When the rain stopped, it didn’t click in, that anything had changed. Not at first. None of us thought that it just would never fall again.

The camps and outposts around us spoke often and after a time it became clear that there was a problem. Something was broken. The sky was broken.

After everything we’d taken from ourselves. After the comfort and security we’d taken for granted was robbed from us, we retreated into whatever nature remained to rebuild.

Then everything else we had done to the world came to find us. The sky itself decided it wanted nothing to do with us.

We had to do something. All of the resources we had left pointed to the fact that we only had so much time left. As bad as it had been out there, the sun let us grow our food; heat and power our meagre homes.

Now, the sky was dark all the time. With nothing left to do we took to the roads. We’d go looking for the materials we needed. We’d get to work harder than we ever had before. We took matters into our own hands. All we had left.

We found what we needed here and there. Brought it back to the places where all the great works used to be done. Consulted and learned from the old writings, at least the ones that remained before it all fell.

We built, and we scrapped and rebuilt. We clamoured and fought together because we all wanted to do it right. HAD to do it right. After all, it was our last chance.

When the years of work were complete it was almost bittersweet. We knew that again things would never be the same, for any of us. The votes were held and the ones chosen prepared for what came next.

We gathered together, made all of our checks and then they left. We cheered as we watched them go. Most of us had never seen an airplane, let alone a rocket. The equipment wasn’t in the best shape when we found it but we’d done our best and all we could do now was watch and hope.

We watched our efforts fly higher and higher towards the darkness. And then it was swallowed by the black morning sky.

We’d sent them off, now it was up to them. Our story was over. The earth had given us everything it could. If we wanted to keep going; all we could do is admit we’d failed and try again somewhere else.