Escape From Earth
by Stephanie Mathews
It was by chance that I overheard a group of folks planning to board a ship and leave Earth. That wasn’t surprising. Lots of folks wanted to flee Earth these days. Things had gotten so bad that people were willing to try just about anything.
It wasn’t the environment that nearly destroyed humanity like everyone used to predict. It was humanity itself.
Everyone had their own truth. Right and wrong didn’t seem to exist anymore, and nobody could agree on anything. Laws meant whatever the person enforcing them wanted them to mean. Every day seemed to bring another riot, another shooting, another neighborhood no one dared walk through after dark.
The surprising part of this encounter was that it was a church group. Most religious folks, especially the ones who believed the Bible, didn’t talk about escaping Earth. Their answer was always the same: Christ. They believed only He could save us. As far as they were concerned, flying off to another planet would only create another Earth, maybe an even worse one.
So when I heard them talking, I stopped and listened.
“If we leave now,” one man insisted, “we can build something better; a place where our children grow up knowing the gospel instead of this madness.”
“And what makes you think they’ll be any different than we are?” an older man said. “You think changing planets changes the human heart?”
A few nodded in agreement, but the majority only stood silent.
“We’ll have a chance to start over.”
“No,” the old man said. “Adam and Eve walked with God Himself. They had no sin, yet they still rebelled against Him. How do you expect us to do any different? We were born in sin and live in a cursed creation. It’s ludicrous. I won’t have any part of it. Our only hope is Jesus Christ and His second coming.”
Silence was the only response.
The older man hung his head as the group shuffled, looking everywhere but at the two men talking. Then the old man looked towards my direction; I thought he saw me, but his gaze moved up to the sky, and then he walked away.
“Our plans haven’t changed,” one man said after a moment. “Next Sunday we’ll meet at the launch site and board the ship. If you’re not there by six in the morning, you’ll be left behind. We can’t risk waiting even a minute longer than planned.”
The meeting broke up, and everyone went their separate ways.
I stayed where I was, smiling.
Now I had a plan.
I was going with them. Not because I believed any of what they believed. I just needed off this planet. I’d stow away somewhere on the ship. Once we were safely in orbit, I’d come out of hiding. What could they do then? Throw me into space?
Church people were always talking about love and charity. They’d be angry that I’d snuck aboard, sure, but they’d get over it. They’d have no choice but to let me stay. One way or another, I’d become part of their little space family.
The main problem would be getting to the launch site. There was only one place in the city where ships launched from, but figuring out which ship they were boarding would be the hardest part.
My backup plan, well, my only plan, was to show up before dawn on launch day and blend into the crowds. Launch days were always chaotic. Cargo crews, mechanics, security, families saying their goodbyes. If I kept my head down, maybe I could disappear in plain sight. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was something.
After returning to my apartment for a quick bite to eat, a shower, and a few hours of sleep, I headed back to the place where I’d first overheard the church group. I was betting they’d meet there again to go over any last-minute details.
My bet was right, but this time only two people showed up: the man determined to leave Earth and the older man who’d argued against it. I watched them from across the street. They talked for several minutes. Neither of them looked angry anymore, just tired.
The younger man had a lady with him, his wife I assumed, with him this time. She stood quietly beside him, holding his hand while they listened to the older man. She looked scared but determined.
Eventually, the younger man nodded, “I understand what you’re saying, Jonathan,” he said. “But I can’t stay.”
The old man sighed, “I know, Daniel.”
Daniel shook Jonathan’s hand, the wife hugged the old man, and then they walked away. The old man stood there for a long moment, watching them disappear into the crowd. He looked a little deflated. Maybe he was sad the others had chosen to leave. Maybe he was disappointed they hadn’t listened. Either way, he seemed to carry the weight of it. Then he turned toward me.
“You don’t belong to our church.”
“No.”
“You’ve been listening.”
“Maybe I heard some things; it’s a public place.”
He smiled faintly and walked over.
“Why?”
“I need off this planet too.”
He looked at me for a moment. “I believe you. We all need off this planet. But that spaceship isn’t the way.”
“That’s easy for you to say since you have a chance. I don’t qualify for a ticket, let alone can afford one.”
“If you’re planning to sneak aboard that ship, don’t.”
That caught me off guard. “How’d you know?”
“Why else would you care what a bunch of strangers are saying? You haven’t been wondering where they’re going or what they’ll find when they get there. You’ve only been trying to figure out how to get on board.”
“So why shouldn’t I?”
“Because you’re running from the wrong thing.”
“I’m not running. This planet is falling apart. Riots, crime, corruption … it’s not exactly a pleasant place to live.”
“No,” he said gently. “You’re running from yourself. You’ll still be there when the ship lands. The scenery may change, but the human heart won’t. Changing planets doesn’t change that. Eventually, everything that goes on here on Earth will go on whatever other planet people land on.”
“Maybe so, but I’d rather have my problems somewhere else than here.”
“The grass is always greener,” he said as he looked up towards the sky.
“I won’t know unless I try. I can stay here and watch the world fall apart, or I can get on that ship and have hope.”
“Hope placed in the wrong thing becomes an idol.”
I laughed, “A spaceship is an idol?”
“Anything you trust to save you more than God is.”
“Maybe for you, but I don’t believe all that God stuff. I appreciate the warning, but you’re not going to change my mind.”
“I didn’t expect to.”
He said it so calmly that I wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I only ask that you think about what I’ve said.”
“Sure,” I answered, already knowing I wouldn’t. My mind was made up. I turned to leave.
“My name’s Jonathan,” he called after me.
I looked back.
“I’m not going.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small card.
“I can’t stop you from trying to get on that ship,” he said. “But I can stop you from becoming a stowaway.”
He held the card out to me.
I hesitated before taking it.
It was a boarding pass.
“I told them I wasn’t going,” Jonathan said. “If anyone asks, tell them I gave you my place.”
I stared at the card. “Why would you do that for someone you don’t even know?”
A gentle smile crossed his face. “Because Christ didn’t wait for me to deserve His kindness.”
“Thank you,” I said, not sure what else could be said.
“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“If you ever find yourself wondering whether I was right, don’t stop searching for the answer and remember that a new earth isn’t the answer, but a new heart.”
I slipped the boarding pass into my pocket and nodded.
***
The launch site was even more chaotic than I imagined. People were everywhere. Families hugged each other goodbye. Children ran between adults, excited about the adventure ahead. Some people were crying. Others were smiling. Most looked like they were trying to convince themselves they weren’t afraid.
I kept my head down and walked toward the boarding area, the card Jonathan had given me held tightly in my hand. A security officer looked at the card, and then looked at me.
“Name?”
For a moment, I considered lying, but for some reason, I thought about Jonathan. The old man had been honest with me, even knowing I wasn’t agreeing with him. I wasn’t sure why that mattered, but it did.
I gave my name, Thomas Kelley.
The officer checked the card, scanned it, and waved me through.
Just like that, I was in.
I stopped for a moment and looked back before walking to the ship.
The place I had spent my entire life trying to escape. I expected to feel relief, but instead I felt something else. I couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was sadness or maybe it was fear. Maybe it was because, for the first time, I realized I wasn’t just leaving a planet. I was leaving everything I had ever known.
“First time leaving Earth?”
I turned.
A man stood beside me with a nervous smile. A woman stood next to him, holding his hand. They were the couple talking to the old man, to Jonathan.
“Yeah,” I said.
The man laughed quietly, “Me too.”
“You don’t seem as nervous as I expected.”
He looked at the ship towering above us as he said, “Ask me again after we’re in orbit.”
The woman laughed. “Daniel worries about everything.”
“Someone has to,” he replied.
“I’m Rachel,” she said, “And this is my husband, Daniel.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Daniel glanced down at the boarding pass in my hand. “Where did you get that? Not trying to be nosy, but I recognize the name. I know someone with that name.”
“An older man gave it to me.”
Daniel’s expression changed slightly. “An older man?”
“His name was Jonathan.”
Daniel just stared.
“Jonathan gave you his place?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah.”
Daniel looked away toward the massive windows overlooking the launch platform. “He would do something like that. He did tell me he had called the ticket kiosk and made a change.”
“You know him?” I asked, not wanting them to realize I eavesdropped on their entire conversation.
“He’s my father,” Daniel said.
I didn’t know what to say.
The man who had spent the morning trying to convince people not to leave Earth had given his own place away to a stranger, knowing his son was boarding that ship.
“Why would he do that?” I asked.
“Because that’s who he is.”
A voice announced that final boarding would begin. People started moving toward the ship. Daniel and Rachel followed in the line. I followed behind them, but then stopped.
“Changing planets doesn’t change the human heart,” I said.
“Pardon?” someone in line asked me.
“Nothing, I have to go.” I still didn’t believe what he believed. I still wasn’t convinced there was anything waiting for humanity beyond this life, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the old man had seen something I hadn’t. Something Jonathan had said sounded like truth.
The ship lifted away from Earth.
I had spent so much time thinking about where I wanted to go that I had never stopped to ask myself why I needed to leave. For the first time, I wondered if Jonathan had been right about one thing: change can only happen if the heart is changed.
About the Author
Stephanie Mathews lives in Tremonton, Utah and works as a part-time librarian and home schools her daughter. She has had two poetry collections published, articles in Creation Illustrated, and short stories in Pure in Heart magazine. Stephanie has a Facebook page called “Words in Bloom” where she shares poems and a bit of news on her writing.
Next (Story: B Doubts) >
< Previous (Story: Barrette)
Image is AI-generated.
