Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Earth.
What there once was
It was the year 3658 and the world was not what it once was. The ground was hard and bare, except for all the buildings. The place where I love is pretty much deserted and was once known as Miami. It used to be full of life here or so I was told. It was before my time that this place was thriving and beautiful. I'm Ady and this is how the world came to be.
By Christian Wilson5 years ago in Earth
I'm Late...
As I pace back and forth, my mind is going a million miles an hour. Where is he? Did something happen? He is never late? I can’t do this alone. Why couldn’t we have died with the other ninety-nine percent of the world? Why did we survive? I feel myself starting to hyperventilate. My breathing becomes erratic, and my chest is getting tight. I let myself slide down the wall and I clutch my knees. As much as I want to cry right now, I can’t, I won’t. I reach for my neck and grasp my necklace. A delicate gold heart-shaped locket. The locket was a gift from my parents on my thirteenth birthday. It was my mother’s, and it was her mother’s. A dainty but potent family heirloom around my neck. Inside is a picture of my parents and me as a baby. It is the only thing I have that has any sentimental meaning or significance, and it’s because I was wearing it when it all happened. It happened all so quickly, it is hard to remember it clearly. I was standing in the kitchen going through my normal morning routine. The smell of coffee brewing wafted through the kitchen. I was reaching for my mug, and that is when it happened. The ground started to shake. I dropped my mug and it smashed into a million pieces. I was frozen. I had never experienced an earthquake before. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. The shaking continued and what followed was the loudest, sharpest noise I have ever heard. The sound was so intense I fell to the ground and cupped my ears for reprieve. I passed out from the pain. When I awoke, I noticed blood on the floor. I caught my reflection on the metal of my toaster that was now on the floor lying next to me. My ears were bleeding. I had a faint ringing in my ears that just wouldn’t stop. I picked myself up off the floor. My home was in total disarray. I tried to turn on the news, but the power was out. I quickly grabbed my keys and went into my garage and tried the radio in my car. The national emergency broadcast was blaring from the speakers, but no details on what happened. I guess I had so much adrenaline and cortisol running through my veins at that time that I made the bold move to look outside. It was a beautiful clear day, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but it was quiet. No birds chirping, no dogs barking, no alarms, no sirens, just silence. That is when I started to notice the blood. I felt my knees start to buckle. There was so much blood. It was dotted up and down my street like a bad rash. The warm acidic regurgitation made its way up my throat as I started to gag. That’s when I met Tom, he had just come out of his house. He ran over to me, and I was startled. I noticed the trail of blood from his ears as well. He asked if I was okay. I shook my head no. Tom helped me up. That is how our relationship started. Not the Nacy Meyer’s romantic comedy I had always hoped and dreamed for when it came to meeting my person, but the geomagnetic electrical storm that wiped out the majority of humanity was our meet-cute.
By Molly Silver 5 years ago in Earth
Their Purpose
THEIR PURPOSE They shot rapid dogs in Chernobyl, to prevent the spread of radiation. That was in 1986, almost fifty years ago this year. If only they knew that it would happen again 45 years later, this time to the entire planet. The people only pacified because of the new vaccine, it had been issued only two years before the incident, and stopped sickness and death from radiation, their resistance to it grown stronger.
By Elizabeth Butler5 years ago in Earth
The Horizon
Earth used to have three main colors: blue, green, and white. Vast, massive bodies of water blanket her celestial body. Rolling hills and mountains riddled with vibrant, green trees extended outward and upward from her skin. White, puffy clouds surrounding her, granting her a veil of mystery. At least that is what my grandmother always told me. Looking over The Horizon, these statements are hard to grasp. A black sky, covering a planet that could be confused for Mars if it were not for the brown sludge enveloping 50% of the blood red land. Looking upon Earth now is like looking at a ravaged carcass, depleted of its resources by vultures. Our forefathers tell us, the newer generation, that they “escaped” Earth and saved as many citizens as they could. That Earth’s demise was inevitable, and there was nothing that could be done. That might be harder to believe than my grandmother’s stories.
By Austin Sharrett5 years ago in Earth
Tears and Dust
For the first time in longer than I can remember, I am looking at his face with my own eyes. It lasts for only a moment before the prickling wave of emotion grips my throat and blurs my vision as tears gush forth unhindered. My body starts to tremble within the coarse fabric of my strafe suit, and I sink to my knees in the dust. Great pulses of long suppressed memories wrack my body with sobs as overwhelming sorrow, mixed with inexplicable joy, struggles to break free. I feel my eyelashes catch as I try to blink, unseeing, through the flood of tears. I let myself go, rolling onto my side and surrendering to the unstoppable tide of grief, the catalyst of my pain still clutched in my gloved hand.
By Lincoln Young5 years ago in Earth
Transparent Wood
It seems that there are still too many trees on Earth. We already have glass made mostly from silicon dioxide, also known as silica, but it easily breaks when too thin or not bulletproof, unlike a tree’s heart or the skin of its sheared meat. Let us cut down more trees in their infantile prime and turn them into transparent wood. How neat it would look while keeping the elements away in a new style. A transparent ceiling for stargazing, a transparent floor just in case we want to see the ground or what is happening in the basement, transparent walls green-painted for sport, and transparent windows as the pièce de résistance. We never had transparent windows before. How quaint! How revolutionary!
By Patrick M. Ohana5 years ago in Earth
Mars? No Thank you
The lake had long ago dried up. A lonely dock stood perched on its pilings looking as out of place under the burning sun as an iceberg in tropical waters. Even with the evidence of past water indicated by the bathtub-like rings meandering around the periphery of the lake bed, it was hard to believe this was the remains of a once-thriving vacation destination.
By Michael Trigg5 years ago in Earth
Nature is God
Lockdown Communion with Nature One of the best things that has happened to society as a result of social isolation strategies and lockdowns, is that more and more people are spending time alone in Nature. They are deeply bonding with it and appreciating it. Without companions, the communion with nature is most impactful on the human spirit. When we are alone we have the silence to hear Nature’s voice, to see her subtle emanations. When I contemplate the most profound and awe-inspiring moments of my life, it is always when I am on my own with Nature. Nature is God.
By Sarah Janes5 years ago in Earth
By bark and seedling, thy kingdom come.
The forest and I are the last trees on Earth. From nut to tree I have withstood the vicissitudes of mankind for 600 years. I have survived drought, flood, disease and war but the last 150 years your mankind has taken the absolute pith.
By Lee westbrook 5 years ago in Earth
The Sickness
I tread lightly across the forest floor, not wanting to disturb the crisp brown leaves from their resting place after falling from the canopy of trees above. It was the kind of place that had the potential to be beautiful. Branches perfect for the sun to creep through, creating shadows that dance through the foliage as the breeze bounces over the greenery. The potential however, would never be realized. The years for the sun to break through the clouds and warm the earth were long over, and the trees would never again be full and green. This thought used to leave me unsettled, but like with most things, time took over and my spirit became hardened to such feelings.
By Avary Hague5 years ago in Earth
