By Lillie Taylor

“It isn’t finished. It isn’t finished,” the girl mumbled almost hysterically. The glow of her eyes reflected on the screen. Red irises focusing intensely on the device.

“Scarlata,” a male voice sounded behind her.

She remained fixed on her task.

“There’s nothing you can do.”

Scarlata heard the boy walk into the room and imagined his face. Hair falling over his forehead, brushing against his eyes. Red hair and eyes like hers, inherited. She knew how he would be looking at her. With pity.

“I can’t stop now,” Scarlata whispered. “It’s not finished.”

“Yes, it is.” The boy sounded like he was struggling to make his voice sound stern. “I don’t want you spending your last minutes like this.”

“No!” Scarlata continued to tap the screen, her fingers flying. “Ruber, we can do this. I haven’t given up. We—”

“Stop!” Ruber grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. Their eyes met. Two ruby red pairs. One with reluctant determination. The other with desperate hysteria.

Ruber’s voice was shaky. “You can’t fix it this time. The Erythraean Mist is coming and neither of us can stop it.”

Scarlata stared at him. She felt helpless. Why hadn’t they done something about this sooner? Had the thrill of apparent safety enticed them into forgetting danger was still real? She thought of all the years they had lived on this planet. A world different from the others. A world full of peace. But now, everyone here is doomed.

Scarlata looked out the window. What used to be a city wreathed in joy and prosperity was now shadowed in fear and soon… death.

“We can’t let them die,” she said hoarsely. “Not when it’s our fault the Mist is coming.” Her hands shook as she imagined it. A mist where death follows in a scarlet wave.

Ruber’s eyes fell. “We’re all going to die, Scarlata. There’s nothing we can do.”

A loud alarm sounded through the building. A light flashed in the room, shadows of red dancing across Scarlata’s vision. A color she despised.

“We need to go.” Ruber walked to the door. “There’s a chance we can escape in time.”

“I’m staying.” Scarlata returned to her desk. “I have to fix this.”

Ruber stopped abruptly, turning back to his sister. “You can’t fix this!” he yelled, his pleading turning to anger.

“We can’t let the Mist dominate another world!” Scarlata cried, looking at her work.

“It already is!” Ruber returned to her desk and pointed out the window.

Scarlata looked up. A red fleck floated in the wind. It landed on her windowsill. The wood beneath the fleck began to burn—a scarlet singe emanating from the single particle.

Scarlata looked back at her screen. She was almost there. “I’m staying,” she shouted again above the alarms.

Ruber stood beside her, his stare boring into her head. No doubt her bravery looked stupid in his eyes. It probably was. They could be running right now. Escaping another world’s extinction to live their lives free. Join the rest of the population in the Express Ship and leave the burning destruction behind.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked her, the cold tinge in his voice replaced by determination.

Scarlata glanced at him, hope filling her chest. There was a second of understanding between them. Family didn’t abandon each other. No matter the cost.

“Take this!” She handed him a metal device. Maybe they could do this, now that they were working together. Scarlata gave Ruber a grateful look. “It should disperse the Mist particles.”

Ruber nodded and raced out of the room. Scarlata returned to her screen, pressing numbers frantically. She had to finish coding before it was too late.

Without the sturdy presence of her brother, fear and doubt washed over her again. It’s not finished. It’s not finished. The words echoed in her head over and over. Were they true?

She spotted Ruber in the city below. The Mist rallied to him, sensing a citizen of the Crimson Guild, no matter that the siblings were no longer a part of it. The Guild which aligned itself with the Mist that destroyed worlds at its dictator’s will. After the siblings had left the Guild, the Mist was sent after them, destroying everything it encountered.

Her fingers flew as she programmed the device. Particles of the Mist began gathering, hammering at her window. Her breathing escalated and her hands shook as she thought of Ruber outside with no protection.

Suddenly, her vision turned a sheen of red. She looked up in horror.

They were out of time. The Erythraean Mist was here.

She looked back at the screen, frozen in place. Not finished. Unfinished. This was her fault. The device… their safety… wasn’t finished.

A voice crackled on the radio beside her. A voice she recognized. Ruber’s voice. “I’m sorry, Scarlata. This is it.”

She stared at the radio. What was he doing?

“Maybe we can’t stop it this way. Maybe it is finished. For us. But it doesn’t have to be finished for them. I love you.”

The red in her vision lifted. She looked out the window to see the Mist flocking to something. Her brother.

His words echoed in her head. Maybe this wasn’t the end for everyone else. She and Ruber were the reason the Mist was out here. It was time to stop running. Stop hoping for a way out. If they died… maybe everyone else would live.

Scarlata opened her window slowly. She watched as a torrent of red flew toward her.

It was finished. She closed her eyes. The last thing filling her vision was the one thing her life had never been without. Red.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lillie Taylor is a teenager obsessed with books and donuts. She lives in country Australia with her family and is always ready for a rant about literature. Lillie writes stories, long and short, full of high stakes and twists which range from dystopian to retellings. When she isn’t writing, you can find her curled up reading a book, playing her piano, or lamenting the lack of chocolate.

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