Savior of the Earth

We dock at the station twenty minutes before detonation. The world is counting on us. My name is Nick. John, Mary, and I have been on this mission for two weeks. Our world has been in suspense as a large asteroid the size of Europe headed in our direction. That was until I, along with my colleagues, came into the picture. Now victory is within our grasp.

Just a few more minutes now. The champagne is out and glasses are served. Mary is on the verge of tears. Typical. John looks emotional too. Such a weakling.

“Here we go,” says John. I must admit I am excited. My eyes widen as I witness this colossal space rock making its way to the invisible border.

“Almost...” Mary holds her head, pulling her hair back

In space nothing, not even a huge rock like that, can be heard as it explodes from the inside out. I haven't seen anything so beautiful in my life. I turn around and take a deep breath. I did it. I saved the world. That’s when I hear the sound of glass hitting the floor. John gasps, and Mary screams.

I spin around to see...oh my god no...

It’s been twenty-four hours since Earth was destroyed. John miscalculated. It was meant to blow up just a few minutes before it did. Its trajectory still hit home. Mary is still crying. I’ve moved on from grieving, but my rage is constant.

“You messed up John!” I yell.

“Nick, we are all to blame...” he says monotonously. I smack him hard. He’s nervous and scared.

“Guys stop it!” screams Mary, still crying. “We have to think rationally. We have four weeks of food left and five weeks of water. We are the only human beings left, are you sure you want to spend that time like this!”

I look right at him. His eyes dart anxiously. How did he make it this far? “She’s right,” I say.

Days pass. We have been rationing food to stretch the four weeks. I’m so hungry. This is not how the savior of Earth should be treated. It wasn’t meant to go this way at all!

“Nick! John! Meeting - now!” Mary yells, standing in the same room where, less than a week ago, we watched our world end. Mary thinks John may be hoarding food. I stand idly as John and Mary argue.

“John,” I say, “Your taking food behind our backs, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m not! I’ve eaten less than we agreed on!”

He’s guilty. He continues to yell at me, but my eyes trail off to the black void. All three of us hush up as we notice space debris... chunks of the asteroid headed straight for us.

“Everyone to the shuttle now!” I order. The station shakes when micrometeorites pierce the hull. Space dust makes its way in. Anemia. Dangerous.

“John! Get into the control room and shut the station down. This place could catch fire!” He believes me.

Mary and I make it to the shuttle. Just in time for us to leave without John.

“What are you doing?!” She asks frantically. I say nothing. I don’t even get to tell John why he’s going to die. I shouldn’t have to. He blew up Earth. John will be dead in five minutes.

Three weeks pass. Mary and I have not spoken since John died. I break the silence to tell her that the ship needs to be reviewed. She resentfully takes the hint and makes her way to her space suit, giving me a dirty look.

All sound is muted as Mary leaps her way out into the void. I think she realizes the ship is fine. I watch her hurry back to the docking bay.

“Nick, open the %&#@ doors!” No need to respond. I know she lied. She took the food and blamed John. The savior of Earth does not tolerate lying on his ship. I hit the controls. Her intercom stops. Silence.

Only four days left on his borrowed time. Looking more unkempt, he spends his days murmuring to no one. The shuttle is running out of fuel. The ship begins to shake as He realize it’s about to be swallowed by a black hole. Staring. Murmuring. Heart racing.

Time distorts. Then, the ship exits into another galaxy. Assuming the black hole would be the end. Instead...a beautiful green world. Nick's eyes blur. His vision shakes, rumbling in his head. Water slithers down his flushed bony cheek. To his surprise, he still remembers how to hit the right buttons to land.

Upon arrival, Nick exits the shuttle. The air burns freshly through his nose. His glassy eyes are greeted by the sight of grass, trees, and the smell of water. Breathing in the clean air slowly.

“I did it! HAHA! I did it! The savior is here! I have purged those idiots from my life and received my gift!” His excitement comes to a halt when a small red dart zooms its way barely missing an important vein. Vision withers out to total blackness.

It's been days. A bright light shines over Nick's head. Burning the top of his head, drying out his scalp.

“What do we do with this lower life form?” asks a tall elegant creatures. There are two of them. Standing at six feet two inches. There heads are tall like towers, and eyes are black and emotionless. Hard to tell if they are nude, or they just have nothing to hide.

Sweat pours down a newly sewed up scar. Nick's expression is blank...