“Tanner, push the ignition!” Emily yelled. Tanner sat at the control panel, his head drooping. “It just struck me. This is really the end. All is lost.” “Tanner, please! We have no time for this. Push the button! I need you to do this for me.” Emily pleaded. At the deafening noise of the rocket iginition, they were both thrown back in their seats. The tiny spaceship shot up into the sky, leaving a long trail of white cloud behind it. The sky filled with vapor trails as thousands of ships of all sizes escaped Mother Earth’s loving embrace. The little craft hurtled on, going faster and faster at a dizzying rate into the inky black void. Tanner and Emily were strapped tightly in their flight seats, unable to move, trapped with their own thoughts. Emily was very nauseous, but also felt relief and hope. They would survive after all. Tanner could feel nothing but an enormous loss. He had no wish to live.

Suddenly everything turned white for one instant as the Earth blew apart.