Kyle West - Extinction

I’d never eaten chocolate before — it wasn’t really native to the Wasteland, but apparently, they grew it in the Empire. Ashton put the cake on my plate, looking almost sad to let it go.

“I haven’t eaten chocolate in almost twenty years,” he said. “This alone is almost enough for me to forgive the old bastard.”

I took the cake and a fork. I partitioned off a small piece, and lifted it to Anna’s mouth. She took a bite that was both eager and delicate at the same time. I didn’t see how she managed that.

After she took her bite, she did the same for me. When the cake entered my mouth, an explosion of rich sweetness radiated from my taste buds. Words could not describe how good it tasted. If it weren’t for all the people there, I probably would have started stuffing my face at that moment.

Now that we had our cake, everyone else started to get theirs. The dancing was suspended for the moment while everyone devoured the sweet dessert.

We ate and danced late into the night. By the time people filtered out of the pavilion, the rain had ceased. It was a strange thing, having a wedding all the way out here. For the first time, I realized that there was nowhere for people to sleep. That was when I realized that people would be sleeping aboard both of the spaceships.

The air was warm, even after the rain. I followed the procession of people into the night.

“What now?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m really tired.”

“You’re not sleeping, yet!” Michael said, stepping outside the pavilion. “There’s still the honeymoon.”

“And where will this honeymoon take place?” Anna asked. “Everyone is sleeping on the spaceships!”

“We have something set up for you guys on the beach,” Michael said, giving a wink. “Come on.”

Michael turned to the crowd, telling them that we were going away for a while. Everyone laughed and cheered; Augustus and Ashton raised their cups in tandem. Alcohol, it seemed, had made them forget their differences for the moment.

Michael led us down the hill and away from the crowd streaming in to the two spaceships for the night. They waved as we walked away from them. We arrived at the ocean, and Michael led us across the sand.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked.

“Almost there,” he said. “Just another minute.”

We rounded the promontory that jutted out into the sea — the rock formation arched over the sand, leading to a beach on the other side. Set up under a stand of palm trees was another pavilion — smaller than the one we had used.

“This is it,” Michael said. “It’s all yours. You have all day tomorrow to enjoy it.”

“All day?” I said. “What will we do?”

Michael chuckled. “You’re about to find out.”

My cheeks burned as he turned and jogged away.

“Not much for subtlety, that one,” Anna said, kicking off her shoes and leaving them on the sand.

“Well…” I said. “Yeah.”

Anna smiled, facing the sea. She still wore her white dress, of course, but the veil had been lost somewhere on the way.

“They didn’t really plan this well,” she said. “Having me wear this beautiful dress on this beach.” She pulled up the train, to show me how the sand had worked its way between the fine fabric and sequins. “See?”

“I see that.”

We both turned to watch the waves, calmer now that the storm was over. The stars had come out in full, painting the sky with crystalline light.

“I’m going to change out of this,” she said. “Let’s sit by the water for a bit.”

She went into the pavilion. I kicked off my shoes and socks — the shoes were practically ruined from walking over the wet grass and sand. I took off my jacket and white dress shirt, following Anna into the pavilion.

The inside of the pavilion was covered thickly with fine carpets. A full-size bed filled with plush pillows and soft, luxurious covers dominated the space, all lit by an overhanging lamp.

“Where’d you find your clothes?” I asked.

“They left our stuff in here,” she said, pointing to a duffel bag filled with her clothes. “Yours is on the other side.”

I dug out a more comfortable pair of pants, and changed, leaving my dress clothes behind.

Anna looked at me before heading back outside. I followed her to the shoreline, to the edge of where the surf stopped and retreated to the vast sea.

We sat there, Anna sitting in front and leaning into me, our legs outstretched. The surf touched our feet, cold and dark.

We’d been sitting in silence for ten minutes, when she spoke.

“What do you think about, looking at those waves?”

I took a moment to think of an answer.

“I’m…just at peace, right now. I’m not really thinking of anything.” I squeezed her arm. “What about you?”

“I don’t know. It’s amazing, though. The sea. Each wave is like a generation. The ones that come after build on the ones that came before. Even as the greatest wave recedes, another rises to take its place.”

We sat there a while longer, watching the moon make its ascent. With it the tides rose, forcing us to get up and move. I took Anna’s hand, making her face me.

We kissed under the stars and high moon, as the waves passed up the shoreline. When we broke, we walked back to the pavilion.

We undressed and lay on the bed together, and looked into each other’s eyes. I held her in embrace. I kissed her again, and we became one.

Even after morning dawned, we continued to sleep. By midmorning, I finally forced myself up. I exited the pavilion to watch waves crash on the shoreline.

After ten minutes, Anna came out to join me, wearing a white tee shirt and shorts. Her hair was strewn by the strong wind.

“Good morning, husband,” she said.

“Good morning, wife.”

“I had to get that out of the way.” She paused. “I’m starving. Did they leave us out here without nothing?”

We went back to the pavilion to find an ice chest set against the leeward side. We must have missed it last night, in the darkness. I opened it, finding a jug of wine, next to some of the leftovers from last night’s meal.

“Guess that answers that,” I said.

We ate and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon together. Anna and I talked, about anything we could think of. From time to time, reality would cross my mind, like a dark cloud — what I had to do, or how this couldn’t last. Anna seemed to know when this happened, because she’d go quiet.

It was hard not to find myself thinking her way. Maybe she was right. Maybe there was a way for me to survive. I only had to do my job, and in the end, I might find a way to do it without dying.

I didn’t tell Anna what I was thinking. What was important was enjoying our one day together.

Dusk came at last. We lay on the beach, watching the stars appear one by one — just a few, and then hundreds.

“I wish I knew what they were called,” I said.

“There’s still time to learn.”

“Do you know them?”

“No. When you grow up without the stars, you don’t really think about them.”

The remains of the sunset were just a purple glow on the west. The stars were now full, bright, and spectacular. I felt like I could watch them for hours.

Anna pointed. “Look.”

It was a bright star, moving across the sky at a steady pace.

“Skyhome,” Anna said. “It’s so bright!”

“Wish we had a telescope,” I said. “It’d be great to see it up close.”

We watched Skyhome for another minute. I turned my attention to other stars.

“It’s changing,” Anna said. “Look!”