A Long Way From Home

Meghan opened her eyes slightly as beams of sunlight entered the room through the window. As she sat up and stretched, a glimpse of the chase she had with the NAA (National Alien Association) the other day crossed her mind. She did not know why they wanted her mother’s necklace, but she would give her life to keep it safe. Yet, it was nearly impossible to do so, as there was more than one government trying to get their hands on it. There was no place to hide. Meghan could be found in every place that she tried to hide. The world was still in shambles after the United States was nuked and invaded by China and Russia, two years prior. Although Meghan was grateful to have survived the attack, she was still traumatized about losing her family and her old life. The cities were now only soot and ashes. The nuclear blasts had melted everything all the same. The forests and towns were all burned, and everything was destroyed. There were even reports of more than half the population being wiped out of existence. The government only tried to rebuild the capital. Every other city was either destroyed or taken over by alien governments.

Meghan touched the necklace around her neck. It was a beautiful silver heart-shaped locket that belonged to her mother. Although it carried the memory of her late mother, it was also one of the rare reminders of the world before all of this. Meghan did not know why she was a number one target for the federal government and the NAA (National Alien Association). She just knew that the war between the two had taken her family, her house, and her beloved brother. Meghan took the necklace in her hand and kissed it. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of her brother. He had been always there for her, now he was dead like everyone else she had once known. But she had to do what he requested. Her brother told her to take their mothers necklace to his friend who knew what to do with it. Even though she did not know his friend personally or his connection to her mother’s locket, she knew that her brother knew something she did not know. Her biggest challenge was to not get caught, yet Meghan was determined to get to Zack no matter what. She knew that if she got captured, then she would have to give her all to escape from the clutches of these groups.

Ready to make her next move, Meghan got up and left the abandoned house. The small town she once called home was now desolate and grim. However, there were still houses standing that you could tell were so beautifully built. Some had survived the blast while others had completely melted away like ice on a summer day. After cautiously walking around town for half an hour, Meghan found a rummaged supermarket. It’s been days since she ate any food. She broke the lock and went inside. To her surprise, the supermarket was completely untouched. She walked to the hardware area and found a new torch for herself and put it inside her bag. This would be her defense against the NAA. She then found a jar of honey that was not touched, some walnuts, and more things that she could eat. She put them all in her bag and left.

She looked at the screen of the small device that her brother had given her before passing away. It was a locator that had her old home marked on the map as "You Are Here". There were other local landmarks marked as “X”. She had seen many of her brother’s clever inventions, but this one she loved the most. It was completely sealed, except for its back that had a solar panel attached. The last place marked “X” must be Zack’s home. It was still far from her current location and would take her a lot of time to reach it. Even though this all still did not make much sense to her she still knew it had to be for the best.

As she began her journey, she said a quick prayer that the government would not get her before she could find Zack. After over an hour of walking, she was out of the town and entering the woods. She knew better than to take the highway. The woods were much safer. The trees started to get thinner which meant she was getting closer to a once human establishment. She stepped cautiously, hiding behind the trees just in case people or aliens were lurking. She tried to hear any sounds coming from ahead. But there were none. Many animals were extinct for sure due to the radioactive waste. She wondered if the Earth would ever recover and be full of life again, but she doubted it would ever happen. Meghan believed she would only remain alive for a few more days if she got lucky. As she walked out of the woods looking on both sides for cars coming, she realized that checking for cars was kind of pointless. She ran to the other side as fast as she could. Quickly checking her location device, she verified the street and continued along.

Walking towards the place marked “X”, Meghan saw that it was a small house in the middle of the woods. She hoped that Zack was there, especially since she had no other means to find him. She ran towards the house and knocked on the door. Suddenly, a spark of joy was felt in her soul. She had not been happy in so long that she had almost forgotten how it felt. Even though she knew she would be extremely disappointed if Zack was not here, she was still grateful to have around another human being. While waiting for someone to answer the door, she looked at her surroundings. The house was incredibly old and was surrounded by woods from all sides. Without a map, it would almost have been impossible to see the house. This was really the perfect place to lay low, she thought to herself. She knocked on the front door again. No response. Then it hit her, why would he respond to anyone who knocks on the door. She thought about breaking in but did not want to be attacked or shot. Discouraged, she turned away from the door. “Don't think I would not answer anyone who knocks on the door, Meghan”, said a deep male voice. Startled, her eyes grew wide as she looked around but did not see anyone. “Open the door,” the voice said. She then heard the click of the lock and entered the house.

Sitting in front of a computer was her brother’s best friend, Zack. He stood up and walked to her. She remembered him from the visiting her brother when they were younger. He looked nothing like the clean-cut guy he used to be. But Meghan totally understood, nonetheless. He stood right in front of her and brought his hand forward for a handshake. She took his hand, “How have you been able to hide all this time?” she asked. “Do you think you could have found this place if you had not had that device?” he smiled. She shook her head, “But what if someone wandered around and thought to check this house?” she wondered, “Then they would not see a house,” Zack answered, “I have fixed cameras as far as one mile all around this place. When someone comes inside that circle, I turn on the cameo mod. Which is on even now. But when someone enters, I recheck it just in case,” he explained. She walked to the computer and was amazed to see how secure this place was.

“What if someone got their hands on this?” she said, showing him the locator. He grinned, “Jason made that in front of me.” He put it in his hand. “If someone other than you touches it, it automatically shuts down.” He said, pointing at the screen, “Until you command it by your voice.” He gave it back to her and looked at her. She did not really know what to say, “Turn on.” Just as she said it, the screen turned on and went back to the map. Zack asked her to sit at the table so that he could bring something for her to eat. He brought canned tuna and bread. She started eating after putting her mother’s locket down on the table. He stared at the locket for a time and then said, “Is it the same locket?” she nodded. He took the locket in his hand and it clicked. She stopped eating and watched him open the locket. “What is it?” Meghan asked, “This, for us, is the way out of here.” He smiled at her, asked her to eat and got up taking the locket.

After a little while, he came back with a device similar to the map she had. He put the device on the table and picked up a chair which she put right next to hers, so close that they were both touching. Zack sat in the chair wearing the necklace around his neck. “I know this is going to be shocking to you, but I am done with all this mess.” He picked the device, opened the necklace and brought the camera of the device in front of it. Behind the photo in the locket was a QR code. The device scanned it for a minute and then everything suddenly stopped. Meghan felt like she was being squeezed through a small pipe. Even though it did not hurt, she felt herself getting smaller and smaller. Nothing made sense and yet everything felt real, hypnotizing and weird. Within a couple of seconds, before she started to become afraid, it was all over.

She opened her eyes and found herself in the same house in the woods. But this house she was in looked a lot newer. “Welcome home Meghan. This is the great escape. In this dimension all of that war crap did not happen. You will find your family and loved ones better than you remembered them.” Zack explained without giving her the chance to say anything. Shocked, she walked outside and heard birds chirping. Far away in the woods, she saw a deer grazing. There were two bikes in the yard. As she hopped on the bike, she decided to just follow the path, unsure of where it would lead. She just wanted to see the world she had not seen for a while. The air hitting her face felt so good. She felt at peace and like she was finally at home. She remembered the days in which she rode beside her brother Jason. Her eyes filled with tears. She could hear cars now. Far ahead she could see the city, all its tall buildings and the highway that led to it. She stopped at the edge of the cliff and got off the bike. After some time, she heard a bike stop behind her, she did not look back. She knew it was Zack. But it was not Zack’s voice. “Meghan?” said the voice. She looked back. It was him, Jason. He was alive! She ran to him and hugged him and thanked him for everything.