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Time: 8:00am / "Last Day on Earth"
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Waking up and stretching all of his limbs, Artie deeply yawned then sat on the edge of his mattress. While there, he hesitantly searched his phone for any bad news regarding the trip to the new planet. There were none, and the countdown had started. He stood, removed his raggedy shirt, and covered his sweaty face with his hands. He stood like that for a minute, contemplating something, and once done, he smiled. This time a genuine smile. Artie removed his hands from his face, then the pants from his legs.
"Sure, let's have a bit of faith in this thing. Not like things could end up any worse than suffocating, right?"
Getting fully dressed in his best, most stylish damaged clothes, he looked into his bathroom mirror. He admired how few holes were in his white dress shirt and how it was baggy enough to hide how terribly skinny he was underneath. The blue jeans he wore were rolled up at the bottom, but not as a fashion statement; he just didn't want to have a heat stroke on the way there. He, by his own definition, looked handsome.
"New world, new me?"
Artie snorted at how corny he was acting, then moved to the doorway of his apartment. Not spending too much more time, he stored a small switchblade in his left pocket and grabbed the bag he'd previously packed. After taking one last long look at the shabby box he called home, he departed.
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Location: Washington, Dc. / Time: 9:40am
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♫ "The sun, the sun rises in the east la la la. Clouds smiling at the sea la la la. The Sun ris-" ♫
"Shut up Gilbert! for the love of all things holy, shut up!
Gilbert, the picture of a man who'd lost all sense of poise and coolness, slammed his fingers on a keyboard. He was sweating profusely as a row of workers frantically moved around to different monitors next to him.
He had removed this drenched lab coat and hung it over the back of his chair. Gilbert was unusually thick despite the food shortages. The white anime-themed shirt he wore fit tight around his torso and exposed the outline of his unkempt form. He wore a thin pair of gold-framed glasses and a gold bracelet to match. He had Medium-length hair that was greasy and slicked back and appeared to be in his early thirties but could pass for twenties on a good day. His eyes, nose, and lips looked tiny compared to how cubby his face was. Gilbert had dark freckles on his pale skin and was turning redder as time went on.
"I'm trying to help, okay! Singing helps me focus, so leave me be!"
Gilbert shifted to humming the lyrics even louder than he'd been singing them while other workers yelled around him with different accusations and theories.
"How! We've been planning the perfect planet for months, so why is this planet's ozone discolored!? And two moons, in no manner did we discuss this at the meetings!"
One person after another was taxing onto the disgruntled chatter, the room's mood thick with anxiety and disarray.
"How do we know the atmosphere isn't poisonous??"
"The water is discolored too; there is no telling if a freshwater source exists."
"Regardless, it's too late; there is no time to recreate another planet; we have to go ahead with the transfer."
"Francisco is right; we'll have to keep this from the public; if word got out that our Ai created a different planet against our wishes, there would be mass mayhem."
♫ "The sun, the sun rises in the eas-"
"Shut the hell up!"
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Location: Kansas, Town Square / Time: 10:00pm
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Loud whooshing covered the area as many carrier helicopters flew overhead. Each with large crates suspended below by rope. Artie and millions of others crowded the streets, only able to walk with a few feet in between one another. The city was as toxic and stale as ever; even on their final day, the sun was completely covered. Smoke loomed over their heads, cutting visibility down and making it difficult to see ahead. The temperature was already gruesome, so adding the closely knitted bodies didn't help.
"At this rate, I'll die of smog poisoning before we take off," Artie coughed, covering his mouth.
"Now that I think about it, I have no clue how they plan to move this many of us across space to a new planet. I don't see any large spaceships."
Lifting his head, he scanned the area meticulously. All that could be seen past the ocean of people was a colossal metal tower standing higher than the most prominent building. In addition, he didn't notice when, but the ground beneath him had been replaced with sturdy metal plates.
"Is this a large catapult?"
He had faith that whatever was planned would work, though he was uneasy about the "how." His hands trembled as he continued his bogus hypothesis about how he would travel.
"Maybe the ground will shoot up, and we'll all be flung across space and onto the planet. Or, the ground itself could transform into a ship; it'll carry us there like a sci-fi film."
Joking to himself, Artie accidentally kicked the person's heel walking in front of him. The man he kicked didn't turn around but tried to stretch his head higher to see ahead. Artie also raised his head once he noticed that the crowd's pace had slowed.
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"Ah, people are starting to stop. This must be as far as we can go."
Many people were lying down their luggage and beginning to use at their devices to educate themselves on what would be transpiring. Following suit, Artie lowered the bag that he packed and sat on it, pulling a phone up to his face.
While many were with loved ones, he sat alone. It didn't bother him as much; he thought he'd be more uneasy if accompanied by his family. The idea of him getting screwed over was one thing, but to see the devastated faces of people he loved was another.
Artie stared at his phone longer and sulked because there were no missed calls from either of his parents despite everything happening. They were divorced and living separately, but surely, they did not forget about their only child.
"Maybe I'll give them a call... Remind them that they're genetically inclined to ask how I'm doing."
Just as soon as he sent the call, it was dropped. He tried several times but couldn't reach either parent. Seconds later, he looked up at the large, grayish metal tower and squinted.
"That's it! Is it a giant cell tower? It certainly does look like one… Maybe it's been blocking calls for the last few days. I'm out of luck then cause there will be even less chance of contact in the new world."
Parents aside, Artie thought about how he'd have to build relationships once there. His solitude was justified before because it was dangerous to be outside. But on a planet with fresh air, he'd have no excuses.
"Hmm, I could slither my way into old workgroups. They'd understand why I always kept to myself, right?"
Artie reached into his bag and pulled out a protein bar and chips. While snacking on them, he opened the web and scrolled through pages specifying the events. Not to his surprise, he did find a message specifying that the towers would interfere with call service. Forgetting about his previous catapult theory, he read up on the concept of the Little Bang and how the technological advances that made it possible also played a big part in the increase of pollution.
Artie had been reading and talking aloud despite his ethics about exposing himself to more smog. It wasn't his intention; it was a habit he'd formed from trash-talking on online games.
"So, an Ai is creating Earth 2? Ironically, the very thing that doomed us is going to save us. If there's one complaint, I have…."
He lowered his phone from his face and used his chip dust-covered finger to rub his left temple.
"If there's one complaint I have, it's that some super geniuses are too bland to come up with anything better than the name Earth 2. I mean, come on, that's dangerously lame."
"I agree; it is a bit on the nose," commented a stranger.
Artie turned his head only slightly to the right, where he noticed a girl also sitting on luggage. Next to her was what appeared to be a younger sibling. If asked to describe, Artie would simply say she looked healthy, an uncommon trait for their world.
"I didn't realize I was talking so loud."
He responded slowly, speaking a bit louder than before. In between his response, he glanced at the girl's appearance. She looked to be within two years of his age, Caucasian with long light brown hair, color in her cheeks, and clearly well nourished. Her face was clear of any unnatural spots, and the makeup around her eyes looked so natural that Artie had a hard time telling it was there. The color of her eyes reminded him of the light brown muddy water that dripped from his shower. Even sitting, he could tell she was the same height, if not a bit taller than himself. The young boy next to her looked similar, except for the boy's darker, scruffy hair.
"You weren't; I'm simply good at eavesdropping on conversations," she plainly replied.
Her expression didn't change as she moved her lips, and Artie thought the girl's voice didn't match her appearance at all. He'd expected a sound more angelic to belong to a face like hers, but it was fire and ice.
The young boy sitting next to her had a passive yet curious look, and Artie couldn't help but notice his piercing gaze.
The boy stayed sitting but quickly jested his upper body forward and shouted.
"I-IM FREDDY, NICE TO MEET YOU!"
The sudden outburst startled Artie, so much so that he responded with the first thing that came to his head.
"Ah... Like the horror movie character, Freddy Kreuger."
Five seconds of silence and Artie mentally beating himself up passed before Freddy spoke up again.
"I- I love that character, our parents are against us watching scary movies, but sis sneaks them out of their room for us."
Artie couldn't fathom how his clutch comment furthered a conversation. He began to open his mouth to speak again, but a woman's voice interrupted him.
"Is that so?"
Two figures appeared behind the boy and girl and spoke to them disciplinarily. Based on their appearance Artie assumed they were their parents.
Their attention shifted from their children to Artie, who'd been idly looking back. Only a quick scan was needed for the parents to realize what kind of life he'd led. Tattered clothes, pale brown skin, malnourished. Even the typical lower-class human looked neater. Focused on their children again, they continued.
"We heard Freddy shouting and thought something was wrong. Our colleagues are up ahead, let's go join them."
The two stood up, and the towering father grabbed the luggage before leading the family away, leaving Artie alone with his thoughts.
"I don't know what's bothering me more... That woman looking down on me, or that their son is watching horror movies like Freddy Kreuger at his age."
<>
The sound of coughing intensified as time went on. Not just his own or a scattered few, but It'd been echoing all around the vicinity. He covered his face with a cloth, but blood spots had still spilled onto the ground where he sat. Artie knew he couldn't last much longer; no one would. He could rationalize why the state would need time to evacuate to the transport location, but his vitality was dropping fast.
From his left ear, a resounding thump could be heard.
Artie spotted a body lying face down on the ground nearly ten feet away. The foggy area already made it difficult to see, but his eyes had also become heavier and his vision more clouded. He could make out blurry figures moving closer to the fallen body and no more. At least, he wasn't capable of gathering any more than that.
"Just a bit longer... Just a bit longer, and I'll be climbing trees and eating coconuts near the water."
There was a sudden dizziness; then throbbing pains jolted through his forehead.
"Ouch... would it have killed them to install cooling on these plates."
Artie had fallen and laid weakly on the floor. Unable to move his limbs, his face burned against the metal ground. His breathing was decreasing, and blood continued to drip from his nose and mouth.
Thump, thump, thump, the sound of bodies dropping continued. All conversation had subsided and was replaced with low cries for help and pleads for mercy. His mouth pressed against the ground, and Artie retreated into his thoughts.
"It's hot; it's so damn hot. There's water in my bag. I should get a sip- oh right. I can't move... I'm tired; it hurts, I'm bored, hungry, lonely… No, never lonely."
…
"I hope my parents are having better luck... I hope they both make it oka-"
Even thinking became too challenging to keep up, and Artie slipped out of consciousness and into what he expected to be his final rest.
…
…
A blaring beep sounded, then a robotic tune echoed throughout the city. Following was a blue light that emitted from the tower. It gradually grew brighter and brighter. First covering the town's square, banishing the smoke's darkness, then spreading without any signs of stopping. The sound of an electrical engine started to howl, followed by the ground warming up further. The plates he laid on were glowing the same color as the tower, and he could feel the light through his unconsciousness. It resonated with his soul and lifted him. While he had not moved, the increasingly bright light had raised him far up, further than the clouds. He could feel his weightless body breaking apart, first losing the presence of his legs, then arms, and eventually, he felt nothing at all. Aware of his own existence yet unable to prove it.
Emptiness