SEVEN

JANA - 5 Months Later

Dear Journal,

I apologize for not writing in here more often. Since my last entry, things have become even busier. Not just because Thomas and I had become a "thing" but because the creature that had attacked us was a wake-up call to everyone onboard that we had not truly escaped the problems on Old Earth.

We have Monsters onboard.

We didn't know where the one who had attacked us came from. We didn't know if it was the only one. But the reason Thomas had visited me in the Engineering room before I saw the Monster in the Atrium was because he had suspicions that there was a Monster onboard.

Without wanting to panic everyone so that the Monster would attack, Thomas came to me to ask whether we had enough fuel to get to New Earth faster. Now I knew why.

Shortly after being attacked by the Monster, Thomas showed me the body of a woman who had died mysteriously onboard the Red Genesis. He kept it in a frozen vault, away from all the passengers, in a room that was specifically built to isolate someone or something from the other passengers. "Do you think it was the same creature who attacked us?" I asked. "Any evidence that it could be anything or anyone else?"

"I did an autopsy myself," Thomas said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Don't tell me you're a doctor too? I'm impressed."

"No, but I watched enough surgeries and spent enough time as a volunteer medic out in the field to learn all about the human body," Thomas said. "I'll know something is not normal when I see it. And everything about this woman was normal except for the swollen heart and the tremendous terror in her eyes."

"Most people couldn't even look into a monster's eyes or at it at all without becoming so terrified that they shrivel up with fear and die on the spot, like this woman," I said. I turned around to look at her. "That is it, isn't it? The swollen heart from the heightened heart rate and beating…and the look of terror on her face. This woman did die the same way most of the human population on Old Earth did…the Monsters."

Thomas looked at me then and said, "If we announce this to everyone onboard, their combined fear alone will attract the Monsters onboard."

"That's why you had all these activities, events, and even your singing and other entertainment like our basketball games, planned."

"When you're busy having fun or keeping busy with things that you love or find funny," Thomas smiled, "you stop being fearful."

"Good plan," I said. "Keep everyone occupied and busy with fun activities."

"You're part of the plan, too," Thomas said. "It's been three months since we left Earth, but already you have the most-liked ratings on the ship, and you know there was a poll on me where the passengers have been shipping me with you."

"So, this is your way of asking me to date you?" I asked.

Thomas grinned, "If it works…"

"Depends," I said.

"On what?" Thomas asked.

"If you're hot boyfriend material or if you're just a player," I said, crossing my arms. "I'm sure you can have your pick of ladies onboard…"

Thomas wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, "But I want you, Jana," he kissed me gently at first. Then he started kissing me more passionately.

*****

Five months later, I couldn't believe I would be where I was standing right now.

In front of the altar at the Good Shepherd Church that was onboard the Red Genesis. Dressed in a beautiful white chiffon strapless gown embroidered with silver lace and pearls, I stood facing Thomas as he wore the full uniform of the Captain of the Red Genesis. He was so handsome; I couldn't believe I was marrying him.

"I'm so lucky," he whispered into my ears. "I'm marrying the most beautiful, the most kind, and the most intelligent woman I never could have imagined I could be marrying. I'm beyond blessed, Jana. I love you so much, my Bunny," he said, squeezing my hands in his.

As the minister, an attractive woman in her forties who could have been my own mother, Maura Sinclair, based on her looks, said the remaining vows and the words, "You may kiss the bride," the entire ship was filled with applause and cheers from all the passengers, crew, and officers.

The party afterwards was non-stop.

When Thomas and I finally danced our last dance of the night together as a couple, I could barely keep my eyes open. "My feet's killing me," I said to him.

"Me, too," he said.

"I think I danced with every man and some ladies twice or even three times," I said. "That's like about a thousand times."

"More," Thomas said, staring into my eyes and smiling. "I still can't believe it, Bunny," he said. "I'm hitched to you."

"You're hitched to me?" I asked. "I'm hitched to you."

"You asked me to marry you," he said. "Like I predicted, you would be begging me to make new humans together."

I playfully slapped his shoulders, "Oh please!"

"So, Dominant One," Thomas said, "Tonight, I'm all yours to ravage."

"Oh, please!" I said sarcastically.

"You'll be saying, ‘Oh, Thomas, please please please,'" Thomas said in a high pitch, trying to imitate a girl.

"Um huh," I said. Suddenly I was feeling all warm, fuzzy, tired, and wobbly.

A look of concern came over Thomas' face, "What's the matter, Jana?"

"I don't know," I said. "Too much dancing, drinking, working…"

He lifted me into his arms and said, "Time to hit the sack, Bunny." He looked up and walked to the podium to talk into the microphone, "Thanks everyone for being an important part of me and Jana's new life together. We've been together as a family on the Red Genesis for a while now, and it does feel like we're all family. Thank you again, and wow, guys, I'm the luckiest man alive!"

He took off with me in his arms as the entire crowd burst out in loud laughter. The men cheered, while the ladies sighed, saying, "Another good one's taken, girls."

I smiled, right before I blanked out.

*****

"Jana? Jana?" Thomas' voice drifted from somewhere in the corner of my mind. His voice came out of the red skies of the barren red desert landscape of my dreams. I was walking in a silver suit with a clear helmet that allowed me to see all around me.

"She should be wakening up now," I heard an older male voice said. Dr. Herbert.

Dr. Herbert? The ship? Red Genesis?

I opened my eyes.

Dr. Herbert said, "Captain, she's awake."

"Thomas?" I called out.

A large warm hand squeezed mine, "I'm here, Bunny," he said. "Oh, thank God you're awake! For a moment there, I…" his voice broke.

Dr. Herbert patted me on the shoulder and said, "You were out for weeks, Jana."

"Weeks?" I croaked. My throat was parched. "I remembered dancing, kissing Thomas, and then nothing…"

"Jana," Thomas said, "You blacked out on our wedding night, and we couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. Physically, there was nothing wrong. But you couldn't wake up. We couldn't wake you up. I was so worried. I thought you would be in a coma for a long, long time."

I stared at Thomas, trying to remember what I had just awoken from and where was I. The dreams…or nightmares. Did it mean something? "I was on a barren desert-like place. There was so much red. But there was something else too. A darkness. It was trying to penetrate through me, trying to poison me from within."

Thomas and Dr. Herbert exchanged glances.

I continued on, "I had a hard time breathing. I had a mask on that felt suffocating. The air outside was toxic, and if I breathed it in, I would choke and die."

"Jana," Thomas said, looking over at Dr. Herbert. "What you're describing…it sounds a lot like New Earth."

"How would I know what it is like on New Earth?" I asked. "I mean I know what it is like through facts that we've gathered, but I have no idea what it would feel like to be there."

"You could be putting the facts together from everything you know about New Earth and imagining what it would be like," Dr. Herbert said.

"Or," Thomas said, "Jana may have something special that we didn't know about her. That she didn't even know herself about."

"Like what?" I asked.

"You saw the darkness in your dream," Thomas said. "You could sense it. That's how it starts. The Monsters. They live in the dark, but then attack humans when they least expect it. Jana's different. She can sense them. She can see them arriving. No other humans could before."

"No other human had survived being attacked, being stabbed through, like Jana has and had lived," Dr. Herbert said. "Didn't you say the Monster said that Jana and her future human must be destroyed?"

"That's it!" I said. "I must have received some of the creature's abilities. I can sense when another one of them is near so I can't be surprised or snuck up on by them."

Thomas' eyes lit up. "And you have a sight of the future…on the New Earth. You could see into the future like the creature could see into the future."

"Somehow," I said, "I've absorbed a part of the creature's essence when I was attacked but survived."

Thomas and Dr. Herbert looked at each other with excitement. "This means we have hope, Jana!" Thomas said.

"Yes," Dr. Herbert echoed. "Hope!"

"Because if we can see those invisible stealthy Monsters coming ahead of time, and we can foresee the future of them, too," Thomas said.

"We have a chance to fight back," I said.