The New Land

The year is 2067. The world as we know it is falling to pieces. Wars have torn the land apart. No longer do trees grow in front of houses. Nor does grass grow in the fields. The forests and woods are bare. The oceans have shrunken down into mere creeks. Animals are going extinct faster than the rain falls.

It would be impossible to try and live here now. Food would be gone in less than a year. A group of rocket scientists put together a large bus to travel through space for longer than any rocket has ever gone: To a new planet that had never been discovered before ten years earlier.

Half of this planet was restored. A large bubble was placed on the surface and filled with enough oxygen to last eight million humans two hundred years. Seven million cottages were built on the surface, each two stories tall and each with two bedrooms, one kitchen, and one extra room. One cottage was three stories tall instead of two; this was the president’s house. In only a few weeks’ time these houses would be filled with millions of people.

There had been a draw for the families that could go to the New Land. Guidelines had been posted on the doors of the eight million people that had been accepted. But at the moment, all of these people were waiting for the president to give his speech.

“I am hereby resigning the position as president of the United States Of America.” The president spoke loudly through the microphone. His voice was very clear and distinct even through the crowd that was filled with millions of people who were also talking loudly. In the back a man stood up on top of a car and screamed a question that no one understood, but everyone stared back at him anyways.

“Everyone, please quiet down.” The president called out to the crowd of people. The noise quickly faltered and soon only a few noises were heard through the group.

“What was your question sir?” The president asked. The man shouted it again and this time it was heard over the entire crowd.

“Why are you resigning?” He shouted. It was silent, as if he had whispered it, but everyone heard. The president stood still for a moment; he hadn’t wanted to tell anyways.

“I shall be moving to the New Land to become president there. For I believe the United States will soon fall apart.” He paused and cleared his throat. “They have elected me president there already and I will be moving tomorrow.”

The crowd erupted with sound yet again and one woman was singled out to the front. The crowd lifted her up onto the stage right next to the president himself and she stood shyly staring at him.

“Mr. President, I have a question.” The president stared down at her solemnly. Her brown wavy hair blew gently in the wind and she quickly brushed it out of her dark green eyes. Her tiny body looked as fragile as a porcelain doll as she stood there, silently, awaiting the president’s approval. He nodded for her to go on.

“When will we be allowed to travel to the New Land?” She moved her hand in a circle to show that she meant everyone in the crowd. The president smiled, she was brave for asking and he understood, he nodded again and began to speak.

“In one weeks time all who would like to travel to the New Land, will take the New Age Bus.” He spoke clearly again into the microphone and smiled at the crowd and then back at the tiny girl.

“What does taking the New Age Bus entail?” The small girl asked. Her hands were fidgety and her entire body seemed to shake.

“You will pay your air fee first, after which you will all leave on the New Age Bus two hundred at a time. The trip will take four days to finish. When you get to the New Land you will be given a cottage to live in along with one month’s supply of food and supplies.” The president looked down at the girl with raised eyebrows; questioning whether or not that was all she needed to know. She shook her head in understanding and tried to get down.

“What is your name, miss?” The president asked.

“Anna May.” She said in a clear voice.

“Well, Anna May, you are very brave to come up here and ask these questions in front of all these people. Not many people would do that. I congratulate you. You will be in the first group of people to travel to the New Land.” He smiled warmly and helped Anna May down off of the stage.

On the ground she smiled over at two people who were waving anxiously back at her. The older one had dark black hair and sky blue eyes. The youngest one looked no more than two years old. He had the same black hair as the older one and the same green eyes as Anna May. She slowly walked over to them and picked the young one up.

“Great job, honey!” The older one said to her.

“Thank you, Matthew.” She said quietly to him. The small boy pulled at her hair and smiled widely.

“Momma!” He shouted into her ear and she kissed his forehead.

“Charlie!” She shouted back happily. He stuck his chubby hands on her face and smiled.

“Let’s go home. The president is leaving too.” Matthew whispered into Anna May’s ear and she nodded back. They walked off together towards their home for a week of getting rid of all of their things and packing the few things that they could keep.

When they reached their house they looked up at its small status. It was covered now in graffiti and had toilet paper from last year covering the stones in the front yard. Since it hardly ever rained, the mess probably wouldn’t be cleaned up for years. Although it did sort of help the kids with chalk pictures, they never got ruined.

Anna May sent Charlie down and he ran up to the house quickly and threw open the door. Of course the lock never stuck anymore so he easily snuck inside the house and went to the living room. Anna May and Matthew followed him up and stepped in the house.

The view was horrid; the stairs were falling apart, the windows were broken, half the floorboards were torn to pieces, a small couch was placed in a room to the right that was torn up, in front of it was a television with a large whole in the center and top, the light bulbs were all broken, mold covered every square inch of the ceiling, and to top it off the paint and wallpaper was all chipping and falling off.

The week went slowly and Anna May and her family. They packed up the few things that Charlie would need and left the day before the trip. Cars had been banned almost a decade ago because gas had run out and there was no corn for ethanol.

“Momma, I want up!” Charlie screamed up at Anna May. She leaned down and picked him up slowly and tiredly. She was worn out already from the two miles of walking they had already done and still had almost four left. Anna May knew it was going to take all day and night to make it to the New Age Bus in time. At least they only had one bag to carry, although Charlie weighed way more than the bag.

They finally made it there and their eyes looked over the large rocket. It looked more like a UFO than anything. It was a large circle with windows surrounding the entire thing. A small hole at one end was where everyone was shoving their luggage. Through the windows you could see the two hundred seats all set in circles that got smaller and smaller towards the center. Tables were pulled from the ceiling on small metal bars and cup holds where on each side of the chair. Television sets were placed at every angle possible and headphones came out of the back of every chair.

The two hundred people were all standing in a line to get aboard the New Age Bus. Anna May and her family were first in line. A tall man with blonde hair and dark sunglasses stood before them with perfect posture and a long black suit.

“Matthew Johansen, Anna May, and Charlie, please follow me.” He spoke loudly as if into a microphone and motioned them to follow him aboard. Anna May grabbed Charlie’s hand and they walked onto the ship with Matthew following behind.

They were seated at the very center row and told that it was the best seat in the ship. It didn’t bounce around, it was always the right temperature, and it always had the right amount of oxygen.

Soon the ship was full of the two hundred people. Babies were crying, children were screaming, parents wanted to go home, everyone was going crazy: home was leaving forever and everyone wanted it to stay.

Over the four day trip the noise seemed to split in half. People would stop screaming and stare out the window at the planets and stars and moons and suns as they flew by at almost the speed of light. The room was bright at all hours and the on the walk to the bathroom alone most people fell down five or six times.

Finally they landed on a small red planet. There was a large tube that led from the actual planet into the air filled container. Anna May shivered, once entering, there would be no way to escape this new planet. Earth was gone forever. Trees, flowers, grass, oceans, and forests, she would never see them again. Matthew felt her shiver from beside her and quickly wrapped his arms around her small body and Charlie’s both to shield them from whatever was to come. Everyone knew this wasn’t going to be an easy transition.

A large tube was withdrawn from the center of the ship and the side that Anna May was staring at began to slowly transform. The metal plates moved into a circular form the same size as the tube and connected into a large opening. The tube then connected to the large bubble that was their new land. The floor boards of the ship began to move and pull them forward and down the slope at a slow speed to the bottom where the New Land awaited.

Their luggage was waiting for them as they stepped onto the land and they fought to get the right bags. Everything looked so new and so old at the same time; no one knew what to think.

“People, please quiet down!” The president shouted from a small podium at the end of the tube and the beginning of the bubble. The crowd quickly fell silent; it seemed that no one was even breathing now.

“I will now quickly explain what will happen to you today and then give away the cabins in Village Number One. Village Number One consists of only you two hundred people, so please get acquainted while I look something up.”

The president stepped down but the crowd stayed silent. No one knew anyone, how were they supposed to start a conversation? Families were afraid; would this mean they would never see their friends or distant relatives again? Would they be able to keep contact? The president stepped back up onto the podium.

“I will now explain what you are going to do today. It will be a very long and tiring day, but soon you will be settled in to your new home.” He paused and cleared his throat. “First you will receive your cottage and key. You will go and drop off your luggage there before returning here. When you return here you will receive your supplies. Supplies include: Water to drink, Toothbrushes and bathroom supplies, milk, enough food for one month, four blankets and four pillows, kitchen utensils, a telephone number, a table and four chairs, two beds, one crib if you have children under the age of three, a stove, and a refrigerator. It may take a few loads for you to get this all home, but no one will be able to steal any of your supplies. We are heavily guarded.

“Now we move on to handing away the cottages. Family number one is Matthew Johansen’s family which include Anna May and Charlie. Please come up and receive your key.” Anna May walked forward and took the key from the presidents hand, knowing that this action made the whole dream real. She would never be home.

Author's Note: This is a story I am trying to write for welltoldstories.com please tell me what you think. There will be an extended  version up soon. Thanks for reading.