The Last day on Earth

Back to the wasteland

Five days pass by of just trying to heal and to get back to the wasteland they had tried to escape from. The sun was setting on the horizon as the boat began to approach the shore of where they had started. It felt like going back to square one, but it was not the first place they started. It had been such a long time since they'd been living in Russia. Ava and Rachel had assumed that their house had gone along with their parents. Things would never be the same. "Things couldn't get worse from here, right?" They had all questioned, in hope that they were already at rock bottom and couldn't sink anymore.
Everyone was outside after Izzy had said that she saw land. They all watched as the boat got closer and closer to the beach, it wasn't the same exact spot but it was close. It seemed like forever to reach the land as the burning heat of the sun still blazed across the end of the sky. Some stars and the moon were in the sky but it was dim and you couldn't see them well.
Minutes pass and the boat has finally makes it back to where they started, the orange and pink sky had now faded to a dark blue and light purple. As the boat scrapes against the sandy landscape, Rachel runs over to the side of the boat to an anchor. "Can one of you help me lift this thing?" Rachel shouts to the two. "Sure!" Izzy says, rushing over to Rachel. It was a huge anchor, but of course it had to keep the boat in place. Izzy and Rachel grab the anchor by its handle and lift it up to the top of the side of the boat. They both at the same time shove the heavy metal anchor off the boat and into the water making a huge splash and getting some water on the two of them. They both turn around from the water and try to catch their breath. "Let's go!" Ava shouts, running inside. Rachel wipes water off of her face and follows Ava inside. Izzy follows shortly after.
They all go past the bedroom and down stairs to the door. Ava opens the ship door and looks out to see the beach with crashing waves and a bright sky lit up by the moon. She sits down on the floor and hangs her legs over the air. She slides herself forward and jumps down onto the squishy sand and water below. Ava gets out of the way so Rachel and Izzy could jump down.
They all get to the ground and start another adventure that awaits them. "So, how do we get to space from here?" Izzy asks, wiping her hands on her clothes, trying to get sand off of them. "Well, we need a space shuttle." Ava says. "And where do we get that?" Izzy asks, still unsure about this new plan. "Probably China." Rachel says. "China, we're going to China?" Izzy shouts, not wanting to go all that way. "Yeah!" Ava says, pulling out her map. She stares at it for a few seconds before putting it away. "We aren't that far! We can make it!" Ava says, speeding up. "We need a source of transportation." Rachel says as her and Izzy catch up to Ava. "Right." Izzy says. "Then, let's find one." Ava says, looking around to see nothing.
"We probably won't find one here." Izzy says, looking around. "There has to be a car dealership somewhere, or a car we can take." Rachel says "Yeah, probably." Ava says.
They walk for ten minutes before getting to a parking lot nearby. Rachel gets ahead of the group and starts looking at the different cars before stopping at a good sized silver car. She lifts her arm up and hits the car window with as much strength as she can with her elbow, breaking the window. "Woah." Izzy says to herself. "I know, right?" Ava says, jogging past Izzy to the car. Rachel sticks her arm into the car and unlocks it. She opens the door and gets in. Rachel presses a small button next to the steering wheel and it lights up a light blue color. It starts up the car and makes it purr loudly. "Everyone get in." Rachel says, before closing the car door. Ava gets in the backseat of the car and Izzy rushes to it. She gets in the passenger seat and they all put their seatbelts on. "You guys ready?" Rachel asks, looking from Ava to Izzy in the back. "Yep." Ava says. Izzy gives a thumbs up and Rachel grabs the wheel. "China, here we come." Rachel says, stepping on the gas and pulling out of the parking lot. As soon as they get onto the road, Rachel stops the car. Izzy and Ava look at Rachel with confusion. "Why did you stop?" Ava asks. "I have no idea where we're going, I need the map." Rachel says, looking at Ava's bag. "Oh, okay." Ava says, opening her bag and pulling out the folded piece of paper. She gives it to Rachel and closes the bag. "Thanks." Rachel says, unfolding the map and looking at it closely.
After a few minutes of silence of Rachel trailing her finger through the map, she finally folds the map back up and tosses it into Ava's lap. "Now we can go." Rachel says, stepping on the gas once again. She turns the car around as Ava places the map back in her leather bag.
They start driving in the right direction again, anxious of what lies ahead.
Just like before it would take forever, they would drive until the Sun came up and then they would stop until it went back down. It was exhausting, but it was the only way to survive. The car speeds down the roads almost like a race car, you couldn't get pulled over by the police if there weren't any police! In the past cars were a lot slower, like in the 2030s cars would usually only go to one hundred sixty miles per hour, but now you could go three hundred in a typical car. It's not really like people would let you drive that fast, there are speed limits.
The landscape seems to fly by in a blur as Rachel goes full capacity on speed, hoping to not crash. Each turn Rachel took was awful, she had to slow down each turn. It was sickening to their stomachs as the car went so fast and took so many turns. "Ugh." Izzy says, not sounding good. "Are you okay?" Rachel asks, not wanting her to get sick in the car. "Can you pull over?" Izzy asks, feeling ill. "Uh- Yeah!" Rachel says, feeling rushed. Rachel stops the car and unlocks the doors. Izzy gets out of the car and starts vomiting whatever she had eaten last. Ava looks out of the window to see they stopped next to a burned down forest with a small town in the middle. She looks around more to see all of the grass fried and ashy. It was the end of the world after all. Ava looks back at Rachel looking annoyed. "I'm driving." Ava says, seriously. "What? No!" Rachel shouts. "You're a terrible driver and Izzy is too sick." Ava says. Rachel thinks for a second and then sighs. "Fine, but if you crash and we survive I will literally kill you." Rachel says, getting out of the car. Ava gets out of the car as well, telling herself repeatedly, "Don't crash the car or Rachel will kill you."
"Are you okay, Izzy?" Rachel asks Izzy as she walks to the backseat. Izzy gives a thumbs up as she wipes her mouth off with her hand. Rachel gets in the backseat of the car. Izzy gets back in the passenger seat and Ava gets in the driver's seat. "Do you even know how to drive a car, Ava?" Rachel asks, looking slightly concerned. "I drove a few times, dad taught me." Ava says, stepping on the gas of the car. She starts driving slower than Rachel, but not going under a hundred miles per hour.
It seems to take forever as the hours pass by. It was just like before, always waiting to get where they need to be for hours at a time. Ava now realized how she had been going slightly crazy before, but she had regained herself and was whole again. This trip to China wouldn't take long, it wasn't that far away. In about three days, they would be there. They just had to be patient and do what they've done for so long.
More hours fly by and the sun starts to come up again, luckily they were in a small town somewhere in between India and China. Ava pulls over the car and they all get out and look around to see a library. "This could work." Ava says as she walks to the door of the building. Rachel and Izzy follow as Ava goes inside. It was very dark in the library, there was no one to pay the electric bill, or anyone to receive the bill and give electricity, or anyone at all. There were books on the floor and torn papers all over the floor. It was a mess but they didn't expect anywhere they went to be clean. "Anyone here like to read?" Rachel asks, knowing she isn't really into books. "Eh, they're okay." Izzy says, not really knowing how to feel about them. "I kind of like to read." Ava says, taking a book off of a shelf. She turns to the first page without looking at the title or section. "Well, I wouldn't be able to read it anyway." Ava says, looking at the book disappointedly. "Why not?" Rachel asks, confused. "It's in English." Ava responds, throwing the book on the ground. "Don't you speak English?" Izzy asks, now questioning the sisters. "Yes, but I can't read it. I only speak English because you're around." Ava says, looking for another book. "Oh, so you speak Russian." Izzy says, now understanding and learning something new about the girl. "Yes, I was born and raised in Russia. Wait, you didn't know I spoke Russian?" Ava says, looking through the books not seeing any in her language. "I guess not." Izzy says, feeling stupid. "Идиот." Ava says, which means 'idiot' in Russian. Rachel laughs. "What? What'd she say?" Izzy asks. "Oh, nothing." Rachel says.
Ava sighs and looks back at the two. "I might just find a place to get some rest." Ava says, walking away from the books and going farther into the darkness. "I might do the same." Izzy says, following Ava. "We still have a long road ahead, might as well." Rachel mutters to herself, walking farther into the store with the other two of them.
They all eventually find an area with soft chairs and no sunlight. They all sit down after a long night and sink into the chairs that feel almost like clouds. "I guess we really can't say goodnight anymore." Izzy says, laughing tiredly. "I guess not." Ava says, laughing at the joke. "I think see you at night sounds about right." Rachel says, yawning. They all giggle at each other's jokes and soon fall asleep. Tomorrow is another day for trying your best to survive and to just barely escape death. It was just another day of driving and not dying, just like it has been for months. It was the way of life for the three, stealing, driving, and staying out of the sun. It was how to survive, and it wasn't exactly easy.