Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 13

   "No, this isn't real. I must still be dreaming." Beth thought as she clutched her heart in a state of shock.

   The earth's health had been going downhill, that's the reason this program was started in the first place. Scientists said something like this wouldn't happen for decades. They were drastically wrong.

   Beth thought of everyone she had ever known back on earth and tried to imagine them gone. She couldn't.

   "This can not possibly be true. Could it?"

   She looked around the room. These were the last of the human race. Every face was shocked, many were now sobbing, violently. Their home was gone now, they had the right to cry.

   Beth got up and impulsively went to find Liam. On her way towards the architectural division, she saw a few people on the floor in a fetal position, rocking back and forth.

   "How can we ever recover from this?" She thought somberly.

   Beth finally made it to Liam's desk. She was in a daze of shock and disbelief.

   Liam's face was desolate and his eyes were red from crying. His hands were holding on tightly to his mother's locket she had given to him. He stood up and they collapsed into each other's arms. They held on to each other, weeping bitterly. After several minutes of this, they pulled apart.

   "I can't believe they're gone," Liam said tearfully.

   "Everyone's gone," Beth stated solemnly.

   A few minutes passed then the loudspeaker bleeped on. "Let us take the rest of the day off to mourn this horrible tragedy." The head of the Planetary Preparation Stations said, her voice cracking.

   People slowly started wandering off to go deal with their grievous emotions. The breakfast bell never sounded. Nobody felt like eating anyways.

   Beth sat on her bed, staring out of her window. She thought of her nightmare she'd had the night before. "What could it mean? Had she really dreamt of what was happening on earth? They were lightyears away. How could it be?"

   Beth was so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed how much time had passed. She glanced at the clock, it was nearly time for dinner. She waited a few minutes. The dinner bell rang. She didn't feel like eating, but her stomach growled aggressively.

   She splashed some water on her face and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were still red from her salty tears. Exiting her small bathroom, her eyes fell to the picture on her bedside desk. That was the only remaining memory of her family. Without it, she would have eventually forgotten their faces. She walked over and picked it up. She held it to her chest. Even though her family wasn't the most loving people in the world, Beth still cared for them. Shedding one last tear, she set the photo back into place and left her room.

   The mess hall was dismal and quiet. Usually, there would be people laughing and having happy conversations, but not today.

   Beth glumly ate her food, the only thing motivating her to lift her spoon were the pangs of hunger in her stomach.

   Liam came over to sit beside her. He gave her a comforting touch on the back before sitting down. They finished their meal in silence.
_____

   Beth tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Her dream kept on replaying in her mind. It had been so vivid like she was actually there. She tried to push the dream out of her mind, so she could get some sleep. This had been one of the worst days of her life, she was bound to have a few sleepless nights.

   After a night of very little sleep, Beth groggily got out of bed. She got ready for the day and then took out her holo-desk to check for messages. A message from the workstations informed her that there would be no work today.

   It was still a little early for breakfast, so she lay back down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "The passengers in stasis didn't know what happened!'

   Beth envied them in a way. In the midst of all this grief and sorrow, they just blissfully slept. But they would have to go through it eventually.

   Later, after breakfast, Beth decided to go to the gym. Maybe she could work up some good endorphins by exercising to get her mind off things for awhile.

   Sweat poured down her face. Beth had been running on the treadmill for about an hour now. She slowed down, then turned off the machine. Her idea had worked. She felt better now.

   As she took a few gulps from her water bottle, Liam walked into the gym. He spotted her and his face brightened up a little.

   He came over to her. "I see you had the same idea as me. You feeling any better?"

   "Physically, I'm tired and sweaty. Emotionally, yeah, I feel a lot better." Answered Beth.

   "I wish I'd come earlier, we could have worked out together." Said Liam.

   "Yeah, well maybe some other time," Beth suggested.

   "Sounds good," Liam said, getting out some weights.

   "I'm gonna go now. See you later."

   "Later."

   At her room, Beth showered and changed into a clean shirt and sweatpants. She then cozied up into some blankets on her bed and pulled her holo-desk out. She went to the ship's online library, chose a book, and started reading. Right now Beth just wanted to keep her mind off the events of the day before, but sooner or later she would have to grieve.