Flash Fiction Compilation

God

There is no God. I am sure of that. When disasters and wars ransacked our world, everyone prayed for the almighty Oia to help us with their divine powers. Yet they never came, and we were dumbfounded, confused, and betrayed.

We didn't expect to see the light of day again, but we persevered. Through our survival instinct, our civilization regained footing. Technologies helped us reconnect with other lost souls, and the economy rebuilt the crippled society. We were looking at the upcoming days with hope, but for it to be crushed, as another impediment was looming over us.

We may survive, but the last calamity left a marking still on our planet, because the area of land has been reduced by more than half. At first, no problem occurs because the cut in our numbers, but our population starts growing again. It was initially met with positice reception, even when the growth reaches the highest spike our kind has ever seen. To me and my team, though, we are counting by the years until the overpopulation starts haunting us. Famines and wars will follow suit, and history is going to repeat itself. This time, though, we, I don't turn to God, leading me to this spaceship.

My heart is beating, the pressure is getting to me. What if it's all wrong? I keep asking the question. I am spacing out, looking at nothing outside. My hands are glued to the steering handle. I can feel my soul fading away. Then it lays itself in front of my eyes. The sight of it pulls me back to reality; A raw, rough-surfaced, light-brown colored planet, Vasinda. The closest planet to our world, that according to the calculation, is for our kind habitable. This is it.

With great care, we land the spaceship on the surface of the planet. As we get closer to the planet, my heart beats even faster and the sweats drop even harder. When we landed the rocket, smoke from the exhaust cover the window. Somehow seeing only white for a moment gives me a sense of tranquility for a second. That is enough to help me get out of the seat to ready myself.

I stand in front of the door, fully equipped, my hand already holding the handle. A downward spiral of questions and doubts ensues when I ask myself if I should recheck everything. So I shake my head and exhale a single long breath, which seems like forever. There's no more room for doubts. My arm is shaking. I don't know if it's from the anxiety or me gripping the handle so hard. Maybe both. When I open the door, the smoke has been disappearing, but still rather thick and covering everything. I still see little, but I sense something. It is glaring at me.

I pull out my plasma gun, having it in my hands calms me. I can hear myself breathing in my helmet as I look around, pointing the plasma gun everywhere. But the deep stare is unmoved. Whatever it is, the gun doesn't instill fear in it. As the smoke has dissipated, I notice something. There isn't just one thing having their eyes glued on me, because a plethora of weird-looking creature are surrounding me. They growl and growl, but no matter how hard they try, I don't speak their tongue. I stutter, trying to form words in my mouth, but to no avail. They move closer to me, their chatter now louder than ever. I just stand there, trying to grasp the situation. There's a weird feeling inside of me. I don't sense any hostility in them, but why are my hands trembling so hard? What am I so afraid of? Then with vigor, a child of their kind, I assume, grabs my leg and holds tight onto it. Out of reflex, my hands move and aim my gun at the kid. But I drop the gun no sooner than I realize. The kid is bawling its eyes out, growling, or rather begging for something. At that moment, I can feel my heart dropping and losing all strength in my muscles. Through the intercoms, the others are shouting, telling me to get back to the shuttle, but their efforts are useless. It is nothing but white noise to me now. A little smile form on my face, which gradually turns to laughter. I understand why I didn't sense hostility in them. This is almost no different from last time, when Oia came to our world. Only this time, I am Oia.

There is no God. I was sure of that.