The Last Sunset (Preppers Fiction): The Earth is Doomed, But Escape is Not an Option (Preppers Fiction, Meteor Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Survival Book 2)

by Montgomery, Frank

  Back on the lunar base, news was quickly spreading that a return to earth was a growing possibility. People’s spirits were high and Kristina was totally ecstatic. Ray was essentially serving as Skylar’s father, and he had even tried to seduce Kristina a few times, but she stayed loyal to Darius and she told Ray to back off more than once.

  “When do you think we’ll be heading back to earth?” Kristina asked Ray.

  “Well, your guess is as good as mine. I did hear that some of the VIP’s have already boarded ships that are going to be heading back tomorrow morning,” Ray said.

  “I just want to see my husband,” Kristina said as she looked down at the floor.

  “You will, I promise,” Ray said confidently.

  Kristina left Skylar with Ray and headed to the cafeteria to eat some dinner. The meal consisted of refried beans and canned corn, inadequate to say the least. After Kristina ate as much as she could stand she decided she would walk down to central headquarters. She didn’t really have a plan, she just wanted some answers and she was determined to get them. After about a twenty-minute walk, she arrived at the entrance to the central headquarters. She needed a special key card to get in, one which she clearly did not have. She decided to sit in front of the door until somebody either came in or left the building. It took a few hours, but eventually Kristina was startled as the door opened up behind her, causing her to fall backwards since she was leaning on it. She quickly got to her feet and turned around to see three men standing in a row in front of her , looking quite shocked. The men wore identical uniforms, black and gold with an eagle badge on the shoulder, Kristina assumed they were shuttle pilots.

  “Hello gentlemen, sorry if I startled you I just have a few questions for you,” Kristina said as politely as she could.

  “Sorry Miss, it doesn’t work like that, you don’t get to ask us anything,” The man in the middle said, his blue eyes fuming with anger and confusion.

  “Please, my husband is on earth and I just want to know if I will...”

  “Miss,” The man said interrupting her. “Did you not hear me? We are not authorized to answer any questions, now move,” He said as he and the other two men pushed past her.

  Kristina lunged to try and make it through the door, but it closed too fast. She disappointedly made her way back to her room. When she got there, Skylar was asleep and Ray was furious.

  “Where the fuck were you? I’ve been waiting for hours!” He yelled.

  “I’m sorry, I was just trying to get some answers out of the people from central headquarters,” She said defensively.

  “Thanks to you I missed dinner, you know the rules, I can’t bring Skylar to the damn cafeteria. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to eat”

  “I know, I know, it was selfish of me and I apologized for that. What else do you want me to do?”

  “Well you’re going to give me your breakfast tomorrow for starters”

  “Okay, that’s fair now please stop complaining. I really need breastfeed Skylar and get some rest.”

  Kristina went to feed Skylar and then headed over to her bed. Just before she got under the blankets there was an announcement over the loud speaker.

  “Hello survivors. This is lieutenant Anderson speaking and on behalf of the president of the United States and the greatest country in the world, I want to congratulate you for being part of the new earth colony, the cleansed population that will now inhabit the earth for the rest of time. Before this disaster we were grossly overpopulated, but now we have a sustainable population and we can continue to live on the earth without fear. This disaster was certainly a blessing in disguise. Two days from now this lunar base will be empty and everyone will be on shuttles headed back to earth. In exactly forty-eight hours everybody that wants to leave this place needs to be in the main transportation hanger to get onto a shuttle. If you are late you will have to live out the remainder of your life on the lunar base. Upon arrival in the hanger we will designate you a shuttle and you will return to earth. Let’s thank our lucky stars that our planet is still habitable and please let the brave men and women who went back to our home planet to assess the damage be in your prayers forever. These people displayed courage like none that I have ever seen and unfortunately not all of them survived. Without them we would be trapped here in a state of wonder and anxiety. I will see you all in forty-eight hours, best of luck on your journey home.”

  Chapter 6

  Time seemed to be going in slow motion for Darius and Chris. They were becoming paranoid that the government was going to try to have them killed since they had realized the truth. They were having trouble sleeping and one night they almost did something they would regret forever. They were both asleep when a crash woke them both up simultaneously. They both grabbed a gun and one of them headed for the main entrance of the bus while the other headed for the emergency exit in that back. This was an emergency drill they had practiced and they had mastered it perfectly. They both made their way out of the bus and slowly scanned the area. They met up at the front of the bus and stated to walk through the parking garage, back to back. Darius hesitantly turned on his flashlight at Chris’s request, it offered them more visibility but it also alerted a potential enemy of their presence.

  “Over there Darius, point your light and shoot!” Chris yelled seconds after the flashlight had been turned on.

  Darius turned around and pointed his gun and just before Chris took a shot he yelled, “No Chris, hold your fire!” Chris did as he was asked. The man they had almost killed was an elderly man with tattered clothing. He was black and appeared to be badly injured. As soon as Chris had taken aim at him he dropped to his knees and covered his head. Darius and Chris approached the man and offered him some water and a place to stay for the night. They learned that the man’s name was Nathan and he gladly accepted the offer and as he slept Darius and Chris had a pressing matter to discuss.

  “He can’t stay with us,” Darius insisted.

  “What the hell are you talking about? We have plenty of food to share with him and besides everyone is going to be coming back from the moon soon and then everything will go back to normal”

  “Okay Chris, you’re wrong in two regards. For one, we don’t know when the lunar colony is going to return to earth, if at all. Two, even if they do return the planet is surely not going to go back to the way it used to be for a very long time. I anticipate that we are going to have to stay underground and fend for ourselves until it becomes safe to emerge. We do not have the resources to help this man, in fact you’re lucky I even helped you”

  “You’re a heartless prick, that man could easily be my father”

  “Yes but he’s not and that’s the point, he’s a complete stranger and we were nice enough to help him as much as we did, he’s lucky he’s not dead”

  “Well he’ll probably be dead in a few days if we don’t help him. I mean shit, he probably would have preferred to have been gunned down rather than starve to death”

  “He leaves first thing in the morning. If you want to go with him then that is up to you, but you won’t be taking any of my supplies with you”

  “Fuck you man,” Chris said before heading into the bus.

  Darius was not far behind Chris, but before heading to bed he hid all of his supplies, just in case Chris tried to escape with Nathan early in the morning.

  Chapter 7

  Darius spent the first part of the morning trying to determine whether or not he had slept at all the previous night. He was certain that Chris was plotting and escape and at one point Chris had gotten up to relieve himself and Darius was ready to kill him, thinking he was going to try to take off with the remaining supplies. Chris didn’t try to run, but judging from the way he was looking around as he relived himself, Darius was sure the thought crossed his mind. Telling Nathan that he had to fend for himself wasn’t an easy thing to do, but Darius knew it had to be done. Nathan didn’t argue at all, he simply thanked Darius and Chris for their hospitalit
y and exited the parking garage.

  Darius couldn’t help but feeling a bit guilty the very next day when he saw numerous space shuttles headed back towards earth. However, his guilt was quickly replaced by excitement and anticipation at the thought of seeing his wife and child.

  “Chris let’s go, we’ve got a shuttle landing a couple of miles away!” Darius yelled.

  “I’m right behind you,” Chris responded as he started to jog behind Darius.

  The two of them didn’t grab anything; they just started running towards the first spaceship they saw. They watched as the ship gently drifted through the sky, being suspended by a massive parachute. The ship landed well outside of the city, much farther away than Marvin and Tony had landed. It took a few hours of walking but eventually Darius and Chris made it outside of the city. As they headed towards the ship they could see a large group of people headed towards them. As they got close to the group Darius started yelling.

  “Kristina Downey, I’m looking for a Kristina Downey, is she here?” Darius yelled. He was met with a lot of shaking heads and his beloved wife was nowhere to be seen. At the end of the group Darius bumped into the captains of the ship and he began to interrogate them.

  “Hello gentlemen, I’m hoping you can help me find my wife, her name is Kristina Downey and she just gave birth to my first daughter,” Darius said proudly as he began to walk with the five captains. Chris tagged along without saying a word.

  “Sorry but we’re really no help to you at all”, one of the captains said, “the people in the lunar base were just randomly assigned ships. It was pure chaos up there and the main goal was to just get everybody back to earth safely. On another note, how the fuck did you manage to survive down here? I figured there’d be practically nobody left,”

  “I’m no moron, I know how to get by. Some stupid meteor isn’t going to take me out and the thought of not seeing my wife again was just too much to bear,” Darius responded.

  “Well friend, I wish you the best of luck in your search. You know, in fact, come with me. We’ll go back to ship and see if we can communicate with some of the other ships and find out where your wife is going to land,”

  “Thank you so much,” Darius said as he extended his hand to the captain, “My name is Darius,” he continued.

  “I’m captain Mitch Herner, good to meet you Darius,” he said as they headed towards the ship. Mitch looked very young to be a captain, his short blonde hair was slicked back and he had a small receding hairline, which was the only evidence of him being older than he looked.

  “Captain Herner, this is my friend Chris,” Darius said.

  “Please, call me Mitch. Pleasure to meet you Chris, congratulations on surviving this cataclysm. You guys are heroes in my eyes,” Mitch said as he turned around and gave Chris a nod, trying not to break his stride. They approached the ship and Darius began to get nervous, he so badly wanted to find out where Kristina was.

  Chapter 8

  Members of the United States government were becoming increasingly nervous. If the world discovered what they had done there would surely be riots until the end of time. They couldn’t have this; they had to suppress the truth. Nobody was even sure who had hatched the original idea of a massive ‘natural disaster’ to minimize the global population. The plan had been set into motion so many years ago that its origins were lost. One thing remained clear throughout the years; the earth was grossly overpopulated and if something wasn’t done about it the planet would be depleted or all its resources and thus completely uninhabitable. The Dark Star wasn’t a natural disaster; it was a government mission to decrease the earth’s population. Many years before The Dark Star was even known, the United States government had launched a remote control spacecraft into deep space. The mission of this ship was to find a massive space rock and attach itself to it. Once attached the spacecraft could redirect the rock so that it was headed directly towards the earth.

  Only a select few individuals inside N.A.S.A knew of this plan but they had to act like they were doing everything they could to prevent the meteor from striking the earth. The Dark Star itself was large enough to destroy the earth so it was decided that it would have to be broken up into smaller pieces so as to not destroy the entire planet and force all of the survivors to live out their lives on the lunar base. Nobody had any regrets; they figured that if they didn’t take drastic action and lower the population then the world would have been doomed.

  Chapter 9

  Within minutes of arriving at the ship, Mitch was asking around to the other ships and trying to determine Kristina’s location. Darius waited and waited and his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. Chris did his best to calm him down but Darius couldn’t if his life depended on it. They waited for almost an hour until Mitch finally reported some good news.

  “Darius, Captain Rex Talbot just touched down in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and he tells me that your wife and daughter are with him”

  A feeling of immense happiness instantly washed over Darius, he felt so grateful and overwhelmed that he almost fainted.

  “Can you give her a message for me?” Darius managed to say.

  “Yea, go for it,” Mitch said.

  “Tell her to find shelter as soon as she possibly can. Tell her not to leave Sioux falls no matter what and that I will be there as soon as I possibly can,” Darius said slowly.

  Mitch relayed the message and then gave Darius a nod of confirmation.

  “Thank you Mitch, you’ve been a great help. Chris, we need to leave right now,” Darius said as he exited the ship

  “Wait,” Chris said as he chased after him, “How do you plan on getting to Sioux Falls?” He asked.

  “I’ll walk if I have to,” Darius responded.

  “Well I mean if you can find a decent vehicle I do now how to hotwire,” Chris said, seeming disappointed in himself.

  “Really? You know how to start cars without keys?”

  “Yea, I learned when I was really young”

  “Seems like something I would normally frown upon, but in this situation I am thankful you have that skill. Let’s find us a car and get moving.

  The two of them searched around for about twenty minutes until they found a Ford Taurus that appeared to be in working condition. Within minutes Chris picked the door lock and got the engine running. Darius was quite impressed, but he hadn’t really doubted Chris for a minute. They headed towards Sioux Falls as fast as their car could carry them.

  Chapter 10

  When Kristina received the message in Sioux Falls, she was completely overjoyed. She hugged the captain that had delivered the good news and she started searching for a place to take shelter.

  “Kristina, I feel like my duty of protecting you has been fulfilled, can I leave now?” Ray asked politely.

  “No Ray, absolutely not, I’m not going to let you leave me and my daughter alone out here. Darius might take a while to make it here and I need some male protection,” She replied forcefully.

  “Please be reasonable, you will be completely safe if I leave”

  “Ray, remember what Darius said, if you leave me he’s going to find you and trust me when he does find you he will have no problem killing you,” She said coldly.

  “Okay, Fine I’ll stay,” Ray yelled. Kristina smiled and they began searching for a place to stay. Most of the buildings in the city were completely destroyed so they had to venture to the outskirts. Eventually they found an old farmhouse near a gorgeous waterfall that was still somewhat in tact. Kristina took Skylar into one of the bedrooms and put her to sleep. She said goodnight to Ray and snuggled up next to Skylar in what was a surprisingly comfortable bed. She felt a lot heavier now that she was back on earth; the gravity was quite a bit less on the moon. She gazed out her window and laid eyes upon her former home, it was full tonight and it floated gracefully in the sky above. The sound of the raging waterfall lulled her to sleep in a hurry, she dreamed of Darius and she couldn’t wait to in
troduce him to Skylar.

  When Darius and Chris arrived in Sioux Falls they didn’t have any idea where to start looking. The sun had just come up and there were many people who had just returned from the lunar base, all of which appeared to be roaming around with nowhere to go. Darius asked every single person he saw if they knew the whereabouts of Kristina Downey but nobody knew. Kristina had taken Skylar and began making her way into the city with Ray as she figured that’s where Darius would head first. The three of them sat on the side of the road in the most central location of the city they could find. Hours went by, but eventually in the distance Kristina saw the outline of her estranged lover. When Darius noticed her he began running, leaving Chris behind. Kristina left Skylar with Ray and ran as fast as she could into Darius’s arms. The embrace felt surreal, she had wanted to feel him again for so long and she never thought she would. Neither of them spoke, they just held each other, deeply gazing into one another’s eyes. Darius looked over at Ray and gave him a nod, a subtle way of thanking him for keeping his word.

  “I love you so much, D,” Kristina said passionately.

  “I love you too baby,”

  “Do you want to meet the newest addition to our family?” She asked.

  “You have no idea,” he said as he started walking over to Skylar.

  “Daddy, meet Skylar Downey,” Kristina said as he took the baby from Ray’s arms and handed her over to Darius.

  Darius held Skyler in close to his chest. This was a moment he never thought he would get to experience. During this entire ordeal his biggest fear was never dying, it was not getting to hold his baby and tell his wife he loved her again. He felt complete, all of the pain and suffering he had endured was all made worthwhile by this one moment.