40 Weeks

40 Weeks

Prologue

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Subject:- Are you Prepared?

Too long we have plundered the earth of its resources. Humanity has become a blight on the planet, choking the air with our fossil fuels, poisoning waterways with our industry. Our landfills reach as far as the eye can see. Long after our bones have crumbled to dust our passing will be marked with festering diaper mountains and rusting refrigerator graveyards.

The time has come for our Earth to be reborn. Change is never easy, and many will perish. Ask yourself – are you ready to change? Have you prepared?

When the World awakens again, will humanity rise from adversity like a phoenix, or are we too late?

40 Weeks.

You have been warned.

***

Chapter One

The Launch

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Malcolm Barnes wouldn’t have minded some of that blissful silence right now. The twins were getting on his last nerve. Any normal day he could handle their bickering and whining, but with the launch postponed twice already and his wife working overtime all week, he was on edge. The traffic jam on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel had been the last straw and now his head throbbed.

“Ow! Da-a-a-d, Stella pinched me!” He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw two tousled, dark curly heads bobbing back and forth as the girls shoved one another.

“Did not! Cassie started it anyway! She took my rocketship!”

“Liar! It’s MY rocketship, you left yours in Mcdonalds and stole mine!”

“GIRLS!” He thundered, cursing softly under his breath as the car swerved over the yellow line briefly. “No fighting in the car! We’ll be there in 5 minutes, just try and ignore each other till then.” More grumbling from the back, but the twins knew when they could keep pushing and when to stop or risk losing their tablets for a week.

“Daddy, will we get to see Mommy or is she going to be too busy?” Cassie asked, shoving the purloined toy behind her booster seat and ignoring her sister’s grabbing hands.

“I don’t know sweetie. She’s going to be pretty tied up I think, she’s in charge of all the scientists so she probably won’t get to stand with us. But she might come and say hi briefly.”

“Oh. Okay.” Cassie slumped back and looked out the window.

Malcolm slowed as he approached the gates of the facility, frowning at the fresh graffiti that obscured most of the NASA sign.

40 WEEKS

It proclaimed in blood-red letters, just like the other tags he’d seen back in Norfolk. A custodian was working to remove it with a long mop, but it didn’t seem very effective.

“Look girls!” Malcolm said as he flashed his VIP pass to the armed guards. “There she is! Isn’t she a beauty?”

He gestured towards the tall, sleek rocket that rose up from the launchpad, glowing almost silver in the spotlights.

Murmured “Cool!” and “Awesome!” from the back seats, all arguments forgotten for the moment.

He pulled into the visitor’s parking lot, grateful for his reserved space - the place was packed already. He unbuckled the twins, helping them both out of their seats and locating the missing rocket toy in the footwell of the passenger side. Taking a small, sticky hand one on each side, he headed to the staff entrance, avoiding the milling tourists over by the viewing deck.

“Evening, sir” The security guard greeted him, giving a cursory glance at Malcolm’s ID and sliding a couple of lollipops to the girls. “You look pretty ladies – all dressed up for the big event?”

Cassie jammed the lolly in her mouth with a big grin while Stella did a twirl to show off her flouncy party dress. “See how swirly it is, Mister Hernandez? And it’s got stars on too!”

“I can see that Miss, very sparkly. You must be excited for your Momma’s big night huh?”

Cassie stuck a blue tongue out and shook her head “Not really. It'll probably just get cancelled like the other times. I’d rather be watching Pewdiepie at home.”

Malcolm rolled his eyes in a ‘what are you going to do – kids today’ gesture and ushered the twins through the inner door and into the elevator.

Up on the top floor the cavernous mission control room bustled. The stale warm air smelled of pepperoni pizza and body odor, and the room hummed with activity. The kids took off towards the giant glass doors leading to the VIP patio and Malcolm relaxed a bit, knowing they could be left to their own devices for a while. He spotted his wife over by the bank of LED screens, talking to a balding man with his arms full of papers.

Jayla was exuding calm, looking every inch the boss in her fitted red jacket and peplum skirt. He admired her from a distance, smiling as she turned and he caught the flash of crimson from the bottom of her Jimmy Choos. She’d bought them just for launch day, the heels too high to be comfortable, but adding a few inches to lend some authority to her petite frame.

She looked up, made eye contact and smiled, then excused herself from the scientist and headed towards her husband.

“Like a boss!” he greeted her, kissing her on the cheek. “How’s it going? All set?”

“Yeah, looking like a go. Are the girls ok? Did you find the dresses?” She looked around the room for the twins.

“Nah, I just let them dress themselves. I think Stella’s in a little mermaid nightie and Cassie’s Spiderman.” He grabbed her lightly around the waist as she started to frown. “Relax, honestly. I found the dresses, they look cute as heck. Probably off on the terrace bothering Bernice and gobbling all the hors d’oeuves.”

“Ok. Well I have things pretty much under control for now and we’re heading for the ten minute mark so I better get to it – you can tag along for a few if you’re trying to escape parenting.”

Malcolm laughed. “You got me there. It’s been a long few weeks. Maybe we can celebrate all night and get security to drive us home later, like the good old days.”

“Excuse me, Dr. Barnes?” They were interrupted.

Jayla turned to find a uniformed Space Force Major behind her. The man looked flustered – a red blush creeping up around his hair line and a vein pulsing on his furrowed forehead. She swallowed back the faint irritation she felt every time she saw that navy suit festooned with numerous bars and badges that had no real meaning. Space Force was a big joke to everyone at Wallop Island, but they insisted on being present at every important event.

“Yes? What is it… this isn’t a good time you know,” she said briskly. On the wall above the tv screens the big clock clicked over dramatically and began counting down the final 10 minutes before launch.

“There’s a phone call. Some journalist up in Philly thinks there’s a problem and wants you to cancel. I really think you should take the call, Ma’am. We’ve been on orange alert for a terrorist attack of some kind, and this guy mentions the 40 Weekers, that group we were warned by homeland security to watch out for.” He loosened his tie slightly, and she could see sweat beading above the collar. Whatever it was, Major Space-jerk was clearly very unhappy.

“Fine,” She snapped. “link him through to my cell phone. I can’t leave the floor.”

“Yes Ma’am.” The Major spoke into his headset and waited a moment. “Okay, they’re putting him through now. A Mr. Justin Morrow, works for the Philadelphia Tribune.”

Malcolm watched as his wife turned and headed for the window. He trailed behind, catching snippets of the conversation.

“This better not be some kind of media stunt, Mr. Morrow. I don’t know how you got this far, but messing with international satellite launches comes with a hefty jail sentence I believe.” She stared out towards the rocket, where thrusters were firing as final checks finished up.

Out on the deck the girls stood pressed against the glass barrier, mesmerized by the flaming rocket, watched over by the kindly Bernice. Malcolm wanted to go and join them, maybe snap some photos, but instead he lingered near his wife, wondering what trouble was heading their way.

“Right, so what proof do you have for these accusations? You have a source? I can assure you all of my staff are highly skilled and fully vetted by the government. Do you have any idea how hard it would be for someone to sabotage a mission like this?!” She was getting angry, pacing now, torn between the rows of computer monitors and all the myriad tasks she should be supervising.

“Well then, what is the nature of this threat? I can’t just halt things at this point because some man I’ve never met has a bad feeling about it!”

Outside the flames grew fiercer, white smoke billowing out and the windows started vibrating gently.

“Yes, yes of course I’ve seen the 40 week pamphlets. They’re everywhere… I assumed it was some kind of a band tour.” She gestured to a nearby technician, who began typing furiously on his keyboard. The clock flicked down to 5:00.

“So let me see if I have this straight. Your source told you a non-specific terrorist attack was going to happen, at an unknown time, with an unknown target… and you think that this merits cancelling the launch of the new NDCOM satellite, at a cost of half a billion dollars? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? I’m sorry Mr. Morrow, but I couldn’t stop the launch now if I wanted to. At this point trying to power down could lead to a catastrophic explosion.” She held the phone away from her mouth, whispered “Get the girls inside now!” to her husband.

Malcolm hurried through the glass doors and pushed past the wait staff who were busy pouring the champagne ready for the after party. “Cassie! Stella, come here now!” he shouted over the distant roar of the rocket boosters. The twins turned reluctantly, giving up their vantage spot watching over the crowds of tourists below. They dawdled their way towards him, and cried out when he grabbed them and pushed them back inside the building. “Stay away from the windows, girls!” he cautioned, heading back to his wife’s side.

“1 minute to launch. 59, 58, 57…” the electronic tannoy counted down the final seconds to take off.

“Is everything ok?” he mouthed to his wife, not wanting to disturb her. She nodded, continuing her argument with the Major and whoever the crazy journalist was on the end of the phone.

***

The rocket took off and the room fell silent as everyone sat nervously watching the close-up video on their screens. Malcolm felt the same thrill he had felt at every rocket launch since that first trip to the Kennedy center as a little boy. The power and majesty of the gleaming hull as it thrust upwards on a wave of flames, rising up over the moonlit bay and carving a bold white line across the inky blue sky. 55 seconds post launch and the first boosters fell away from the rocket. Growing smaller and smaller on the giant screens, the blue tinted flames of the secondary boosters roared onwards. Behind him he heard Jayla shouting “You can’t be serious, Major! The only way to stop it now would be to eject the secondary boosters… that would be the worst possible scenario – we’d lose the satellite and the supplies for the International Space Station, it would be terrible PR! Think of the visuals!”

“But it is still a possibility? With all due respect Dr. Barnes, we need to take it higher, the President should be informed.”

“There’s no time, Major!” Jayla was clearly fuming. “There are 20 seconds before the final phase. Not even enough time for me to finish this conversation, look out the window, man!”

They turned towards the windows, watching as the final boosters sputtered out and broke away from the tiny, distant rocket. Barely visible against the deepening velvet night, the three empty fuel tanks fell back towards the earth below.

“Final stage complete. NDSAT launch is successful, congratulations everyone!” The control room erupted into applause and everyone rose from their seats, ready for their hard-earned champagne reception.

Outside the tourists were also cheering, and the smoke was clearing from the launch pads.

“Anyway, it seems your fears are unfounded Major. The Satellite has breached the atmosphere, it will make the final adjustments into orbit within the next few hours. If there was a terrorist plot, it must have failed.” Jayla turned her back on him and thrust her cellphone angrily into her pocket. She had wasted ten precious minutes, the most important ten minutes of the whole operation, on a wild goose chase. She hoped wherever Mr. Morrow was he was happy with himself. He had come within a few moments of costing the government a small fortune.

“Mom! Mommy!” One of the twins called excitedly from her spot by the big curved windows. “Come see! Fireworks!”

Malcolm and Jayla hurried back to the windows and looked up to the skies, confused. The fireworks weren’t supposed to start for another 20 minutes, after the speeches.

“It’s so pretty Mommy! Like baby dragons being born!” The girls stared up awestruck as 30 miles above them the falling boosters started sparking back into life.

***

Jayla ran out onto the patio, pushing past the scientists and technicians, spilling drinks in her wake.

“No no no, this can’t be happening… the fuel tanks are empty! What in hell’s going on?!” her hands flew up to her mouth in horror. Below, the tourists gave a collective gasp.

One by one the three tanks exploded in brilliant flashes of blue and white. For a moment it seemed to be over, the fire sputtering out and fading as the tiny pieces fell back towards the lower atmosphere and burned up in glittering sparks. There was a heavy silence, the sound of a hundred people holding their breath.

Then, suddenly, tiny points of light appeared where the boosters had been. They spread out, fizzing chaotically across the heavens. First a hundred, then a thousand, still spreading, a rippling, rumbling network of ever-increasing brilliant pinpoints. The tourists were panicking now, knocking over benches as they stampeded towards the building. Jayla stood, alone on the terrace, unable to hear Malcolm’s anxious shouting for her to come back in. Her hair stood up and her skin tingled all over, like static electricity was passing all around her.

A million lights now, maybe a trillion, stretching to the very edges of her vision, beyond the horizon. Behind her, people screaming and the sounds of breaking glass.

Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the bright dots faded away, dissolving into the night as though they had never existed. And slowly, slowly darkness filled the space where they had been. A flowing, liquid blackness, somehow viscous and all-encompassing. At first she thought she was going blind, that the lights had damaged her retinas. Everyone knew not to stare directly at the sun, and this had been a thousand blazing suns.

It felt like her vision was closing in, was this what dying felt like? Now the only light was from the spot-lit landing pad and the fairy lanterns around the edge of the viewing terrace. The bay… that sparkling, moonlit water – where had it gone? The moon itself! Somehow the darkness had swallowed it whole, enrobed it in an ebony blanket. Even though she was still outside, Jayla felt claustrophobic and began to shiver violently.

The sky… my god, where was the sky?!

***

(Author note:- if you like this, it is a part of a novel I have been working on for a year and hope to complete by December.)