Chapter Three: The Visit
Maurine Johnson and her two man crew got suited up for their first task outside the station but a couple of things went wrong; the station lost communication with the Mission Control Centre, so Barry advised they wait until communication is established.
In the meantime, James gently moved towards Maurine and the duo got into a chat. He managed to lure her into telling him a bit about herself. She told him about Tom, her three year old son and all she needed James to know at that time, including how she got the job. He was the quiet type, so he listened more.
“Well, I guess big Tommy is a proud little man,” he said. “If my mom was an astronaut, I can’t even imagine the thrills and how I’d go about bragging in school and in the neighbourhood.”
Maurine couldn’t stop laughing.
“My mom is the coolest of all the moms!” He mimicked a kid’s voice, “A real super-heroine!”
“Oh my God,” she said as she tried to control her laughter, “But we don’t fly up here to save anyone! The real heroes are the men and women who put their lives on the line day and night down there, trying to make the world a better place for us all!”
“You’re right,” he said. “But I think I’m kinda feeling like I’m being rescued up here!” He gazed into her eyes.
She was speechless. She took her eyes away from his stare as she smiled.
“Alright, put your helmets back on,” Barry instructed. “Check your visors, guys!”
James helped her with the helmet, she then pressed a button on her helmet and her sun visor extended. She pressed the button again and it retracted.
“I don’t need your phone number up here, do I?” said James.
“Sure, you don’t!” She said, “I’m just a stone throw away!” She smiled.
“I’m never gonna throw a stone at you,” he said. “Wouldn’t want you hurt. Maybe something softer, like my heart?”
“What if I decide to keep it, and not give it back?” She replied.
“I think people naturally only throw away things that are not useful to them!” He responded.
“Is this how you talk to all the ladies?” She asked, “Or is it the zero gravity that’s messing with your brain?”
“It’s not every time you need your brain to make decisions!” James said.
“Yeah, you’re right!” She added, “The last time I let my heart override my brain, I ended up with something in my womb! And I don’t even know where the other party is!”
A scent of discomfort diffused their presence.
“The last time you let your heart override your brain, you ended up with something beautiful in you womb!” James said. He looked her deep in the eyes and smiled, “And I can’t buy you roses from up here either!”
Maurine heaved a deep sigh then wore a beautiful smile.
“If you’re serious about giving me roses, maybe you should find a way to plant them!” She said.
“Would they grow up here?” He asked.
“Nothing is impossible, James!” She replied, “If the little time I’ve spent with you makes me feel the way I’m feeling then, you can plant anything you want even on the surface of the sun, and it might grow! You’ll never know until you try!”
They both smiled at each other. James gazed into her eyes once more, she blushed.
“You’re going to make this mission a bit tough for me,” she said. “I don’t think this is going to be healthy!”
“Why is that?” He asked.
“Well, the truth is...”
“Okay, we’re a green, Juliet!” Said the commander, “Romeo can wait for your return! Copy?”
“Affirmative, sir!” Maurine said, “I guess I’ll ‘see-you on-my-return?’” She mimicked Barry’s voice.
James and Maurine laughed.
“Hey!” James said, “You take care of yourself out there, okay?”
“Okay!” She responded, “See you soon!”
At exactly 1159 hours UTC, she exited the spacecraft for a spacewalk through the Quest airlock. Followed by two men.
“Can you hear me, Johnson?” The Commander said.
“Loud and clear, sir!” She responded.
James watched them from a window.
“Christopher, how’s the sound?” Barry asked.
“As clear as the sound of my teacher’s high hills during exam back in high school, sir!” Answered the first man behind Maurine.
“Good!” Barry said, “Gregory, can you…”
“Loud and clear, boss!” Interjected the second man, “Hey guys! Who wanna photo-bomb my Selfie, eh?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Maurine said.
“Son of a gun, he took a camera out!” Barry added, “Could you believe that?”
The whole crew laughed. James shook his head as they watched from a screen; Johnson and her team posed for a Selfie outside the station.
After the photo-shoot, Johnson and her team called to Barry’s attention.
“Uh…guys, can you see that?” She said.
“See what, Johnson?” Barry replied.
They described something they saw as a strange cloud coming towards them.
A shadow was cast upon the spacecraft.
“Is it a satellite, a shuttle or what?” Barry said, “Damn Chinese, I thought the arrangement was that they’d show up a week from now?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not a shuttle! It’s no satellite! It’s something like…like a dark cloud. A thick smoke, like it’s…like it’s alive! Barry!”
Using their nitrogen-propelled backpack, Christopher and Gregory flew toward the spacecraft.
“We’re coming in, sir!” Gregory said.
“What’s going on out there?” Barry asked. As he moved a control column to get a good view from one of the external cameras. He could only see the two men. Maurine was out of sight.
James and the rest of the men in the spacecraft set their eyes on the screen. There was tension. James’ heart began to beat fast.
“Johnson, Can you describe what you see?” Barry asked.
“Something like uh…Oh my God! Barry! Help me!” She cried, “Oh God! Get it out of me! Get it off of me!” She sounded as though she was losing her breath.
A dark cloud covered Christopher and Gregory, their scream came over the speakers and the sound of their agony sent shivers down the men’s spine. James left the men and tried to get his hand on a spacesuit.
“What the hell are you doing?” Caleb said.
“We need to help them!” He said, “They need us, they need our help!”
“When did you become the shot caller here?” Caleb asked, “Help them against what? Do you have any idea what is out there or what will happen to us in here if you open any of the airlocks?”
James ignored him and continued wearing his suit. As soon as he was ready to go, a loud bang hit the station. There was a co-occurring explosions around the station, Caleb’s head hit a metal and he fainted. Debris radiated from the station as though sucked by a black hole. The station was tearing apart, the spacecraft ripped off from the station and flung into orbit.
James tried to grab hold onto a handle when something like a thick black smoke made its way into the spacecraft. It grabbed hold of James and pinned him against the wall. The dark smoke then released him and hovered above him, James could tell the dark cloud was alive. Fear gripped him. A figure like the head of a horrible demon came out of the thick smoke and stared at James, it whispered his name then sank its head back into the smoke, and the dark cloud left James. It maneuvered through the spacecraft and got to Barry, who was already in his suit. James watched as Barry’s soul was ripped from within him. His body was left floating as his soul got sucked into the dark cloud. James began looking for a way to escape from the terror that presented itself before him. But he watched as the cloud did the same thing to Caleb and the others who were in the spacecraft.
James began to breathe fast. The dark cloud came back to
him and something stretched out like hands and into his spacesuit. Death whispered his name three times then grabbed his soul and tried to pull it out. James felt the roots that anchor his soul to his body being ripped, like roots of a tree being ripped from the ground violently. As he got pulled close to the dark cloud, he turned his face away only to realise his own body was about two feet away, he realised that his soul was already out of his body and his body was dead. James tried to break free but he found himself helpless against the great evil force that held him. He had come face to face with Death. He tried to open his mouth in other to call out for help. His lips were glued.
“He can’t hear you!” the thick dark smoke whispered.
James struggled with the entity, his entire strength drained and he was helpless and hopeless. James had given up; he shut his eyes and in his heart began crying out to God, but the force that held his soul was stronger than steel. However, he believed in his heart that his God would not forsake him. He kept his eyes shut and called out to Jehovah one more time. Death lost its grip and set James free. James’ soul fell back to his body, he awakened to see that the thick dark cloud was furious. The entity floated away and then ran back to James again. It smashed James’ head against the wall and his helmet broke. Discovering the power in the name he trusted, James closed his eyes and called out once more, then a great white light broke through the surrounding and Death departed from him. James began to hear voices, he lost consciousness.
Moments later, James opened his eyes and found himself outside the spacecraft. He didn’t know how he got there, he was enclosed in a glass like dome, something that looked like a Force field. James was still in his spacesuit but the transparent shell and sun visor from his helmet were shattered. He stood there in the open space, marvelled at the sight of the galaxy.
A voice said to him, “James, look at what befall the earth in days to come, and the worlds around it!”
James was lifted up in the force field and over a stretch of time, this was what he witnessed; a catastrophic event occurred in the cosmos; the Fallen One came in form of a mighty dark angel, bigger than all the worlds combined. Like a blanket of destruction, so terrible it roamed irritatedly. The Fallen One wrapped itself on top of the worlds and enfolded the worlds with its wings, the Fallen One altered the formation of the universe by tampering with the shield that protected the worlds; causing an imbalance in the universe that shifted all the planets from their location. Leaving all the worlds bare; each world left to defend itself.
The Fallen One began to devour some of these worlds, but a handful put up a fierce fight by being on the offensive, causing injury to the Fallen One. One of the planets, the strongest among them was able to swallow the Fallen One; the angel of destruction got trapped in its belly. The strongest of them all among the worlds finally imprisoned the Fallen One for a while.
Then James heard the voice again saying, “You have seen with thine own eyes. So go! Go warn the people! Tell them the blood of the innocent cried out to me. Tell them they have made the voice of innocent children fill My throne room and their tears drenched the grounds on which I walk. Tell the people, if they do not turn away from their wicked ways, calamity worse than death shall befall upon the worlds. Tell them, I can no longer stand the stench of hatred that stems from their heart. Tell them this; that I, The I Am that I Am, shall pour My wrath upon the earth and Mine ears shall I shut from their self-centred prayers, and if from Mine eyes they turned not away from wickedness and self-righteousness. Tell them that My spirit shall depart from their midst, and in My absence, darkness shall cover the earth!”
Chapter Four: The Recoverer