The Possum's Anthology

Supernatural Space Coalition

To explore the stars was something humanity had dreamed of since they first laid eyes on the night sky. Generations upon generations of men, women, and children gazed up at those brilliant specks of light, swirling galaxies, and mysterious planets. With thousands of years of technological advances, they managed to touch the Moon with their own flesh, and grazed Mars with metal hands.

But that was as far as they could reach.

The governments of the world poured millions of dollars into space programs, like the NASA of America and the CNSA of China. Brave men and women sacrificed their lives to touch the heavens. Unfortunately, their own limitations, their humanity, made them fall short. Humans need things like food and oxygen, and their lifespans were far too brief for interstellar travel. It was a cruel fate, to be gifted with such a powerful vision and yet lack the ability to fully realize it.

As time passed, the grandeur of space-travel waned. More pressing issues sprang up. Humans are fickle creatures, incredibly impatient and arrogant. They fought with one another, sought to destroy each other. They didn't care who or what was caught in the crosshairs of their bloodletting. Chaos reigned in that terrible period of war and famine.

It was then that a lot of us—that is, the ones who weren't human—were able to finally rise out of the shadows without fear of being hunted. Thousands of people died every day, so why should it matter if the vampires were a little more open in their hunts? What were a handful of werewolf sightings among the hundreds of cases of radioactive mutation? Zombies would tear apart an entire squadron of soldiers, and the incident would be chalked up to a border skirmish.

For being so long-lived, we were so shortsighted. We sat idly by as the humans choked themselves to extinction. We didn't care, didn't see the problem. Humans had forced us into hiding for millennia. It was nice—so nice—to be able to walk about freely. The sensation was intoxicating. We didn't realize our mistake even as the last dregs of humanity lay dying.

The Earth was scarred. The forests were smoldering; the lakes and rivers were dried up in the heat of nuclear blasts; ecosystems were thrown out of balance; entire species of animals went extinct, unable to adapt to the apocalyptic wasteland. By the time we became aware of the danger, the dryads and naiads were dead and gone. The merfolk grew weaker and weaker as the oceans were pelted with acid rain. Even the faeries and elves were having trouble surviving. The only ones who weren't affected were the immortal and undying: The zombies, the ghosts, the vampires. But even we didn't like the idea of spending the rest of eternity on a broken, barren planet.

In a desperate effort, representatives were summoned from each race. The assembly was held at what remained of the United Nations. It was a long meeting, and one that nearly ended in violence several times. It seemed that humans weren't the only ones who had trouble with teamwork. Finally, a skeleton spoke up. His bones were yellowed and cracked, and he shuffled forward with a walking stick, unable to stand on his own. He was old, even by undead standards, and that commanded a certain respect. His voice was like wind over a dry desert. We all fell silent so we could hear what he had to say.

"My friends," he rasped, "Our home is gone. We cannot live on the earth, and we cannot live beneath the sea. We must leave this place."

There were nods of ascent from the others. The chosen representatives from each race were looking at each other with wary agreement. "What do you suppose we do?" A burly merman asked from his perch on the edge of a great bowl of murky water.

If the skeleton had a face to express himself, he would have smiled sagely. "Finish what the humans had started. We must forsake this barren rock and leave for the stars."

This statement sparked such an upheaval that it took several minutes for the voices to cease. How would we even begin? What did we know about rockets and spaceships? Hadn't the humans destroyed it all in their conflict?