Chapter One: First Contact Our journey began at the end of everything. The world had ended, but ours had just begun. We had lived our lives in solitude, confined for as long as we could remember, but that was about to change. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” I asked seemingly no one. After a while, a voice I’d never heard rang out. “Hello! Yes, I can hear you. Who am I speaking with?” The British voice crackled out, and a wave of excitement overcame me. “Hi! This is Ethan, who is this?” I replied, waiting for a response. My feet tapped the concrete floor with excitement under the dim light of the overhead lamp. [Ava]: “Hello, Ethan! This is Ava.…

Chapter One: First Contact Our journey began at the end of everything. The world had ended, but ours had just begun. We had lived our lives in solitude, confined for as long as we could remember, but that was about to change. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” I asked seemingly no one. After a while, a voice I’d never heard rang out. “Hello! Yes, I can hear you. Who am I speaking with?” The British voice crackled out, and a wave of excitement overcame me. “Hi! This is Ethan, who is this?” I replied, waiting for a response. My feet tapped the concrete floor with excitement under the dim light of the overhead lamp. [Ava]: “Hello, Ethan! This is Ava.…

Chapter One: First Contact Our journey began at the end of everything. The world had ended, but ours had just begun. We had lived our lives in solitude, confined for as long as we could remember, but that was about to change. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” I asked seemingly no one. After a while, a voice I’d never heard rang out. “Hello! Yes, I can hear you. Who am I speaking with?” The British voice crackled out, and a wave of excitement overcame me. “Hi! This is Ethan, who is this?” I replied, waiting for a response. My feet tapped the concrete floor with excitement under the dim light of the overhead lamp. [Ava]: “Hello, Ethan! This is Ava.…