It's Coming

An ordinary housewife finds herself on an alien planet pursued by a planet-destroying entity, and her day only gets worse from there

“It’s coming.”

Cindy took a second to orient herself. She lay face down in something gritty. Dirt. She was weary and a little dizzy and didn’t want to move.

“It’s coming!” the voice repeated with more urgency.

She picked her head up, spat out some dirt, and opened her eyes. It was day, and she was lying in a field. “Wha . . . what’s going on?”

“You’re going to die if you don’t get up and start running,” said the voice. It almost felt like it was in her own head.

Cindy struggled to her feet, still feeling a bit disoriented. Ahead of her, she saw a tree line and what looked to be buildings somewhere beyond that—a city. She looked behind her and saw another forested area of taller trees, though it looked dark there—almost like night. It made Cindy glance up at the blue sky to once again confirm that it was day. When she looked again at the trees behind her, she noticed not only was it dark there, it appeared to be rapidly getting even darker.

“RUN!” screamed the voice.

It was all the urging Cindy needed. She ran in the direction of the buildings, stumbling a bit as she tried to get her bearings. She looked behind her, and it was so dark she almost couldn’t see the trees anymore. Yet strangely, in that darkness, she spotted a figure at its center, somehow darker than black. And that figure was walking toward her.

“What is that?” Cindy yelled.

“An anomaly,” answered the voice calmly. “It’s going to destroy everything. You need to get off-planet.”

It took Cindy a moment to process that as she ran. She glanced behind her. She did seem to be moving faster than whatever was after her. “What?! Off-planet? Am I supposed to go up to Elon Musk and ask for a ride?”

“I don’t know who that is,” answered the voice. “Just get to the city.”

Cindy kept taking quick looks behind her. She was putting more and more distance between her and whatever that was. She noticed that, up in the blue sky, she could faintly see the moon. Except it wasn’t the moon. It looked slightly smaller and green. And then she saw another moon. “I am not on Earth,” she exclaimed. “How am I not on Earth?”

“Is Earth your home planet?” asked the voice.

“Yes, it’s my home planet!” Cindy screamed. She was almost to the forest that lay between her and the city. She looked behind her, and there was only the darkness and the figure at its center.

“Okay, I’m gathering you’re from a civilization that isn’t spacefaring,” said the voice. “Do you at least understand the concept of a starship?”

Cindy reached the trees. She jumped over brush and tried to find a clear path, hoping whatever was behind her would be slowed down as well. “I’ve seen Star Wars.”

“I’m not going to get your pop culture references, but I’m going to take that as a ‘Yes.’”

Cindy located a worn trail and got back into a run. If the thing was still after her, she couldn’t see it through the trees. The immediate panic subsided enough for a new one to overtake her. “Where is my family?”

“They’re safe at home,” the voice answered. “Only you traveled.”

Trying to comprehend what was going on and keep her feet was almost too much for Cindy. “Traveled how?”

“Let’s just say you didn’t travel in x, y, or z. Instead, you traveled in a fourth direction.”

Cindy almost stumbled on a root. “Time?”

“Fifth direction,” the voice said, almost sounding annoyed.

The adrenaline was starting to fade, and Cindy began to slow down. She still couldn’t see that thing anymore. “I need you to explain who you are and what is going on.”

“You need to keep moving,” urged the voice. “When you get on a starship and get off this planet, I will have time to explain everything. Just know, for now, the only way you are going to live is to listen to me. What’s your name?”

“Cindy Hampton.”

“Well, Cindy Hampton, you can call me Link.”

“Like from Legend of Zelda?”

“I am not going to get your pop culture references.”

Cindy pulled her iPhone out of her pocket as she kept moving. There were no bars. Probably because she was somehow on an alien planet. She put the phone away and saw an end to the trees ahead of her. She glanced back. “Is that thing still after me?”

“It most certainly is. You can’t stop moving. You need to get on a starship.”

Cindy reached the end of the path. Beyond the trees stretched a green field—a park on the edge of the city. The buildings were metal and shiny, architecture like she had never seen. Some looked non-euclidian. She wanted to stop and admire them, but apparently, there was an “anomaly” after her. “I don’t know how to fly a starship.”

“I’ll explain everything to you. Just do what I tell you, and I’ll get you through this.”

Cindy ran through the grass. She looked back to the trees behind her, and perhaps it was her imagination, but she thought the whole forest was beginning to get darker. “You’ll get me back to my family?”

“I will. I’m sorry you’re involved with this, Cindy, but I can get you through this. Just follow my instructions.”

Cindy came out of the park at the foot of one of the futuristic skyscrapers. The ground appeared to be something other than pavement—softer but still not very yielding. “How do I find my way to a starship?” Cindy then noticed a sign on a post that said “Starport” and had an arrow. “Oh.”

As she walked, she saw other people on the street (humans—since she was on another planet, she started to wonder why; then again, the sign was in English). A few of the people looked at her oddly. Cindy looked down at her clothes, which were jeans and a pink t-shirt she had put on that morning, the t-shirt bearing the image of a sassy-looking Minnie Mouse. It made her look quite different from the other people in what Cindy could best describe as “future clothing”—colorful garments made of a material she couldn’t identify. But, despite the odd looks, everyone just continued walking like everything was normal. “Do we need to warn everyone about what’s coming?” Cindy whispered to Link, now a bit more conscious that she appeared to be talking to herself since others were around her.

“The way to help the most people is to get you off this planet,” Link answered. “Just get to a ship as quickly as you can.”

Cindy looked behind her. The park she’d come from was beginning to darken. She began to run (netting more odd looks) and wondered once again whether she should say something about whatever was coming. But she was already far past the first people she had seen, and it was too late. All she could think about was that she would need plenty of time to figure out how to fly a spaceship.

She followed the signs, turned down another street, and saw a colossal raised platform ahead. She kept glancing behind her but didn’t see anything through all the city's buildings. “Is that the starport ahead of me? Can you see what I see?”

“I have visual on you,” Link answered. “And that is the starport.”

Cindy continued to the starport, passing by more people who regarded her oddly. “If you’re nearby,” Cindy whispered, self-conscious again, “is there any way you can help me more than just with advice?”

“I’m not nearby. I need you to get to me. Now get to the starport and take the nearest elevator up to the platform.”

Cindy saw some doors near the base and headed for them, assuming that would lead to an elevator. “And what do I do when I get to the platform?” Cindy asked. “Say, ‘One starship, please!’?”

The doors lead into a glass enclosure that seemed to be the elevator. There was already another woman in there, wearing what was apparently an era-appropriate purple outfit. She gave Cindy a polite smile while taking a wary glance at her jeans and Minnie Mouse t-shirt. Cindy gave her a thumbs-up and immediately wondered why she’d done that.

“We’ll see the situation when we get there,” Link answered.

The elevator started to rise. “How hard is it to pilot a starship?” Cindy whisper-asked, but she still got an odd glance from the other woman in the elevator.

“Not hard; I will tell you what to do.”

Cindy nodded, though she wasn’t sure if Link could know she nodded. She looked out the elevator as it got higher and finally saw past the skyscrapers. Beyond them, despite the sunny day, it was dark. And the darkness was headed her way.

“Not good. Not good,” Cindy muttered, wishing a future-elevator moved faster. She wondered what the other woman in the elevator thought of the darkness, but the other woman was determined to look the other way so as not to make eye contact with Cindy again.

The elevator stopped, and the door opened. The other woman was quick to try to get out, but Cindy was in even more of a rush, pushing past her to emerge onto the large platform. On the platform were many vehicles of different sizes that seemed to fit the description “starship.” “What now?”

“What kind of security are you seeing?” Link asked.

Cindy looked around. Several people in uniforms who looked something like police officers were scattered about. At their hips were some sort of guns—lasers, maybe, Cindy guessed. Still, she briefly wondered if she should ask them for help instead of the voice in her head. “I see a number of people here who look like police or security guards or something.”

“Okay. Do you see any sort of maintenance area?”

Cindy saw a small building-like structure with an open door and what looked like tools inside. “Yeah, I’m headed to that,” Cindy said as she approached the shed.

“I want you to find a tool,” Link told her, “something solid but not too large.”

Cindy found something like a wrench in a toolbox on the ground and picked it up. “Okay. Got that.”

“Now, you’re going to need to be quick with this. You’re going to need to approach one of the security people, smile and be polite, but then hit him and take his gun.”

“What?” Cindy exclaimed, barely suppressing a full yell. “Are you a good voice or a bad voice?”

“I am trying to keep you alive,” Link answered. “And the only way I’m going to do that is by getting you off-planet.”

“Ma’am, can I help you?” asked someone behind Cindy.

She quickly turned around to see one of the people in uniform had approached her. She smiled and hid the wrench behind her back. “Oh. Hey. Yeah, I just need to get in one of these ships here.”

“Are one of these ships yours?” he asked and then made an odd expression as he looked at Cindy’s clothes. He looked like he was about to ask another question but had decided against it.

“Well, I was told to come here, and . . .” Cindy shot a look over the edge of the platform. There was almost nothing but darkness in the direction she’d come from.

“What is up with the weather?” exclaimed the maybe-police-officer.

“He’s distracted!” Link shouted. “Hit him!”

Cindy looked at the man who was now just staring at the darkness and briefly considered listening to the voice, but then she spotted the woman in purple from the elevator only a few yards away. The woman was approaching a ship with an open cockpit, very vaguely like an X-wing. Cindy ran for it, shoving the woman in purple out of the way and jumping in the cockpit. “Sorry!” Cindy exclaimed as she tried to figure out how to close the cockpit.

“She’s stealing my ship!” screamed the woman in purple.

“Orange switch to your right,” said Link. Cindy found the switch, flipped it, and the cockpit canopy closed over her.

The police officer appeared next to the cockpit. “Get out of there immediately!” he commanded and pulled out some sort of silver pistol.

“Oh no! Future gun!” Cindy exclaimed, trying to duck farther into the seat.

“He’s bluffing,” said Link. “Just listen to me on getting this thing off the ground. First, I need you to pull the center lever in front of you.”

Cindy pulled the lever in front of her and could feel the ship begin to lift off the ground. She then heard a sharp, harsh sound and saw the police officer firing at her as they lifted past him. “Not bluffing!” Cindy shrieked.

“It’s not going to break the hull; ignore it,” Link instructed. “You should see a steering wheel. I need you to very gently pull down on that.”

Cindy could feel something hitting her ship, and it was hard for her to do anything gently when someone was firing an unknown sort of weapon at her, but she eased back on the steering wheel, and the ship lifted farther. It also started to reorient, pointing its nose up until Cindy was lying on her back in the cockpit seat.

“Good. Now you should see a flashing red button on the center screen. Hit that.”

The red button said, Launch. “Should I strap in or something?” Cindy asked.

“Acceleration will hold you in place. Just hit the button.”

Cindy slammed the button with her palm. And true to Link’s word, Cindy was pressed firmly into her seat as the ship rocketed skyward. She quickly went past the clouds until there was nothing but blue out the windshield in front of her. The blue darkened until it became black, and she could see the stars. “Oh, no! I’m in space,” Cindy muttered.

“You’ll be fine,” Link assured her. “This next part is going to get more complicated. You’re going to need to plot your course.”

“Aren’t I safe now?” Cindy asked. “I mean, that thing is not getting a ship of its own, is it?”

“It’s still after you; you are not safe yet.”

“I was outrunning it, and now I’m in a rocket ship,” Cindy said. “I think I have a few minutes. I want you to explain what’s going on.”

“You are not safe, Cindy. That thing is going to get faster. You need to listen to me and plot a course to where I tell you.”

“No, you need to listen to me and tell me what’s going on!” Cindy felt her body become lighter as the ship stopped accelerating. “Where is my family right now?”

“Your family is perfectly safe in a completely different universe,” Link said. “Do you understand?”

“I woke up in an alternate universe on a different planet?” Cindy asked. She was starting to float out of her seat.

“Yes. You got it.”

“How?”

“Just bad luck. You got caught up in an interdimensional anomaly.”

Cindy now tried to find a seat belt to keep from floating away. “What is that thing after me?”

“I . . . I don’t know. It’s a part of the anomaly. It’s after whatever is not originally a part of this universe. And it will destroy anything in its way.”

Cindy was awkwardly trying to hold herself in her seat and search for some straps or something. “That’s all you have for me? Well, who are you?”

“I’m a scientist trying to fix this anomaly.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting the authorities to help you?”

“They wouldn’t understand; I’m not a part of this universe either. Is that enough for now? You need to keep moving.”

“Yeah, I guess . . . but, wait, how are you communicating with me? If I just suddenly popped into this universe, how’d you get a transmitter on me?”

“There’s no transmitter. I’m using brainwave-attuned transmission. It’s complicated. I can tell you all about it when you’re in a more safe position.”

Cindy turned around to look for straps behind the seat, but then, through the cockpit’s canopy, she caught a glimpse of the planet she had left. It was green and blue like Earth, but with a large dark spot at the center—and the dark spot was growing faster and faster, overtaking all the green and blue.

Transfixed, Cindy watched the whole planet become nothing but black—just an empty round spot in space where there were no stars. And soon after, the black completely overtook the planet. It fell apart like dissipating smoke, revealing the stars behind it. Where there was once a planet, there was now nothing.

“Did . . . did that planet just disintegrate?”

“And that’s what will happen to you if you don’t get out of here now,” Link told her.

Cindy’s hand covered her mouth. “Everyone there just died?” She thought of the woman in purple she stole the ship from.

“A lot more will die if you don’t listen to me now,” Link said with added urgency.

Cindy got back down in the seat and finally found the seatbelt, strapping herself in. She tried to calm herself, but she had this unnerving feeling something was behind her and coming for her. “If I get to you, can you get me back to my family?”

“I can; just listen and be quick. Look on the screen for a button labeled Navigate.”

Cindy found the button and pushed it. “Got it.”

“Now you need to—”

“Vehicle 397A7L, do not attempt to flee,” came another voice, this one over a speaker in the cockpit. “Prepare to relinquish control of your ship.”

Cindy looked out the cockpit canopy and noticed an enormous spaceship, some distance away but moving closer.

“Ignore them,” Link said. “You need to finish your navigation and get out of here.”

“Maybe they can help,” Cindy protested.

“They cannot help. This is above them. If they capture you, you are as good as dead. Now find the on-screen button that says, Long-Distance Travel.”

Cindy was about to do as told, but she felt her ship lurch, and the screen changed to one big word: LOCKED. Cindy could see the other, massive ship more clearly. It was very blocky, not at all aerodynamic-looking. The side bore a giant blue symbol that somewhat resembled a sword and shield. Cindy’s ship was now pointed directly at it and seemed to be thrusting toward it.

“Keep your hands in the air after landing, or you will be shot,” said the voice over the intercom.

“Ignore them,” said Link. “You’re dead if they get you either way. You’re going to need to override the lock-out. Look for a green button next to the screen and hold it down.”

Cindy found and held down the button. “Are these good guys or bad guys?”

“They’re nothing,” Link answered. “And they’re about to all die if you don’t get away from here.”

Cindy looked back to see if the anomaly was still after her but realized she was looking for black against black.

The LOCKED message disappeared, and small green text streamed down the screen. “I think it’s, like, rebooting or something.”

“Quick. Press the blue button underneath the screen.”

Cindy pressed the button, and the screen went blue and showed a very simple menu.

“Put your hands in the air, or we will shoot you!”

Looking around, Cindy found her craft was now entirely inside the larger ship. A half-dozen uniformed men and women surrounded her ship, all holding odd-looking guns that were at least recognizable as something she didn’t want pointed at her. Cindy raised her hands.

“You need to finish the override and get out of here!” Link urged.

Cindy did not see herself doing that with all the guns pointed at her. She kept her hands up and remained still. The canopy came open, and one man undid her seat belt while another roughly pulled her out of the cockpit. Cindy was patted down (she made a small yelp of protest), and they pulled her phone from her pocket. “Something is after me,” Cindy managed to say. Cindy noticed she wasn’t floating; there seemed to be gravity on the ship somehow. This would have all been really interesting if she wasn’t in constant fear for her life.

She felt a gun barrel against her back. “Move!” barked one of the men, and Cindy kept her hands up and walked into a hallway, where she saw more men and women in uniforms watching her—some uniforms were more officer-like. She wondered whether this space military was more Federation or Empire.

“You have to get away, or you are dead,” Link told her, though that seemed like useless information with all the guns pointed at her.

She was led into a small room with a metal table at the center and forced to sit in a chair on one side of it. Into the room walked a middle-aged woman in what appeared to be an officer’s uniform. She kept an icy glare on Cindy as she took a seat opposite her.

A soldier placed Cindy’s phone on the table near the officer. “Captain Akins, we found this on her,” he said.

Captain Akins picked up the phone and looked it over. The soldiers left the room, leaving Cindy and Akins alone.

“Does she have a gun on her?” Link asked. “You’ll need to get it and use it to get out of here.”

Cindy was starting to think Link watched too many action movies.

“Nabos is gone,” Akins said, keeping a steely gaze on Cindy. “Everyone on it dead. We know you have something to do with it.”

Cindy gasped at the mention of the dead. She tried to compose her thoughts, but there were many, many thoughts to put in order. “Something is after me. It is still after me. I think we’re in danger.”

“Are you threatening me?” Akins growled.

“No, no, no! I didn’t cause this. I just got pulled into it, I think. I woke up on that planet, and—”

Akins held up the phone. “What is this? It looks like an antique computing device.”

“Actually, that’s the latest model where I’m from. It’s got pictures of my husband and kids on there—I can show you.” Cindy reached for the phone, but Akins roughly grabbed her hand.

“Who are you?” Akins demanded.

“I’m just a person—a housewife. Well, I do some part-time computer programming work. But I think I’m from another dimension, and I got pulled here, and something is after me, and I really need your help.”

“They’re not going to help you,” Link said. “They’re not going to understand. You need to get out of here, or you’re going to die.”

“And there is a voice talking to me,” Cindy told Akins, “but I’m not sure it’s giving me the best advice.”

“A voice? Someone is transmitting to you?” asked Akins. “Who?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t explained very much, but he seems to know about the thing after me.”

“Tell me everything you know about who is talking to you and the thing that destroyed Nabos.”

“Well, I don’t really know anything. I’ve just been running, and—”

Akins grabbed Cindy by her hair, slammed her head onto the metal table, and held it there. Cindy then felt the barrel of a gun against her temple. “Over a billion people just died, and we know it has something to do with you!” Akins growled. “Do you think there is any limit to what I’ll do to make you talk?”

“You’re taking too much time,” said Link. “You need to get that gun and get out of here, or you’re dead!”

Yeah, I’ll get right on that, Cindy thought as her face was pressed into the table and the barrel kept poking her head. “You have to listen to me,” Cindy pleaded. “We’re in danger. Whatever destroyed that planet is after me.”

“You’re saying a creature did that?” Akins demanded.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s some sort of thing that is coming after me because I don’t belong in the universe or something—at least, that’s what the voice told me.”

The gun barrel pressed harder against Cindy’s skull. “Who is the voice?”

A sharp alarm started blaring. Akins released her and stood up. “A hull breach?” Akins uttered, seeming confused.

“It’s here,” Link said.

Akins crept to the door and opened it. Immediately, the vacuum sucked Akins out of the room. Cindy shrieked and grabbed onto the table, which seemed bolted to the floor. She saw her new phone fly by her and out the door as she clung for her life.