Lies.
That was all the few hours left of Soraya's life had come down to.
Why this whole shitstorm started.
But no longer. No more sitting back doing nothing.
She rubbed the back of her neck, her gaze bouncing between the pair of gravestones. The gravesites had been plundered like the others that had been here for more than six months, most likely for jewelry and clothing. Soraya's steps were careful as she made sure her facemask was sealed, taking care to avoid the fallen bodies, on her way to the gray slabs. Their final resting place.
The scent of plastic was better than the noxious stench of death and fetid smell of destruction. The congealed blood oozing from their eyes and mouths told her this was a direct result of the Aterrota strain —a new super virus. At least their end had been quick. Better than the slow death Soraya and anyone left here on Earth had coming.
Which was why there wasn't much time.
Soraya's stomach churned. She wrung her gloved hands as her eyes burned with unshed tears. She put down the piece of paper. One last letter to her mother and sister.
"I'm sorry." Her voice broke as a lump formed in her throat and she tried to speak past it. "I never meant for this to happen to you."
Movement out of the corner of her eye made her jump up. They were probably already here. Or maybe it was the paranoia at work. Other than Mason, it had been her closest companion these days.
Damn them all.
The governments and heads of countries with their secret plots of mass genocide to lower the numbers. Something they thought would help the planet. They thought finding a new energy source would work too. Until they birthed the still unknown phenomenon which had been attracted to the Sun—the greatest mass in the solar system.
Was it dark matter? Some sort of black hole? Whatever it was had hurtled away from Earth, ultimately reaching a stable point near the Sun which accelerated the star's loss of fuel.
Then came the planetwide warming trend. It eventually killed the bees and also brought the ecosystem on the verge of collapse. With limited food stores and a water supply that dwindled by the day, you could stick a fork in it.
The Earth was done.
And as for the Sun; it was nothing but a dying star soaking up shitloads of hydrogen until the day it collapsed on itself—and them.
Either the Sun—or being stuck here on Earth—would kill them.
These days, one month was the optimistic time frame. The Earth, the Sun. Might as well choose between getting shot in the head or the heart.
And yet her superiors didn't want to cause panic so wanted to keep silent on that day eighteen months back. Soraya had been, looking through the floor to ceiling windows and out into space at the mix of black and red spots dancing on the Sun's surface. The lies had to stop. Which was why she had to fix it.
She'd dared to defy upper management. First by telling anyone she came across about what she'd seen. Then by using her own variation of their Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR), an electromagnetic thruster capable of propelling a spaceship to triple digit speeds. She hadn't given a thought to all of the possible consequences.
Rather than arrest her as she'd expected, they'd decided on a different method of punishment. Another one of their lies.
That had been almost a year ago.
Soraya had closed her door behind her , ready to sit down to dinner and tell them about the new initiative she'd proposed to conserve water. Her stomach jumped in her throat along with the bile when she saw the men in suits holding guns to Mom and Ceci's heads. Panic took over.
"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.
An explosion shook the area. Soraya's eyes went wide as the yellow fire blazed and thick, dark smoke mushroomed. Her body trembled as tears pricked her eyes.
No.
People ran in every direction, nearly trampling her in the process. That was it. There was no way to get to the probe now. No way to finish what she'd started.
Soraya trudged along. If only she'd left sooner. Now the Earth was truly doomed. She needed to get to Mase. Then they could go to the ship.
She'd left it up to him to use his patented transformation technology to hide it. She pumped her fist now as a plan formed. If they could get to it, she'd have access.
To The Hub. A super collection. Art, food, literature, memories, science, sports—some of the best shit on Earth.
All Soraya had to do was hit the switch. Activate the built-in fail safe that would take them back. Start things over to a time where people were enlightened. When they didn't turn away from the truth even as it smacked them across the face harder than an angry parent.
It had its final destination programmed in. As an aeronautics expert Soraya knew what had to be done.
But where was it? She'd have to reach Mase and find out.
But first...
She took a deep breath as she approached the City Center. Getting inside the nearest building would be her shortcut to get to the city limits.
Her eyes darted to dark corners, careful to stay in the background. Her lungs burned some and she checked her mask again, thankful the gases hadn't started to affect her. Just the exertion and the heat. Being covered from top to bottom wasn't conducive to comfort, but that was something she'd lost a long time ago. That along with what was left of her family.
Time to wipe the slate clean. Put the planet out of its misery. At the beginning of the year she'd never imagined they would be facing an event of extinction level proportions. But now, six months later, it loomed over them like the slow growing hydrogen fog in the atmosphere.
Soraya made her way inside of an abandoned building, her feet slogging through what she knew was blood. Probably more dead people who'd sought refuge as the pathogen tore through what was left of their respiratory system.
She remembered the lies the health service had told when describing the disease. Perhaps not going into medicine had been a good call. Her goal had been to save lives.
So what the hell was she about to do now?
Soraya opened the door to the waning reddish light overhead as another water pill dissolved under her tongue.
Her phone beeped this time. An emergency message.
"I take it you didn't get to the probe in time. Here's where to find me."
She looked at the coordinates. Mason had come through again. She took off into the crowd of dead trees.
He'd been her one true foundation through the funerals, the loss of her job and friends. At this time last year, they were happily engaged, planning a new life together.
And then this shit happened. Soraya didn't see the point in getting married given the circumstances.
They'd come up with the idea of The Hub. Its original purpose had been for use as a time capsule. To preserve the lives of the diverse cultures in the world if it should end. Soraya never expected it to actually happen.
Sometime between the first deadly viral outbreak of 2082 and the start of the ocean evaporation, they'd discussed options. Brought in people who could help put their grand plans in action.
Damn, had that really been three years ago?
Making sure the fail safe activated was what mattered.
Soraya stopped after she'd gone almost a kilometer, her heart beating frantically when the mountain came into view. Heights had never been her strength. If her nails weren't covered, she would've been biting them.
Nowhere to go but up. She reached for the rope and began her ascent, gritting her teeth with every movement.
After what felt like hours, she reached the top, out of breath but euphoric with exuberance. Saw the USS Savior in all of its titanium alloy covered glory. Then she saw Mason.
She sagged against him as her knees buckled.
"I've got you." Mason held her up.
He helped her to the ship where he closed the door and pushed a button. The cool, oxygenated air filled the cabin. She sat down in the nearest chair. And once her mask was off, Soraya wasn't able to get a word out before Mason's mouth was on hers. She held him tight, craving his strength, tasting the same need that built inside her as tears burned her eyes. It seemed as though everything sped up, yet also stopped. If only they had more time. But they didn't.
This had to be done.
That thought was quickly tempered by a hit of reality as she pulled away.
"What is it?" Mason asked.
Soraya took a shaky breath, running her fingers through her short, brown hair. "I need you to tell me I'm doing the right thing." Soraya gestured around them. "Look at us. We all thought we were such great humans and model citizens, yet managed to fuck up the planet and the Sun in one go."
"To be fair, that wasn't our fault."
"I know. But just because we didn't realize what was going on, doesn't make it any less of an excuse."
"Don't do this, Raya." Soraya looked into his gray eyes at the plea, went to move the strands of black hair out of them. He cupped her face and she held his hands, looking at the way the different shades of their skin blended. "You can't beat yourself up over something you can't control."
She sniffed. Not true when it came to Mom and Ceci. That had been all her bad decision. She could blame the government all she wanted, but she was responsible. No use bringing that fact up in the moments they had left. "I guess you're right."
"If you're having second thoughts about this, you don't have to go through with it." He stroked her cheek. "We're all gonna die anyway. The selfish part of me wants to spend the last days of my life with you."
"I feel the same way." A tear dropped down her face.
But she couldn't. The Hub was all they had left. Damn near everyone who'd been a part of creating it was gone. The remaining few were hidden, counting down to the end.
The same thing she was doing now. This would be a win for humanity.
"We have to do this."
"I know."
Mason gave her a kiss on the cheek before he jumped up and got in the pilot seat. As the ship roared to life and her nausea kicked in, Soraya knew. No doubts or turning back.
This was the right thing to do.
Mason took her hand. "Here goes nothing."
Soraya squeezed his. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to come to this."
"We'll meet each other again." Mason kissed her hand. "I love you and I'll see you soon."
"Love you, too."
Soraya wanted to believe there was a new beginning for everyone, including them. Whatever the outcome, this ship was about to take her to a place she'd never seen before and would probably never see again. She flipped the knob under the words, "Earth Hub." Closed her eyes and said her silent good-byes, soaking in the warmth of Mason's hand as the Savior raced toward the burning red giant.
Even though it was a one-way trip, the promise of a different outcome—and future—was worth every life that had already been, or was about to be sacrificed.
Hers included.
The End?