Earth's Revolution

~15~

"Mom?"
"Yes darling?"
"I love you."
"Me too baby, why do you sound so emotional?"
"I'm leaving the base tomorrow..."
"What? Why?"
"We have to attach a device to a satellite. I don't know the logistics but it's going to help cool the atmosphere down."
"That's great. And you're going alone?"
"No, no! We're going to be six. Maria is coming too. I just don't think I will be able to communicate with you for the next two months or so, and I'll miss you. A lot."
"TWO WHOLE MONTHS? Well, hopefully we can see each other soon."
"Yes I hope so..."
"I'll miss you."
"Me too."
...
"Mom... I'm scared..."
"Me too baby. But you will be fine. The Universe is looking out for you."
"I hope I can see you soon."
"I hope so too."
"I love you."
"I love you more."
"Goodbye..."

                                        ***

The heat hit me like a wave. A wall of suffocating air. Almost immediately, I started sweating. Not the most lovely thing to hear, but what about this is lovely?
"Better remember to drink frequently," Max whispered under his breath, but the air was so still and silent, I'm positive my own parents could hear it.
None of us moved, taking in what sight we could see in the rapidly falling light. Everything looked barren. Burnt. The lush green grass I had remembered was now brittle and yellow.

"Well, we should go. We can't waste any time," said Jacopo.

I looked down at my compass. We had to go South-West as general direction, the same way we came from. Thankfully, we wouldn't have to climb mountains just yet, as they were North of us. We rowed across the lake and took off through the trees. Ouch, I thought, as I placed my hand on a boulder for support. It was boiling. Of course. I'm an idiot. Everything will be too hot now, even the stone cold boulders.

Our bags, thought they weren't incredibly heavy, weighed us down with heat-resistant tents and supplies. The water was the most heavy, but then again, it was arguably the most important thing in our rucksacks if we wanted to survive this heat. Or maybe it was the iodine.  This water won't last us forever, and we will need to refill it along the way.

We walked to the end of the forest path and, by then, night had fallen completely. Above, I saw whole galaxies of stars, way more than usual. That's when I realised all lights will be turned off, normally. Light pollution had been drastically reduced and the whole universe was visible to our eyes. Well, maybe not the entire universe. If only we could say the same for air pollution, but that would take a lot longer to go.
"HEY!" An exclamation came from her right. Max had approached what appeared to be a mound of melted metal.
"What is that?" asked Cornelia.
"Well, it's supposed to be a car..." muttered Alan.
"How stupid of us! Of course it would melt in this heat. Now I guess we'll be walking the whole way," Max grumbled, his face turning downwards into a spectacular sulk. Though I wasn't too keen on the idea of us walking all the way to the Alpes either. Then I got an idea.
"Guys, maybe we can borrow someone's car? Everyone is in a bunker underground at the moment, and presumably they left their cars in their garages..."
"Are you suggesting we break into a house and steal a car?"
"Well... yeah. Basically." After a moment of silence I retorted, "Well, it's for the greater good isn't it? We can return it later."
"I suppose we could do that... it is slightly immoral, but if you guys are okay with walking a little more, I know a friend who probably won't mind if we take his car. And on the bonus side, it's a massive Volvo so we'll fit perfectly inside," replied Alan.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, mumbling "yes" and "lead the way". He set off due South, claiming it wasn't far from here. For a good half-hour or so, we followed a highway twisting and turning through trees and open plains. I noticed how silent and deserted the street looked. Naturally, not a single car passed, and every few hundred meters we had to jump over a pile of melted road signs. We followed Alan as he turned onto a smaller road and, not long after, we all stopped in front of a massive yellow house.