[The sky is burning]

The man thought as he rose from the rubble. His head was bleeding, his gray hair now almost looking red.

[Fuck, I have to get away quickly this could get even worse,] he thought, clenching his hand and trying to run.

[But where can I even go? Nowhere is safe. If I have no hope of surviving, what's the point of struggling?]

He looked around. The towering buildings that once reached into the sky were crumbling to the ground, the scent of blood and gunpowder thick in the air.

[Why are humans so stupid? Everything we ever built, centuries of development, erased in seconds.]

He stood there, hearing more explosions in the distance. It was faint, but he could hear people screaming.

[Year 2049, and it's officially the shittiest year in history. World War III happened, and the whole world was thrown into chaos. I'm pretty sure some countries were completely wiped off the map.]

[I thought I was safe because, who's going to defeat Freedom Land? But I guess I was wrong.]

[We got bombed like crazy,] he thought, bitterly laughing to himself.

[Time to lay off and die like a cockroach. Wish I could have at least lost my virginity all that studying to become a doctor didn't help.]

The laughs turned into sobs as he fell to his knees. [I don't want to die,] he thought, his whole body shaking.

Beep beep beep.

His watch made a sound, drawing his gaze. He saw it was a message.

"Dr. Arik, if you are still alive, please make your way to Maple Tower. It's just a few meters away from the bombing zone. Your services are requested. Thank you."

[The world is ending, and they still want me to provide service? But that means there's still some hope.]

Arik thought, running toward Maple Tower. A call for work was all the motivation he needed to make him believe he could still survive.

It was hard to navigate, as everything looked identical after collapsing. But after a few minutes of running, he reached Maple Tower.

The lone building stood tall amidst the rubble.

[Did God make this building or what?] he thought as he entered.

The interior was unscathed. The walls still had blue paint, the marble was spotless, and torches tied to ropes lit up the room in place of lights.

A dusty old couch stood in the middle, where two people sat. One looked to be in his 40s but was still handsome, and the other was big and muscular, drinking coffee without a care. A few girls sat at the end of the room, sipping coffee and chatting as if nothing had happened outside.

"Oh, looks like Dr. Akira made it here," the older man in a coat welcomed him.

"My name is Ronald. It's nice to meet one of the finest doctors in our country," he said, shaking Akira's hand.

Akira just stood there, trying to make sense of the situation. "Thanks…" he replied awkwardly.

But the awkwardness was interrupted by explosions outside the building.

"That sounded awfully close," Akira said nervously.

"Don't worry, this building isn't that easy to bring down," Ronald said, patting his shoulder.

"Not very social, I see. Well, let's get down to business," Ronald said, gesturing for Akira to sit.

"You see, this planet is basically screwed. No matter who wins this war, the amount of damage is crazy. Pollution has increased so much that standing outside is practically a death sentence."

"So we're leaving this planet. Melon Tusk has successfully terraformed Mars over the years, so people who can afford it are escaping there."

"I, of course, also plan on doing that. But since there's a lack of people on Mars, I wanted to bring along anyone who might be useful for survival. And you, my friend, are one of those people," Ronald said, confidently pushing out his chest.

[Well, that's great. I don't have to die now. Still wonder what happened to my parents in Japan… Hope they're at least alive,] Akira thought quietly.

"Not happy? You can decline, you know, but you'll probably die in weeks," Ronald said, adjusting his coat.

"No, no, just thinking about something else. I'm more than happy to join you," Akira answered hurriedly.

"Glad to have you with us. Please keep us safe. I'll introduce you to the rest of my crew," Ronald said, putting a hand on Akira's back.

Ronald cleared his throat, trying to get everyone's attention.

Everyone ignored him, too focused on their coffee.

[Damn, is everyone here a coffee addict or what?] Akira thought, peeking into Ronald's cup to make sure it was actually coffee.

"Excuse me, can I have your attention?" Ronald said, raising his hand.

Everyone finally set down their cups and started to listen.

"Meet our newest crew member, Dr. Akira," Ronald announced, smiling.

Everyone clapped, but no one seemed thrilled.

[Why do they all look high?] Akira thought, trying to avoid their glares.

"I think you'll get along. Now, I'll give you some space to bond with your crew. We might be together for the rest of our lives or die along the way, so bonding is important," Ronald said before stepping out of the room to make a call.

Akira scanned the room. There were five people in total: one big, muscular, bald guy sitting on the couch, and four girls chatting at the corner.

[Who do I even talk to? The guy looks like he'd murder my whole family if I approached him, and everyone else is female,] Akira sighed, taking another corner.

[I'll just take a nap,] he thought, resting his head against the wall. The walls were cold, and the sounds of explosions made it hard to sleep.

He tried to get comfortable, but nothing worked. [I wish I could sleep on a comfy bed,] he thought, opening his eyes.

As he did, he saw the big guy in front of him. "Hey, your name's Akira, right? You seem bored, why don't we chat? We're the only guys on the crew."

Akira was taken aback by the kindness from the guy he thought looked intimidating. "Yeah, sure," Akira said as the big guy sat next to him.

"Name's Kane," the big guy said in a surprisingly soft voice. "I'm the crew's engineer."

"You're an engineer?" Akira said, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't look like an engineer, do I?" Kane replied, laughing.

"Sorry for judging you," Akira said, scratching the back of his head.

"Nah, it's alright. I thought you'd be an egoistic guy who thinks he's better than everyone," Kane said, mocking him.

"Why did you think that about me, though?" Akira asked, curious.

Kane looked at him for a few seconds and said, "Well, you're young and already one of the best doctors in the country. Also, judging by your appearance, you're not American, so you must be a genius to have come to a foreign country and become so successful."

Akira felt embarrassed by the sudden compliment. [He seems nice. Maybe this won't be as boring as I thought,] but before they could continue, Ronald rushed back into the room.

"We have to go now! Kane, start the ship," Ronald said, pacing around nervously.

"What happened?" Kane asked, trying to calm Ronald.

The girls finally came forward as they noticed Ronald worried.

"Nukes. They're using nukes now, and since we could get hit at any moment, we need to leave right away," Ronald said, rubbing his forehead in stress.

"Don't worry, I'm on it," Kane said, hurrying downstairs to get the ship ready.

[Didn't expect them to take this long to start spamming nukes,] Akira thought.

The girls tried to calm Ronald down. [What are their jobs here, anyway? They're probably here so Ronald can have some fun… Never mind, I shouldn't judge them,] he thought.

Finally, Kane came back. "Alright, let's go. The ship's ready."

Everyone rushed downstairs.

"Quick, get inside!" Ronald shouted.

The ship was green and made of metal. It looked ordinary to Akira, but as he stepped inside, he saw a control panel at the front, cabinets filled with rations, tools, and medical supplies in the back. The cockpit was lit with blue lights, and the roof was made of glass to see the view.

"Wow!" Akira couldn't help but exclaim, captivated by the interior.

Kane smiled, seeing Akira's amazement. "This beauty's gonna fly us to safety," Ronald said proudly.

Akira nodded, his eyes wide, taking in the vast interior of the ship.

"Let's start. I don't want to spend another second here," Ronald said. One of the girls, short with gray hair like Akira's, made her way to the control panel.

She pressed a few buttons, and the ship's engine roared. Ronald pressed a button that opened the exit gate.

"Liana, we're ready!" Ronald called out.

Liana nodded, focusing on the controls. The ship took off, rising high within seconds.

"Alright, the launch was successful. Now we just have to get to Mars," Ronald said, clenching his fist.

Everyone on the crew relaxed slightly. The journey had just begun, but everyone believed that they were gonna safely reach the Mars.