Tevun-Krus #31 - Dying Earth

Earth Hub - a Short Story by @RoshelleD

"Let them go. It's me you want. I'll go with you."

One of the men smiled. He moved the gun away from Ceci and Soraya thought they were good. But it wasn't to be. Seconds later, he'd put the barrel with the silencer attached back up to her head. She'd done nothing to save them, standing there frozen as her family called for her. She'd been a gutless failure as they fell with their eyes still open. Wisps of smoke curled in the air. Their blood and brain matter spattered the mashed potatoes and rolls along with her mother's treasured blue and cream Toile curtains.

Hours later, Soraya remained in shock, unable to cry as she cleaned up the mess once the coroner took their bodies away. Mom's favorite lilac perfume lingered for hours afterward. An accidental death. Like hell. Why had they even bothered to file any paperwork? Because they knew they had her in a vice and she couldn't do anything to fight it.

Soraya held in her scream as she walked down the crumbling sidewalk, the pounding increased in her ears and she saw the blood again. They'd had a message for her but now she had one of her own for them. Their deaths couldn't be in vain. Hell, none of the people on this planet should be rotting away for nothing. She'd burrowed safely underground, able to avoid them and the increasingly toxic air. They weren't stupid enough to come after her, but that didn't stop them from lurking.

Her phone buzzed. A text from Mason.

"How's it coming?"

Soraya shook her phone which pulled up the message response screen. "Swimmingly."

"I'd give anything for a pool right now."

Soraya laughed, her breath clouding the mask. "Only you would say something like that at a time like this."

"Ya gotta admit, drowning would be a cool way to go out."

"Anything would be better than this."

"True. Did you make it to the launch site yet?"

"I had a stop but I'm on my way to the building now."

"Be careful. I left something for you in your pack. And I'm waiting."

She responded with two of the thumbs up emoji and opened her bag. She smiled at the tiny cinnamon rolls, butterflies filled her. Mason knew her too well. She popped a couple in her mouth while digging through the pack for her keys. Minutes later, her chest tightened and her stomach lurched.

They weren't there.

Sirens blared in the distance as the clouds dissipated a little. She needed to get underground. But now she had an extra stop to make. Soraya pulled at the neoprene/polyester suit. She had to get to the site and launch the probe.

The Sun couldn't go supernova, at least not right away. So they targeted the next best spot. A red giant approximately two light years away. A targeted hit with a metric fuck-ton of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen was supposed to work.

Or maybe that was another lie she told herself. Add it to the growing list. Either way, a trip to her former employer was in order. The blood rushed in her ears while she tried to come up with a plan. Her key card wouldn't work. And there was no way in hell she could show her face there without being arrested—possibly killed.

Dammit! She had to think. Use that brain of hers to help everyone instead of contributing to their demise as she'd been doing. If only she could go back in time. She would've said no to her boss's offer. Gone into medicine like her father wanted. But he'd died during her last year of medical school. His dreams for her future had dissolved with him.