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“Earth is in danger…and we’re the only ones that can stop it”

“…You human beings have no right to exist on Earth anymore. Look what you have created – a monster! How can you expect yourselves to be the rightful saviours of our Planet? Your time is up; enjoy your last moments on Earth, revolting humans.”

My eyes bore into the reflections of the screen as it flickered to black – unable to comprehend what was happening. They fluttered across the room, scanning to see any signs of change from the red and blue wallpaper to the handful of envelopes containing salaries that have yet to be given out. Finally, I conceded defeat and took a deep breath, while my fingertips simultaneously began rubbing the temples between my eyes.

“Why…is this happening?” I asked, sensing a splitting migraine arriving.  

“Well Mr. President you see…scientists have recently announced data that Earth most likely only has a few years before it is…destroyed, unless something is done about it. And this, group here – which I may say Mr. President, disgustingly claims that they are the ‘messengers of God’, and vowed to exterminate all humans in order to save this planet.” My secretary replied, with full composure.

“But aren’t they humans too? Unless you’re telling me they landed from Mars.” I retorted, chuckling inwardly at my own sarcasm.

“You see Mr. President, this group is adamant that they are the saviours of Planet Earth, and-”

“WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THEY THINKING ABOUT?” I bellowed, unable to take it any longer. Curling up my fists, I slammed into the nearest object around me with all my might. “I am the President. I should be the one that decides everything. You know what? Screw the scientists; the world is doing absolutely fine. I mean look at us – we’re earning money and generating revenue all year round, and now they’re saying our Planet is on the brink of destruction?!”

Shocked at my own sudden outburst, I hurriedly stomped away from my terrified secretary to observe the scenery outside my window. Looking out, I was satisfied to see that nothing had changed. The stark contrast against buildings from my party to the Opposition were getting greater and greater as I recently ordered a fresh coat of paint (red and blue, our party’s colours) for every apartment in my party’s constituency. It helped that I ‘accidentally’ cut off the funds to the Opposition so that upgrading would be impossible.

“That would teach those people that didn’t vote for us.” I thought smugly.

Now, for more serious matters at hand. Just when I was about to turn around and take charge, an ear-splitting blast caught my attention. Just then, the screen that once broadcasted the threat flickered to life again.

“The fun just started, enjoy your time in hell, humans…”

X

I walked across the streets, surveying the damage inflicted on the buildings. Somehow, I felt a small tug at my heart-strings, a small sense of hesitation?

“What if this brings more harm to our Planet?’

I quickly pushed the thought to the corner of my brain. No, it was too late to stop this now. It was my duty. I had to. I had to stop the world from stepping into further dangers.

I had to exterminate the humans.

Slowly, I walked to the steel-black gates and feigned a smile at the guards. I looked around cautiously, hoping that my disguise would pull off. As I trailed down hallways and staircases, I felt a quiet tingling feeling at the pit of my stomach – excitement.

“This, would be the start of a better Earth,” I breathed.

I carefully placed the bomb down onto the ground. Then, I took out a shard of glass and sucked in my breath as it hovered to my wrists. Steadily, I exerted the least amount of pressure I could to penetrate my skin and draw blood. I used my fingers and slowly but surely, began dabbing the pool of crimson red blood and carefully traced the words onto the cold marble floor…

“Humans are the ones that pushed the Earth past the tipping point, to the brink of destruction.”

“Kill them.”

I rose from my position after finishing my handicraft and allowed myself a small smile. Very soon, the humans would be annihilated, and the whole world can continue living without the fear of destruction anymore.

X

My brows furrowed as I stumbled into my office, exhausted by the media craze and the never-ending swarm of reporters.

“What have we done to deserve this?” I thought.

I lowered my wrists to grab hold of the remote control, before turning the television and directing it to CNN News. I sunk into the sofa, praying that nothing else significant happened besides the erratic amount of explosions occurring around the town. What was on the headlines though, were not explosions – they were much worse. Much worse.

HEADLINES: RUSSIAN PRESIDENT ASSASINATED. CHINA’S PRIME MINISTER DIES FROM UNNATURAL DEATH. COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD PLUNGED INTO CHAOS.

My hands shook as I heard the remote drop onto the marble floor with a sharp clank.

I could be next.

Just as I was about to crumble down, a strong wave hit me and catapulted me towards the wall. It was then that I heard the explosion. It was then that I felt concrete connect with flesh, and my whole world was sent spiralling down to darkness…

I was next.

X

My eyelids fluttered open as I groped around my surface, attempting to achieve a sense of balance.

Where am I?

I could hear sounds of collective gasps of relief as my eyes surveyed the surroundings.

Am I alive?

Then, the series of events came rushing back as I remembered the stabbing sears of pain and distant sirens flashing across my head.

I was alive.

And then I recalled the mastermind behind this, and my eyes hardened. Quietly, I gestured to my secretary, signalling him to chase the other visitors away.

“Jefferson, I want a full report of the situation right now,” I commanded.

“Well Mr. President, the world is basically in chaos right now. We haven’t officially released news about your injuries, but your absence from meetings has heightened suspicions…”

“How long was I unconscious for?” I asked softly, bracing myself for the answer.

“Three full days, Mr. President. You were lucky that you made it out of there alive, not many people survived, you know,” He paused. “Many of the world leaders have either been kidnapped or killed, and terrorists have taken over most of the media…”

I let out a sharp intake of breath, before forcing myself upwards – to the shock of my secretary. My resolve hardened, confirming my fears with every word he spoke.

It was time to take action.

“Jefferson, tell the Minister of Defence he has full reign on the firearms and missiles. Tell him to fire at every opportune time possible.”

“But Mr. President-”

“Jefferson, it’s time I took charge. The world cannot carry on like this. Now are you with me or are you set to see the world crumble into bits?” I let out a steady smile.

A small smile from my secretary was enough to assure me that the task would be carried out.

“You know Mr. President, I have never told you this but it has been a complete honour to serve under you,” he said before quickly walking towards the guards to issue them commands.

“It’s time to wage war,” I thought grimly.

X

5 years later

My eyes darkened as I saw my latest plan crumble to pieces. Why didn’t those humans get it? If their filthy existence persists, they would only continue to destroy Earth and all the species along with it. But if they are annihilated, then Earth and the other species will continue to survive and even thrive. Then, won’t Gaia finally be rescued from the brink of destruction?

But those humans just do not understand, all they care about is their precious skin.

The past few years have been tough for me, as the US President turned into a maniac and started firing missiles at random places. I had lost many men, including some close ones. But I will persist, I will not give up. I will never, ever, give up.

My eyes silently trailed up the large body of metal in front of me. My last resort, where I am sure the humans will finally be exterminated.

“This will be our salvation,” I breathed.

X

I trudged down the paths of symmetrical gravestones, silently choking back the tears I was holding back for so long.

When is this going to end?

The war between the government and those terrorists had gone on for far too long. Around me, the once red and blue buildings had been reduced to ashes, with only traces of bloodshed laid as proof of its existence.

Truthfully, I was sick and tired of all the fighting and suffering. I know, I’m the President of the United States, I’m luckier than the civilians who are either homeless or starving. Still, that did not stop me from feeling the dull ache in my heart and the crumbling of my knees.

“I just want all of this to stop. Just stop.” I muttered, before breaking into sobs.

Subconsciously, I began walking aimlessly, before finally stopping in front of a gravestone.

It was Abraham Lincoln’s.

I had no choice but to laugh at the irony of the grave in front of me with his name etched out so deep. The man, who gave so many Americans freedom, now lay in front of me.

That was when I saw those words.

That was when I knew, I had to carry on fighting. As I felt a rush of adrenaline in my body, I looked towards the horizon, suddenly feeling that the future might just be brighter than before.

As I began to take a step forward, the whole world turned white.

As I closed my eyes and tried to resist the pain, I knew that it was hopeless now. And so, I succumbed to the pain and let out all the sorrow I had felt. For now, all I could do was pray that maybe, just maybe, the human race would pull out of this somehow…

“Remember in the depth and even the agony of despondency, that very shortly we are to feel well again.” – Abraham Lincoln.

X

REFLECTIONS:

Now, I guess you might be thinking why did I write a story whereby most of the people die? Well, because that somehow denotes reality. Because in reality, the good guys don’t always win. The motive of this story was not to please the reader; it was to somehow try to convey a subtle message within all the action and the killings. If you had noticed, the reason why the terrorists were trying to exterminate humans was not because of religion, nor was it because of political clashes, but it was just simply trying to save our Planet. As written in the story above, it is true that humans are the one that brought upon the impendent destruction of our Planet. And it is completely rational to believe that if we destroy the cause of the problem, the problem would eventually go away.

This is written with the hope of educating the readers that it is their duty to save our planet Earth, because if this continues to carry on, Earth might really just self-destruct on us. This is our planet and we, as humans, should be responsible to push it away from the breaking point – for the sake of our future, as well as the Earth’s and all the species on it.

Also, the never ending battle between the terrorists and the government even after five years also denotes the situation the world is in now. No matter what happens, the terrorists will always be there, the struggle is never-ending. That is why, if we do not take strict measures (just like the US President didn’t at the end), we might just find ourselves plunging into the hands of danger.

Apart from the terrorism and the Global Warming situation, there is also Singapore politics implied inside the story. The line which says “This should not have happened, I am sorry that it has,” was initially spoken by our Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Wong Kan Seng. Many critics and Singaporeans were angry for him at saying that – somehow showing that he is unwilling to admit his mistakes. However, for me, I believe that he would prove them wrong, just like how the US President finally took charge of things later on.

The first part of the story also not-so-subtly state the stark contrast between buildings in the PAP constituency and the Opposition constituency, with the Opposition complaining that they do not get enough funds to upgrade the buildings.

I have also tried to combine the things I have learnt at CAP into this story. They include: planning the building blocks of writing a story and writing emotively from Josephine Chia’s workshop, and planning out the characters and addressing issues in the world from Courttia Newland’s workshop and Yew Kong Leong’s workshop respectively. Also, I had took some ideas from Lord Puttnam’s lecture, whereby the situation the Earth is in right now is something that must be quickly tended to.

All in all, I myself hope that the message manages to be conveyed and I hope that this story would be able to entertain readers of all age. Children, because of the action and the thrills, as well as adults for the messages inside it.