Chapter 1

Today you call me Adam and it is a name that I have become use to; yet that was not the name people called me by long ago.

When I was born I was called John Adam Winslow, although most people just called me 'Jack'. I was born a country boy in the mid-west and grew up on a farm. We grew corn and a variety of cereals and grains like wheat and feed crops like alfalfa. We had our own garden plot where my mom grew vegetables for our table and a small orchard where we had apple and pear trees. We even had a few chickens and other animals for our own meat and dairy.

I was the oldest of three children and when my dad died, I inherited the farm and the care of my mother, Sally. It was here that I lived with my childhood sweetheart and our three teenage daughters. Life was good. Well most of the time.

My sisters Jane and Patricia, who were close to me when we were children, moved on after our dad died. Jane lived in the next town with her husband Frank and their daughters. Frank was a soldier with the National Guard and he was often gone for long periods of time. Patricia lived down the road from me, on her own plot of land where she raised her daughters while her husband, Henry, drove truck for the local food cooperative, having given up farming his own property.

As it was customary in my family, Jane and Patricia routinely ended up at the farm when the weather was nice or when there was a holiday. My mother, though in her sixties still held court and was a force to be reckoned with. That was why the gang was at my place when everything happened.

It was Labour Day and we were having a barbecue. Jane and Patricia had showed up early with their girls and had been there most of the day, helping in the kitchen. Both their husbands were off, one soldiering and the other trucking and my mother had insisted on making a big day of it. Personally, I didn't mind as all I had to do was work the barbeque and keep the beer cold. The women took care of the rest.

Now I've mentioned my family, that being Jane and Patricia and their daughters. They both had two girls each, Paula and Elaine, and Francine and Fiona, the twins. The girls were down by the lake swimming with their cousins, my daughters – Sarah, Lizzy, and Karen. However, they were not alone. They were with their other cousins, the daughters of my wife's sisters.

My wife, Emma has two sisters, Heather and Bethany. Both of them have two daughters each. These four girls, Beverly, Crystal, Helena, and Carol were also down at the lake with my girl's and nieces having fun.

The fact was I was the only male at this barbeque, not that I minded much. After all, it was a warm late summer day and I was getting an eyeful. Not that I was leering or anything. Emma's mother, Betty made certain of that. She kept an eye on the girls and an eye on me. Still, what I did see caused a little stirring in my loins and gave me thoughts about what would happen later that night with my loving wife.

Now at this point I want to make it clear that nothing had ever crossed my mind about my nieces or my own daughters. Sure I teased Emma's sisters from time to time about what they were missing out on, and occasionally I even flirted with Betty, although at sixty-one she was no longer the knockout that she had been in her youth, but that was that. I was a good dad and I can honestly say that my thoughts were pure. Of course, I knew that my daughters were sexually active. My eldest, Sarah was twenty-one and had been away from home to attend State. She had brought home a boyfriend or two during her college days and I know from my wife that there had been a scare or two in regards to a false pregnancy. I can say I was never happy with the knowledge but I had to accept it. After all, my girls were growing up. Still, knowing that your kids are sexually active and thinking about them sexually is two different things, and until that Labour Day, I had never crossed that line.

Afterwards is the rest of this story so let's get into it.

The day went well with the girls hanging out at the lake, sunning themselves, swimming, and sipping beer. My daughter Lizzy had 'borrowed' a two-four when she had gone down, with the intentions of sharing it with her sisters and cousins. Seeing it was Labour Day I turned a blind eye and went back to flirting with my sisters-in-law. By supper time I was feeling good and so was everyone else.

That's when it happened. We had just sat down for supper. Betty, being more religious than the rest of us had insisted upon saying grace. She had just finished and we had all just said 'Amen' when we were surrounded by a bright light. It was a while before I remembered anything else.

"Hello Jack," a voice said softly.

"Who... ?" I asked as my mind raced and fear filled me.

"Be calm Jack." said the same voice. "Everything will be fine."

"Where am I?" I asked glancing about me, with wide eyes and a questioning look upon my face.

"You are here!" declared the voice, leaving me totally in the dark.

Well, figuratively in the dark that is, for where I was standing, I was silhouetted by a large circle of light, light that allowed me to glance about at my surroundings and see with my own eyes where I was. Unfortunately, all that was revealed to me were smooth metal walls and nothing else.

"What's going on?" I asked, my fear creeping into my voice once again as I spoke.

"You need not fear us Jack," spoke the voice, "You are safe. We have saved you."

"Saved me... ?" I murmured in disbelief.

"Yes!" declared the voice calmly. "Your world has been destroyed. A meteorite plummeted into it. The impact destroyed the crust of your world throwing up millions of tons of particles into the atmosphere blocking out your sun. The aftershock and the blast of the impact engulfed your entire world in a matter of minutes."

"Engulfed ... all... ?" I stammered in response, tears running down my face as my mind came to grips with what was being said. "My family... ?"

"Your family lives!" the voice replied. "We saved everyone who was with you when we took you."

"They're alive..." I stammered, "My wife ... my daughters ... they're alive!"

"Yes Jack," the voice said, "they are alive and well, as are the rest of your family."

"Where..." I began to ask.

"They are close by," the voice said knowingly, "and you will be reunited with them soon."

I glanced about again in the vain hope that I would see my wife and children, but it was not to be. All I saw was the metal walls that I had noticed before the voice spoke to me. Tears still ran down my cheeks and fear welled up in me. For a moment I did nothing. Then taking a deep breath, I wiped the tears from my eyes and took hold of my emotions.

"Where am I?" I asked, forcing myself to focus on the immediate.

"You are onboard a starship." replied the voice in a matter of fact tone. "You and your family are in a vast starship travelling deep in space."

"Where are we going?" I asked bluntly. "What do you want from us?"

"We are transporting you light years from your own solar system," the voice replied. "Your planet is dead; however there are other worlds that have just begun. We are transporting you to one of these worlds. It has been determined that the human race must survive, so we are transporting you and your family to a new planet so that the human race will grow again."

"What... ?" I cried in a startled tone.

"You and your family will save the human race!" the voice responded.

"But..." I started to say, shocked at the suggestion that was being implied.

"There are no buts," said the voice firmly. "We understand your objections, however in selecting you and your family, it was determined that you objections would be overruled. You and your family is the best chance for the survival of you species."

"But..." I stammered once more.

"There is no but." interrupted the voice. "During this journey, conditions have been implemented to remove all obstacles that would prevent the continuation of the human race. These conditions will become active once you and your family reach the world that we have selected for you."

"But..." I started to say in protest again.

"There is no 'but' Jack," said the voice in finality. "You will rest now so that our conditioning can be completed. Then in a day or two of your time, you will be reunited with your family."

That was it. As the words of the voice faded, my mind went blank and before I could even cry out in surprise or protestation, my mind faded into oblivion.

When I became conscious again the metal room was gone and I was standing in an open field with a clear blue sky above me and long, wild grass rustling about my knees. A gentle breeze rustled my hair.

"What... !" I said aloud in a startled voice.

"Jack... !" exclaimed a familiar voice.

"Dad... !" cried three others.

"Son... ?" murmured another.

I blinked. About me were my family and my wife's family. We were all there and for a second joy filled my heart. Then I blinked again.

My wife, Emma was standing directly in front of me, no more than five feet away. She was staring at me in disbelief. I think I was doing the same, but at her. I blinked again and looked around a second time.

"Jack is that you?" asked my wife.

"Emma..." I said cautiously, "you look ... younger. You look like you did before we had kids. You look like you're in your early twenties."

"So do you Jack." Emma replied, giving me a big grin. "You look like a total hunk, honey"

Surprised, I took a quick look at myself. Boy was I surprised. I was standing in a denim shirt and pants with work boots on. Gone was my beer gut and day old stubble that had once adorned my face. I was now trim, fit looking, and looking every bit the jock, which was shocking because I had never been a jock in my whole life. Hell, I think I was even taller than I remembered.

Chapter 2 »