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  “Any guesses as to what happened?” Aldar asked Nathan.

  “Not really. We have to get down there and see. Natural disasters, comet, meteor … war. We’ll know when we land, if, of course, the atmosphere is conducive to us being there. Our suits will only afford us so much time on the surface. If the surface isn’t toxic. We’ll know when we get there. It’s a guessing game.”

  “It’s our hope that the team can land and be on the surface for two weeks. Learning not only as much as you can about the planet, but possibly try to find out what happened to the inhabitants there as well. Perhaps finding out how and why they all died can be a clue to help us save as many as we can here.”

  “Then what?” Sandra asked. “Say we get there. The place is great. Then what?”

  “We prepare for the next time the Androski opens back up. When it does we send colonists to start preparing the planet for the arrival of the ARCs. Which should be ready by the next opening.”

  It was all science fiction to Aldar. Then again, when he was a boy, he wouldn’t have imagined a space craft such as the Omni. In fifty years anything was possible.

  He stared down at the picture handed to him. A red circle outlined something in the trees. He stared and examined it and didn’t see what Nathan was talking about. The object could have been anything. To Aldar, the planet looked virgin, untouched, beautiful and lush. Actually, to Aldar, it looked too good to be true.

  <><><><>

  A little tavern twenty miles from the base served an amazing steak and rib special. Tom had taken the crew to dinner in the hopes of building a comradery. But the evening of dinner followed by drinks was cut short and the mood nosedived when the news of yet another earthquake in Houston came on the television. It was by far the most devastating, leaving most of the city in ruins, and the projected death toll in the tens of thousands.

  Rey’s mood was the only one unchanged. She had been quiet and even-keeled since the meeting. The news of the quake, although sad, was not a shock. Gone were the days when the news was filled with stories of murder, crime, and political rhetoric. It was replaced with continuous stories of disaster and death. It was one quake after another. Storm after storm. Volcanoes erupting for months on end. The world was literally falling apart in order for nature to start anew.

  The ride back to the base was a somber one.

  Once in her room, Rey opened the bottle of whiskey that Tom had given to her. She poured about two inches into a glass and walked to the window to stare out at the clear sky.

  She’d be up there soon. It was so vast. Someone once said to her that if she thought too much about the infinity of space she would go insane. That sounded true because as she looked at the star-speckled sky, it was mind blowing to even consider there was no end. It went on forever.

  Rey missed her phone. She missed the internet. If she had them, she’d be researching and looking up everything.

  A knock at her door drew her from her thoughts, and she walked over to answer it.

  Aldar Finch stood at her door.

  “Ms. Harper, I am sorry to knock so late.”

  “It’s not late. Come in.” She opened the door wider.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Stop,” she said. “Rey. Call me Rey, Colonel.”

  “Rey.” He nodded. “Please. Call me Al or Finch.”

  “I will, thank you. Drink?” she asked and pointed to the bottle.

  “Um … yes, please, thank you.”

  Rey walked over to her desk and poured him a glass. “Tom got me this bottle.”

  “Tom got us all one. Thank you.” He accepted the drink.

  “What brings you here?”

  “I don’t mean to be intrusive. I don’t. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

  “I’ll be okay. There’s a ton on my mind.”

  “I know this is a lot to take in. I have had decades of training and it makes me nervous.”

  “Nervous is an understatement for me.”

  “I understand. There’s been no time for adjustment for you. We’re all … the rest of the team has a different mindset. You … you are, and please don’t take this the wrong way, you’re a public relations insertion.”

  “Wow. I … didn’t think of it like that.”

  “Please. I’m not being disrespectful, I’m merely inferring to the fact that this was just thrown at you. And I am being long-winded here. My point … I’m here. If you need to talk, if you need anything, let me know. We are on this team together.”

  “Thank you. That means …” She paused when she noticed his eyes shifted to the photos on her desk. “Colonel?”

  “I’m … I’m sorry. I was …” He lifted the picture of Rey and a group of people. “Your family?”

  Rey nodded. “And this …” She lifted the other picture of her and her husband. “My husband.”

  “I just thought we all …”

  “No emotional attachments?” she asked. “Yeah. Everyone in this photo”—she pointed to the group—“they’re gone. My husband as well. The flood that wiped out Canonsburg ten months ago took my family.”

  “I … I am so sorry.”

  “Me, too.” Rey took a deep breath then slowly released it. “I have a brother. When I said I had a lot on my mind. He’s it. Right on top. I … I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him. I mean I did in a sense. I told him I won an essay contest with NASA and was going to collect my prize.” She faked a soft chuckle. “I didn’t even know what being part of ‘The Noah’ meant. I didn’t know I would be going into space, through a wormhole with a chance I would never get back, never come home. They brought me here, took my phone, cut me off. Now … I’m leaving, and I can’t even say goodbye properly, tell him, or my nephew and niece one last time that I love them. I can’t …” She paused when she saw Aldar reach into his pocket and pull out his phone.

  He held it up. “They didn’t take mine.” He extended it to her.

  Rey’s eyes lit up. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” The second she reached for it, he stopped her.

  “Listen. I know it’s a lot of unknowns. But we will make it back here.”

  “Do you … do you really believe that?” she asked.

  “I do,” he said with certainty. “I believe that. One hundred percent. We will make it home.” Aldar released his hand and allowed for her to take the phone. With his drink in hand, he stepped from her room to give her privacy.

   Part Two: The Stories

  SIX

  Major Ben Vonn, Eighteen Months Earlier

  He never intended to be an air force career man, the reserves worked well for him. But when Ben couldn’t secure a good paying job right after his son was born, he figured, ‘what the heck’ and went to full-time active duty.

  It paid off.

  He never really had to move his family much and he liked his job working on planes. However, his mechanical talents kept him climbing the difficulty roster and he went from planes to NASA where he eventually helped build the Omni. He knew the Omni backwards and forwards. Could figure out any problem that arose, though there weren’t many.

  He understood the ‘why’ of things, therefore he could figure out the ‘how’ when needed.

  That wasn’t the only reason he was brought on for The Noah Project.

  Other than working for NASA, Ben lived a pretty normal life. He had a house right outside the base in a gated community. A four-bedroom home with four bathrooms. His wife, Anna boasted about the bathrooms, claiming that her and Ben having their own was what kept their marriage sane.

  She was a very basic, easy-to-please woman. Ben met her when he was eighteen and they married when he was twenty. They had two sons, Ben who was seventeen, and Josh who was fifteen. He was a hands-on father and vowed he wouldn’t let his boys fall into the lazy and useless phase. Ben started teaching his boys to do things early in life. That wasn’t to say they liked it.

  He supposed they’d rather be playing video games or be with their
friends.

  When Ben wasn’t working he was with his family and he wanted them with him.

  “Benny, you paying attention?” Ben asked his son. They were in the driveway that afternoon with the front of the car jacked off, the wheel removed.

  “Yeah, how can I not. It’s boring.”

  “Be that as it may, it’s useful.”

  “Dad, really,” Benny said. “Why do I need to know how to change brake pads?”

  “Because one day in the future, your wife is going to say to you the brakes are making a noise.”

  “So I’ll take it to a shop.”

  “That’s the problem these days,” Ben said. “No one knows how to work on their own cars.”

  “That’s because they’re all computers now. Not like when pap was young.”

  “Brakes are brakes, tires are tires, some things don’t change. Now come on down here and put this pad on.”

  “It’s Liz’s graduation party, I need to go.”

  “Well, I have to drive you, right?” Ben asked. “Can’t take you without the brakes on.”

  “What about Mom’s car?”

  “What about helping me?”

  The younger Ben groaned and joined his father on the ground.

  In fact, he groaned when they were finished too, stomping in the house, through the kitchen.

  “Now, I’m dirty,” he complained. “Can one of you take me after I clean up? Please. Thank you.” He walked from the kitchen.

  Anna paused in cleaning the stove top. “I’ll take him.”

  “You sure?” Ben asked, gabbing a juice. “I just want to take a quick shower and then we can go. He can wait.”

  “You forget what it’s like to be a teenage boy,” Anna said. “No, no, I’ll take him. I want to …”

  A slight rumble of the ground caused the dishes to rattle and Anna to stop. She held on. “Was that an earthquake?” she asked.

  “Probably. They’re commonplace.” He set down the glass.

  The younger Ben flew into the kitchen. “Was that an earthquake?”

  “Yes,” Ben replied. “Like I told your mother, they’re commonplace.”

  “Here in Kentucky?” Benny questioned. “Never felt one before.”

  “There’s always a first time.”

  “Cool.” Again, Benny ran from the kitchen, this time calling out, “Hey, Josh! Dad said it was a quake.”

  Ben shook his head with a laugh. “I’m hitting the shower. You’ll probably be gone by the time I get out.” He leaned in and kissed her.

  “I need to stop at the store.”

  Ben lifted his hand as he walked away, his sign that he acknowledged what she said. He could hear the boys talking excitedly about the quake as he made his way up the stairs. He walked in the bedroom, then straight to the bathroom and started the shower. The water always needed to run a little bit to get to optimum temperature. While that ran, he picked out his change of clothes, laying them on the bed.

  The steam from the shower flowed out of the open bathroom door and Ben kicked off his shoes and lifted his shirt over his head. Just as he tossed that on the floor, a loud squeal then clanking pipe sound rang out and he noticed the water just stopped.

  “What the hell?”

  He walked to the bathroom and as soon as he crossed the arch of the door, the entire floor jolted violently once, sending Ben slamming hard into the doorjamb.

  He lost his balance for a second, but as soon as he stood, the floor jolted again. It moved hard with a creaking sound. Within a second, a loud cracking sound rang out, and Ben shook as the floor slanted fifteen degrees, sending him off his footing to the carpet and rolling into the bed.

  “Anna!” he yelled. “Ben! Josh! Get out of the house!”

  He stumbled to his feet as the house shook and jolted.

  “Everyone!” He flew from the bedroom. “Get out of the house!”

  It was a two story, with an open upstairs hallway before the staircase.

  When he emerged into the hall, the boys were coming out of the bedroom.

  “Dad?” Josh, his youngest held on to the upper railing. “Dad? What’s going on?”

  “Josh, give me your hand.” Ben held out this hand. “Hold on to your bother and my hand.”

  “Ben!” Anna cried out.

  Ben turned his head as Anna struggled to make it up the staircase. What the hell was she thinking? “Anna!” he yelled. “Get out of the house. Now!”

  “We … we can’t!” she cried. “We can’t. The street is gone. There’s nothing out …”

  “What do you mean …” Another crack and another jolt, the house leaned even more and Anna lost her footing.

  He turned from reaching for his son, lunged down a couple of steps, and grabbed hold of Anna’s arm, securing her. “Boys, now.” With his free hand he reached outward for his sons to come to him.

  That was when it happened. One loud rumble, the house shook violently, and with a bang and smashing sound the house leaned as if tilting on its side.

  Not only was Ben losing his stance, Anna was falling as the house tilted downward.

  Ben gripped the railing and tightened his hold on Anna a split second before the entire house turned ninety degrees. It slammed hard, and as if it were made of matchsticks. The front of the house broke off, falling into what seemed like an endless pit.

  He couldn’t even see where the rest of the house went. A hollowness, long, deep, and dark.

  A second later, with a horrifying scream, he watched his oldest son sail downward.

  “No!” Ben screamed out. “No!”

  Benny fell out of sight. His arms failing as he tried to swim in the air, unsuccessfully trying to stop.

  One more jolt and his younger son followed.

  Ben couldn’t scream enough. It was a nightmare, it couldn’t be real. A dream he had to wake from.

  He was head first toward that pit as well, one hand holding onto the railing while his leg twisted around a post, keeping him there.

  He had Anna by the wrist, but she didn’t hold onto him. Below her was nothing, nothing but a long fall to death. She dangled, feet kicking while she cried in agony.

  He didn’t have that strong of a hold.

  “Anna, stop moving!” he shouted.

  “Let me go!” she screamed. “My boys, my boys, let me go! Oh, God, Ben, let me go!”

  He didn’t know how long he could hold onto her. One more jolt was all it would take and they’d both fall to their deaths, just as their sons had. Even though she begged him to release her, Ben couldn’t let go. He’d hold on as long as he could. At that moment, she was all he had left.

  <><><><>

  Ben sat in the twelfth-floor lounge of the hospital. His arm was in a sling; he had pulled out his shoulder and torn ligaments in his arm. It hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to what he felt in his soul.

  He couldn’t process what had just happened. The reality of it was still lost. He kept grabbing the phone to call the boys and tell them he was waiting on them to admit Anna.

  But, there were no sons to call.

  They were gone.

  How long did he hold on to Anna?

  It probably wasn’t as long as it seemed. He was ready to give up. Ready to let go and allow him and Anna to join the boys when a neighbor yelled out, “Hold on, we’re gonna help.”

  It was Jason, their next-door neighbor; he served in the air force with Ben. One second Ben was holding his wife, the next he saw Jason with a rope cautiously making his way across the railing of the second floor toward Ben.

  How did he get there? How did he get on the second floor of his house?

  He tied the rope on Ben’s leg.

  “He’s secure!” Jason called out. “Ben. Hey, Ben, we have you. Just hold on to Anna. Hold her. You’re good. Let go of the railing and secure her. We’ll pull you both up.”

  Ben felt the rope on his foot. He didn’t fear falling if he let go, because he didn’t care, and he knew Anna didn’t
either.

  He let go of the railing, quickly grabbing onto Anna’s other wrist. He slipped a little, but he felt the resistance of the rope.

  There had to be more people than Jason. Ben couldn’t see. They pulled him up, and never once did he loosen his grip on Anna. His hands were like super glue.

  The railing didn’t hold during the rescue. Halfway across it gave away. It broke off, once again sending Anna dangling.

  She didn’t scream or squirm. At some point she passed out and was dead weight.

  When they finally pulled them to safety, there was a group of people who were involved in the rescue effort. Ben was in shock. He held on to Anna, keeping her in his arms. He wanted to thank them but couldn’t even muster the words. When he was on solid ground, he was able to look back.

  Jason’s house was intact, unfazed. The destruction began at Ben’s. One part of his home was gone. The section of the second floor was all that remained, caught on the edge of the huge gaping hole that consumed everything in their housing plan after his house.

  It wasn’t until he was at the hospital he learned what had actually happened, and that was from the news.

  It wasn’t an earthquake.

  It was a sinkhole.

  They were calling it the biggest one in United States history. Something snapped and the ground just gave out.

  The sinkhole consumed sixteen homes. Those who were in their homes were swallowed, only Ben and Anna survived.

  “Major Vonn,” a voice called to him.

  Ben looked up to the woman in scrubs that stood before him.

  “We have your wife situated in 1218. You can go see her now. We just gave her a sedative for the evening.”

  “Thank you.” Ben stood and slowly walked from the lounge down the hall. Quietly he stepped into his wife’s room. Anna lay on the bed, her forearm draped across her head as she stared at the window.

  “Anna …”

  “Go away.”