With the buses as our new mode of transportation, the gridlock subsided and the highway cleared, we were moving at a much higher pace now, straight south. Some streets were already damaged as tornadoes were created from the wind currents so the buses needed to go off-road for some time, thankfully they were built to be able to do that.

With the lack of triple-seat rows, I was sat next to a girl of similar age to mine with whom I didn't talk for a big part of the trip... almost half of it. But after going to my parents and back multiple times, I noticed that she didn't, that is, she just sat there, having the window seat, with a blank stare out that window.

After fighting off my shyness, especially then, I approached her, that is, I started talking to her, because we sat next to each other for a couple of hours already. After begrudgingly answering my questions, zoning out a couple times, I learned that her name was Lucy. She came from the north side of the capital and she had her 18th birthday a couple weeks ago. Fortunately or otherwise, she was out in the city, in a club, on the south side.

Due to luck or lack of it again, she was forced into leaving the city by the authorities, not allowing her to go home, she was told that they would come anytime, but they didn't. Soon, the news about the north being totally annihilated from the face of the Earth reached her. She hitched a ride with the police and that's about how that was.

She didn't want to talk to me at first, but at the end of that conversation I would say that it was getting easier for her. At least I hoped so.

Either way, with the highway cleared, we drove way faster, and I didn't to get to talk to her for that long in that bus, because well... we reached our destination, or rather the destination of the bus. Because we still had a long way to go... but at the very least it was the last part of the distance we needed to make. The problem was there was no more land to ride on...

We left the bus in a single file, with the soldiers managing us, panic would be the worst thing in our case. I forced Lucy to come with us, it was the least I could do. And after all, we were 'friends' by now... apparently. I couldn't just abandon her.

When we passed the vast fence around the humongous, newly minted parking lot for the busses I saw what we would make the rest of the distance with... holy shit were they big and a lot of them...

Converted cruise ships, from left to right, there were dozens of them. Our family never had a chance to actually ride one, especially after we moved, I would have enjoyed it more if not for the reason for it.

We were packed into rooms like sardines, even with that many of them, there wasn't enough for all of us to be comfortable, after all there were people from multiple cities, including over half of the capital's population. Unfortunately I needed to argue with a soldier or two for Lucy to come with us, thank god that my mum joined on the argument or I don't know what would've happened.

Instead of the comfortable, big beds the rooms were full of bunks, but who was I to complain, after all we were being evacuated, not going on a holiday. I expected it to be something like it was when we rode the buses, but I was a bit wrong. The waves made the ship tip from left and right, especially with all that was happening, the waves were gigantic.

We weren't allowed out, soldiers with a cart of rations went around every day and delivered a couple trays at the door without a word and then went out. The doors were normally closed with a key and you needed to specially ask to even go the bathroom. The whole thing was gruelling, but at the very least there was electricity so we wouldn't bore to death. The waves also meant that the ships would travel slower, so a two day trip nearly took three times that.

Stolen story; please report.

On the second day, in the evening when I was finally adapting to our predicament, multiple very loud bangs went from the outside, like bombs were exploding. But from the window we could only see an endless stretch of water. It went on for the whole thing.

One time, at night, as it always was then, I heard one of those from the outside and when I looked out of the window, maybe it was the night or something, but it looked like a whole mountain was erected in the water. A minute or so later, the biggest wave ever, from a whole other direction than it should've gone from, struck the ship. When I asked about it the day after that, no one said anything.

On the fourth day, we started seeing a lot of ice outside the window, we were close, very close. I slept that day with anticipation and dread, after all, at this point, this whole thing could've been for nought. Though, I hoped it wasn't, very much so.

On the fifth day, the intensity of the bangs decreased, but the frequency increased and of course, we finally saw land, glacier anyway, and a great facility built on the land, or at least parts of it. The soldiers told us to be ready to leave at any moment, but we wouldn't for another two hours or so.

When we finally did, I finally could so a bit more than a straight line ahead, I could see the sky. The sight was gruelling before, yes, but now, now it was something else, the glowing disk around the black hole was one thing, but the other was parts of our natural satellite falling from the sky. The reason for the bangs.

But that was a whole lot better of a sight than when I looked beyond the ship, multiple dozens, hundreds even if I wasn't mistaken turned into barely more than a dozen or so. This was too much... one thing was just hearing 'we lost the north,' the other was seeing what the count was then and what it was now. I saw how many ships there were. And I knew for a fact that everyone of them was filled up, because nearly the whole of the lot was filled up. This wasn't about having too many ships in the first place, this was about not having all of them arrive.

I don't remember much of the way from there, it was just a flash, one moment I was there, staring and the other I was packed like a sardine, again, with other people, awaiting before the facility. The worst, or the best thing was that I was in the front, together with Lucy and my parents of course.

The later part, I remember very vividly, every detail, engraved in my memory 'till my demise, I guess.

"Please begin boarding the vessels, children from the age of sixteen to adults of age twenty one first," the order was said from a speaker.

Everyone rushed in a flash, I barely saw anything, my dad caught my left hand and my mum the right. A moment after I felt the grate of the ramp leading into the ship cave in under my boot and then we were stopped by a soldier. Only then did I notice Lucy at my mother's side.

"I cannot let you in," the soldier said.

"What?" my dad challenged, "but you said from age sixteen to nineteen! They both are!"

"That's not the problem sir," the soldier argued, claiming a more defensive stance, "I cannot let you two in."

"But we are the parents!" my dad spewed.

The soldier didn't cave in, dad brought up his sacrifice during the war, he lost an arm and both of his legs on a ship called the Tartarus, one of the flagships in the war. The soldier just thanked him for the service before whispering something to him.

My father's face loosened before he took my hand, hugged me and threw me into the ship after saying, "I'll be just behind you, in a different ship, we'll see each other on the other side."

My mum still argued with the soldier before father whispered something to her too and she just hugged me and did the same. I didn't understand yet, Lucy took my hand and pulled me inside, away from them before the ramp began to close. I struggled against her grip to no avail... I knew they were lying... I knew it the moment I saw my father's face just before the ramp shut, it was the first time I saw him cry.

Lucy repeated that everything would be fine, but it never would! IT NEVER WILL!

IT WAS ALL A LIE!

THIS WHOLE FUCKING THING IS A LIE!

THIS WHOLE SHIP IS A LIE!

THIS WHOLE EVACUATION IS A LIE!

EVERYTHING IS A LIE!

HOW DID THEY JUST LEARN HOW TO ESCAPE A BLACK HOLE?!

WHAT DO THEY EXPECT US TO DO AFTER WE EVEN ARRIVED WHEREVER THE HELL WE WERE ESCAPING TO?

WHY DIDN'T THEY LET ME STAY?

WHY DOES EVERYTHING NEED TO HURT ME LIKE THAT?

I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO SAY GOODBYE TO THEM!