Black Galaxy

            There was a university in Chicago, in which all the science classes took a trip every semester. One of those classes was a course that was about the study of the universe. In this class, there was a professor named Professor Jackson. It was the end of the spring semester of 2006, and the time came for his class to take their trip. Out of the twenty-five students, only ten were able to make it. This semester, they were going to visit the moon and space for a week.

            Professor Jackson took his students to the NASA station on Monday morning. They met with the tour guide who was going to accompany them on their journey.

            “Hi. I’m John Stanford,” the tour guide said with a smile.

            “I’m Professor Jackson,” the professor replied. “And these are ten of my students.”

            All the students introduced themselves.        

“Daniel.”

            “Megan.”

            “Lisa.”

            “Gary.”

            “Mary.”

            “Anthony.”

“Ricky.”

            “Raven.”

            “Special.”

            “Kenny.”

            After everybody introduced themselves, the tour guide called everybody’s attention. He sat everybody down in a room and explained everything about the trip.

            “Okay, everybody,” he announced. “As you all know, we are going up to space. You will need spacesuits. When you were in Professor Jackson’s class, you learned a lot about the universe, right? There are a lot of mysteries in space. Now, are you all ready for lift off?”

            ”Yes!” everyone shouted in unison.

            The tour guide gave them their spacesuits to put on. He put one on as well.

            “Oh, and one more thing before we go,” he added. “I almost forgot to tell you the legend about the Black Galaxy. When we get to space, you can go anywhere you want, except the Black Galaxy.”

            Kenny, one of Professor Jackson’s students, asked, “What’s the Black Galaxy?”

            “The worst place in space you could ever go to,” the tour guide replied in a dramatic tone. “There’s a virtual tunnel that leads to it. It has a big black hole. You can’t see a black hole, but if you get too close, you’ll get sucked in and never come out.”

            “What’s the legend behind the Black Galaxy, Mr. Stanford?” Special asked.

            The tour guide explained to everybody. “Everybody pay close attention to what I’m about to tell you. There are dark forces in the Black Galaxy. They will send so-called forces of light to lure people there. What happens is that a person will become physically attracted to these beings, meaning that they will let themselves be drawn into the tunnel leading to the Black Galaxy. Upon arrival, the dark forces will snatch the person up into the black hole.”

            Ricky asked, “What do these forces look like?”

            “The so-called forces of light have angelic faces,” Mr. Stanford answered. ”The dark forces have black shadowy hands that look like claws. Their hands reach out from the black hole, waiting for whom they may snatch into it.”

            Professor Jackson stressed the warning to his students. “Class, it is very important to heed Mr. Stanford’s words.”

            “Most important of all, I need to give you these,” Mr. Stanford said. He gave everybody a circular device.

            “What is this for?” asked Raven.

            Mr. Stanford replied, “This will protect you from the Black Galaxy forces. Everyone please put this device on your space helmets. Now whatever you do, do not take them off, or you may end up in the Black Galaxy. And we all know what happens next, don’t we?”

            “The dark forces will snatch you up into the black hole,” Gary answered.

            “Right on,” said Mr. Stanford. “Now we can go. We’ll be going into space, but first I would like to give you a little tour of the moon.”

            Mr. Stanford took Professor Jackson and the ten students to the space shuttle. After everyone got in and settled down, he gave the countdown before lift off. When

the shuttle landed on the moon, everyone was amazed at the sight.

            “Now remember what I said, everyone,” Mr. Stanford reminded them.

            The moon tour began. Most of the students believed the legend. However, there were those choice few who didn’t believe it. They all talked amongst themselves.

            “I don’t buy that legend for one second,” Daniel jeered. “Besides, this circle on my spacesuit makes me look like a dork.”

            Raven said, “Can you believe that guy? He’s really trying to make us wear that stupid thing to ‘protect us from the Black Galaxy forces.’ It so cramps my style of fashion.”

            Megan also scoffed at the legend. “Why should I believe the tour guide? Professor Jackson never taught us anything about Black Galaxy forces.”

            “Guys,” Anthony said, “just do what he says. You wanna come back in one piece, don’t you?”

            “Don’t tell me you believe that stupid legend, too,” Daniel said.

            Ricky replied, “It’s true, I tell you. That device Mr. Stanford gave us will protect us from being influenced by the so-called forces of light.”

            “Yeah,” Lisa added. “Those forces lure you through the tunnel and into the Black Galaxy. Once that happens, the dark forces will have you in their clutches and you’ll be doomed.”

            “Forces, smorces,” Mary sneered. “I have yet to see that happen.”

            Mr. Stanford called everybody’s attention. “Well, how do you like this little expedition on the moon?”

            “I think it supplements what we’ve already learned,” Gary replied, “because we’re experiencing it first-hand.”            

Kenny added, “I’ve always heard about how you’re lighter on the moon than you are on Earth. We’re all getting to experience it for the first time.”

            Mr. Stanford had showed them various parts of the moon, such as the moon rocks and the moon craters.

            “Does anybody remember what a black hole is?” asked Professor Jackson.

            Special replied, “It’s a collapsed star.”

            “That’s right,” Professor Jackson said. “Anything that goes into a black hole never comes out, not even a ray of light. Now who can tell me a way that an object can escape a black hole?”

            “An object would have to travel faster than the speed of light in order to escape,” Anthony answered.

            Professor Jackson said, “You’re right, Anthony. Now, we know that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, not even at that speed.”

            At the end of the tour, Mr. Stanford took everyone back to the space shuttle.

            “Okay, everybody,” he announced. “Now we’re going to visit outer space. Anytime we wanna be outside the shuttle, we’ll have to be attached to it. Otherwise, we would float away and run out of oxygen.”

            Everyone got into the shuttle and Mr. Stanford flew it into outer space. He stationed it near the Milky Way Galaxy and everyone was in awe.

            “The Milky Way Galaxy!” Lisa exclaimed. “We learned about that in class.”

            Mr. Stanford added, “The Milky Way is the galaxy that holds the nine planets in our solar system.”

            Suddenly, Ricky noticed a strange darkness in the distance. “What’s that shadowy place over there?”

            Mr. Stanford said, “Ricky just asked a very good question, so listen up, everybody. That shadowy place is the tunnel that leads to the Black Galaxy. I just wanted to point that out to you. That’s why it is very important that you keep that device on your space helmets. Do not take them off at anytime, or you might fall victim to the Black Galaxy forces.”

            “Most of us believe the legend, Mr. Stanford,” Anthony said, “but Daniel, Raven, Megan, and Mary don’t.”

            Mr. Stanford spoke to them. “You four better wise up, or you’ll end up in the black hole.”

            “Whatever you say, Mr. Stanford,” they all said in unison.

            Mr. Stanford decided to let everybody explore the Milky Way and as far as the cord they were hooked by allowed them to move. Everybody got out of the shuttle and went wherever they wanted to go.

            But Daniel went off by himself. Despite Mr. Stanford’s warning, he took the device off his space helmet. Shortly afterwards, Daniel noticed what appeared to be a beautiful woman in spirit form. He was so smitten by her that he couldn’t speak and his heart was beating fast.

            “Come with me,” she whispered in a haunting voice.

            Without the device, Daniel was helpless. He was unaware that he had been under the influence of a Black Galaxy force. He untied his cord and allowed her to take him through the virtual tunnel. When Daniel arrived in the Black Galaxy, the black shadowy hands reached out and snatched him up into the black hole. He tried to scream for help, but it was too late. He was doomed forever! It was the group’s first day in space and Daniel had been the first one killed.

            Back in the Milky Way, everyone was still exploring. Suddenly, Special noticed that Daniel was missing! “Guys!” she exclaimed. “Daniel’s gone!”

            Everybody turned around and gasped.

            “Look!” Gary cried. “There’s his cord!”

            Professor Jackson said, “I don’t understand. Why would Daniel untie his cord?”

            Everyone looked for Daniel, but he couldn’t be found anywhere. They were still unaware of the situation. At the end of the evening, they all went back into the space shuttle to sleep. The rest of the non-believers still didn’t believe the legend.

            The next morning, everybody was still trying to figure out the mystery of Daniel’s disappearance.

            “You know,” Ricky said, “it’s very strange that Daniel would disappear like that. Think about this. Would he really untie his cord, knowing that he would float away? I’m not absolutely certain, but I do think it’s possible that the Black Galaxy forces might have had something to do with it.”

            “Ha! Don’t be ridiculous!” Raven scoffed.

            Mr. Stanford replied, “We really don’t know anything for sure yet, but we’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

            “Now as for the rest of you non-believers,” Professor Jackson chimed in, “you might wanna think about what Ricky said. He could be right, you know.”

            Kenny added, “If the Black Galaxy forces did take Daniel, he sure didn’t scream. After all, he didn’t believe the legend and might not have known what he was dealing with.”

            “We don’t know what happened,” said Lisa, “but what I do know is that his cord had to have been undone somehow. If he knew he was in trouble, he would have screamed for help.”

            Special said, “That’s just it. He didn’t know.”

            The second day of the group’s expedition ended with no trace of Daniel or solid evidence of what had happened to him. Everyone went to sleep that night, but Raven was still awake.

            “This thing is working my last nerve,” she said to herself. She took the device off her space helmet. She went outside the shuttle to try to find Daniel, so she could prove that the legend wasn’t real.

            Raven hadn’t gotten very far before she was swept off her feet by the appearance of an attractive young man. She was speechless and had a fast heartbeat.

            “Follow me and I will take you to Daniel,” he whispered in a smooth, cool voice.

            Little did Raven know that Daniel had been killed by the black hole. She untied her cord, and the Black Galaxy force carried her in his arms as he took her through the tunnel. The dark forces awaited her in the Black Galaxy. Their hands reached out and snatched her up into the black hole. She screamed but to no avail. Raven’s doom was sealed forever! She was the second person killed on the expedition.

            The next morning, everyone in the space shuttle woke up and found Raven missing. They all took turns calling her name, but there was no answer.

            “Would you look at that!” Gary exclaimed. “Raven’s cord has also been untied!”

            Ricky said, “There’s a pattern here. Do you think Daniel and Raven could have been taken by the Black Galaxy forces?”

            “I have a feeling you may be right,” Mr. Stanford said. “If not, I don’t know what else could have happened.”

            Lisa found the device that had been on Raven’s helmet. “Oh, no!” she cried. “Don’t tell me she took the device off after the repeated warnings!”

            “Raven was another non-believer,” Mr. Stanford said.         

Ricky replied, “That can only mean one thing. She was taken by the so-called forces of light, and the same thing must have happened to Daniel.”

            But Mary and Megan still didn’t believe the legend. Mary said, “Oh, Ricky. There you go again, letting that stupid legend go to your head.”

            “Yeah,” Megan added. “Mr. Stanford’s just trying to scare us.”

            Professor Jackson spoke to them about their disbelief. “I don’t believe you two! What is it gonna take for you to believe the legend? Daniel goes missing one day, and Raven the next! Lisa finds Raven’s device off her helmet! Both cords were untied with no sign of either one of them! What more proof do you need?”

            “Unless you two can come up with another explanation on how Daniel and Raven disappeared,” Mr. Stanford added, “I would advise you to stop doubting! Otherwise, you’ll end up just like them! Got it?”

            Mary and Megan reluctantly nodded.

The third day went by with two people missing. When it was bedtime, Mary decided to take her device off to test her theory saying that the legend was just a bluff. She heard a voice at the shuttle window, saying, “Mary, I see you didn’t like the way the professor and the tour guide yelled at you.”

            Mary went outside the shuttle and was taken aback by the appearance of a handsome young man. He said in a charming voice, “Come with me. I’ll take you away from all your problems.”

            Mary’s hands were shaking as she tried to undo her cord.

            “Here. Let me help you with that,” the Black Galaxy force said. He untied her cord and took her away. But this time, somebody had seen the kidnapping take place. By that time, however, it was too late.

            “Everybody, wake up!” Ricky shouted.

            They all woke up.

            “What is it, Ricky?” demanded the professor.

            “It’s Mary!” Ricky exclaimed. “I saw a Black Galaxy force take her away! I didn’t see her cord being untied! All I saw was her being carried toward the virtual tunnel! After that, she disappeared into the Black Galaxy, and now it’s too late!”

            Of course, the dark forces had already snatched Mary up into the black hole. She was now the third victim to remain doomed forever. Because of Ricky, everyone now knew that the legend had been confirmed.

            Meanwhile, Megan had been in the bathroom. When she came out, everyone had seen that she had taken off the device.

            They all shouted, “Megan, put the device back on!”

Being bull-headed, she replied, “Aw, what’s the worst that can possibly happen?”

            “Megan, three people were killed by the black hole, because they were non-believers just like you!” Kenny shouted. “This is no laughing matter! Now put the device back on!”

            Megan stormed back into the bathroom. The next thing she knew, she was being wooed by the appearance of a gorgeous-looking gentleman. He had come in and taken her outside the shuttle.

            “Hey, Megan,” he said in a rich, mellow voice, “don’t you wanna join your other friends?”

            Megan was too stunned by his beauty to speak. Luckily, before she could untie her cord, the rest of the group came outside. Lisa had gathered up all three devices left behind by the victims.

            “Megan!” she called out. “Don’t untie your cord! Do you hear me?”

            The Black Galaxy force tried to intervene with Megan’s rescue. “It’s no use. She can’t hear you. She belongs to me now.” He laughed an evil laugh.

            “You leave Megan alone!” Ricky shouted.

            “Make me,” said the Black Galaxy force, as he pulled out a shadow stick. He swung the stick at everybody, trying to remove the device from their helmets.

Mr. Stanford warned everybody about the shadow stick. “Don’t let him hit your helmets! Otherwise, the device will be removed, leaving you open to the other forces!”       

“I’ll remove that device from every last one of you!” the Black Galaxy force said with an evil glee. “Then my other friends will be here to take you to the Black Galaxy!

Megan and the rest of you brats will be sucked into the black hole forever! And by the way, don’t you know you’ll be dead before you even reach the black hole? After all, the gravity force is way too strong!” His laugh was an evil cackle. The Black Galaxy force continued to swing his stick at everyone, but he kept missing as a result of their dodging.

            As he was doing this, Lisa distracted him by putting two of the devices on the space shuttle. “Hey, stupid!” she shouted. “You might wanna take a look at the shuttle!”

            The evil being turned around and became very angry. As he tried to remove the devices from the shuttle, Lisa was able to tend to Megan. “Hang on, Megan!”

            Megan was still attached to the shuttle, but she was in too much of a daze to fight or do anything.

            “Here, Megan!” Lisa put the device back on Megan’s helmet. Megan was restored to her normal self, and the Black Galaxy force had no choice but to return to the Black Galaxy. Everything died down after he left.

            “Lisa,” Megan said, “what happened to the other three people?”

            “They were killed by the black hole,” replied Lisa. “And that’s what would have happened to you if we hadn’t intervened.”

            Megan now realized how wrong she had been for being so bull-headed. “Thank you,” she said.

            All the other people went over to Megan.

            “We’re all so glad you’re okay,” Gary said.

            “I’m sorry for not believing the legend,” Megan apologized. “I was such a jerk.”

            Ricky said, “It’s okay.”

            As a result of the deaths of three people, Professor Jackson decided that it was no longer safe to be in space. “As of now, this expedition is over. Let’s go back to Earth before we lose anyone else.”

            Everyone got back in the space shuttle and returned home. When they got back, they told other people everything that had happened on their trip. As for Daniel, Raven, and Mary, they were sealed in the black hole forever. But the rest of the group, including family and friends back on Earth, mourned the losses before they moved on with their lives.

 

 

END

Author's Note

I wrote this story for a creative writing class. (2/13/07)