Vehicle 8

• Riley Gallagher, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2021

It's been three days since we left Earth. People are already being forced to watch the mandatory 'Keep on living video'. If life wasn't worth living, we'd all be dead by now. The same video was always played on Earth, but it didn't do much. They just put you all in a big room and play a video? I guess some people just didn't want others to lose hope.

The spaceship I am on isn't much, but its main purpose is to hold passengers. Most of the halls are plain black with white stripes on the sides. Every wall has reinforcements on the outside, but people still want to leave. They don't understand, we have nowhere else to go.

I'm trying my best to lead but it's difficult when you don't have a plan. I don't even know anyone by name, and I'm supposed to keep everyone safe? If Earth was so destroyed that we had to leave, maybe we weren't meant to keep on living. It's just a real struggle with no help.

We were meant to arrive at the space station by now. People want to go back but we know it isn't safe. I'm waiting for the order so I can give the info to our passengers.

—Captain of the 8th logs, 22/11/2098.


SOS. Assistance required for Vehicle 8. Life pods have been dropped back into Earth's atmosphere as the ship is running out of oxygen fast. We were almost out of the solar system, but we couldn't make it. It was a slim chance we would ever make it through. The pods are being deployed but it will take time and the Earth isn't really inhabitable. It is the only option though, so come pick us up from Earth. The supplies won’t last long so if you see this message, react fast.

—Captain of the 8th logs, 23/11/2098.


Out of the 2,000 people who managed to escape, only 100 were able to make it successfully to the evacuation bunker. The bunker’s food was meant to feed 100,000 people for 100 years—it was meant to be sustainable—but with everyone fighting to enter, and everyone eventually leaving, it has lost its ability to sustain people. I have been forced to send people out to find food as we only have four days of food and water left, and we can't let it go lower than two. Gas masks and suits have been distributed, but they won't last forever. Sorry, we couldn't successfully get out of the atmosphere properly. I don't know how our ship crashed, but I feel obligated to say, I'm sorry.

—Message received on 24/11/2098 from Captain of the 8th vehicle.