The Last One
The last one, she said to herself as she contemplated. Her eyes looked sorrowful as she breathed in smoke and saw the other end of the cigarette burned into ashes. She tapped it on the floor, watching the ashes fell down uselessly like tears in her face. She bit her thumb, the smell of menthol sinking in her stomach knocking her on the head, reminding her that she had not eat since that sandwich she had three days ago on her way to the office. But she didn't budge, she stayed there, in front of the white bathroom that now had ashes of countless cigarettes and her invisible tears. What is life? she asked to herself.
"What is life when there is nothing to love?" a stream of tears rolled down her cheek.
She first met him at The Station. It was a large cubic room in the center of The Centre. It held many cubicles for The Officers and The Travelers. The Officers' cubicles were held statically by thin diamond-like thread in the air, while The Travelers' cubicles, because the small numbers and their need for easy access to The Room underground, were on the ground, each separated by thick black glasses. The Travelers' with their white uniformed tracksuits, white backpacks and army haircut looked like misplaced doctors, in her opinion. At least that was what she thought until she met him. He was tall with perfect set of white teeth, but his hair was long raven black and he wore it down, he had the sourest expression; he was the perfect soldier. Detached from reality, a bit of a loner but he mastered every martial arts human kinds had ever known. Perfect specimen. But she could tell the instant she met his eyes. They were like Black Holes she used to gazed at night with her special telescope given by her father on her 12th birthday, they were void of anything, you stared at him and you could come into a conclusion that his soul, too, was null. He was a mystery that she would love to solve.
As it turned out, she was The Officer to his Traveler. That same week, she arranged his travels and his specific tasks on each travels:
Paris, September 1889 -- Guard Thomas Edison in Eiffel Tower.
New Mexico, July 1947 -- Fly The Ships, claim them as UFOs.
Egypt, 69 BCE -- record the birth of Cleopatra VII
She sighed. Had he always travelled this much? It was not like the usual transport, travels usually required many energies because jumping from one time and space to another was sometimes too much to take. She never was a Traveler, but from what she heard, most of The Travelers needed at least a week to recover from traveling and now he had to do three travels before he could come home? He was mad.
The first day of the following week, she gave him the details of his travels in the morning and then he suddenly popped out in her booth, saying that he needed more tasks.
"Are you mad?" she asked. "If you travel through time and space that much, you'll kill yourself, your cells won't regenerate themselves and then eventually you'll die. What's the point of taking medications in the morning if you are just going to die soon?"
He opened his mouth and closed it. His eyes were burning with rage, it was the first time she saw him like that, with emotions. "If that's the case then I want ten more tasks. I can't bear being in here."
"No. You've reached your limit. Get off my booth and go train yourself."
He did.
It wasn't until the next summer holiday that she saw him. He looked the same to unknowing people, but to her, there were more burdens in his eyes and his posture was different. She approached him and nudged his shoulder.
"See, if you took ten more, you'll be looking like a walking zombie." she said, her eyes searching his. He sneered.
"Well, if you are giving me cold shoulders then I won't give you any travels." she singsonged, her eyes sparkled and glowed in dimly lit room.
"Fine. Hello. How are you?" he said unenthusiastically.
"I'm good. How was Cleopatra? Was she pretty?" she asked.
He only nodded and she sighed.
"You'll receive the details tonight. Don't forget to go to The Infirmary, your ribs are fractured, your left eye need to be tended and there are scraps on your knees." she said as she walked away. He gaped at her and quickly went to The Infirmary.
"How do you know?" he asked as he suddenly sat down in front of her while she was having lunch.
"How do I know what?" she asked back, twirling her spaghetti on her plate.
"How do you know that I was injured?" he asked, bewildered by her simple action of twirling spaghetti.
"I was trained to be a doctor, but, it wasn't exactly my dream, so I quitted and applied a job in here, I thought they were going to put me in The Infirmary but they were lack of--" he cut her short.
"Yeah, I heard enough." he got up and when he was about to leave, he added, "Thanks."
She smiled in return.
"How was the vikings? Did they take you down? I can see your limp foot." she said, without looking up as she was busy with her touch screen tablet, crisscrossing and writing necessary details on his next adventures.
He did not answer for the next few minutes. "I'm going to take you as my companion."
Again, she did not bother looking up, her fingers kept dancing above the see through tablet. "I don't have the requirements. Besides, I like working behind desk."
"I'm going to teach you everything I know. Androids are fast learners. But promise me, after that, you'll become my companion and then, eventually, one of The Travelers." he said.
Her fingers stilled in the air and she looked up at him. His eyes were void of anything but she could see that he was serious. "Well, okay, I guess."
It took her five years and constant yelling from him to finally master all of the things he taught and it took her another four years to finally become one of The Travelers. During her time being a companion, however, she fell in love with him. Hard. Fast. And real. There were many memories she shared with him and all of them made her feelings grow for him. There was one memory where she was walking out of her bedroom, finally finished dressing herself up for The Royal Wedding and she met a figure in tailored suits, his hair was pulled back by a leather string, accentuating his high cheekbones and nose. He looked like a dark prince. But it was not the moment where she realized her feelings for him, nor when they had to dance under the moonlight by the request of the head of the Mayan tribe. No, it was when they were in present time and were walking together, reminiscing some memories of their adventures in building The Great Wall of China. It was a rather sunny day, but then, as they walked to the garden of roses, rain suddenly fell from the sky, the rain made them run to find the nearest shelter, but there was none. However, he spotted a large tree and pulled her to him. When they were safe under the tree, she laughed, he did not, but he smiled, albeit a small one, at her, it was then he noticed that she was shivering, he immediately took of their jackets and pulled her into his arms. He did not say anything, he did not need to.
However, she knew fairytales weren't made for her. She knew it the instant she showed him her discovery, an entrance to an alternate universe, the only alternate universe. She could see his eyes sparkled and twinkled with happiness, even though his face did not show any emotions. At first she thought it was his need, his thirst to travel to where no man had travelled before, but as time gradually moved on, he started telling her that he was not from this world. That he needed to come back home, to that alternate universe. To meet his love that he lost when someone accidentally threw him to this universe. He needed to come home. That night, she cried for him, for his lost love and ultimately, for her lost love. She also had a secret, she was the last one of the human race, she needed to continue her race but with him gone, how could she? The Earth was now ruled by androids and Halfs, half human half android. Her love for him was bigger than her love for this Earth. She could not bear if he had to spend his life knowing that he could come back but he had family that he needed to take care of. She needed him to be happy, because at least, that what differed her from the androids, she had feelings.
And, with great amount of emptiness that was dreading to fill her heart, she watched him leave.
And then she smoked. smoked. smoked. Watching her life slowly crumbled into ashes like the cigarettes ends in the matter of days until they blended into none.
"What is life when there is nothing to love?" a stream of tears rolled down her cheek.
She first met him at The Station. It was a large cubic room in the center of The Centre. It held many cubicles for The Officers and The Travelers. The Officers' cubicles were held statically by thin diamond-like thread in the air, while The Travelers' cubicles, because the small numbers and their need for easy access to The Room underground, were on the ground, each separated by thick black glasses. The Travelers' with their white uniformed tracksuits, white backpacks and army haircut looked like misplaced doctors, in her opinion. At least that was what she thought until she met him. He was tall with perfect set of white teeth, but his hair was long raven black and he wore it down, he had the sourest expression; he was the perfect soldier. Detached from reality, a bit of a loner but he mastered every martial arts human kinds had ever known. Perfect specimen. But she could tell the instant she met his eyes. They were like Black Holes she used to gazed at night with her special telescope given by her father on her 12th birthday, they were void of anything, you stared at him and you could come into a conclusion that his soul, too, was null. He was a mystery that she would love to solve.
As it turned out, she was The Officer to his Traveler. That same week, she arranged his travels and his specific tasks on each travels:
Paris, September 1889 -- Guard Thomas Edison in Eiffel Tower.
New Mexico, July 1947 -- Fly The Ships, claim them as UFOs.
Egypt, 69 BCE -- record the birth of Cleopatra VII
She sighed. Had he always travelled this much? It was not like the usual transport, travels usually required many energies because jumping from one time and space to another was sometimes too much to take. She never was a Traveler, but from what she heard, most of The Travelers needed at least a week to recover from traveling and now he had to do three travels before he could come home? He was mad.
The first day of the following week, she gave him the details of his travels in the morning and then he suddenly popped out in her booth, saying that he needed more tasks.
"Are you mad?" she asked. "If you travel through time and space that much, you'll kill yourself, your cells won't regenerate themselves and then eventually you'll die. What's the point of taking medications in the morning if you are just going to die soon?"
He opened his mouth and closed it. His eyes were burning with rage, it was the first time she saw him like that, with emotions. "If that's the case then I want ten more tasks. I can't bear being in here."
"No. You've reached your limit. Get off my booth and go train yourself."
He did.
It wasn't until the next summer holiday that she saw him. He looked the same to unknowing people, but to her, there were more burdens in his eyes and his posture was different. She approached him and nudged his shoulder.
"See, if you took ten more, you'll be looking like a walking zombie." she said, her eyes searching his. He sneered.
"Well, if you are giving me cold shoulders then I won't give you any travels." she singsonged, her eyes sparkled and glowed in dimly lit room.
"Fine. Hello. How are you?" he said unenthusiastically.
"I'm good. How was Cleopatra? Was she pretty?" she asked.
He only nodded and she sighed.
"You'll receive the details tonight. Don't forget to go to The Infirmary, your ribs are fractured, your left eye need to be tended and there are scraps on your knees." she said as she walked away. He gaped at her and quickly went to The Infirmary.
"How do you know?" he asked as he suddenly sat down in front of her while she was having lunch.
"How do I know what?" she asked back, twirling her spaghetti on her plate.
"How do you know that I was injured?" he asked, bewildered by her simple action of twirling spaghetti.
"I was trained to be a doctor, but, it wasn't exactly my dream, so I quitted and applied a job in here, I thought they were going to put me in The Infirmary but they were lack of--" he cut her short.
"Yeah, I heard enough." he got up and when he was about to leave, he added, "Thanks."
She smiled in return.
"How was the vikings? Did they take you down? I can see your limp foot." she said, without looking up as she was busy with her touch screen tablet, crisscrossing and writing necessary details on his next adventures.
He did not answer for the next few minutes. "I'm going to take you as my companion."
Again, she did not bother looking up, her fingers kept dancing above the see through tablet. "I don't have the requirements. Besides, I like working behind desk."
"I'm going to teach you everything I know. Androids are fast learners. But promise me, after that, you'll become my companion and then, eventually, one of The Travelers." he said.
Her fingers stilled in the air and she looked up at him. His eyes were void of anything but she could see that he was serious. "Well, okay, I guess."
It took her five years and constant yelling from him to finally master all of the things he taught and it took her another four years to finally become one of The Travelers. During her time being a companion, however, she fell in love with him. Hard. Fast. And real. There were many memories she shared with him and all of them made her feelings grow for him. There was one memory where she was walking out of her bedroom, finally finished dressing herself up for The Royal Wedding and she met a figure in tailored suits, his hair was pulled back by a leather string, accentuating his high cheekbones and nose. He looked like a dark prince. But it was not the moment where she realized her feelings for him, nor when they had to dance under the moonlight by the request of the head of the Mayan tribe. No, it was when they were in present time and were walking together, reminiscing some memories of their adventures in building The Great Wall of China. It was a rather sunny day, but then, as they walked to the garden of roses, rain suddenly fell from the sky, the rain made them run to find the nearest shelter, but there was none. However, he spotted a large tree and pulled her to him. When they were safe under the tree, she laughed, he did not, but he smiled, albeit a small one, at her, it was then he noticed that she was shivering, he immediately took of their jackets and pulled her into his arms. He did not say anything, he did not need to.
However, she knew fairytales weren't made for her. She knew it the instant she showed him her discovery, an entrance to an alternate universe, the only alternate universe. She could see his eyes sparkled and twinkled with happiness, even though his face did not show any emotions. At first she thought it was his need, his thirst to travel to where no man had travelled before, but as time gradually moved on, he started telling her that he was not from this world. That he needed to come back home, to that alternate universe. To meet his love that he lost when someone accidentally threw him to this universe. He needed to come home. That night, she cried for him, for his lost love and ultimately, for her lost love. She also had a secret, she was the last one of the human race, she needed to continue her race but with him gone, how could she? The Earth was now ruled by androids and Halfs, half human half android. Her love for him was bigger than her love for this Earth. She could not bear if he had to spend his life knowing that he could come back but he had family that he needed to take care of. She needed him to be happy, because at least, that what differed her from the androids, she had feelings.
And, with great amount of emptiness that was dreading to fill her heart, she watched him leave.
And then she smoked. smoked. smoked. Watching her life slowly crumbled into ashes like the cigarettes ends in the matter of days until they blended into none.