May 31, 2081

Mrs. Abimbola wouldn't stop crying even after the door of the hovership had closed. She kept clawing at the door, trying to get us to go back and get Tobi. It took a while for her to finally settle down. I put my arms around her and hugged her as she cried, just like she had held me after my parents died.

I felt a few tears roll down my cheeks. Despite out differences, I understood Tobi. I understood his refusal to follow us. He was infected, there was obviously no hope for him. He was going to die. Even though I knew Mrs. Abimbola also understood his decision, I didn't think she cared about that. All she cared about was that her son was gone.

It was supposed to be a joyful day for us but we were all quiet, our minds on those who had stayed behind to help us escape. Some men who were husbands or sons of the women in the ship were also left behind, and the women were wailing uncontrollably. There was nothing to say to them, nothing that could possible make what they were going through better.

Angela Cassey looked at them, a sad look in her eyes. I could tell it was genuine and I was sure this was not the first time she had to see something like this. The other people she had picked had probably cried about leaving people behind. Angela had to move to another part of the hovership when the women turned to her and started begging her to turn back.

I didn't have much time to admire the interior of the hovership. I was too distracted by my thoughts and the women that were crying, but the little I saw was impressive. It seemed almost as big as an airplane and moved faster. The seats arranged in two rows was currently being occupied by the people from the village. The officials in blue stood around, holding on to things hanging from the ceiling while some of them had disappeared behind a wall that separated our part of the ship from another.

It had been years since I entered a hovership, the last time was when my parents were still alive. And as much as I wanted to explore the ship like I had done that time, I knew that was not a priority. My priority was Mrs. Abimbola.

About five hours later, the hover ship shook as we touched ground and the door opened. I turned to Angela Cassey. She had come to our part of the ship as soon as the hovership stopped.

"We are at my headquarters where we would be entering the spaceship going to our new planet," she said, answering my unasked question.

The ladder dropped down and men and women dressed in blue uniform rushed in. They led us quickly out of the ship and helped those who had things to carry. I envied them, they were able to take things they wanted. With all the rush happening when Angela came, I wasn't able to take anything from home. I tried not to let my mind dwell on the things I left behind, the only things I had from my parents. It was heartbreaking enough knowing that I had left them.

I stepped out of the hovership into a big field where a spaceship was standing a few feet away. My eyes widened as I took it all in. It was huge! That was all I could say. I couldn't see most of it because of the ink covering the body but the size alone was impressive. I couldn't wait to get inside.

We were led to the spaceship and I could see the others were amazed too as we walked towards it. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Angela Cassey came to walk beside me and we were quiet for a while. I tried to calm myself down. My heart was beating fast and I had to rub my palm on my cloth to get rid of the sweat.  For months I had tried to get in contact with her and now I couldn't believe I had finally done it and here I was, walking beside a woman I admired.

"Why is there only one spaceship?" I asked as we got closer. "Would it fit all of us?" It looked pretty big though.

She chuckled. "There are four others. They have all gone ahead. This is the last, they were waiting for us to return."

My eyes widened. Five spaceship taking those who would be the only surviving members of mankind. Over a trillion people on the face of the earth and only a quarter, probably, were going to be saved. I felt my chest tighten.

"I wish I could save more," Angela said as if she could read what was on my mind.

"You tried your best," I said, placing a hand on hers.

She looked at me and smiled, a kind smile that reached her eyes.

A man wearing blue walked up to her and I heard him whisper, "Should we test them to see if they are infected?"

Angela waved her hand. "We don't have enough time for that."

"But..." he started to say but she raised her hand, cutting him short.

"Fine but we need to be fast, we don't have much time."

He nodded and walked away. I wanted to ask what he meant but my attention was drawn away by Wunmi who came to stand beside me.

"I can't believe it. It looks so unreal."

"I know," I said, grinning.

A man cleared his throat and we all turned to look at him. "Everyone, please form four lines. Two for the children, one for men and one for women. We need to test you to see if you are infected."

My heart jumped. Beside me, I felt Wunmi squeeze my arm.

Angela turned to look at me, a sad look on her face.  "It's a precaution," she said before walking towards a few people standing around a table.

I understood what she was saying. We were trying to escape the ink infestation on earth so it was only normal that we test for those who were infected.

The lines were formed quickly with the help of the people in blue uniform. Wunmi and I were placed on one of the children's lines and she was complaining about it. "We are not children, we are teenagers," she said.

I chuckled, despite myself but soon, I was drawn back to the thought on my mind. We had been rescued and we were excited, but now, there was a possibility that that excitement might be trampled. If anyone was infected, I knew they might be left behind.

I thought of all those who had lost their loved ones, who had been left back at the village. The children without their parents, the mothers without their sons and daughters, the men without their families... If any of them were infected, they would be left behind, miles away from their family members.

I looked around at the people standing around me. They looked healthy but I knew from experience that they might be infected, the infection might just be slow. A tense silence surrounded us, anxiety was plastered on several people's faces.

"How would you know we've been infected? I mean, we've all been exposed to the ink. We've drank inky water and breathed in the contaminated air, I'm sure there is some sort of ink in our bodies already," a man said.

People nodded. I had a feeling they were agreeing with him not only because he was right but also because that might stop the test, then they'll not have to be afraid of being left behind because they were infected.

"Yes, there will be ink in your bodies but that's not what we're looking for. We're testing the level of ink in your bodies. Is it enough for your cells to fight it off when you're no longer breathing contaminated air or drinking contaminated water? Or is the level so high that it will win over your cells no matter what happens?" a man in uniform explained.

That made sense but his explanation just made me more queasy. Were my cells strong enough to fight the ink in my body when we finally left earth? I wondered.

"What of the children? Why are they being tested? We know that they don't usually get infected."

"Yes, but there's a slight chance that they can get infected. We can't ignore that 5%. It might just come back to bite us."

Though children weren't usually infected, I had heard rumours of two children who had died from the infection. It seemed the officers didn't want to take any chances.

"People will be stranded here, away from home," someone whispered.

A woman in blue uniform, standing beside us, shook her head. "Not really. They can stay here with a few other people. We have a small city not too far from here. There are houses and food and other things. They can spend the rest of their lives here or if they want to return to a loved one back home, we can arrange for them to be taken back safely."

I was amazed at the plans that had been made. They were ready for anything and though they knew a lot of people would be hurt, they had taken measures to make people happy. I felt another level of respect for Angela.

The line moved quickly, the staff standing around hurrying us to the table of people taking the test. A few people had been tested and they seemed okay. They had been led to the spaceship. Our line got shorter as I moved closer to the table. Everything seemed to be going fine until, suddenly, I heard a woman screaming.

"No! No! Please, don't do this," she cried as she was being pulled away by two officers.

The officers' faces looked bland but I could see the pain and sympathy in their eyes. I had no doubt they had done this a lot, but that didn't stop them from feeling pity for the woman.

"I'm sorry ma'am," one of the officers said. "You're already infected." His bland expression dropped for a minute as he stared in front of him but it was quickly replaced back.

They pulled the woman away. Not towards the spaceship but towards a building a little distance away.

"No! Please, my baby!"

My heart jumped.

I looked forward, at what every other person seemed to be focused on. A female officer was carrying a crying baby who seemed to be reaching out towards the woman they were pulling away. Tears were rolling down the officer's face as she held the baby.

"We don't want to do this but you know we have to," a stern looking officer said to the woman. "Would you rather your child lives a normal life knowing his mother did what was best for him or would you rather he died here because you couldn't make the difficult decision and let him go?"

For a moment, the woman looked confused, like she didn't know what decision to make. But even with the indecision in her eyes, I knew what choice she would make. It was clear in her stance already. She was no longer struggling.

Others seemed to guess her choice too because a woman stepped forward from the line and collected the child from the officer. "I'll take care of him and I'll tell him all about you. About his mother," she said, looking at the woman.

The woman closed her eyes and let them lead her away, tears rolling down her eyes. She didn't struggle, she just followed them, looking exhausted. The sound of the crying baby filled the silence.

I felt tears roll down my own cheeks. A mother and child separated. It was for the child's good—for everyone's good— but that didn't stop the tears. The mother had to make a sacrifice, to leave her child. People around me seemed to be struggling with tears too.

We moved closer to the table solemnly. Each time a person was led away from the table towards the place the woman had been taken to, tears dropped from my eyes.

As we moved closer, I tightened my hand into a fist. I had a lot of questions swirling in my mind. What if I was infected? What if I was led, not to the spaceship but to the other building? Would I be like Moses in the Bible leading his people to the promised land but not getting there? Would I see the spaceship but not enter it? Would I be able to make the choice to leave Mrs. Abimbola, Wunmi and every other person I love? Was that even my choice to make?

We moved closer to the table but all I wanted was to be far away from it. I couldn't imagine being left behind.

I couldn't.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I feel sad for Ivy and every other person who has to be left behind. 😭

Do you think Ivy would be left behind? 😱

If you were the woman with the child, would you make the same decision she made? :-(   :'(

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