Doomsday diary

Starrybune. That’s the name of my planet. Crazy, right? Who would have thought there was an undiscovered planet between Earth and Mars? No one- except when Pluto had been demoted as the ninth planet, I guess anything is possible.

My name is Erina. Once Earth started losing resources, the government made crazy attempts to find sources elsewhere, including other planets. A select few people were sent to Starrybune looking for resources to help Earth out but once they found it was very similar to Earth, settlements started being planned.

At first, only the rich, famous and important people were allowed on Starrybune. Then, once Earth was looking more and more desolate, the evacuations started. The only way to save Earth was to find this rumored heart-shaped locket. Supposedly, the locket contained this super rare stone that would help all the problems on Earth.

No one knows what happened to it. My family was one of the lucky ones to make it to Starrybune. My family is also super rich so I would sneak into our vault and every night I’d look through the jewelry my family kept that had been passed down from generation to generation.

I was too afraid to ask my family if they had anything similar to the locket. Mostly because my parents don’t care and don’t want more people on Starrybune. Like, we’re so much better than everyone else!

How do I stay so grounded? Well for one, I’m a sixteen year old girl and two, one of my best friends is the servants. A stable boy named Gil. Yeah, we have our own damn ranch. But that was how a lot of the lower class people were able to leave Earth. Either face destruction and fight to survive or risk going to a new planet with a job to one of the rich, famous or important people.

Anyways, today I’ve been wanting to ask Gil to help me with my search. I want to help people on Earth and maybe he might not think the locket is a rumor. And ok, he’s pretty handsome too- he has fair hair and bright green eyes.

“Hey, Gil!” I called to him running towards him. I immediately got a disapproving frown.

“Princess, you shouldn’t be running in your dress,” he scolded.

Oh, right- forgot to add that not only is my family rich- we’re actually royals. He usually only called me Princess if he thought any of my family members were around or someone much too chummy with my parents.

I skidded to a halt in front of him and checked my blue dress for any damage. It seemed ok. I looked around and noticed another one of the other servants lurking.

“Dear stable boy,” I directed at Gil loudly- he rolled his eyes. “I request your services for my horse.”

“At once, Princess,” he shot back loudly, giving me a face that the servant couldn’t see. Gil was only a few months older than me but he still behaved formally towards me, at least when the other servants were around. When we were off on our own, he was still nice but incredibly funny too.

Once we were alone by my horse’s stall, he whispered to me, “So, what’s up?”

“I need your help,” I whispered seriously.

“Should I be concerned?” He raised an eyebrow.

“No. At least, I don’t think so. Have you ever heard of the heart-shaped locket?”

“You mean the one that has that stone that can literally power an entire planet?” he smirked.

“That’s the one!” I said pleasantly.

He regarded me thoughtfully. “I personally don’t know much about it but could have sworn I heard the chef talking about it not that long ago. Why?”

“You’ve seen the news. The news reporter’s contacts from Earth have been saying things have gotten pretty wild there- almost like things have reverted to cavemen times! People fighting all the time, taking the law into their own hands. I was just thinking we should do something.” I studied his face carefully.

“And what can two teenagers do?” He asked skeptically.

“I have connections. My family does anyways- if we find it and can save Earth-”

“I thought your parents wanted nothing to do with helping Earth?”

“We’ve got to think of something that would convince them- but first we need to find that locket.”

“Erina. Let’s not get our hopes up, ok? Let me pull my connections and then we’ll go from there.”

“Ok,” I replied somewhat grumpily.

---

I stood in front of my mirror getting ready for what was sure to be a very boring dinner. I was trying to match my earrings to my eyes- dark gray with a purple tint. My eyes were one of my favorite features- everything else about me was normal, from my boring brown hair, average height and thin stature.

My lady-in-waiting Marcella had already been dismissed. We are good friends too but I liked to do some things on my own and have time to think. After a while, I got up and headed towards the dining hall.

Before I was able to be seated, one of the servants ran over to me telling me that the chef was looking for me.

Sudden comprehension dawned on me and I agreed to follow them without preamble. Had Gil gotten a hold of the chef already? He really did seem to have connections!

---

“Ah, Princess!” The chef smiled at me as I arrived in the kitchen. I hesitated in the doorway.

“Hi Chef Bardin. You called for me?”

“Yes, I did.” He looked at the servant and added, “You may go.”

“But Chef-” the servant started to protest.

“The Princess knows her way to the dining hall,” Chef Bardin said coldly. The servant mumbled an apology, bowed to me and disappeared.

Chef made sure the servant had gone before pulling me into the pantry. “I heard you were asking about the heart-shaped locket?”

“Yes, that’s right. Do you know anything?”

He pulled out something from his apron, and placed something quite heavy into my hands.

“I know everything about it.”

I peeked into my hands and couldn’t believe it- a heavy chain and heart-shaped locket was in my hands. I was completely gobsmacked.

“How? What?” I spluttered.

“It’s a very long story, Princess. Perhaps too long but do you really think you can save Earth with the stone?”

“I- I- so it’s really in there?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve had it thoroughly examined. That’s why it’s so heavy but I was advised not to open it as it could be radioactive.”

“How can you be sure it’s still in there, then?”

“My own brother examined it- right before he was killed for it.”

I stared at him in shock.

“Why do you think this has been hidden for so long? Something of this value is what you get killed over.”

“Chef, did you tell Gil you had it?”

“No. I only trust you with it, Princess.”

“Why me?”

“You- you are much more pure and honest than your family, respectfully.”

“None taken- I still need their help to get to Earth, though.”

“I beg your pardon, Princess?”

“If I’m the only one you trust with it- then I will be the one to bring it there.”

We stared at each other, weighing each other up- granted, he was much larger, stronger and more impressive looking than me but something about my determination seemed to make up his mind.

“And how do you think you will be able to go to Earth, then?” he asked politely but seemed interested despite himself.

“Oh, I have a plan. Trust me.” I smirked.

---

“Erina! Where in the world have you been?!” My parents screamed at me, nearly in unison.

I had arrived at the dining hall- so fashionably late that I may have missed it altogether.

“Sorry mom and dad but we have something very important to discuss.”

They went from being angry to wary so fast that it made me want to laugh. My parents were in the middle of finding me a Prince to marry- ugh, lame. But I had been giving them a lot of attitude about it so they undoubtedly were probably thinking I was going to argue about this again.

“Have you heard about the heart-shaped locket? The one that has powers so great it would restore the resources to Earth?” I asked hesitantly.

My parents exchanged glances. “Of course, Erina. It’s a myth! No one has seen it before.” My dad answered, disgruntled.

“Well, I hate to break it to you but it’s not a myth.” I dug into my purse which I happened to have on me and showed them the locket.

My mother looked like she would faint. My father said, “How can you be sure it’s the real thing?”

“Ask Chef Bardin.”

---

“Princess, we’re here.” Marcella informed me. We had to do this fast, in case anyone who had been listening who shouldn’t have been. My parents had allowed me to go to Earth but only if I brought my lady in waiting and let Prince Char go with me too. I would never call him Charmont, it sounded way too formal. Chef Bardin went too since he knew so much and could prepare food. And Gil who would arrange transportation.

When we arrived on Earth, almost three months later, even with my parents' high tech rocketship, it was so hot. I had heard that Starrybune was similar to Earth but it didn’t seem like it.

“Princess, are you ready to go meet with the officials?” Char asked. He was handsome with dark hair and dark blue eyes- the opposite of Gil who was watching us out of the corner of his eye.

“Yes. The faster we get this over with the better” I said quickly and quietly.

My parents had arranged to meet with the government officials in charge. Earth still had rules and laws but certain things hadn’t been obeyed in so long that things were overgrown and run down everywhere. It seemed like only a few places had been kept intact. The military and Gil helped with the transport and we soon found ourselves in a laboratory.

The scientist in charge examined the locket and stone within it carefully. We all watched anxiously from behind a thick glass.

“This is exactly what we needed! I can’t believe it has been found at last! How can we ever thank you?” he exclaimed.

I thought about this. “Do what you can to save as many lives as possible. And a tour would be nice.”

---

“How long do you think it will take for things to get better here?” Gil asked as he drove us through the rundown city.

I hated that he was driving up front and I was in back next to Char. Char was there for my protection- he had extensive training in fencing and could even use a gun. I hoped he wouldn’t need to actually protect me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Marcella was up front with Gil. “I hope they actually figure out a way to help everyone. Things have been different for years. Do you think it’s possible?”

“I’m sure they will make every effort,” Char said confidently.

I looked out the window at the dismal city. “It will take years to rebuild.”

Gil responded, “Just as long as they do the right thing and actually rebuild, what more can the people want? I’m sure things have been hard for so long that even a hot meal and running electricity would be a huge help.”

“You’re so simple minded,” I said absently. “Overall it will take more than that to fix things.”

“Of course it will but don’t underestimate the power of food.” he smiled.

I couldn’t argue with that. What a strange and unbelievable journey. I sat back and closed my eyes, hoping to get a quick nap before the whole world would change.

The End