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Chapter 17 – Crazy Handshake

Sam Burns, Glenwood Springs, CO

When we got back to my house, I took off my tie and jacket. I gave bottles of water to Sally and Jose, and we all sat down at the kitchen table.

After a few sips and moments of silence, Sally started speaking. “My God, the last few months have been incredible. And it has gone so fast. I have experienced some of the best and worst days of my life. The prom with you was one of my all-time best but graduation was one of my worst. It was supposed to be a happy day to remember, and now I can only remember one thing. Because of the environment, we are not even going to get the chance to attend college.”

Jose joined in. “I have similar feelings. I was looking forward to wrestling in college and maybe winning an NCAA championship. It is a bit overwhelming not knowing where we will live or what will happen. Will, we ever set foot on another planet? Will we ever return to Earth? Will we meet an alien race and live in peace with them or go to war? Will we ever marry anyone? Will I ever be able to have a dog or play sports? The dog was supposed to be my graduation gift. I have to prepare to leave everything behind.”

Sally also chimed in. “I am also thinking of all the things I will have to leave behind or never will be able to do. I was planning on seeing Taylor Swift with my parents this summer. I was accepted into Yale University with hopes of majoring in psychology. Now I imagine all of that is gone.”

I listened to what they had to say. I said, “Today has been a miserable day. I also share your sentiments. I also wanted to attend college. I have no idea, once we are on the spaceship if we will ever see each other again. I am sure we will, but what will our relationship be in ten years—that’s if we even live that long? Maybe we will die on lift-off like Susan’s dad said, or maybe a speeding meteor will hit and destroy our ship. Maybe we will arrive at a planet only to have an alien race put us into slavery. It could be just like the Planet of the Apes. In short, we could die at any moment. However, I also feel we are blessed to be surrounded by our parents who really care about every living soul on this Earth and especially about us. Who knows where it will lead? The human race, if it wants to survive, has outlived this planet.

“Rather, the human race has destroyed this planet. Look at what is happening to us on an almost daily basis. Just yesterday thousands of people were killed in California due to a huge firestorm created by environmental failure. Thousands of people are dying from melanoma due to the breakup of the ozone layer. There will no longer be any outdoor sports leagues anywhere and no beaches to go and enjoy the day. Dead fish are washing up on the shores. Look at the red tide in Florida. Who wants to go to a beach with the pervasive smell of dead fish everywhere? We have hurricanes all year round, not just in the summer. Volcanoes are erupting more frequently. Everyone in America has been or will be forced to move into the center of the country. They spend most of their days inside their homes or underground. When it snows, we have blizzards greater than you have never seen. Trump kept lying about the Earth warming up, but it goes both ways. We are experiencing some of the harshest winters that have ever been recorded.

“This could all have been prevented or at least delayed until a long time in the future. I am furious at the politicians and other greedy individuals who put their own selfish interests ahead of everyone else, believing that if we did nothing, it would all work out in the end. They believed that there was no need to worry about the future. They obviously do not care about their children, grandchildren, and future generations. They kept saying the Earth was just going through a phase. Things would surely improve on their own. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. These idiots have altered and sacrificed our future.

“They are all going to die a horrible death. Their money and materials, savings and goods are not going to help them. I just cannot imagine the last few people left on Earth with the look of horror that comes just before death. It will be awful, and I do not want to be anywhere near this planet when the end comes. Do you?”

They were listening to me intently the whole time.

Sally said, “That was really well said and very deep. I am angry too with the damn president and his cronies for their continuous lying and betrayal of the human race, not only the people in the United States. We could have used the billions of dollars to either improve the environment to ensure the safety of everyone or to ensure that more people would be able to leave this planet and not die such an ugly death. Thank God I have friends like you guys. I cannot imagine living my life without the two of you.”

I replied, “I agree with you. No matter what happens in the future, we will face it together. We have been selected to represent the human race as we leave this dying planet. We have to do everything in our power to stay positive and contribute to whatever it is we need to do. Let’s put our hands in for the team of survivors.”

We all put our hands in and did some crazy handshakes like they do in the movies. After that, we seemed to feel a little better. We talked a little more, and then before Jose and Sally went home, we each put our hand on top of one another’s and said, “FOR HUMANITY.”

Chapter 18 – Step Outside

Sam Burns, Glenwood Springs, CO

The following week was technically the beginning of summer vacation. Basically, my friends and I did a whole lot of nothing. Finally, my brother, sister and I decided to go out to eat lunch at our favorite hamburger joint. A number of our classmates were there too. Sophie ordered a veggie burger, while my brother, Robert, and I had double cheeseburgers with french fries and soda. It would sure be nice if we could take the restaurant with us on the space journey, but I knew that was not going to be possible. Come to think of it, I had no idea what we were going to eat in space. I was pretty sure we were not going to see another McDonalds forever.

A few of my close classmates sat at the next table to us. We were chitchatting when suddenly Steven Donald came up to me. Steven was a local laborer who worked at various manual labor jobs. He had graduated high school a few years before me but never really seemed to have an interest in school. He was known to be a troublemaker and picked fights regularly. Considering that Jack had died recently and we were all still a little depressed, I was not in the mood for any confrontation. Since he was standing in front of me, I felt I had no choice but to greet him politely and hope he would do the same.

“Hi, Steven, what’s up?”

Steven did not look happy and stood in front of me with his hands folded in front of him. I knew right away that we were going to have a problem, but I did not know what the problem was and how it would resolve itself.

After a moment, Steven spoke, “Your dad killed Jack.”

“No,” I said. “He did not. The security officer did. He really had no choice. Were you there? I did not notice you. Everyone saw it, right?”

I looked at my friends sitting nearby, and they all nodded in agreement.

Steven looked at them. “Your dad did not pull the trigger, but his crazy stories about the need to get off the earth and the planet dying have made all of us angry. What gives your dad the right to choose who goes and who stays? If he really believed the earth was dying, he would work on a solution to save it instead of running away. Why do I and my friends and family have to stay behind?”