The city of stars

TW: murder

The whole city is required to go to the festival of lights since we are celebrating ten years of success in our new world. I love it here, cars do not exist, and we have electric trains. The city is filled with plants, trees, and green grass. Our electricity comes from water, the sun, and wind. We live in houses made of recycled materials. We live on Gliese, a planet similar to Earth, also known as Zarmina. We are Zarminians. When the Earth was dying, some of us were sent on a mission to find a new home, and 10 years ago, 50 of us landed here in Zarmina and started a new life. It is peaceful here, when we arrived, we all promised to never use the ways we had back on earth because we want this home to last, and the most beautiful part of it all is, the stars always shine, even in broad daylight. For this reason, the first city is known as "the city of stars."

All the lights hung for the festival are powered by the dam. The dam is a restricted area, a place to which only Summer (the leader) and I have access to. The dam is named after the aquatic plants that grow in it, the waterlily dam. I spend my days reading down there because of the waterfall and the silence.

"People of Zarmina, welcome to the 10th anniversary of the city of stars! Ten years ago, we landed on this strange planet, and with hard work and determination, we can now call this place home. I could not have done it without any of you, and a special thank you to my beloved friend, Lia, we would not be here without you." My name is Lia. Me and Summer grew up together back on Earth and were put in charge of the mission. Summer was choosen leader because she was a year older. We were raised in the years of the last generation, which meant that after us, there would be no one left on Earth. So, ever since we were kids, we spent hours envisioning a new world. When we turned 16, we went to the government with our ideas, and that was when they put us on a mission: find a new home. And I guess this brings us to today...

As soon as the sun came down, the city was illuminated. Everyone stopped and stared at the horizon, admiring our home highlighted with fairy lights. It was magical, but the magic was disturbed by flickering in the lights. In seconds, the city was completely dark and the stars were not bright enough to light a path so, everyone began panicking.

"Don’t you worry, my people, we will see what’s going on. An animal may have damaged the dam. Go home and light some candles." Summer looked at me and whispered in my ear, "Lia, go look at the dam, but be careful, we don’t know what’s out there." I ran straight to the dam. I have scotopia; it's a condition where I can see in the dark, so to me, this was not an issue at all. I look at the waterlily dam, but I see nothing in sight. I make my way back to the square.

"Nothing’s wrong," I say.

"That’s good, but we have a situation, all the doors and windows are locked, and no one can get in their houses." Summer’s tone is filled with fear.

"Have you tried the panic house?"

"No, I’ll go check, gather everyone in the square." I grab everyone I see and send them to the square, by the time I have gathered everyone, Summer comes back with even more fear in her eyes. She looks at me and says,

"It’s locked, and I can't find the keys."

"Okay, don’t panic. Let’s all stay here. I’ll go get blankets, there are some beside the dam."

She nods in agreement, and, as I am making my way down, someone beside me screams in pain. I look at him, press my hand on his mouth, and whisper, "It’s okay, you’re okay."

"What happened?" Summer yells out.

"Oh, nothing, Connor just tripped, I'll take him to the water." He’s gasping for air, so I grab him and put his arms around me. Once we are at the waterfall, I sit him down and grab the blankets. When I turn around, he’s gone. I do not put much effort into finding him, so I just head back.

"Here you go, blankets to share."

"Where’s Connor?" Summer asks,

"Oh, he’s lying down, he doesn't fell well."

"Oh, okay,"

"I don’t get it, why did everything suddenly stop working? And why is everything locked?" Summer speaks again, turning to face me.

"I don’t know, maybe technical difficulties?" I walk away before she can ask more questions.

There are only four hours until the sun rises.

"Lia, is that you?"

"Yes, go back to sleep, Summer." I’m keeping an eye out for everyone while they try to get some rest, nothing seems suspicious until I hear cries of pain and suffering. These cries woke everyone up.

"It’s okay everyone, the kids are just having nightmares, but I’m here with them."

Being able to see in the dark has made me stronger in some ways; I am not scared of anything anymore, so people count on me when it comes to danger. I woke all my best friends and gathered them away from the square.

"I think danger is coming, there’s a hideout by the dam, follow the river to a cave, you’ll be safe there."

"Lia, we can’t see in the dark."

"Right, okay, I’ll bring you."

"What about the others?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll send small groups at a time." They all listened to me, and we head down the path. When my friends are safe, I return to the square. I hear a few more cries of suffering, and all of a sudden, blood starts running down my arm, but it is not my blood. I completly ignore it and leave with a few children to guide them to the hideout. When I return, I feel a warm sensation of blood dripping on my feet. As I said, I am not scared of anything, so I just keep minding my own business.

Two more hours before sunrise, I eventually fall asleep next to Summer, and for a while, I do not hear anything.

"AHHHHH!" I opened my eyes as quickly as I could. The sun is up. Summer is by my side, terrified of what lies in front of her. I start to laugh.

"Lia, are you crazy? Stop laughing! What happened?"

"Seriously? You don’t have any guesses as to what might have happened."

"N-" She looks at me up and down, I can tell that she made the connection. I mean, it is kind of obvious with all the dry blood on me.

"No… You didn’t. Why would you do that!" She is shouting, absolutely disgusted by my actions.

" You are so pathetic, Summer. Can you not see I did this because of you? You stole my life, you took away my goals, my mission and my boyfriend!"

"Get over yourself, Lia! You did not deserve those things, I did! I was made for this, but you, you’re the pathetic one"

"I wouldn’t call me that." I take my knife out of my pocket.

" You wouldn’t dare "

"Oh yes, Summer, I would."

"You killed everyone, so tell me how you're going to reproduce."

" I kept all the people I truly loved and who never did me wrong." Before she could say anything, I inserted the knife into her cold-blooded heart, I look at her go lifeless, and all I could do is smile.

"Wh- What happened?" Someone asks from behind.

"They’re gone. They’re all gone. I tried to save them, I did." I have Summer in my lap, tears rolling down my face, and for some reason, people are believing me.

"It’s okay, Lia. You did your best," Stacey (my sister) said as she sat down with me.

"Don’t let the children see this," I order.

Everyone leaves to protect the children from this misery, but Stacey remains behind.

"Who did this, Lia?"

"Connor, I saw him killing everyone last night but I did not say anything because I did not want anyone to worry. I tried to save everyone, but he got to them before I could do so. He’s dead now, so we’re safe."

After a few months, the city was as good as new, and I was appointed as their new leader. All of my dreams were true. Was there a better way to achieve this? Probably, but what is the fun of that? Moreover, the most important people were not harmed.