THREE: JANA’S JOURNAL

JANA

First, they came without warning. They came out of nowhere suddenly. Unremarkable and unassuming. No one knew about them until it was too late. There wasn't time for humankind to even give them a name…so they were just called, "The Monsters."

My name is Jana Gee, as in "G" and I am one of the last humans on Earth. When the Monsters first came, we were too busy to notice, caught in our own bickering over now trivial things. Our leaders on Earth didn't notice. Our so-called "experts" didn't notice. No one noticed, until it was too late. Now I am on an evacuation mission to land on a planet barely inhabitable for humans, called New Earth. It is a barren place, which we need to colonize. I have a group of survivors with me, brought on board the Red Genesis to help make this place habitable. There is no turning back. The Monsters on old Earth or Vintage Earth would kill us, but so could anything else on New Earth.

Dear Journal,

I didn't know what I was getting into when I joined the leadership team onboard the magnificent spacecraft called the Red Genesis. By the time I actually boarded Red Genesis, which was the marvel of our space program, the elder scientists and engineers who had worked on the spaceship had already perished, and The Monsters, that came swiftly onto Earth, had already decimated most of humanity.

As a trained mid-level engineer and scientist working remotely at the next space facility a few hours away, I was suddenly the next available one to go, if the only one left.

I had only marveled at the magnificent spacecraft from afar, outside of the ship itself for years as it was being built. A top-secret craft, I had seen glimpses of its blueprint. It looked like something out of a vintage science fiction film. Round in shape, the Red Genesis was also lighter, faster, and built stronger than any of its previous space travel models.

The concept was simple. It utilized the physics of a flat disc, like a Frisbee, which glide rather than propel, thus requiring less energy and fuel. It resembled the UFO spaceships of the 1950s. Circular with windows; silver metallic. I liked the retro Jetson-style of the 1950s. Like the roadside motels, the missile-shaped RV trailers; the cool retro style embodied the bold spirit of adventure that made Americans and the world go forth and explore.

After most of the passengers had already settled onboard, I walked onto the ship with my vintage-style suitcase, admiring the craftsmanship that went into every detail. While it looked like the spaceship from the 1950s, which was called a flying saucer in those days, the Red Genesis was nothing but old. In its interior, only the latest technology enhanced every detail.

"Wow," I said to myself, looking from the entrance straight on up. "It's like a city in here."

"Like what you see?" a friendly, but deep voice asked from behind me. It came from so close that his warm breath brushed against my ear, causing me to jump.

I turned around, nearly bumping into the tall man behind me.

"Whoa, watch it," he said, grasping my shoulders to steady me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized, using my hands to hold onto his hips. They were strong hips on a hard muscular body.

"You can stop handling me now," the man said, "I've got you."

I quickly snatched my hands down off the man's body, not realizing that I had not only held onto his hips but had moved my hands up to his narrow waist, hard abs and broad chest. "Oh, I didn't realize…"

"Sure, sure you didn't, as they all say," the man said.

"Wait, hold on," I muttered, now getting angry instead of embarrassed. What an arrogant S.O.B. "Like I wanted to put my hands on…"

"Admit it, doll," the man said, "You wanted to feel me up, so you took the opportunity to. I know you couldn't help it."

"What the…?" I stammered. "Are you just so full of yourself that you think every woman would…" I stopped as I looked up to see the most amazing warm golden green eyes staring into mine. They were fringed with full dark lashes that matched the dark chocolate of his hair that cascaded over half his face. From the half that I could see, he had a cleft on his chin, full lips, a straight aristocratic nose, and full eyebrows that was turned down into angry wide strokes. Taller than me by almost two heads, he towered over me as I came up to his shoulders wearing my high platform boots.

Darn. He was devastatingly handsome. The kind that makes your heart flutter if he even looks at you. No, if he even looks your way. Movie star, pop idol handsome. No wonder he was used to women throwing themselves at him.

"As you were saying," the Pop Idol said, his face frozen into an arrogant sneer.

"Of all the people to save on Earth, they had to save an arrogant good-for-nothing diva pop idol," I said, crossing my arms. "There was only so much room on this ship for survivors, and they picked you to take the place of someone more worthy."

"Hey, I'm perfectly happy to stay on Earth, but the powers that be wanted me onboard…so here I am," the gorgeous semi-God answered.

He looked me up and down, his frown turning into a half smile, "Well, if I must be on this ship, they might as well supply the ship with some pretty girls."

My mouth dropped. "What the… pretty girls?" I said. "Look, I'm not here to be your plaything if that's what you think I am. And your attitude…"

"What about my attitude, missy?" the Pop Idol asked. "It seems you have an attitude, not me. When is it okay for you to grope me?" His eyes were dancing, but he still looked angry. "I know you couldn't help yourself, so many women can't when they come into my presence, but still, I have rights. Just because I look like this…like your book boyfriend dream fantasy come true, doesn't mean I want to be groped."

"Oh please," I said sarcastically. "As if…"

Before I could finish, the Pop Idol walked off in a hurry, leaving me in mid-sentence, looking like a fool. "How rude!" I muttered.

"Jana," a kind, elderly voice called out to me from my right side. I turned to see a white-haired gentleman in his late sixties approaching.

"Dr. Herbert," I smiled, happy to recognize the physician, who had contacted me to join the Red Genesis, the only person I knew in the crowd of passengers who had gathered in the large lobby, that resembled the lobby of a high-tech luxury hotel about the size of a shopping mall.

Dr. Herbert reached me and patted me on my shoulders. "Jana, good to see you've made it onboard."

"It was harrowing getting here, which is another story, but I made it."

Dr. Herbert shook his head. "I'm glad you did. Some of our team weren't so fortunate." He looked grim, and I knew what he meant. The Monsters had gotten to them.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hate to ask because it seems so insensitive, but which ones are we missing still before we can take off?" I asked.

"I don't know," Dr. Herbert said. "It's up to the Captain."

"Captain Nelson?" I asked.

"No," Dr. Herbert said. "Unfortunately, he was one of our teammates who didn't make it here."

My eyes shot wide open. "Who's going to captain the ship?" I asked.

Suddenly as if the universe had heard me, a familiar voice answered me in a loud boom over the entire ship. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to the Red Genesis, which will be our home for the next three years until we reach New Earth. Please get settled in and make yourself comfortable. If you will proceed in an orderly manner to the reception area, our staff will get you on your way to your quarters. As you can see, it is a city where we have blocks, shopping areas, recreation, entertainment, and everything to resemble home. Red Genesis is essentially our home, an entire floating and traveling city for the next couple of years. Please take care of it, and please help us maintain it with pride as you would your own home."

"Entertainment," I said to Dr. Herbert. "That explains the Pop Idol being onboard."

"Officers, please meet with me on the deck, um, in 5 minutes. Crew, please shut all doors and get ready to launch. For the rest of you, let us pray for a safe and speedy take-off. This is your captain signing off for now."

Dr. Herbert turned to me and said, "Come on, let's meet the new captain."

I walked with him, towing my rolling suitcase with me to the closest elevator, which was a circular glass elevator that would light up in blue when it was working. While the passengers onboard lined up at the reception area, Dr. Herbert and I quickly made our way into the elevator, which took us to the top floor in less than 2 seconds. "Wow," I said, "We went from level zero all the way to the 15th floor before I could even take a breath."

Dr. Herbert smiled. "Yes, that was Dr. Patricia Beard's idea. No time to waste, she used to say." He sighed.

I nodded, noting the brilliance of my predecessor, who had helped build the Red Genesis, but didn't get to live to see it take off today.

We walked out of the elevator and unto a rolling walkway down a series of hallway. "Dr. Beard's idea, too?" I asked.

Dr. Herbert smiled again. "No time to waste."

In about a minute and a half, we stepped off and walked towards the Deck where the new captain was standing, facing forward, looking out of the large window in front of him, while his back was towards us.

Surrounding him was a row of beeping lights like switches and buttons in a control room or an engineering sound room similar to a recording studio, only it was the controls for the Red Genesis. Flat screens of places all over the ship were place into the walls. Flat screens showing the exterior of the ship were also shown.

There was where my eyes immediately focused on. The exterior of the ship. The doors and all entrance way had been shut tight, but outside, there was something sinister going around. The same dark cloud that had become a living nightmare for the last week had formed close to the ship.

"Officers!" the new captain said, still staring at the cameras pointing to outside the ship. "We must leave now. The ship is already feeling their presence. If we stay on the ground any longer, they will seep inside and infiltrate us." He turned around to face us.

Dr. Herbert, me, and a few other officers joined us now as we faced our new captain.

My mouth opened as I stared into the very same warm golden green eyes I had just nearly melted under.

Our new captain was none other than the arrogant and infuriating Pop Idol who already seemed to hate me.

EVIE

"Wow," I said to Sally. "Mom sounded so young here. I always thought Mom was Mom, but here, she's like me. Just a girl."

"Read on," Sally said. "The young woman you're just reading about must have gone through quite a lot in order to be transformed into the Jana I know who built the Shelter and who made me."

"Who became my mother," I said.