Chapter 22 – This is My Choice

November 4th 2027 07:51

Pov took out her ticket.

This was the right choice. Avoid the calamity by going into this spaceship. Carry on living. Go through 32nd December. And yet—

she thought about Carrie

—she crushed the ticket, then threw it into the crowd.

Seeing what she had done, understanding that grabbing the ticket would mean a chance to be on the spaceship, the crowd went wild. Everyone fought for the ticket. Through that chaos, Pov sifted through the crowd. Headed toward the hotel where she had spent the night.

I… I…!

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08:32

The spaceship launch was an eventful day. Lots of people were crowding the place, even those who couldn’t get a spot in the spaceship. What that meant was that, aside from the center of the city, the street was quiet and empty and desolate. And it just so happened that the hotel she had stayed in was at the edge of the city.

Pov had to go through an empty road, alone, if she wanted to go to Carrie.

Her vision narrowed. Her heart was thumping. And her body was trembling. She feared this. Hated being alone.

Would she really do this? Go through her fear? To go to her?

Before she could find an answer in her mind, she found herself running forward through the desolate road.

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09:34

She was scared of being alone. Wanted desperately to turn, to go back into the crowd. But she didn’t. And her perseverance paid off.

Pov saw Carrie, in front of the hotel, luggage behind her, just about to leave.

‘Carrie!’ Pov shouted.

Seeing Pov, Carrie was surprised, got both eyebrows raised. As if stating: Shouldn’t you be in the spaceship by now?

Pov leapt, wanting to hug her, because this whole experience of having gone through the empty street was painfully scary, but Carrie stepped to the side and dodged.

‘What are you doing here?’ Carrie asked.

‘I… I… I thought about you when I was waiting in line. And… when I thought about you, I... I just… I just don’t want you to be alone.’

‘I’m not scared of being alone.’

‘I know! But I just don’t want you to be. And… And I feel… lonely without you…’

‘… You’re being ridiculous.’

Pov sighed. ‘I know…’

All that talk about wanting Carrie to survive, but it turned out that Pov herself had bad survival skills (if she had good ones, she would’ve taken the spaceship).

Still, now that she was with her, she didn’t regret it. Not one bit.

‘Thanks, I guess,’ Carrie said. ‘In truth, I was feeling lonely.’

‘You did?’

‘Yeah. When I was packing, for a second, I felt like I could understand why you hated being alone. Something about it felt… suffocating.’

Somehow, Pov was glad that Carrie felt that way. ‘Thank you—for trying to understand me.’

‘Mm-hm.’

‘I feel bad... Because I don’t think I can understand what it’s like to be scared of vehicles like you do.’

‘It’s better that way.’

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10:14

Cheers were erupting from the center of the city, loud enough that Pov and Carrie could hear it even though they were at the outer edge of the city. They could hear the countdown, could hear the spaceship going toward the sky, toward space.

Pov and Carrie watched as the spaceship launched toward the sky. Pierced through the clouds. And—

BAM!!

It exploded. To pieces.

… Pov’s jaw dropped.

If she had taken that spaceship…

‘… I think I can sort of understand your fear now.’