Evie grabbed a handful of black sand and let it slip through her fingers. The wind pecked her cheeks as the waves thundered against the rocks. She couldn’t imagine another life outside Bain Rock. But time was running out: the Earth as she knew it was lost forever, scorched by extreme heat waves and deep frost cycles.

 

“Ready?” Adrian gave her his hand.

 

They walked to the pier together, carrying nothing but the clothes on their backs. This was their chance to get out. It was the last day of sailing to one of the few safe havens left: humanity’s last Bunker. Location not disclosed.

 

Adrian crossed the gate, waved in by a guard. Security looked tight.

 

Evie scanned the code on her wrist, but the light went red.

 

“Step away from the gate,” the guard said, pointing a rifle at her.

 

“I don’t understand.” Evie tried scanning it again but the light still flashed red.

 

“Follow me.”

 

“Adrian?”

 

But Adrian had already crossed the checkpoint. He took one look at her, shrugged his shoulders and walked up the steps into the ship.

 

“No!” Evie punched the gate so hard that it made her knuckles bleed.

 

The guard escorted her to an interrogation booth. It was nothing but a portacabin, stifling in the midday sun. There was a rotting wooden bench and a broken fan in the corner. A woman sat in the small waiting area.

 

“Did they tell you it was fake?” the woman asked.

 

“No. They said nothing.”

 

“That’s how scammers work, you know. They imprint fake tickets alongside the real ones. You can’t even tell the difference, they’re that good. Not until you try to scan them, that is. I’m Grace.”

 

“Evie.”

 

“You – follow me,” the guard said, pointing at Grace.

 

“That’s me,” Grace said, spilling her flask over Evie. “I’m so sorry, how clumsy!” She leaned over and whispered. “Run – you’re not safe! Go north and hide in the mountains.”

 

“What? Wait –?”

 

The door slammed behind Grace. Moments later a gun went off. Shit! Evie reached for the door and flew past a guard posted outside, running as fast as she could. A bullet went flying past her. And then another. They had posted guards all along the path to the crossroads. She stumbled and fell, crouching and crawling for safety. She hid behind a boulder and waited until the skies went quiet.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Evie turned north towards the mountains. She’d been running for close to an hour when she stopped to catch her breath. The ship was sailing past the harbour. This was it – she was on her own now. She needed to find cover before nightfall.

 

As she climbed the rocks towards a cave entrance, a set of laser beams lit the ground. An alarm sounded as she stepped forward. What was this?

 

“Glad you made it.”

 

Evie turned around. “It’s you! I thought they killed you."

 

“No, I shot him first. I came for you,” Grace said.

 

“Me? Why? Didn’t you want to get on the ship?”

 

“I was never going to. I was on a last run to prevent our people from boarding it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The Bunker is full. The VIPs were chosen long ago. They’re luring people with false promises of safety and comfort. But they just need them to man the generators in the bowels of the bunker. A miserable life of hard labour and, eventually, death.”

 

“It’s all a ruse?”

 

“Afraid so. Hope you didn’t know anyone on that ship.”

 

“An acquaintance.” Adrian. She thought he had her back. He has it coming now.

 

“Too late for them. But the question is, can you be trusted?”

 

 

* * *

 

Evie followed Grace on a narrow, tortuous path down the other side of the mountain. The cold had started to seep into her bones.

 

“Stay close,” Grace said.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“You’ll see.”

 

Evie saw the reflection of the pale moon on the waves as they headed towards the bay. Grace led her down to the beach and flashed her torch twice. Someone flashed back and then another until hundreds of lights covered the shore.

 

A large platform rose from the seabed. It looked like a giant floating oil rig. One by one, young and old, people started boarding the platform.

 

“You’re looking at a supply ship with plenty of rations,” Grace said.

 

“How did you get your hands on it?”

 

“We built it ourselves – our very own Ark. We’ve been stealing parts from those greedy bastards for the last eighteen months.”

 

Evie walked past hungry, haggard and exhausted faces, some filled with fear and others with relief. She even recognised her old schoolteacher talking to the family physician, Dr Moore. He might as well be the last of the family doctors.

 

“What now?” Evie said, wrapping herself in a blanket, as the cold sea spray made her shiver.

 

“We head south towards the Equator and wait out this Ice Age. We may even outlast the Bunker.”

 

“Do you think we’ll find survivors?”

 

“People survived the previous ice ages. We just have to hope that our children’s children take better care of our Earth.”