“Go, Nathen.” Her hand pushed my back, propelling me forward. “Go!”

“No! Please I don't wanna leave you, please, I can't! I-I don't wanna leave you!” Desperation leaked into my voice. Mom shook her head, pushing me more.

“Go. A-and be a good boy for me, will you?” Her voice broke. I could hear them, with their guns deafeningly loud. Dad was there. He was fighting them off, so I would have a chance. So that humanity would have a chance.

“Come on, let’s go!” A hand slipped into mine. The panicked face of David Wells glanced down at me, before pulling me forward the ship. My remaining hand reached out to mom, pleadingly, desperately. She was crying too. But she forced a smile onto her face and waved. 

Behind her, the door exploded open. A trio of people, all armed with rifles, ran in. Behind them, I saw the body of dad, blood pooling in a puddle around him. Unmoving. Still. 

Unmistakably dead.

I screamed. One of them took a knee and aimed his rifle at me. The red laser of if pointed right into my head. My eyes squeezed closed. 

The bang of a gun rang out.

Hesitantly, my eyes opened. Just in time to catch mom among them, swinging a knife. The shot went wide, the bullet pinging off of the ground. A second bang rang out. This time, it didn’t miss its target. Mom collapsed, clutching her side as blood seeped between her fingers.

David Wells had to drag me into the ship. The whole time I was trying to run back because I knew mom couldn’t be dead. She had to be alive. A little bit of biogel and she would be as good as new. But David was too strong. He succeeded in pulling me inside the ship, and flipped a switch, closing the door to the spacecraft.

As soon as he let go of me, I whirled around to face him, throwing a fist. It was easily caught. 

“What are you doing?” He shouted at me. I cried, falling to the ground. The steel floor was cold under me. I didn’t know how long I stayed there. 

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Eventually, David’s soft voice brought me back.

“We gotta get you strapped in.”

This time, I let him guide me. Into the center of the spacecraft, where six others waited for us. Unfamiliar faces stared at me, their own eyes dark and downcast. Maria Wells saw my expression and wrapped me up in a hug. I stayed unmoving. She whispered soothing words into my ear, but I heard none of them.

She guided me into a small pod barely larger than a bed. Mechanically, I listened to her directions and stepped in, following the procedure that had been drilled into my memory countless times. Before she left, Maria planted a kiss on my forehead. She smiled at me sadly.

“Everything’s going to be alright.”

A white lie. It wasn’t certain that we would even find a suitable planet. We would be the last of humanity in a couple of years. Yet here she was, speaking hollow words in a token effort to calm me. 

I forced a smile, twisting my facial muscles to pull my cheeks into a grin.

Then she left, and the transparent hatch hissed closed. I saw the machinery lock into place, confining me into what could possibly become my coffin. I closed my eyes, letting the hum of electricity lull me into a false sense of calmness.

In the little pod was a window. A window to the outside. From there I could see the wall of our launching station, and I was glad I couldn’t see mom and dad from here. I would have to thank Maria later. If we made it out, that was.

The view was replaced, however, when the ship began moving. With a rumble and a rush of smoke visible from the window, we were sent flying upward. The outside blurred into something incomprehensible, and in moments, I was met with the brownish sky.

We moved faster and faster. The polluted sky was soon replaced by a blue one, something I hadn’t seen in years. Tears found their way back onto my face. Gritting my teeth, I wiped them away.

We were the last of humanity. I had to be better than this. 

There were six of us in total. David Wells and Maria Wells were in charge of running the craft. They were also the only adults. And for a reason, too.

The earth was dead. We had one job- to ensure that humanity will not become extinct.

We didn’t know when we would find a suitable planet. Therefore, us children would be placed in cryostasis to maintain our adolescence. 

The blue sky began to fade away. I started to see the Earth, in all its ugliness. Grandma had told me that when she was a child, the planet used to be blue. Now it was brown and red. On its surface, I could see craters where the bombs had gone off. 

And then, we were in space. Away from everything that was going on below, away from humanity’s home. 

A soft hum filled the pod. The pod turned cold, and a layer of frost appeared on my clothes.

I was told I couldn’t move during the freezing. But I couldn’t help myself. My hand reached out, my fingers touching the window. On it was the earth, now so, so far away.

Then my eyes closed, and my hand fell down.

The pod turned colder and colder until I was frozen asleep.