The Last Day On Earth (Book 1 of The Galaxy Series)

Chapter 9

"Whitney?" I could hardly believe my eyes seeing my friend standing there. But that was my friend's brown hair and eyes, and her voice. But I couldn't explain why she was here. "I thought you wanted to stay on Earth."

Whitney nodded. "I do." She took my hand and pulled me gently in the direction she came from. "I just...wanted to meet you here to say goodbye."

I looked at her as she lead me along. I should tell her what I discovered. She was always the smartest person I knew, surely she would know what to do with the information I had been given. How could I tell her this though? It was a lot. Maybe just start gently. "Well, I was thinking maybe I would stay too."

Whitney stopped and looked at me with surprise. She didn't have to ask me why, I just saw her eyes fill with a knowing look. She nodded at me. "Come on. I know a place that I think you need to go."

I simply nodded in return, afraid that if I spoke, I would be unable to stop. My dreams of leaving, of seeing the universe, were gone. Just...gone.

Blankly, I stared at my surroundings. Old buildings that had been converted into housing units, and others that had been cobbled together from old signs and other junk, like back in Indianapolis, lined the streets. Some had been taken down, or were being reconstructed by others to actually be sturdy. It appeared that more Humans were staying behind than I had ever imagined.

Finally, Whitney pulled me into a building with a dull silver dome that must have shone brilliantly before the invasion. The inside was gutted, only the graffiti stained walls and support beams remained. I couldn't say why, but this saddened me. This felt like a once sacred place for some people; I couldn't say why I felt that way, it was just a feeling I had. Regardless of this, a number of people were roaming around the room, navigating through the sleeping bags and candles dotted throughout.

"Where...?" My mind was finally settled watching people move around and talk, smiling and appearing to be...happy? Or, at least, content?

"This place used to be called a mosque," Whitney explained as she continued leading me through the main room. "I bet it looked beautiful before."

I nodded in agreement, still confused until we walked into a smaller room. In here were less people, all seemingly serious in demeanor, and all not happy to see me.

"Whitney, who is this?" One of the men who looked angry with my presence demanded.

"A friend," she explained quickly and calmly, "from Indianapolis."

I nodded when the attention turned directly to me. Before I could speak up to the crowd of people boring their eyes into me, another person yelled my name and enveloped me in a hug. The male voice went on about how happy he was that I hadn't gotten on a ship leaving the planet like he had been scared of, so happy that Whitney found me.

That voice though... "Oliver?"

He held me out at arm's length with a wide and toothy smile. "Who else?"

I was so confused now. Although Whitney had expressed doubt about wanting to leave, Oliver had been very open about the fact that he wanted to go to the stars, like me. "I thought you were going to leave."

He nodded. "Until I found out that we were being sold to the Wasps."

"Oliver!" The man that had spoken to Whitney a bit ago now addressed my other friend.

Oliver waved him off. "Oh, if Whitney brought her here, then she already knows." Then he got a concerned look on his face and looked directly at me. "You already knew about that, right?"

I nodded mechanically, confused to his attitude and even his presence here. Well, I mean, he definitely knew about the sellings, but I wondered how he found out. It couldn't have been the same way I found out since the people at the lake were still trusting of outsiders.

The man who had yelled at Whitney and Oliver came up to me, stared me down for a second, and then asked, "How did you find out?"

I took a breath, this man was actually intimidating. I had never come across another human who was actually intimidating; I was impressed. "The small village at the lake," I told him.

He nodded. "What's your name?"

"Tiffany Belmonte," I answered.

"Tiffany," he stared me down for another second and then held out his hand, "I'm Darren, second in command."

"In command of what?"

"We were the Anti-Wasp Coalition," he explained, "but we have changed since they left. Now we are the Humanity Preservation Team. Welcome on board."