The Pod

It’s been twenty years since we left Earth. Not by choice or because we wanted to go on a crazy new adventure. We were forced. Earth wanted us gone. We destroyed everything beautiful about it, and when we were done she shooed us away. Who could blame her? She was exhausted. 

My bedroom window has a clear view of Earth every once in a while. The NH-Space station, the one I’ve been calling home since I was five years old, has been orbiting Earth since the year 2173, the passengers of the ship longing to return one day. If I’m honest, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. 

A soft knock on the door pulls me back to reality. “Seb? Everything alright?” my mom calls from outside my bedroom door. “Everything’s great mom!” I try to be cheerful, let her know not to worry. “Dinner is ready,” she says, and I hear her walk away. 

As I sit down at the dinner table I can feel the tension in the air, something is up. “Hi dad, everything okay?” I ask giving him a firm handshake. He looks tired and kind of upset. 

“Sit, dinner is getting cold,” my mom says and grabs my dad’s plate to dish up.

“I have to talk to both of you about something important,” he says and takes a bite, leaving us waiting in suspense. 

“We were called into a meeting today. A pod is being sent down to Earth. They want volunteers” he pauses to take another bite.

“Volunteers for what?” my mother asks, concerned, shooting me a look that says, “Don’t you dare”.

“They need volunteers to start the cleaning process.”

“That’s great, dad! Does that mean they have plans to take us back?” I can barely contain my excitement. I’ve dreamed of going back to Earth but made peace with the fact that it would never happen. Not while the planet was in the kind of turmoil it was.

“Slow down Seb. The clean-up is going to take time…”

“How much time?”

He takes another bite, shoots my mom a look and then takes a sip of water.

“How much time dad?” my excitement starting to fade.

“Ten years, fifteen, maybe more”.

“Has anyone volunteered yet?” my mom asks, balancing her fork on the side of her plate. 

“Some of the guys at Head office yes. Mostly the younger ones.”

“Can I go?” the words leave my mouth before I could change my mind.

Both parents stare at me. Tears forming in my mom’s eyes. “Under no circumstances, you’re only fifteen, you stay right here,” she says in a whisper. “Hang on Jane, don’t cry.” my father takes her hand in his.

“Seb, we’ll talk about it”.

“No! We won’t talk about it, there’s nothing to talk about, he’s not going” my mom sobbing now. 

“Mom” I reach for her other hand and squeeze it. “I want to go, I want to be a part of the team that helps our people get off this space station. I want to clean up and help build houses. I’ll get a piece of land close to the sea. You know how I’ve always wanted to see the sea. Live beside the sea. Please, mom, let me do this”.

I can tell she’s considering it. She’s not quite there yet. My dad clears his throat.

“I think it’s a good idea, Jane. It’s safe, I’ve seen the plans they have, I’ve seen the pod they build. There’s a safe way for them to go and for them to come back if at any stage things aren’t going as planned.”

A stray tear rolls down her cheek. “When will they leave?” she asks, not happy about the arrangement but considering it.

“One month” my dad responds, not making eye contact. My stomach flips a little and I fall back in my chair. That’s soon. “Sleep on it, if you’re serious, I’ll take you to the training camp. Now, let’s finish our dinner”.

I roll over and check the alarm clock for what feels like the hundredth time. Two-am. I need to get some sleep but how can I when I have this big of a decision hanging over my head. Do I want to go? Of course. Am I scared? A little yeah. I climb out of bed and stare out of my window. I want to see the sea for the first time, dip my toes in it, swim in the waves, see the animals, alive, in front of me instead of in a book. I am going.

***

“Sebastian Walker?” I rise as my name is called. The past month has flown by. Training has been hard, learning how to survive with minimal resources hasn’t been easy, but it will be worth it. I’m sure. The recruiter hands me my documentation and personal backpack. “Thank you for your service Sebastian, we look forward to having you onboard. I’ll see you back here in a few hours. Good luck,” she smiles and ticks my name off the list.

This is it. It’s happening. Ready or not, here I come.

The walk home is faster than usual. Maybe because I’m almost running. It’s as if something is chasing me. I burst through the front door. “Mom?” I call. Hearing sobs I walk through to the living room. My mom is on the floor, pictures scattered before her. “Mom?” I ask concerned and drop down next to her. She hands me a picture. “This was your great, great grandmother. Her first day at the beach. She was only three years old here.” Waves can be seen crashing against the rocks in the background. Soon I’ll be able to taste the saltwater. At least that’s what I’m hoping for. 

“I’ll be fine mom I promise.” Could I promise her that? I didn’t know what exactly I was getting myself into. 

“Seb?” my dad calls from the front door. “In here dad,” I help my mom up and put the picture of grandma in my back pocket. “Are you ready? It’s time to go”.

My stomach flips again. “Yeah, I’ll get my bags”. 

Goodbyes are never easy. I wanted to cry but there wasn’t time for that. I couldn’t get into the pod and let the other’s see me cry. They would think I was weak and that I didn’t belong here. I strap myself into the seat, just like they taught us in the simulator. A few voices can be heard on the radio and then Mr. Jensen; “Ladies and gents, may you have a safe journey, we await contact once you’ve reached the ground. Be safe, see you soon”.

I swallow the lump in my throat. 

“Hey,” the guy next to me holds a hand out to me. “I’m Mike.” I smile and shake his hand, “Seb, nice to meet you”. Mike has a calming effect on me. 

“Ladies and gents this is your captain speaking, we will begin the countdown. Please make sure you are strapped into your seat and do not unstrap it until we have reached the ground. Thank you”.

Silence. This is it. We are going to Earth, the first humans to step foot on it in twenty years.

“Five”

“Four”

“Three”

“Two”

“One”

***

I wake up to sunlight hitting my face. “What? Where are we?” “Did we make it?” Someone I don’t recognize stands in the doorway. The sunlight is too bright, I can’t make out who it is. My eyes try to adjust. It’s a woman but she’s not from our pod. I look around me. Death hits me in the face and I try and hold my breath to not puke. Crew members are all dead. How did this happen?

“Your pod crashed,” she says and unclips my seatbelt. “Fuel’s leaking, you need to get out.”

I grab the hand radio and my backpack and struggle out of the pod. The ground is black. I stare into the distance. There are debris and trash everywhere. 

“Where are we?” I ask the woman standing next to me.

“At the harbor, you had a rough landing, we should probably get you to the medics.”

“Harbour? Wait, does that mean I’m close to the ocean?”

She frowns. “What’s left of it you mean?”

“Well? Where is it?”

“Right in front of you,” she says and points to more trash. 

“I can’t see it.” I frown, feeling disappointed. 

“You are on the beach, that trash floating right there in the distance, so dense you can hardly see the water underneath, that’s the ocean”.

I stare in disbelief. The signal of my radio sounding. “Can anyone hear me?” a voice over the radio calls. “If you can hear me please respond. We have lost signal to the pod. I repeat, we have lost signal. If you can hear me please respond.”

“I can hear you, sir, this is Seb. I am the only one alive.”

There’s silence on the other end. The person processing what’s going on.

“Seb, this is Mr. Jensen. Are you the only one alive?”

“Yes sir, everyone else is dead sir. There’s a girl, she helped me get out of the wreck, she’s from Earth”.

“Seb, please repeat, there are people living on Earth?”

I smile. 

“Yes sir”

“Seb we are going to need some time to get more help to you. Take the radio with you and any other supplies left on the pod. Do you copy?”

“Copy that sir”.

“Seb, one more thing, what is the state of the planet?”

I look at the girl, then at the ground. 

“It’s bad sir, humankind has not been very kind, there’s a lot of work to be done. Please get help here as soon as possible.”

“Copy that Seb”.

“Hey Seb, where are you located exactly?”

“Beside the sea sir, that’s all I know for now.”

“Copy that.”

The girl stares at me. “You came from space? I need to take you to Daria immediately”.

She grabs my hands and starts pulling. “Wait, who’s Daria?”

“The first of the space-people, come on, we are wasting time”.

There’s more space-people here?

How?