ISS Read online

  ***

  Jack went up to the attic to talk to the ISS crew and she wandered through the house looking for clean bedding. She wanted to change the sheets on his bed because, who knew how long it was since he changed them, if ever. She had little energy and moved slowly but she was determined to get it done before bedtime. The hall closet next to the master bedroom held lots of sheets and pillow cases and she grabbed a few of each and slowly made her way downstairs to his basement bedroom. It took her a long time to strip the sheets and blankets off his bed. She had to stop and rest frequently during the effort. When it was stripped she slid the dirty bedding down the hallway into the laundry room and left it on the floor. When she returned she felt dizzy and had to lie down on the bare mattress and rest for a long time, she was sweating and seeing black spots before her eyes.

  It took half an hour before she felt well enough to stand up and make the bed. When she lifted one corner of his mattress to place the fitted sheet she saw the curled pages of a glossy magazine poking out. Without thinking about it she reached in and pulled it out and scanned the cover. It was an ancient copy of Penthouse magazine. She’d seen this kind of magazine before and was not particularly impressed but this time as she flipped through the pages she had a different reaction. Her face flushed when she saw the explicit photographs and it made her feel anxious. She put it back where she found it under the mattress and finished making the bed. She was shaken by what she’d seen, not because porn was unknown to her, it was the situation she found herself in that is unknown. She tried to convince herself that she should not be worried about Jack but she was.

  Her experience so far told her that he was a nice guy. He saved her life and she was pretty sure he did not do anything to her in the bathtub, though she’d been pretty ‘out of it’ and she could not be positive. Just because he didn’t do anything did not mean that he wouldn’t. He has a gun and he knows how to use it, she thought, and shivered at the unwelcome vision that entered her mind. She shook her head quickly dismissing the scenario. “That will not happen,” she said aloud. Her voice sounding confident though inside she did not feel confident at all.

  ***

  “This is what I’ve been thinking about,” Jack said. He was holding the microphone and looking up at the stars through the open skylight. ”I believe I’ve figured out a way to bring you guys’ home safely without becoming infected. Do you know the company that takes tourists into space for like a million dollars a ride?” he said.

  “Yes there are two, I believe one is based near Las Vegas in Nevada,” Steve said.

  “Okay this is my plan, Sara and I will drive to Nevada and find the spacecraft and fly it up to the ISS. We bring you a sample of the plague and the supplies you need to create an anti-virus,” he said.

  He waited for a response; there was a long pause and for a moment he thought that the ISS had moved out of range.

  “Jack that is a very interesting idea but I’m afraid it just won’t work. First of all the ISS is almost three hundred miles above the planet and we are traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour. I believe the commercial craft used for space tourism has an operational ceiling of around one hundred fifty miles maximum.

  Another thing is, Jack, you don’t know how to fly. You are obviously intelligent and I know you said you’ve played lots of flight simulation games on your computer but that is simply not good enough. Playing computer games is a long way from flying a rocket propelled aircraft at Mach 1.75 into orbit. Lastly, and I do appreciate you wanting to help us, if you and Sara did manage to get up here in all likelihood we would become infected. We have been in contact with a plant bio-technologist in Australia and he has been trying to work on the problem but he has had no success. This virus is unbelievably contagious and it is only rare people like you and Sara, people with natural immunity, who survive.” Steve said.

  Jack paused and thought about what he’d just heard and then responded by saying.

  “Come on Steve if you have an objection out with it.”

  It took a while but when they came back on line he could hear Steve and the crew members on the ISS laughing. He had no way of knowing it but the atmosphere on the spacecraft had been tense for a long time and now everyone was laughing their heads off.

  “Okay. Ya got me Jack, we are all having a good laugh, thank you, you have no idea how much we needed that, thank you….”

  Steve’s words faded as the ISS moved out of radio range beyond the horizon.

  “So there are a few problems.”

  Jack spun around startled when Sara spoke he had been concentrating so hard he did not hear her come up the stairs.

  She said, “I like the idea, we can figure this out. Do they really think some gardener down in ‘Roo” land will come up with a cure? That does not seem too likely; we need to have real scientists working on this.”

  She walked over and stood beside him under the skylight with her hands on her hips looking up at the night sky. He noticed that she did not seem to be talking to him; she seemed to be talking to herself.

  “First thing we gotta do is get our butts down to Nevada and find that spaceship. We load it with rocket fuel and Cheetos and other space stuff and blast off. All we need to do is get close enough for them to grab us with their grabber thing,” she turned to him making a motion with her hand like she was plucking the virus sample from the spacecraft. She waited watching his face as he thought this over.

  He’d shown her his model of the ISS in his bedroom and he noticed that she’d been impressed by the articulated remote manipulator arm. We hand them a sample of the plague,” she said, not waiting for him to join in, ”they work on a cure, give themselves a shot, climb on board, and BAM we’re all back on earth, too easy,” she said.

  “What about the part where they are three hundred miles up and we can only go to one fifty?” he said.

  “Details details,” she said and smiling brightly turned and slowly made her way down the stairs to the bookshelf where earlier she’d spotted a Rand McNally road atlas.

  He came downstairs after taking down the antennae and locking the skylight and she brought the Casa Grande over to where he was sitting. She sat close beside him so he could watch as she flipped it open to a map of Nevada. He was aware of her arm touching his as she flipped between Arizona and Nevada looking at routes.

  “First things first, where in Nevada is this place?” she said.

  “What place?” he croaked.

  He’d lost the thread of the conversation. He was intensely aware of her sitting close to him on the couch and for the first time in his life he was unable to focus on the subject of space travel. She turned to face him wide eyed.

  “The spacecraft, you know-Nevada- space tourism. Earth to Jack… Earth to Jack,” she said grinning.

  He tried to come back to the subject at hand but his mind was not really on it he was too preoccupied with thinking about her sitting close to him. She spent the next twenty minutes planning how they would do it and all he managed to contribute was an occasional head nod. By the time the ISS came around again she had questions for the crew.

  ***

  “Hi Steve, its Sara I have some questions.”

  “Okay Sara, go ahead.”

  “Do you have a lab up there?

  “Yes several.”

  “Is it possible to do complex biology work in space?”

  “Yes of course.”

  “If you had a sample of this plague could you find a way to stop it?”

  There was silence on the other end so she continued.

  “So if we did get a sample to you if we managed to get close enough for you to grab it with the robot arm thing. Couldn’t you work on this problem?” she said.

  “Yes we could, but the problem is we…”

  “I know the problem Steve, but if we could get to Nevada and somehow get the spaceplane airborne and into a low orbit wouldn`t it be possible, though we are at different altitudes, to figure out a way to get it to
you? If we matched our direction and speed maybe we could stretch the limits of the spaceplane. It should be possible because it was built for commercial aviation and they make stuff used by the public extra safe so they won’t get sued. You’ve got smart people on board can’t you guys figure this thing out?” she said exasperated.

  “Sara what you are saying makes sense but we don’t believe it is worth risking your lives. This is such an extreme long shot that we all believe you and Jack should just hunker down and wait it out. Things are bound to improve you are young and you have lots to live for,” said Steve.

  “Steve, it’s me Jack, I agree with Sara I don’t want to sit around doing nothing waiting for the world to get better. This is our shot to change things and we want to try it. If you have a better idea tell us but if you don’t then it is time to “get with the program” we are offering you a chance at survival. Don’t you think that is worth a few risks?” “Okay Jack, we’re about to go round the corner, so here’s what we’ll do. We’ll brainstorm this and do some rough calculations but in the meanwhile I want you to get some rest and stay safe, we’ll talk again in the morning. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Jack said.

  “I promise that we’ll seriously check out your plan,” Steve said.

  The evening sky had darkened with rain clouds as they were talking and Jack closed and locked the skylight as the first drops started to fall. They made their way through the dark house to the basement. There was an awkward moment before getting into bed but it did not last long because they were both exhausted. He turned off the flashlight and with the light gone he lay listening to her breathing in the darkness. He knew she was not asleep and he asked her, “Do you think we can do it?”

  Her voice was soft when she answered, “I don’t know but I know I want to try,” she said.

  “Have you ever saved the world before?” he said.

  “Very funny,” she said giggling.

  They lay in silence and soon he heard the steady even sound of her breathing and it lulled him into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Six

  When Jack woke he felt heat on his back. He thought it was the sunlight coming through the window but when he turned over he realized it was coming from Sara. Her tee shirt was soaked through with perspiration and her breathing was shallow and laboured, she looked deathly pale in the morning light. He tried to wake her and panicked when she would not rouse. Her skin was hot when he touched her face, he was convinced she was dying and he panicked. He checked the time it was twelve minutes before the ISS would be online again. He ran up the stairs and threw open the skylight jamming the whip antenna up through the opening.

  “Jack to ISS Jack to ISS”, he said repeating it over and over.

  “What is it Jack what’s wrong?” It was Wendy Randall, the ISS Commander.

  “It’s Sara she is really sick. She is burning up and breathing funny I think she’s dying,” he shouted.

  “Has she been injured? Did something happen to her?” she said.

  “She has a gash on her arm where I think a dog bit her,” he said.

  “It sounds like she has an infection can you get to a pharmacy?” she said.

  “Yes, yes what do I get, what do I do?” he shouted.

  “First calm down Jack she will be alright if you do what I tell you but you have to remain calm to help her. Have you got something to write on?”

  Sinclair’s Pharmacy was on Porter Road in a small strip mall between Carter’s Country Grocers and Geni’s Hair Palace. He circled past it once and from the outside the Pharmacy looked normal. There was no way to park directly in front of the door but he found a place within twenty five feet which, because he was worried about Sara, was close enough. He was in a near panic, worried that she would die while he was gone. He had not seen any people or dogs lately and that fact along with his concern for Sara, spurred him on.

  When he went inside he found the prescription medications thrown on the floor behind the pharmacist’s counter like someone had been searching for something. He knelt down and dug through the mess until he found a bottle of the antibiotic that was on the Commander’s list. He also found a box of single use hypodermic needles to inject the medicine. He searched for bandages and a plastic bottle of alcohol to clean the wounds again and stuffed it all in a plastic bag along with chocolate bars, nuts, and a few bags of Cheetos. He left the Pharmacy and glanced at a white camper van parked across the street. Something about it bothered him. He took a few more steps before it came to him. The driver’s window was open.

  He was certain it was closed when he went into the pharmacy.

  A creepy chill worked its way up his back when he realized someone in the van was watching him from the shadows. He was speeding back to the car cursing himself for not bringing the gun with him visualizing where inside the car he left it when he heard the van’s engine start. Running the last few steps he pressed the remote to unlock the door. He pulled the door open and dove inside coming up with the gun. He clicked the safety off and spun around in time to see the van turn the corner at the end of the street. He was breathing hard as adrenaline spiked his heart rate. It was then that he remembered the pharmacist with the knife protruding from his chest. This was his pharmacy. He locked the doors and with a shaky hand started the car and putting it into gear an unwelcome realization came to him. Whoever was in the van has seen his car.

  If I park in front of the house it will be like leaving a neon sign out front telling the guy where we are.

  He needed to figure this out but he was worried about Sara and did not want to waste time looking for a solution. He lived ten blocks from the pharmacy and as he drove he came up with a basic plan. He would drive to the next street after his and look for an empty carport or garage in which to park and then sneak home cutting through neighbouring backyards. He turned the corner onto Arlington Drive and drove up the block opting for the house behind the Jones’ who lived four doors down. He drove into the empty carport; he did not know the people who lived in the house, they had no kids and both worked in the city and commuted to Phoenix every day. He got out and ducked down low with the gun in one hand and the bag from the pharmacy in the other locking the door behind him. He stood by the car and waited and watched but did not see or hear anything. He walked towards the backyard and heard a car engine. He could not see it or tell from which direction it was coming. It sounded close. He gave up any attempt at concealment and ran flat-out back to his house collapsing against the front door after slamming it shut and locking it.

  The house reverberated as he ran down to where she lay on his bed. She did not stir when he entered the room and for a heart stopping moment he thought she was dead. He felt the surge of grief overtake him and then a sudden blast of relief when he detected the low raspy intake of breath. He watched, with tears in his eyes, her chest rise and fall and he let out a shaky sob. He sat beside her and gently took her arm in his hands, he could feel that she was still burning up, and he gave her the shot exactly as the Commander instructed him. She did not react at all when he poked her with the needle.

  Upstairs he found a clean wash cloth and wetting it came down and sat beside her on the bed patting her forehead with the cool cloth. He was so afraid of losing her that his hands shook as he washed her arms and neck sick with fear and a pervasive sense of grief. He was worried about the white van and he got up and locked his bedroom door then lay down beside her holding the gun on his chest. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing trying to will her to wellness with his mind. When he opened his eyes again the room was dark and Sara was gone.

  And so was the gun.

  Chapter Seven

  Mission specialist Mike Peters was running the computer simulation again but he was frustrated because it was impossible to be accurate; the problem was they did not have performance data for the commercial spacecraft. Fully half of what he planned was based on guess work about the spacecraft’s performance and the few scant details he’d gleaned from a
Science article from five years ago. It did not help matters that the craft was designed specifically for low earth orbit. This made it difficult if not impossible to predict how it would handle at seventeen thousand miles per hour and minimal shielding. He hoped it had proper stabilizers or those kids would be in big trouble.

  The ISS crew’s plan was to automate the operation of the spacecraft as much as possible so that, if Sara and Jack somehow managed to get to Nevada and still wanted to try it, they would not have to learn every onboard system. Jack seemed to have some technical skill, he had re-worked the laser used to communicate with them and that showed initiative and some talent, but the downside was he’d never flown anything. If they could walk the kids through the modifications needed, it might be possible to fly it from the ISS. At the very least it was worth a try.

  He did not want to put the kids in danger, it was a tough call. The whole world was in a bad situation and without being resupplied they would eventually perish or have to risk returning to earth.

  Returning to earth would not be a problem they have the Soyuz escape pod all set to bring them back. The problem was not the ride it was the plague but Jack and Sara were right if they did get a sample they might be able to find a solution. Returning to earth would not be a problem once they’d created an antidote to the virus. The tricky part was having two teenagers fly a massive commercial spacecraft up to the ISS with a sample. If they could figure out a way to do that it could save all their lives.

  ***

  Jack crept up the stairs and stopped before peeking around the corner into the living room. What he saw worried him. Sara was sitting on the couch holding the gun in her lap looking towards the front door. When she noticed him she smiled.

  “I heard something,” she said.

  “What?” he said.

  She shrugged her shoulders and nodded at the front door. He came around the corner and saw that the door was wide open.