THE END

Chapter 6

I hear a click as the doors of the two pods become demagnetized. Wonder how that works... When the two pods are separated, we open the door and step outside. I can tell the gravity is different; one step almost sends me flying. I take another step carefully, trying to balance.

Jupiter appears much like Earth in structure. It used to be a gas planet, with a liquid core, but eventually it cooled and hardened into solid ground, and the scientists managed to mess with the atmosphere and filter out the oxygen. Of course it took years and years for science to advance that much, but we did it.

There are legends of a raging hurricane on the other side of the planet, but it's nowhere near us, and supposedly it died down when the core hardened.

I look around and see that the ground is mostly red-ish brown rocks, and the sky is a clear, bright white. I take a deep breath, "The air is so much better here!" I say.

"Yeah..." Neil says. "Can you believe it? We're really here." Suddenly the door of the red pod slides open and out comes a girl of around 14 or 15. Her hair is the same light brown or dirty blonde shade as Neil's, and she has the same eyes: green on the outside, with gold rings right around the pupil.

She has an air of confidence, and I get the vibe that she can take care of herself. Her long hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she wears all black; a fitted tank top, cargo pants, and combat boots. But at the same time she's extremely pretty. Neil takes a deep breath. She catches his eyes and just stares.

They look so alike, yet it isn't possible that they've met, is it? "Natalie?" Neil asks, almost unable to speak.

"N-neil?" She falters. "Oh my god Neil? Is it you?" He nods, speechless. She runs to him and he pulls her into a hug. I feel like I should be jealous, but somehow i know this isn't the time to interfere.

"Tally. Oh my god." Neil whispers, breaking apart from the hug abruptly and holding her at arms length as if he's inspecting her for damage. "You're safe? I thought- when the bombs came, and they took Mom and Dad... I thought you were killed." 

"Nope." She says. "But I did figure out what really happened that day." Neil's eyes grow wider. He seems so shocked to see her again. "It was our scheduled day for evacuation, all four of us, but there had been a major bombing that day so it got postponed a few hours. Mom and Dad followed an official, I don't know why he wanted to talk to them. But I was left on my own. So me, being a stupid 11 year old, decided to make the most of my last few hours on Earth."

She continued, "I decided to explore the furthest corner of town, a few torn down old buildings I had never gone inside. I didn't find much, but then again I was only there a few seconds before the bomb came. I heard it before I saw it, so I ran outside and just barely missed it as it crashed into the building I was in. You saw the ruined building and smoke, which is why you assumed I was dead. I ran back to town to find mom and dad being forced into a pod. They saw me and I got to go with them, but you were too slow. The reason we were forced to leave right then was apparently for our own safety. They were supposedly expecting an even bigger bombing within the hour, and wanted as many people as possible out alive."

"So you were taken here," Neil finished, "and I couldn't follow you. I did try, but you have to be 16 to take a pod by yourself, and once I was 16 I wasn't sure I wanted to risk going to a new planet for a family that may be dead." We're all silent for a moment.

"The past four years we've been living here, on Jupiter." Natalie continued. "But about a year ago, Mom and Dad died-"

"What?" Neil asks. "But... I never got to see them again." His voice cracks with emotion and he looks heartbroken.

"I'm so sorry," I say to Neil, putting a hand on his shoulder. They both turn around sharply, as if they forgot that I was there.

"How did it happen?" Neil asks Natalie after a moment.

"There was an epidemic that broke out here a couple years ago. No one really knows what caused it, not even the scientists. Perhaps humans just hadn't adapted to Jupiter yet or there was a new bacteria here that made our bodies react. They say a third of the population on Jupiter died from it." I let out a low whistle.

"So you've been on your own for a year?" Neil asks.

"Yup, just me. But I've made some friends here. I can take care of myself." She tells him. He nods in agreement; Natalie's tough. But I can tell Neil blames himself a little, he feels guilty that he wasn't there for her when their parents died.

"Why were you going to Earth?" I ask Natalie, to change the subject to something lighter.

"Actually, to find you." She said to Neil. "I was sick and tired of this place and figured you might still be alive. I figured I would check our old town first, and move from there. I remember you always used to hang out with that neighbor girl, Cecily Something-or-other? I thought I would ask her and her family about you."

"That's me." I said.

"Cecily!" Her face lights up and she grins, for the first time I've seen. "I knew you looked familiar somehow." We shake hands, although with a potential war between planets and Earth literally in shambles, such little things barely matter.

"So," I gesture out at Jupiter; red rocks, white sky, silver metal buildings and a few scraggly plants. It's a desert landscape, although somehow I wouldn't be surprised if they got snow in the winter. "Care to show us around? After all, this is our home now."

"Sure!" She said. "Just follow me."