Adele’s final album ‘69’ played. The final song, ‘Goodbye’ was heartfelt as she spoke to me. Technically it was for 'us', but that 'us' also included me.

“Please take a left, and your destination will be on the right,” a synthetic voice said as the windshield lit up with the GPS directions.

I grunted as I stared at the empty streets. Plants had overtaken half of the sidewalks, but the roads were still whole. Where this was once an urban stronghold, there was now a lot of 'unwanted' greenery.

There, where Siri had helpfully highlighted, was the building showcasing 24-hour parking.

“Check power grid,” I ordered as I eased the RV to a stop. Just in time as ‘Goodbye’ ended.

“May your days be full of light, and joy,” was Adele’s final words. There was a bonus disc that had her anecdotes, and personal messages to us.

I didn’t feel like listening to it and focused on driving.

Like a moron, I parked in front of the exit ramp. Not that there was any chance of causing issues. Not anymore, and if there was issues, it would most likely end on a positive note.

I eyed my fuel cells. The indicators were still green, meaning that I didn’t have to charge it tonight.

Then again, I would be stupid to repeat that mistake. Again.

It wasn’t easy getting three kilometers of extension cables, but I would not do that again. Mostly because I kept those extensions in the trailer now.

“Power grid is active in our area,” Siri said as she helpfully showcased the neighborhood. All green as the grid here had somehow resisted the decay present in the world. Turns out people were willing to invest in the future for others, when there was none for them.

I got up and stretched. The sore muscles complained, but I was glad I took that nap earlier today.

Sure it meant that I would get here only at night.

I grunted as the reality of rushing nowhere came back to me. It didn’t matter what time I got anywhere.

It never did.

“Siri, unlock the armory,” I said as I leaned forward, and hugged my legs. Yoga was important, and Siri never stopped harassing me about the healthy, daily routines.

By the front door, a cabinet hissed open. Inside was the latest Dragoon Exoskeleton. My all in one tool to give me the strength of Heracles, and the protection of a light tank.

Made by Samsung-Tesla. The final gift from the old world.

I stepped into the compartment, and it hissed closed around me. The complex system whirred to life, and the special armor locked into place around me.

The armor was made of GGT Alloy. A Graphene-Gold-Titanium alloy.

Light, yet incredibly hard mixture that could resist bullets, and enclosed. Once closed up, I would have thirty minutes of air. A precaution if I needed to go into dangerous places. I would have more air if I used a scuba tank.

Styled after Iron Man, but more black and purple. Color I thought made it look stunning.

“Dragoon systems online. Life support online. Power reserves at maximum,” Siri whispered into my ears.

The world went from black to full light as the camera system linked up with my internal display.

I grabbed the SMG at the side. A ninth-generation Kriss Vector CRB. Colored in bubblegum pink because I wanted you to know what killed you.

“Siri, open the side door,” I ordered as I began walking to the only door to the RV.

While the RV was luxurious, it was also designed with safety in mind. One door. Heavily reinforced and there was even a table that doubled as a protective pillbox.

A small, single-person pillbox. Covered in a thick layer of GGT alloy, and with a Samsung minigun.

I never had to use it, but it was nice to know it was there.

The doors hissed open. They opened slowly and tended to close quickly. Hydraulic doors that could crush bone when ordered to close.

As I stepped out, the doors closed behind me.

The silent world was not so silent.

The rustle of leaves. The whisper of wind across buildings. My audio even picked up a small animal waddling across the street.

It stopped and looked at me. It quacked, and I turned my head over to the parking garage.

To the side was an attendant’s station. It had an opening on the front with the streets and another opening to the parkade.

I walked up and turned the knob. It opened. Not that it could have stopped me, but I found that locked doors were rare. Very rare.

My camera system adjusted. The dark interior lit up as Siri adjusted the lens. I could also flood the area with light. Turn a pitch-black room into daylight.

I saw a place that exiting people could get help, and had all of the security cameras to the parkade itself.

Everything was off, and I eyed the black screens wondering how dull the guard's job would have been.

I settled on okay. Dull it may be, but the loneliness was probably less pronounced.

The front desk held a Tesla charger. On it was a simple plaque.

[May your travels be safe, and your journey beautiful. Please accept our final wishes for tomorrow.]

Under it was a thick QR code.

Siri read it in seconds, and my side display filled with hundreds of names. 512 names.

A tally at the top right showed 1,638,514,201. A number of names encountered, categorized and uploaded to the RV’s computer.

If I had wifi access, I could pull up their photos as well. The old generation to us, the last generation.

I sighed and grunted as I resisted the urge to spit. Well wishes from people I did not know, to me, a person they could never meet.

The Tesla charger felt heavy in my motor-assisted hands. The well-wishes of 512 people. Who set this up in case someone of the last generation stopped by.

Siri said nothing. She had learned to understand my moods.

Her network was still running somehow. I only understood bits of it as she didn’t know how she was currently still working. From what I could predict it had to do with very special, and very expensive satellite networks.

The Tesla charger was long enough for me to run it down several blocks. The fact that I was parked outside was nice as I quickly pulled out the surge box, and plugged in the charger into that.

“Power connected. Reserved Charging,” Siri said as my screen showed a bunch of stats.

Charge time: 4 hours.

Battery Health: 88%

RV Systems: Good.

I stared at the over-sized home of mine. It was sleek, durable, and had the best technology available to us.

All so that we could live out our lives as we deemed fit.

Elon Musk had thought of everything he could and squeezed out even more from his workers. This RV, the trailer attached behind that held all of my extra things. An electric ATV, and if I hadn’t wrecked it, a model S.

I turned around to see the hotel famous among the rich and powerful.

The Greenwich Hotel. Owned by the famous Robert De Niro. Then by his daughter Drena De Niro. Finally, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez.

Leandro, who in his final video, offered it to any of the Last Generation who desired it.

In a shrinking world that had no future, the final humans turned to altruism. Some more desperate than others as they desired someone to remember their legacy.

Elon Musk partnered with Samsung to design the core vehicle for us. Apple-Google-Microsoft created the best mobile system for reliability, and AI integration.

From clothing to food, everyone who had influence tried to stamp their mark onto us.

I sighed as I walked forward. I grunted again as I brushed away dark thoughts.

Being a living memorial wasn’t why I was born, and I would be damned if anyone made their mark without my engraved permission.

Samsung-Tesla was as close as it got. Car. Armor. Protection. A sturdy 3D printer.

AeroPlenty Spirits was a close second as they produced the food I ate regularly. A farm where which was the trailer I dragged behind the RV.

I touched the door and found it locked.

I blinked.

The door. Locked.

What?

“Warning, unauthorized access attempt. Cycling password,” Siri warned as my vision began to grow fuzzy. My limbs felt heavy as I tried to step back.

“Warning, unauthorized access attempt. Subsystems activated. Core systems. Are. Under. Load.” Siri stuttered. Static began to fill my hearing as the audio systems flared to life.

I began to panic. This was not good!

I turned around and tried to run to the RV. It was lined in the protective lead to prevent such intrusions. The minigun would also make me feel a lot safer!

My desperate run was sluggish at best. My ragged breathing was all I could hear.

This was like those horror movies I watched, except a thousand times worse. I was living it right now.

My mind began to recall the last time I had been this panicked. The Festival of Good Times. A gathering place was the Last Generation could meet, and collaborate.

Then the cult revealed itself, and began the “Reaping”. My family. My friends. All gone.

The world turned back to sharp focus as I saw the side door. My suit felt like a mountain as Siri was able to open the door. There, staring at me was the deployed minigun. It slowly spun to life. It didn't fire as I tried to walk up the steps into the RV.

“Air. Vented. One. Minute.” Siri choked out as her voice sounded faint amid the static.

My vision turned dark as I saw the minigun adjust itself, and begin to fire over my shoulder.

My last words were simple. “Fuck you!”

—

The world blurred back into view. The dark, wood ceiling greeted me as I woke up.

Everything felt dry, sore, and I felt like I was hungover. I slowly sat up.

The blanket was warm. The pillow firm, and the bed both rigid, yet supportive. A high-end mattress like what I had back in the RV.

My simple tank-top and shorts were still on me, minus the nice and protective armor I was wearing before I passed out.

The sounds and smells greeted me next.

Sizzling meat. Frying eggs. The faint sounds of violins. The cloying scent of fat and protein tickled at my memories.

“Good morning Kim, you have been unconscious for 10 and a half hours. Your vitals are currently all green,” Siri greeted me from a small speaker near my bedside.

“What is going on Siri,” I asked as I slid off the bed and onto my feet. The world didn’t spin, and I stood without issues. Good.

“We have encountered another person. James restrained you via a hidden command in a torrent of access requests. He enabled the hermetic systems, and the warning was buried under 284 other warnings,” Siri rattled off as I began to look for a weapon.

“The current situation is safe Kim, and you are invited to dine with Sir James in the dining room,” another synthetic voice piped in.

I stopped and stared at the speaker. I knew a Cortana when I heard one.

I shivered at the potential threats. Though the voice had not said anything of the sort, the fact that she was here was enough. Cortana’s were favored by the Red Reapers.

My heart pounded, and a rock formed in my stomach. I grunted as I shoved my fears to the back of my mind and walked out.

If ‘Sir James’ wanted me dead, then I would already be dead. Not lying in a comfortable bed with access to Siri.

My footfalls sounded loud as I padded out of the room. The sounds from the kitchen grew louder. The smells thicker. Classical music was more intense.

A crescendo of music met me as I stopped by the beautiful dining table. Three sets of plates were already set out, and a noted that various plates of eggs, meat, and bread.

I saw the back of a man as he stood over the sizzling pan. I noted that there was a lid over it. His height was a little shorter than mine. Asian by hair color, and skin tone.

“Hello Kim, it has been a while,” James said as he turned around.

I blinked as I stared at him. A scar lined down his left side. Temple to neck. Another scar on the same side. Left earlobe to chin.

He pushed up his glasses, and I wanted to smirk at his frilly pink apron. He and I were friends once. Instead, I glowered.

“I had to ensure you were not a reaper,” James smiled as he turned back and lifted the lid over the pan.

The smell of something like bacon filled the air. James quickly used chopsticks to move the bacon off the pan onto another plate.

I watched as James walked over to the dining table. The man limped. Something on his left side. He placed the plate to sit with the rest.

James was armed. A pistol sat holstered on his right side. The safety clip held the gun in. Both a good and bad sign.

“So what now?” I asked as I stared at the plate of bacon-like goodness. When was the last time I had bacon?

It wasn’t until I swallowed a mouthful of drool that I noticed I was only looking at the food. James was also smirking at me.

“Now we talk about our future together, and how you will sacrifice everything to help me,” James smiled as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

I stared at him.

“I have been… busy since we last talked,” James said as he tucked himself in. He grabbed a bit of everything and ate it.

His moans of delight were distracting. I kept myself from moving, however.

“What makes you think I will ‘sacrifice’ for you?” I bit out.

James smiled at me.

For a moment I recalled the old James. A smiling man, sans scars, who loved puns and awful jokes.

“I believed in what they initially spoke of, but never of their methods. That gathering…” James sighed as he let his fork and knife settle on the table.

His eyes looked into the distance. James was the one who invited me. My friends. My family.

I met his friends. His family.

The next day, I lost everyone I cared about.

I had ignored his calls, and voice mails. His emails and texts.

“I had Cortana look into you, and you pass,” James smiled as he looked at me once more. His smile gave me no warmth.

There was a coldness I never saw before. I knew that James would shoot me if I turned hostile.

Instead, I grunted. Sat down and began to spoon food onto my own plate. I noted that I didn’t have a knife.

“How did you look into me?” I asked around a mouthful of eggs. Salt and pepper were simple spices, but so good.

“I found admin access during my travels. So long as we have talked in the last twelve hours, I can access your AI,” James said as he stared at me.

I noted that he hadn’t grabbed any more food. Which wasn’t an issue as I felt that rock in my stomach drop.

“Access Siri?” I whispered.

This was bad. Very bad.

Siri controlled everything from my gear to information about my habits, travels, and even future plans.

I gripped the spoon and fork in my hands. If needed, I will spoon out his eyes with my dying breath.

“You haven’t changed Kim. Which is good,” James smiled seemed warmer. “I don’t have to kill you.”

The admission of violence was somehow comforting. He wasn’t going to kill me.

“Sacrifice,” I said. We were getting off-topic.

“Ele! Breakfast is ready!” James hollered.

I winced as the man didn’t have to yell that loud. He could have turned down the music.

The patter of bare feet stomped across the floor.

It sounded strange. Then Ele appeared.

I dropped my fork and spoon. The clatter rang in my ears.

Ele shyly eyed me, then moved her chair over to James. Her black hair was similar, but also different.

James was a yellow tanned, Chinese Asian. Ele was more mocha-colored. Middle east, or perhaps Eurasian.

Once she had moved her chair over, and her plate, she began to scoop heaps of food over to her plate. She began to chomp down like it was a food eating competition.

My mouth was dry. James and I were in our thirties now. Ele couldn’t be older than 15.

“How?” I whispered.

“I can’t remember what it is called. In any disease, due to human diversity, a very small percentage will be unaffected. Those who were still virile were often partnered with sterile people,” James said as he slowly took his own portion.

The plates had shrunk a great deal. Ele was not shy about food.

“Eventually, those virile people partnered, and Ele here is one of those very rare pairs,” James smiled as he softly brushed his hand across her face. He moved the hair out her way as she was currently chewing on two strands.

Ele smiled at James, but the moment our eyes met, she immediately looked down at her own food. She was still shy.

I smiled and followed her actions.

The three of us quickly ate, and I was surprised that all the plates were polished off. That was a lot of food.

“You have been looking for something Kim. Something to work towards,” James said as he began to stack plates.

He moved with Ele and I watched as they began to wash the dishes. Ele used soap and water, while James gathered them all for her.

I watched the smiling girl hum with a music only she heard.

“Help me watch over Ele. I need your help,” James asked as he sat back down. He placed down a glass bottle and I stared.

Coke Cola.

How in the world did this man find not only a bottle but a set of them?

The crack resounded in my ears, and the fizzle of the drink beckoned me. I drank and the intense sweetness flooded my mouth. I heaved as I had to stop and take a breath.

“Lets say I agree. What do you need my help with?” I asked as I stared at the man.

“The Reapers know about Ele. They have been killing any of the kids they can find. Though thankfully they haven’t had a lot of luck,” James said as he took a long drink from his own bottle.

I stared at the man. He stared back.

Suddenly Ele popped up and took her own bottle. She gave James a hug, and a quick kiss on his cheek before she scampered off to wherever she was before.

I stared at her retreating back.

“What do you need from Siri and me?” I asked in a whisper.

Focus. A goal. Ele was something that I found myself desperate to be apart of. Ten years alone was not healthy for anyone.

“Three other cars entered around the same time you did. Which was why I knocked you out. If you had Reaper tattoos then you would not have woken up,” James said as he rubbed his eyes.

I nodded. All the threats suddenly made sense.

“So we have problems here?” I asked as I leaned back.

I didn’t have a lot of weapons. I had only stocked what I thought I needed. Hunting rifle. Rounds for the gun. SMG for anti crazy old humans. One anti-material rifle for other people like us.

“I have a ferry docked. We drive to the ferry, and then onto the yacht,” James smiled at me.

I stared at him.

His scars were suddenly at the forefront.

James was always a careful person. His scars. His limp. James was sacrificing for Ele as well.

“Team lightish-red back in action?” I asked as I tried to give him a smile.

We were part of a group back then. The eight of us. Not Pink, but lightish-red.

Now it was just the two of us.

“Welcome aboard Kim. We leave as soon as you can get your RV powered on. Cortana has already sent Siri your address, or you can just follow us,” James stood up and reached out his right hand.

I shook his hand. It was firm and warm.

“Team Pink is back in action,” James chuckled as he let go and made his way to Ele. “Your gear is by the front door in a duffel bag.”

I stared at the man and huffed. The gear wasn’t super heavy, but it wasn’t light either.

I made my way over to the front door, and there was a tan duffel bag.

I grunted as I lifted it onto my back.

The walk to the RV seemed to stretch out as I hustled down.

James. Ele. Reapers.

I didn’t want to see any of those monsters ever again… yet I had to didn’t I?

If we could find enough kids, then humanity would be saved. Wouldn’t it?

It wasn’t going to be that simple, but then again I was just wandering the freaking Continent on borrowed time.

Siri unlocked the RV as the camera system saw me. The pillbox was reverted to the table, and I dropped the bag in front of the armor.

I tipped the bag out, and let the parts fall across the floor. Mechanical arms slowly sorted them out.

I found a pair of running shoes and quickly laced them on.

From there, I hopped out and detached the power cable.

If Reapers were in the city, then it would be important to hide their tracks.

I ran the cable back into the building. The bright afternoon light lit up the interior enough for me to easily see everything.

I pulled in the middle half of the cable and tossed it in.

Before I left, a glint caught my eye.

The plaque.

[May your travels be safe, and your journey beautiful. Please accept our final wishes for tomorrow.]

I stared at it and grabbed it.

A billion and a half supporters... and a bit more, right?

I smiled. Right. A billion, and a bit. Plus two.

With Siri and me, Ele was going to stay safe. I would guarantee it.

Or die trying.