To The Stars Through Hardships

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. June Mason spent years preparing for the Earth Exodus Program. All of her life, she'd pass by the open field that carried the New Ark while traveling to the Academy. A titanic spaceship that supposedly had the capacity to fit the entirety of the United States in it. June didn't believe when she heard it, of course. She still has her doubts. But as she looked up at the massive hull of the ship which almost seemed like it blocked the sky for miles and miles, she wondered if it was possible.

She looked around and behind her, and saw that the lines of people waiting to enter appeared to stretch just as long. Since her mother was one of the executives of the program, June was deemed a VIP and was closer to the front of the line. Yet still, there had to be nine or eleven people ahead of her in her specific queue. It seemed like they have been boarding people for forever now. Even with her VIP status, June wasn't called to board until the third month the door opened to the New Ark.

She took out her ear buds, plugged them in their ears, and took out her phone to turn on some music. One by one, people entered in each queue. About half an hour passed when she came up to the security and registration checkpoint.

June already had all her documents out and handed them to the security officer before he could say anything. He reviewed the paperwork and stamped her authorization for entry.

She walked forward as he called, "Next!"

June almost felt claustrophobic with the sea of people around her on the loading ramp up. She just focused on the music and didn't make eye contact with anyone.

That strategy didn't prove to be successful as when she arrived at the main hall of the ship.

A man and a woman ran to her, panic and distress on their faces. By the rings they bore, she could tell they were husband and wife. "Officer!" The wife said. June took out her ear buds. "Officer! You have to help us. My daughter. We can't find her anywhere!"

They must have somehow saw the badge she kept inside her jacket.

"I'm sorry," said June. "I'm part of the space police and I don't actually have any authority until we're in space. That's what we were told. Try asking one of the security officers."

"We tried, but they're all busy or just won't help. Please!" The wife pleaded.

June looked to the ground for a second and took a breath. Then she looked up and said, "All right, I'll go out and check outside. Maybe she got lost."

"God bless you, Officer. Thank you."

"What's her name?" June asked.

"Charity," said the wife.

They dispersed and ran into the crowds calling, "Charity! Charity!"

As she stated, June went back outside and saw a girl standing beside a security officer. She went over to him and asked the girl, "Are you Charity?"

"Yeah," Charity said shyly.

"Your mother and father are looking for you, we need to get you back to her," said June.

"Hold on, ma'am" said the security officer. He looked to Charity. "Charity, have you ever seen this woman in your life?" Charity shook her head. Then the officer looked back to June. "Per policy, we can only release Charity to you if you are her parent, guardian, or other relative. Are you related to the child in any of these ways?"

"No, but her mother--" said June, before being interrupted.

"Then I cannot release her to you. It's to prevent any chance that something might happen to the child, whether that be something you do by your hands or something happens to her while you take her back to her parents. Then we'd be liable for that loss. Bring her mother with you back here and we will release Charity."

"All right," June said, then rushed back into the ship. She looked around for the girl's mother and father and happened to run into the mother on the way in.

"Did you find her?" the mother asked June.

"Yeah, she's at the security checkpoint."

"Oh, thank heavens she's safe." I'll go get my husband.

The three met again in the main hall and the husband and wife thanked June before getting ready to go get their daughter.

Then, rising above the sounds of joy and cheer of all the passengers, an alarm sounded. Errn. Errn. Errn. The halls turned red like a scene in a horror movie. The engine roared and one could hear the loading ramp closing. The three of them tried to rush back outside, though pandemonium ensued and it was difficulty to get anywhere. By the time they made it to where they had entered, the loading ramp was almost perpendicular to the ground below and the New Ark was already rising well above the ground. She looked off into the distance, several pillars of fire spat out of the ground. Dark clouds covered the sky, which was red as blood. The air smelled of ash and sulfur. She looked down towards the ground and saw that there still had to be several hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people who hadn't boarded all screaming for help.

By looking at them, June could see they were poorer families and some might have even been homeless. Under her breath, she cursed society for abandoning them. The elite, the rich, and the powerful all got to board well before any danger showed itself. Next, came those the government deemed useful. But after that, it didn't matter. Who are they to decide who's important and who's not? June thought. She wanted to scream, but was still in shock with everything unfolding before her eyes.

She looked around to see if she could find Charity or the security officer from before, but it was hard to see. Her eyes were starting to feel a burning sensation. After a few minutes, the ship was high in the clouds and through the cracks of the closing loading ramp, she saw that earlier crowd being pummeled by the rain of blazing boulders. Then, as if it were a frozen computer screen, that image was burned into her mind.

She fell to her knees and began to cry.

As the New Ark ascended into the stars, its passengers looked out the windows to see their old home, Earth, explode.