Si in Space (8 page)

SMALL WINDOWS
line each side of where you and John Luke are sitting, and through them you see the fading, falling world outside. For a while all you can do is look ahead and try not to think of that crawfish boil you had last night. You eventually feel the blasters stop and rip away from the ship, and then things calm down. You glance to the round window and see nothing but darkness. But soon something else comes into view.

Something that stops your breathing it’s so beautiful.

“Look at that,” you say over your headset. It’s your home planet . . . but so quiet and still, it feels impossible that you actually live there.

“It’s amazing,” John Luke says. “Wish I could take a picture.”

“Take the picture in your head. Snap. There it goes. Just like that. Better than a Polaroid.”

Commander Noble is talking a lot, and there’s back-and-forth with Pilot Parkhurst and Mission Control that you can hear on your earbuds.

“You two doing okay back there?” Commander Noble asks.

“We’re ready to start floating,” you say.

For the next half hour, it seems like things are going smooth and steady. Until Commander Noble tells Mission Control that he’s spotting something strange. Then he sends you an interpersonal message only you can hear on your radio headset.

“Silas,” he says, “we have a little situation.”

“‘Move out
 
—don’t mess around,’” you sing back.

“What?”

“Never mind. What’s wrong?”

“It looks like we’re not the only ones out here,” the commander says. “There’s another ship
 
—a massive one
 
—and it’s closing in on us.”

“A UFO? Classic!”

“I’m not sure I’d call it that. Mission Control isn’t finding it on their monitors.”

“I’ve told people there are aliens ever since I was a little boy,” you say.

“Well, here’s the concern
 
—the
DC Enterprise
is shutting down on us. We could wait to see what the other ship is doing, or we could head to the space station for repairs.”

He’s asking you! Hey, Jack
 
—sponsorship is pretty cool. You finally have a say.

Maybe you’ll ask for some steak and lobster and
 
—

“Silas?”

Do you stay out here and see what the other ship is all about?
Go here
.

Do you travel to the nearest space station to make repairs?
Go here
.

OKAY. SO YOU DO AS YOU’RE TOLD.
You wait until the crew is all sleeping, including the science officer; then you get to work. After a few days, you devise a way to tow the escape pod with an unconscious Wade inside. Hey, you’re a Robertson. You know how to figure these things out.

But you’ve missed your opportunity for cybersleep. So you’re left to stay awake for the whole trip.

You and your thoughts.

Oh, boy.

You can feel the isolation pressing in. But you’ve been all around the world. You’ve known lonely days and lonely nights. It’s okay. You can take the long way home.

Inside your head, you’ve got enough songs to blow up an iPhone. You can sing them to yourself and hum them in your imagination.

You can see the stars blinking.

You can pretend you’re part of the scenery.

They’re probably talking about this big trip on the news right now. Ole Uncle Si. Silly Uncle Si saving the day.

When you come back, they’ll throw a ticker-tape parade. And they rarely have those kinds of things these days.

You’re bringing the ticker tape back, Jack.

You settle in for a long ride. Coasting. Snoozing. Snacking. And sipping your iced tea.

It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta save the universe. And hey, if they need you again, you’ll be ready.

But not until you get back down to see your family and have some down-home food only a woman from Louisiana seems to have mastered.

You are
hungry
.

But you’re safe and sound, and that’s what matters.

Soon you’re floating and falling and flying for a little bit. It’s a sweet sort of thing.

After an awesome, amazing journey like this, all you can do is smile and thank the good Lord for safe travels home.

The familiar sight of Earth comes into view after a while. You’re floating far above it
 
—and you think you might be able to see West Monroe, way down there.

Eventually you land back on Earth and get your two legs underneath you. It’s kinda hard to walk at first, but soon it’ll be time to start moving and shaking again.

THE END

Start over.

Read “Look at the Stars: A Note from John Luke Robertson.”

YOU OPEN THE DOOR
with the scratches and discover a room that’s in total disarray. It looks like the interior of some kind of cabin, but the beds are turned over and the drawers are on their sides. All sorts of things are on the floor
 
—clothing, papers, some pictures. You don’t see anybody, however.

“I don’t think the crash caused this,” you tell Wade, who’s behind you.

Both of you are shining your lights all around the room since darkness still smothers the entire ship.

You can hear Wade’s heavy breathing behind you.

“Si! You see that?”

Wade’s light is pointing up toward the corner of the room. That’s when you spot it.

You shuffle back a bit, freaked out at what you’re witnessing.

“That thing real?” Wade asks.

You’ve heard about creatures like this before, but never in a million years did you think you’d actually see one in person.

“Yeah, Jack, I think so,” you say.

It doesn’t move but just sits there, so silent and peaceful and cute.

“That’s like the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen,” Wade says, starting to move toward it.

You grab him and throw him back against the wall. “Hey, Jack, listen to me. That there is the most terrifying creature in existence. You need to stay away from it.”

Wade laughs. “How can that be? You seeing the same thing I’m seeing?”

Both of your lights shine on the creature, which sits on a small ledge slightly above head level. It resembles a baby rabbit, a cute little light-brown bunny. Except . . .

Oh, the horror of it all . . .

It has tiny antlers.

Just like the kind you walked past outside. Except the ones outside were massive.

Mama and papa and grandpa and grandma . . .

“Come on. It’s so sweet,” Wade says, but you restrain him with an arm so he can’t move farther.

“That’s how they catch you off guard.”

You’ve heard rumors about creatures like this.

“How
what
catches you off guard?” Wade asks.

“That’s a jackalope. I’ve only heard about them. But now I’m seein’ one. With my own four eyes.”

“A jackalope?” Wade starts to laugh.

“Don’t laugh. It knows when you’re mocking it.”

Wade only cracks up more. “The little thing is probably afraid of us.”

“Look here
 
—that ‘little thing’ probably destroyed this room. Maybe it took down the whole spaceship!”

But Wade doesn’t want to hear it. He moves past you and shoves a chair out of his way to get to the small creature.

“I’m tellin’ you,” you say.

“You’re crazy.”

The creature gazes straight ahead with tiny eyes that could haunt a man’s darkest nightmares. So innocent and so precious on the outside . . .

And so dreadful with their evil intentions on the inside.

Wade is right underneath its ledge now, and he pulls over a chair to stand on so he can pick up the animal.

The jackalope has other plans.

It jumps.

No
 
—it doesn’t just jump. The thing launches into Wade. It lands on his helmet, crushing it with its tiny paws.

He begins screaming even as you rush to help him.

“Get it off me! Get it off me
 
—get it off!”

You finally grab it and rip it away.

“Where is it? Get it! Now!”

You know you have to get him away from here.

Go here
.