A Father's Last Wish

May 5th, 2035, is the day our world changed forever. The World Liberation Party has the world on lockdown. Earth is drifting into an asteroid belt and meteor showers are a daily struggle. John is picking up his daughter Sophie from bio-engineering camp just as the next wave of showers starts. Everyone is being re-educated for their new jobs on Mars. The asteroid Vanta is falling and Earth is spinning out of control.

“Daddy, I passed my final exam today, we can finally make the trip!” Sophie stated as she jumped in the truck. John says, “That’s great news hun, we need to get packed and to the shuttle right away, this planet can’t take much more of this.”

Sophie and John travel home driving through town. Everything is boarded up or on fire and there aren’t many signs of life left here. The entire planet is covered in dark grey soot, the sun no longer shines through the clouds of dust in the sky, and large pieces of Vanta have taken over the landscape. As they reach home, John says, “Sophie, I need you to listen to me. I haven’t heard from your sister Eve in a few weeks. I’m not sure if she caught an early shuttle, or… Well, I just haven’t heard from her.” Sophie sat for a second with a tear in her eye, took a deep breath and said, “Daddy, we’ll see her again, I know we will. Let’s get moving.”

As they pack their bags for the trip, John pulls out two steaks from the fridge and a few potatoes. Sophie’s eyes grew as she screamed loudly in excitement, “Daddy where did you find steaks and potatoes?” John just smiled as he grabbed his old cast iron skillet and lit the gas pilot on the stove. They ate well that night. Potatoes don’t grow in the soil any more and Sophie hasn’t seen meat in years. This was a real treat for their last meal on Earth.

After they finished dinner, Sophie started washing the dishes. John said, “What are you doing? We need to get moving and we’re never going to see this place again anyway, just leave ‘em.” Sophie stopped for a second, then finished cleaning their dishes and put them in the rack to dry. Sophie says, “We just had an amazing meal and I felt normal for a while, I just wanted it to last a little longer dad.” John just nodded and hugged her. “Let’s Go.”

John and Sophie jump in the truck with their bags and start driving, luckily John is a mechanic and knows how to get the pumps to work. He makes one last call to Eve and leaves her a voicemail, “Eve, it’s dad. I’ve been trying to reach you, I hope everything is ok. Sophie cleared re-training and we are heading to the station to catch the shuttle. We’re on shuttle Alpha 5, Unit 12. I really hope we see you there, or you’ve taken an early shuttle. I love you honey, bye.” John looks at Sophie with a hopeful look on his face as they drive on.

They arrive at the station to board the shuttle. There is a lot of confusion as people are everywhere and trying to get to their units. They finally arrive at Unit 12 and open the door and Eve is standing right there. They all yell and holler in joy. Sophie hasn’t seen Eve in months and John couldn’t believe his eyes. John says, “I am so glad you are here, we’ve missed you so much. Are you ready to start a new life on Mars?!” Eve and Sophie start talking about school and laughing and giggling and John just stares in amazement at his daughters, a proud father.

One last hug before the trip starts and Eve slips something into John’s pocket. She says, “Daddy, I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me. I’ve been busy making something for you in mom’s metal shop. I wanted you to have a piece of her on Mars.” They all climb into their sleep chambers for the long flight. Just before John closes his chamber he hears an announcement on the public announcement system, “We need any available mechanic to report to the loading dock ASAP.” John has always been a doer, he never just waits for something to happen. He jumps from his chamber and runs to the loading area screaming, “I’m a mechanic, I’m a mechanic!”

There was an issue with the bay doors and they wouldn’t close properly. He knew if this didn’t get fixed the shuttle couldn’t take off. Who knows if there will be another shuttle. He worked on it for a while then realized that the only way was to wedge it closed from the outside. He knew right then he wasn’t making the trip. He helped the last few people and crew get on board and closed the doors.

As the shuttle took off with Sophie and Eve sleeping in their chambers, John stood on the platform with a tear running down his face. He wasn’t sure if he would ever see them again. He hoped that another shuttle would return in time, but he knew that the end was near. As the shuttle becomes a small dot in the sky John reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gift that Eve made for him. He opened the box and inside was a heart-shaped locket. Eve had made the locket by hand from her mother’s scrap metal in the shop. John opens the locket and inside is a picture of him and the girls from a few years earlier. He looks around and there isn't much left here and not a person in sight. John drops to his knees and shouts, “Thank you!” to the sky with tears rolling down his cheeks.