitant, she finally followed him towards the carnivorous plants that were taller than they were and seemed unaware of their presence. Alicia glanced at an open trap as she walked by; it was an intense colour of red with spikes and fleshy green parts that bordered the rim. The red fleshy part of the trap released a sweet aroma to attract prey and smelled almost like honey mixed with yogurt – a smell that called out to Alicia.

The giant trap next to her shifted a bit in the wind, but it was enough to freak Alicia out.

"This one moved." She whispered terrified.

"Keep moving." Bruce whispered back, "They can sense us, but if you don't touch them they can't find us."

That's not comforting... Alicia thought, these plants can eat us at any moment. I don't want to be eaten by a giant, alien plant on a strange world.

Three more plants to their left shifted as if searching for the humans; making Alicia's concerns grow. What would happen if they accidentally touched one of the plants?

"One of these bastards came damn close to getting me the other day." Bruce whispered, "Luckily, these old bones of mine are still strong enough to run for it. I made a run for it as they tried chomping down on me left and right, but I made it."

"These things give me the creeps." Alicia whispered.

She kept a watchful eye on the plants as they cautiously made their way through the maze of green devils; making zigzag movements around some of the plants – arching her back and moving her limbs with extreme caution.

Bruce whispered back over his shoulder, ""These plants make you realize that you may just be at the bottom of the food chain out here."

His backpack nearly touched a trap as he contorted around a plant, but Alicia pulled him back just in time. Both of them stared at the plant which was only a few inches from his backpack.

"Thanks." Bruce whispered.

They continued through the plants; walking as if stepping on broken glass... trying not to disturb any of the dormant plants.

"What other surprises await us?" Alicia whispered, "What's on the other side of these plants? What are they protecting you from?"

Alicia's backpack slightly touched the rim of a trap to her left and instantaneously the trap chomped down on her backpack; pushing her down to the ground. Bruce spun around as she screamed while the plant was munching on the backpack like a wild beast. Alicia struggled to free herself from the backpack straps that finally snapped free and the plant devoured it as if it was the first meal it had in years.

Her scream had informed the surrounding plants exactly where they were and the plants all started snapping wildly around them in hopes of getting a bite of whatever was lurking amongst them. One plant snapped at Alicia and missed her face by mere inches as Bruce grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. They had to make a run for it or the plants would get them and tear them to shreds.

"Run!" Bruce insisted.

Bruce grabbed her by the hand and they ran through the last few yards of snapping plants. To their left and to their right the giant plants snapped viciously; hoping to tear through the flesh of the humans. When they finally cleared the field of plants, they slowed down and Alicia looked back. Their traps were still snapping wildly hoping to catch them.

"That was intense." She said as she gasped for air.

Slowly the plants quieted down again when they realized their meal was out of reach. Two of the plants at the edge of the field unearthed their roots and started crawling towards Bruce and Alicia like demented demons; their traps snapped continually as they crawled through the dirt towards the humans.

"What the hell?" Alicia gasped.

Alicia stepped back as the plants slowly inched closer.

"I've never seen them do that before." Bruce said.

Bruce shifted his backpack as he studied the plants that were crawling slowly enough for them to get away.

"Come on." Bruce said, "We still have a long way to go."

21

Dear God, Jack prayed from the clutches of the flying monster, Keep us safe. Keep my son safe. Protect him from harm. Keep him safe in Your arms. Could God even hear his prayer on this alien planet?

Jack tried to stay calm and figure out a way to get them out of the predicament they were in, but Timmy was screaming nonstop as the giant flying lizards flapped their fiery wings and soared across the sky towards the mountains.

The claw clenching onto Jack nearly covered his entire body; only his arms and head were free. Timmy was not as lucky – his tiny arms were constraint by the clutch of the monster and he was sobbing uncontrollably for his daddy to comfort him.

"It's alright." Jack screamed over the gushing wind, "I'm right here! We'll get through this."

Timmy didn't hear Jack's words over the gushing wind and his own crying and could think of nothing he wanted more than to be safe in his own bed back home. He no longer wanted to explore this new world and simply wanted to go home.

Where are you taking us? Jack wondered.

He stared down at the valley almost five hundred feet below them and then up at the creature that had them in its clutches. It was the most horrid creature he had ever seen and he was almost certain that no corner of hell could ever produce such a creature. It breathed loudly and spurted out fowl breath as it exhaled and drool dripping from its scaly snout would blow away every few minutes as it flew. With each flap of its wings, Jack noted that the scales that covered its belly moved like those of a slithering snake.

Jack knew there was not much he could do. He had to accept that things were beyond his control and just trust in God – He would get them through this.

Jack stared down at the green valley below them and watched as the valley turned into green mountain slopes. Once they flew over the mountain tops, the slopes on the other side were a vast contradiction; they were rocky, black and seemed burnt and desolate. There were no trees or plants... everything seemed dead as if a forest fire had swept across the slopes, but there was no smoke. Everything lay in charcoaled ruins as if forsaken years ago.

The mountainside was covered in spiky rocks that stuck from the earth like broken shards of glass that could cut you simply by looking at it – nothing seemed to live or thrive in this barren wasteland.

In the distance, Jack noticed a portentous glow that stretched all across the horizon and then it became clear that the monsters were flying towards it. When they got closer, he saw that the glow was actually a line of fire reaching up into the sky for hundreds of feet. The fire stretched for thousands of miles to the east and west before disappearing out of sight.

There was a lot of movement and commotion beyond the flames, but Jack couldn't make out what they were flying towards and feared the worst while hoping for better. It was at that moment that his suspicions about the strange new planet was confirmed; it was too good to be true. Only God knew what lay beyond the fires they were heading towards.

The flying monster descended when they got closer to the fire and that was when Jack saw the magnitude of what awaited them – something none of his worst fears or nightmares could ever prepare him for; they were flying towards a gargantuan, fiery concentration camp filled with millions and millions of terrified humans trapped by the colossal ring of fire.

The screams of terror grew louder the closer they got and upon seeing where they were headed, Timmy started crying even louder. Jack was horrified at the sight of the millions of desperate people screaming for help that would never come – an absolution for a crime they never committed. No wonder they didn't come across anyone else – everyone else were being held prisoner in the godforsaken part of the seemingly perfect world, but why?

The flying monster flew over the fiery wall and swooped down towards the crowd as people scattered away in terror and screamed at the sight of the monsters – some people were trampled to death in the stampede to get away from the approaching demons. When the flying monster was about ten feet from the ground, it dropped Jack and Timmy into the concentration camp and then took to the sky again.

Jack fell onto his back and had the wind knocked out of him, but nobody stepped closer to help him to his feet. He could barely hear himself think with the deafening sound of all the scared and screaming people. He looked around him hoping to see Timmy right beside him, but he must have rolled and landed somewhere else... Timmy was nowhere to be seen.

"Tim!" Jack called out.

Jack got to his feet and searched the thousands of dirty, scared faces around him for his son. Where did he go?

"Timmy!" Jack called out.

The people were making too much noise; there was no way that Timmy would hear him. Jack pushed his way through the hundreds of people around him as he searched for his son – he was just another one crying out for help or looking for a loved one.

He finally spotted Timmy sitting in a puddle of mud hugging his legs as he rocked back and forth. Jack let out a sigh of relief as he pushed his way through the crowd and rushed over to Timmy. He embraced Timmy tightly and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm here." Jack said, "Daddy's here."

Timmy was terrified and not responding. His eyes seemed vacant and distant as if he was in a state of tremendous shock... not that anyone could blame the poor boy. Jack held on tightly to him and stroked his head; trying to reassure him that things will be alright, but it he knew it was a lie. Things would never be alright again and it was in that moment as he held onto his son that he too felt like a scared little boy wanting his own warm bed.

"Daddy's here." Jack said.

He slowly started rocking Timmy in his arms – the rocking was probably more to keep himself calm and after a while he no longer heard the screams for help around them. He had no idea what to do. The situation was beyond anything he could comprehend. Why was this happening? What did the creatures want? Why did these foul monsters keep earth's population imprisoned by means of a ring of fire?

Jack stared up at the millions of scared people; they were just wandering around, calling out for help – calling out to loved ones they might never find in the never-ending crowd.

22

Alicia and Bruce had been walking for hours; trekking over rocky terrain, swamps and finally another valley. They searched for her husband and son all the way, but found no sign of human life. Alicia was growing weary of walking as the two suns beat down on her tired body. She could only take so much and since she had never even stepped foot in a gym, the trek on the alien planet was like a marathon to her – a marathon with the most beautiful scenery, but straining nonetheless.

"We've been walking for hours." Alicia moaned, "Do you even know where we are heading?"

"I'm taking you as far as I know the territory. Then we unfortunately have to turn back. You don't want to be out here when it gets dark."

"We haven't seen any signs of life so far." Alicia said, "Maybe there is nobody out there."

"I doubt we will find anyone. I found you on the beach a few yards from my cabin. You can be glad you ended up on the beach and not out here. Out here carnivorous plants are the least of your worries."

Alicia stared at their surroundings as they walked towards a gorge a few hundred yards ahead; the lush field stretched out as far as the eye could see and in the distance to her left she spotted an animal with antlers grazing blissfully unaware of them. It was a bit bigger than a horse and looked like a cow with antlers and a long, fluffy tail. The animal seemed peaceful as it grazed – until a trapdoor in the ground shot open and a giant spider pounced out of the ground, grabbed the animal and dragged it back into the hole. Alicia watched in horror as the trapdoor shut again.

"Holy crap!" Alicia gasped, "Did you see that?"

"I've seen it before." Bruce said uninterested.

"Well, is it safe to walk here? Won't we step on one of those spider nests?"

"They don't nest this close to the gorge. I know this area quite well."

"Are you sure there won't be more of those things in the direction we're heading?"

"They know better." Bruce assured her.

Bruce seemed very assured of his statement; almost as if he knew something he didn't or wouldn't tell her, but Alicia decided to let it go. They reached a gorge and Alicia stepped closer to the edge to get a better look – it seemed like an endless abyss of darkness that could perhaps pierce through to the other side of the planet. She couldn't even see the bottom of the canyon and knew certain death awaited anything that plummeted over the edge. Her head started spinning and she stepped back.

"Careful." Bruce warned, "You could slip and fall. You'll die of old age before you reached the bottom."

"How deep does it go?"

"Deep enough."

There was an old tree at the edge of the canyon and had a rope tied to it that stretched across the chasm to the other side and was tied to another tree. The gap to the other side was about two hundred feet across. To her surprise, Bruce checked whether the rope was secure by yanking at it.

"You want us to cross that?" Alicia asked horrified.

Bruce yanked at the rope once more to show her that it was secure enough to carry an elephant.

"It's quite safe. I tied it myself."

Alicia was doubtful and didn't think the rope seemed very secure. If she was expected to cross a gorge of doom, she wanted to cross it in a cable-car or a modern-day bridge made of cast iron and not something that seemed as if it could snap out from underneath her weight.

"You tied that?" Alicia asked, "How?"

"With a lot of patience. Let's go. We're losing light."

"And how do you propose we cross? I'm no circus tightrope walker."

"Tyrolean Traverse." He said confidently, "Or Tyrol for short, but since we don't have anything to clip ourselves onto the rope, we'll have to do the monkey crawl."

"The what now?"

"It's quite simple." He assured her, "Here, I'll show you."

Bruce grabbed a hold of the rope with both hands, swung his feet up and clasped them together around the rope. He slowly started pulled himself along the rope one hand after the other and stopped about two feet away. Alicia had a bad feeling about the rope – and she had a fear of heights.

"You don't have a fear of heights, do you?" Bruce joked.

"No." Alicia sighed, "I have a fear of falling to my death."

Bruce made it seem so easy as he continued along the rope – looking more like a sloth than a monkey and Alicia's hands started trembling. She took a deep breath and after a while of inner conflict, she grabbed a hold of the rope. She slowly inched along the rope and made the mistake of looking down - the abyss reached down hundreds of meters before disappearing into darkness and the withering height made her head spin again.

She tried telling herself that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but there was no point in lying to herself. She just had to be brave for her son and then she took the rope with both hands and clasped her feet onto the rope like Bruce showed her. The backpack felt sloppy and uneven and as if it was dragging her down, but she tried to ignore it as she pulled herself along the rope one hand over the other.

She glanced over at Bruce in front of her and saw a wooden mug fall out of his backpack and tumbled down towards the dark abyss below. The mug disappeared into the darkness and out of sight, but unbeknown to them, the mug continued falling for hundreds of feet and fell onto the head of a black snake that lay sleeping in a shallow pool of water at the bottom of the abyss.

The mug was barely the size of a grain of rice compared to the magnitude of the snake, but yet the creature woke up when the tiny obstacle landed on its head. It hissed and looked up at the two humans dragging themselves along the rope about half a mile above it and it slowly slithered up against the wall of the abyss towards them.

23

Just don't look down, Alicia kept telling herself as she kept her sights on the rope above her. She placed one shivering hand over the other as she pulled herself along the rope that stretched across the abyss of certain death below and she desperately wished to wake up in her bed with Jack next to her and Timmy safe in his own bed.

Alicia and Bruce were slowly inching closer to the other side of the abyss when a startling noise in the absence of anything down in the abyss made Alicia look down, but she couldn't see anything. Despite her eyes telling her that there was nothing, the tingling in her spine told her mind that something bad was coming their way. Call it a sixth sense or a woman's intuition, but she definitely knew something wicked was coming their way.

"There is something moving down there." Alicia called out.

"What?"

Alicia stared back up at the rope for a second telling herself that it was just her imagination, but when she glanced down again, she noticed something moving in the darkness... something large.

"Bruce, there's something down there."

Bruce glanced down just as the colossal snake slithered out of the darkness towards them like a demon from the dark pits of hell. Alicia gasped upon seeing the massive monster and nearly lost her grip on the rope.

"Hurry up!" Bruce insisted.

They hurried themselves along the rope to the nearing edge as the snake slithered closer and closer and then finally reared its ugly head over the edge of the abyss behind them. It draped its scaly body around the tree that anchored the rope Alicia screamed at the sight of the giant snake that hissed and tightened its grip on the tree – causing the rope to slowly untwine.

"We're going to fall!" Alicia screamed.

"Hurry up and don't look back!"

They dragged themselves along the rope and tried to be as quick as they could without falling to their deaths. Bruce finally reached the other side, crawled out onto the edge and threw his backpack aside as he stumbled to his feet – Alicia was still a few feet out. The rope snapped free from the tree on the other side and dropped; Alicia screamed as the rope swung and slammed her up against the wall of the abyss. The impact knocked the wind out of her and her grip was slipping.

"I don't want to die!"

"You won't!" Bruce called out, "Grab my hand!"

Bruce reached out to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulled her over the edge and onto the solid ground. Alicia gasped for air once she was safely on the other side. The tree on the opposite side creaked; making them both looked up and they watched as the it unearthed and tumbled down to the dark abyss below; dragging the snake with it.

She dusted herself off as they both stood up. It was a close call. She could have died.

"How will we get back to your cabin?"

"We don't." Bruce finally said with some sadness in his voice.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He said, "It's not your fault... and besides, this was probably the nudge I needed to get out of my cabin and look for other people."

A loud shriek made them both look up at the sky, but they saw nothing.

"What the hell was that?" Alicia asked worried.

"It's one of those flying monsters. Your screaming led them here. We have to go. Staying put will mean certain death."

Alicia spotted a fiery glow in the sky that came soaring down towards them at an alarming rate. Bruce grabbed her by the arm and they started running towards a group of trees in the distance. Alicia looked back over her shoulder and gasped at the horrid flying creature with wings of fire that came closer with each flap of its wings. The threatening sounds it made reverberated through the air, bounced off the canyon and echoed back again as a signal of its descent.

Alicia and Bruce ran as fast as their legs could go, but it seemed the monster was faster. The trees were just in reach when the monster swooped down towards them as they dived in between the trees. The monster slammed down onto the ground, sending grass and loose soil flying in every direction upon impact. The monster was too big to follow them into the woods, and so it shoved its scaly snout in between the trees; snapping its razor sharp teeth at Alicia's feet – missing her by mere inches.

The creature flapped its wings and shrieked as it snapped its jaws in between the trees. The flap of its wings reignited the flames and some of the outer trees caught fire. The creature was determined to get the humans and started unearthing ablaze trees and flung them aside like trash.

"Don't look back!" Bruce yelled as he grabbed her by the arm again.

Alicia and Bruce ran through the thick undergrowth that lined the floor of the forest as the creature's flapping wings set more trees on fire while it continued unearthing trees vigorously. The creature pushed its way through the burning trees and reached out with its front paw, but it still couldn't reach the humans – something that infuriated the creature even more.

Its furious screeches pierced the air and Alicia let go of Bruce's hand to cover her ears as they ran. A moment later everything was quiet. Bruce motioned for her to stop running and they both glanced back over their shoulders – there was no sign of the creature except the burning trees.

Something cold touched Bruce's neck and when he turned around he was met by a large and muscular bare chested man in a breechclout pointing a spear at him. He tapped Alicia against the upper arm and she gasped when she saw the huge man.

The man, whose face was behind an illuminated mask with a visor, spoke in a language neither one of them understood and they simply stared at him with blank expressions as another large man in similar attire in on a horse-like creature with six legs.

"I don't understand what you're saying." Bruce said cautiously.

"Who are you?" Alicia asked, "What do you want?"

"The female's coming with us." The second man said in a stern and powerful voice.

24

Hours have passed since they were dumped in the fiery concentration camp and Timmy had fallen asleep in Jack's secure embrace. The two suns had set about an hour earlier, but the concentration camp was still brightly lit by the fire wall.

Jack sat in the mud and stared at the millions of distraught people; to his left a father was cradling the head of his deceased son and cried like a baby. To his right he saw another man scrutinizing the wall of fire, but keeping his distance from it. From the perplexed expression on his face it was clear that the man was wondering what was fuelling the fire wall. The blue emission spectrum of the fire wall seemed to seep out of the soil without a visible catalyst and despite giving off intense heat, they were able to step up to the wall as up to two feet.

The man cautiously reached out to get a feel for the heat, but rather felt the flame tug at his hand as if trying to pull him in and he lowered his hand again; all the while keeping his sights on the peculiar obstacle that entrapped them.

Jack stood up carefully while holding onto Timmy tighter than he ever had – he wouldn't let Timmy out of his sight again... ever. He had to find Alicia – she had to be somewhere in the crowd. Jack's eyes searched the dire faces around him as made his way through the thousands upon thousands of hysterical people.

"Alicia?" Jack called out as he walked.

There was no way she could ever hear him over the noise, but he simply had to keep on walking and calling out her name until he found her. He just hoped to God that she wasn't lying face down in a puddle of mud somewhere; trampled to death by a fleeing mob.

"Alicia?" Jack called out again.

A few feet ahead he noticed a man who had been trampled to death lying face down in the mud. Jack stared down at the man as he stepped over him and felt saddened by what he saw. What had become of humanity? A man was lying dead in a pool of mud surrounded by millions of fear-filled faces and nobody could care less that he was dead. He used to be someone's loved one – he used to matter.

The further he walked the more people he found lying dead in the dirt; all victims of a stampede of fleeing humans when the monsters swooped down with him and Timmy.

"Alicia?" Jack called out again.

Jack passed a skinny guy who turned to face him when he heard Jack call out.

"You won't find her here." The man said.

Jack stopped and turned to the skinny man who was covered in dirt and seemed like he was starving.

Jack glanced around them and it was evident that the skinny, young man was the only person who showed interest in his dilemma. His statement suggested that he might have information Jack didn't have and he stepped closer to the skinny stranger.

"And why is that?" Jack asked.

"Look around you." The skinny man said, "There are no women here. This is a concentration camp for men."

Jack scanned the faces around them – it was true. There were only men around them. It was only then that he realized that all the men were calling out women names; they were all looking for their wives, sisters or daughters.

Jack turned back to the skinny young man; he knew something and Jack wanted to know more.

"Where are all the women?"

"Oh, I don't know." The skinny man said, "But if I had to take a guess, they're being kept in a camp much like this one."

"What aren't you telling me?" Jack insisted, "What do you know?"

"I know a lot of things."

The skinny young man turned to walk away, but Jack grabbed him by the upper arm.

"Wait." Jack pleaded, "Please."

The skinny man sighed and motioned for Jack to follow him. They walked over to a large, flat rock and the skinny man sat down before gesturing for Jack to join him. The man seemed paranoid, as if expecting someone or something to snatch him away if he spoke of his theories.

"What's your name?" Jack asked.

"Richard."

"I'm Jack. What do you know?"

"What news do you want first? The good news or the bad news?"

"Tell me everything." Jack insisted.

"Okay. You asked for it." Richard said, "Since the fifteenth century hundreds of people simply vanished from the face of the earth never to be heard from again. As time went on, the disappearances became more frequent. The only documented proof of these unexplained disappearances were when the entire town of Ashley disappeared."

"Ashley?"

"You've heard of it?"

"I've given a lecture about it before." Jack said, "I'm a professor at—"

"Was a professor. Out here you're just another prisoner." Richard said, "Anyway, they were testing some kind of machine."

"They?" Jack asked confused, "Who are you referring to?"

"Whoever brought us here."

"What kind of machine?"

"I'm not sure what it is or how it works," Richard said, "but its sole purpose was to capture humans and bring them here to this godforsaken place. I've made some of my own conclusions as to how the machine would work. Have you ever seen that movie "The Fly"? Anyway, Jeff Goldblum creates this teleportation device that breaks down living tissue at one point, transports it to another point and rebuilds the living tissue. The machine was unable to transport anything that wasn't living. I think that's why when they teleported a whole goddamned continent that only the humans and animals ended up here. Cars, buildings, watches, mobile phones, pacemakers – none of those things made it through their teleportation. All of those simply disappeared. I just haven't figured out about our clothes and why they were teleported. Not sure how they did that."

"You keep on saying they." Jack said.

Richard glanced at Jack, half annoyed that he kept on interrupting.

"Do you want to hear what I know or what?"

Jack nodded.

"I've been here for a couple of days ever since all hell broke loose in Australia." Richard said, "I was on vacation in the outback and it was my last day, so I went to Sydney. I tell you swimming in the ocean does not get more refreshing than after you've spent a couple of days in the outback..."

Richard paused a moment and then got lost in his thoughts as he pondered over some theories.

"That's it." Richard mumbled to himself as if having an epiphany.

"What?"

"That's how they did it." Richard mumbled in thought.

Richard looked up at Jack with a sparkle in his eyes as if he had just uncovered the secrets of the universe – or at least the secrets of this universe.

"The oceans." Richard said mumbling to himself, "It acted like a transitional condiment. Why didn't I think of it earlier? It makes perfect sense. Water is a natural lubricant. More than half of earth's surface is made up of water. That's why they picked us. That's why they picked earth. It was the most obvious choice..."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked confused.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I mumble to myself. Think of it as an invasion. Invasions usually happen for one of two reasons – whether it's the Settlers invading America, the Vikings or aliens."

"And what reasons would that be?" Jack asked.

"They have exhausted their natural resources and are in search of other planets to sustain their life forms or their natural habitat is unlivable for some reason and they are seeking a new planet to repopulate."

"That makes no sense." Jack said, "Why teleport us here? Why not teleport to earth and declare war like one would expect in a movie?"

"I'm not sure yet." Richard said, "But I can tell you one thing – we don't stand a chance against them. The universe consists of billions of galaxies, each one with billions of planets and stars. It would take us 150 000 years to travel from earth to the nearest star in our own galaxy. They were able to transport earth's entire population to some unknown planet in who-knows-what galaxy. Not only that, but they were able to transport us instantaneously which is completely unheard of. Even traveling through a wormhole to a distant planet would take about a week according to Stephen Hawking, but when the shit hit the fan in Sydney, I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I was here – with all the other men of earth."

There was a moment of silence as Richard got lost in his thoughts again.

"If you asked me, one of them is smarter than the combined genius of ten Albert Einsteins."

"Who?" Jack asked, "Are you talking about those flying creatures?"

"No. I think they're like pets. They round up the targets like a dog rounding up sheep. The transportation is most probably like dropping a glass – most pieces will be close together while some shattered pieces scatter. I've seen these monsters drop people into the concentration camp for days now. I think they're sole purpose is to round up scattered humans."

"Rounding up for what?" Jack asked.

Richard was uncertain. He looked at Jack and then at the millions of people around them. What were they being rounded up for? What did the creatures want?

"I don't know yet." Richard said, "But I fear the worst is yet to come."

Jack glanced at the sea of people as they wandered around restlessly looking for loved ones. It was like a never-ending nightmare. He embraced Timmy and despite being a grown man, he longed for his mother's calming touch and soothing voice telling him that everything would be alright... but he knew it wouldn't be alright.

25

Alicia was tied up and one of the horse-like creatures carried her in its two front paws as it walked on the hind four. The two large men, who rode on the backs of the creatures, spoke in their native language and one of them chuckled from behind his mask. She still quietly whimpered and couldn't believe that they killed Bruce in cold blood – they simply stabbed him with the spear and left him for dead.

The two horse-like creatures galloped across the countryside at about ten miles an hour, but to Alicia the trip was a smooth one – almost like driving on rocky terrain with shock-absorbers. She just wish she knew what the natives wanted from her.

"Don't be afraid." Alicia heard someone say.

She glanced up at the large men riding their horse-like creatures; they were still deep in a conversation in their own language and she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. It might've been her inner voices of calm trying to reassure her that she would be alright.

"Just don't resist." She heard again.

She glanced up again and noticed that the horse-like creature carrying her was staring down at her as he rode through the countryside. Two of its three eyes stared down at her and she could feel those icy blue eyes in her mind feeling a bit like brain-freeze after you ate ice-cream too quickly, but not as intense as a brain-freeze.

"You're able to hear my thoughts." She heard it say, "And I'm able to hear yours."

She stared at the majestic creature in disbelief for a moment. Could this be possible?

"What are you?" She asked in her mind.

"I'm a Perd." It replied, "My name is Wernus."

" _Where are you taking me?"_

" _We're going to Pretor."_

"Please let me go." She pleaded, "I have to find my family."

"You know I can't let you go." Wernus said, "I am bound to my master by sensory impulses. I have to do what he wants me to – and he wants to take you to Pretor."

"What's in Pretor?" Alicia asked.

" _The leader of the Eljavican people."_

" _Why are they taking me there?"_

"They say you're unlike the other women they've come across." Wernus said.

"There are other survivors?" Alicia was relieved at the news of others.

"Oh, yes. Many others of your kind." Wernus assured her, "Millions in fact, but none like you... that's why we're going to Eljavic."

" _I don't understand."_

" _My master, Petrav, and his companion were tasked with roaming the country in search of humans that haven't been round up. If they were female, they get taken to Pearlite where the rest of the females of your population are kept."_

"And if they were male?" Alicia dreaded the answer.

" _You saw what the scouts do to males."_

"Oh, God..." Alicia wept.

She feared the worst after seeing what the aliens did to Bruce. What if they already killed Jack and Timmy? She couldn't bear the thought, but also couldn't get it out of her mind.

" _Most of your kind were transported here at the same time – to the same place. Men one side and woman on the other. I sense from your sadness you're worried about your family. They might be alive where they keep the men."_

" _There are male survivors?"_

" _Yes."_ Wernus said, "On the other side of the dark mountains – hundreds of thousands of your earth miles from where we are now."

With those words, the new found hope of seeing her family faded away again. How would she ever escape and get to them thousands of miles away? With each stride the creatures galloped they moved even farther away from Jack and Timmy and she felt as if she was drifting in and out of a surreal dream. It had to be a dream... there was no possible way that this could be happening.

26

Timmy had calmed down, but was sucking his thumb like a baby – something he hadn't done in years. Though all the scared people around them was scaring him, he felt a bit safer in his father's warm embrace with Jack's heartbeat softly lulling in his ear.

With Timmy in his arms, Jack and Richard walked about a twenty yards through the crowd of millions until they got to the fire wall – a wall of one continuous flame that hardly flickered as it reached up to the sky. Theoretically and scientifically such an object – a motionless fire of this magnitude – shouldn't exist, but then again less than two days ago teleportation to an alien planet was something from science fiction novels.

Jack inspected the blue part of the flame and then the yellow part that started just above his head; wondering whether it was possible to escape. Surely one could simply try and extinguish the flame? Has any of these people even tried to extinguish the flame or were they all too terrified to think about it?

"I know what you're thinking." Richard said, "You're wondering whether you can put it out?"

Jack didn't respond, but instead kept his sights transfixed upon the peculiar obstacle between them and freedom.

"It's impossible." Richard sighed, "Everyone who's had that idea tried."

Jack finally turned around as Richard picked up a large heap of loose soil in his hands, walked over to the fiery wall and cast the soil into the blue part. The soil settled in the flame without as much as making a dent in the flame.

"See..." Richard said in defeat.

"There's gotta be something we can do." Jack insisted, "We can't just sit here and do nothing. We just need something bigger than a handful of sand."

"What would you have us do? Everyone's too busy worrying about finding family they'll probably never find or looking for food."

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Timmy uttered.

"What is there to eat around here?" Jack asked.

"Nothing." Richard said, "I haven't eaten anything since I got here."

"So we'll starve to death?"

Jack turned to face the fire wall again. He didn't want to accept that this was the end – it couldn't be. Maybe if there was water nearby? They could try and extinguish it with water? And just as that thought popped into his head, Jack felt water drizzle on his face as it began to rain. He glanced up at the grey clouds that covered the sky like a thick blanket and tried to stay optimistic – perhaps the downpour will be enough to create a pool that they could try and use.

"Water doesn't put it out either." Richard said, "We've tried."

The sound of thunder boomed through the sky and then Timmy clung to Jack even tighter. He was terrified of thunder ever since lightning struck the backyard right outside his bedroom window about two years earlier.

"Daddy." Jack cried as he buried his face in Jack's chest.

"He's afraid of thunder." Jack told Richard.

"That wasn't thunder." Richard said and looked up at the ominous grey sky.

Jack looked up to the dark heavens above them and saw the flapping of burning wings as the horrid creatures that brought them there circled above the people about a mile to the east; looking like vultures.

"When they circle like that nothing good has come of it." Richard said as the distant screaming started.

"What's happening?" Jack asked as the five circling creatures swooped down lower.

"I'm not sure." Richard said, "They've never done that on this side."

Jack scrutinized the sight as one of the distant creatures swooped down into the crowd of scared humans before taking to the sky again, and though it was very far away, Jack was pretty sure he saw a person in the clutches of the creature as it flew off towards the mountains.

"They're feeding."

"What?" Richard gasped and watched as another monster swooped down.

"We're just sitting ducks." Jack said, "We need to arm ourselves; make weapons."

"With what? Look around you – there's nothing."

Jack gestured at a rock with a nudge of his head, "We'll have to use what we've got. If we can somehow bring one of those creatures down, we might bring down the wall of fire – fight fire with fire."

"That's impossible." Richard protested, "Those things are the size of a bus. How do you want us to kill one of them?"

"I don't know yet."

"I've got a suggestion." Another man said as he stepped closer, "But you're not gonna like it."

"Right now any plan is better than no plan." Jack said.

"Josh." The man introduced himself, "I used to be a wildlife and survivor blogger."

"I'm Richard, and that's Jack and his son, Tommy."

"Timmy." Jack corrected him, "What's your suggestion?"

"Like I said," Josh said, "You ain't gonna like it. In 2005, while on a trip in South America, I was the only survivor of a bus accident... when death comes knocking at your door, you'll do anything to stay alive – things that you've never even dreamed of doing... things so macabre that it would give Charles Manson nightmares."

"You ate the others?" Richard blurted out.

"There are things far worse than starving to death." Josh said, "When you're man alone against nature, everything with claws and jaws wants to kill you. In South America it was the wild animals like wolves and coyotes – out here it's those flying demons. If we're to survive, we need to make a stand. We need to make a stand right now. Look around you – everything we need to arm ourselves are scattered all around us. You just need to know where to look."

Josh had a look in his eyes that concerned Richard and when Josh pointed at a corpse lying in a puddle of mud a few yards away, his concerns doubled.

"We use the dead to make weapons." Josh said.

"I'm not sure I follow." Jack said.

Josh took out something that was wrapped in a piece of cloth, unwrapped it and held up a scale as big as his hand, but neither Jack nor Richard grasped what he was proposing.

"I come from the south about two miles from here." Josh said, "The last time one of those demons flew down and snatched up one our people, it grabbed someone who put up quite a fight. He was able to snap free one of the creature's scales in the struggle. It's as hard as iron and as sharp as a knife."

"How are we gonna use one scale to bring down one of those things?" Richard huffed.

"The scale isn't for them." Josh said, "It's for stripping the flesh off the bones of the dead. The bones can be sharpened using a rock as a hammer and the scale as a chisel. We can use them as spears."

"Are you for real?" Richard asked outraged.

"That's insane." Jack said.

"If you can think of something better, please..." Josh shrugged.

Jack glanced away from the scale in Josh's hand and looked down at the corpse. He couldn't believe he was actually contemplating deboning a human being, but the situation they were in gave them no other choice. He knew it might be their only chance, but he doubted whether he had it in him to become a butcher of human flesh.

27

Alicia's captors decided to make camp for the night next to a river and held her prisoner in a cage made of crystals that emitted light beams of pure energy that kept her encaged. The two perds grazed a few feet away while the two large men set up for the night; one set up a tent-like structure while the other one got a fire going as the two suns set in the distance.

The one setting up the fire finally removed his mask and to Alicia's surprise and shock, the natives looked remarkably like humans; his skin was a pale white – almost bordering on light blue and he had long, silky, white hair that flowed over his broad shoulders like a waterfall. He called out something in his language to the other one and then turned to Alicia.

"Do you eat flesh?" He asked.

She stared at him without saying a word; still flabbergasted at the fact that they looked so much alike – in fact he was a gorgeous man despite being an alien. His purple eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly in the dark and pulled her in like a moth to a flame as if casting a mesmerizing spell on her.

"Female." He insisted, "Do you eat flesh?"

She snapped out of her mesmerized state; wondering what the hell came over her. It had been years since she had an infatuation for any man other than Jack and felt a bit ashamed of herself.

"You mean meat?" She asked, "Yes. I guess so."

He looked up at the sky and concentrated until his eyes emitted purple rays of light up into the sky; rays that reached up about ten feet before dissipating into the darkness. He kept standing like that until a winged creature approached and circled the light beams. It looked like a bat with four wings flapping into each other and was the size of a turkey. The light drew the creature closer to him and then he grabbed it and snapped its neck before dispelling the beams of light back into his eyes.

She watched as he dropped the dead creature next to the fire and used left-over wood to construct a roasting pole.

"Petrav." He said.

"I'm sorry?" She was confused about the statement.

"That's what they call me. Petrav." He said.

"Alicia." She said; uncertain what to make of the conversation, "Where are you taking me?"

"You already know. I saw you talking to my perd. Wernus and I are connected. He took a risk to talk to you."

"Please don't punish him."

"I do not punish." Petrav said, "Only our leader can punish."

"Your leader?" She asked; already knowing the answer, "Why are you taking me to Pretor?"

"We scout for scattered humans." Petrav said.

"Wernus said you dump the others in a prison. Why not me? Why are you taking me to your leader? What does he or she want with me?"

"You're different." Petrav said and stepped closer to her, "You will save our people."

"Save your people?"

"Eljav has been looking for you. He searched the entire universe for you. That's why you were brought here."

"Why me?" Alicia asked flattered, but confused, "What's so special about me?"

Petrav sat down cross-legged next to the cage of radiant energy and glanced up at the night sky that was filled with millions of bright stars; some bigger than others and more clearly visible.

"Look at the sky." He said, "What do you see?"

"Stars."

"What else?"

Alicia stared at the sky for a moment longer and then shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking for.

"The red planet." He said.

He pointed at the rising red giant with the planetary rings to the east.

"In a sky filled with stars, you are the red planet." Petrav said, "Everyone can see it. We could immediately see that you were the one we're looking for. Like we're linked to our perds, we're also linked to Eljav and he's already excited to meet you."

She glanced at the red planet again with all its majestic beauty and felt flattered that they compared her to such an incredible sight. She couldn't comprehend what exactly it meant, but it was a good feeling to know that someone searched the entire universe to find her – she actually forgot to worry about Jack and Timmy for a moment. What kind of person – what kind of mother – would forget to worry about her own son? Every time she glanced into Petrav's deep eyes she found herself get lost in them.

"Where did you learn to speak my language?" She asked.

"We've been testing our transporting device for centuries." Petrav said, "I learn from talking to your people."

The other man called out to Petrav and seemed angry.

"What did he say?"

"He doesn't like me talking to you." Petrav said, "He thinks I trust your people too easy."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"A human killed his brother while trying to escape once." Petrav said.

"Oh." She said as he got up, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'll get the flesh cooked."

28

"You can't be serious?" Richard asked in disbelief.

The three men stood a few feet away from the corpse while the rest of the imprisoned men walked up and down restlessly looking for loved ones – everyone too preoccupied by their own dilemma to even take note of what they were talking about.

"Those fire demons will be back," Josh said, "And next time they might grab one of us. We need to be prepared – we need to kill one of those things to show them that we're not gonna take things lying down."

"I'm getting sick from just talking about it." Jack felt nauseated.

"Life is filled with difficult decisions." Josh said, "But when it comes down to survival, it's the fittest that'll be left standing and I for one would like to get out of this hell."

A monster's growl echoed like thunder and signalled everyone that they were returning for more victims to feed upon. It wasn't long before everyone started running and screaming in all directions as they watched the dark skies for any sign of the unseen creatures. The slow and the old were trampled to death while some of the smaller guys near the fire wall were pushed into the flames that consumed them. Jack shielded Timmy from the horrid sight of a man fighting to get out of the fire wall, but was held there by an unseen force within the blue flame until his corpse finally collapsed; completely consumed by the fire.

"We should move." Richard said, "Look for somewhere to hide."

"Where would you wanna hide?" Josh asked, "Stand your ground and keep your eye on the sky. You don't run unless you know where your enemy is."

Timmy sobbed quietly into Jack's chest as the three men stood and looked up at the sky while everyone else around them ran around panicking and screaming. Another screech echoed through the night sky and this time it sounded much closer, but there was still no sign of the flying monster.

After the last echo resonated into the darkness, all they could here was screaming and downpour of rain. After a while, people realized that they were clear of danger and the panic slowly started dying down.

"Stand your ground!" Josh said, "Keep your sights fixed on the sky!"

One by one the people nearby started looking up at the sky in dreaded anticipation of the fire monsters, but saw nothing except the dark clouds and drizzle that went along with it. Josh had spent enough time in the outdoors to know that predators snuck up on their prey when they least expected it... and this might just be the calm before storm he was dreading.

Timmy lifted his head off his father's chest and glanced at all the men and boys staring up at the sky and could actually hear the sound of raindrops impact with the ground in the utter silence that befell the humans around him. Timmy shielded his little eyes from the rain as he looked up at the dark clouds, and despite not really knowing what they were fearing, he could sense the fear that was in everyone's hearts.

Instantaneously a fire monster pierced through the clouds that twirled up away in a vortex around its flaming wings as it rapidly descended towards the humans; shrieking with a wide open snout. All hell broke lose as everyone started screaming and running to get away from the monster.

"Stand still!" Josh insisted as the monster descended, "Keep your eyes on it and watch where it's going so you can go in the opposite direction!"

Jack could hardly hear Josh over the terrified screams around them, but stood still and watched as the monster came down towards them. He wanted to run away, but instinct told him to trust Josh and so he stood where he was – hoping for it to be the right decision.

The monster swooped down a few yards in front of them and grabbed a fat sluggish man in its claws before it took the sky again. The man screamed continuously as he disappeared from sight.

Another monster descended in a magnificent blaze of flames and gushes of wind and swooped down ten yards to the right of Jack, grabbed two men in its claws and then it took to the sky again just as another monster swooped down.

Jack shielded Timmy who buried his head in his chest again and the three of them watched as about ten more fiery monsters swooped down and plucked people from the pool of prey.

"They keep flying past us." Richard noted.

The heat radiating behind Jack reminded him that they were within two feet of the fiery wall and wondered whether that might've been the reason why the monsters didn't try and grab them.

"I think it's the fire wall." Jack said.

"What about it?" Josh asked.

"You remember that guy who got stuck in the fire wall?" Jack pointed out, "I think once you get sucked into the fire wall you can't escape – no matter who or what you are."

"They're afraid of it." Richard said as if having an epiphany.

"Cautious, most likely." Jack corrected him, "If we can get it into the wall, it might get sucked down by the fire and we may be able to use the creature as a sort of bridge through the fire."

"That's why we need to create weapons." Josh said as the last of the fire monsters disappeared back into the dark clouds.

"And what use will we have for sharpened bones?" Richard was sceptical, "You want us to stab them or something? We're down here and they're all the way up there."

"Maybe I can help." A stranger said to the left of the group.

Jack immediately recognized the man as his favourite singer of all time and gasped with delight like a little boy seeing Santa for the very first time.

"Oh, my God..." Jack gasped, "You're... you're... Meat Loaf!"

"Please." Meat insisted, "Call me Meat. Everybody does.

"Who?" Richard asked.

"How can you not know who Meat Loaf is?" Jack was shocked, "He's only the greatest singer of all time!"

Richard still had a blunt expression on his face and had no idea why Jack was so excited to see a seventy-odd year old fat man.

"He has sold over 50 million albums?" Jack asked, but Richard shook his head, "The Bat out of Hell trilogy of albums? Come on! They're legendary..."

And then a peculiar thought popped into Jack's head – did Meat Loaf become senile enough that he might've thought himself to be the hero depicted on the cover art of his albums battling the giant bat that escaped from hell?

"I used to throw the javelin back in high school." Meat said.

"Really?" Jack asked, "I didn't know that. I thought you played football?"

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet."

"Who cares what you did or didn't do a hundred years ago?" Richard said annoyed.

"I did throw the javelin." Meat said, "And if you can make me one, I'm pretty sure I can hit my target and bring one of those devils down."

Richard still wasn't convinced that the old chubby man was the one to save them and folded his arms across his chest as he raised one eyebrow in disbelief. What he saw was anything but a hero – guitar hero or otherwise and he had little faith in the old man that swayed from side to side like a weeble-wobble as he walked over to them.

"You really think you can bring down one of those things?" Richard asked.

"You don't have faith in me?" Meat asked.

"Not one bit." Richard shook his head.

"You sound like my ex-wife." Meat teased.

"Don't all ex-wives sound alike?" Jack joked; trying to suck up to Meat who was clearly unsettled by the random remark.

"Anyway," Josh said bluntly, "Sorry to break up this... whatever this is, but we should get started."

29

Hardly anyone noticed when Jack, Josh, Richard and Meat started to fillet the cadaver of a man with a broken leg – every one of the billions of people trapped within the fire walls were too preoccupied with their own dilemma and sorrows to really care what anyone else was doing. Nobody helped anyone who had fallen or had injuries; in here it was truly survival of the fittest and there was no way that the fit would help the weak.

The lower part of the man's leg was completely severed at the knee – hanging only by a piece of skin, and Jack shielded Timmy's eyes from the ghastly sight. Richard tried not to gag as Josh twisted and jiggled at the leg as he used the scale to slice through the skin until it finally snapped free. Droplets of blood splashed onto his shoes and Richard could taste vomit at the back of his throat, but forced it down again.

"Oh God..." Richard gagged.

"Oh, man up." Josh said as he stood up; holding the severed leg in one hand.

"How can you be so calm?" Richard insisted, "You just cut off a man's leg."

"It was already loose." Josh corrected him, "And he no longer has use for it."

"That used to be somebody who mattered to somebody." Richard said.

"He'll matter again today." Meat insisted, "His leg will be our salvation..."

"Now, get rid of the body." Josh ordered.

"What?" Richard asked baffled.

"We can't have it lying around just like that." Josh said, "I'm pretty sure you're not the only nancy-boy who'll have a problem with what we're doing and I don't want a riot of nancy-boys on my hands. Get rid of the body."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"Drag it into the fire wall." Jack proposed, "You saw how quickly it consumed that other guy. It'll burn up the body in no time."

"I'll give you a hand." Meat said, "You grab his legs – well... his leg."

Richard hesitated as Meat walked over and grabbed both hands of the cadaver, and then he glanced down at the leg and stump at his side. He sighed and then finally picked up the remaining leg with both hands and the two of them carried the corpse closer to the fire-wall, swung it back and forth until they got a good momentum going and then dumped the corpse into the blue part of the flame which, in turn, consumed it.

"This is probably illegal." Richard said as they walked back to the others.

"Who's gonna arrest you?" Meat asked, "This isn't your home town anymore. This is an alien planet where rules and laws don't apply. And if it makes you feel any better; you had to do what you had to do to survive. There's nothing wrong with doing what you must to survive."

"It doesn't make me feel better." Richard sighed, "It just makes me feel worse – that could've been me."

"Are you still whining?" Josh asked as they stepped closer.

"I'm not whi—"

"Yes, you are." Josh said annoyed, "Just grow up."

Sulking, Richard folded his arms across his chest and it was only then that he noticed that Josh was busy stripping the severed leg of its flesh; Josh sat on a rock with the severed leg between his and used the scale to strip the flesh in a downward movement. The scale scraping against the bone was almost just as cringe-worthy as nails being dragged across a classroom blackboard. He tried to shake off his irritation of the sound and stepped back a few feet, but the sound kept clawing at his ears.

"Do you have to do that?" Richard cringed.

"I need the bone to be clean." Josh said.

"Why?" Richard asked, "Are you gonna sell it to tourists or use it as a weapon?"

"If someone doesn't do something about nancy-boy, I will." Josh said without looking up.

"Richard," Jack said hushed, "Please..."

"Fine." Richard sighed and shrugged.

He didn't even know why he still hung around with these people who were clearly disturbed. Nobody in their right mind would chop up a human leg as if it was an everyday thing. Surely he could find better company out there somewhere. After all, the entire human race's male population was there – there had to be someone sane he could keep company.

30

Alicia watched from within her cage as Petrav barbequed the meat over the fire and then walked over with a piece skewered on a stick. He crouched down in front of the cage and held it out to her, but she was hesitant to take it from the native man whom kept her captive. Why was he being nice to her while the other one gave her grunts and stern looks?

"It's good." Petrav said toying the stick at her.

She stared at the meat and then at Petrav's insanely intense eyes and then decided to trust him. If he wanted her dead, she'd probably be dead already. She reached out through the light-beam prongs of her prison and took the stick of meat from him.

The other one yelled something in their language at Petrav who dismissed him with a quick motion of his hand and then sat down cross-legged in front of Alicia. He found her fascinating and studied her physique with great detail – and wasn't hiding the fact that he was intrigued by her... not so much attracted to her, but intrigued by what made her special.

"It's good." Alicia finally said after the first bite.

"It's semen." He said.

"I beg your pardon?" Alicia choked.

"It's the name of the animal you're eating."

Alicia chuckled and when bafflement showed upon his face she said, "On my planet semen has a different meaning."

"Is it edible on your planet?"

"You can say that." She chuckled again and continued eating.

She tried to ignore the fact that he watched her every move, but it was hard to ignore such intense looks that she could feel penetrate to her soul.

"I have a husband." She finally said.

"A what?" Petrav was confused.

"A husband. Life partner. Spouse... On my planet when you love somebody you get married to them and spend the rest of your life with them."

"What is married?" Petrav asked, "What is love?"

How could it be possible that a species so similar to humans in appearance didn't know what marriage was or even what love was? Love was always thought to be a universal emotion – something that can connect people through space and time.

"You really don't know?" She was intrigued by his ignorance.

He shook his head. Alicia wondered how she could even begin to explain the intricate and complicated thing called love to someone who had no clue what it was. Even at her age she sometimes wondered what love was and whether other people knew what it felt like when she looked into the eyes of Jack and Timmy.

"What is love?" Petrav asked.

"Well," She paused, "It's difficult to explain, but when you feel it, you'll know. It is a state of mind that connects two people and nothing can come between them."

"And you love your husband?"

"Very much." She confirmed, "With all of my heart."

"Is he the male you were enquiring about earlier?"

"Yes." She said saddened.

"I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Is there someone special waiting for you at home?" She asked, but could see he didn't quite understand the question, "Do you have a family? Do you know what a family is?"

He shook his head and said, "It's just me and Igbod over there... and Eljav."

She pondered for a moment and then gasped, "Just the three of you?"

He nodded.

"You're telling me that it's just the three of you on this entire planet?" She was flabbergasted.

"That is why it was so important to find you." Petrav said, "You're the one who will save our race."

"You keep saying that." She said, "What makes you so sure that I can save your race?"

"It's like you said," Petrav smiled, "When you feel it, you'll know."

Petrav toyed with a leaf and then finally said, "You'll probably never see him again... your husband. Our planet is big. Your planet, earth, can fit three hundred times into our planet. It'll take you two lifetimes to get to the other side of the planet where the men are being held."

Those words cut Alicia like a knife and knocked the wind out of her. She already had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that she was on an alien planet – now she had to accept the fact that she might never see her family again. Petrav could see his statement shook her down to her core as her face drained of colour.

"I'm not hungry." She said and handed the meat back to him.

There was a long moment of silence as Alicia hugged her legs and Petrav wondered what he could say to cheer her up. He felt a strong connection to her – a connection that he couldn't explain – and hated seeing her sad.

"Do you know how old I am?" Petrav asked, "I am 632 of your years. And over the years I've met many interesting people from your planet."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm trying to take your mind off your troubles." Petrav said, "And perhaps install some hope. The second most interesting person I met was a female called Dorothy Arnold. She came to this planet when we intensified our search for the one who would save our people, but she wasn't the one we were looking for. When she arrived, she said that it was the year 1910 on your planet and that there was nothing for her back home. Despite not being who we were looking for, she was happy to stay and teach me your language. I knew a bit when I met her, but she became more than just a teacher – she became my friend. When she was eighty of your years, she told me that we should never give up on finding the one who will one day save our people. She said that hope is one of the most powerful things and that nothing can overpower hope."

"Hope?" Alicia snickered, "How will that help me see my family again?"

"Dorothy was wrong." Petrav said, "The most powerful thing is light. It's faster than anything and can penetrate anything. It's also what we used to power the device that brought you here, but unfortunately bringing all your people here drained the device forever, but there is one thing almost as powerful..."

"I'm not sure where you're going with this."

"Light-worms." Petrav said, "They cannot transport you back to your planet, but they can take you anywhere on this planet in a blink of an eye. All you need to do is envision where you want to go and they'll take you there."

Alicia sat upright with new found hope and leaned in as close as the light-beam bars allowed her to.

"You're willing to help me find my family?" She gasped delighted.

"I can't." He said, "But if you save our people, I'm convinced that Eljav will let you use the light-worms."

"If I'm that important, why do you keep me locked up? It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"I'm just following orders." Petrav said, "Eljav has been looking for you for over a thousand years and I doubt that he'd want you to walk around in this dangerous, new world."

31

Timmy was less frightened than before and asked for his dad to put him down, which Jack did as he glanced over at Josh who was sharpening the bone against the rock he sat on. Never did he thought the day would come that he'd see a modern-day man sit on a rock like a caveman and sharpen a bone into a weapon – desperate times calls for desperate measures.

"Just stay close to me." Jack insisted.

Timmy nodded and glanced at the millions of people around him and wondered whether his mother was safe. He wanted her there with him so badly, but had to be a big boy. His dad already had enough to worry about without him crying over his mother.

Richard stared at Josh with his arms folded across his chest – he was against the whole macabre excursion from the start, but kept his opinions to himself. These men were desperate for an absolution and might not take too kindly to his constant criticism.

The clouds rumbled right above them and then in the distance to the west; making Richard look up with concern. He didn't like it when the clouds became restless. It usually meant only one thing – the fire-beasts were hidden in the clouds.

"What is it?" Meat asked as he stepped closer.

"It's trouble." Richard said.

"You think those creatures will come back?"

"I don't think so... I know so. It's just a matter of time before they return."

Meat hesitated and then asked, "Do you think it'll work? The javelin?"

Richard looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "You're asking me whether I think you'll be able to throw the javelin?"

"I know I can throw the javelin. I'm asking whether you think it'll be effective enough to kill such a large animal."

Richard turned his sights to the dark and rumbling sky, "I hope so..."

Timmy spotted an old man sitting in a puddle of mud not too far away and walked over to the man who seemed lost and defeated – he didn't even bother wiping the mud or strands of hair out of his cracked face, but simply stared down at his hands.

Timmy stood in front of the old man for a moment and noticed blood smears on the palms of his upturned palms, but the old man didn't acknowledge him.

"Are you alright, mister?" Timmy asked.

The old man kept staring down at his hands and then finally looked up at Timmy with tear-filled eyes and a shivering lower lip.

"I couldn't save him." The old man whimpered, "I couldn't save him. Those things grabbed my boy right out of my hands. I tried to fight back, but I couldn't save him."

The old man lowered his head again and got lost in his thoughts of sorrow and what might have been.

Timmy stood there for a moment and then turned around, but couldn't see his dad – all he could see were hundreds of legs blocking his way. He swirled around; hoping to see his dad somewhere, but all he could see were desperate people walking around endlessly.

"Dad!" He called out.

He got lost at the mall once, so Timmy knew that the best thing to do would be standing still, but with more than half of the human population around him, his dad might never find him.

An immense roar echoed through the dark clouds; making Timmy glance up with a jerk. The clouds to the south were illuminated in a big, yellow circle and then caught ablaze before one of the fire-monsters burst out through the clouds with a sonic boom of its wings. People all around him started screaming and running in all directions, but he kept standing in one spot and watched as the monster swooped down towards them.

The old man couldn't care less about the fear and panic around him. He had lost his only son and was drowning in his own sorrow as he kept staring down at his bloody palms.

"Timmy!" he heard his father call out behind him.

He glanced back over his shoulder at Jack who was desperately trying to push his way through the sea of fleeing humans.

"Timmy!" Jack called out, "Don't move!"

No matter how much he struggled, Jack couldn't push his way through the crowd and watched in horror as the monster dove down towards Timmy as if targeting him amidst the fleeing humans.

"Timmy!" Jack cried out petrified.

He kept pushing through the crowd, but every time he pushed past three people, four more would push him back in his never-ending struggle to get to his son; all the while the monster descended rapidly towards Timmy with his claws open and ready to snatch him.

"Timmy!" Jack cried out.

Timmy stood frozen in fear and watched as the giant fiery monster darted down straight towards him with outstretched claws and just as it was about to snatched him, Timmy ducked for cover and the beast grabbed the old man sitting in the puddle of mud.

Timmy glanced up from the mud and dirt as the monster took to the sky while it tore the old man to pieces and ate him before the illuminated part in the dark clouds consumed the monster again.

Jack was finally able to push his way through the crowd and rushed over to Timmy, grabbed him and embraced him tighter than ever.

"Timmy!" Jack was relieved that his only son was still alive, "I told you not to leave my side!"

"I know!" Timmy sobbed, "I'm sorry."

"It's coming back!" Someone screamed in terror.

Jack stared up at the clouds as they swirled open underneath the flap of the monster's wings and it swooped down towards the humans. Six more monsters swooped down one by one and descended towards the terrified humans and flew faster than their ear-splitting screeches that echoed through the sky.

"Oh God..." Jack uttered in defeat as ten more monsters pierced through the clouds.

"My time to shine." Meat said as he stepped closer to Jack.

Meat held the sharpened bone in his right hand and toyed with it a bit to feel the weight as he studied the arsenal of monsters that were attacking the human race from above.

"I know this might not be the right time for this," Jack said, "But I might not get another chance to ask if I may get your autograph."

"Once I've killed one of these bats out of hell, I'll sign anything you want." Meat was confident in his victory as he stepped up to the plate and aimed at the nearest monster. He kept his sights transfixed upon the descending monster, aimed and threw the bone javelin.

Jack, Timmy and Meat all watched with anticipation as the javelin rocketed through the air towards the fire-monster and pierced its throat. The monster howled in pain and crashed down into the crowd of humans a few yards away. The flames on its wings died the second the creature drew its last breath.

"You did it!" Richard gasped as he ran closer.

"Never doubt me." Meat said as he kept his sights on the sky.

"Look..." Timmy said.

Timmy pointed at the creature that crash-landed a few feet away from the fire-wall. It lay in a contorted heap and was seemingly dead.

"Now what?" Richard asked.

32

The perds galloped down the deserted cobblestone walkways of Pretor towards the majestic crystal castle that was situated in the middle of a lightly purple-coloured lake. From behind the bars of her prison, Alicia could see that the town was once a thriving community that was now lost forever. All that remained were the buildings that stood like relics of a forgotten era.

As they neared the lake, crystals emerged from the water to create a bridge connecting the castle to the mainland in a smooth and inaudible motion. The water of the lake was clear and as they crossed the bridge, Alicia could see right down to the bottom of the lake that was at least twenty feet deep.

Two things went through her mind as they approached the colossal castle; was her family safe? What made her special enough for the leader of this alien world to single her out as the saviour of their people?

The diamond encrusted doors opened automatically as they approached and the perds pulled Alicia's hovering prison cell through the large vestibule as the ambient noise of their hooves echoed off the walls. The diamond encrusted doors to the throne room opened as the two natives got off their perds.

Alicia shifted in her cell to get a better look at the mysterious man who sat on his throne with a cloak draped around him just as white as his skin. The light beams that imprisoned her disappeared and Petrav held out his hand to aid her out of the cage.

She took his hand as she studied her surroundings and noticed that a thin layer of water ran down the walls of the throne room, but didn't pool up on the floor – instead it appeared as if the water vanished into the floor.

Her eyes struggled to adjust to the brilliance of the light in the throne room and the fact that it made everything glisten, but she was finally able to focus on the man on the throne who seemed to be much paler than her captives. His hair was whiter than snow and flowed over his shoulders and down to his hips. He had the same piercing eyes, but they were a more intense shade of blue – almost like the blue part of a flame.

Eljav stared at her from the throne; mesmerized by the beauty in front of him. He stood up and walked over to her with his sights transfixed upon her. He knew from the instant she walked into the throne room that she was the one he'd been looking for – the one to save his people.

"I've searched centuries for you." He said, "Across galaxies... I was about to give up hope when noticed your soul in a distant galaxy on the far side of the universe. It stood out like a beacon for anyone who knew what to look for."

He bowed his head when he was finally in front of her and then continued to study her with his eyes – not so much the exterior, but as if he could see into her soul and her essence of life.

"I'm Eljav." He said and laid a tender kiss on her hand.

"Alicia."

"A name to match the magnificence of your beauty."

Eljav dismissed the two subordinates with a gesture of his hand, but kept staring into Alicia's eyes as if she was the answer to every question and prayer he ever had. She tried not to blush, and though she felt guilty about the fact that another man found her alluring, she liked the attention.

"Please." He insisted, "Don't be shy. I mean you no harm."

She couldn't help but be reminded of aliens in every movie she'd ever seen saying we come in peace and smiled amused.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing." She composed herself.

"You probably have a million questions..." He said, "Come..."

He gestured for her to follow him out onto the balcony and the view stole her breath; the balcony had the perfect view of the lake with flourishing fields beyond it that surrendered to snow-covered mountains. The two suns were rising from behind the mountains and lit up the sky to a brilliance of colours.

"Ever heard of soul-mates?" Eljav asked, "It's a term we learned from your people decades ago. It describes two individuals who are meant for each other. Though it might not be the correct word, it's the only word in your language I can use to describe why you are important to our survival.

"Our people can't reproduce like humans. Only the leader and a child-bearing woman who is born into each generation can reproduce. That woman was lost millenniums ago and we've been unable to multiply, so we turned to the stars hoping to find someone whom I was compatible with, but none of the worlds out there was home to creatures with features similar to our own... until we discovered your planet."

"Earth."

"Earth." He agreed, "Our people were already dying when we discovered earth and our top builders started working on a device to transport someone from your planet to ours – it was a combination of light-worm energy and the gravitational pull of Godla – the black hole at the edge of our galaxy... but as time passed we learned with each new human we brought here that not just any human female would do. She had to be born to be compatible with me."

"You're behind the inexplicable disappearances throughout human history..." She said as if having an epiphany.

"We finally gave up hope and I had to watch the last of my people die. Petrav and Igbod are all that remains of our once impressive nation of millions. It was Petrav who, while scoping the stars with the device, first noticed a beacon shining on your planet... that beacon was your soul. And with newly restored hope of saving our people, we started the once abandoned transportation device and tried to transport you here... but due to age, the device had trouble focusing in on its target, so we had to do what we could to get you here."

"You transported everyone..." She said in thought.

"Transportation on such a scale had never been attempted before and it put much strain on the gravitational pull of Godla and it collapsed on itself after your people arrived."

"You mean there's no way back?"

Eljav shook his head and said, "No. That's the trouble with black holes – they're extremely rare and Godla was the only one in our galaxy... but I want you to think of this planet as your new home now. Everything will belong to you if you can mother my children."

Alicia stepped aside for a moment and stared at the rising suns in the distance. She had a lot on her plate and though she would do anything to see her family again, she wasn't sure whether she was ready to have intercourse with an alien – no matter how much alike they were to humans. Even if it were true that he'd give her anything she wanted, including her family, she'd feel guilty beyond reason for sleeping with another man.

"You're torn between your feelings." He said.

"It's a complicated situation you're putting me in." She said, "I've just started to process what had happened and where I am and now you're telling me I'm the only thing standing between your people and extinction."

"You can rule this world by my side." He said, "Once we've consummated, your body will live to see another thousand years. You'll be able to see your children grow up and fill this world."

A thousand years of making babies was a long time – too long for her to even fathom. She'd have to stand by and watch Jack and Timmy die of old age and disappear into memory forever. She wasn't strong enough to do that.

"It's a lot to process." She said.

"Take all the time you need to think it over." He said, "If you're by my side, there's nothing in this world you can't have."

Petrav burst through the doors of the throne room, hurried over to the balcony and bowed hastily. Though Petrav and Eljav spoke in their native language, Alicia could see something worrisome was transpiring. Petrav nodded at his instructions and hurried out again.

"What was that about?" Alicia enquired.

"Nothing to worry about." He assured her.

She stared out at the mountains in silence for a moment.

"There is something I want." She said, "I want my family."

"That's impossible." Eljav said, "Your kin will be on the other side of this planet."

"I know. Your planet is three hundred times bigger than ours... but I also know about light-worms."

"What do you know about light-worms?"

"I know they can take me anywhere at the speed of light. You can use one of them to take me to my family."

"And what then?" Eljav asked, "If the worms get you there, how will you find your family? Will you search through each and every one of the billions of people there?"

Hope faded from her eyes as Alicia realised that she didn't think her plan through completely. He had a point; how would she ever find her family? Even if she lived for a thousand years, it might not even be enough time to search through earth's entire population.

"Petrav said that the humans are split into two camps; women and men. Why is that?"

"Optimism, I suppose." He said, "In hopes that another human female might be compatible."

She spotted Petrav and Igbod down below as they walked over to the edge of the lake. The water near the edge started swirling and formed a funnel from which a massive illuminated worm appeared. They climbed onto the back of the worm before it retreated into the funnel that closed on itself again.

"Where are they going?"

Eljav sighed and then said, "There's trouble at the male camp. They're going to restore order."

33

"You actually did it." Josh said astonished.

Jack, Josh, Timmy and Meat stood in front of the slain monster; mesmerised by its sheer size and ferocity while Richard kept a fretful eye on the sky. Though the creatures had their fill of human flesh for now, they could be back any moment for more. If there was something he learned from all his years of being a coward it was not to fear the calm before the storm, but rather the illusion of calm after the storm.

"What now?" Meat asked.

"Well," Jack said, "We need to get this creature into the fire-wall somehow."

"How do you propose we do that?" Richard asked.

"With a lot of man-power." Jack said.

"That's something we have in abundance." Josh said.

Josh climbed onto the creature's contorted back, cleared his throat and addressed the people close enough to hear him.

"May I have your attention, please?" Josh announced, "I know we all want out of this prison and that we've tried everything to get out... but we haven't tried this. If we roll this creature into the fire, we might be able to use it as a bridge across the flames."

"How do you know that'll work?" Someone asked.

"We don't." Jack said, "But it's better than sitting around doing nothing."

"We need at least twenty volunteers to help move this thing." Josh said.

It didn't take long for fifteen volunteers to step up and Josh nodded in approval at the biggest strongest bunch of them all standing before him – there was even a famous WWE wrestler in the mix.

"You'll have to count me out." Meat said as he stepped aside, "I have a bad back and though I'm pretty sure there are chiropractors amongst us, I'm not willing to bet my life on it."

Josh nodded at him and then addressed the volunteers, "Okay guys, we're gonna push this big ass thing into the flames."

Josh jumped off the creature's back and joined the group of men who looked like rugby-players getting ready for the scrum as they readied themselves for the thrust of their lives.

"Ready!" Josh called out as he positioned himself, "On three! One... two... three!"

And as if an unseen bell tolled, they all started pushing and heaving with all of their might; trying to budge an unmoveable mass of flesh, scales and giant wings, but their tarnished first effort didn't discourage them from trying again and pushing even harder.

"Push!" Josh yelled from underneath his sweaty brow.

The giant cadaver gradually budged until it finally rolled over onto its back and the left wing chucked open; landing in the flame-wall and extinguished a section about six feet wide.

"It worked." Richard was impressed.

Josh gestured for everyone to stay still as he inspected the egress formed by the massive wing; it seemed to absorb the flames beneath it to create safe passage through the fire-wall, but it was better to be safe than sorry and so he was a little precautious. Richard, Meat and Jack were the only others to be precautious. Once a part of the fire wall was extinguished, people started becoming restless with the prospect of freedom right in front of them.

"Everyone, remain calm!" Josh said.

People eager to get out started rushing forward and pushing to climb onto the dead monster to freedom and chaos broke out within a matter of seconds.

"Please!" Josh pleaded with raised hands, "Exit in an orderly fashion!"

An eager fat man who swayed to the sides as he climbed onto the back of the monster pushed Josh aside and he tumbled to the ground. Jack and Timmy helped Josh to his feet and he stood with the others and watched the exodus of people rushing to freedom; some people were trampled to death in their bid to get emancipation from their alien prison. Jack shielded Timmy from the carnage as the first person was pushed into the flame-wall and the blue part of the flames engulfed the man as he screamed in terror. Jack watched as the screaming man's skin melted off his face and his flesh formed part of the flame before disappearing.

"We've started something we can't control." Jack said fretfully.

"It's a riot." Richard said.

"It's a stampede." Josh corrected.

"It's human nature." Meat said, "When faced with danger, it's every man for himself... always has been and always will be."

Thunder roared in the sky above and then the clouds opened up as a brilliant wormhole pierced through. Humans dropped out of the wormhole towards the concentration camp below and it was only then that Jack noticed petrified screaming coming from the other side of the fire-wall. Some people forced their way upstream against the overflow of escapees trying to get back in.

"What's happening?" Jack asked as more people dropped from the wormhole.

"I can't really see." Meat said as he stood on his toes.

"Lemme stand on your back." Richard suggested, "Come on, Meat! I'm skinny and light."

Meat groaned and got down on all fours; allowing Richard to stand on his back to get a better look at the commotion beyond the conflagrated wall. He had to stand on his toes as Josh helped to steady him and he could only see through the extinguished part of the wall. He could hardly see anything, except the flow of people rushing out and the few that tried to get back in.

"Can you see anything?" Josh asked.

"Not really." Richard said.

"Hurry up." Meat said, "You're not that light and my back is killing me."

And then Richard saw what all the commotion was about; a giant illuminated worm was burrowing out from the earth and swiftly swallowed people up as they fled before it burrowed back into the soil only to repeat the motion. Richard noticed that every time someone was swallowed by the worm they'd drop from the wormhole hovering over the concentration camp.

"What do you see?" Jack asked.

"You don't wanna know." Richard said as he got off Meat's aching back.

"You're heavy for such a skinny dude." Meat said as he cracked his back.

"What's happening out there?" Josh asked.

Richard motioned to the wormhole with a nudge of his head and they could tell from the expression of defeat on his face that there was no escape. Timmy removed his dad's hand from his eyes and watched as more people dropped out of the wormhole – some plunging to their deaths as they fell on their heads while others broke limbs on impact.

"Don't look." Jack insisted as he closed Timmy's eyes again.

"They're doing this." Richard said as he pointed at the wormhole, "There's some kind of worm creature gulping down on people as they try to escape... and then they get dropped back inside again."

"So what do we do?" Meat asked, "Do we stay or make a run for it?"

The dark clouds above opened with massive thunder that echoed across the valley and about a hundred or more of those flying fire-monsters all swooped down towards the millions of humans still in the concentration camp.

"I say we run for it." Josh said.

"Those worm-things will get us out there!" Richard cried out.

"And those flying creatures will get us if we stay put." Meat said, "Stop being a coward."

Jack watched as more and more of the flying fire-monsters swooped down from the clouds and knew that certain death awaited them if they stayed put.

"I say we run!" Meat said.

Jack's fatherly instincts kicked in before anyone could argue another word about staying put or running. He embraced Timmy tightly and ran towards the cadaver and it didn't take long for the others to follow him as he climbed onto the cadaver towards the fissure in the fire-wall along with hundreds of other people. He didn't look back, but knew that he lost the others in the stampede of fleeing people and that he and Timmy were on their own from here on out.

"I gotcha!" Jack said as Timmy cried.

Once on the other side, Jack paused for a moment to study the lands beyond the fire-wall. He saw about sixty or seventy worm-like creatures gulping up humans before burrowing into the earth again in a never-ending repeat motion that made the earth seem to move like waves on the ocean.

He was the only one to stop once on the outside and analyse the situation – everyone simply ran wildly to their doom as they got picked off one by one by the worm monsters. He saw that some of the luckier people were able to dodge the worms and make haste towards a gorge between two mounts in the distance that seemed to be the only way out of the baron valley.

He turned away from the worms picking off humans and glanced back over his shoulder at the fire-monsters picking off humans back inside the concentration camp and he knew it was now or never, so he took a deep breath and prepared to make a run for it. He hoped that God could hear his prayers from wherever in the universe they were.

He clutched onto Timmy as tightly as he could and started running towards the gorge six miles away; guided by the trail of fleeing humans.

A worm shot up out of the ground right at his feet and Jack stumbled left as he tried to avoid the worm that devoured people behind him before piercing the soil and disappearing again. Another worm burrowed up a few feet to his left and darted straight for them. Jack jumped out of the way and the worm ingested a fat man too slow to give way. Jack could actually feel the heat coming off the illuminated worm as it grazed him on its way down into the ground again.

He held onto Timmy as tightly as he could and ran as fast as his aging legs would allow him as more and more worms narrowly missed them.

"Jack!" he heard someone yell.

Jack didn't look back – instead he kept running and kept his sights on the gorge in the distance. He could see in his peripheral vision how fire-monsters took to the sky with humans in their clutches while more swooped down to eat.

"Jack!" Agent Smith gasped as he finally reached Jack, "You're alive!"

"Agent Smith!" Jack said as they ran.

"I'm glad to see you." Agent Smith panted, "Turns out your theory was right after all."

"Yeah. I hate being right all the time."

"I was – " A worm swallowed Agent Smith and disappeared back into the soil before he could even scream for help.

Jack kept running though his legs felt like they would give way any moment. He just had to keep pushing himself until they were clear of danger.

A worm shot up out of the ground right in front of Jack and he halted in terror – the worm was different from the rest in that a native human-like creature rode on its back. It pulled back on the reins and the worm halted like a horse.

"Return to your camp." Petrav ordered.

"You can speak English?" Jack asked himself.

"Do not make me tell you twice." Petrav said.

Jack glanced at the gorge in the distance and wished they made it there safely and turned to the native with rage building up inside of him. It was because of them that his boy was terrified. It was because of them that he couldn't find his wife... it was because of them that they were stuck on a planet who-knows-where in the universe.

"There's one thing you should know about humans." Jack said as he reached into his front pocket, "We don't like being told what to do."

Jack pulled out the scale and it sliced through the skin of the worm like a warm knife through the butter. The creature screeched in pain as light pierced through the wound and engulfed Jack and Timmy. The brilliance of the light blinded him, but was over in less than two seconds.

When his eyes adjusted to his surroundings again, Jack saw that they were standing in the middle of a mountain chasm as hundreds of fleeing people ran past them towards a turquoise ocean ahead. He turned around and saw the worms picking off people about six or seven miles away in the distance behind them, and though he didn't quite grasped what had happened, he suspected that they had somehow travelled through a crack in the time-space continuum caused by the light inside the worm creature.

Still a bit jolted, Jack walked towards the ocean while everyone else ran like crazy. It called to him. For some inexplicable reason he was drawn to the ocean like a moth to a flame and he noticed that the running people around him slowed down as they approached the ocean in a dazed state.

From his tangential vision Jack saw that the beach was lined with massive carnivorous plants; tightly packed and covering most of the mountain slopes behind the dazzling white beach.

It was during the quietness that befell them that he noticed a hypnotizing hymn created by the ocean's breaking waters that lured them closer and he tried his hardest to break free from its malevolent trance, but it was easier said than done. He started humming Paradise by the Dashboard light – a song by Meat Loaf that got stuck in his head ever since they met back in the concentration camp. The humming turned into singing and he could no longer hear the hymn of the ocean; he could feel its grasp on him weaken.

"What are you doing?" A nearby man asked.

"Singing." Jack said melodic, "The ocean is drawing us in with a hypnotic song."

It took the man a moment to realize that Jack was right – the only reason he too wasn't a zombie was because he was close enough for Jack's singing to break the trance.

"You got to do what you can and let Mother Nature do the rest." Jack sang over and over as he kept his sights on the ominously calm ocean before them.

" _It never felt so good, it never felt so right."_ The man joined in singing, but not realizing the irony of the lyrics he was singing, "We were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife. It never felt so good, it never felt so right. It never felt so good, it never felt so right. It never felt so good, it never felt so right."

Some of the hypnotized people stepped into the breaking waves until they were ankle-deep and then the hymn stopped.

" _It never felt so good, it never felt so right..."_ The man sang slower and slower as he and Jack both observed the tranquil ocean.

Jack stopped singing – the ocean was no longer singing its hymn, but the people still seemed as if they were under some kind of spell. He didn't like the portentous feeling created by the sheer silence around them and stepped back a few feet – all the while keeping his sights on the ocean.

Fifty gargantuan tentacles shot out of the ocean's breaking waves and reached up towards the heavens before darting down and picking up humans. The spell was broken and everyone started screaming and running as more and more tentacles shot out of the water along the ocean's edge and picked off humans. The tentacles grabbed their prey and dragged them off towards a watery grave from which there was no escape.

"Run!" Jack yelled.

Timmy clung tightly to Jack's embrace as he ran along the pearly white beach; keeping as far away from the water's edge as he possible could. Some of the people running to his left ventured too close to the carnivorous plants and were devoured with brutally no man should ever have to endure.

Jack and the rest of the hundreds of people lucky enough to escape the clutches of the wriggling tentacles and teeth of the plants ran towards a tunnel created by an arching rock. He could see people run through the tunnel towards the green field beyond, but couldn't see beyond that and this worried Jack. On an alien planet you should know what you're running from and what you're running towards as it could mean the difference between life and death.

When they were about ten feet away, Jack realized that the green field beyond the arching rock was actually a mirage and that people were tumbling over the unseen edge they were running towards. He tried to stop, but the stream of panicking people took him and Timmy over the edge. They tumbled down a gorge that seemed to go on forever and as they fell, Jack glanced up at the waterfall created by the turquoise ocean – a waterfall that never seemed to drain.

They fell through clouds as they tumbled down to an unseen fate along with hundreds of screaming humans. Timmy cried and all Jack could do was to hold onto him as tightly as he could. He wished he could reassure Timmy that they'd be alright, but as they fell for what felt like forever, Jack had a hard time convincing himself that they'd be alright.

He tried to see what was below them, but all he could see were scattered clouds in the blue of the sky and the rocky side of the abyss they were tumbling into – oddly enough the abyss they fell into seemed to only have one side.

"I've got ya." Jack whimpered.

He embraced Timmy with all his might and tried not to cry, but the uncontrollable situation made it hard for him to stay strong.

They broke through the last of the clouds and Jack gasped at the sight of the ground rushing towards them. He shielded Timmy's head, closed his eyes and braced for impact – but impact never came. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that they were hovering a foot above the ground like everyone else; almost as if they were in zero gravity.

Some people jested around as they tried to touch down, but everyone simply hovered above the green field. Some of the younger boys giggled and enjoyed the feeling of zero gravity, but the adults – like Jack – grew concerned about the situation. Jack had realized long ago that if it looked too good to be true, then it probably is... and on this planet it always looked too good to be true.

Jack lifted his head as he floated parallel to the ground and studied the field – nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for a few scattered craters. He reached down towards the grass and tried to pull himself towards the ground as Timmy swam in the air around him. It was the first time since they were taken prisoner that Jack had seen Timmy smile and be care-free.

"You should try this." Timmy chuckled amused.

"I will as soon as I can figure out what's happening." Jack said.

He noticed that of the thousands of people drifting parallel to the ground, he was one of only a handful of people actually trying to figure out what was happening – everyone else were joking around blissfully as if they didn't just escape from a fire-enclosed prison and narrowly escaped giant worms and tentacles... and he wondered whether it wasn't another ruse like the hypnotic ocean.

He grasped the grass again and pulled himself along like an astronaut in a space station.

"Stay close to me." Jack told Timmy who playfully swam alongside him.

Jack pulled himself towards an unearthed root that stuck out from the side of a nearby crater. He grabbed a hold of it and was able to pull himself down towards the ground and as if by nature itself, his body quickly adjusted to the gravity of the field and he could walk around like normal.

"Come on." Jack said unto Timmy as he held out his hands.

Timmy groaned, but allowed Jack to take a hold of him and put him down on the ground... and then it was over. As soon as his feet touched the ground, his body adjusted to the gravity of the field and the floating fun was no more. Timmy sulked a bit, but was glad to be safe and in one piece.

The two suns beat down mercilessly through the low lying clouds and Jack searched the field for some shelter and noticed two massive trees about ten yards from where they were standing. He took Timmy by the hand and walked over to the trees that were about two hundred feet in diameter each.

"We can rest here for a while." Jack said.

"And then what?"

"I'm not sure." Jack said and glanced back over his shoulder.

One by one the people behind them were able to pull themselves to the ground and stand upright.

As they neared the trees, Jack looked up in hopes of seeing the tops of the trees, but the trunks reached up for about twenty to thirty feet and then disappeared into the low lying clouds. Each tree had between three and five massive roots that dug into the ground like claws.

Jack sat down on one of the roots and assessed the new situation they were in while Timmy sat down cross-legged on the grass and toyed with a flower.

"Do you think we'll see mommy again?" Timmy asked.

"I'm not even sure whether we're on the same planet anymore."

A light tremor made Jack inspect the root he sat on as well as the ground around it, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Daddy, look..." Timmy said.

Timmy pointed at a massive crater where the second tree used to be and as another light tremor shook the root upon which he sat, he feared the worst. A loud bang and an impact tremor rattling the ground made Jack spin around – the second tree was now stationary about a hundred yards away. It was no tree... it was a leg. Those weren't craters... they were footprints.

Jack rolled off the claw-nail on which he sat as the claw lifted up and the leg moved forward in a stride and slammed into the ground again. A deafening roar echoed across the field and the sound-waves thereof cleared the low-lying clouds. Jack shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he stared up at the gargantuan creature that towered above them like a twenty storey building. It almost looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex except that it had no front claws.

Jack picked Timmy up and watched as the monster walked away from them – squashing some of the people as they rushed to get to safety. It moved slowly, but one stride was equivalent to almost two hundred human strides – each step sending tremors coursing through the earth as it moved.

Jack scrutinized the beast and realized that it wasn't trying to deliberately kill humans, but rather it seemed bewildered by their presence.

"Stop running!" Jack called out, but nobody listened.

Jack turned to Timmy and said, "I think it's scared of us."

"I'd be scared too if little floating creatures invaded my home." Richard said from behind Jack.

"You made it." Jack said relieved.

"It's gonna take more than worms and tentacles to kill me. You might not think it to look at me, but I'm a survivor."

Jack gave him a pat on the back and an approving nod. He was glad that at least one person he knew made it out of the concentration camp. The three of them watched as the monster walked off into the distance and the field became quiet again. It was a true quiet without any underlying hymns luring people to their deaths. For some reason Jack thought of the quiet being the real deal and not just the calm before the storm.

34

The giant monster never came back to the field and so Jack and the rest of the people set up camp for the night. Some gathered wood for fires and others caught little alien animals for food while Jack, Timmy and a few others constructed mattresses with leaves and undergrowth collected from a nearby cluster of trees.

It was quite apparent from the minute the monster left the field that it was the safest place on the planet for humans to be. Other creatures wouldn't dare venture into the field of such a gargantuan creature as they all feared him, but didn't know that he was scared away by humans.

The camp set up for the night eventually became permanent residence for the humans once they established that the valley was the safest place for them in this alien world. Jack and Richard were part of the committee that set up an exploration group to find the women of earth and draft a map of the town's surroundings on their ventures. So far, the group consisting of ten volunteers, had scouted the lands for about ten miles 360 degrees around the town, but found no signs of human life.

In no time at all the town expanded beyond a simple camp site and an elected group built cabins for homes, dug a well for water and ditches for draining and sanitation. They were still stuck in the stone age when it came to communication, weapons and technology, but at least they were alive and had food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. The one thing their town lacked was women, but as time passed they had to live with the realization that they might never find the women or other men of earth.

As the map of explored territory grew the hope of finding other humans diminished. Except for the rocky wall to the north that reached up towards the heavens for miles and disappeared into the clouds along with the origin of the massive waterfall, there were no other signs that they were deep below the earth's surface. The town had a panoramic view to the south, east and west of explored and unexplored territory, but the wall to the north placed concerns in Jack's mind as to whether they were deep inside a ravine or not.

He remembered reading an article once by Professor Edwards about the vastness of space and how insignificant we really are. He once read an article in Popular Science Magazine back in June by physicist Samir Mathar in which he suggested that our solar system or even our galaxy could be inside a supermassive black hole and we might not even know it. Despite spiralling down towards an unreachable singularity, life would go on as normal. Our solar system would orbit the sun and earth's gravity would keep us grounded. Space is too big to fathom and consists of billions of galaxies each with billions of planets and stars like our own Milky Way. It was also discovered that a supermassive black hole is at the centre of most galaxies and is what rotates the clusters of planets, stars and space-dust.

The human race was transported millions of light years through space to an unknown planet, so who is to say that they field they were in wasn't inside a massive crater big enough to hold an entire planet? If that were true, he might never find Alicia.

It was a sad and depressing thought that brought him down as he sat on a wicker chair on his porch and watched the town's folk going about their daily lives. They had bakers, doctors and candlestick makers making their lives easier, but what if this was it? What if they were stuck in this town for ever and this was as good as it was going to get?

In the months after human settlement in Gargantuan's field, they had discovered a field to the east where gold grew like weeds, a lagoon to the west with an abundance of fast reproducing fish to sustain the town's hunger, carnivorous plants to the south and to the north, the rocky wall of the abyss from which they fell.

Though it's been almost two months since the committee set up the exploration group and there were still vast plains to explore, Jack started losing hope of ever finding human life outside of their town with a population of two thousand men and wondered whether anyone even survived the worms and tentacle attack.

It was a Tuesday afternoon according to the calendar created by the town's elected Mayor, Charles Whittle and Jack was sitting on the porch while Timmy was playing with the neighbour's son, Shaun, on the grass next to their cabin and Jack had to count his blessings as he watched his son play without a care in the world. At least he had his son. They were no longer trapped in a fire-enclosed concentration camp with no idea when they'd meet their maker.

Richard came running up to Jack's cabin and it was the first time he noticed that Richard ran a bit like a woman dashing towards a shoe sale.

"Jack!" Richard called out with a smile, "Jack! Come quick."

"What is it?"

"They found something." Richard panted, "Group 2 found something to the south-west about twenty miles from here."

Jack sat on the edge of his chair with anticipation. What did the group find? Did they find other humans?

"Well." Jack grew impatient, "Spit it out."

"They found an alien scout." Richard panted for air.

Jack had an uncontrollable need to see one of these aliens face to face – see what kind of creature abducted them and ask them why there were taken from their home. There seemed to be no reason as to why they were abducted

He asked Shaun's father to look after Timmy until he came back and then followed Richard to the town's centre where a large group of people gathered.

35

Jack and Richard pushed their way through a crowd that gathered in the centre of town to get a look at the alien life form that brought them to this foreign world. Once they made it to the front of the crowd, Richard was surprised to see that the creature looked quite similar to a human.

"It looks like one of us." Richard said baffled.

"It's hideous!" someone yelled from inside the crowd.

"I've seen one before." Jack said.

Petrav lay bound in primitive ropes at the feet of the town's Mayor Whittle whose pompous posture would suggest that he caught the alien and not the exploration group.

"Behold!" Mayor Whittle said, "This is the face of our enemy!"

A cheer rose up from the crowd.

"They might rule this world, but we rule this valley!"

Jack was the only one not cheering Whittle's speech, but instead kept staring at the bewildered alien face at their feet. Petrav was chewing through his gag as he tried to say something, but nobody could hear him over the cheers and ostentatious speech.

"We've made this our home!" Mayor Whittle announced, "And we will protect it to the death from these alien monsters!"

More cheers from the crowd fuelled Mayor Whittle and Jack knew the speech was building up to an execution that he'd much rather avoid.

"They tried to steal our freedom!" Mayor Whittle continued, "They tried to kill our people! But we survived! This valley has been our home ever since we set up camp here. It's safe! It's a safe haven where our sons can grow up. They don't know where we are... and that's why we can't let this one live. It will return to its people and bring reinforcements – reinforcements that will enslave us again!"

The cheering turned to boo's from a displeased crowd that wanted to see the enemy executed, but Jack feared that it would be an unwise thing to do as the answers to their questions would die with him and could possibly start a vigilante riot amongst the spectators. As Mayor Whittle grasped a knife made from a sharpened rock, Jack made eye contact with the alien and knew instantaneously that it carried vital information – information that would die with it if they were to execute it.

"This is for mankind." Mayor Whittle said as he grabbed the alien by the hair and lifted its head.

"Wait!" Jack called out.

Annoyed at the interruption, Mayor Whittle looked up at his interrupter and the crowd started booing again.

"Wait." Jack repeated.

"Professor White..." Mayor Whittle said with distaste, "Why do you interrupt official government business? Can't you see the people want to see this creature executed?"

The cheering crowd made Jack realize that they might've lost touch with humanity.

"Is this really what you want?" Jack asked the crowd, "Do you really want to see him slaughter this native?"

A less enthusiastic cheer came from the crowd as some of the people started to question themselves.

"Is this really what we've become?" Jack asked the crowd, "To kill first and ask questions later? We finally have one of the natives and you want to kill it instead of asking it why we are here? Don't you have questions? Questions only it can answer? I know I have."

"Professor White..." The Mayor was not impressed, "You're interfering with my duties."

"This isn't earth." Jack said, "There is no more government. We simply elected you because we needed a leader, but we didn't give you the right to make life and death decisions for us."

A man at the front of the crowd hesitantly said, "Let it live."

"Yeah." Another said, "I wanna hear what it has to say."

One by one more people elected to spare the native's life and Mayor Whittle had no other choice but to lower his weapon and comply with the majority.

Jack crouched down and removed the gag from the native's mouth.

"Thank you." Petrav whispered.

"Why are we here?" Mayor Whittle asked before Jack could speak, "Why did you bring us to your planet? What is it that you want?"

The native ignored the arrogance of the Mayor and turned to Jack again.

"You're White?" Petrav asked, "Jack White?"

"Yes." Jack said, "How do you know my name?"

"I was sent to find you."

"Sent?" Jack was confused, "By whom?"

"Our Sovereign."

The native tried to sit upright and when Mayor Whittle tried to push him to the ground again, Jack pushed the Mayor aside in protest.

"You're not the only ones." Petrav said almost inaudibly.

"What did it say?" A man in the crowd asked.

"Did that creature just speak English?" Another asked astonished.

"You're not the only ones." Petrav said loud enough for all to hear, "I came bearing a truce if you're willing to accept it."

Petrav turned to Jack and said, "But I will only speak to you."

Jack glanced up at Mayor Whittle who rolled his eyes and gestured for the Sheriff to unbind the native. The sheriff complied with his instruction and led Jack and the native into the wooden constructed Sheriff's office; it was the only place where they could speak in private and keep an eye on the native.

"What happened to Gargan?" Petrav asked as he rubbed his wrists where the constraints were.

"What?" Jack asked.

"The beast that lived inside this ravine?"

"We don't know." Jack said, "I think we scared it off."

Jack pulled up a chair and sat across the table from Petrav and glanced at the Sheriff standing against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

"What truce are you offering?" Jack asked.

"I'm here to reunite you with your people."

"Who says we can't do this on our own?" Jack asked snobbish, "Why do you need you for that?"

"Our world is much larger than you can comprehend. Without my help your youngest generation will die without ever finding the rest of your people. Our Sovereign wish for our people and yours to live in peace."

Jack sat in contemplating silence for a moment and then asked, "What's the truce?"

"You have to meet with our Sovereign to know the terms of the truce."

"So where is this leader of yours?"

"Lagoon City."

"How do we get there?"

"I will take you there." Petrav said, "We will travel by light worm as it is too far to travel otherwise."

The statement suggested that he was referring to the worm creatures Jack saw back at the concentration camp – the creature that transported him and Timmy to the beach in a blink of an eye. So that's how the natives travelled the vastness of their planet.

"We need to get to an opening." Petrav said.

Jack glanced at the Sheriff who didn't budge and knew that the answer was no.

"I don't think he'll go for that."

Petrav sighed and said, "This room will have to do. Step aside."

Petrav closed his eyes and Jack watched as the native concentrated. The earth below them started shaking and Jack got up to join the sheriff up against the wall. A whirlpool opened up in the floor and consumed the floorboards, table and chairs and then a worm-creature stuck its head out of the burrow.

Petrav stepped closer to the illuminated creature and gestured for Jack to climb aboard.

"Let's go." Petrav said as he mounted the worm.

Jack hesitantly watched as Petrav took a hold of the reigns and then walked over to the creature. He remembered what they did back at the concentration camp and was cautious not to get eaten.

"I control it." Petrav said, "It won't do you any harm."

It didn't really look much like a worm, but rather a tube of light with two eyes and no mouth or nose. Jack took Petrav's hand and climbed onto the worm.

"Hold on." Petrav said.

Jack clasped his arms around the native's bare, muscular torso and the worm retracted into the hole before it closed in on itself. Jack could feel and hear wind gush by at incredible rates, but it hardly felt as if they moved as the brilliant light engulfed them for about ten seconds before the creature reared its head out of another hole – this time in a courtyard of a crystal palace.

They got off the creature and it reversed back into the hole as it closed without leaving behind any sign that there ever was a hole.

"The worm holes don't leave any damage if it is opened over soil or water." Petrav said, "Follow me. I'll take you to our Sovereign."

Jack followed him across the courtyard, past the diamond encrusted doors and into the throne room where a woman with white hair reaching down to her knees stood at the balcony door with her back to them.

"My lady..." Petrav said with a bow.

The woman dressed in white satin turned around and to Jack's astonishment it was Alicia. He wanted to run up to her and embrace her after all these months, but though she seemed happy to see him she seemed to restrain herself.

"Jack." She said with a smile.

"Alicia." He said and stepped closer.

"You may leave us now, Petrav."

Petrav bowed his head and left the throne room.

"You're their leader?" Jack was flabbergasted.

"We have much to talk about."

"Your hair is different as well." Jack said as he scrutinized her beautiful appearance.

"Please, join me out on the balcony." She said and they both went outside.

The balcony had a breath-taking view of Lagoon City with its tall buildings, hover cars and the snow-top mountains in the distance. The once desolate town of Pretor was now a booming metropolis that spanned right into the lake and the green fields beyond it.

"We've been looking for you for a long time." She said, "I set up search teams to look for you and any survivors they could find and bring them back to Lagoon City. They told me you'd be long dead by now, but I never gave up hope of finding you."

"Dead? Why would I be dead?"

"Jack," She hesitated breaking the news to him, "It's been nearly three hundred years."

He stared at her in disbelief; what she said made no sense.

"I don't understand." He said.

"Think of your astronaut lecture." She said, "It's basically the same principal where you made your home. You built your town in a ravine so massive that it had its own gravitational pull – a gravitational pull so massive that it slowed down time. Only a few months passed inside the ravine for you, but outside three hundred years passed like normal. I know it's a lot to take in."

"How are you still alive?"

She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes, "I made a pact with the devil. Eljav, their former leader, promised that if I mothered the future generation of his people he'd help me find you and Timmy, but it was a lie. When he died about two months after we had intercourse, I released what remained of our people from the concentration camps."

"You made love to one of these creatures?" Jack asked in disgust.

"I had no other choice." She insisted, "I truly believed that he'd let me see you and Timmy again. You have to believe me."

Jack took a deep breath and leaned against the balustrade as he looked out at the futuristic city that lay beyond the castle. He had a hard time wrapping his brain around the fact that they were transported to an alien planet... he had an ever harder time accepting that he might never find Alicia, but how could he accept the fact that she mothered an alien race?

"Things have changed." She said and laid a hand on his shoulder, "It's been centuries since you broke free from the concentration camp. Our people and theirs live in peace now."

He removed her hand from his shoulder and kept staring out at the magnificent city. He didn't know what to think or how to feel except that his wife cheated on him. It might be that three hundred years have passed for her – time in which she could come to terms with what she did to him, but to him it's only been a few months since he last saw her.

36

"Please." She pleaded, "Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" Jack asked as he turned to face her.

"Say you forgive me."

"How can I forgive you when I don't know who you are anymore?"

"It's still me." Alicia said in a sweet whisper.

She reached out to touch his face, but he pulled back before her fingertips could touch him and she lowered her hand. She wished she could make him understand why she did what she did. It wasn't easy for her to forsake her vows and forget about finding Jack and Timmy, but as the years passed they became distant memories and it became harder and harder to trace his face in the air.

"How's Timmy?" She asked.

"He's fine. He just misses you."

A tear ran down her face as she tried to suppress her sorrow. It's been too long. Though her motherly instincts made her remember her son in every small detail, time made her forget who he was and what he meant to her. She still longed to see him, but it wasn't the same aching longing she had centuries ago.

"I've missed him too." She wiped the tear away.

"I could bring him to see you... and then we could see where things go from there."

He didn't want to look her in the eyes, but the love he felt for her was too powerful and compelled him to turn to her. Their eyes met and after such a long time he felt home in her eyes.

"I'd like that." She smiled.

"You look good for your age." He joked, "Three hundred and forty years old."

She chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "I have fifty percent of their DNA which means I'll live half as long as they do."

"Oh." Was all he could get out.

"I want you to come live here." She said, "With me; you and Timmy. The people of your town are more than welcome to make Lagoon City their new home."

It still felt like a dream – a surreal reality where time moved on and left him behind. How could he expect the others back home to accept that three centuries have passed in less than six months?

"Indoor plumbing would be nice." He chuckled.

As he stood on the balcony staring out at the glorious city before him, he knew that life would never be the same again. It would take them months if not years to reconcile their marriage, but she was worth the effort.

He noticed a human boy and a native girl walking on a sidewalk in the distant city as they both ate an ice-cream and Jack was relieved, if just a little, that the disappearances back on earth wasn't the end of the age of men, but rather the start of a bright new future. In the cosmic battle for survival of the fittest, mankind would always survive despite incredible odds. It's in our nature – in our DNA to fight to stay alive... to fight for our spot in the sun whether it's back on earth or on an alien planet. We will survive no matter what. The age of men is far from over.

"We should grab a coffee sometime." She suggested, "Try and sort things out."

He flashed her half a smile and said, "That would be nice..."

He meant it this time. He wanted his wife back and was willing to try and work out their differences. When he married her, he vowed to stand by her side through sickness and in health; for richer or for poorer. Though his vows didn't say anything about aliens, he was pretty sure there was something in there pertaining to such an event.

"If you're not busy..." She shrugged her shoulders as if applying he could take some time out off his busy day for a quick coffee.

He chuckled and wanted to lay a kiss on her inviting lips, but time stood between them. Though he wanted to embrace his wife, she might find it a little bit more difficult to do that as time treated her differently.

"Coffee would be great." He accepted.

Her smile glistened almost just as much as the walls of the throne room and crushed any doubts he had about loving her. In that moment – that one gesture – he was reminded of what they had; every kiss, every embrace and every romantic night they ever shared came flooding back to his mind like a tidal wave.

A spherical carriage made of green amber flew up to and hovered next to the balcony. Jack studied it and was perplexed as to what kept it afloat seeing that it appeared to have no engine, propellers or motor.

She pushed open a small gate in the balustrade as a viaduct slid out from underneath the carriage and connected to the balcony. Though it seemed sturdy enough, Jack was sceptical. It was a long drop to the garden below should the viaduct give way beneath him.

"It's quite safe." She assured him as she stepped onto it.

He hesitated for a moment and then took her hand to steady himself as he stepped onto it like a house of cards about to collapse. She chuckled as they both climbed into the carriage. The green velvet seats felt like soft clouds beneath his buttocks – it was softer than anything back home that he could remember.

"Wow." He said and ran his hands over the seat.

"I know, right?" She agreed, "It's made from the finest Lemar skins – the best money can buy; one of the perks of being a monarch of a planet."

He had no idea what she was talking about, but clearly it was something impressive that only a ruler could afford to possess. There were still many things in this new world of hers that he had to learn about and come to like or dislike.

The carriage rattled a bit as it took flight and it almost felt the same as when an airplane took off and reminded Jack of the life he once knew back on earth. It filled him with a sense of sorrow for a world now gone, but also with excitement about discovering a brand new world.

He didn't know what to say to Alicia and the brief trip was filled with awkward smiles and chuckles of a married couple trying to work things out. There were no windows, so he couldn't even glance out the window when he felt a bit uneasy, so he fidgeted with his fingers like Timmy always does when he's nervous.

The trip only lasted about three or four minutes before the carriage came to a halt and the door opened again. Sunlight flooded the interior and when Jack stepped out onto the lush lawn he glanced at their surroundings; trying to figure out where they were and why he couldn't see the castle anymore. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he glanced up at the massive geyser on the opposite side of the lake that lay at his feet. The geyser's intermittent discharge of thousands of gallons of water created steam that crept over the lake like the last breath of the dead. The water stream that erupted and spurted reached high up into the sky and the tip disappeared beyond the clouds. A restaurant was situated on a small island in the middle of the lake with the steam of the geyser creating a vague rainbow behind it.

He turned to Alicia in amazement and it was only then that he noticed that the carriage was parked right at the edge of a cliff – though she hardly seemed rattled about it, so he walked closer and glanced over the edge. They were on a landmass roughly the size of an island that hovered about ten feet above an ocean with enough space between for dolphin-like creatures to jump and play.

"We're about a thousand miles from the castle." She said as she stepped out, "Everything travels by means of light-worm tunnels – it's much faster and with such a big planet, you need to travel fast."

"This is amazing." He was flabbergasted.

A group of brightly coloured butterflies with long tailing wings flew by. One of them hovered a few feet away from his face and he inspected the majestic beauty of the creature that was the size of a sparrow; not only did it glow, but it seemed as if the tips of its feathers were encrusted in little diamonds.

He reached out to touch it, but the creature fluttered away and joined the rest of the group before disappearing into the clouds above.

"This is my favourite restaurant." She said, "It's far away from the buzz of Lagoon City and surrounded by the beauty of nature... and they make a killer cappuccino."

Coffee was something he was sure he'd never taste again – never mind a cappuccino. To him it was a luxury that died long ago and he had almost forgotten what it smelled like along with so many other things he took for granted back on earth; the smell of freshly mowed grass, the feel of a warm towel after a bath, the texture of chocolate-crumb cake and even what air-conditioning felt like on a warm summer's day.

She led him to the edge of the lake where black cobblestones led to the restaurant about twenty yards out. At first glance, it appeared to him as if large stones were submerged, but on closer inspection it was evident that they hovered just above the water's surface like the landmass they were on.

A hostess waited in the foyer and led them to a table for two right next to the glass wall facing the massive geyser in all its splendour. Jack stared out the window at the majestic sight in amazement as he sat down. Despite the water turbulently spurting up towards the heavens, he spotted yellow-coloured fish swimming around inside the water without being dragged up and away by the ferocity of the geyser.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly." The hostess excused herself.

"Hard to believe this island was uninhabited ten years ago." Alicia told Jack.

He turned away from the stunning view outside the window and smiled at her.

"It's hard to believe anything I've seen so far."

"I know it's a shock, but progress is inevitable. Ten years before the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, the idea was alien and seemed impossible and less than a hundred years later thousands of airplanes flew around the world every year. You'll be surprised at what we accomplished here on this planet in the last century. We even invented a way back."

"A way back?" Jack was stunned.

"You see the problem with light-worms is that they are bound to this planet, so we couldn't use them for interstellar travel and our top scientists tried for nearly a century to figure out how to make the device work that brought us here. About three decades ago Professor Bertrim figured out a way back to earth. They combined the energy of the light-worms with an artificial black hole to form a wormhole that pierced through the fabric in space."

"So it worked?"

"It still works." She agreed, "But there's nothing to go back to. Earth is known as a waterworld... it consists entirely of one supermassive ocean. There are no landmasses left and is virtually uninhabitable. Even after three centuries, evolution hasn't quite taken place yet."

A waiter came by and took their order of two cappuccinos and left again just as swiftly as he arrived.

"So interstellar travel is possible?" Jack enquired.

"Yes. I regularly go vacation on the Forest Moon of Nebula."

Jack nodded in agreement, but had no idea what the Forest Moon of Nebula was. He was still getting used to the marvels of this world and would need some time to let everything sink in before he could start to fathom interstellar travel to distant planets purely for a vacation.

"I hate to ask the obvious question... did we make contact with other life-forms?"

The smile faded from her face and she shifted uneasily in her seat, "We did. We made contact with the Luftas Race about two decades ago. They only know violence, death and destruction. Our exploration team lost one of their team members, but they were lucky enough to escape."

Jack had a hard time processing everything, but he wanted to know everything there was to know about the galaxy he found himself in – even about any possible threats.

"Don't worry." She assured him, "They are light-years away and don't have the technology to master interstellar travel. Our planet is the safest place in the universe."

Easy for her to say that, he thought, she wasn't nearly eaten three times by creatures on this planet.

The waiter brought the cappuccinos and the aroma tugged at his senses like a lost love and Jack couldn't contain his craving to taste the decadency of something he had forgotten. It tasted better than any coffee or cappuccino he ever had back on earth and the taste bordered on addiction.

"Oh my God..." He groaned in delight.

"Tell me this isn't the best cappuccino ever?"

"There's no denying that."

She chuckled and then hesitated to ask a burning question, "When can I see Timmy."

He wanted to reunite his family, but wasn't sure whether uprooting Timmy's life was the best thing at the moment. He as adult had difficulties grasping the fact that time left them behind in the canyon and Timmy would surely not understand it.

"How do I introduce him to this world?" Jack gestured at everything around him.

"Children adapt the easiest."

"Not when they've seen the worst this planet has to offer."

She took a sip of her cappuccino and uttered, "I wish we found you earlier."

If they found Jack's village sooner it might've been easier on everyone, but now a world of differences spanning three centuries divided them. There was so much of this world that they still needed to discover.

While a long silence befell the table, Jack remembered the startling creatures that dragged them to the fiery concentration camp.

"What happened to those flaming monsters? The flying ones? Please tell me they died of extinction."

"They're actually a big part of our air force." She said, "We haven't seen any wars, but ever since we encountered the Luftas Race, I gave the order that an air force be set up and trained. We are a great nation spanning most corners of this massive planet and we can't be left defenceless. Should someone try to attack the planet of Eljavic we'll be ready."

The table rumbled a bit, but she assured him that it was nothing to be worried about, "It's normal with floating islands. The light tremors—"

The building shook with more ferocity and the geyser was engulfed by a massive shadow as the rumbling quieted down. Some of the patrons hiding beneath their tables slowly came out when the shaking stopped.

"What was that?" Jack asked, "Is that normal?"

Someone yelled outside the restaurant and Alicia jumped up as her leadership instincts kicked in. Jack hesitated as she ran out, but then ran out after her. When he got outside, Jack stopped dead in his tracks; a massive space vessel about ten miles wide hovered about half a mile above them as it descended through the clouds. The foreboding vessel cast a menacing shadow that consumed the entire island and most of the ocean.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

It took Alicia only a few seconds to realize what they were looking at, "It's the Luftas."

"I thought they didn't have the technology for interstellar travel?"

"So did I."

COMING IN 2016 & 2017:

Age of Men: Titan

Age of Men: The Invasion of Eljavic

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