Left Behind

The planet had been suffering under the oppression of the human race for far too long. Centuries of pollution into the air, soil, and water. Countless senseless wars devastated the human population as well as the planet. Deforestation, species extinction, and radioactive fallout just to name a few. All these factors plus numerous more contributed to the death of the Earth.

They knew it was finally dead when nothing would grow, not even weeds. There was no drinkable water left, every drop had to go through an extensive and costly filtering process, the alternative was death from poisoning or dehydration. The humans tried to provide enough clean water to as many animals that were left as they could, but as time went on the process became increasingly difficult and they ultimately had to make a choice. Us or them.

Hot temperatures and an arid climate created an eternal desert stretching from the North pole to the South. The only rain showers came in the form of deadly poisonous storm clusters that devasted the already desolate landscape. To survive this new reality the humans erected sheltered dome cities to protect them from the harsh conditions. These highly technologically advanced dwellings were the last remnants of life on the planet, a place to hide and await the inevitable.

With life on the planet ceasing to exist, the humans knew they were not far behind. So in a last-ditch effort to save their species, they were finally able to come together as one to create the ultimate exit strategy. Pooling together the last of their resources from the bones of their exceptionally advanced civilizations, they constructed a space station.

Now, this was not just any ordinary space station but a completely self-sustaining one. The project's goal was to explore the galaxy to find another livable planet or to perish in luxury, whichever came first. It was truly a spectacle of creation, a beauty of immense size. Once construction was done and they were ready to go they realized that they could not just leave their planet with nothing. It was decided that someone would have to stay to determine if life could ever return to the planet. This person was basically signing up to die alone on the now barren wasteland if no hope for recovery was found. Of course, they would be supplied with enough food and drinkable water to last the rest of their lifetime, along with all the cities, vehicles, and tech that would be left behind. Ideally, a few individuals were sought out to keep the human race alive in the event the space station failed, but alas only one man volunteered to stay behind on the doomed planet.

Xavier Zander had always been somewhat of a solitary man. Since he was young he spent his time buried in books about the past, a never-ending fascination with the plethora of life that once thrived long ago. He dreamed of the day when life would return to the planet. When news of the space station was first announced, contrary to the rest of the dwindling population, the thought of leaving the only home he'd ever known made him feel uneasy. Even though the situation did appear grim.

The day for departure had finally arrived and a large celebration was underway as everyone made their way to the ship. Most wasted no time in boarding, taking little time to acknowledge what they were leaving behind. However a few did linger, looking out the murky biodome windows at the vast barrenness they were leaving behind, wondering if they would ever be able to return.

Xavier didn't bother sticking around to watch the departure. As soon as the space station began to lift off he had already taken the liberty of acquiring one of the many secure rovers used for traveling the eternal desert. They were equipped with GPS, life support systems, weather radars, and more. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he knew that it would keep the existential dread of absolute loneliness at bay if he kept moving.

After hours of traveling, Xavier put the vehicle into a self-drive mode and gradually drifted off into a hazy dream about distant lands he'd never seen. Visions of paradise on Earth, before their fates were sealed, where people lived in harmony and protected the planet rather than destroy it.

It was hard for the man to understand why everyone decided to abandon the world, even when it appeared that the situation was bleak. He spent his entire life gathering knowledge about the way things used to be and how they had gotten to that place, knowledge about a time before evens humans gallivanted onto the scene. This history of the planet was like a beautiful tragedy that Xavier Zander intended to prevent, he just didn't know how yet.

Suddenly, Xavier was jolted from his sleep by the screaming of alarms. *Warning! Danger Ahead! Approaching Mega Storm Cluster!*

He quickly took back control of the craft and looked up to see violent flashes of fluorescent blue and purple lightning illuminating the dark sky. The rumble of thunder shook the ground so much that the craft began to rock back and forth. Fighting to keep control, Xavier gripped the steering mechanism with all his might. He could not see where he was going and the storm was causing all the equipment to malfunction. Even the hi-tech rover was no match for the storm, if he didn't find shelter soon he'd be in trouble.

The rumbling of the craft became uncontrollable and Xavier realized that this storm was affecting more than just the sky. The ground beneath him cracked open and panic began to set in as he was slowly swallowed up by the Earth. Unfortunately for him, the craft had many features but flying was not one of them. Trapped in a helpless downfall he plummeted into a dark abyss, falling for what seemed like hours until his craft sensed solid ground below. It announced: *Activating Crash Systems*

Xavier let out a sigh of relief for this feature and prepared for the impact. His craft ejected a parachute that allowed it to glide slowly into the ominous darkness.

Once he was back onto stable ground, Xavier turned on the rovers' lights and stared in disbelief at what he saw. The deep ravine was home to an enormous tunnel that seemed to stretch on indefinitely. Looking up to where he'd come from and remembering what fate lay above, Xavier decided to venture on hopeful for an end to this spree of bad luck and wishing that this was more than just a series of unfortunate coincidences.

It wasn't long after he'd been traveling down the mysterious passage that he noticed something very strange, vegetation outside instead of inside the greenhouses of the bio-domes. A foreign site that seemed so out of place to him, but he ventured on. After traveling for a few miles he noticed a bright light at the end of the tunnel and became gleeful, accelerating the rover to get there faster.

Once he arrived at the light he couldn't believe his eyes. Hidden from all the chaos of the overworld was an ancient thriving civilization nestled inside of a lush paradise. Roaming the scene he noticed terrifyingly strange creatures whom he assumed lived inside of the magnificent stone city. They spotted Xavier's vehicle and before he had a chance to make a move a loud bellowing tone shook the cave, accompanied by an invisible blast. When Xavier attempted to put his rover in reverse, it didn't budge. All the screens were black, he frantically pressed different buttons but to no avail, he was stuck. Helplessly watching as the towering lanky creatures made a mad dash to him, he prepared for what was to come. Grabbing an oxygen mask and his emergency pack, accepting the inevitable and hopeful the bizarre life forms would take mercy on him, he opened the rover's hatch and stepped out to greet them. They swarmed Xavier, pointing long spears at him armed with blades whose black metal he did not recognize. "I come in peace," he said to them proudly, "I am from the overworld. There was a bad storm, I fell for an eternity and then I ended up in this place..." He said suddenly taking in the vast landscape, mesmerized by its immense beauty. Several moments passed as the mystifying beings turned to each other, appearing to be having a conversation without saying a word. One of them walked away back to the city, while another stepped closer to Xavier bending down to meet his gaze. The creature had gray rubbery skin with eyes that were dark as black holes. It only had three fingers and toes that were each just as slender and long as the rest of its body. As it knelt in front of Xavier, still slightly towering over him, a voice spoke from within his mind.

"We are the Originals and we have been here long before your kind. Protected by this subterranean system, living harmoniously with nature and the other creatures that call this place home. We know all too well about the fate of the overworld, about your kind's greed and ravenous appetite for senseless destruction."

"If you knew about it, why didn't you do anything to stop it!" Xavier yelled at the life form, cutting off its introduction.

"We do not interfere, just as we wish your kind not to interfere with us," the life form responded in Xavier's head.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm the last of 'my kind' left on this rock. Everyone else is far out in space living it up on that space station. You don't have to worry about anybody interfering," Xavier somberly responded aloud to them. The life forms once again conversed without words and then the one closest to him spoke telepathically with him again.

"Come with us."

They led him deeper into the magnificent stone city that reminded him of the Aztec empire or Egypt, yet in pristine condition. He no longer had to wonder how they were erected as he watched several of the creatures moving massive blocks through the air with their minds, placing them into perfect alignment with each other. They took him to a place that seemed to be some sort of temple with a large beam shooting out of the center straight up into the air. Looking at the beam's trajectory, he suddenly noticed a small sun that lit up the vast cave. Inside the temple was a peculiar device that contained a heart-shaped locket made of a golden crystal with a red substance inside of its core. "This is our most holy of monuments," the life form communicated to him, "the device gives life and energy to this place. It is powerful enough to create our own sun, yet as delicate as glass. We believe in time we can use the power of the locket to restore life to the overworld."

A rush of excitement surged through Xavier Zander's body, finally a way to create the planet of his dreams. Adrenaline racing through his body, not thinking about his actions, he dashed towards the locket. The cave dwellers ran after him but to no avail. Xavier pried the crystal heart-shaped locket out from its home causing the beam it created to slowly die out. He turned to run back to his rover, eager to use the artifact to restore life to the overworld and to be regarded as a hero. He was so swept up in emotions that he took a misstep and fell to the floor, causing the delicate crystal locket to shatter into tiny useless pieces, dooming both of their worlds.

As the beam and sun fluttered out, slowly filling the cave with darkness, the creatures mauled Xavier Zander in a fit of rage. Leaving nothing behind but silence.