Chapter 1
Edna
"Heartbeat, I can't wait any longer." His magnetic voice went from his lips to my brain.
I couldn't see him clearly but I could feel the heat from his touch.
"Who are you?" I asked in a trembling voice.
"You will know soon. It is just a matter of time." He replied.
His voice began to fade away and the heat from his touch dissipated slowly.
"Wait!" I shouted and my body sat up at the same time.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I looked around.
There was no wild man with golden eyes.
Everything was a dream.
I was the only one in the room.
For some reason, I was very thirsty.
All the moisture in my mouth and throat seemed to have disappeared.
This wasn't the first time I had a dream about this strange and unknown man.
His appearance was covered by some kind of misty veil every time.
The only things I could notice was his touch and his mesmerizing golden pupils.
My faded shirt clung to my body like a second skin.
I didn't need to see him to feel the power he emanated though.
I can not wrap my head around the reason why I was having dreams about this man.
I did not count myself as one special person.
I was just one of the numerous females on earth.
These dreams started once I turned 18, I was 19 years old now.
The dreams went from sweet introduction to what it was now.
A year ago, I could only hear his voice.
Now, I could feel his touch on my skin and his golden eyes-the only thing I could see in his appearance-trapped me like I was prey.
I came down from the bed.
I guess it was time for another cold bath.
Bang!
The door to my bedroom flew open.
The force behind the door was violent.
I looked at the intruder.
It was my brother.
I should have known.
Nobody had the keys to this room except for the two of us.
A panicked expression was on his face.
I have never seen him look like that before.
Tyler, my brother was a tough man.
Only a few things in existence can faze him and put him on a red alert.
The current era we was born in had forged both of us.
Weakness was only reserved for family alone, nobody else.
Since our parents were no more, we had to be smart and watch each other's backs.
I don't really remember my parents. All I knew was that I had Tyler.
Since I could remember, we had always lived in a base in Manhattan.
The world outside wasn't inhabitable anymore.
It was the end of the world.
The plundering things humanity had done to the earth finally bore fruit.
It seemed the earth finally had enough. It started to strike back to remove the source of its destruction.
Natural disasters happened on a norm and the death toll was high.
Resources depleted rapidly while the soil depreciated.
The earth was spent.
I have heard of humans living in their own houses in past.
They had the right to choose their hobby and work.
Some of them were insanely rich while majority struggled under the control of trying to live well in the economy.
Cars could ride on the road without being interrupted by a random flood or snowstorm.
I had only seen mentions of these in some of the preserved books we have at the base library.
I thought it was fiction at first.
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There was nothing human beings wouldn't do to comfort the dreary feelings this apocalypse brought.
Writing novels and fictions that featured imaginary things wasn't new.
Alas, the librarian told me those books were nonfiction.
People really lived like royalty those days.
"Brother, what do you mean? This base is made of great materials, it won't break down because of a random earthquake or hailstorm." I questioned.
I discarded the thought of going to the bathroom and walked over to where Tyler was standing in.
The panic on his face didn't reduce.
His demeanor was drawing me into a tense mood too.
The thing that could make my brother this panicked would not be normal.
"Edna, this is not a random snowstorm or earthquake. It is something that is so much bigger. The core of this earth had broken down." Tyler explained.
"What?!" My mouth dropped open.
The scientists in our base had already given an expiration date for the earth.
This wasn't the time they calculated.
That time was still far away.
"Don't be too shocked. The Earth's core is spilling lava and the surface area it covers is spreading." Tyler said.
"What would happen to all of us now?" I asked.
Within a limited time, my world was going to be destroyed.
"There is no time to talk. Pack your things into a bag. I have packed mine. The government has provided some spaceships to house humanity till we find another habitable planet to settle in." Tyler said. My eyes strayed to the bag he was hanging in his shoulders. I was just noticing it now.
I rushed to my little wardrobe.
There was a small traveling bag hanging at the side of the wardrobe.
I grabbed it before swinging the doors of my wardrobe open.
My eyes scanned the things in the wardrobe. I settled on a few essential things.
I took the clothes and essentials before stuffing them in my bag.
"The government wants to take everyone? Is that really possible?" I asked as I continued to pack what I needed.
This wasn't about the government being bad or good. It was impossible to bring every human alive to stay in the spaceships they built.
The government should even be commended because of the fact that they created spaceships for the nearest future.
Although the apocalyptic times we are in reduced humanity's population drastically, the humans who were still alive numbered in hundreds of millions.
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It would be a miracle if everyone got on the spaceships.
Worry ate at my heart.
I don't know if there was some kind of condition for getting on the spaceships.
I don't know if Tyler and I could meet those conditions.
I finished packing my things and zipped the bag up.
"Every family has two quotas. Those quotas are tickets to get on board. Hold your ID card, it would be needed to verify your family and identity." Tyler explained.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
Thank God.
Things would have been really ugly if one of us have to stay back.
The worst possibility would be if the two of us was abandoned. Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
"I'm done. Let's go." I said, "Where is the spaceship?"
I give my little bedroom one last glance before exiting.
I shut the door and followed my brother to the place the spaceships were.
The bases that was built to safeguard the remaining humans left on earth was made in a similar format.
It was built like a huge beehive.
The space available was managed and utilized in a way that would bring maximum benefits.
Each family would have one room assigned to them. To get more rooms, a person would have to work for points.
Money, gold and diamonds turned into scrap materials after the apocalypse set in.
Tyler was lucky enough to gain points when he ventured outside the base with a team. He moved out of the room we shared after that.
The room became my personal bedroom after he left.
"The spaceship is at the entrance of the base." Tyler replied, "Hurry, there is no time to waste."
We arrived at the entrance of the base in record time.
"Tyler! Take me with you! I don't have a quota." A familiar voice said.
Tyler and I looked towards the source of the voice.
It was Penelope Douglas, my brother's girlfriend.
My face darkened.
What did she mean by those words?
Our family only has two quotas!© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.