The Final Stage – Chapter 20: Exodus
Harry let Kojak sit against the wall in the hallway, which now looked more like a third world war ridden country. The gunshots stopped and the smoke and dust began to settle. The scene that unfolded itself was one of death. Shaking on the ground, all of the aliens were dying, getting internally fried. The telepathic wavelength connecting their DNA with the machine was working. As the final alien stopped shaking Harry went up and kicked it, dead.
Cheers filled the hallways from the surviving soldiers; the war had finally been won. Turning back Harry headed to Kojak’s side. He was pale but his leg had stopped bleeding. One of the reasons Harry knew Kojak was an alien; he could heal faster than any human could.
“It’s over,” Harry smiled putting a hand on Kojak’s shoulder. “It’s finally over.”
“Go see if he’s okay,” Kojak responded and motioned down theh hallway towards the hanger they had been protecting. Harry nodded and bolted off down the hallway.
***
Tears streamed down Trevor’s cheek as he continued to watch his the last semblances of life leave his friend’s body. He panted trying to catch his breath between sobs. “Garut, stop it. I can’t…”
“They’re almost all dead.” Garut answered. “It interesting, it must be working because…carrying the baby all that time left alien traces in her system.” He nodded.
“Mommy,” Kit-Kat cried in the distance. Trevor looked over at the young red head and then his eyes moved up to Harry who appeared in the doorway and watched Carol twitch one last time then her body went limp. The water of the machine started to spill out onto the floor pouring onto Trevor's shoes and pants. Trevor grabbed the limp body of his friend before it hit the floor. The young girl ran to Carol’s side and shook the woman. “Wake up. Mommy! Mommy!”
Eight Years Later…
“Mommy!” A very different little girl shouted running to her mother, the first lady of the United States. The new President Mark Sanchez, a former FBI agent, watched his wife take his daughter out of the room. Sanchez sat down in front of the camera. This would be his last address to the people of his country. Similar addresses of world leaders all around the world were taking place. The camera went on and he took a deep breath and looked down at his speech.
“Dear the people of the world. As you know these past nine years have pushed our people, our human race to the brink of extinction. It saddens me to say that we have lost too many people.”
***
“Dad!” A fifteen-year old Kit-Kat entered the small bedroom of the apartment she had been living in the past few years. “I can’t find that picture of mom.”
“I have it,” Parker held a picture of Carol and him when they were in high school. Parker sat in an old recliner watching the television. In one hand he held Carol’s picture and in the other he held a green ticket.
From the television the president’s speech continued, “…so we must leave Earth behind and create new memories among the stars. The ships once built for war have been transformed. They will be our home until we find another. I am confident that we will find another place to live, another place to create memories and mostly another place where we can leave the suffering behind.”
Kit-Kat approached her dad and hugged him her long red hair dropping over him. “You know, I had a dream about her the other night.”
Parker looked up at his daughter. “I dream about her every night. I wish I could have been there. I wish I could have done something.”
“I wish I did something.” Kit-Kat held back tears then shook the bad thoughts away. An eight-year-old boy ran into the room. He was slim and had dirty blond hair cut short into a bowl cut. He flew a toy spaceship around the room. His favorite toy.
Parker looked to Kit-Kat and whispered, “he looks more like him every day. I hate it.” Parker got up and walked out of the room to finish packing his bags.
Kit-Kat grabbed the boy and tickled him to the ground.
***
Trevor sat on a hill with a curvy twisted tree dead for years and the red polluted sky painting a mural of everything the planet had been through. Trevor sat on the hill overlooking the launch site of the ships. He leaned back onto his arms pensive in thought.
Kojak moved up to his side and sat down putting an arm around the man.
“Don’t,” Trevor shrugged off his arm.
The taller tanner man still unageing kept his eyes on Trevor. “It’s not your fault. You had to do it.”
“Did I?” Trevor replied. “I had to be the bad guy. I had to be abducted that night all those years ago. You know. I didn’t even want to go rock climbing. I had a math test the next day.” Trevor shook his head. “I had a math test the next day and I decided to go rock climbing.”
“The invasion, it all would have still happened. The world would have been much worse off.” Kojak answered.
The sun began to set over the horizon gleaming off silver towers in the distance, the ships which once were built for war but now morphed into salvation for the human race.
Trevor leaned over and kissed Kojak moving his arm behind Kojak’s head and pushing his lips tighter. A feeling that once was warm and comforting felt cold now. Over the years it grew more and more numb. “I can’t love anymore.”
“Don’t say that…” Kojak answered reaching over and grabbing Trevor's hand. Trevor pulled his hand free moving away from Kojak.
“You mean don’t tell the truth.” Trevor stood up and felt a soft wind caress his cheek. “I need to see him Kojak. I need to see my son.” Kojak stood up and the two watched the last sunset they would see on Earth together.
***
Lines stretched out leading to the ships, this was one of the many launch sites around the world and the mass exodus to leave Earth has already started days ago. Airports were filled with planes and buses, trucks, cars, everything to get the last bits of the human race to these ships.
Holding a gun and dressed in military apparel Harry helped keep the crowds orderly as they proceeded through the health inspections and towards the ships. The tired eyes of the human race proceeded towards the ships in the early morning night.
Kit-Kat’s fiery red hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she held her little brother’s hand. They waited on the other side of the health checkpoint for their father. Once he got cleared he continued through and put his bag through the scanner. They would be assigned a room on the ship and were being pointed in the direction to the Novum Initium the ship that would be their home until Earth found a new place to land.
“Come on you goof.” Kit-Kat laughed and nudged him forward but then stopped spotting Trevor in the distance. She grabbed her brother’s shoulder holding him back. Parker approached the two eager to get on the ship. He quickly recognized Kit-Kat’s silence and his eyes fell onto Trevor.
“I’ll handle this.” Parker moved forward and instantly pushed Trevor backwards onto the ground. He jumped on top of Trevor and punched him hard in the face. “Fuck you!”
Quickly, Harry pulled Parker off of Trevor and then singled the other military personnel that it was okay; “calm down,”
Parker was taken aback and looked from Trevor to Harry, “who would have thought we would meet like this?” Parker calmed down and then looked at Trevor. “You don’t have any right to show your face here. I don’t care if you’re a national hero. People like you shouldn’t receive medal of honors.”
“Heh, I threw that out long ago.” Trevor answered to Parker’s surprise. “I suppose, I should have come and apologized earlier...”
“Whatever you have is far too little and way too late.” Parker growled his fist clenched.
“I know,” Trevor nodded. “I just want to see my son.”
“Well, you’ve seen him.” Parker spat out. “What? You all of a sudden decided to be a father.”
“Hey,” Harry interrupted. “Let’s not say things we can’t take back.”
“This is none of your fucking business.” Parker shouted then poked Trevor in the chest. “No chance.” Parker returned to his family and the three of them continued towards their ship.
Harry pat Trevor’s back and Trevor started to cry. Trevor moved away from Harry and started to walk in the opposite direction. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his pant leg. Turning, Trevor noticed his son, who had separated from his family and stopped to look up at Trevor. He smiled and handed Trevor his toy spaceship.
“Don’t be sad mister.” The same familiar eyes, these untainted with hate and war looked up at Trevor. The young man ran back to Kit-Kat and Parker and continued with his family to the ship.
Trevor looked down at the toy spaceship and smiled some teardrops fell onto the ship and he felt a feeling he hadn’t in a long time. Love.
The End