Virna finds herself transported into deep space by a man who claims to be a Guardian of the Universe. Something terrible is happening to the stars and planets throughout the universe and according to him, she’s the only one who can help…
“How … how did you …” Virna gazed at the sight before her. Galaxies formed beautiful spiral patterns, millions of stars winked at her, gaseous clouds shimmered with colours of blue and purple. In the distance, meteors hurtled through an asteroid field. She turned to look at the tall young man beside her. “How did you bring me here?”
“I told you who I was. Do you believe me now?”
“A Guardian of the Universe? It just sounds so … far-fetched. Impossible.”
“And yet, here you stand. You’re floating in space with no space suit or ship. How do you explain that?”
“I … I can’t,” she said simply. “But why did you bring me here?”
“There is something you need to see.” He took her hand. Moments later, they stood in a new part of the universe. He pointed ahead of them. “Look.”
Pulling her gaze from a bright supernova, she looked in the direction he indicated. She frowned. “I don’t see anything. What am I supposed to be looking at?”
“Just watch,” he said quietly. “You’ll see it.”
Puzzled, her eyes wandered over the millions of stars spread before them. It was hard to get her head around how many of them there were. Looking up from Earth at the night sky just didn’t come anywhere close to showing the magnitude of the universe. There was so much to see. A blue planet with purple rings circled a distant sun. Solar flares burst from another sun. Stars sparkled endlessly in the distance.
She tilted her head and considered the view in front of her. There actually didn’t seem to be as many stars in this part of the universe, now that she thought about it. The emptiness of space seemed to be darker here and more apparent. She glanced behind her. It definitely seemed brighter that way. Frowning, she looked back at the darker area. It was almost as if the universe simply stopped just beyond the stars she could see, fading into empty space. The thought gave her chills.
“Do you see it?” he asked, his voice low.
“I’m not sure …” she paused and looked closer. The blue planet with the purple rings… it had been near that sun, hadn’t it? She glanced around, trying to place it. It seemed to have disappeared. The chills intensified.
“I’m sure there was a planet over there a moment ago,” she told him, pointing.
He nodded. “You’re right. There was. It’s gone now.”
“Gone? How?”
He shrugged. “None of the Guardians know.” He pointed out towards the darkness. “There used to be whole galaxies out there. This area of space used to have a Guardian assigned to it, but he has disappeared as well. We’ve no idea where to or how.”
As he spoke, she watched the stars. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she saw a red dwarf star disappear and a small sun went out. “Can we go back? Please!” Panic rose up her throat. This was too much to take in. Seeing the stars disappear was terrifying. The empty, black space scared her. She felt more vulnerable than she had ever felt in her entire life.
“Of course.” He held her hand firmly and moments later, they were looking down at Earth.
“Take me back down there!” she begged.
“Virna. The Guardians need your help. We need you to reincarnate.”
She felt like she was hyperventilating. “What? I don’t understand. Reincarnate? Into what?”
“We need Thesis. She’s our only hope of stopping this.”
“Thesis?”
He looked down at the glowing blue planet. “The Goddess of Creation. You’re her reincarnation.”
Virna shook her head vehemently. “No. No, no, no! Take me back! Take me back down there and leave me alone! I’m not a goddess, I don’t want to be a goddess. Take me back right now.”
He gave her a single nod. “Very well. But please remember: your home planet will also be affected by this strange event. There is nothing to stop it from disappearing from the skies. Nothing, except for you.”
In the blink of an eye, he was gone and she was alone in her darkened back yard. She gazed up at the night sky. Was it her imagination, or were there less stars in the Milky Way?
I think it would be both exhilarating and terrifying to be in space. Especially terrifying if you were at the edge of space and there was only darkness before you…
Is this one of your favourite 500-word-story-starters? Click the heart to like it and it may become a fully-fledged story! –> 1