Beyond

Chapter 2 - Year 6074

It was the truth that no one wanted to accept.

The people had to leave Earth. All differences were behind them. Everybody was scared. Mostly everybody anyway.

Anna O. Jones of 66 Scenicview Drive was quite happy where she was and had no intent on leaving.

She was one of the lucky ones, and she still had her mother, father, and three siblings.

Her family was all together, unlike manys, and Anna, stuck up like a pig, could not see beyond her own nose.

In other words, Anna was a brat.

Her sister was too. Her brothers did understand something, but Anna just thought that they were annoying and didn't take anything the right way.

Anna's mother and father understood everything perfectly well. They were going to have to leave Earth and find a new home planet. Anna's mother, Sara, knew what she would have to tell her children. But she knew they would dismiss her, silently willing Sara to be lying to them.

Thus, Sara kept silent until the moment came and everyone was talking about it and the truth hit Sara's children like a wave.

Her oldest daughter, Mary, came up to her one afternoon after school and asked, "Are we really leaving Earth?" Sara had heaved a long sigh and told all of her children to sit down.
So, Sara decided to tell her children everything. They all nodded from time to time. All except her little Anna. She sat, head high in the air, and eyes glittering dangerously. Sara asked if Anna was okay and Anna replied simply.

"I'm fine." But then, Anna's expression seemed to turn. She didn't want to leave this world behind.

Sara continued on with her talk. "The leaders of the twenty-three surviving countries are asking us all to leave the Earth besides the few that are stupid enough to stay."

Anna had broken in. "Well I'm not leaving." Her older brother, Martin, told her she was being ridiculous and urged Sara on.

"We will be evacuated in about four months and I'm going to ask you to start packing now. We have to get everything ready to move onto the ships in about one month and each town will get a ship. We will live inside of small apartments and everyone will be near each other." Sara took a deep breath, gazing at her children.

Mary looked nervous.

Martin looked concerned.

James looked interested.

Anna looked scared.

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"Season weather report: an extremely cold winter. Gray, bleak and otherwise blank. Uneventful. Evacuations have been pushed off to about one more month, but apartment placement will remain on the same date." The weatherman reported in his deep, boring voice.

Anna released a frustrated sigh and turned the television off with a small flick of her wrist and the screen flickered off in a moment. She stood up slowly and began walking up to her room. She'd better start packing.

Everyone was going to get their things onto the ships in about five more days, but it was supposed to be three weeks before.

A strong winter blizzard had covered everything in snow in the middle-east area, and the president had called a quick conference. The date was changed all around the world, and now, it was almost there.

Anna hadn't even started to pack (as she had no intent on leaving) but she had to. Her family was going and she knew that no matter how much talking she did, she would never be able to convince her mother to stay. Only about four hundred people had officially announced that they were staying. All of these people had been hurriedly rushed off to some place in the world and were told how to survive and such.

No matter what Anna would have done, she was already too late. The deadline to stay had been two months before.

Sara knew that her daughter planned on staying, and she tried hard not to think about it. But she knew it was there and it was constantly pounding against her. Sara eventually cornered Anna and asked her.

"Why haven't you packed yet?" She demanded.

"I don't know." Anna mumbled out of the corner of her mouth as if she was trying to avoid any conversation.

"You do know." Sara snapped. "So tell me, why?"

"I-I... I was going to do it now."

"No you weren't. You were up there sitting around. Trying to remember everything before it was gone."

"Well of course it'll be gone." Anna broke in, speaking louder. "We'll all be gone."

"You were planning on staying." Sara challenged, looking down on her daughter was anger blue eyes. "Well you're not."

Anna looked defiant for a moment, but did not argue. As if she had lost all of her strength from barely speaking.

"Go up there and pack, Anna." Sara spat out her daughter's name as if it was an infectious disease.

Anna hurried upstairs and pulled a suitcase out from her closet, quickly unzipping it. She grabbed her clothes and stuffed them in, cramming them down. Anna grabbed her special journal.

Journals did not exist anymore because of the advancement in technology, but, Anna's mother had scavenged one. She gave it to Anna on her twelfth birthday and Anna had treasured it ever since.

But now, they were making thousands of them, along with pencils and pens, too. Factories all over the world were working overboard while creating paper, journals, and other things too. Anna didn't know what and her mother said that everything else was confidential.

Quickly, Anna put in her journal, followed by her calligraphy pen and ink. Then, Anna managed to cram in almost everything she had into the suitcase.

When she was done, Anna looked around her room triumphantly. There was nothing left beside the old furniture that would be picked up on Wednesday for the placing of apartments. Anna already knew a little bit about their apartment.

Anna knew that their house number was 5037.

Anna knew that she was going to have to share a room with her sister.

And Anna knew that she didn't want to be there.