Stephen grabbed a protesting Sam by the upper arm, but eventually they both started running like everyone else from the camp. Everyone was running in the same direction – away from the approaching moon and the debris it dragged along with it and though it was still about very far away, it would get to the camp in minutes.
“I can’t run like this!” Mary cried; gasping for air and slowing down, “Wait! Hold up! I’m too out of shape to be running from the apocalypse like this!”
She stopped to catch her breath and clasped the stabbing side stitch as she watched the others running away. She was out of breath and found it hard to breathe let alone call out without dry heaving.
“Wait…” she finally uttered, but nobody heard her over the increasing tremors.
A large shadow crept up on her and then consumed everything in front of her – making her turn around with dread to see the moon nearly upon them and waves of debris being dragged along as the brim of the moon excavated the earth. The sight of the planetary monstrosity dragging along pieces of a Boeing sent a chill down her spine that made her forget about the side stitch and the fact that she couldn’t breathe.
She started running as fast as her legs allowed her; having trouble keeping her footing on the shaky ground as the tremors rolled, but she kept running and fought back the tears of distress – praying to God that she’d make it to the others and get out of the path of destruction in time.
No matter how fast she ran, the others and the edge of the shadow were always a hundred feet from her reach and the trembling earth shook more violently until finally cracks tore open. She jumped over a crack as another one formed to her left and she knew the moon was right on her heels.
The sound of creaking metal made her glance back over her shoulder and she saw the moon slowly lifting out of the debris and lunging the Boeing cockpit at her; crushing her before she could even react.
Sam, Stephen and Jessica were amongst hundreds of people running for their lives without looking back. They couldn’t look back as they had to concentrate on the shattered earth before them if they were to make it.
“Don’t look back!” Someone called out.
Stephen looked back over his shoulder at the object that blocked out the sun and Planet X as it rushed towards them; leaving behind most of the crushed rubble as it slowly started rising again. He knew they’d never outrun it, so he grabbed Sam and Jessica and ducked to the ground.
Mere seconds later the ascending moon came rushing over them – missing them with just a few feet and Jessica had to close her eyes and turn her head as a suffocating and claustrophobic sensation took hold of her. While Sam lay on his back and clung to Skip, Stephen lay on his stomach and watched as the speeding moon pulverised those still running in the distance.
Sam watched flabbergasted as the moon rushed by overhead at arm’s length and ascending every second. The moon’s surface seemed icy and the he could actually see his own warm breath in the cold atmosphere as he exhaled.
It took less than thirty seconds for the passing moon to ascend enough for them to stand upright and so they did; staring up at the foreign object that rotated and sped by about ten storeys up. All the commotion made Skip excited and so Sam put him down while keeping a close eye on the passing moon’s enormous size.
“We made it.” Sam chuckled to himself in disbelief.
Stephen draped his arm around Sam’s shoulder and the two of them stared up at the icy terrain overhead as it ascended even further up into the sky. Neither one of them ever believed that they’d survive such an event, but they survived it against all odds.
Sam felt something tugging at his body, “Do you guys feel that?”
“Yes.” Stephen said apprehensively, “I don’t like it.”
Skip started barking uncontrollably at the moon and then without warning, an unseen force jerked him into the sky and towards the rising moon.
“What the hell was that?” Sam gasped.
“Gravity.” Stephen dreaded, “Let’s go!”
The three of them ran east towards a group of trees with the moon still overhead and the growing gravitational pull tugging at them strenuously. Each step was a fight against unseen forces that wanted to lunge them into the air.
“Grab onto a tree and hold on tightly!” Stephen said as they reached the trees.
Jessica was falling behind just as Sam and Stephen reached the trees and grabbed on for dear life. Just as Jessica reached the trees, the gravity of the moon jerked her into the air and out of sight as her screams for help disappeared.
Sam shut his eyes tightly and hung on for dear life as the gravitational tug at his body intensified; swaying the tree back and forth until a root unearthed. A few moments later the swaying tree came to rest and the tugging sensation was gone. He opened his eyes to see the moon almost a mile up in the sky and increasing in altitude. They were out of harm’s way. They both let go of the trees and stood watching as the moon climbed higher and higher until the sun and Planet X was visible again.
They made it. They survived the end of days. It would all be over soon. Within a matter of days, the rogue planet and its moon would leave planet earth behind as it continued its slingshot orbit around our sun and into outer space again. The underground bunkers would open and release those who hid and Stephen could see his family again. Life would go back to normal any day now.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to say goodbye to this bitch.” Stephen said.
They looked at each other for a moment and then Stephen raised his middle finger at the soaring moon. Sam chuckled and then raised his middle finger as well and they stood like that for a moment as the moon moved further away and out of their lives, and though humanity would have to start over from scratch again, life would go on.
EPILOGUE
And life continued… when the underground sensors indicated that Planet X and it’s moon’s gravitational pull decreased, the doors to the underground bunkers opened; releasing those who it kept safe. At first the people of the world united and watched as the rogue planet decreased in size as it moved further away and then they united to rebuild what was left in desolation.
Stephen travelled back to Maine once the waters subsided and was reunited with his wife and daughter and though Sam didn’t want to go with him, he carried Sam in his heart.
Sam went his own way and decided to travel and see more of the world seeing that he received a second chance at life and it was during his travels that he met Patrick at the Grand Canyon which was now the Grand Canals and they had an instant connection that couldn’t be ignored.
At night the world could still see Planet X shining brightly in the starry sky as a reminder that things could’ve been worse and night after night it glowed dimmer and dimmer until it finally disappeared like a distant memory, but just like a distant memory at the back of our minds, Planet X returned to the farthest corner of our galaxy – out of sight and out of mind, but never truly forgotten.
SIMILAR WORK BY EDUARD JOSEPH:
Age of Men
When the entire continent of Australia disappears into thin air, Jack White, a professor of unexplained phenomena and folk lore is contacted by the government to assist them in cracking the case that has officials baffled.
In a race against time, Jack soon learns that the mysterious disappearances that are now ravaging the world is not per chance and finds himself transported to an earthlike planet billions of light-years from earth. Seemingly being the only humans, Jack and his son sets out to find other humans on the alien planet.
An excerpt from the book follows on the next page.
EXCERPT: “Age of Men” By Eduard Joseph
© 2016 Eduard Joseph
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 dis
appearing, 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 as he 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 they were standing on when the nothingness approached them from all directions? 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 and reckoned that he must’ve lost it when the ash cloud descended upon them on the highway and he ran for dear life. He could still hear the screams for help as the ash and debris cloud consumed the people behind them, but he couldn’t look back or help them. Those screams will be etched in his mind forever.
The field stretched out for miles in every direction. Where were they? Jack studied their surroundings and then looked up at the sky which was a bright, deep blue with scattered pink clouds so light one could almost mistake it for white. He 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 worldwide 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? How could they be the only ones around if he witnessed thousands of people disappear into thin air? 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. He finally 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 and when he was certain it wasn’t poisonous, 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 warily 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 – they had to find Alicia.
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 glided through the air like a snake on the water’s surface; hovering 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 or galaxies 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 and 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 ravaged earth and brought them there.
They were both fascinated with 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, Jack was cautious as he had learned a long time ago that looks can be deceiving – if something looked too good to be true, chances were that it was.
He stopped and watched in amazement as a school of brightly coloured 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 in the darkening sky.
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?
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