Before you dive in….
If you have not read part one, I highly recommend reading it… Here
If you have read part one, there is also a part two… Here
And that’s it, enjoy part three!
Henry awoke at dawn. The light was a soft orange and the sky was clear. His clothes were tattered and his shoes were all but gone. He needed a plan. The New Horizon was gone, leaving behind a debris field that was raining fire. Henry needed to scope out the expanse of the forest, which meant he would need to hike. Or climb…
A couple hours in, Henry’s feet were beginning to blister and any further, they would begin to bleed. Henry found a stream, which would have been a rare site when Henry was growing up.
As the climate became ravaged, creeks had all but dried up and the few large rivers that remained had all been dammed. Henry heard a gentle whistle through the air and closed his eyes as he listened to the trees dance. The wind tickled his face and for the first time in his life, Henry felt at peace. And then he remembered Annie and the team.
Charles, Fred, Joe, Laurie, and Annie. A small group, each qualified in their own right. Charles, was the Mechanic among other things. He had grown up in the Eastern Union, where the capital of the United States once stood. When the sea levels started to rise rapidly in the year 2035, leadership did nothing. By the year 2040, what was once Florida was all but underwater. Charles watched as the first flood barriers were built around major cities, carefully designed to counteract Tsunamis as the seas became more violent. As the barrier was being designed and close to completion in the year 2038, historical records indicate that the San Andreas Fault gave way, rendering the flood barriers mute as the West Coast was consumed by Ocean. When the design was finalized and completed in 2040, few were left to fully enjoy its protections.
Henry walked for about eight kilometres downstream before taking a rest. He was tired. The New Horizon was an extensive project, started in the year 2050 and launched in 2060 from Moonbase Alpha; the first (and last) of its kind. The team had been in the station for a year before now. God, how much had changed in a matter of moments. The trees rustled as Henry was lost in thought and a couple of leaves fell in the stream. Henry looked up into the canopy and saw shades of crimson, peach, and maroon. The cold breeze felt nice on his face. It was early September. Henry thought about the explosion and why it had happened… but he had rested too long… Henry stood up and continued downstream, if he could break through the canopy, then he might be able to locate the Blackbox.
And that’s a wrap. Almost to the date, it’s been two years since I’ve written the last chapter. Short stories are new for me and figuring out how to keep a story-line engaging is difficult. The plan for now is to continue the story and hopefully go for around 20 chapters. Ideally, it won’t take years to see another chapter and if the series does well, I’ll most likely update the story-line frequently.
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To the Moon 
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