My father emerged from his room, followed by my mother and Frankie. He carried two surgical masks in his hand and passed one to me and one to Colin. “Put these on when you get up there,” he instructed. “We don’t know what kind of toxins remain in the air.”
Frankie lunged for me as a crowd began to form in front of us. She slid her arms around my waist, squeezing. “Frankie,” I forced out, “I can’t breathe.”
She loosened her grip, still holding on. “Be careful.”
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, hugging her. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you even notice I’m gone.”
My mother moved forward, prying Frankie off of me. Mr. Baker pushed his way through the crowd of onlookers, coming to a halt in between me and Colin. He looked between us warily. “You have four hours. There is a watch in one of your knapsacks. You must be back within that four hour mark, no later. And remember what we talked about in our sessions. This will not be the earth that you knew.”
Colin motioned me over to the ladder. “Ladies first,” he crooned.
I put my mask on, grabbed both sides of the ladder and began the climb. I could feel the ladder pull as Colin climbed up behind me. Claustrophobia began to set in as the tunnel surrounding us got smaller and smaller.
Halfway to the top, I stopped looking over my shoulder at the ground. I tensed up realizing that if I slipped, my limbs would be contorted and mangled on the concrete. Colin shook his head, knowing exactly what I was thinking. “Just keep going,” he commanded. “I’ll catch you if you fall.”
Once I reached the top, I placed my hand flat on the boulder above me and started pushing. It didn’t budge. I pivoted around on the ladder, facing Colin, and rammed myback into it. It still didn’t move. Colin climbed up farther, sliding his body over the top of mine. Our combined weight on the flimsy rope ladder made it dip. “The rope is going to snap!”
“It’s not going to snap,” said Colin, who seemed sure of himself. “You need to chill out.” Colin placed both of his hands flat on the boulder. “We’ll push together. One…Two… Three.”I shoved into the rock, letting out a loud grunt as I felt the rock going up into the air. “Keep pushing!” Colin shouted. I bent my knees to give myself some more force and continued pushing.
Closing my eyes with one final push, I felt the rock slide away from my hands as it made a loud thud on the ground.There was a round, dirt room above me with an opening at the end of it. I hoisted myself out of the hole, extending my hand to Colin. Yanking on his hand, I retreated backward, pulling him. After he was out of the hole, he walked toward the light at the end of the room. My knees locked in place and I couldn’t move.
Nervousness set in. A few steps and I would be completely out of my safety zone. My only protection would be Colin. And I didn’t know if he could handle what was really out there.
When Colin realized that I wasn’t following him, he stopped, turned around, and walked back to me. “Come on Georgina. It’s better that we do this sooner rather than later.”
I tried to move my feet but they were still locked in place. “I can’t,” I whined. What happened to me being brave?
Colin looked down at my feet then up at my face. “Do you want me to carry you?”
“No.”
“Well, if you don’t get a move on it, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
One by one, I lifted my feet, taking small, steady steps forward. I almost came to a stop again, but Colin placed his hands on my back, urging me forward. The light that came through the opening at the end of the room wasn’t sunlight. Just brightness, that stunned my eyes from being underground so long.
As I walked out of the opening, followed by Colin, Mr. Baker’s words replayed in my mind. “This will not be the earth you knew.” He was right about that.
Even after the asteroid hit us, there was still a small resemblance to the earth I grew up with. A patch of grass. A flower here and there. Trees, even though they were dead. But what was in front of me was like nothing I’d ever seen.
The gray, dismal skyline stretched on for as far as I could see. The white, fluffy clouds that used to be suspended in the sky were gone. Dust particles hung in the air like debris floating around in space. Giant piles of rock surrounded us and as I looked to my left, a sign that said ‘Welcome To Lincoln,’ dangled off of a metal pole by one, tiny bolt.
There was no road. Everything was covered by loose dirt that formed funnel clouds when tossed up by the wind. I spun around, taking in every angle of my surroundings. Earth had turned into this massive, bleak desert. But that wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst part was the human remains that lined each side of the road.
Skulls, rib cages, bones from arm and legs, stuck out, half buried in the layers of dirt. I couldn’t begin to express the amount of sorrow I felt at that exact moment. What made these people so different from me and Colin? Why did they have to die? Bending over, I lifted the skull of a child out of the dirt and examined it.
This child couldn’t have been any older than a toddler. A memory of Frankie flashed through my brain. The way she used to waddle behind me when she was that age. The way her cherub cheeks used to touch her eyes when she laughed. It hit me all at once. This could have been her.
Dropping the skull, tears flowed out of my eyes, streaming down my cheeks and resting in the corners of my mouth. They tasted like salt water. As more came out, I did my best to hold them back. I didn’t want Colin to see me being so weak.
As we meandered farther into what remained of the city, the piles of rock grew bigger and got closer together. These must have been some of the tall office buildings that were in the heart of the city. The frames of cars were parked next to the rubble. Their insides, hollowed out and charred.
Colin walked a few feet in front of me. He stopped, motioning me forward. “You need to learn to keep up!” he shouted, the sound of his voice muffled from his face mask.
I took longer, faster strides as I neared him. “Forgive me if this is a lot to take in!” I shouted back.
When I finally caught up to him, he pointed to giant pile of rocks to my right. “I think we should start over there!”
Setting my knapsack down, I fished through it, retrieving the list Mr. Baker packed for me. The only positive note about being up here was that digging for these supplies appeared to be some sort of game—almost like a scavenger hunt. Standing upright, a muffled cry for Colin escaped my lips. “Colin!” He wasn’t paying attention. He had worked his way up to the top of