The shining star
"Now if you look just past the moon as it is full you will see a bright and shiny star!" The father said too his sons laying in the backyard on the window screen frame.
Their father had worked all day; from late last night until the evening.
His five and three year old was anxious to spend time with him, while his wife was mad and locked him and their boys out for a bit. As they laid there under the stars the boys looked in wonder. They knew their father worked for NASA but wasn’t sure what he did. He would come home and show them different things. Planets, ships and even telescopes but they didn’t understand what he did. They knew he loved them both very much. They enjoyed that night more than they could have ever realized.
That's why pulling the trigger was the hardest thing for them to do. They held that memory in their mind, so that they never forget the father he was. As they both pulled the trigger and the sound ranged out through the desolate town. No one could hear them cry as their father fell back, smile on his face and a proud look at them both as he landed on the ground with a hole in his head and heart.
In an instant a roar of sadness flooded the two young men as they cried out in anger and sorrow. Yet they had to do it. If they didn’t then he would forever have been a monster. They couldn't let their father be like that. As they stood there, mustering up the courage to bury him, they made sure there no one else around or better point, no other infected around. The younger one, Jared, kept crying as his older brother, Ken, swept the area and grabbed shovels.
"Why did it have to be this way?" Jared asked grabbing the shovel.
"You know why, he was infected and...and...and he already took out mom. He wanted us to do it. That was why he was so proud" Ken replied but, winced a little at the pain in his ribs. He probably fractured something.
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"Fucking infection." Jared complained and was about to touch their father body when Ken yelled "STOP"
Jared stopped and remembered. The infection wasn’t normal. It will attached to a living host on microscopic level when within a few inches of it. While working with NASA, their father had developed a way of grabbing samples from moving asteroids. After some time, they were able to retrofit it and have it go through deep space travel and gather samples from planets that could support life. This was all in their early years and their father kept showing them the results of the missions. It filled them with joy being involved with all the discoveries and made it great topics of discussions. The only things that was ironic was the last shuttle that was sent and its name Pandora.
Pandora found the new hope of planet Earth. Planet 3462, Earth2, held all the possible chances of helping mankind move above the stars. What they didn’t realize was the reason the planet showed so much promise was due to a singular plant on the lush green object. Much like Earth1, it was covered in mostly water and the landmass showed lush green trees and plants, one plant could be seen high into the sky. Pandora received some samples and was able to make it back home. Their father was ecstatic. This meant a lot for everyone, the sample that was brought back was a seed, somehow a singular seed. Strange but, the group was too intrigued.
The seed didn’t move for a bit, water was added and then it instantly sprouted some leaves. Within hours a couple of bright yellow flowers were blooming while the seed sat in the sample pod. With another spray of water the flower fully bloomed and sprayed a pollen in the air. This excited everyone, they found life, and they found another planted that had the same as theirs. They would all hug and cheer, they jumped some kissed, then a scream roared out.
One scientist was cutting another in the throat. Loud banging was going off, and two more were going at it with one slamming the other’s head into a desk. Blood spattered as another jugular was slit. Their father saw the blood hit the plant and watched as it was absorbed into the plant and saw that it grew. The petals grew bigger and more colors were forming in the leaves. The yellow turned sinister and red started to seep in and showed as if they were eyes. It almost looked like a demon’s face was staring at him. He realized that the green planet wasn’t their saving grace but, their demise and Pandora had brought a plague for their ignorance.
The more the blood spatters on the plant the more it bloomed and off the dead bodies more plants were growing, as if quicker than the first one. Pollen filled the room and their father escaped but, could feel it in his system. When he got home, for a moment he blanked out and saw his wife on the floor. In the mirror he say a plant growing from his eye, stabbing it. He told the boys what to do. He couldn’t have died a prouder man.
-cadmus