Prologue “Don’t worry Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, she will be in good hands.” The officer said as he took their beloved daughter from them. The Anderson’s worked for the government under a secret organization. It was called the E.A, Scientists in that division have predicted in 19 years a deadly gas will be emitted from the Earth’s core, Sailtin. Sailtin is almost like the dangerous gas called Sarin, but oddly animals are immune to it. The E.A made a vaccine for the gas, they didn’t have enough for everyone on the planet so they kept Sailtin a secret. The employee’s had to decide who would get the cure, one of the parents or one of their children. Mindy and John Anderson chose their child over themselves, they would get their daughter back in the next week, cured from the deadly Sailtin.
Chapter One The air is different now that Earth has fallen; it’s sour and thick. It was hanging low in the sky when I stepped out of the house to hunt for dinner. I honestly thought that Earth would survive a long ways past 2096, but it didn’t. I grab my bow and arrows and head out to the forest. The forest was close to our neighborhood, I loved to go there. Just being around nature made me feel… complete. The city of Chicago looked really different, no people on the streets, no noise. It made the whole city feel and look dead. I got to the forest after walking for 2 minutes, I now have to wait for deer to come, and hopefully they’ll be here soon. The pond was right in the middle of the forest, making it easy prey. A rustle comes from the bushes in front of me, I get my weapon ready. It was a bunny, I pulled my arrow back and held my breath while I was aiming it. I shot but nicked the bunny, it got away. I stayed in the forest for about another hour before giving it up. I decided I could just head home and eat some soup. I got home and pulled out a can of tomato soup. I ate and decided to go to bed. I hope the nightmares don't come back. It smelled funny, really heavy and musty. Mom and Dad started to cough, hacking is a better word for it. “Mom? Dad? Are you guys okay?” I said anxiously, “What’s happening?” “Honey, remember the agency we worked for?” Mom asked. “Yes, why?” I said while breathing heavily. “They said a gas called Sailtin would kill everyone, but we got you cured, it’s all okay.” She said while touching my face that had tears streaming down it. “They are up to somet-,” My Dad started, but then began to cough, “Up to something. I looked in the files and there was no data saying that Sailtin would be emitted from the Earth’s core.” He said weakly. “No, no, no! You can’t die!” I started screaming at them, my tears overflowing. “Astra, you can’t do anything, the Earth has fallen. Promise your father and I something.” Mom said “Yes, anything.” “You must expose what the E.A’s true intentions are. Do not let them get away with any of this. Your father and I believed that they emitted Sailtin, and not Earth.” “I promise.” “We love you Astra.” Mom and Dad said, dying. “No! NO!” I yelled. They just lay there like rag dolls. Dead. I wake up finding that I broke a cold sweat. My clock read 2:17 A.M. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live with the guilt, knowing I’m the only survivor. Why did I live? I think about all of my friends, family and even enemies everyday, missing them, dreaming of them. I got tired again so I went back to sleep, hoping it would be peaceful this time.
Chapter 2
I have to find someway to stop the E.A, but I don’t know who I’m up against or what I have to do. Maybe I could sneak in? I wonder if there are any other survivors, there has to be. Chicago is pretty big, and there were more people that worked at the E.A and some of them have children! This literally just made my day, the small things in life. I have to go find them, I need help, I can’t do this on my own. I need to find survivors willing to help stop the E.A and its wrongdoings, I’m going to look for them. I grab my weapon just in case if I encounter someone or something not very friendly. I dash out the house, hop on Dad’s motorcycle and zoom off. I'm glad I learned how to ride a motorcycle, it really helps now. I wonder if the laws still apply? Ha! They probably don’t, or at least I wouldn’t think it mattered at this point in the world. The motorcycle is so loud against the hushed streets of Chicago, I take a sharp left on Franklin Street. I plan to be downtown because that’s where I would go if the world had ended, I’m going to start at the Bean in downtown. Still on the roaring motorcycle I drive around that area finding nothing, nobody. I start driving around… maybe it’s the cycle and how loud it is that maybe scaring any survivors left. I get off of the vehicle and take the keys with me, I didn’t want anyone to take it. I am really hopeful that they are people still out there, I know they are. After all, there was no way I could be the last person on Earth. I keep on looking for anybody but I couldn’t find any outlivers. It was getting really late, the sun had already begun to set, my que to get on home. I fly through the road, experiencing a feeling I haven’t felt in a while. Joy. Everyone I loved died, so I guess I didn’t want to feel that emotion again without my parents and my sister. It felt wrong to be happy without anyone, but today I can enjoy the brief moment of happiness with myself. I’m almost home and I see something shoot past me, an arrow? I look behind me yet see nothing. I speed up, but no more arrows. No more danger.
Chapter 3
There are survivors. I need to go back and find them, make peace and let them know I’m not a threat. I’m not going to go on my motorcycle, it seemed to scare people off. I instead take my bike, it was a Diamondback Trail cycle. I pull it out from the garage to find a bright sunny day, a little cloudy but a nice 75 degrees. Summer’s in Chicago are usually pleasant, high’s only being 90. I start down our steep driveway when I hear a rustle come from the bushes behind me and it did not sound like an animal. “Good thing I grabbed my bow and arrows!” I thought. I put the bike down gently and casually take out one of my arrows pretending to check if it was in good shape. In reality I put the arrow through the string and on the arrow rest and pulled it back. I quickly spin around aiming my arrow at the target (the bushes), I wasn’t going to shoot, I didn’t want to start anything bad. “Come out.” I say. Nothing, no noise and no one came out. I know someone’s in there, could it be the shooter from yesterday? “Come out now.” I say again but more firmer this time. A rustling came from the bushes and out comes a survivor. He was shorter than me, which gave me an advantage. He was lean, like a stick. “What are you doing at my house?” I say. “Nothing.” The guy said. “Well it’s obvious you’re here for something.” “I just saw someone on a motorcycle, you, and I wanted to see another survivor.” “If you wanted to see me alive, why did your try to shoot me with an arrow yesterday?” “Well,” he said and came closer. “Stop! Don’t move.” I say raising my weapon, I wasn’t going to let my guard down. “Ok, ok,” he started backing up with his hands in the air, “we need one more person.” “One more person? There more survivors?” “Yeah?” He probably thought I was crazy. “One more person for what?” “One more person to plan how to take back the world, three people isn’t going to cut it. Well four people won’t really help as well, but the more the merrier.” “What’s your name?” I was suspicious. “Angelo Watkins, but I go by Watkins, and what is yours?” He flashed a smile. “Astra Anderson… so what did you mean by ‘take back the world’?” “My team and I had parents working for a secret agency the E.A and they they told me about how the end of the world happened while they were dying in my arms.” He said. A rush of compassion came through, I understood how he felt. “I’m so sorry, same here with my parents they also worked for the E.A, they were suspicious about Sailtin, the gas emitted and killed everyone.” I said… Why was I trusting a total stranger? I couldn’t believe him. “So will you come with me and my team?” “Uh, I’m actually ok. I can figure this out on my own, thanks for the offer.” I start back inside. “I will gain your trust Astra Anderson, you will need us.” He said as he walked backward down the driveway. “Good bye Watkins!” I waved sarcastically while shutting the door. There are more people alive, and I just rejected one. I think I did the smart thing, I can’t trust him, who knows? He could be a creep trying to kill me or something like that. But what if he was telling the truth? He couldn’t have got that information from anyone else… in all the movies I’ve seen no one trusts a random survivor that follows you around because something bad happens. I know, I know, it’s cliché, rather be safe than sorry!