Abel

by Zack Metcalfe

  ~Jared

   

  Jenna smiled, the events of last night coming back to her. Jared was a little young for her, but the divisions in age became blurry in times like this. He was wonderful company, in many ways. His words just made sense. She didn’t always agree with him, but certainly had to respect him. After spending one evening with him, after seeing how carefree he was, Jenna found herself humbled. Boarding the fleet wouldn't save her, and she accepted that now.

  Jenna checked the time. She had just over an hour to reach the elevator. Getting up, she threw on yesterday’s clothes, still smelling like the bar. She didn’t bother eating anything, and forgot about stimulants altogether. She could feel the pearls still resting in her pocket. Jared had inspired something in her. She saw the fleet in an entirely different light now, a very unflattering light. She didn’t see an Ark, meant to save the precious remnants of humanity. Instead, she saw arrogance, a people trying to avoid the consequences of their actions.

  She was just angry, and now she was inspired to act on that anger, to somehow tarnish the perfect image of humanity before it escaped.

  Running across the empty streets, she entered public transit and was taken to the labs. She found them unlocked, empty and abandoned. She rushed to the storage room and activated the lights. Her eyes landed on the case of storage devices. With heavy breaths, she walked forward and fell to her knees in front of them. With shaking hands she opened the case, seeing the storage devices were safe.

  “You’re coming with me,” she whispered to them, closing it again. She returned to public transit, her heart pounding. She became frantic when she saw the elevator. Everyone had already gone. Exiting the vehicle, she ran to it, case in hand. She came to the elevator and moved to the computer screen off to one side. She alerted the station above, and the face of an elderly woman appeared on the screen.

  “What are you doing?” the woman asked.

  “My name’s Jenna Grisham,” she answered. “I was supposed to be on the elevator leaving at noon.”

  “The elevator left early,” the woman answered, barely paying attention to the screen. She was clearly scanning the name. After a few moments, she looked back to Jenna.

  “Your identity was stolen,” she said. “Highest rates in history.”

  “What do I do?” Jenna insisted, looking desperately to the woman.

  The old woman seemed to think, then came to a conclusion grudgingly. “Listen carefully. The elevator just arrived with equipment and personnel. I’ll have the personnel get off and leave the equipment, then send the elevator back down. You’ll have about a minute to get on once it reaches you, then I’m bringing it back up. You understand?”

  Jenna nodded eagerly, and the screen was deactivated. So Jenna waited. The time passed dreadfully slow. The thought of someone stealing her identity was worrying. How? When?

  Then the ground shook. Jenna dropped to her knees and held the case to her chest, looking around. When the shaking didn't stop for several minutes, she understood. It was an earthquake. It died down eventually, and Jenna started panting with terror. She looked to the case again, having the sudden urge to open it. She did so, making sure the devices were still safe.

  She recognized one of the children as belonging to the husband and wife she'd visited. They told her it was for the best...that their child would not be born. Pulling the device free, she looked it over. The name glistened on the surface, and she thought of the haunting words of the parents. Jenna wondered what they would say, if they knew what she was doing. She believed they would be happy, to have their child survive. This was Jenna’s rebellion, to have these children survive. They would send ripples of imperfection throughout the human gene pool in ways truly unique when they were born. Maybe their imperfection would be enough to change...to save humanity.

  Maybe.

  Jenna would not be there to see. Even when the elevator arrived, she knew she couldn't get on. She had a professional responsibility to tell the parents of these children what had happened. She also refused to play her part in the destruction of Mars.

  Taking a deep and shuddering breath, Jenna placed the child back and closed the case. Entering the elevator, she opened a large crate and tucked the case inside. She knew they would be found, and someone would recognize the storage devices. With a lingering tear, she closed the crate. She then turned to leave, but was stopped. Time was running out, but she knew there was something more she needed to do. The answer occurred to her, and she reached into her pocket, pulling out the pearls. One of the blue spheres had turned to the most sparkling silver.

  “You can’t leave them, can you?” Jenna asked the pearl, already knowing the answer. Smiling, she rushed to another crate, one much smaller. Pulling back the lid, she found clothes. Quickly, she slid the pearls in the pocket of a pair of sweat pants. She closed the crate and left the elevator just as the doors closed. The elevator began its ascent, and Jenna became steadily smaller on the ground. Then she ran away as the ground began to shake violently. In the last few moments, a massive chain of mountains erupted from the earth, throwing sections of the city aside, lava flowing from their peaks.

  Jenna looked up in her final moments, whispering a calm goodbye.