Prisoner

Prisoner
 
 
Steven’s small craft ambled towards one of Mar’s two moons. Phobos 2 seen from Earth was nothing great to look at and been this close Steven, barely noticed it as it came closer and closer to his craft.
 
Steven was day dreaming again about life on Earth. The food was one of the things he missed most. Nine months of food pills left a bad feeling in his mouth and stomach.
 
He had always wanted to be an astronaut but he never realised how much it would cost him, his family, friends and now several years of his life.
 
He dreamt. He was at the fairground again, his wife and his small boy-Jamie-was with him. Jamie was eight years old. Steven remembered how he had screamed with joy in the bumping car. 
 
Marie his wife was with him. 
 
“You know the next mission is four months away and I been given the green light. I rocket of on June 4th.”
 
His wife didn’t say anything, just looked down, forlorn and depressed.
 
“Steven, I know how much this means to you. I won’t stand in your way.”
 
“It’s an eight year mission.” And now there were tears in Stevens’s eyes.
 
The silence stretched out. Neither knowing what to say next.
 
“Jamie will be 16 the next time I see him.”
 
“I won’t stand in the way of your dream. I love you.”
 
A small smile spread across Steven’s face. “I once read that, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
 
Marie, stared into Steven’s watery eyes, and put her hand to her two month pregnant stomach. 
 
Steven looked down and felt his heart was breaking.
 
“This is my mission in life, my dream. I must go it’s my life’s work. I must go”
 
“I understand,” said Marie simply.
 
 

#

Whooo-whoo-whoooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
The warning alarm sounded pulling Steven out of his day dream.
 
“What the hell!” The red warning lights flashed again and again.
 
“Orchid, what is it?” He asked the ships computer.
 
“Very large unknown power source detected on Phobos 2.”
 
Instantly Steven sent a transmission back to Earth.
 
“Recon 1 to Earth, very large unknown power source detected on Phobos 2” He knew it would take several hours for the message to reach Earth and a reply from Earth to reach him would take even longer.
 
Suddenly the small ship shook like it was caught in the flow of a strong river.
 
“Orchid, what is happening, why is the ship shaking?”
 
“Steven, We are been drawn down to the moons gravity, it is pulling us down towards it.”
 
“Fire reverse thrusters!”
 
There was a pause and then the noise of the reverse thrusters could be heard, the sound like metal scraping against metal.
 
“Steven, the thrusters are not having any effect.”
 
“Oh God no!”
 
“We are been drawn down to the power source.”
 
Once the small craft entered the moons gravity things seemed to blur. 
 
“Please buckle yourself in. We are going to be in for a bumpy landing,” said Orchid the ships computer.
 
As the ship plummeted down to the moons surface Steven said a small prayer.
 
The ship crashed into the moons surface with so much force that Steven passed out.
 

#

Steven awoke to the ringing of the ships alarm and the flashing red lights.
 
Steven got up and was amazed by what he saw through the small craft’s window.
 
Water! Deep green clear water. God I never seen water as beautiful as this before. 
 
Come to me…Come to me…Come to me…
 
What the hell is that voice, it’s inside my head. Steven looked out of the other window on his left. 
 
There’s a hill on my left and a bright light emanating from the top of it. Ok, nothing for it but slip on my space suit and get out and have a look.
 
Come to me…Come to me…Come to me…
 
That damn voice is in my head and won’t let up!
 
Steven headed further and further up the hill.
 
At the top of the hill, he found what looked like a square cube made of bright blue light.
 
“Who…? What...? What are you?”
 
I am god
 
“What do you want with me?”
 
I have waited millennia for this. Look down on the ground in front of you.
 
Steven did so and saw what looked like two large buttons in the ground, one red and one green.
 
Put your foot on the green button.
 
“What the hell is happening?” I feel like I’m drunk or hypnotised.
Steven’s foot crunched down on the green button and in an instant the cube of bright blue light vanished.
 
Now Steven could make out what looked roughly like a humanoid figure but seemed to be made of bright white light and was 7 ft tall.
 
I have waited ammillennia for this.
 
“Who…? What are you?”
 
I am God! I am God! I am God!
 
The words thundered round and round the inside of Steven’s skull leaving him disorientated
 
Take me to your ship.
 
Steven turned around and headed back down the hill to his ship, at the back of his mind something was nagging him.
 
Why does God need a spaceship?
 
Once they made it back to the ship.  The strange entity stood in front of Steven and stared into his eyes. Steven’s mind seemed to connect with the entities and in an instant he knew the alien knew every thing about Steven.
 
Their minds had only connected for a second but it was enough to let Steven know that this being wasn’t God. Far from it.
 
He’s an alien that was imprisoned on this planet.
 
The alien entered the small ship. 
 
“Set a course for Earth Orchid,” said the alien.
 
“I am sorry you are not Steven. I am only allowed to follow orders given by Steven,” said the ships computer.
 
The alien seemed to grow brighter for a second and then resembled Steven in every way, even in voice.
 
“Orchid set a course for Earth.”
 
“Ok, as you say Steven.”
 

#

 
Steven stared up at his ship as it blasted off for Earth. In that instant Steven knew he would never see his family or his beloved planet ever again. Tears came to his eyes but he fought them back.
 
He pressed a button on the wrist of his space suit. “Orchid, engage program Omega immediately.”
 
Aboard the ship, Orchids voice came over the dead silence of space.
 
“Program Omega engaged. 60 seconds until ships detonation.”
 
The alien was suddenly alert as the ships red emergency lights started to flash.
 
“Orchid what is program Omega?”
 
“Steven program Omega is the ships self-destruct programme.
 
“30 seconds until ships detonation,” came Orchids calm clear voice over the sound system.
 
No! No! I have not waited millennia to now die in space!
 
“Orchid dis-engage program Omega.”
 
“Steven, sorry, once program Omega is initiated it cannot be cancelled.”
 
“10 Seconds to ships detonation.”
 
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”
 
Steven stared up at the craft and waited, holding his breath.  He breathed out a long sigh as his small ship exploded.
 
Tears streamed down his face as he thought about his wife and children that he would never see again. He sat down and waited for his oxygen to run out. 
 
 

The End.