“He’s like us.” She said in defeat, “Just waiting for death…”
Uttering “we’re not gonna die” seemed futile as Stephen himself was wondering whether they’d survive the moon cataclysm. He was one of the few people who didn’t pay much attention to the frenzy back when Planet X’s approach was first announced and even tried to deny its existence until he saw it with his own eyes, but what he can remember was that if it had a moon it could spell disaster.
“He’s alone.” Sam said as he watched the lion disappear around a corner, “We have each other.”
“Oh thank GOD!” they all heard a voice say behind them.
A woman with tattered clothes, frizzy hair and looking a fright seemed relieved to see others. Without hesitating, she gave them each a quick embrace, stood back and straightened her dirty blouse.
“I thought I was the only one left in the city.” She said, “I’m Mary.”
“I’m Stephen and this is Sam and Jessica.” He introduced them.
“This is just crazy!” Mary said thrilled, “Did you see the flash fires that engulfed the city?”
“No, we missed that unfortunately.” Sam said.
“Oh what a pity.” Mary gasped in awe, “It was a sight to behold. The flames washed over the city like ripples on a pond. I honestly think Planet X’s arrival might just be the single most important thing to happen to mankind.”
Mary recollected the devastating fires like a fond childhood memory and Sam glanced at Stephen with a look that said, ‘this woman is clearly deranged.’
She snapped out of her hypnotic state and smiled at them, “So where you heading?”
“Inland.” Stephen said bluntly, “And we should get going before it’s too late.”
“Oh!” Mary gasped excitedly, “We should travel together! I’m heading to a small settlement about fifty miles away.”
Sam and Stephen glanced at each other with reservations about her sanity and their safety should they travel with a certified lunatic.
“I have a working car.” Mary said; sweetening the deal.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Planet X gigantic mass dominated most of the eastern sky; the top of it dissipating completely from sight. Though it was hundreds of thousands of miles away from earth, its perceived size was a radius of ten miles; suspended in the sky about half a mile high. Its icy blue surface acted like a mirror – reflecting most of sunlight and not only brightening earth, but heating it up as well. Its unnamed moon’s perceived size was about a mile across and slowly descending towards the city below.
Stephen kept a worried eye on the sky behind them as they drove to the city limits in hopes of escaping whatever disasters the moon was bringing and though Mary was driving as fast as she could, the moon stayed the same size in the rear-view mirror while the buildings rushed by and shrunk into the distance.
“Can’t this car drive any faster?” Stephen asked apprehensive.
“I’m doing nearly eighty.” Mary said in her own defence.
“Earth’s moon orbits the earth at about 1 mile per second.” Stephen said, “It’s safe to assume this moon moves at about the same speed. You need to go faster.”
“How would you even know that?”
“My daughter was obsessed with Planet X.” Stephen said with a sigh.
“Was? I’m sorry for your loss.”
“No.” Stephen chuckled, “She and her mother are safe in the underground bunker. I just wish I could be there with them.”
Jessica and Sam sat in the backseat; staring back at the moon like children – both fearing what might happen if they don’t get out of the city in time.
“He’s right.” Sam said; still staring back at the moon, “The distance between earth and that moon is getting smaller. We need to get out of here much faster.”
Mary glanced in the rear-view mirror at the formidable monster behind them. She could clearly see the darker lunar maria that were scattered across the paler highlands of the moon and resembled a demented skull at first glance. The moon was clearly much closer than it was when she first met the group and so she stepped on the gas pedal until it was pressed firmly against the floor.
Sam noticed a scared Maltese scavenging through the rubble that lined the street up ahead.
“Stop.” Sam said while opening the door.
“Are you nuts?” Mary yelled as she slammed on the brakes; jolting everyone.
“There’s a dog.” Sam got out.
He approached the sidewalk and crouched down as he held out his hand to the frightened dog that finally inched closer to smell it. Sam patted the dog and finally picked him up; caressing him as he walked back to the car.
“What’s your name, boy?” Sam asked as he checked for a collar, “No matter. I’ll call you Skip.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Stephen asked when Sam closed his door, “You can’t jump out of a moving car!”
“And for a stupid dog!” Jessica added.
“I couldn’t just leave it behind. It’s all alone and its family is probably dead.” Sam gave Skip a kiss.
“Can we go now?” Stephen insisted.
Mary put the car in gear again and sped off; glancing in the rear-view mirror at Sam with the dog in his arms and missed her children. Though they weren’t her actual children, she still loved them as her own and missed them; wondering whether she’d see some of them again one day.
And then she saw the unmissable monster moon that hung low over the horizon behind them and it made her realize that some of her beloved kids may not have survived the unparalleled odds. She fought back the tears and stared out at the city street before her as she steered them through the maze of fissures and abandoned cars; towards the colony.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Fourteen months ago
Before the battle for survival started, Mary was a science teacher at a high school. Teaching was not only her passion, but her entire life and she adored every child in her class. Unable to have children of her own, her husband of ten years left her for his mistress and they started a family of their own much to her dismay – but there was no point in grieving for things she was never meant to have.
“Liquid displacement.” She wrote the words on the blackboard, “Does anyone know what that means?”
She turned around to a classroom of blank faces; some resting on their upturned palms out of boredom. In the far corner, Samantha texted on her phone; paying little attention to the class.
“Displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, like water, and pushes the fluid out of the way; taking its place. The volume of fluid displaced can be measured and it is from this measurement, one can calculate the volume of the object – it should roughly be the same as the volume of the displaced water.”
Benjamin sat at the front of the class and was seemingly the only one interested and taking notes, but Mary smiled at them all nonetheless. She understood they were still young and that it was difficult paying attention in class when there were other things to worry about, like a rogue planet approaching with impending doom.
“Samantha?” she asked.
Annoyed, Samantha looked up as she lowered her phone, “Yeah?”
“Did you understand what I just explained?”
“I wasn’t listening. None of this will matter in a couple of months.”
“You can’t really believe all the hype?”
“I’m just here because I can’t take my mother sulking at home all day.” Samantha said, “She’s upset because she wasted her entire life and never became that famous actress she wanted to be. And how’s she’s gonna die like everyone in about a year when that planet crashes into us.”
Mary could see her frustration and sympathised; wishing she could make everything better, but how? She knew all too well what it felt like to be scared and feel abandoned when you need your loved ones the most.
The bell rang out in the hall and everybody jumped up and started packing away while Mary stood at the
front of the class with the chalk still in her hand. She stood, lost in her thoughts, for a moment and then put the chalk away with a smile.
“Remember to read chapters eight and nine for Monday!” Her announcement was met by various groans and moans.
Samantha was one of the last students to leave and Mary stepped in front of her as she approached; making Samantha look up from her phone.
“Are you alright, Sammy?”
“I’m fine.”
“If you ever need someone to talk to—”
“I’m fine.” Samantha reiterated and walked away.
“My door is always open.”
She wasn’t sure whether Samantha heard the last statement as the door swung shut and let out a sigh as she sat down behind her desk. There was a stack of papers she still needed to grade, but for some inexplicable reason, Samantha’s words still rung in her mind – none of this will matter in a couple of months.
What if she was right? Mary tried to convince herself otherwise just as she did when she found Peter cheating on her, but she knew sooner or later she’d have to face the truth that was slowly approaching them from the furthest corner of outer space.
Though she enjoyed grading papers, she found them less appealing that afternoon. Staring out at the clear, blue sky beyond the classroom windows it was hard to believe that it was hiding a monster that could mean certain death in a couple of months. Where did it come from? Why has it been hiding all this time and what was it bringing along with it? What secrets did this rogue planet hold?
“What are you?” She asked herself, “Why are you coming here?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The settlement of survivors was situated in a field about 47 miles outside of Topeka and was home to about two hundred people who set up tents, RV’s and caravans to form a little community – there was even a big communal tent where everybody had meals and despite the impending danger in the sky, life went on the simple way.
Some of the playing children ran closer as Mary pulled into an open spot; eager to see the new people and pet the dog. An elderly man with a salt-and-pepper coloured beard stepped closer as excited kids dispersed.
“Welcome.” The man said, “I’m Patrick.”
“I’m Stephen. This is Sam, Mary, Jessica and that over there is Skip.”
“We’re always glad to have survivors join our group.” Patrick said, “We have fresh spring water and hot food.”
Sam glanced back in the direction they came from as Patrick spoke; wondering whether they were far enough from the descending moon and whatever danger it brought. Maybe he was worrying about nothing? He used to be the sensible one until the day he lost Alex – that was the day when he started to worry about his own mortality and though Stephen was like a big brother, he couldn’t bother Stephen with every little fear that popped into his head.
“We don’t get too many new arrivals,” Patrick said, “But we have spare beds to set up in the communal tent.”
Skip jumped up against Sam’s leg; begging to be picked up so he obliged. Holding Skip against his chest, he could feel the uncomfortable fear Skip tried to hide and it made Sam think of the theory that animals can feel disasters approaching – and he stared at the foreboding moon in the faraway distance again. He pat Skip’s head as the conversations around him faded into white-noise and kept staring at the moon in silence until Stephen laid a hand on his shoulder; jerking him back to reality.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Sam said with a nod.
But he wasn’t alright. It’s been a while since Mother Nature acted up and Sam was fearing the calm before the storm and it was too calm for his liking. They couldn’t outrun Planet X or its moon and they were only safe in the camp for a short period of time before it too would be in the firing line of the rogue planet.
“It’s just weird, you know.” Sam said, “It’s finally hitting me. There’s no escaping this thing. It’s coming for us and we can’t outrun it.”
“You can’t think like that. You just have to have faith.”
“In what? God?” Sam was sceptical, “I doubt God even exists never mind that he’s behind this.”
“This isn’t you. This isn’t the Sam I know. Since when do you give up this easily? You’ve always been taking this Planet X thing head-on.”
“I know.” Sam said, “But lately I’ve been wondering whether it’s all worth it.
“My grandson’s around here somewhere.” He heard Patrick say, “He’s such a sweet boy. You’ll love him. He’s probably off playing with his friends. Come! Let me show you around our little establishment.”
Stephen tugged at Sam’s upper arm and he turned away from the planetary sight in the distance with a vague smile of unease and they followed Patrick and the rest on the little tour of the camp. Patrick talked non-stop about every dweller and what accomplishments they’ve made in the past month, but Sam wasn’t really listening. Planet X was still at the back of his mind – calling to him like a siren to a sailor.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Planet X’s moon hung low over the city of Indianapolis where most of the buildings were submerged in the rising Atlantic Ocean. The moon was rushing down towards the city at 1.5 miles per second – less than a minute from impact with the abandoned city. Though it wouldn’t be a direct hit, the orbital path of the moon meant it would drag itself through the city with catastrophic consequences.
All of the coastal cities were underwater, making the desolate, sinking city of Indianapolis the latest seafront city. Neill was probably the only one who stayed behind in the city and made the rooftop of the highest building his home and it had a magnificent view of the submerged city with the moon descending into the ocean about two miles offshore.
Rushing wind tugged at Neill’s clothes as he cooked a can of food over a fire and he stood up to get a better look at the ocean just as the brim of the moon slammed into the ocean; dragging itself along its orbit like a peeler paring a potato. The impact displaced water to create an impact wave that grew in size and velocity as it rushed towards the city with the gargantuan moon behind it; dragging itself towards Indianapolis like a spoon scooping up ice cream.
The growing wave slammed into the outer buildings; consuming them with ferocity that shattered windows and crumbled pillars.
Neill knew the end has come as the sun disappeared behind the massive moon as it rushed towards the city. It slammed into buildings; disintegrating them like a bowling ball rolling over ants. The building started rumbling beneath him as the constant roll of impact tremors shook the building and all he could do was watch the moon destroyed city block after city block while rushing towards him.
Neill let out a heavy sigh and lowered his head in prayer as the moon slammed into his building and demolished it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Seven minutes until Planet X’s moon reaches Topeka
Unaware of the impending disaster, Stephen, Sam, Jessica and Mary sat down with the rest of the dwellers in the communal tent for a late lunch consisting of steamed vegetables and freshly baked bread. The atmosphere inside the tent was warm and inviting, with everyone laughing and talking about everyday things in an attempt to forget the horrible reality they were stuck in.
Skip sat next to Sam who sneaked him a couple of pieces of bread while listening to the chatter around their table; dominated by Patrick who joined them at table eight to tell one of his stories.
“So we stood at the waterfall… buck naked…” Patrick chuckled, “and those little bastards stole our clothes! We had to walk back to town with our junk in our hands, and let me tell you – it’s something we laughed about later, but it was the most embarrassing thing back then.”
“Midgets stole your clothes?” Jessica laughed.
“It sounds like you and your brother were close.” Stephen said.
“We were.” Patrick said with a fading smile; shifting uneasy.
“He died?” Sam realised.
Patrick nodded, “When the rolling earthquakes hit Springfield.”
“Sorry for your loss.” Mary said.
A nine year old boy excitedly ran up to Patrick and he embraced the boy with pride, “This is my grandson, Elijah.”
“Grandpa!” Elijah announced excitedly, “The moon!”
“He loves Planet X.” Patrick said; hushing Elijah, “He always wanted to become an astronaut. You should see all the drawings he has of this alien planet.”
“Grandpa!” Elijah insisted.
“Not now, Elijah.” Patrick hushed, “We have company. Go play with the other boys.”
Patrick pushed Elijah away with a playful slap on the butt and turned to his lunch guests; “You have to forgive my son. Everything out of his mouth these days is about that planet and its moon.”
“Boys will be boys.” Mary said with a smile.
Sam watched in silence as the conversations around their table continued and Elijah ran off with two other boys; passing a girl tugging at her mother’s arm until she got up and followed her out of the tent.
A slight, but constant tremor started shaking the table and made Sam glance down at the rippling water in his mug. The tremble quickly quieted down most conversations in the tent as it grew in intensity – causing some glasses and water decanters to fall over.
A scream echoed outside and Sam knew his worst fears were being realised. He jumped up, grabbed Skip and rushed to the tent’s flap doors along with many other dwellers. Once outside, Sam stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was causing the rumbling earthquake; the orbiting moon was dragging itself along earth’s surface – demolishing everything in its way and it was rushing towards them at an incredible rate.
“Oh my God…” Jessica said behind him.
“RUN!” Somebody screamed.
“There’s no use.” Sam said in defeat as he stroked Skip’s head.
Stephen, Mary and Patrick rushed out just as Elijah ran up to them and Patrick picked up his scared, but excited grandson. Stephen’s first instinct was to run, but he couldn’t just leave Sam who was clearly petrified about the site before them.
“We should go.” Stephen said.
“Go where?” Sam asked, “It’ll be here in less than five minutes.”
“It’s still five minutes we have to make a run for it! Now let’s go!