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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris
Petroff was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1977. He has a Bachelor of
Accounting from Monash University and is currently working as a Chartered
Accountant for a large accounting firm in Melbourne. He also has a Diploma of
Music from the Australian Music Examinations Board and is an experienced piano
player and composer. Chris has always had an interest in physics and scientific theories of the universe. Furthermore, as a child, he loved to escape to the mysteries and adventures of the new worlds created in children's fantasy books. It is the combination of these two interests that inspired Chris to write Earth II. Chapter 1: The
Departure
They reached the launch pads at about 3pm. There were already several
thousand people at the site, but many more were still to arrive. The two ships
were not scheduled to depart until 7pm so they had a long wait ahead of them. Penny was tired from the walk. Blisters were
beginning to form on her feet. She sat down on the dusty ground and surveyed her
surroundings. The launch pads were in the middle of a vast desert. The sun was
high over their heads and shining brightly onto the metal exteriors of the
ships. Penny had never seen a space ship in real life, although she had heard
many stories. She was only ten years old, but she was about to embark upon the
journey of a lifetime. She had no idea what her future would hold. No one did.
They were simply following orders. Penny
had travelled for three days with her father, Hugo, and her stepmother,
Sue-Anne, who were now busy loading their belongings onto the ships. Hugo was
scheduled to depart on the first ship, and Penny and Sue-Anne were booked on the
second ship. Penny watched Sue-Anne struggling with the heaviest bag. She was a
petite woman with short blonde hair, and it was obvious that she was not used to
lifting such heavy objects. Penny thought about helping her, but then changed
her mind. She didn’t feel comfortable around Sue-Anne. Why, she didn’t know.
Sue-Anne treated Penny well, but Penny always felt that she could never quite
trust her. Hugo
approached Penny and handed her a bottle of water. ‘Thanks,
Dad,’ she said, before taking a few small sips from the bottle. Hugo
sat down next to Penny. He was a tall solidly built man, with dark hair and a
kind face. He was normally full of energy, but on this occasion Penny noticed
that he looked exhausted. His clothes were grubby and his skin looked pale. She
sensed that he was holding something back. ‘What’s
wrong, Dad?’ she asked. ‘Nothing,
sweetie. I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.’ ‘Don’t
worry, Dad. It’ll be OK,’ said Penny, as she gave her father a hug. By
now, there were so many people at the launch site that Penny could hardly see
through the crowd. Families were huddled together in small groups, some of them
sleeping, and others clearly wide awake. Penny wondered how far they had
travelled. She also wondered how they were all going to fit into the two ships.
She had been told that the journey would last for twelve hours. Surely they
would not be forced to endure cramped conditions for such a long period of time.
When Penny had first been told about the ships, she had imagined plush
interiors, with velvet couches and waiters serving cold drinks. Now, her images
were more closely resembling a huge prison cell.
Sue-Anne
suddenly appeared, fanning herself with a strange brochure. ‘Look
at this,’ she said, with excitement in her eyes. She pointed to the glossy
cover of the brochure. ‘Earth II looks fantastic. It’s got grass and trees,
and even birds. Just like what we used to have here. Remember, Hugo?’ Hugo
nodded. The memory of how Earth used to be seemed painful to him. Penny had
never known the Earth that Hugo and Sue-Anne had known. The poisoning had
occurred before she was born. The Earth that Penny knew was barren and hot, with
underground houses and barely enough food and water to survive. Life on the
surface of Earth was all but gone. The animals were all extinct and the trees
had all died. Yet communities of people survived, and the human spirit lived on.
Hugo and Sue-Anne had never given up hope. They knew that Earth II was habitable
and that one day the few remaining scientists and engineers among them would
find a way to build the ships that would take people there. Now that day was
here. Penny
decided to go for a walk. She wandered through the busy crowd and soon became
quite lost. As she approached a group of children, she noticed a boy had been
tied to a stake and blindfolded with a thick black cloth. The boy was wriggling
his body trying to escape, while other children threw rocks and stones at him.
Penny was shocked. The boy was badly bruised and had blood pouring down his arms
and legs. Why was this happening? And why wasn’t anyone stopping it? Penny
looked around at the crowd and noticed that the adults among them were simply
watching, allowing this torture to continue. Some of them even joined in. She
listened carefully to what the children were yelling. ‘He’s
one of them. He’s one of them,’ they chanted. ‘Kill him.
Kill him. Take away his powers.’ An
old wrinkly woman, with bony arms and fingers, appeared next to Penny. She was
wearing a black shawl and had a heart-shaped crystal around her neck. Penny
suddenly felt dizzy. She moved away from the woman and her mind immediately
cleared. Penny
could see the boy more clearly now. There were two sets of ropes tied around his
arms and legs, the other ends attached tightly to the stake. The boy looked so
innocent. He was about Penny’s age, and had dark hair and olive skin. Surely
he could not have committed a crime that deserved such harsh punishment. ‘I’ll
rescue you,’ whispered Penny. The
boy turned his head in Penny’s direction. Had he heard her? Through the noise
of the crowd? Impossible. Yet he seemed to be staring directly at Penny from
behind the blindfold. Then a calm expression came across his face and it seemed
to her that he was almost smiling. Penny had never seen this boy before, but she
felt a strange connection with him. Now
that she had made up her mind to rescue the boy, she needed to come up with a
plan. But time was running out. The boy was bleeding heavily and the crowd was
becoming more vicious. The
boy’s head began to roll forward, as if he were slowly losing consciousness.
Penny became enraged by the brutality that she was witnessing. She felt a fire
burning behind her eyes. As she stared at the ropes, concentrating on a way to
save the boy, a flash of light penetrated through the crowd. Then a cloud of
smoke appeared and a burning smell filled the air. The ropes had broken. The boy
was free. He fell to the ground and the crowd ran screaming in terror.
Penny
was shaken by what had happened, but she maintained her composure and walked
closer to the boy. She could see his face through the smoke, but could not tell
whether he was alive or dead. She tried to take another step forward, but the
dizzy feeling came back. The old woman was standing in front of Penny, her black
shawl flapping in the wind and her bony finger pointing at Penny’s eyes. ‘A
curse on you,’ shrieked the old woman. And then she was gone. But the
heart-shaped crystal she had been wearing around her neck had fallen to the
ground where she had been standing. Penny
was finding it difficult to think and her knees were wobbling, as if she were
about to lose her balance. She spun around and ran as fast as she could in the
opposite direction. The crowd was a blur and she had no idea where she was
going, but she kept running. Eventually,
her strength returned and her mind became clear again. She stopped near a
familiar tent and caught her breath. In the distance, she heard her name being
called. Hugo
appeared from behind the tent. He sighed heavily with relief. ‘Where
have you been?’ he said. ‘I’ve been worried sick. The first ship is ready.
I’m leaving early.’ * * * * * Penny had tears in her eyes as she kissed her dad goodbye. She watched
him walk up the long platform to the door of the ship. Hugo was one of the last
people to board the ship, and as he reached the end of the platform, he turned
around and gave Penny and Sue-Anne a wave. ‘See
you soon,’ he called to them. ‘Bye,
Dad!’ screamed Penny. ‘Good
luck!’ yelled Sue-Anne, as she blew him a kiss. Then
the door of the ship closed and the engines began to roar. A few minutes later,
the ship was rising slowly from the ground. Dust and sand were being blown in
all directions. Penny covered her eyes and mouth with her long brown hair. The
sun was beginning to set and the sky was a beautiful light blue, with streaks of
pink. The ship hovered high in the sky, surrounded by white fluffy clouds. Penny
noticed a small flame on the side of the ship. Was it one of the engines? It
couldn’t be. The engines were on the base of the ship. The flame appeared to
be growing bigger as the ship moved higher. Sue-Anne suddenly gripped Penny’s
arm. A hush fell over the crowd. Then,
an almighty explosion shook the Earth. The ship was blown into a million pieces.
A black cloud filled the sky and debris began falling all around them. People
were screaming and running away. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Penny
could hardly breathe. Her whole body was shaking and her heart was racing. She
could hear people crying, sobbing, shrieking. Ash began falling from the sky
like rain, and Penny and Sue-Anne were enveloped by blackness. Penny
lunged forward, but was held back by Sue-Anne’s tight grip. ‘No!’
screamed Sue-Anne, desperately. ‘Don’t move.’ But
Penny couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. She shook her arm violently,
breaking free from Sue-Anne’s grip, and ran towards the launch pad. Flames
were flying all around her. She felt herself being burnt and debris cutting into
her skin, but she continued to run towards the launch pad. Maybe there were
survivors. Hugo might be one of them. There may have been time to board the
evacuation pods. Penny
looked frantically up into the sky. She couldn’t see anything that looked like
a small space craft, but she didn’t really know what she was looking for.
She’d never seen an evacuation pod before. She’d only read about them in
books. By
now, Penny was in a complete state of panic. She was covered in ash, and pieces
of glass and metal were wedged into her arms and legs. She was running aimlessly
through the desert. A
large piece of the ship was protruding from the ground, and Penny tripped over
it and hit her head on a rock. As she lay on the sand, dazed and confused, she
thought of Hugo. If he was dead, she wanted to join him. She could not face the
thought of living without him. Penny
closed her eyes and rested for a minute. When she opened them again, she saw a
bright light shining down from the sky. It was coming closer and growing larger
but for some reason she was not afraid. As the light surrounded her, she could
make out the glowing form of a man. It was Hugo. He was shimmering in the light
and his body was almost transparent. ‘Dad?’
gasped Penny in wonderment. ‘Yes.
It’s me,’ said Hugo. Penny
tried to get up, but her father motioned for her to stay still. ‘I
don’t have much time,’ said Hugo. ‘So please, Penny, listen very
carefully.’ Penny
was overcome by emotion and the bright light was blinding her. Was Hugo alive?
Had he escaped in one of the evacuation pods? She had a sick feeling in her
stomach, but she also felt strangely relaxed. She focused on Hugo’s voice. ‘You
have a long journey ahead of you,’ said Hugo. ‘And I’m sorry that I
didn’t have a chance to explain everything to you sooner. But you are very
special, Penny. You are the chosen one. And whatever you do, you must never give
up.’ Hugo
removed the green talisman that he was wearing around his neck. Hugo had worn
the talisman for as long as Penny could remember and this was the first time
that Penny had ever seen him take it off. He slipped it gently over Penny’s
head. ‘What
is it for?’ asked Penny. ‘It’s
to protect you,’ said Hugo. ‘You must never remove it.’ ‘Protect
me from what?’ asked Penny. ‘You
will see,’ said Hugo. He smiled and turned away. The
light began to fade and Hugo disappeared leaving Penny again in darkness. Her
head was throbbing and she could taste blood in her mouth. She tried to stand
up, but fell back down onto the sand in a heap. Then she drifted into
unconsciousness. * * * * * When she woke, Penny was inside a tent, lying on a stretcher. There were
other injured people around her, also lying on stretchers. Most of them were
asleep. Those who were awake were staring at the ceiling as if they were in a
trance. Sue-Anne
entered the room and stroked Penny’s matted hair. ‘It’s
me, Penny. It’s Sue-Anne,’ she whispered. ‘Can you hear me?’ ‘Yes,’
muttered Penny. ‘I
told you not to run off, Penny,’ said Sue-Anne. ‘You could have been killed.
I searched for you for hours. Luckily, someone found you and brought you back to
this tent.’ Penny
remembered what had happened to the ship and how she had seen Hugo in the bright
light. Perhaps it was just a dream. She lifted her right arm and felt the
talisman around her neck. ‘Where
did you get that?’ snapped Sue-Anne. ‘That’s your father’s talisman.’ ‘He
gave it to me before he got on the ship,’ lied Penny. She did not have the
strength to tell Sue-Anne what had really happened. Sue-Anne would never believe
such a story anyway. ‘You’re
going to be all right,’ said Sue-Anne. ‘The doctor says that you have a
slight concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises, but no broken bones.’ Penny
slowly got up from the stretcher. Her whole body was aching. She made her way
over to the entrance of the tent with Sue-Anne following closely behind. It was
dark outside and a cool breeze was blowing. In the distance, Penny could see the
faint lights of the second ship. ‘The
debris and ash caused some slight damage to the roof of the second ship,’ said
Sue-Anne. ‘But luckily nothing serious. We’re scheduled to leave in an
hour.’ Penny
was shocked. She spun around and glared at Sue-Anne, her mouth wide open. She
could not believe what she had just heard. ‘There’s
no way I’m getting on that ship,’ she protested. ‘But
you have to,’ said Sue-Anne. ‘You can’t stay here. The Earth is dying. You
won’t last longer than a year.’ ‘I’ll
take my chances,’ said Penny. ‘Well,
I’d rather take my chances on the ship,’ said Sue-Anne. ‘And I think you
should too.’ Abruptly she hurried away into another part of the tent. Penny
lay down again on the stretcher and thought about Hugo. What would he want her
to do? He had always told her to follow her heart but Penny was not sure what
her heart was telling her. She knew that there was a strong possibility that the
second ship would also explode, and she could not stand to spend another minute
with Sue-Anne. So her mind was made up. She would stay on Earth. Penny
watched the shadows dancing on the roof of the tent as people came and went. She
decided that she would stay and watch the second ship depart and then begin her
journey home in the morning. After
about half an hour, a man in a white coat approached Penny. He had blonde hair
and a blonde moustache, and was carrying a syringe containing a blue liquid. The
man squirted the liquid into the air, then grabbed Penny by the arm. Penny
screamed and tried to run but another man in a white coat appeared from behind
her and held her down. Sue-Anne was standing in the corner. ‘Sue-Anne,
help me,’ pleaded Penny. ‘Make them stop.’
‘I’m
sorry, Penny. It’s for your own good,’ said Sue-Anne. Then
the man with the blonde hair spoke. ‘It’s
only a small dose,’ he said. ‘It will wear off in a couple of hours.’ As
the blue liquid was injected into Penny’s arm, her body started to become cold
and numb. All thoughts were removed from her mind and she sat perfectly still,
waiting patiently for her orders. ‘Now,
come with me please, Penny,’ said the man with the blonde hair. Penny
felt no desire to resist. She stood up and followed the man out of the tent.
They walked in darkness until they reached the second ship. The man told Penny
to wait at the foot of the platform. Sue-Anne
was not far behind. When she arrived, she held Penny firmly by the hand and
marched her up the long platform to the door of the ship where they were greeted
by a tall woman in a suit. She asked for their names and then ticked them off
her list. They
waited in silence until another woman in a suit, who looked remarkably similar
to the first woman, appeared and led them into the ship’s foyer. There were
dozens of staircases in the foyer, all leading in different directions. Some of
the staircases were completely straight, while others spiralled or curved around
corners. All the staircases led to metal doors with large numbers on them. The
woman in the suit took them up one of the spiral staircases and stopped outside
a room with the number 845 on the door. Sue-Anne was quickly ushered into the
room and Penny was led in the opposite direction. She followed the woman up four
more flights of stairs before finally stopping outside a room with the number
1603 on the door. Then the woman in the suit disappeared and the door suddenly
swung open. ‘Hurry
up, dear,’ said a kind voice. ‘We’re about to take off.’ The
room resembled a small auditorium, with rows and rows of seats. Penny was
hastily shown to her seat, where someone immediately fastened a seat belt
tightly around her. There
was a large round window on one of the walls, through which Penny could see the
dusty Earth below. As the engines started to roar and the ship lifted slowly
into the air, she whispered softly to herself. ‘Goodbye,
Earth.’
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