May 15th

“These damn aliens! They’ve even infiltrated my staff!” General Morris screamed as showed me a list of all the known infiltrators that he captured. Most were humans that sold out for money, but a few were even Qarri disguised by their advanced technology. And the worst part is, he was completely right. I would press on a picture on the screen, and it would show all the evidence that they committed treason. The glow of the screen illuminated the dark room where the two of us stood. Due to my spacefaring experience, he trusted being alone in the room with me.

General Morris pressed on his remote, which switched the screen to show the world map. Each country had one of four colors on it. He pointed to Switzerland and explained, “The blue color here means that the country is completely free of Qarri. Whether due to lack of interest or expert extraction, the Qarri aren’t there.” He pointed to the USA and explained, “The green color means that the higher levels of government are free from infiltration, but traitors and infiltrators exist in the lower levels.”

He then hovered his laser pointer over Canada and scowled. “The yellow color means that higher levels of the government are deeply infiltrated. Either that or the country is in the midst of a civil war between pro-Qarri and anti-Qarri forces. We were once here, but I have rooted out the traitors where they laid,” he growled as showed pictures of the carnage of the German Civil War. He showed a picture of an entire city laid to waste and explained, “This is what the city of Frankfurt looks like now. Pro-Qarri forces dropped a nuclear bomb on the city and kidnapped any survivors. Rumor even has it that the Qarri are experimenting on the victims they kidnapped. According to a spy report, these experiments are worse than what they did to your wife.”

I shuddered as my imagination ran wild. Scarlett told me little of her life between her abduction and my rescue, but what she did tell me was horrifying. Prodding needles and shock collars weren’t uncommon. And she was one of the lucky ones. She told me that several mutants were made into inhuman monsters. Those monsters would then be unleashed on disobedient test subjects as punishment. Now I could only imagine what it was like for all those kidnapped people. “That sounds terrible,” I bluntly replied, shocked at the seemingly apathetic tone.

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one!” he said with an eye roll before closing that photo and returning to the map. He pointed to China and shouted, “Red means that the Qarri ******** have completely taken over the state apparatus! With the world’s largest population unknowingly serving the alien overlords, I fear that humanity is doomed! Any country in red must be destroyed with such a devastating force that no alien could survive the onslaught!”

I froze in terror as I remembered the video reels of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now there was Frankfurt to add to that list. Hundreds of thousands, millions in the case of Frankfurt, of lives snuffed out in a second. My terror turned to seething rage and I jumped out and screamed, “Monster!” I pointed at him and failed to suppress a nigh-animalistic growl. “What you propose is nothing short of a genocide! While you may not hate Chinese people in particular, you’ll still be effectively killing them off! And if the death of billions of fellow humans doesn’t dissuade you, surely the inevitable retaliatory strikes should!”

The general laughed before slamming his hands on his desk. He glared at me and shouted back, “The alien menace is an existential threat! Only through their complete and thorough eradication can we ever be free! Even if we must survive the apocalypse that follows!” He then assumed a refined posture as he switched the screen.

The screen now showed a diagram and floorplan of some kind of spaceship. The dimensions were massive, almost the size of a small town. He pointed to the clearest view of the floorplan and explained in a calm voice, “Which is why I had the engineers make these. This is an Ark. Much like the Biblical Noah made an ark to carry the few righteous to survive the flood, these ships will carry humans off the Earth before the bombs drop. It is time for Earth’s Baptism by Fire.”

I crossed my arms and sarcastically replied, “That makes everything better. Instead of keeping billions alive, let’s allow a few million to live so what little remains of humanity to live for eighty more years.”

He scowled at me and said, “Your sarcasm is not appreciated. However, since you’re an important symbol of human resilience, I’m going to let you board one of these ships. You can take as many family members or friends as you’d like. Along with them, I’m certain that a certain vulpine freak would like to come along. I specifically reserved a spot for her on the ship, so make sure to bring her along.”

I stared at him and replied, “Scarlett is coming with me. And so is my family. While I have a distaste for your methods, I’ll take every opportunity I have, to go to safety and raise a family there.”

He laughed and proceeded to make fake googly eyes. “‘Oh Scarlett, my little *****, would you like to have a bunch of freaks together? If we don’t kill each other in the process, we’ll wake up one day to see mangled monstrosities that growl and bark instead of talk. I so love that I married someone who looks more like an animal than a woman! If I’m lucky, you won’t devour me like a dog!’” he mocked.

I growled and balled my fists, which only made him laugh harder. He pointed and continued, “Look at you! You even picked up some of her behavior!”

I took deep breaths and let the anger flow out of me. It was unbecoming of me to lose my temper, but his insane plan and dehumanization of my wife pushed me over the edge. I looked down and said, “I’m sorry.”

He patted me on the head and mockingly said, “Good boy. I’ll give you a biscuit when I get back from the war.” He then tossed a pamphlet over to me. I picked it up and could see the title.

“The Noah Initiative,” I read aloud as I opened it up.

Before I could read further, he ordered, “Quentin, go home to your wife. As of today, you’ll be given a stipend for the duration of your life. Once there, you’ll have to find a job there. Thank you for your services. You have just saved the human race.”

I sighed as I walked out of the room. Without having to look, I already knew that several armed guards were carrying my things to my car. I walked into the parking garage and opened my car door. “Whatever you must do, do it fast,” I said as I unlocked the trunk.

Sure enough, armed guards deposited all my stuff into it, closing it once they were done. I got into my car and drove home.

I parked the car in the garage before walking into the house. Sighing, I placed the pamphlet on the coffee table before plopping down on the couch. A few minutes later, I heard a car horn honk in the garage. It was followed by the door being opened and my beautiful wife walking into the room. She walked up and sat down next to me on the couch. I must’ve hid my feelings poorly as she rubbed my back and asked, “Quentin, what happened? You seem upset.”

I picked up the pamphlet and showed it to her. She looked on with worry as I seethed in rage. After taking some deep breaths, I opened it up and screamed, failing to calm down, “General Morris is a madman! He’s planning to start a nuclear war to eradicate all the Qarri and their sympathizers.”

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Scarlett gasped as her eyes went as wide as the moon. “My God! It’s worse than I thought!” she screamed before looking me in the eyes. I could see the utter dread and terror in hers. “What is your plan? You’re always the man with the plan.”

I shook my head and said, “Unfortunately, there’s only one plan I can implement. General Morris is forcing us onto one of these Ark ships to evacuate. In fact, most of the US population is going to be boarded onto these ships. He told me to gather all the family and friends I cared for, and to keep them on our ship: the Mayflower.”

“Nice,” she replied before beginning to read through the pamphlet. “Congratulations. You’ve been selected to go aboard the Ark ship Mayflower. Unfortunately, due to our technological state, it’ll take fifty years to reach the planet. Therefore, you’ll be cryogenically frozen so it’ll only seem like a day passed. Be brave, Americans. Your sacrifice will help humanity claim its rightful place among the stars.” She placed it down and said, “I don’t trust him. He could be planning to get us out of his way. For all we know, the nuclear war plan could be a lie and he’s just trying to send all those who stand between him and complete power out of the solar system.”

I shook my head and said, “While what you said could be true, it could also be true that he was telling the truth. We’re not nearly important enough to warrant exile. We have nearly no political power. And the one who is more politically relevant is you, honey.”

She scoffed and said, “Please! You’re often considered a minor celebrity. Me? People often call me an attention-seeker. Some believed I purposefully got mutated in order to draw media attention. They believe I’m just a dumb rich girl, who’s attention seeking to get out of her father’s shadow. Now I feel like the media would’ve gotten to me if I escaped Qarri captivity and returned home.”

“Don’t listen to them. They just want to bring you down,” I said before sighing. “However, nothing can undo the fact that the two of us are too famous to live a normal life. Perhaps colonial life would give us some reprieve.”

“Or more responsibilities. Remember, everyone expects us to know everything about spacefaring technology. This is despite the fact that the ship we navigated was far more advanced to the point that it was made easily accessible to the average person,” she replied before looking through the pamphlet again.

I held my head in my hands and groaned. “After all we did, we can’t stay on Earth! And worse now, our families can’t either!” She rubbed my back.

“My love, I know how you feel. I’ll have to bring my family on the ship, including Amanda. My sister hates me, but she’s still family. However, I know I can’t bring my father. Did you hear about his cancer?” she replied as I noticed grief in her face. Despite her face being foxlike, I could still see the human expressions in it.

I stopped grieving as I gave her a hug. “I know. Let’s go visit him again. He always loves seeing you,” I said as I got up and put my shoes back on. We walked back to the garage and got into her car. She quickly backed out and started speeding on the street. Only a year ago, she was a cautious driver. However, she got used to driving quickly, as she now tended to go ten miles per hour over the speed limit.

After a ten-minute drive, she drove into the parking lot of the hospice. We got out of the car and speed-walked to the receptionist’s desk. Scarlett leaned over the counter and asked, “Can we visit Samuel Campbell?”

The receptionist reached for the phone and dialed the nurse. After a short conversation, she hung up the phone and said, “Hurry over there! He’s losing lucidity!” We didn’t need a prompt to start running through the halls.

We got to the room where he was staying and entered to find him staring at the ceiling. Scarlett ran up to him crying, “Dad!” She fell to her knees and leaned onto the hospital bed. I walked into the room and sighed in relief. We made it in time. Her father turned his head to face her and smiled.

He weakly moved his right hand and stroked her hair. “Scarlett,” he said in a hoarse whisper. He gave up on chemotherapy, but its effects were still visible. He was bald, frail, and sickly. It was clear, today was going to be the last day of his life.

“Dad!” she pleaded as tears came to her eyes. “I’m not ready for this day! I wanted you to be there for me when I got older! I wanted you to live to be a grandfather and see your children having their own lives! It’s unfair that you’re dying in your fifties!”

“Scarlett,” he repeated as he shook his head, “while I wish I could live a bit longer, I know that nothing I do can bring more time. Modern science isn’t advanced enough to cure me. And I don’t think divine intervention is going to miraculously cure me either. What is the point of begging for more time? It’s not going to make it happen. I’m just glad I lived long enough to experience the happiest day of my life.” He went into a coughing fit before getting a hold of his breathing.

Scarlett’s tears reflected the ceiling lights as she asked, “What was the best day of your life, dad?”

He tapped her muzzle and said, “The day you came back. It was going to be the worst day of my life, having to confront the ‘fact’ that you were dead. Then you crashed the funeral with your future husband. You may not look normal anymore, but we can all see that you’re still human. And most importantly, you are my daughter. My beautiful girl who I thought I lost forever. The fact that you’re now covered in fur and look foxlike doesn’t change who you are.”

Scarlett’s tears started running down her face when she hugged her father. “I love you dad.”

“I love you too.” He then looked at me and said, “Come on, son. Am I not a second father to you?” I nodded before walking over to him and hugging him. For a minute, we all stood there hugging each other. Tears came to my eyes as I was losing a man who was like a father to me. It didn’t matter that I already had one who was close to me. He accepted me into his family and treated me like a son. He broke my expectations by being a good person while being rich. Granted, his social sphere treated me snobbishly, but it was to be expected.

We broke off the hug as the door opened. I looked towards it to see that Arthur had shown up. He wore blue jeans and an orange polo shirt. He bowed his head as he walked up to his father. “What is it, dad?” he asked as he leaned over him.

“Arthur, I’m so glad you showed up,” Mr. Campbell said as he leaned up to hug his son. “How’s acting?”

Arthur shrugged and said, “I’m still a D-list actor. To be honest, I feel like I’m never going to make it.”

Mr. Campbell laughed and said, “As with all things in life, you have to keep trying. You’re lucky to have inherited your looks from the most handsome man alive.” Everyone in the room laughed before he continued, “But anyways, it’s all about hard work. And sometimes, you need to learn to give up. Not every dream can come true. You need to find something you enjoy and make a living off of.”

Arthur shook his head and said, “It’s late-stage capitalism. There’s no job since the bourgeoisie are hoarding all the wealth for themselves while leaving the proletariat to starve to death, cutting all our jobs to replace us with robots before leaving everyone to die. It is the stage where a great socialist revolution must—”

“Arthur, now’s not the time to go on a political rant,” I interrupted as I walked over to my wife.

“Thank you, Quentin,” Mr. Campbell said before looking at all of us. “I have a final dying wish for all of you. Take care of your mother in my stead. And tell Amanda that I restored her inheritance. She’s still my daughter and it’s unfair for me to cut any of my children out of inheriting my money.”

Scarlett looked away and said, “We’re not on speaking terms anymore.”

Arthur sighed. “I’ll do it. It’s the least I can do.”

Mr. Campbell nodded and said, “That’ll be great.”

Arthur left to go home, leaving us with Mr. Campbell. Scarlett and I stayed with him for an hour before heading home. As we were about to go to bed, she received a phone call.

She got up and answered the phone in the bathroom. I leaned against the wall to listen.

“Yes ma’am, I understand,” Scarlett replied. I could hear the sadness in her voice. She was on the verge of tears, which gave me a good idea of what she was being told. She wheezed before continuing, “I knew it was going to happen. We’ve made the arrangements already. You’ve called Amanda, right?” After a while, she continued, “Okay. Please provide some help for my mother. She’ll need the emotional support.” I heard the phone hangup, making me return to bed.

Scarlett laid down next to me and cried, “My father passed away.” She sniffled before letting the tears flow. I patted her back and pulled her into a big hug. For the second time in her life, she lost her father.

The worst part was that it was only going to get worse. We needed to leave the planet soon. But we had time to pay respects to the man who accepted me into his family.