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Thirty Seconds After Midnight

Sequel to The Compensation Plan

By Stephanie HoogstadPublished 2 months ago 1 min read
Thirty Seconds After Midnight
Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash

“Why can’t I go home?” Elon asked.

The commanding lookalike sighed and pulled a tablet out of its briefcase. It queued up a video and handed the tablet to Elon.

Elon watched, his eyes wide.

Smoke and red skies dominated the horizon. Ruins of glass skyscrapers littered the ground. Bodies of his doubles lay everywhere, and even more sat wounded or rooted through the city’s remains.

“To put it in human terms, we are thirty seconds past midnight,” the commanding lookalike told Elon, “at least.”

“There is…nothing we can do?”

The lookalike shook its head.

“Earth is our only hope.”

* * *

Author’s Note: This drabble is a sequel to “The Compensation Plan”, the link to which can be found below.

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About the Creator

Stephanie Hoogstad

With a BA in English and MSc in Creative Writing, writing is my life. I have edited and ghost written for years with some published stories and poems of my own.

Learn more about me: thewritersscrapbin.com

Support my writing: Patreon

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Comments (4)

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  • Andrea Corwin 2 months ago

    Oh come on! Get them outta here!’

  • Paul Stewart2 months ago

    Ach, this feels like a weirdly backwards take on any plans humans have to go to Mars, the Moon, wherever. Well done, Stephanie!

  • Oooo, that 30 seconds reminded me of 30 Seconds to Mars!

  • Lana V Lynx2 months ago

    Oh my, I hope they don't screw up the earth completely.

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