Science Fiction Short Story
The Final Escape
The year is 2051.
“I know you can run very fast. When I say go, run until you reach that beige house,” Clara tells her six-year-old daughter and ten-year-old son. “I’m right behind you. Just don’t stop.”
As she says Go, they run, and she follows them. A bullet misses her ear. She hears the whooshing sound, and when she is about ten feet away from the house, another one hits the ground near her right foot. Whoever is shooting at them is not a professional. Or it is the smog in the air that makes it hard to target them.
Fortunately, the house is not locked, and Adam, her son, has opened the door for Jill and her.
She is panting, and her heart is hammering in her ears. She has never run with flying bullets chasing her. She sits down, hugging and touching their faces with hers. Their faces are red after all the effort.
“How long do we have to keep running, Mom?” Jill whispers. “I’m tired.”
“We have to go seventy more kilometers. Am I right, Mom?” Adam says.
“Yes, we’ve come thirty kilometers but we’ve to go seventy more,” her mobile is warning about the low battery. Even worse, the internet signals are still very weak. A beam of sunlight enters the window and makes a hazy spot on the floor near…