Emani's Mission

“We have plenty of time; it will be quick!” I screamed as I picked up every rock I could find. Our experiment was failing, and it was only a matter of time before NASA sent us back home. We needed those rocks, and the fate of humanity was in my hands. “We have to go now if we plan on making it back to the ship!” My coworker and wife slapped her hand on my back as I picked up the last space rock and headed through the desert. We were on a planet that looked just like earth. There were forests and plains, and of course, we had landed in the worst part of it, the desert. I am not too fond of the heat, but it’s where we would find the last component to our experiment. Malice was the term used for these rocks, and they were necessary because inside of each was a tiny universe. NASA sent us here to collect as many as possible so we could try and discover new life. I thought it was a stupid idea. Kara, my wife, and I ended up running half a football field from our ship to get to where we needed to be. The coordinates on our ship messed up after we flew into a few asteroids, which meant that we would never land at our correct destination. Ever since the accident, our ship had entered “Protective Mode,” which meant that the only door to the ship would lock on its own after a certain amount of time. I wouldn’t mind this only if the time limit were realistic. How long, you may ask, before we’re locked out forever? Four minutes. I looked down at my timer and threw the bag of Malice over my shoulder. We had two minutes left. I could see my wife getting a head start as my eyes began to blur. “I can’t...I can’t see anything!” I yelled as I dropped to my knees. I could hear my wife running back in my direction. “What’s wrong?!? We need to go now!” my wife grabbed the bag and helped me to my feet. I didn’t think she could pick me up; I’m 6ft, and she’s half my size. I guess with enough adrenaline, anything is possible. I covered my eyes as we limped forward; quickly, I felt a burning sensation, and it wouldn’t stop. I screamed in pain, and my wife gasped. “You’re going to have to go without me!” I yelled in between the pain. I could tell that my wife was looking at me crazy; I knew her like that. She always had a questionable expression on her face when I try to be chivalrous. “Are you kidding me? We came all this way, and this isn’t some movie! You’re strong; we’re going to make it as you said.” Kara always knew what to say in situations like these, and her inspiration helped. I had no idea what was causing me to go blind, but whatever it was also caused my legs to shake. My knees were giving out, and I could feel my body weight get heavier. Kara couldn’t hold on any longer as we both dropped to the ground. “John!” was the last thing I heard when my head hit the ground. I blacked out, and everything seemed to fade away. In the background, I could hear a little girl’s voice. It was my daughter’s voice, and it was clear as day. I knew I had to be dreaming because we lost our daughter in a fire just a year before going on the mission. Her voice was sweet and low-spoken, Kara was always trying to get her to speak up, but she had it honest. She earned her voice from me. My daughter’s name was Emani, and Emani was my world. We wouldn’t be on this mission if it weren’t for her; she pitched the idea to the president of NASA herself. It was Bring Your Child to Work Day, and she insisted that she wear her best apparel. Her John Cena shirt was twice her size and had to be tied back to not trip on it. Emani carried her hand-drawn presentation down the hallway and made her entrance into the president’s office with music and all. It was the best thing I had ever seen. Everyone in that meeting was smiling from ear to ear as Emani lifted her arms wide and described all the other universes that could exist. If only we knew how serious she was. I swear she knew something we all didn’t. My daughter’s voice kept repeating the exact phrase that I was used to her saying, “I love you, daddy, from the stars and back!” It would never get old, and it was what kept me alive that day. The feeling in my legs was starting to come back, and I could feel my eyes slowly open. I must have been out for only a second, but it felt like hours. As my mind began to clear and my body started to feel better, I could see my wife’s face light up as I began to wakefully. “Oh, thank God! Yes, God, yes! Thank you for waking him!” Kara shouted as she petted my head and held the back of my neck with her arm. Right then, a sound started to go off; it was the sound of my timer. We only had 60 seconds left and were still far from our ship. At that point, we both knew that the mission was over. It at least meant we had no way back home and who knew when they would be able to send another ship to come to rescue us. This planet was a few days away from earth, and the backpacks that carried our air supply wasn’t going to last us forever. I looked over and saw the blood drain out of my wife’s face as she stared off into the distance. She was staring at our ship, and I heard her whisper, “We are never going to make it.”