The Sound of Rockets

They evacuated the women and the children first, it almost resembled a technologically advanced rendition of the Titanic. Almost no information was given as to why the near entirety of the human race had to evacuate the planet; deep down everyone knew that the Earth, our home for thousands upon thousands of years, was dying.

It was awe inspiring watching as everyone was led single file into the ships, like animals into Noah's ark; it all felt strangely biblical. My viewing window didn't allow for much in the way of a landscape view; I could see some dying and dead trees, they looked like nothing more than used firewood. Surrounding those trees, as far as the eye could see was scorched and infertile soil, no longer the bringer of life that the Earth's plants so dearly needed. Up above the sky burnt a bright yellow, as though it had been set alight. It also revealed just how dire the situation had become.

I sat back down on my cot, not wanting to watch everyone else leave anymore.

"That bad, huh?" Leo had never really spoken that much, at least not before all the events that have transpired. He didn't seem too fussed when they broke the bad news to us.

"Yeah, the world's gone to shit. The good news, at least for everyone out there, is that they've all got their spots to salvation. Meanwhile, we're left to burn with the planet."

Leo chuckled incredulously, not moving from his laid down position on his cot.

"What'd you expect? They said it themselves, we're flight risks. How could they ever begin to trust us in a confined space with thousands of innocent civilians?" I hated to admit it, but he was right; no matter the crime, the trust that anyone had in any of us is lost.

At least a week ago, some pompously suited officials visited our cells; enough of them came to talk to all of us. They explained that the situation had been deliberated on, quite extensively apparently. Terms like 'flight risk' and 'dangers to society' were thrown around, in the end we were told that we weren't going to be put on any of the ships, that we were going to be left behind.

Over the course of the week, a lot of the prisoners that had been spoken to, my fellow cellmates, ended their lives in various ways. Some of them took their own bedsheets, tied them around the bars on their windows, then tied the other end around their necks and hanged themselves from it. Others found ways to remove the screws that held their cots together, then used the pointed ends to cut their own wrists or their own necks.

Soon enough our numbers were whittled down, one by one, until only Leo and I remained. As bad as our situation might seem, I'm just glad I get to share my front row seat with somebody.

"How long till they leave? I want to watch them fly away." Leo almost sounded enthusiastic about watching the world leave us behind.

"Not sure, they're evacuating entire cities across the globe. Could take weeks, months, maybe even years." Now, even I knew that it was far-fetched to think that it would take years to evacuate everyone and so did Leo who had begun to chuckle again. While he still lay on his cot with his hands behind his head, he turned his head to face me.

"I doubt that it'd take years, but we've got all the time we need to wait," Leo turned his face away from me and back to his window, "Just sit back and watch the charcoal clouds roll past."

I stayed sitting on my cot staring at a single spot on the ground, all I could do was think about everything that Leo had said. I eventually came to the conclusion that Leo had originally presented. There was no way to change anything that has happened; my fate is sealed.

All that's left to do now is sit back and wait for the sound of rockets.