“Let’s go Abel! The rope swing is right over here.” The shouts of my best friend Terry were muffled by the other noises surrounding me. I stopped and looked around to take the scenery in. Warm weather, the splash of kids jumping in the water, and the sounds of birds chirping were present everywhere. “C’mon Abel! While we’re still young…” Terry was right. It was time to enjoy the day. Yet something seemed wrong to me. And at that moment I arose from my sleep.
I have had that dream one too many times. I cannot put into words my desire to live a life like the one on Earth before the Bigger Bang. I have spent hours reading and studying how life operated on Earth before the Bigger Bang. My name is Abel and I live in a terrible world. About a century ago the Bigger Bang occurred and life was never the same for humans. Everyone is familiar with the Big Bang that created the Earth. Well, the Bigger Bang destroyed the Earth. From what we are told, a nuclear explosion happened 99 years ago wiping out all of humanity and life on Earth. About 1,000 people survived this explosion and were sent to live on a massive floating space station. How the original 1,000 survivors were able to live through the explosion is still a mystery as they are “quarantined” in different sectors of the station and unable to communicate with the rest of us. The commanders of the Station know the truth about everything, yet, will not tell the group. Today there are about 2,700 of us on this Station (excluding the old survivors). The Station is equipped with oxygen, water, and food for everyone but it is evident these supplies will run out in the near future as they have already instituted policies to ration supplies.
Life on the Station is not terrible, but I would do anything for a life on Earth as I have pictured it before the Bigger Bang. The Station punishes any crime, no matter the degree, by death. However, this rule does not apply for anyone under the age of 20. Lucky (or maybe not so lucky) for me, I am 18 years old. About three years ago, I forgot to shut my water off after using the sink and was sentenced for “overuse of limited supplies.” Ridiculous, I know. There is no trial, but just a sentencing hearing and as a minor I was sent to life in prison until I turn 20. I have contemplated suicide many times because I reasoned that my life will end regardless in two short years. However, my resistance turned out to be the right decision when I was informed two days ago of my future. I was told by the Station commanders I was selected, along with 49 other minor prisoners, to be part of their Discovery mission. They told me this mission would include 50 prisoners the Station has deemed “expendable” to be sent down to Earth to investigate the state of the planet. The Station could very easily see their supplies were scarce and life was not sustainable on this floating spaceship for many more years. Another living alternative was needed. They continued by saying we would be transported to Earth via five pods containing ten people per pod. They warned us this mission could be fatal as the Earth may still be contaminated with radiation but we did not have a choice whether a not to go because we were prisoners and at the discretion of the commanders. The Station would monitor our health on Earth through the use of their advanced tracking devices that every member of the Station already wore. They  relay information such as heart rate, respiratory rates, available oxygen and many other things. The Station decided we would leave exactly on the 100 year anniversary of the Bigger Bang.
When I was informed of this news I had mixed feelings. I would be part of the first group of people to walk the Earth in 100 years and finally get out of the Station. If the nuclear disaster had passed, I would start my life free again and be able to do all the things I have dreamed of. The time had come and tomorrow I would start my journey to Earth. I fell asleep with feelings of anxiety and joy.
“All prisoners rise and make your way to the loading dock.” “All prisoners rise and make your way to the loading dock.” The words boomed in a robotic voice throughout my chamber and startled me awake. Now I was feeling incredibly nervous as I started to approach the loading dock. Several of the commanders was awaiting us. When all 50 of us were present one of the commanders spoke “Welcome to our Discovery mission. Your journey to Earth will take approximately 15 minutes (the Station is not very far from Earth). I wish the best of luck to all of you.” I walked to the ten seater pod and made my way to the back row middle seat. The commander shut the door with a loud bang and at that moment I knew there was no turning back.
The pod jolted forward with extreme velocity and made its way at an incredible speed toward Earth. The pod was silent for the first five minutes of the trip. Although I knew almost every person in that pod, I felt isolated in the silent group. I was counting the minutes down in my head: 8...7...6. The beads of sweat were running down my forehead and dripping down to the metal seat I was located in. The faint, muffled cry of a girl was the only noise other than the sound of loud rockets powering the pod. Moments later I felt the rockets power down and the release of the pod’s parachute jerked everyone upwards. Seconds later the pod touched the Earth. Wow. What a feeling that was to get on ground. Still silent, everyone awaited the opening of the pod. It did not have to be stated but everyone’s mind was on one thing: whether or not we would all die the second the door opened. I took a deep breath and held it. This was it. The door opened with a loud whoosh and I looked around, initially blinded by the bright sun. Everyone was in complete shock the first few seconds but came to their senses. I finally took a deep breath and, like the others, realized I would not die. I have never seen a group go so wild. All 50 of us began running, jumping, screaming in elation. We were free. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining bright. The first thing I noticed was the largely overgrown vegetation. I suppose that is the result of a lack of human destruction on the environment. The Earth appeared as if there had never been a nuclear disaster and I wondered why the Station never tried this Discovery mission earlier. The group set out exploring and began to walk through what seemed like a forest. We walked for about ten minutes until we found an opening in the brush. On the other side we found a beautiful flowing river with a wading pool. Without hesitation the 50 of us ran towards the river and began splashing around and swimming. The feeling of cool water submerging my body was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I even found a vine that I could use to swing myself into the river. All I could think about was the dream I would always have. It had finally become a reality but still felt as if it was not real. I was sitting in the water watching Terry about to use the rope swing and thinking about the turn of events my life had just taken. Terry flew through the air and released himself at the peak of the swing in a graceful motion. The suddenly, Terry was struck with a spear that tossed his body with such extreme force that he flew into the bank of the river. I was in complete shock and went silent. The loud screams of several prisoners pierced through my ears like a dart. What had just happened? Terrified, the group looked around and realized the spear had not come from any of us. At that moment we realized we were not the only ones on Earth. We looked around but saw no other forms of life. Upon further examination of Terry, the spear had impaled him right in the heart with extreme precision and he had dropped dead immediately. Unsure of a plan of action, we huddled around the river bank. The leaves behind us rattled and it was clear someone or something was there with us. We went silent and were covered in fear. How could there possibly be people living on Earth? At that moment all I wanted was to return to the Station. I have never experienced such fear and sense of uncertainty. I looked around more and as my back was turned I heard a thud behind me. I jumped and whipped my head around expecting to see someone attacking us. However, to my surprise, I saw one of the prisoners on the ground spread out. Another prisoner walked over to help her up but she was unresponsive. The prisoner uttered the cold words “she’s dead.” Gasps filled the air. However, this death had not come from any outside force. At least, that is what it seemed because there was nobody in sight. Fear levels began to rise even more. People began to panic and started screaming. Moments later, another prisoner dropped dead. Followed by another not too long after. At that moment I realized I should not be concerned with any potential inhabitants of Earth. I should be concerned with the viability of Earth. I began to feel lightheaded and realized that this was no place to live. Just as my vision blurred and I became nauseous, I could make out the shape of the Station approaching Earth. It was too late; there was no way of signaling to them to turn back.