First Encounter Page 2

  The last part of his transmission was getting scratchy and I could tell we didn't have much time with him.

  "Sergeant, we are about to lose you, so look for us to contact you again in about ninety minutes."

  "Stick by your radio. I will get the word out to others and we'll see if we can set up a chain of people to talk to around the world. I am in Washington state, so I'll call a guy I know in Missouri and have him contact you in a few minutes."

  "That would be great, sergeant."

  "Sta …"

  His signal went dead and I felt like the lifeline to this sinking ship had just been cut. I looked at Deb and she had a worried grin on her face.

  "A doorway to Hell? Is it possible?"

  "Deb, you know as much about it as I do."

  "Personally, I think it's bullshit."

  I turned to see Phil at the hatch.

  "Really? Bullshit? After what we've seen and what we've just heard?"

  "Yes, for there to be demons from Hell on Earth now, there would have to be a Hell. I don't believe in any of that superstitious crap."

  I could feel Deb rise up from her seat and the glare from her eyes was very hot. I didn’t even have to look at her to know she was about to begin raging.

  "You may not believe in it, but some of us do and until you can come up with a better explanation for what's happened, I'd say keep your mouth shut!"

  "Hey hey hey," I said as I turned around and put a hand on her shoulder and eased her back into her seat. "Let's not start a war over religion here in the station."

  "Damn right," said Phil.

  "And you," I said, looking directly at him, "I tend to agree with her. Until we hear a better explanation, we'll go with demons from Hell because right now, it's the most logical explanation we have."

  "Logical? Good grief," he said as he turned and moved back toward the crew module.

  Mike was coming forward, followed by Ariel and as Phil went by, he said, "You might want to stay clear of the command center. They're starting to talk about God and Heaven and Hell up there. It might be contagious."

  Mike floated into the module and shook his head.

  "Don't pay him any mind, Deb. He's the most anti-God person on this station right now."

  He looked at me and said, "So, we heard the exchange with the sergeant. What do you think?"

  "I think we're not going to get the warm welcome home we were expecting."

  Ariel laughed a little and said, "If it really is demons from Hell, our welcome could be quite warm."

  I looked at her and then I couldn't help myself and I started laughing. Mike and Deb even joined us for a few seconds.

  It was the first time any of us had laughed since the day we saw the video. For some reason, it felt better than we all felt it should have.

  "ISS, this is Randy Barlow in Missouri. Come in."

  I jumped when the speaker next to my head crackled to life and Mr. Barlow picked up the lifeline that had been cut after losing Sergeant Causey.

  "Mr. Barlow, this is Commander Trevor Donovan of the ISS. It’s good to hear your voice and to find out today that there are others still alive in this part of the galaxy."

  "Well, sir, I don’t know how good it is, but we’re here."

  "From where we’re standing, you and the others like you are a godsend. As we told Mr. Causey, we are coming back to Earth in less than three weeks whether we like it or not. The ISS can’t stay up here indefinitely without Mission Control and we’ve already seen they are no longer an operation."

  "Then, I would be very careful where you choose to set down. The demons seem to have concentrated themselves around the larger cities, but we have to be careful, even here in the country."

  "How many are with you?"

  "It's me and about a hundred others."

  "A hundred others? The day is getting better with every word we hear."

  "We were able to take refuge in the caverns that run through some of the mountains here in Missouri. For some silly reason, the demons are reluctant to come into the caverns looking for us."

  "You have no idea why the demons won't venture into the caverns?"

  "Oh, we know why. It’s because we’re pretty well armed here and we give them hell anytime they try to come in. They keep coming back and seem to be getting a little braver. We have had a couple of attacks over the last week or so, but have been able to fight them off."

  "From what I remember of those caverns, you should be very well stocked for quite awhile."

  "We have enough food and supplies to stay here for thousands of years, but obviously we'd like to get out of here and back above ground."

  "I understand."

  "Look, Todd Causey is already working on a string of radio operators working eastward and he should have you in continuous communication with Earth within the hour."

  "We appreciate that. I really can't think of anything to ask you right now, unless you can tell us a little bit about these demons. We saw one kill a woman at Mission Control on our video feed, but other than Mr. Causey telling us they are from Hell, we don't know much about them."

  "Sir, we'll lose him in less than three minutes."

  "Thanks, Deb."

  "Well, I can tell you they are not invincible, but they are also not easy to kill. I've killed a few, but it definitely takes more than a few bullets to bring one down. And they stink to high Heaven."

  "They don't take too many baths, do they?"

  "No, sir, they don't," said Randy with a laugh.

  After a bit of a pause, he continued, "You say you're coming back in about three weeks. What will be your mode of transportation? Shuttle?"

  "No, the shuttle has been mothballed, though I wouldn't mind having one right about now. No, we'll be coming back in a Soyuz return capsule."

  "How accurate are you going to be with your landing?"

  "We should be able to pick a spot from orbit and land within a mile of it."

  "I only ask because we have more than enough food and supplies here and we could sure use all the help we can get. Especially if you have some scientist and medical types"

  "You in need of medical assistance?"

  "We have one doctor here, but he's an old cuss and he was injured in the dash to the caverns. He could use some help."

  "We'll certainly keep that in mind. Let us continue talking to others around the world and we'll see how it goes, but I can tell you this, your offer is the best one we've heard all day."

  "Well, it is an open off …"

  "Signal lost, sir," said Deb. "But, we should still be in range. Sounds like it was cut off from his end."

  I couldn't stop the feeling of losing a grasp on reality every time we lost comms with one of these radio operators. I knew we would be back around in ninety minutes, but there was always the dark feeling in the back of my mind that we might lose contact with them forever.

  Deb appeared to know what I was thinking and said, "Don't worry commander. I'm building a freq list for all these stations as they come up and locations, so we'll know who we can contact at any time, day or night."

  "Thanks, Deb."

  I looked at Mike and Ariel. Both were smiling like a couple of Cheshire cats.

  "What are you grinning about?"

  "Well," said Mike, "we seem to have an invitation to visit that doesn't include demons eating our brains."

  Ariel gasped and slapped him on the shoulder.

  "Eating our brains? Really? Is that what you think we need to hear right now?"

  "Hey, I've watched zombie movies, Ariel. They always go for the brains."

  "Well, I'd like to think I have other parts more tasty than my brains."

  He grinned at her and winked, "Me, too."

  She looked at me and asked, "What can you tell us about those caverns, commander?"

  "There is a series of natural caverns in the sandstone mountains of Missouri that extend for miles. They've been carved on and extended and enlarged to the point they are big enoug
h to drive large semi-trucks into. Large companies have been buying space and using them to store goods until they are shipped out to their final destination. The largest retail chain in the world has tons of goods in storage there. That's why Mr. Barlow says they have enough supplies to last for thousands of years."

  "And he said there were only about a hundred people there," said Mike. "Sounds like there's plenty of room for the five of us, if we decide to set down there."

  "Yes, it does."

  Deb spoke up, "And he said something about killing demons and using a lot of bullets to do it. I'm guessing there are some weapons being stored in those caverns, too."

  "Good point," I said. "With our two 9mm pistols, we're not exactly equipped for an all-out assault."

  Over the next couple of hours, Deb and I stayed at the radio and made contact with fifteen more radio operators. Sergeant Causey had gone above and beyond the call of duty, getting the word out around the world, about our plight and what our plans were.

  We ended up with invitations to land in five different locations around the world, but Randy's in Missouri seemed like the best we could hope for.

  We missed talking to him the next time overhead, but the time after that, he came back on. He said there was a bit of contention with a couple of others in the community about giving out their location and inviting others to come there. The reason we had lost radio comms with him the first time was because someone else down there had cut the transmission and it took him about two hours to get them away from the radio and stay out of his hair.

  And Deb was right. They had the inventory of a gun maker using the caverns as their storage facility. Not to mention some local survivalists using a couple of heavily fortified vaults in there for weapons and ammunition. They didn't survive, but their weapon's cache did.

  Now, the only thing left to work out was … when.

  4

  "I'm not going!"

  I looked at Phil and couldn't believe what I was hearing. We were in the final stages of cutting loose from the ISS and heading back to Earth and for some reason, Phil was deciding he had no intention of leaving the station.

  "What the hell do you mean, you're not going?"

  "There is nothing down there worth going back to."

  Ariel said, "Phil, this station is going down. One way or another, you're going back to Earth. At least in the return capsule you'll be alive when you get to the ground."

  "Alive for what? To be killed by these demons that seem to have been given free reign over the Earth? No thank you."

  "Mr. Barlow has already assured us he can get to us the second we land and get us safely back to the caverns."

  "So, what are your plans, Phil?" I asked. "To ride the ISS into the atmosphere and die as a fiery comet?"

  "My intention is to fire the thrusters after you leave and keep this station in orbit."

  "You're not a pilot! You have no clue what you're supposed to do."

  "I know more about moving this station than you think. I'll be here, safe and sound while you're fighting for your lives on Earth."

  "Only for a few weeks."

  "The station won't crash."

  "I'm talking about the food situation. It won't last forever."

  "I'm not going."

  I threw my hands up and said, "Fine. I'm not going to force you into the capsule. If you want to stay here and die, so be it."

  "You can't seriously be saying you'll leave him here?" asked Mike.

  "Yes, Mike, I am. I am not going to endanger the safety of the rest of us by forcing someone into that capsule that doesn't want to be there."

  "Please, Phil," implored Ariel, "think about this. You don't have to die in the station."

  "I'd rather die here than go back to Earth and face that future. I can't believe you're all fine with this decision."

  "A future on Earth, fighting demons, battling to stay alive," said Mike, "is much better than no future here on the station. I don't care what you think you know about moving this station and keeping it in the sky. You will go down in a fireball."

  "I will outlive all of you," he said with a coldness I hadn't heard from him before.

  "Alright, enough of this," I said. "He wants to stay, he stays. We have less than two hours to get ourselves ready and into the capsule. Let's get to it."

  An hour and a half later, the four of us were being strapped into our seats by Phil. Even though he had no intention of going back to Earth and thought we were making a huge mistake, he still wanted to make sure we were secure for the ride home.

  "It's not too late for you to change your mind, Phil."

  "Commander, I've made my choice. Call me when you get to the caverns."

  "Will do," I said as I extended my gloved hand to him.

  We shook hands and he backed out of the capsule and then proceeded to lock up the hatch. He gave me a thumbs up through the small window and then moved away and back into the station.

  "We should have dragged him onto the capsule," said Deb softly.

  "Maybe so," I said, "but we all have to face this in the way we think best. He never said it, but I think he's terrified to go back and face these demons and I'm thinking it's because he started to believe there really might be a Hell."

  "Well," said Mike, "when he crashes into the atmosphere he's going to find out what Hell is really like."

  "One minute to release," said Deb through the comms.

  Ariel said, "Let's hope this Russian bucket of bolts and duct tape holds together for another twenty minutes."

  Mike laughed and said in a Russian accent, "You no have faith in Russian technology? We send first dog into space."

  Ariel laughed and said, "And you killed him!"

  "Well, nothing is perfect, comrade."

  Deb reached up and pressed the button for release and we could all feel the clamps release and the capsule started to drift away from the station. She used the joystick and buttons to use the small thrusters to clear us from the station. In about two minutes, she had us pointed directly at Earth.

  Mike laughed and started a countdown. In Russian.

  "Pyat … Cheytirye … Tree … Dva … Adeen … Go!"

  He pressed a button and we were all slammed into the seats. The burn was only set to last for fifteen seconds and then it cut off.

  Then Isaac Newton took over as the pilot.

  It took less than two minutes for us to hit the upper reaches of the atmosphere and the real fun part of the ride began. I remember riding on bumper cars as a kid, but this ride was way rougher than that. I could only imagine a demolition derby might come close to the banging and rocking we were doing.

  "Yeehaw!" yelled Mike into his comms.

  I couldn't help, but laugh. A laugh seemed so out of place though, knowing we were dropping into a veritable warzone. Mike and I each had the pistols, but I didn't have any confidence they would be of much use if we needed to fight our way out of the capsule.

  After about five minutes, the ride smoothed out and we had reached the upper cloud layers.

  "Does it look like were on course?"

  Mike looked at his screen and said, "Well, not having those cool dotted lines on the ground below, I can only guess we're coming down in Missouri."

  "Miiiiike," Ariel said.

  He giggled and said, "Easy sweetie. We are right on the money."

  "Hey, watch what you say!"

  Deb laughed and said, "Ariel, did you really think you two were a secret on the station? You were sneaking off to God knows where every chance you got."

  "Oh," moaned Ariel.

  Mike chimed in, "The return containers in the BEAM provide an excellent little, privacy space."

  "MIKE!"

  I had to laugh and said, "I never thought of looking for you two in there."

  "Well, commander," said Mike, "it would not have been a pretty sight if you had found us."

  "Oh, just shoot me now," cried Ariel.

  "Okay, fun and games are over," said Deb. "
we're less than one minute from touch down."

  "Based on the readings from the remaining, working GPS satellites, we're coming down within three hundred meters of the planned site," said Mike.

  "Not three hundred meters north, is it?" I asked.

  "No, three hundred meters west, so no, we're not going to end up in the lake."

  "That's good because I forgot to pack my swimsuit," said Ariel.

  "Skinny dipping, sweetheart."

  She tried to reach over and punch him in the shoulder, but her bulky spacesuit prevented any contact.

  "Okay, guys, let's stop playing around until we're on the ground."

  "Right, commander."

  "We're passing 10,000 feet," called Deb.

  "Thirty seconds to touch down," called Mike.

  "7000 feet … 6000 … five."

  Just then we felt the explosive bolts fire on top and knew the parachutes were coming out.

  "2000!"

  The chutes inflated and our momentum became a faction of what it had been in just a couple of seconds. We were slammed into our seats again and had the breath knocked out of us.

  "Under 500 feet," gasped Deb.

  "300 … 200 … 100, prepare for retro firing."

  About ten feet off the ground, the retro rockets fired and for a split second, we hung motionless in the air, before falling the final few feet. We felt the heat shield crunch underneath us and then … nothing.

  "Touchdown!" yelled Mike as he raised his arms as far as his suit would allow.

  "Okay, I want everyone out of their suits before we open the hatch. If we have to make a run for it, out of the suits will be much faster."

  Four people trying to climb out of bulky spacesuits in such a confined space was a thing of comedy. We were almost climbing on top of each other, trying to get out, but with help, we all made it free from the suits in less than five minutes.

  Having been on the station for a few weeks, we were all feeling the effects of gravity and I was thankful for my rigorous schedule of exercise on the station for everyone. Though I could feel gravity working on me, I could tell it wouldn't take long for us to get our legs back.