One Shot Stories

XXXVIII ~ Beyond

My fingers fly across the board as different colors from different screens flash across my face. Frequent beeping fills my ears and the sounds of various conversations drowned out my thoughts. I look up at the big screen at the front of the Watch floor. The planets make and orbit around a virtual sun.

"Gaden!" Someone shouts my last name.

I spin in my chair to see my boss storming towards me. I roll my eyes and lean forward.

"Can I help you?" I say slyly.

She shoots me annoyed look.

"You're not getting out of this one." She says, grabbing my arm, yanking me out of my chair and pulling me towards her office.

I stumble after her.

"What?"

My boss turns toward me and glares at me.

"NASA is a very serious work place, you need to stop fooling around and pranking us." She says.

I grimace. I've been known to pull a few pranks on people but, it was nothing serious. It was the basics, you know? The whip cream an feather one when people would fall asleep in the break room or getting people to chase me ad make them run into the plastic wrap in the doorway. People here are easy prey.

-But, lately, I haven't done anything.

"Harrington, I haven't done anything in awhile." I defend myself.

She uncrosses her arms and sighs.

"Jay, just own up to it. Please? It'll make this just so much easier."

I furrow my brow.

"Make what easier?" I ask.

Harrington's face falls.

"So it really wasn't you?"

I huff and cast my dark eyes heaven ward.

"Yes, it wasn't me. Now what is it?" I ask, anger coloring my tone.

Harrington sighs and walks around her desk and flips her computer monitor around to show me the screen. I give her a look before I lean in. Morse code flashes across the screen.

"Morse code?" I look up at her.

She nods. I look back down at the dots and dashes.

"What does it say?"

I study the stars, not the sound waves and things that we get from space.

"First, let's move it to the big screens and show everybody."

I nod and follow her out and into the dark floor.

"Screen!" Harrington calls out, making everyone look towards the big screen in the middle.

She looks at me then swipes something on her tab. It appears on the screen.

"This is a message from space. Decode it." She says.

Everyone analyzes the data.

"I got it!" A girl shouts.
"What is it?"

She spins in her chair and looks down at the paper.

"It says... 'You Are Alone.'."

•••

Explain that.