The Last Day on Earth

“Hah. Who am I going to tell? And what can they do now?”

“True. We never got much trouble out on the farm, surprisingly,” Lucy said.

“You’re lucky. I get someone here nearly every day. Hence the locked door.”

“Guess so. I suppose we should be thanking the Council for not maintaining our road after all. It looks like nothing’s down there. Used to drive Mum nuts, she’d wash the car but as soon as she’d actually drive anywhere it would be filthy again.”

“Is that why you never washed your car?” Tim laughed.

“You wouldn’t have known if I did. But yeah, I learnt quite early on that car washing was a futile endeavour,” Lucy said defiantly.

“But you moved to Melbourne six years ago.”

“Old habits die hard.”

Lucy threw the pebble she’d been fiddling with into the water, startling a pair of ducks who had been frolicking in the water.

“Seriously, you can come back with me,” she said, looking at Tim sideways.

Tim bit his lip and looked out over the creek and trees.

“Thanks… but no thanks.”

“But -”

“No, I’m serious. I’ve actually thought about it. I want to be alone. I have a joint I’ve been saving, and a bottle of scotch that belonged to my Dad that Beth had been saving for who knows what, and I’m going to drink it and get high and that’s how I want to go.”

“But -”

“Save it, Lucy. Seriously.”

“Okay.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“If you change your mind, you know where to come.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

After a while they ran out of conversation, even though Lucy kept trying to think of something else to say to prolong the moment before she’d have to say goodbye to her oldest friend. Tim called Napoleon to him, and they trekked back up to his house. He offered her the backpack but she told him to keep it.

He walked her out to the tree where Lightning was grazing.

“Good luck,” Tim said as he hugged her tight.

“You too,” she whispered.

“I’ll come bug you tomorrow if I can.”

“Good.”

Lucy gave him a quick kiss, and then mounted up on Lightning. She looked down at her friend.

“I love you, Tim.”

“You too, kiddo.” He smiled back up at her, and then slapped Lightning on the rump.

Lucy caught one last look behind her before Tim went back into the dark house.

CHAPTER FOUR

Two months ago…

Lucy didn’t go into work the next day. She woke up feeling groggy and hungover; Jess was snoring softly next to her fully clothed and drooling all over her favourite pillow. She didn’t remember going to bed. Staring up through the skylight at the bright blue sky, she wondered if yesterday had really happened, or if it had just been a disturbingly vivid dream. Her best friend’s presence lent weight to the possibility that yesterday was real.

She held her arm up and looked at her watch. 10:00am. She should have been at work two hours ago. She rubbed her aching head and licked her dry lips.

She rolled out of bed and gulped down the glass of water that was sitting on the desk. A faint buzzing caught her attention. It took her longer than usual to realise it was her phone. She rummaged through her handbag, but not quickly enough to answer the call. She looked at the screen in disbelief. 143 missed calls. Mostly from her mother, a handful each from Steve, Mitch, her friend Katie and two from her cousin Rosie.

After quick glance in Jess’ sleeping direction, Lucy took her phone downstairs. Mitch was sleeping on the couch, so she went into the kitchen and called her mother. The first call didn’t connect, but the second try went through.

“Lucy! Finally. I tried to call you,” Liz yelled. Lucy held the phone slightly away from her ear.

“Yeah 112 times… sorry Mum, my phone was in my bag. I’m okay.”

“You’ve heard?”

“If you mean the asteroid, then yes.”

“I want you to come home.”

“Yeah, I’m planning to, Mum. Are you okay?”

“I haven’t slept a wink all night. I keep pinching myself.”

“Not a dream?”

“Doesn’t seem to be.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to fix it?”

“Fix it?”

“Divert it or whatever. You know what I mean.”

“I don’t know, love, but I think we should prepare for the worst. Just in case.”

“Have you talked to Claire?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, she called a few hours ago. Tom’s been in Vancouver on a business trip, she’s waiting for him to come home, then they’ll figure out what to do.”

“Oh. How did Dad take the news?”

“He didn’t seem all that surprised actually. He’s doing what he does every day, out on the farm, like nothing’s changed.” Lucy couldn’t decide if her mother sounded more concerned or annoyed.

“You know Dad, he needs to mull things over for a while.”

Liz just sighed. “Can you come home straight away?”

Lucy thought for a moment. “Tomorrow, Mum. There are a few things I have to do first.”

“Lucy, I really think you should come home as soon as possible. I’m worried that people are going to panic and riot, and it won’t be safe for you.”

“Okay. Maybe tonight. I’ll let you know.”

“Alright, keep in touch, sweetheart.”

“I will. Love you, Mum.”

“I love you too. Be careful.”