The Final Countdown

Matilda was the first to wake up. Her cheek, pressed against a cold, smooth surface, made a sucking sound as she looked up, her eyes bulging. She looked around, taking in the scenery with a mixture of confusion and fear. Glancing down at her outfit, she noticed that she was no longer wearing the yellow dress she had put on this morning, but a frumpy navy blue uniform and thick-soled boots. A smartwatch clung to her left wrist, and there was no way to loosen it or get rid of it. Where was she? The clickety-clack of wheels and the blur of trees rolling past the window next to her were her most immediate clues: she was on board a train. A train she had absolutely no recollection of getting on. The tentacles of panic climbed up her calves before squeezing her throat. The word ‘mom…’ faded from her lips. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and only kids her own age populated the nearby seats, inert, their heads sometimes slumped against the headrest, sometimes flattened against the tray tables in their laps. They all wore the same uniform, as well as the same watch on their left wrist. Heart thumping, she stood up on shaky legs and took a few steps across the car, trying to spot familiar faces. However, she recognized none of the four girls and five boys.

Eyes blinked, arms stretched and mouths yawned. The children were waking up. All had the same reaction: confusion, incomprehension, fear.

‘Where are we?’ one asked.

‘Mom? Dad?’ another called out.

They scuttled along the car, trying to figure out where they were as they peered through the glass: green, leafy trees and hills rolled by at breakneck speed. They exchanged names, ages and places of origin. All were twelve years old, all spoke English, but all came from different countries. One of them, named Ade, opened the door to the hallway. He discovered a group of ten kids about their age in the adjacent carriage. The only difference was that they were all caucasian, whereas in Matilda's cabin, everyone was Black. From another car emerged a group of Asian children. From another, ten kids from native American reservations. In each case, five girls and five boys, all twelve years old, all native English-speakers. The train began to come alive: a few erupted into loud crying while others, more daring, started investigating. They explored all the corridors and all the cars, but apart from these four groups, there was no one else. They all had the same questions: Where are we? Why are there no adults around? Why don't I remember getting on this train? And the most burning question of all: where is it hurtling towards?

'Hey, come check this out!’ someone shouted from the front of the car.

The troop of forty pre-teens crowded around a display screen hanging on the door of the control room. A countdown clock read 58 minutes, and seconds flashed just below it.

'What do you think that means?'

‘I don't know, but that thing looks like a detonator to me. Like in the movies.’

A regular beep came from the screen, high-pitched and menacing. A shiver rippled across the young assembly. Some wiped new tears from their cheeks.

‘We're all gonna die...' whispered a brunette girl, fiddling with the wispy end of her braid.

‘It's like some kind of video game,’ Matilda gasped, looking around. Addicted to her new Playstation 11, she often spent hours with her headset screwed on, much to the chagrin of her mom, who feared that one day her daughter would no longer be able to discern reality from the virtual world. ‘Maybe we need to figure out how to get out of here. And we only have 57 minutes to do it.'

'You think we've been kidnapped by a bunch of psychos?' suggested a redhead, who almost sounded excited by the idea.

'We're probably wanted by the police!’ added another, his face pale.

‘Matilda's right,’ Ade said. ‘And I think I've found the first puzzle.’

He held up a sort of jewel box with a slide puzzle on the lid. He fiddled with it for a moment, then slid all the pieces in the right order in a matter of seconds. The puzzle represented a polar bear and the box opened with a loud 'click'. At the same time, Ade’s bracelet lit up and vibrated with a cheerful melody. Numbers scrolled at full speed on the mini-screen, settling on '100'.

‘What the hell is that?' someone prompted.

‘It must be his score,’ Matilda explained. ‘He earned 100 points for completing the puzzle. What's in the box?’

Ade took a wave-shaped object out of the wooden jewel box.

'A magnet. Anyone seen a whiteboard somewhere?'

'The snack bar!' cried a bespectacled child.

Everyone ran to the middle of the train, where a deserted bar seemed to be waiting for its first order. A few kids grabbed packets of chips and bottles of water, arguing over numbers as there was clearly not enough for everyone. A few fights erupted among the group, but eventually, everyone got their share of food and water. Even though they were segregated by race, no one seemed to care or find this detail relevant. Everyone talked to everyone and friendships began to form among the kids, regardless of skin tones. Above the bar, a magnetic whiteboard displayed a menu and a list of prices. Ade tried to attach the magnet to the board, to no avail.

'A wave... that must mean something,' Matilda mused aloud.

‘Something related to water, maybe?' offered a kid named Josh.

They tried to stick the magnet to their bottles, without success, until a young Indonesian girl suggested trying the bathroom. They found a metal insert under one of the sinks, and when the magnet touched it, it opened to let out another puzzle. At the same time, the girl’s smartwatch lit up, vibrated, and emitted the joyful melody that awarded her a hundred points. Proud as a peacock, she brandished her wrist in the air.

‘We're being watched, that's for sure,' Matilda blurted out, trying to spot secret cameras in the corners.

'Guys... I don’t mean to freak you out but we only have forty-five minutes left,' said a tall, lanky boy. 'I'm starting to think we're supposed to find a way to stop this stupid train. What if they're testing us to see if we're able to make it without our parents?'

'Why would they do that? Besides, who are 'they'?!' asked someone else.

'I don't know. The CIA?'

‘I think Darren's right. The train is going to crash if we don't stop it,’ Matilda confirmed.

‘And how do you know that?’ challenged a blonde girl with steely blue eyes.

Matilda pointed to a poster hanging above a door. It was an illustration of a disjointed train plunging straight down a cliff. A new shiver ran through the flock of children.

‘There must be clues everywhere. Let's split up and find them!’

Matilda noticed that the screen on her wrist hadn't lit up, despite her spotting the poster. She was going to have to do better than that. She didn't know what they were being judged on, or what their final score would mean, but she hated losing. The little soldiers scattered through the cars and searched every nook and cranny for new clues. More boxes were found, more puzzles were completed, more magnets were won, and more points were awarded. Finally, they found the key to the control cab. The place was a mess, strewn with old papers, wrappers, and plastic bags. Drawings of whales and other marine animals covered every inch of the walls.

‘Now what do we do?’ shouted Darren.

‘How much time do we have left?’

‘Five minutes!’ someone replied.

An open newspaper lay on the control panel, and Matilda read the headline: HOW FAR CAN WE GO TO SAVE THE PLANET? Underneath the paper was a button with the word STOP engraved on it. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened when she pressed it. Next to the button, a round hole seemed to be waiting for a missing piece. 'The planet, huh?' she repeated to herself. She looked for a globe of some kind: a keychain, a poster, a symbol of the Earth…

‘We're all gonna die!' whined the redhead, who clearly wasn't thrilled with the idea of having been kidnapped anymore. A few kids started to hit all the buttons in a desperate attempt to stop the engine, but their efforts only led to more disappointment. Others started gathering blunt objects in the hope of breaking a window and escaping, ready to risk breaking their neck to avoid crashing with the train.

Matilda's determination did not waver. Now alone in the crew compartment, she continued her search, lifting every paper, searching every plastic bag for the missing piece. Out of breath, she raised her head, and her gaze fell on a plant, partially hidden behind an old pizza box. She leaped at it and uprooted the desiccated bonsai. She dug into the dry earth with eager fingers until she came in contact with… a small ball.

‘Eureka!’ she shouted like one of her video game characters. She wasn’t even sure what it meant, but she’d always thought it sounded cool. She examined the plastic globe, then rushed back to the control panel.

‘FORTY SECONDS!’ someone shouted from the hallway.

Desperate children joined her in the cab. ‘So, did you find anything?’

She held up the tiny, shiny globe before thrusting it into the small pit next to the STOP button. Immediately the button lit up bright red, and Matilda swung her fist at it with all her might. A deafening screech pierced their eardrums as the train interrupted its mad dash. It resisted and fought for a few seconds before slowing down, then came to a halt with the sound of a beast uttering a final grunt before its demise. A heavy silence permeated the air, then the kids shouted with joy as they threw themselves into each other's arms. ‘We did it! We did it!'

While most expected this cruel game to end, Matilda sensed that this was only the beginning of a long series of trials. The doors along the train abruptly opened, allowing the children to exit the vehicle and explore their surroundings—a dense forest with no sign of human activity. And just as they stepped into their new home, a high-pitched, cheerful voice rang out from an invisible speaker.

‘Welcoooome, little monsters! You’re probably wondering what you’re all doing here. Well, I’m proud to say you've been selected from millions of children to participate in our newest program: Operation Save the Earth. As you know, the population reached 10 billion last year. That is no longer sustainable, and unfortunately, this trend has no chance of decreasing naturally, despite the government’s efforts to lower numbers. For several years now, the world's leaders have been developing a program to finally determine which human race is superior to the others. The group that scores the most points at the end of the program will be declared dominant. The Superiors will be given privileges and advantages over the Inferiors, who will be denied the right to breed. You will be tested on your physical, emotional and intellectual abilities. Any questions?'

The children glanced at each other, dumbfounded.

‘We're just kids!’ the lanky boy shouted. ‘Why not choose grown-ups?’

The voice gave an amused chuckle. ‘Because children are innocent, of course. You haven't been corrupted by society yet. The results will be more accurate as well as more similar to natural selection. Those who adapt and survive the best will be the winners. Since no one has ever been able to agree on the hierarchy of races, we have decided to leave it to... Mother Nature.’

Matilda swallowed hard at the word ‘survive’ before asking, 'And... when does the program end?’

‘September 11, 2056. Six years from today exactly. You'll find tools, food, hunting and building supplies in a cave by the beach. Remember: the other races are your enemies and only yours is superior. It's up to you to prove it. No holds barred. Good luck!'

THE END

(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and does not reflect in any way the author's personal beliefs or ideology.)