First, it was the car Tyre that got punctured, then it was the plastic bag full of groceries that decided to burst, and then it was the milk carton that went leaking in her lap and the rest of the car. To say that she was pissed, was an understatement. The day had already started out bad and it was progressively worsening.

As the twenty-eight years old, Anna Richards pulled over in her garage, she could hear something was wrong in the house. Before she could slam the door shut in frustration, she heard a tiny scream. Her maternal instincts kicked in, as did the adrenaline.  

She rushed inside and straight to the kitchen, what she saw stopped her in her tracks. 

Her three-year-old girl lay on her back laughing as her grandmother kept spraying water, directly from the faucet at her, the stack of dirty dishes untouched. The sight of Anna made her mother stop the water sprinkling at her granddaughter in the kitchen but the little one simply stood up and ran to her mother. Hugging through her wet clothes so tight that Anna's leggings got stuck to her legs. 

Anna was a second away from pulling her own hair when her mobile phone rang and reluctantly she picked up the call. 

"Hello." 

"Hey, Anna. How are you?" 

"Don't ask!" She sighed. 

"Little Angel's been giving you hard time again?" The caller laughed softly. 

"It's her nana that I am more worried about." She glared at her mother who took the hint and picked up the little one to go get her dry and changed. Anna sat on the countertop as she looked around the disarray her house was in, disappointedly. 

"You knew what you were getting into." The caller sighed too. 

"I know." She rubbed her temple, "So, why did you call?" 

"Oh, yes. Um, I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to come to my office. Your divorce is done and I've sent the finalized papers to you and him." 

She was quiet for a moment, before sighing, "Thank you, Pete." 

"Hey, are you alright? We could get some coffee if you want. Not as your lawyer, but as old college friends. What do you say? Bring Angel with you?" He hopefully asked. 

Once again she was silent. Her whole life was a mess, she didn't know if it was a good idea to go out with her lawyer, even if it was just as friends. He understood her silence. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't've asked. I just wanted to let you relax a bit, talk if you wanted. Y'know, forget I asked. Take your time." 

"No, no. It's not that." Yes, it was. But she didn't want to be alone with her mother and daughter anymore too. "Let's meet up. You get off at seven, right? I'll see you at the Café near your office." 

"Are you sure? You don't have to. We can do it any other day." He tried to help but she persisted. 

"Peter, I wouldn't've agreed if I wasn't sure. See you at seven?" 

"Alright. See you. Take care of yourself." There was a tenderness in his tone that didn't go unnoticed but Anna felt too desperate for someone, to care. 

"I will." 

She hung up and looked up again at her house. She sighed again, willing herself to move. There were groceries to be brought in. Car to be taken to be fixed and washed. House to be cleaned. Dishes to be done. The list seemed infinite, but first, she needed a bath. 

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She left everything as it was and went to run a bath for herself, she knew her mother would take proper care of her granddaughter now. She had a habit of becoming a kid with kids, but she was a grandmother, she knew how to handle her daughter and her daughter. 

She was ready to undress and relax with candles and essential oils when suddenly she heard a siren. A loud blaring noise that felt like bursting her eardrums. Without a thought, she rushed outside to see what was going on. 

The sky was changing colors. It went from sunset orange to blood red and then purple to neon blue in a matter of seconds. The noise had made all of her neighbors come outside as well. Everyone looked terrified. 

And then, the ground shook. So hard, Anna nearly lost her footing. She saw the house adjacent to hers collapse. That snapped her out of her terror as she rushed inside for her daughter and mother. She ran upstairs to the nursery where she could hear her daughter crying.  

That is when the ceiling collapsed on her. 

     She felt like she was lying on a shaker or something. When Anna had blacked out, she had expected it all to be her end. But instead, she woke up groggily. It took her a minute to gather her thoughts. Her head hurt, she clearly had a concussion. She realized she was strapped to a bunk bed, surrounded by many others strapped to respective beds, in a long hallway. It looked like a vessel or vehicle.  

Maybe she was in a plane and going through turbulence? There was a window beside her, but it was showing earth. So maybe it was a T.V? 

She kept looking around confused, trying to get herself out of the straps or get some answers. She was getting worried for her daughter and mother. That is when suddenly the planet Earth on T.V., exploded into a puff of fire, smoke, rocks, and water. Everything was scattered in space.  

Was this some doomsday documentary going on?  

Her head didn't allow her to think much as she blacked out again. The constant vibration and shaking of the vehicle made her want to puke. 

The next time she woke up, she was in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown. But the place looked so unfamiliar and somehow creeped her out. She had an I.V. attached to her wrist but it had stopped pumping whatever it was in her veins. 

Anna sat up to observe her surroundings. There were multiple rows of hospital beds similar to herself with patients either asleep or drugged, she had no idea. There was no doctor or nurse in sight. The hall room was ginormous and everything was squeaky clean. The pristine whiteness of the room making her feel uncomfortable.

She noticed a few robots mopping the floors here and there. Some patients were awake like her but no one moved from their beds or tried to converse with her. 

She knew she needed to know what happened? and how she got there? and if her family survived whatever had happened? But whom to ask? She sat silently for only a minute before her motherly side kicked in and she couldn't just wait around.  

Before she could even touch her bare foot on the porcelain tiles, a hologram sprang up jump-scaring her. It said, 'Please wait patiently. You will be called on your turn.' She looked around alarmed, it was clear they were being watched. The question was, by whom? And why? She wanted to disobey and try looking for her mother and daughter but when a similar hologram sprang up for a patient in the opposite row who ended up screaming in surprise, she decided to stay put and see what happens.