“Him,” Sam said. “Not me. I’ve heard of you. This guy has followed your story since he was a kid.”
“Oh boy,” Rey said. “How long after us did you leave?”
“Twenty-five years,” Sam replied.
“Twenty-five years?” Nate asked. “Same time as Genesis.”
“Three weeks before,” Sam answered. “We were part of a private civilian funded mission. Partially civilian funded.”
“I wanted to be on the Genesis,” Tucker said. “But I wasn’t picked.”
“He should have been,” Sam replied. “The contributions he’s made to man’s long-term survival are insane. But he’s with us.”
“Yeah, good thing,” Nate stated. “You’d be around sixty now.”
Finch explained, “Genesis landed here twenty-seven years ago.”
“Have you seen them?” Sam asked. “Quinn?”
Finch nodded. “We have. They’re well.”
“For us it was like last week that we saw them,” Tucker said.
“Then they’ll look older to you,” Finch said. “But I bet they’ll be glad to know you’re alive.”
“They probably know by now,” Tucker replied. “Yesterday we split off in teams to scout. Our commander set out for a village near where Baltimore would be. Was that them?”
Rey replied, “It is. And this…this is fantastic.”
“What are you guys doing in D.C.?” Tucker asked. “Did you land here?”
“No,” Curt said. “We landed in a pretty bad area. Worst place imaginable. Worst place we could have landed. But, hey, we’re still learning. We haven’t been here that long. We’re more sightseeing the revamped Earth.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t see our ship,” Nate said. “In the Potomac?”
“You landed the ship in the Potomac?” Tucker asked.
“Former,” Nate said, “it’s a dry bed now.”
“That’s like…right over that way,” Tucker said. “Holy cow. I need to see the Omni.”
And just like that, he took off.
Finch looked at Sam. “Is he always so excitable?”
“No, he’s really laid back,” Sam replied. “It’s you guys. He’s wanted to be in space since he watched you prepare for the Omni mission, and since he watched that Omni-4 TV show.”
“I’m sorry,” Finch said. “The what?”
<><><><>
They set up camp for the night next to the Omni, with plans to all return to Quinn’s community the next day. Rey could listen to Tucker talk all night because he was so entertaining. He’d never suffered from the shock of learning he landed on a future Earth because, as he explained, they knew going through that would be the outcome.
She was sure he’d wear thin on her but for the time being, as they all sat around the fire, he made them laugh.
“So I cured the alien plague?” Sandra asked.
“It was great and just in time to deliver the alien triplets. That was a surprise,” Tucker replied. “I don’t know why that wasn’t the season finale. Instead, it was Clutch asking Rey to marry him and she said yes.”
Rey laughed hard.
Curt looked at her. “That’s funny?”
“Yeah, me and you.” Rey cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t happen. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, but People’s Sexiest Man alive isn’t for me. And I’m never getting attached or in a relationship again. But it’s fiction, right?”
Tucker nodded. “That’s right. But they had it all wrong from the get-go. There aren’t any aliens.”
“That we know of,” Sam said.
“True. I’m curious,” Tucker said. “What was your Planet of the Apes moment?”
Rey looked at him curiously. “I’m sorry my what?”
“He has this thing,” Sam explained. “Like at the end of Planet of the Apes they see the Statue of Liberty and the character of Taylor freaks realizing he’s on Earth.”
“Uh, Sam,” Tucker said, “you needed to say spoiler alert.”
“I don’t think that matters,” Sam said. “Even though we knew, I still had that moment when I saw the Washington Monument.”
Rey nodded. “It was the space station. We found a piece of it not far from here. But Finch knew”—she pointed—“before us.”
“I found a coin. I just didn’t know how to tell them,” Finch said.
“What made you guys decide to stay and not hit the Androski again?” Sam asked.
Ben answered, “Some of us did want to and some didn’t. We took a vote. Majority would decide, stay or go. Westerman was the deciding factor. Because we split the decision.”
“So…why didn’t the ones who wanted to go, go?” Sam asked.
Ben shrugged. “It was a matter of leaving the rest behind without the tech, taking the only working ship, because Genesis doesn’t work anymore. It didn’t matter to me. I wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Me either,” Sandra said. “But I needed the medical tech stuff on board and if they left, I’d lose it.”
“Some of us wanted to go,” Finch said. “Me, for one. I mean, this really isn’t our Earth anymore, so why not see where it takes us next? That was my thought. Who knows, maybe we’d end up able to warn people, tell them the safe places on Earth so people could live.”
“Are there any safe places?” Tucker asked.
“Several states went unharmed,” Finch said.
“Will you…” Rey stood. “Excuse me for a second. I need to get something to drink.” She walked from the circle to the ship, carefully stepping over Westerman who was fast asleep by the door.
As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a loud burst of laughter. Tucker probably said something funny again.
She made her way to the kitchen area, checking cabinets.
“You can’t find water or juice?” Finch asked.
His voice startled her and she grasped her chest and spun. “No, I was looking for Curt’s stash. I’d like a drink.”
Finch reached around her to a drawer and opened it. “One of his hiding spots.” He pulled out a bottle and handed it to her.
“Drink?” she asked.
“No, I’m good. Everything okay?”
“Yes.” Rey poured
