Jay is sitting on his bed and contemplating his recent divorce when he gets the alarm. Just a little ping on his phone, not exactly begging for attention. That one sound foretells the fall of a great nation: The United States of America. They have been at war with another country for five years now, and finally, in 2045, the world as the U.S. knows it will be gone in precisely 45, no 44 minutes now. And as hundreds of thousands of Americans get the alarm, they realize that all they have worked for will be brutally obliterated in... let me check; 43 minutes.

A/N: I didn’t want to offend anyone by putting in a specific country the U.S. is at war with, if you guys have any suggestions let me know.

I already have a couple chapters out so I'll post the ones I have today or tommorow.

“Sophia, you have to get off your phone, it’s been three hours!”

“Coming, Mom....”, I trail off as I stare at my newest notification. My mom’s silence lets me know that she got it, too.

“Mom?....”

Suddenly I am rushing down the stairs and into her arms. 

“Mom”, I sobbed. I almost choked on the words, knowing that they will be among my last. Not that there will be anyone around to record them.

“I know, honey, I know”, she cries, bawling louder than me.

“What are we going to do?”. I whine it out, punctuating the last letter.

“I’m not sure, sweetie, but we’ll get through this.”

“No, mom. We won’t. Nobody will.”

44 minutes

 Two extra hours? It’s summer vacation! Yes, I’m aware of the staff cuts. Alright, I’ll do it. Asher hung up, sighing. It seemed like it was every day he had to work at least an hour of extra time to prove that he shouldn’t get fired. He knew the business was running out of money, but he was only sixteen! I shouldn’t be overworked for such little pay, he thought. I wish there was something else I could do, but we’re running out of money at home, too. His dad had run off when Asher was a kid, leaving his mom to take care of him and his two brothers. There wasn’t much money to go around, so he had to work wherever they would take him. Asher was about to call in a hover lift to take him home when a small notification popped up on his phone. He stared at it uncomprehendingly.

“This has to be a joke. There’s no way”, he stuttered.

It would take him at least an hour’s hover ride to take him home, which meant he would never see his family again. He had to get back! He raced to the nearest hover and turned it on the highest speed. He placed his palm on it for identification as the robotic voice said 

“Where would you like to go today, Asher?

“Home!” he shouted.

“I am sorry, I cannot find the location called ‘ome’ in your town. Would you like to add it in?”

“No, I meant home!” 

“My apologies, Asher.”

“It seems I have a new notification”, the robot exclaimed as they raced down the streets. “Would you like me to read it?”.

“Sure”, he grumbled. “Just be quick about it”

“There is a highly developed nuclear missile speeding towards the United States at many hundred miles an hour. In 43 minutes now, it will hit our country, wiping it off the map. Please go to a shelter to ensure your safety” 

The robot lift shuddered to a stop.

“Redirecting to the nearest nuclear shelter” The lift pronounced.

“No! I want to go home! I need to see my family! Asher cried out. None of them have phones, I’m using my mom’s one, and they live in the middle of nowhere! They’ll all die!” Asher lowered his face to hide the tears streaming down it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure” 

Asher half sighed; half sobbed. The lift robots were a bit like the old Amazon Alexas that used to be popular in 2020 in the sense that they never answered questions or statement specific to the person. He called a hover to go to his house, but he still cried, knowing it would not get there in time to take his family to a shelter, knowing they would die.

Sophia’s mom hurried around the room, as she got their dog’s leash, a bunch of food, and some of her personal belongings. 

“Go! Get as much food and clothing that you can fit in two or three suitcases! Hurry!” Her mom blurted out. 

She scrambled up to her room and started to pack as many things as she could for the underground shelter and stopped abruptly. 

“Mom?” She called down. “How many minutes does it take to get to the shelter?

“Only a few, we live very close”, her mom yelled back.

Sophia started packing again, and she was done in five minutes. She got one more bag for the things she wanted to keep and ran downstairs, packing movies, board games, anything she could reach. Her mom had three suitcases, a backpack, and a purse, so she took their dog, Brandon, and rushed outside. Sophia tried to call in a hover, but they were all taken! She felt a bit faint.

“Mom, all the hovers are gone!” She cried

“We’ll have to walk”, Her mom said.

“But we won’t get there in time!”

“I’ll call Jay and see what he can do.” “In the meantime, let’s start walking.”

“I want to go to my family!” Asher shouted for the tenth time.

“I’m sorry, ‘family’ is not listed on your hover locations. Would you like to add it to your map? The hover robot answered

“NO! Just take me home!”

Asher slumped into his seat. There was nothing to do, the hover regulators had already rerouted everyone’s course and abandoned the control centers. Nothing could take him back, especially since he was twenty feet in the air and couldn’t jump out. He wished he hadn’t argued with his mom before going to work, and that he had given his brothers a hug in the morning. There was so much unsaid that could never be explained to his family. He could only hope they would make it on time, but hope had never been enough for him. The most he could do had already been done. All that was left was to wait. He wished he could tell them who he really was before......no, he couldn’t think like that. They had to make it. They would make it. Then he could tell them. Maybe. Probably. Sometime later, after the missile hit. Possibly. If he had time...

Forty-one minutes to the destruction of America, Jay got a call from his ex-wife and daughter. 

“Dad!” Sophia shouted. “Can you pick us up in your hover? Ours got called away at the last second, and we need to get into a shelter.”

“Sure, sweetie”, Jay replied calmly. “Let me get mine real quick.”

He looked out the window, only to see that his hover was gone. 

“Sophia, can you put your mom on the call?” 

“Sure”

“What’s, wrong, Jay?” His former wife asked.

“Ellinor, my hover is gone”

“ What? No, it can’t be. Just check again.”

“I already have!”

“Alright”. Ell breathed out slowly. “We’re at your apartment building. Come downstairs and we’ll walk there.”

“Ok”, Jay said.

When Sophia saw him without his hover, her face shut down completely.

“Let’s go”, She grumbled.

They walked in silence for five minutes, until Sophia broke the silence.

“So, we’re all going to die, then.”, she blurted.

“No, no.” Her mom said. “We’ll be fine.”

Even Ellinor looked uncertain, though.

Their silent march continued on, though with an air of hopelessness. They knew what was going to happen, but if they kept walking, just in case.

A/N: I skipped some time because I don't have the time or patience to write 45 chapters.

Asher wondered how long it would be before he could come out of the shelter. His hover had arrived with forty-one minutes to go, and he had no way of contacting his parents. Now, with only thirty-six minutes until the bomb hit, he struggled to think of something happy. Even though he knew he would die if the bomb hit and he wasn’t in the shelter, he would rather be anywhere else right now. Asher imagined himself walking along the long path up to the outdoor basketball court in town. He would be with his brothers, teasing them and seeing who could run to the court and back fastest. He really could almost feel the ball and smell the lingering sweat as he imagined himself back at home, putting the basketball back in his garage. He walked back to his room, wondering what was for dinner, when a sharp, jarring sound cut through his visions. His phone was ringing, but it was a number he didn’t know. He picked it up cautiously.

“Hello? I think you’ve got the wrong number.” He said.

“Asher!” A voice he hadn’t heard in ten years greeted him. “Look behind you!”

“What?” He replied.

He turned around, not willing to believe his ears. The man standing behind him was vaguely familiar.

“Dad?” 

Sopia’s sobs racked her whole body as she thought of all she would miss. It was hard to believe just yesterday she was happily touring colleges and texting her friends, not even thinking about how much she took for granted, how much she would miss if it-and she were gone. Coffee in the morning. Her friends, her parents, her house. Art class. As she walked, she began to imagine a different world. Nothing would ever harm her there, nothing could touch anyone. There were no bombings, or rations, no need for shelters. Yeah right, she thought to herself. Nothing would ever be that way. She blinked, bringing herself back to reality. Sophia stopped crying, realizing there wasn’t really a point in it. She rubbed her dog’s back and held the leash a little tighter.  Suddenly, she heard the quiet motor sound of a hover going by. She looked up slowly to see her old childhood friend, Aria!

“Soph! Do you need a ride?” She yelled down. Sophia broke out in fresh sobs of relief.

“Yes”, she choked out. “A ride would be great.” Her parents waved up to Aria’s parents, who waved back, but they were somewhat subdued. Sophia realized something.

“Aria, how many more people can your hover fit?” She asked hesitantly. Aria looked shocked as it dawned on her.

“One....”

Asher turned around to see his dad standing in front of him with his arms out for a hug. Asher’s jaw went slack. His eyes filled with tears and his body shook with anger. This was his father, who took him to every basketball game, who cheered obnoxiously from the sidelines, who joked with him and knew him better than anyone. Who cheated on his wife, blackmailed his son, and left his family.

Asher ran at his dad and punched him as hard as he could, right in the stomach.

“You-left-us-you-cheated-on-mom-you-left-us" Every word was punctuated with a sharp kick.

Asher’s dad backed away slowly and looked up shamefully. He had a black eye and looked like he was going to be sick. Good, Asher thought. He is sick. 

“Asher, I can explain”. His dad looked at him pleadingly. He had looked at him that exact same ten years ago, when he left Asher, his brother, and his mom, who was pregnant with his youngest brother at the time. Asher had been on vacation with his mom and brother in North Carolina. Every day they watched the sun rise over the mountains. The colors splayed out across his mom’s face, highlighting her beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. Both features were long gone, scrubbed away by her long hours cleaning the local hospital all day and half the night. Asher had left for home early to see his dad, who had stayed home to “work”. It turned out his “work” was another woman. He wanted to surprise his dad, but no one was more surprised than him. He had come home to them on the couch, and his dad had looked up and jumped off the couch, saying he could explain. Asher didn’t like his explanation. He told his dad he was telling mom no matter what, but as he ran for his hover, his dad held him back and gave him an uppercut so hard it knocked him out. When he came to, his dad promised him that he would beat him until he was dead if he told anyone. Asher cried and pleaded, but it was no use. He went to his room and pretended to be sick when his mom came home. She kissed his dad on the cheek as Asher steamed red-hot inside.

Asher brought himself back into reality and look at his father’s apologetic face and hard, cold eyes. He started towards him like he was going to hug him, and then ducked under his arms and ran as fast as he could to hide.

“Asher!” His dad screamed. “Wait!”