The Ark (Chapter One)

Sampson,his friends, and his family must leave Earth in search of a new home due to a catastrophic solar flare heading for Earth.

Prologue:

My name is Sampson Grant. I am eighty-five years old, and my family and I have been aboard the ark ever since I was no older than fifteen. I can’t say that the last seventy years have flown by. In fact, I was having the most trouble in the first years here on this ship I now call home. The day I grew quite comfortable for the first time with my wife, Jane, and set foot for the first time on this ship known as the ark began on that fateful day in May, the twenty fourth, 2235.

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The morning sun shines through the window of my bedroom. I barely have the energy to get up due to the amount of sleep I had last night. The machines outside have been on twenty-four seven to finish building the exodus space ship they’re calling the ark. They are conveniently less than a football field’s length away from the community home that my family has been assigned for the days leading up to our departure. In less than a month, Earth will no longer be our home due to a lethal solar flare heading our way. Luckily scientists caught it early, and just modified a large ship already built for space exploration missions to hold over three billion people. The thrusters are armed with over thirty-thousand tons of plasma bombs to lift the massive beast off of the ground, and into space. I guess they figured that the land will be of no use after the flare, so the fallout will be of no effect to the human population. But the flare is still a few weeks away, and the ship is scheduled to take off on Saturday. The final tweaks are now being applied, and it has already been loaded up with a pack of every animal known to Earth that hasn’t already gone extinct.

This mainly includes livestock, such as goats, sheep, chicken, and cows. There are other, more exotic animals that have been gathered from thousands of zoos across the world. But the survival of the human race, and all of its inhabitance depend on a few hundred American scientists, and thousands of volunteers aiding the building of the ship. I’m not worried at all about the launch. In fact, I can’t wait to go. I love this planet, but I have always wanted to go to space sometime in my life, and now, it’s the only way to survive.

“Sampson!” My mom yells from the kitchen. “Sampson! Breakfast is ready!”

“Coming!” I shout back. “I’ll be right there!"

I roll off of my bed, hitting the thin layer of carpet, and feeling the full impact of the concrete underneath it. This jolt of mild pain wakes me up, and I spring from the floor. The windows are open, and the warm Florida breeze hits me in the face. One final shrug exits my mouth, and I drag my feet out my bedroom door, swinging it closed. My family is gathered at the table with a plate at each of their chairs. My sister looks as tired as I feel, almost falling out of her chair as she accepts her plate of food. My grandparents look lively and refreshed. They have the luxury of a full night sleep from their noise cancelling earplugs that they wear at night that have been issued to any designated passenger of the ark over the age of sixty. They don’t want any damage to be dealt to the aging and fragile body parts of the elderly before they board.

“You’re finally up,” My mom says softly, pulling out the chair next to the full plate of scrambled eggs and bacon strips with two pieces of toast on the side. “How’d you sleep?”

“With all that ruckus outside I don’t think I can call it sleep,” I answer. “It kept me up all night.”

“It’s okay though,” She says cheerfully. “Only a few more days and we get to climb aboard. Aren’t you excited?”

“I’m excited for the amount of sleep I will get when our families’ quarters is soundproof from the rest of the place.” I respond with a laugh. “How big is that going to be anyway?”

“It’s the size of three New York Cities,” My dad answers. “That’s why it requires all of that plasma bomb to take off.”

“So it’s literally a nation in the stars,” I say. “That’s pretty awesome if you think about it.”

I take my seat at the table, and grab a hold of the knife and fork. I’m not exactly hungry at the moment, but I might as well get my fill before I go out today to collect flowers, and visit my friends. I’m happy that residence of southern Florida automatically get a spot on the ship, so everyone that I have ever known and cared about are going to be safe. Besides, there is one more ship in China, so a minimum of six billion people will be saved from the flare, and live on their lives in the ark. With all this technology we have, we can pretty much create anything we want. I’m guessing that they are going to start a whole new water cycle on the ark, so that the water supply replenishes itself. It’s not like that’s far off from what we humans are capable of now, anyway.

My eggs are too salty, and the bacon is very under-cooked. But I don’t want to hurt my mom’s feeling’s, so I put on a huge smile and wolf it all down like a wild animal who has been starving for days. The best part of the meal is definitely the toast. It washes out the taste of the under-cooked bacon and dry eggs. I’m eager to go out today, not only to breathe in the last few days of fresh air of Earth, but also to see the most beautiful girl my eyes have ever laid eyes on. Jane Macintosh.

Jane has light skin, brown hair, blue eyes, and a smile that could light up the entire universe. Her presence makes me so nervous, that any word I can create is pure muttering and mindless babbling. But today it’s different because today I will have the courage to talk to her.

“All done,” I say, picking up my plate from the table. “I’ll be back by seven.”

“Okay,” Mom says back. “Don’t be late.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be,” I say back, slamming the door behind me as I approach the crosswalk.

The others are gathering at Nathan’s house, which is just on the outskirts of the southern Florida suburbs. He is the last one of us to have an entire house for his family instead of an apartment like I live in. It’s where everyone goes to get away from it all, and it seems like we only have a few more days to enjoy its spacious and warm feeling you feel when you walk inside. The feeling of what they used to call the American dream, so the history teacher tells me. It’s about a mile walk, so I should stop at the flower shop before they are all loaded up into the ship.

I can see the boxes of every business being loaded up into the delivery trucks, and the flower shop seems to be almost finished. I hope they still have some roses.

“Excuse me!” I shout. “Mr. Perkins!”

“Sampson,” he says, setting down a large cardboard box in front of him and waving to me. “Good morning, son. How are you doing?”

“Just fine,” I answer. “I’m just taking in the scenery before we have to go.”

“Everyone has the same idea as you,” He says, taking off his glasses and rubbing them off with the bottom of his shirt. “What did you need though, son?”

“I was wondering if I could get some roses,” I answer. “Is there any available?”

“I think you’re in luck,” He says back, opening up the cardboard box in front of him. “I’d start buying lottery tickets.”

“One dozen please,” I say. “How much will that cost me?”

“On the house,” He says, bundling up the hot red flowers with a piece of ribbon. “Just make sure to stop by at the shop in the ship sometime.”

“You got it Mr. P,” I say back. “See you around.”

“Have a nice day, son,” he replies.

I give him a nod, and continue down the long city street, picking up some snacks on the way for the others. Once I escape the crowded city street, Nathan’s house emerges from the horizon, and I see everyone sitting out on the front porch, looking at the completely clear sky above us. Nathan waves at me, but my hands are too full to return the gesture. They hop up from their seats, and approach me when the gravel of Nathan’s driveway is beneath my shoes.

“What’s up Sammy?” Nathan asks. “What have you got there?”

“Some snacks and stuff,” I answer.

“Who are the flowers for?” Kenny asks me.

“They’re for Jane,” I answer. “Where is she, anyway?”

“She just went inside for a minute,” Answers Elizabeth. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay, thank you.” I sigh, holding the flowers behind my back.

“Jane and Sampson sitting in a tree,” Nathan and Kenny begin.

“Shut up!” I yell, throwing the bags of potato chips at them.

The front door swings open, and it seems like I am seeing in slow motion video, the most beautiful girl I will ever know. Jane’s legs strut across the porch, and she looks over to me, revealing those pristine white teeth with a smile. My forehead begins sweating, and my hands feel like they can shake off of my arms. I can’t even open my mouth to talk.

“Hey Sammy,” Jane begins. “What have you got there?”

“Uh,” I babble. “Flowers, for you.”

“They’re beautiful,” She says, burying her face into the dozen rose petals. “Thank you.”

“Thought you could use some decoration for the room on the ship,” I say. “Do you like them?”

“Yes,” She answers. “They’re my favorite. How did you get them so close to launch?”

“Mr. P was still packing everything up at the shop,” I answer. “So he gave them to me before they were on their way to the ship.”

“They’re so fresh,” She says, sniffing the flowers once more. “He must have just picked them.”

“That would explain why he waited so long to send them to the ship,” I say. “My grandparents sent in their stock of silk and thread two weeks ago.”

“Man, I wonder what it will be like on that ship,” Kenny says. “Leaving this world in search for a new one. Who knows how long we’ll be on it?”

“Either way, we are all going to survive,” Elizabeth adds. “And we will always have each other.”

“So what should we do today?” I ask.

“Want to go to the beach?” Nathan asks.

“No, too much noise from the machines to relax out there,” I say. “How about we go fishing at the lake?”

“Sounds nice,” Jane answers.

“Alright then, let’s go to the lake,” Nathan says. “Come on inside to grab the bait and poles.”

He leads Kenny and I into the front door, and down into his basement. It’s bigger than my house by itself, and has that warm, homey smell. The floor is covered with thick brown carpeting, and has a four piece couch surrounding a coffee table in front of one of those fancy “All-glass” televisions. The only thing that’s ever on, though is the nature shows from hundreds of years ago, and the occasional commercial for the ark sign ups, and the broadcasting of the tragic end that is to come of this planet that we humans called home and took for granted for so long. We knew that there would be a day where it would all be over, but nobody ever wanted to think about it.

“Sam, take these,” Nathan says, holding out five fishing poles for me to take. “Kenny, you take the bait.”

“What are you going to carry?” Kenny asks.

“I’m carrying the snack crate,” Nathan answers. “Go ahead and take the girls, I’ll be there in a bit.”

“You got it,” I say, proceeding up the stairs and out the front door.

“Are we ready to go?” Jane asks. “Where’s Nathan?”

“He’s getting snacks,” I answer. “He told us to go without him, he’ll catch up in a bit.”

“Okay then,” She says. “Lead the way Sammy.”

I walk past Jane and Elizabeth toward the narrow dirt path starting in Nathan’s backyard that leads to the lake. Everything a fisherman could wish for lies in this lake, so fishing here is actually exciting, not boring like it is on television. Our footsteps are scattering all the birds of the forest, sending flock after flock into the air. When we finally reach the clearing at the lake, the sound of silence comes upon us. With all of that noise coming from the overworked machines in the inner city going on all day, this silence is a rare occurrence. This beautiful sunny day will be enjoyed with most of the people that I care about, with the relaxing smell of the lake, and the silence that we have dreamt about for a long time now.

“I can’t believe this is all about to be over,” Jane says. “I’ve been trying to keep in any feelings about it, but it is truly the end of the world.”

I walk over to her, and plop down next to the tree she’s sitting back on. She rests her head into my left shoulder. I rest my head on hers.

“End of This world,” I say in hopes of comfort. “Not the end of Our world.”

“I know that,” She sobs. “But all of those people that can’t go, they’re just going to die.”

“I-uh,” I say, unsure how to move forward in the conversation. “I know, and anyone who gets the privilege to survive will never forget them.”

“It’s just not fair,” She barely gets out before completely burying her face in my shirt, and letting the tears pour out of her eyes.

“Jane, look at me,” I say softly.

She pulls her head up from my shirt sleeve and looks up at me, her tears for the human population that is going to encounter this storm of ultimate destruction still running down her cheek.

“No matter what happens,” I say. “I’ll always be right here for you.”

“You mean it?” She questions.

“Always,” I confirm.

She smiles and leans into me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. This is so sudden and unexpected, I’m unsure how to react. Before today, I couldn't get as much as one word in with Jane before turning into a confused primate. My hand immediately runs over my cheek, and I can feel myself blushing. She laughs, and springs up from the ground, holding out her hand to me.

“Come on,” She says, wiping the tears from her face, and sniffling once. “I want to show you something.”

I accept her hand, and rise from the ground. The others are just watching us, distracted from their prior activities. Jane pulls me forward onto the forest trail, and Nathan gives me a big smile, and I mouth,"Shut up!"He laughs quietly into his hand, and I turn my attention back to Jane.

"Where are we going?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” Jane answers. “Just be patient.”

We continue down the forest trail, but I’m still unsure as to where we are going. The bright sun creates beams of light that fall from all directions under the trees. There is a pack of squirrels watching from the large oak, observing us as we walk by. Finally, we stop at a large clearing with an unbelievable view of a mountain with what seems to be a two hundred foot waterfall falling into a small pond leading into a larger tributary. One of the sights that makes me think about how we don’t have very much longer to enjoy these views. By Saturday we will be beginning our journey through space, and the rest of our lives.

“So what do you think it will be like,” Jane begins. “You know, up in that ship.”

“I don’t know,” I say. “but I do know that it will be a good living. It’s the people that make the place, right?”

“Yeah,” She answers quietly, slightly frowning and looking down at our feet. “It just seems like a drastic decision to leave all of this without even a hint of hesitation.”

“You know, it’s supposed to be just like Earth in there, with everything down to weather patterns and everything,” I add, desperately trying to remove all of the negative thoughts in her head that are anything but irrational. I’m just being overly optimistic to be honest. “But just give me a second.”

I turn toward the small pond at the bottom of the magnificent waterfall, pulling out the small vial that I had accidentally left in my pocket. I go to the edge of the water and kneel down, dunking the vial into the fresh water and corking the top when it is completely full. I stand back up and begin to walk back to Jane who is staring me down with an eyebrow raised and her head tilted.

“What’s that in your hand?” She questions.

“Say, Jane, do you think you could keep a secret?” I ask.

“Sure,” She answers. “What is it Sammy?”

“Just close your eyes and hold out your hands,” I say, motioning her to do as I told her. When she does so, I place the vial into her hands, and envelope it in her fingers. “Now open your eyes, and remember that what lies in your hands is one of the last luxuries we can both enjoy from our Earth.”

She opens her eyes, and glances at her closed hands, opening them to reveal the vial. She pulls her right hand up to her mouth with a gasp, tears forming in her eyes.

“You know Sammy,” She says. “You really know how to change the subject. Nothing could be more perfect, thank you.”

Her face lights up in a smile while she wipes away the tears from her eyes, and falls forward into me, wrapping her arms around me. I step back in surprise, but I wrap my arms around her as well, absorbing her impossibly pleasing scent as she buries her face into my shoulder. The breathtaking aroma of her lavender perfume makes it impossible for me to move. So we’re just standing there, holding each other in complete silence. Only the sounds of the waterfall hitting the pond are apparent.

“We should be getting back,” I say.

“Just a few more minutes,” She says back. “I can’t leave just yet.”

She pulls away, and gazes into my eyes for a moment, pulling me to the ground next to her. The sky above us is the bluest I’ve ever seen it. Not a cloud in sight as far as I can see. Beautiful weather to say goodbye to, no doubt about it.

“Have you ever seen such beautiful weather?” Jane asks me.

“Not like this, have you?” I answer.

“No, not even close,” She says back.

We both go quiet for a moment, and I look over to her through the short grass of the clearing, catching just a glimpse of her long eyelashes until she looks over at me, and the full hypnosis of her perfectly green eyes overtakes me. She blinks twice, and her face lights up in a smile. I feel my cheeks rise to form a smile myself, but it’s not forced one bit. I can’t even concentrate on anything but her.

“Sammy, you haven’t blinked in a long time it seems,” She says. “are you alright?”

“Oh, yes,” I stammer, blinking several times. “Sorry.”

She giggles quietly, letting out a loud sigh.

“Oh Sammy,” She says. “How lucky I am to have you here with me.”

“You must be joking,” I say. “A beautiful girl like you must have plenty of more interesting people than me to hang around with.”

“You’d be surprised how great you really are Sammy,” She adds. “But you’ll figure that out in time I guess.”

“You’re just saying that,” I say. “But I’m flattered, thank you.”

“Sammy, why are you so nervous?” She asks me. “Am I intimidating to you?”

“No, it’s not that,” I say quietly.

“Well?” She questions, sitting up and lying down closer to me. “What is it then?”

“It’s a long story,” I say, hoping that will end the subject and I won’t be totally embarrassed in tell her my feelings.

“We have a while before we go,” She says. “So go ahead.”

“I don’t know,” I say back.

“Come on,” She demands.

“Fine,” I say, taking in a huge breath, and letting out a long exhale. “It all started in third grade. My mom had just got me a ridiculous mushroom cut for the start of school. I walked into Mrs. Richards’ class with my head down in embarrassment. Once I found my desk, I finally looked up, and there you were, in your new red dress. My jaw dropped like in one of those really old cartoons. I knew from the very moment that I saw you. The split second that my eyes were able to see you, that it was over for me. I never had the courage to talk to you until freshmen year, and even then I was so nervous about it. So there it is, I’m crazy for you, and now our friendship is going to be messed up and awkward all the time.”

“Sammy, please,” She interrupts me. “It’s really nothing but an explanation for why I could never get much talk out of you.”

“You aren’t mad about me telling you this are you?” I ask.

“No,” She answers. “In fact I’m happy you told me, because well.”

She doesn’t finish her sentence, but she lowers her eyelids slightly and inches toward me. I am again in her hypnotic gaze and begin to move toward her as well. After all this time of knowing her, I feel now that I reallyknow her. I can’t even explain what is going on in my head right now, but I have little control of my actions. Finally, the gap between us ceases, and our lips meet. My heart begins to race, and my eyes go wide with astonishment, but hers are closed. After another moment, mine go shut as well. When she pulls away, her hand glides across my left cheek, and I open my eyes to her beautiful smile. She puts her mouth to my ear and whispers.

“Come on, we should get back.”

I nod and push my hand to the ground to help myself up, and reach out for her hand to help her up. When she is on her feet, our hands lock with each other. We begin down the forest trail back in the direction of the others. Our feet are in perfect step, and our arms sway between us, connected by our locked hands. The sounds of the forest are so soothing and relaxing around us. Then all of a sudden, the jittery chatter of our friends who are still enjoying their peaceful day of fishing.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovebirds themselves,” Nathan says, with a huge grin on his face. “Thought we’d never see you again.”

“Seriously, where did you guys go?” Elizabeth asks. “You’ve been gone for almost an hour.”

“That can’t be,” I insist. “We were only gone for like twenty minutes.”

“No, she’s right, look at your watch,” Kenny adds.

I look down at my watch that read eleven o’ clock. So Jane and I were actually away for almost an hour, even though to me it felt like nothing. I guess time flies when you’re hopelessly in love with someone.

“Well, I stand corrected,” I say, scratching the back of my head. “Did we miss anything?”

“Well, we’ve got a few catfish for lunch,” Nathan answers. “Would you be so kind as to gather up some wood for a fire?”

“You got it,” I answer cheerfully. “I’ll be back in a second.”

I give him a nod, and turn to the forest in search of wood and brush. Luckily most of the branches and twigs I’m finding as I walk along are completely dry, so they will be lit very easily. Man do those catfish sound good. Being only 13, Elizabeth sure knows how to make a good catfish. My twig collection is growing fast, so I better make it back to the pond, which is still visible from where I am, so I step off toward the others. As I walk back, a small robin falls in front of me with a quiet chirp that then makes it become motionless. I drop a few branches and pick it up with my right hand. I see already that it’s wing is broken, and needs immediate attention. Maybe Nathan has something that can help.

I emerge from the forest, and plop the wood down next to the pond. The robin in my hand is still breathing, but it needs serious help with its wing.

“Nathan, where’s the first aid kit?” I ask.

“Why, are you hurt Sammy?” Nathan responds with a hint of worry in his voice.

“No, I’m fine,” I answer quickly. “This bird needs help.”

“What happened?” Elizabeth asks, walking over to me and observing the robin in my hand.

“When I was walking back with the wood, it fell out of a tree,” I answer “Look at its right wing, it’s in bad shape. Do we have any medical tape?”

“Yeah, let me grab it real quick.” He answers, rummaging through his pack and pulling out a roll of white medical tape. He tosses it to me, and I set the bird down on one of the large rocks near the pond. I roll it onto its back so that I have an easier access to its damaged wing, which must me excruciating for the poor bird.

“Oh my God,” Jane says. “It looks terrible.”

“But we’re here to help,” I say with a smile forming on my face.

I lightly touch the wing, and the bird chirps in pain, but I need to know where the affected area is so that I can fully repair it. It’s snapped right at the joint of the wing, the most horrible fracture I have ever seen in a bird. None that I have ever worked on as a volunteer at the veterinary clinic were ever this bad. But it’s still repairable. I position the wing in the right formation, and begin to make a cast with the medical tape. I wrap it around the wing twice, and then around the bird’s body twice. Now, as long as I take care of it for a couple weeks, it will be okay. But that also means that I will need to bring it onto the ship with me. No big deal really, mom and dad always wanted a pet, but we were never aloud keeping one in the community home.

“Alright, you’re all set buddy,” I say, wiping some feathers out of its eyes. “You’re going to have to live with me for a while, though. At least until you are all ready to fly.”

“You realize you’re talking to a bird, right?” Kenny asks.

“You’d be surprised how smart they can be, Kenny.” I say. “But I better get going so that I can sneak him into my apartment.”

“Wait,” Jane says. “I want to come with you.”

“Alright,” I say, picking up the little robin with Its new body cast. “Let’s go. See you guys in a bit.”

“Good luck birdie,” Elizabeth says. “Wait a minute, we should name it before you leave.”

“Okay, what did you have in mind?” I ask.

“How about Sammy Jr.?” Suggests Kenny

“Yeah, that has a ring to it,” Nathan adds.

“So it’s settled,” Elizabeth says. “His name is Sammy Jr.”

“Great,” I say. “Come on Jane, let’s go.”

“Lead the way Sammy.” Jane responds cheerfully.

We start walking down the trail back to Nathan’s house. Once we are out of the others view, our hands find each other, and our arms begin swaying with each other again. After a few more minutes, Nathan’s house is in front of us, and I let her go to tell her parents that she will be accompanying me back to my house. She steps out onto the porch.

“My parents said it was okay,” Jane says. “you just have to walk me back home by dark.”

“That’s fine,” I say, holding out my hand. “Ready to go?”

“When you are.” She answers.

A smile forms on my face as she accepts my hand, and our fingers lock automatically, as if activated by a toggle switch. The injured bird rests in my right hand, the only movement that is apparent from him is his stomach rising and falling from his breathing, which thankfully is stable. A broken wing is one thing, a damaged respiratory system is a whole other ball game.

We have entered the city now, the isle of markets that I passed earlier, which is now completely abandoned and loaded onto the ship. Everybody in town has been anxiously awaiting our boarding for months, even though it includes the destruction of our mother Earth. But I think that has been an accepted fact, and is long gone out of the minds of the common folk. It’s easier to say that you’re okay with something when you haven’t actually experienced it yet. I know it sounds pessimistic, but I expect everyone on the ship, even myself, to be crying bitter tears for the loss of all of those people’s lives in mere seconds, and the loss of big blue.

“Sammy?” Jane asks, looking down for a second at our feet. “Do you think we’ll have to see it? You know, the flare hitting the planet?”

“I-umm,” I stutter, knowing that we will never be able to move that ship fast enough for the Earth to be out of sight before the flare hits. “I ‘m afraid yes, we’ll be in view of it, but you don’t have to see it.”

“Looking away will be near impossible,” She says back. “Just knowing that makes me want to cry.”

She wipes away a tear running down her cheek, already saddened from the imminent loss of have of our population. Her long brown hair drapes over her face as she puts her head down at our feet. Now that I think about it, I seem to think nothing of the flare, compared to Jane. I guess I have been so concentrated on her to think anything of it. My emotions are geared solely toward Jane, and nothing at the moment can change that.

“Jane,” I say softly, removing my hand from hers and pulling her close to me by her shoulder. “Just try to picture everyone you know and love, all in your home, laughing together in fellowship. Just try to remember that all of them, every single one of them are going to survive.”

She doesn’t respond for a moment, but pulls her head back up and glances at me with a smile forming on her face.

“Heck, everyone in the country who isn’t staying here because of pure belief that this is the end are able to come, with room to spare.” I add, just now myself realizing how we aren’t going to be losing anyone who accepts the truth, and has traveled here to board the ship.

She sniffles a few more times. “I hadn’t thought about it that way,” Jane says. “So do you really think that’s true?”

“I know it’s true. There were fifteen families from scattered locations around the country that moved into my building for a few days until boarding.” I answer. “I promise you, that it is okay.”

“Sammy!!!!!” I hear my mom yell at me from the balcony outside of our apartment. “Is that you?”

“Yes, but we have a problem, clear off the table in the dining room,” I say. “I’ll be right up.”

“Okay,” Mom replies.

“Oh, and Jane is here,” I say before she enters the room. “Okay, come on up, Jane.”

I lead her to the front door of the building, and open the door stepping off to the side, waving my hand inward for her to enter. I follow after her, and we begin up the stairs. Our footsteps are echoing through the hollow stairway, until we finally reach my door. It’s unlocked since my mom and sister are still home. My grandparents go to the elderly gathering down the street most days.

“Mom, do we have any empty boxes?” I ask, looking around the living room and into the kitchen, still finding so sign of my mother. “Mom, where’d you go?”

The bathroom door flies open, and I can see her holding two armfuls of medical supplies, and an empty shoebox lying between her arm and her waist.

“Here you go,” Mom says, plopping all of the medical supplies onto the dining room table.

“Thank you,” I say, grinning and giving a nod. “Lay out a towel and I’ll be all set.”

She rips off two sheets of paper towel off of the kitchen counter and folds it in half, lying it down on top of the table next to the pile of first aid supplies. I lay Sammy Jr. on top of the paper towel. When I remove the temporary bandage, he chirps and chirps in agony, but I can still see what needs repaired.

“Jane, hand me the twine and the medical tape please,” I say, holding my left hand out, but keeping my full concentration on the bird. Jane hands me the small spool of twine, and the almost empty roll of medical tape. I take the twine, and position the bird’s wing in the correct position. I tie the smallest knot that I can physically achieve, and wrap the corrected wing in a more secure wrapping of medical tape. Sammy Jr. will be flying in no time, if no time is two weeks of course. ”There we are, good as new.”

Jane pets the bird on the head, and he purrs like a cat. Its leg is kicking as fast a hummingbird’s wings. This is the strangest robin I have ever interacted with. It might as well have been a house cat or a lost puppy that I found in the forest, because this bird is acting no differently from them.

“You’re going to love it on that ship,” Jane says to the bird. “You’ll meet other robins, and make great friends.”

“That is of course if they let animals freely roam the synthetic outdoors,” I but in. “But I’ll do everything in my power, and my ranking at the volunteer animal hospital, to make that happen.”

“Sampson,” My mother begins. “Leave the bird here when you leave, I’ll make it a cage to stay in, if that’s okay with you.”

“Thank you, it means a lot,” I respond sincerely. “Jane, are you ready to head back?”

“When you are,” Jane answers, swinging her head toward me. “Is the bird okay to stay here Mrs. Grant?”

“No trouble at all,” My mother answers. “Go on, he’s in good hands.”

“Okay,” Jane says, looking back to the bird. “See you later Sammy Jr.”

I give my mother a nod, and lead Jane out of the door, and back down the stairs of the building. When I reach the bottom, I hold open the door for Jane to pass through, and follow behind her out of the building. Two of the men, who appear to be scientists that are a part of the building project pass us, wearing pristine white lab coats, and conversing over today’s progress, I’m assuming.

“Did you hear about the news?” I faintly hear one of the scientists say. “That flare will be here in two days, we’re taking off tomorrow.”

A chill runs down the entire length of my spine, and my hands begin to shake. My breathing turns to an irregular pattern, and I begin to hyperventilate.

“When will the citizens be told?” The other scientist asks in response.

“Later today, probably by seven,” The initial scientist answers.

“Let’s pray to God that this works,” The other scientist says. “But for now, I need a drink, my treat.”

He pulls the other scientist off of the sidewalk and into the bar a few block from my building. My mind is racing, but mainly, it’s screaming into my ears to assure myself that everyone in my family is warned, and my friends back at the lake.

“Sam, what’s wrong?” Jane asks. “You’ve been shaking like crazy for almost five minutes now, is everything okay?”

“No, I could barely hear them, why?” She asks. “What did you hear?”

A shaky exhale leaves my mouth, and I stop moving forward to turn toward Jane.

“The __” I say. “That solar flare heading our way is,” I can’t finish my sentence. “It’s, it’s, uh__”

“Sam, calm down,” She begs, placing her hands on my shoulders.

“I’m sorry, it’s just uh__” I stutter again, slamming my fist against my leg in frustration. “It’s coming much earlier than expected, takeoff is being moved up to tomorrow.”

A scowl forms from her face. “When were they going to inform us about this?”

“Tonight around seven o’ clock,” I answer. “That’s all that I heard.”

The impact of the news hits her, and tears pour out of her eyes, flowing down her cheeks, and onto the sidewalk beneath us. My heart is still racing, and my mind can’t focus on anything. Images of my parents, and my family flow through my head, and my friends voices are crowding my hearing. Jane’s voice is the last thing I hear, but not long before I am blacked out.