The Last Dawn

By Christina Lasater

The Last Dawn begins in late 2055 during the last few days of Earth. As Earth's demise is imminent, Madison Weatherly and her former flame, James, reunite. Only a few hours remain for life on the dying planet when the entire population is dispersed throughout the universe. As Madison tries to adjust to a new life on a new planet and far away from her love, the desire to be with him never wavers. When an unexpected opportunity comes to leave her planet to find him, Madison takes off on a risky adventure through the galaxies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christina Lasater
• Release date: Feb 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465797421

Christina Lasater

Christina Lasater is a freelance writer and photographer. Her articles and photos can be found on websites such as Examiner.com and Yahoo! Contributor Network. The Last Dawn is Christina's debut novel and is self-published at Smashwords.com and soon to be released through other outlets. Christina resides in her home state of Texas with her fiancé and two young children.

Book preview

The Last Dawn

Christina Lasater

Published by Christina Lasater at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Christina Lasater

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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*****

For my Grandma Bonnie

1938-2011

******

Prologue

"This morning during the annual World Leaders Conference, top officials from the Intergalactic Society were in attendance. As you all remember, the officials informed us during their previous trip to Earth that our planet would die within the five years that followed. Earth was getting too close to being destroyed by our sun.

"Scientists have proven that statement. Over the last century, studies have been conducted to determine the distance between our planet and the sun. With each passing year, Earth has been pulled closer and closer to the sun. Unfortunately, our planet is now in the zone of no return. By sunrise in eight days, the proximity to the sun will begin to kill all living things here on Earth. Within the following twenty-four hours, the surface temperature will be so great, everything will be incinerated. Leaving our planet is our only chance for survival.

"The last time Earth took part in assisting refugees from a dying planet was around 3000 BC. They taught ancient Egyptians how to build amazing pyramids we admire to this day. The valuable knowledge those refugees brought to our planet helped shape our world into what it is today. Our planet may be on the brink of extinction, but we all have a great opportunity to take our knowledge attained here to other civilizations. As the former refugees helped our society, each of us can have a hand in assisting our new planets succeed in our new futures.

"Over the next seven days, you all will see many changes as the transitions into exiting Earth are made. Intergalactic officers will start to arrive as early as tonight to begin making preparations. Please do not be alarmed by them and do not hinder their efforts in any way. They are here to help and we will not stand in their way.

"Starting tomorrow morning, Monday, everyone will receive their assigned locations. These letters will name your new planet, where they are located and which location you will need to board the transfer ships. You will receive your letters through the postal service and will arrive at your last known address. If you do not have an address, please visit your embassy, consulate or town hall to determine where to receive your letter.

"The location in which you should board the transfer ships has been determined by your place of birth. Multiple loading dock stations will be set up in each state or province in every country. The number of stations will depend on population size. Specifications on where you need to report will be outlined in your letter.

"By Wednesday, you must have all luggage you wish to have transported to your new home loaded onto cargo ships. These ships will be at your pre-determined loading docks from which you will depart from on Sunday. You may check in your baggage prior to Wednesday to avoid the expected long wait times. There is a four-suitcase limit; no pets allowed. Please refer to your letters for further restrictions.

"Five p.m. Friday evening is the deadline to have money in your personal bank accounts transferred to your new home planet. The currency will be converted and stored into your own account to await your arrival. If you do not have a bank account, you may go to any bank and have it transferred for free. You will not be allowed to carry any currency onto the ships when you depart Earth, this is to prevent unnecessary thievery motivated by money.

"By midnight Saturday, everyone must be at their final destination. Pilots, drivers, etc. will be relieved of their duties by ten p.m. Intergalactic police will be patrolling to ensure there are no stragglers on the roads.

Sunday is departure day. Everyone must be loading onto the transfer ships by eleven-thirty p.m. The ships are set to lift off at eleven-fifty p.m. All ships must lift off by midnight in each time zone. If you choose not to leave with the rest of us, you will face a certain and horrific demise. While it is not mandatory to leave, it is strongly recommended.

*****

Chapter One

Pandemonium is breaking out across the globe. Riots are coming in from all major cities. Police are out in full force arresting demonstrators and attempting to calm the panic...

Speechless and in shock, Madison Weatherly turns off the news report. She does not want to believe what President Mona Paterson has just announced during her televised speech. Although Madison, along with the rest of the population, knew this day was coming, it still does not feel real. Five years have passed since Intergalactic Officials first visited Earth and they seemed to have flown by. The end of the world scenario has always felt like a future generation's problem, not reality in 2055.

Flying cars and time travel machines do not exist; life is the same now as it has been for almost a century. An occasional visit from aliens is the only futuristic element seen now-a-days. The aliens do not have giant heads and creepy green skin as vintage movies portray; they are human like everyone else. The officials visit during government elections and world leader conventions. Madison has never seen any of them in person; they land and take off under the radar, not wanting to cause any commotion.

Nerves begin to eat away at her as she searches for her emergency pack of cigarettes. Hidden under the miscellaneous items in her kitchen junk drawer, she fishes them out. She quit smoking several years earlier after meeting her boyfriend, Rick North, who despises the habit. He's none the wiser about her emergency habit. These days, the only time Madison retreats for a smoke is during rough and drawn out trials when her nerves get the best of her. Or, you know, when the world was about to end.

Leaning against the doorframe overlooking her twelfth story balcony, Madison takes a long drag and slowly exhales. The nicotine calms the thoughts of things she must get done before Monday afternoon; purchase a plane ticket, visit Rick. It is going to be the last chance for her to spend any time with him. He will be flying home to New York by the end of the week. She is leaving the next afternoon to avoid the inevitable last minute chaos.

Six years of being with Rick and this is how it has to end, she thinks to herself. While she has never believed they would be together for the rest of their lives, she thought maybe one or the other would have a hand in ending their relationship. It isn't as though Rick can't be marriage material; he just has never shown any interest in that kind of commitment. The topic of living together is always avoided, much less the talk of getting engaged. The effects of her past life still haunt Madison, making such life changing decisions terrifying. The simple ways of her relationship with Rick are perfect for her; he seems content with their