An Unconscious Future

• Georgia Mahy, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2009

As she wondered through the deserted street, memories flooded Destiny’s body.
She felt weird, as if floating on a cloud, even though this was the worst day of her life.
Passing house after house, Destiny felt sad, a lonely feeling.
Where had all these people gone to?
Had they just disappeared or was there such a thing as a second life?
The wind blew across her face, but only slightly, softly.
Destiny looked up at the sky.
Wasn’t it meant to be blue?
The smell of smoke circulated through the air but she didn’t care.
The world had turned to a dump.
Destiny pushed through a heavy door, not sure where it was or where she was headed.
One light shone throughout the room and she followed it.
Blue glowed around Destiny’s fingertips and she pressed the light, which turned out to be a button, lighting up the whole room.
Blazing lights shone onto the floor, blinding Destiny for a second.
How long had it been since she’d seen something so bright?
Where she was standing, was not a deserted house, but a lab, with concrete floors and plain white walls.
A play button jumped out at her and she pressed it, hoping for something good.
A massive screen lit up with a picture of Earth and a voice, soothing, but also serious.
Destiny hadn’t heard another human’s voice for who knows how long and she had missed it: the way some bellowed and some were light, and how some made you feel like it was all alright.
Her ears tingled.
The voice explained that Earth was not a safe place to live, that every human had to leave and say goodbye forever.
But destiny didn’t understand.
How were they to escape?
Destiny looked around, contemplating staying forever, listening to that voice over and over.
But she couldn’t, so she didn’t.
There was no way out, so she’d continue her worthless life, just her, alone in the world.