The Last Day on Earth Page 2

  “But what about… I need to cook, I have so much stuff to do, I-”

  “Mum, shush. Come with me. Don’t waste your last day in the kitchen crying over bloody onions.”

  Liz relented.

  “Let me change.”

  Lucy waited outside with the horses. Lightning kept head-butting her, looking for more apples or treats in her pockets. Kunama stared stonily at the house, ears flickering, until Liz came out. She neighed in what Lucy assumed was pleasure and trotted over to Liz.

  “Hello, beautiful girl,” Liz murmured into Kunama’s mane, as she hugged the horse. “I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you.”

  Mother and daughter mounted up.

  “We’d better tell your father where we’re going.” Liz turned Kunama’s head towards the patch of trees that hid the bomb shelter. Lucy hadn’t been out there for years, not since she was a kid. She remembered playing games out there with her sister and cousins, and one year when the bushfires had been really bad and gotten worryingly close, Bill had had them all hide down there until it was safe to come out again.

  “Bill, are you there?” Liz called out. Lucy exchanged a glance with her mother as they heard a thud and a muffled curse. A few moments later, Lucy’s father’s shaggy head appeared in the entrance to the shelter.

  “Going for a ride?” He asked, eyeing the horses. Liz nodded.

  “Lucy’s going to visit Tim for a little while and I’m just going up to make sure she gets there okay. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Good. Stay safe. I should be done in here by the time you get back, then I can help you with the feast.”

  Liz smiled at him and Lucy waved over her shoulder as they turned the horses around and headed down the track. Lucy urged Lightning into a canter, and then all of a sudden Liz and Kunama leapt into a gallop. Not to be outdone, Lightning sprang forward. It was kind of funny how competitive the horses could be, Lightning in particular. Lucy didn’t think Kunama actually cared, but Lightning always needed to win, even if it nearly killed him. Kunama was bigger, her stride was longer, but Lightning nearly always won. Lucy would barely be able to hear Kunama breathing, while poor old Lightning would sound like he needed an asthma pump.

  Lightning and Lucy soon pulled even with Liz and Kunama, and then passed them. Lucy grinned at her mother whose hair was flying free and who actually looked happy for the first time since they’d found out.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Two months ago…

  There had been rumours floating around for months, but with no confirmation from the space agencies or governments, most people had ignored them, assuming it was just another asteroid like Apophis, or DA14 if they thought about it at all. It might come close, but that was it. That didn’t stop a lot of amateur astronomers from noticing the asteroid seemed to be quite large and heading on a collision path with Earth, and it didn’t stop the conspiracy theorists from picking up on the news. Of course, a lot of people just put it down to the usual crazy Doomsday nuts and didn’t pay any attention. Lucy was one of those people. She hadn’t realised at the time that her father wasn’t.

  She was sitting at her desk, sipping at her freshly brewed tea, waiting for the beep in her ear to let her know a call was about to drop in and day-dreaming about the holiday to Spain she’d booked for September. She was wondering if Steve, her new boyfriend, would call to see her that night, when her phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat, but when she looked at the caller ID it was her best friend, Jessica. Not Steve. She glanced up at her boss, but he wasn’t looking in her direction.

  “Hey, Jess. What’s up?”

  “Are you watching this?” Her voice sounded about three octaves higher than usual.

  “Watching what?”

  “The asteroid.”

  “The what?”

  “Oh God. Shit. Lucy, turn on the TV. Right now.”

  “I can’t, I’m at work. What’s going on? Jess?”

  Lucy could hear her friend starting to hyperventilate.

  “Deep breaths, Jess. What asteroid? What are you talking about?”

  There was silence on the phone as Jess took a moment to compose herself.

  “You know the asteroid that those crazy people keep talking about?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Well apparently they’re not so crazy after all. Some bloke at NASA told some journalists yesterday and the President of the United States just confirmed it. He said there’s nothing that they can do.”

  Lucy just blinked. Nothing? Rubbish. Of course there was something they could do.

  “Ha ha, sorry to tell you, Jess, April Fools is four months away.”

  Lucy heard a deep sigh on the other end of the phone.

  “I’m not kidding, Lucy.”

  Lucy hung up. After a moment she logged onto Facebook. Her news feed had gone mad. She logged onto a national newspapers website.

  END OF THE WORLD over a picture of a massive asteroid colliding with the Earth, screamed up at her. Holy shit, she thought.

  Lucy clicked on the main article.

  In breaking news, the President of the United States of America has confirmed that the asteroid Cecilia, which is larger than the asteroid that is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs, will most likely collide with Earth in a matter of weeks. After several high-level denials over the past six months, the government was forced to admit to the oncoming disaster after NASA astronomers Reg Thompson and Constance Walker confirmed in a press conference yesterday afternoon, that Cecilia is on a collision path with our planet and all efforts to divert the asteroid have so far failed.

  “I urge all Americans, and people around the globe, to remain calm. While it is true that all attempts so far have failed, we do have the very top people looking into the best methods of dealing with this problem, and they will continue to do so until the last possible minute. We must have faith. I repeat, please remain calm,” the President said from Washington. Later in the press conference the President confirmed that all known methods of diverting the asteroid had been attempted and were unsuccessful. When asked what methods remained, the President became evasive.

  “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Above all, remain calm,” was the message from Downing St.

  The Australian Prime Minister has yet to comment. The Leader of the Opposition released the following statement:

  “This is catastrophic. This is what happens when funding is cut from research and development, and we have a Prime Minister who doesn’t believe in Science. This should have been spotted months or even years ago, but thanks to all the funding cuts that have happened both here and overseas under the current administrations, we’re stuck in this predicament. I urge the Prime Minister to throw everything he’s got into stopping this thing. It’s not a joke, and not something that he can bury his head in the sand about, like he’s done with so many other issues.”

  More coming soon…

  Lucy sat there in shock. Jess hadn’t been joking.

  She called her back.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. You believe me now, right?”

  “Yes,” Lucy whispered.

  “Can I come over?” Jess asked.

  Lucy looked around the office. It was mostly empty. Most of her team was at lunch. She caught her boss' eye. He frowned at her.

  “Yeah sure. I’ll be home in about half an hour.”

  She hung up, logged off her computer, and grabbed her handbag.

  “Have you heard?” she asked her boss as she approached his desk.

  “Heard what?”

  “Check the news sites. I’ve got to go. I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

  She kept walking, ignoring his calls for her to come back.

  Lucy left the office building in a daze. The streets were already busy. Lucy thought everyone looked slightly crazed, and nearly everybody was talking or crying into their phones, or at least trying to.

  “It’s like goddamn fucking New Years,” she heard one man mutter as she
walked past him.

  She made it to Flinders Street Station. It was packed, even more so than usual. She studied the board, looking for her train and platform. The platform was dangerously packed. Just as she’d been about to give up and fight her way out of the station and begin the long walk home, a train rolled into the platform. She managed to squeeze onto the train, along with the hundreds of other people. The normally quiet commuter train was alive with the clamour of voices. Everyone was talking about the asteroid.

  Lucy eavesdropped on a middle-aged man and woman next to her.

  “I just can’t believe it. Surely they’ll be able to figure something out?” the woman said.

  “I don’t know, Cathy. I hope my son’s okay. He’s in London. I tried to call him, but it’s the middle of the night over there.”

  “Oh, Bob, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  “Can’t they just blow the damn thing up?”

  “Wouldn’t they have tried it already? Why can’t they just be honest with us! Who knows what’s been going on! I feel so helpless.”

  “If this thing’s for real, and not some elaborate sick joke…I really hope this is some War of the Worlds type stunt…”

  “War of the what?” Lucy mentally thanked Cathy for asking, because she didn’t think he’d been talking about the Tom Cruise film.

  “You know, that H.G. Wells radio show back in the 1930’s that had everyone believing a Martian invasion was actually happening.”

  “I can’t see the American President being involved in something like that, Bob.”

  Lucy privately agreed.

  She was jolted back to reality when the mechanical announcers voice came over the loudspeaker announcing that Ripponlea was the next stop.

  “Excuse me, excuse me,” she muttered as she tried to squeeze back through the crush of people before the doors shut again.

  Lucy found herself glancing upwards at the sky every few steps as she walked from the train station to the flat she shared with her friend Mitch. She wondered if and when she’d be able to see the asteroid. There was no sign of it yet, her near-constant scanning of the clear blue sky confirmed. It looked deceptively peaceful.

  The tree-lined streets of Elwood were strangely quiet after the chaos of the city. The few other pedestrians that she passed seemed oblivious to their surroundings. Through windows, Lucy glimpsed families crowded around televisions and computers, and one man who looked like he was packing his entire life into his SUV. He glared warily at Lucy as she walked past. She felt slightly indignant. Did he think she was going to steal his stuff? In hindsight, Lucy acknowledged that it was a legitimate fear for him to have had.

  The flat was empty and silent when she shut the door behind her. She was vaguely disappointed. Mitch’s comforting presence would have been appreciated. Lucy by-passed the empty living area and slowly climbed the stairs to her large loft bedroom, her dangling handbag thumping as it hit each step.

  The room was exactly how she’d left it that morning. Lucy surveyed it for a moment, then stepped over the threshold. Bed unmade, yesterday’s clothes strewn all over the floor, a pile of books next to the bed that she’d been meaning to read, a wilting aspidistra plant under the skylight, bills that needed paying on the desk.

  She straightened the bedspread, put the clothes in her laundry basket and watered the poor neglected aspidistra. Her mother had given it to her when she was 19 and had first moved out of home. Lucy was quite proud of herself that she’d managed to keep the plant alive for six years. She had not inherited her mother’s green thumb.

  She sat down at her desk and opened up her laptop. There was an email from her sister waiting for her.

  Lucy - go home to Mum and Dad’s. Don’t stay in the city. I’m worried that things are going to get ugly soon. Keep in touch and be careful.

  Love Claire xox

  Lucy frowned. Her mother hadn’t called her yet. That was strange. She pulled her phone out of her handbag and called her parents home. There was no answer. She put the phone back in her bag.

  She opened the news website again. There were a bunch of articles that hadn’t been there when she’d last looked. She clicked on one.

  Cecilia, an asteroid first discovered a year ago by South African amateur astronomer Frank Langdale who named it after his daughter, is approximately 14.5km (9 miles) wide. In comparison, the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was thought to be 10km wide.

  Lucy stopped reading and stared at the screen in shock - worse than the dinosaurs? Shit!

  She jumped at the knock on the door. She sprang up and raced down the stairs, pausing to look through the peephole, then threw open the door. Jess was standing there, hair on end, grocery bags in hand.

  “Hey, come in.”

  Jess followed her into the kitchen where she dumped the bags onto the table. She pulled out two bottles of wine, a packet of Tim Tams, a bag of grapes and three blocks of chocolate.

  Lucy reached up into the cupboard and pulled down two wine glasses.

  “Pour. I can’t do food right now.”

  Lucy leaned on the bench and watched as Jess opened the bottle of red, and poured two large glasses. A couple of drops spilled as her hand shook.

  “Mitch home?”

  “Nope.” Lucy shook her head. “Haven’t heard from him.”

  Jess handed her a glass, and they both took large gulps.

  “Crazy, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  Lucy put the wine down, rubbed her face and let out a huge breath. She looked at her friend. Jess’ short hair was standing on end and Lucy soon realised why. She kept running her hands through it, something Jess usually only reserved for exams or before big dates or job interviews. Or finding out that there was a massive asteroid heading towards your planet.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know, Jess.”

  “This is crazy. Where’s Bruce Willis when you need him?”

  Lucy spluttered on the sip of wine she’d just taken.

  “Bruce Willis?”

  “Yeah, you know, that movie where there’s an asteroid coming to wipe out America and Bruce Willis and Jennifer Garner’s husband save the day and Arwen cries a lot.”

  “Right… you mean Liv Tyler?”

  Jess nodded. Celebrity names had never been her strong point.

  “Don’t think I saw that one. How do they save the day?”

  “They blow it up. Or something. I can’t remember exactly, I saw it when I was a kid.”

  “Could they do that? Blow it up I mean,” Lucy asked.

  “No, I don’t think so. I don’t know. I remember reading a while ago that the force needed to actually blow up an asteroid that size is like a bazillion times bigger than any of the bombs they’ve ever made. And anyway, even if they did blow it up it would just mean hundreds of smaller big chunks of rock hitting us, and not all of them would burn up in the atmosphere. They’d still do a hell of a lot of damage.”

  “What about… I dunno… rockets or something to steer it off course?”

  “No idea, Luce. How long do you think they’ve known?”

  “Who? The government?” Lucy asked. Jess nodded.

  Lucy thought for a moment before answering. She took her wine and one of the blocks of chocolate over to the couch and sank down. Jess trailed after her.

  “Probably awhile,” she sighed. “The only reason we know right now is because those two NASA people spilled the beans.”

  “True. Do you think they’ve got shelters or anything?"

  “Probably,” Lucy shrugged. “Not like it’s going to help us though. If it’s as big as they say it is…”

  “Yeah - bigger than the dinosaurs. That’s not exactly reassuring. But things survived back then right? I mean, we’re here today as living proof.”

  “Yeah. But, it was mainly little scavenger type creatures. The original mammals were tiny. Obviously a few crocs survived. And sea creatures.”


  “I reckon some people will survive. Some of those post-apocalyptic novels will be coming true,” Jess said.

  “Those frogs that bury themselves in the desert and wait for the next rains would survive I bet. It would be interesting to see what rises from the ashes…see what the next stage of evolution looks like…”

  “Yeah, but you won’t be around to see it.”

  “Bugger,” said Lucy.

  They both laughed and drank more wine.

  “What are you going to do?” Jess asked.

  “What do you mean? Doesn’t seem like much we can do other than hope they pull off some miracle.”

  “No, I mean, between now and then.”

  “Oh…” She hadn’t really thought about it yet. “Guess I won’t be going to Spain after all. Damn it! I’ve wanted to go to Spain since I was a kid.”

  “There’re lots of places I want to go… but I was thinking more practically. You’re not going to stay here are you?”

  “No. Claire emailed me just before, she told me to go to the farm.”

  “Your sister’s got the right idea. I wonder how long things can keep going for? I mean, I’m not going to work tomorrow, are you?”

  “Hell no.”

  “See, our jobs don’t matter so much. I mean who’s going to miss an accountant or an insurance call centre worker? But I’m going to miss being able to go to the supermarket, or being able to call the police or fire brigade or go to the hospital, or catch the train. Really, if I don’t want to spend my last weeks on earth working, why should I expect a policeman or bus driver or checkout chick to?” said Jess.

  “I…I hadn’t actually thought about that. Shit. We gotta get outta here.”

  Jess nodded grimly.

  “The sooner the better.”

  “Where will you go? Your dad lives in Frankston.”