44 minutes

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.