Chapter 20 – The Capital City’s Hope

November 2nd 2027 14:17

The capital city was a normal city that you would know and love like back in the days. Lots of people walking along the sidewalk, lots of cars going through the street. There were jobholders such as road handlers, food vendors, police, and all that. Money could be seen here, used for trade. Electricity was running here; it powered televisions that were broadcasting news. The marvel of modern times still existed here in this capital city. All that made this city felt—abnormal…

All this feels artificial… Pov thought.

Sure, this was the old system. The same one that everyone had lived in before the announcement about the calamity was made and before people’s behavior changed. This system was supposed to be normal; yet, in this new world, this system felt… abnormal.

It was different from the city that Kez had built. The system that Kez had built was new and unfamiliar, but it had felt natural. It was a system that was born in response to the change of the world.

This capital city, meanwhile, felt as if someone was desperately trying to cling to the past.

A system in a world that didn’t match.

‘What do you think about the capital city, Carrie?’

‘… Mm-hm.’

Pov smiled, translated that hum as: no thought whatsoever. ‘Doesn’t matter. What matters is the food, right?’

‘Yes. I can’t just take food like in the previous city it seems. I have to purchase them.’

‘… We don’t have any money though.’

‘Have to make them somehow.’

This was a crowded city. Lots of people. Pov wouldn’t feel lonely if she were to be separated from Carrie. Perhaps they could split up and figure out how to make money? I can be helpful.

‘Pov,’ Carrie called, it was rare—for her to call her name, ‘stay close.’

Was she worried about her? ‘I won’t feel alone in a crowded city like this.’

‘It’s painful if we get separated. Also, I don’t know if I can leave you in this city yet.’

Right. The agreement between them was that she could follow her until she could bother someone else. Somehow, remembering that made Pov… sad…

‘We’ll sell the clothes we have for money. Let’s go.’

Pov followed Carrie. Her legs seemed to have lost their springiness.

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16:17

Having sold some of their clothes, the ones they had gotten from the ship, Pov and Carrie were sitting at a cafeteria. They had bought from one of the stalls the same food: steak. Pov was excited about this. For so long now, she had been the one cooking and eating her own food. It was nice for a change to eat food made by someone else

She cut the meat, stabbed it with a fork, and ate it. A smile erupted on her face. ‘Tasty!’

Pov looked at Carrie, still inspecting the meat.

‘Carrie, you should try it. It’s really good.’

She took a bite. Chew. Seemed pleased. ‘Mm-hm.’

‘Did you get what you came here for?’

‘… More or less.’

Carrie finally found food that tasted good. Somehow, Pov was jealous. It wasn’t the food she cooked that tasted good, but someone else’s. It was as if Pov had got herself defeated by a cook whom she didn’t even know! But… all that mattered was that Carrie got what she wanted. Good for her.

Maybe I can ask the cook on how to make this steak… Pov thought.

As they were eating, Pov looked at her surroundings. They were at an open cafeteria, lots of people there. Really crowded. She liked that.

This capital city was exactly what the world was like.

There were lots of tall skyscrapers around. One of them was taller than the rest, had a unique design to it: metallic looking, cylindrical, and high-tech. Wonder what that building was for…

‘Lottery! Lottery!’ someone had their voice raised. ‘Get yours now before it’s too late!’

Lottery? Pov wondered. Curious, she raised her hand and caught the man’s attention. Then, she beckoned for him to come. ‘What’s the lottery for?’ she asked.

‘You don’t know? Ah… you must be new here. And clueless.’

‘Rude.’

‘Sorry, sorry. Well, it’s a lottery that everyone wants. But it’s limited to one per person. Don’t worry though, it’s free. Equality to all! Everyone has a chance! Fair! All I need from you is your name and your picture for me to input into the database.’ He pulled out his tablet. ‘That way, it’s really limited to one per person.’

‘But… what can I win from this lottery?’

‘Right, right. Sorry, sorry. What you win from the lottery is a ticket! You see that, over there?’ He pointed at the tallest skyscraper that the city had. ‘A ticket to that.’

‘A ticket to get inside a building?’

‘A building? You think that’s a building?’

‘It’s not?’

‘It’s the marvel of humanity’s perseverance. That is not a building. It’s—a rocket. A spaceship. To shoot us into outer space.’

‘What?’ The idea sounded so sci-fi that Pov was surprised. Sure, rockets had existed before this pre-apocalypse, but… to see one casually in the middle of the city like that was surprising regardless.

‘In response to the calamity,’ he explained, ‘the people have been working tirelessly since the announcement, united as one due to a common goal, and have created that spaceship. This way, humanity has a chance for survival.’

Throughout her journey, Pov had learnt that she shouldn’t be concerned about whether the calamity was true or false; it didn’t matter. But… now that there was a spaceship that allowed the possibility of escaping the calamity… everything had changed.

A spaceship meant that the capital city believed that the calamity was true. A spaceship meant that there was a chance for Pov and Carrie to take things into their own hands and survive through 32nd December.

‘We’ll have two lotteries please,’ Pov said. The man took their pictures. Checked the database to see if they had an entry, and, since they didn’t have any entry, registered them. Only then did he give them two lotteries.

‘Scratch them with your nail or a coin. If it says that you got the ticket, then that’s it. That’s your ticket onto the spaceship. It’ll launch on November 4th,’ two days from now, ‘so make sure to prepare for it. I pray that luck shines its light upon you.’ With that said, the man left.

‘I’m feeling very lucky!’ Pov said. ‘Do you have a coin?’

Carrie shook her head. She scratched her lottery with her nail. Glad to see that she was excited about this. Pov followed her lead and scratched hers with her nail.

‘I got the ticket!’ Pov exclaimed. ‘What about you, Carrie?’

A hint of a smile on her face. She showed the result—and nodded. She got it.

‘That’s nice!’

‘Yes.’

They could both enter the spaceship together and survive the cala—

‘We can sell these tickets and get money.’