The Drift (completed)

Chapter 16

Ethan’s POV

I start running, while rubbing my hand, it’s just a minor burn but it still hurts. “Hey, look! the buildings are standing! They’re steady enough to not fall! If we make it onto one than we don’t have to run!” Becca shouts. I roll my eyes but nod my head in agreement. We speed up and I head in front of them. I turn down a street and I can feel the glares of the group burn in the back of my head. I see a fire escape ladder and slow down so I can grab it.

I swig myself onto it and grab the hand of Brian. I pull him up with struggle, I used my burned hand. I push the thought away and grab Izzie’s hand, then Sophie’s, then Aiden’s, Andrew’s, and finally Becca’s. We run up the fire escape and get to the roof. Hopefully we’re safe up here. I do a head count to make sure everyone’s here, and I see Aiden doing the same. We’re all catching our breath again. I rub my hand that now feels like a rope burn. 

“Is everyone okay?” Aiden shouts. We all nod our heads except Becca. She’s on the ground gasping for air. Izzie grabs her back and gives Becca an inhaler. Becca has asthma? I look around and catch Aiden’s eye. I walk a bit farther away that they all are so they can’t here me. Andrew and Aiden follow. “So what are doing?”

“Brainstorming, do either of you have any ideas? ‘Cause I don’t.” I tell them truthfully.

“What could we do?” Aiden says, shaking his head. I feel another earthquake but it seems minor. I start thinking of ideas and something cold touches my head. I look up, it’s snowing?

“Guys look!” I point out. The snow starts falling fast and I realize where we are. I climb down the fire escape so that I can find a way in. I climb through a window and I was right, it’s an astronomy warehouse. I grab a good looking telescope and look into the sky. 

“What are you doing?” Sophie asks. So the girl can talk! I ignore her and look into space. Where’s the sun? Where are the other eight planets? Even though Pluto isn’t a planet anymore, it should still be here. I look at the workspace beside me and see sketches and pictures of what’s supposed to be seen, but I don’t see anything. I see asteroids, big ones and a lot of them. This picture shows none, this means we’re in the band between Mars and Jupiter. I guess my freshman science class did help. “What do you see?”

“I see, that we’re in the band between Mars and Jupiter, but why?” I whisper. I also don’t see Mars and Jupiter. There are too many asteroids, why aren’t we dead yet? I keep the comments to myself so I don’t scare them. 

“Ethan, what?” I hear. I look up to see Becca looking scared out of her mind. “Ethan, what? What are you not telling us?” 

I sigh. “Well I don’t know much, but like I said, we’re in the band between Mars and Jupiter, but Mars and Jupiter can’t be seen. I see way too many asteroids to know why we’re still alive. My suggestion is that the sun’s lost its gravity, the sun died or something, it probably turned into a white dwarf and we stopped orbiting the sun.”

“Well you’ve been so observational, I have been too, but I’ve been looking at surroundings. I don’t know why, just like you don’t know why we’re drifting from the sun, but look! The insects, arachnids, every type of bug, they’re multiplying and who knows, they might want to eat us, there are enough bugs outside to end the animal population, including us.” Becca pauses, looking out the window. “And look, that deer, she isn’t hiding. There are so many birds are if you haven’t noticed, they have blood in their sight. They want to kill us! Ethan, you think your so smart but take a look! You don’t have to die from asteroids. The ground that isn’t covered with molten lava has wild animals, the air has birds and bugs! And have you noticed? We’re not the only people.”

I stop and stare at her. I’ve never heard that 16 year old girl talk so much. I continue looking out the window and I see what I didn’t see before. Everything she said, I can see and I have no idea why I didn’t see it before. I look back at Becca and Sophie has her wrapped in a hug. We’re all really close, even though I barely remember Sophie, Brian and Andrew. I look back into the telescope and I feel an earthquake, as I feel it the view of the telescope changes and the Earth shifts away from the band of asteroids. 

I feel like I’m driving a space shuttle or something. Earth spins and I feel dizzy. Aiden pushes me off of the seat and he looks through the telescope. He gets up and runs his fingers through his hair. “You okay?” I ask him. He nods his head but he looks dizzy as well. Becca goes next, but she stays in the seat for a while. I wonder what she sees.

********Becca’s POV

I sit down in the chair once Aiden’s up and I look hard to see what everything is. I see some dead stars and some planets but I can’t identify them. I get up and rummage through some thrown papers. I find a projector and plug it into the telescope. The wall now is covered with what we see through the telescope. Everyone gasps in awe as they see the beauty of space, and the reality of what we still call Earth. I look away from the screen and Andrew’s standing behind, well now in front of me. I smile nervously and can’t help but blush at how close he’s standing to me. I’m extremely short for this group of naturally tall people so I have to crane my neck to stand this close to him and still see his face.

Gosh I feel like a 5 year old. I push off the thought and turn away rolling my eyes. Before I leave view I see Andrew smirk and hear him chuckle. I walk out of the warehouse and back onto the roof. I hear the fire escape make noise and I laugh. Sophie’s red curly hair is seen before it’s gone and she bursts out in a laugh. “How did you manage to trip? Twice!” 

I see her blue eyes glimmer while she laughs. “I don’t know! I’m such a klutz!” We both laugh even harder. It’s easy to laugh, now that there isn’t much to laugh about, so when there is something in this messed up world, we can finally laugh. “Do you like Andrew?” She asks with a smirk on her face. 

“No!” I tell her, a bit too quick. Her eyes widen.

“Yes! Yes you do!” I shake my head furiously, wow I’m doing all of this wrong! Of coarse she thinks I like him. I’m not saying I don’t like him, but I don’t want him to like me back, I’ve never been good in relationships and I’d much rather stay single for the rest of my life. 

Andrew walks up the fire escape and motions for Sophie to leave, once she’s gone he opens his mouth. “Can I talk to you?”

Hey guys:) So I was writing this chapter, and it took me all week! Ugh, so many things are happening and it's all really hard, but this chapter, well I think it's exciting, hope you guys liked it, I tried my best and I even added in a small cliff hanger:) Love you guys!! Bye<3

~Becca<3