Stories That Don't Take Long to Read

Earth: Ended [Sci-fi]

  She was blissfully happy-singing a song of adventure and legend and a hero- until that elderly couple had come along and she and they began to talk. It began with them complimenting her song and reminiscing about it as old people usually did. She liked talking with them until it turned to the one, large issue that others with ignored or desperately tried to fix.

They talked to her of old times, of when they were young and the planet they all lived on, Earth, was healthy and alive. The girl nearly cried to couple, lamenting how she wished to save the planet, how she wished she could do it on her own, how she knew merely buying a chunk of the still green land wasn't enough. She was desperate in wanting to save her-their- world. The elderly couple looked at her with her sadness mirrored in their eyes and in their frowns.

She was new- that much was evident by the way she held the weapon. She was young- that was not so apparent, for she was in her late teens. Her two partners swiftly weaved through the crowded hallway and she only managed to keep up because of her small frame. Her partners-both female, like herself- were serious as they marched, with her tailing along and asking questions. Why had Heather killed her?

"She was a trouble-maker." Said female replied without remorse. She was in the front of their three-woman group and lead the way. "I had to."

The girl at the back felt that Heather had no guilt for what she'd done. The female in the middle listened but said nothing as the girl at the back pleaded.

"Why did you do that?" She asked, even though she had her answer. "Can we not do that anymore- even if it's your job? We humans have to stick together.. not kill each other."

They came to their destination and the girl nearly lost her partners amidst the crowd. They went off to the side-she assumed they were going to talk with others- so took the open seat up front in the auditorium. The seat to her left was empty and the ones to her right held people, not that they were actual people. The beings only looked human for their sake- whether out of mockery or for their sanity, she did not know. The alien beside her was a female and her human form for today had bright red hair.

The auditorium was loud with chatter and a bell was being rung. On the podium stood one of the top subordinates of the alien race. He was in a human form as well- as with all the aliens who entered the large room- and was getting himself ready for their discussion. What to do with Earth?
The girl vaguely remembered the stories the oldest humans would recall too often. Earth had been their home, but they ruined it. Destroyed it slowly. They hadn't cared until it was too late. The planet was dead as far as they knew, there was no way to revive it. The elderly people's tales painted it in hues of pale brown and dust, death. But they reminisced of when they were children and Earth still had some green- some life in it. Still, it had been dying then. They repeated stories they were told by long-dead elderly, of the Earth when it was alive and green and beautiful. The death that had come upon it was one that was prolonged, had over time, and was why they were gathered there in that room.

The girls weapon was slung across her back as she sat in the red cushioned seat. She was a guard- someone who got rid of trouble makers. A position she hadn't wanted, but the alien who had say over her made her do it. He'd said it would toughen her up. She hated it and all she ever did was mess up.

The aliens had come to them in their final hours, as the old humans told, and offered them salvation for work. It was slavery, they would scowl, they should have never accepted. But they were all desperate and didn't want to die alongside their home, so most of humanity went with them. The aliens seemed nice enough to humans- most changing their forms so the humans would feel more comfortable- but that was it. The aliens swiftly learned what humans needed to function and some called them weak for it. Food, water, and rest. Those were the basics and what some aliens only allowed their humans. Every human was under the care of an alien. Whether there was more than one human was up to the alien. The girl remembered that she'd been born in a nameless place. It was known as the place where unwanted humans stayed until an alien wanted them or they died. She'd been weak, but her alien owner had seen her then and taken pity on her. He adopted her and got her the help and care she needed. He never let her forget that he saved her and that he'd helped save her race. So she was loyal to him, happy to do what he wanted. He repaid her by allowing her to ask her questions to other humans- to learn- and he let her have days off, where she got to do whatever she wanted so long as he said it was okay. He owned many humans, so he got one of them to do her chores. So why did he make her become a guard?

The red head next to her leaned over and said in her ear,"You're not supposed to be there."
She swiftly turned to look at the being.

"Those seats are reserved," she continued.

Oh no... Looking around, she saw her partners sitting on the floor against the wall, staring at her. She was supposed to be with them. She was foolish and had assumed things and it was too late to move! The alien at the podium cleared his throat and called for silence. Another alien- one of the ones who ruled over the human guards- noticed her. He scowled and demanded she get out of the seat, that it wasn't for humans. Her face turned bright red as she could hear others around her- all aliens- scoff in disgust. The red head leaned over to her again and told her not to leave.

She wanted to disappear as the alien disguised as a big, buff human man glared at her and demanded she leave the seat and that he would be talking to her owner. Despite what the red head told her to do, she scurried out of her seat and to her partners sitting on the floor. She tried to ignore the whispers and glares as the alien at the podium called for silence a second time.  

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This is unedited (except for any misspells I noticed..) and was a dream I had.. So, sorry if it doesn't make too much sense..