"There are many pathways to choose from in your life."
"Never did I think it would lead out to this fate…"
Mildest. In the middle of a barren land of waste, expected to be left alone and rot until its end, surprisingly, in the wasted ruins, there are still traces of humanity left over. When all hope was gone, the remaining people gathered into one last location in hopes of rebuilding humankind and saving the world from the leftovers of the old eras, or at least surviving as long as they could.
It was the year 3096, 1,000 years after the world-wide war had ended. Weapons called nuclear bombs were dropped across the world in an attempt to try to take over the leftover land and resources, but because of past actions of destroying forests and exploiting too many natural resources, in a few decades the consequences of the winning nations caught up to them, as all resources were gone or just bare minimum for a small number of people. Countless riots happened, and the result was the barren wasteland that was left for the descendants.
Dimensional travel had been perfected to meet the planet's urgent demand for resources, as that was the only thing they could do, carrying the hope of finally escaping this life and seeking a new place to live.
Inside the barrier, neon lights flickered everywhere. The sky, or the screen being the fake sky, was dark since it had been broken, and people just let it stay there since it didn't cause much harm. Some accidents involved being hit by the broken pieces of the "sky" above.
"So bored…"
Evelyn leaned against the railing of the rooftop, arms crossed, her gaze lost in the skyline humming beyond the city limits. The air smelled faintly of ionized dust, and the sky painted with a digital simulation of the moon flickered every few minutes, a reminder that even the sky wasn't real anymore.
"What?"
Johnson's voice rose while he was figuring out a worn-out drone picked from the trash can, as Evelyn breathed out a meaningless word, but he still followed the topic.
"Why do you think it's boring?"
"You know, every day being a nuisance to our parents and being unemployed after education, what else can we do better than that?" Evelyn responded.
"Well, we can try to contribute to society by helping other people and improving the quality of life for those who need it!"
Johnson spoke of it proudly, as if boasting about a rare item he found after playing a few hours of random games.
"So what—can it give you money to help you in life, or are you just thinking about other people first rather than yourself? Quite heroic, I would say so."
Evelyn responded to Johnson's dream, which was cool, sure—but right now, it was still just an unrealistic fantasy, like "I want to be an inventor" or "I want to be a superhero," sort of that.
"Even so, if people followed your word… then who will do it?"
"Oh, please, you should thank our parents for letting us stay this long," Evelyn replied whilst thinking about what she would do for a living in the future.
"By the way, what will you do for your job? I will probably become a lab assistant, where I could contribute to society by delivering life-changing technologies to our world and make our lives better!"
"That's amazing!" Evelyn's eyes lit up in both amusement and a bit bitter. Although she believed in it, someone such as Johnson could pull that off… and who was willing to try?
But as a friend who grew up with him from childhood, her pride couldn't let that slide. Who would let your rival stand above you? Before thinking twice, her voice spoke out of her mouth:
"About my part, I would join the 'Exploration Team,' and I ain't falling behind you!"
Evelyn gave a determined look as she looked into the sky, thinking about her words. Maybe they would have some consequences, but it wouldn't be so bad, right? As her mind shifted into thinking about future explorations.
"Fine by me. Wouldn't be surprised if you choose something 'thrilling and… exciting.'"
Johnson gave an understanding look without further explanation.
"So, when do you go?"
"Tomorrow," Johnson replied.
"Looks like this is the last stop before we part."
"…How about we do a promise?"
"What promise?" Johnson asked.
"Promise that we will not falter from our dream and stay true to it. When we come back here, make it proud!"
"Ah, right, even the safest job could lead to our doom, even though there is no 'true' safe journey in this world currently…"
"When will you go?"
"Hmm, before you," Johnson replied.
"We will see about that…" Evelyn said, as veins appeared on her head.
"I promise to the sun that wasn't in our sight; it will keep us surviving and return to this place."
Evelyn pointed her hand out to the sky, reaching to the artificial crescent moon…
"Since when are you this poetic?"
"Shut up…"
Johnson shrugged before continuing to talk.
"Are you sure? Exploring unknown worlds is dangerous since it can contain creatures and disasters, right?"
It seemed useless, as Evelyn was still dreaming about her fantasy travel to other places outside the barrier. For years, she had been stuck in this district for so long that, aside from pride, this was the reason she wanted to explore despite the risks she hadn't thought through yet.
A Few Days Later
(Evelyn's POV)
It's been a few days since Johnson left our neighborhood.
Although I'm glad for him that he escaped this good-for-nothing place, now I have to think of a plan to escape from this place too.
Johnson and I are close friends, and we have a settled marriage with each other.
Since Johnson is so dumb, he probably didn't realize it and left me alone with all that's left.
I often remember the specific memories of outrunning Johnson while running to save a kid who was about to be turned into a meal. If I hadn't acted, I would have regretted it for my whole life.
I'm mostly a smarter person compared to others my age, since while they are dreaming about their future staying at fancy houses and fulfilling basic needs, I know that we simply just exist because of free labor for work and staying populated so that our parents could get a few dimes.
"Better act fast."
After dumping trash into the electricity recycler, I walked off to the mines with my parents. The blurry smoke of the factories and the smell of sweat went through as always—disgusting, but I was already used to it.
Sometimes I saw people falling to the ground and being taken to the hospital, and I swear that this is the tenth person who got into the hospital this week. Still, I tried my best to help everyone as much as I could.
An elderly person went past.
"H-hey, have you seen Johnson anywhere? He always followed you, right…?"
"Yes, but fortunately he had gone to the AEGIS government to receive a job there."
"Oh my, that's an honor! Don't you come too?"
"No… I'm not really particular about studying or stuff like that…"
"That's a shame… You two are a great couple…"
As the lady disappeared into the fog, I hurried and ran straight to the mines, since the talk took more time than I thought.
At the mines, I worked especially hard, since that was my only way of survival and also a chance to relax by talking with some friends.
"Dang, so that guy actually left, huh? Leaving you behind?"
Serena said in awe while rubbing my muscles as always.
"I don't know how that strange brown-haired nerd could even get to AEGIS. Because of his hair, we'd been bullied for the whole few years."
"Tom just straight out displaying hate toward Johnson."
"To me, I think our hair is the best, since not only is it nice, but also reflects our soul to be better and greater!"
"Lina shouted out, boasting about her beauty as always."
"So after education is done, what will you all do for the future?"
The conversation stopped, frozen in silence.
Tom spoke out first."To me, I will try to find a way to improve my life better with Serena."
"Aww dear, nice!" Serena awed back.
"About me… I will live a life that my parents choose for me," Lina said calmly, as she had completely thrown her ego out of the window a few minutes ago.
"Sorry."
"It's alright."
"Maybe it's not too bad at all, right?"
"Yeah, if we have each other, we will be fine," I heard from Serena.
Maybe everything is not bad at all.
Maybe I could become careful and wait until Johnson comes and marries me.
Maybe I could live a normal life, just like my parents and friends.
Maybe…
Then the announcement came:
"Two criminals have been executed for rebelling against the Speech of Freedom under AEGIS's rule."
The cold, calculated letter spoke out of the speaker and struck straight into my heart.
Tom and Serena, two people trying to have a better life, were executed because they protested—just the two of them—and were immediately killed afterward.
Sorry, Johnson.
I couldn't wait for you any longer.
This time…
I am going for my adventure, and my survival…