8. Humanity's Second Chance.
"Well, uh, thanks for sharing your stories with me. Today's, uh...today's been a hard day for all of us. You kids are pretty brave to talk about what happened in front of a total stranger." Stine said. "Tommy...would you like to go next?"
"No, thank you." Tommy said.
"Alright. It's okay, i...i understand. It's understandable if you don't wanna talk about it." Stine said.
"Okay." Tommy said.
"So...i know this may be hard for you to deal with right now, but...it's not too late, you know. To save humanity, i mean." Stine said.
"I thought we missed our chance." Bryce said.
"Oh, we missed our chance to fight back against this disaster when it happened, but that doesn't mean humanity is done for. We humans can still fight against this event and win, even in the current state California is in right now. I guess i could at least be, uh...one of the first." Stine said.
"Hold on. You're saying that fighting back is still an option?" Bryce said.
"Exactly." Stine said. "I'm not saying that fighting back is gonna make your lives any easier during this current disaster California is facing. In fact, it'll make your lives a lot harder. And it won't make your grief just somehow go away. But saving humanity in the end is more than worth it. I know that for sure." He said. "Alright. Alright, listen. We blew it, i'll admit it. I'm taking advantage of the fact that i'm still here and using it as a second chance opportunity to fight back, and i'm not gonna apologize for telling others how they can do the same. If you kids wanna hear this, i'll be happy to walk you through it."
"Hang on a second. You mentioned that humanity had a second chance to fight back. Are you saying you think this disappearing act was world-wide?" Charlotte said. She had been so focused on the vanishings here in California, she hadn't even considered the fact that the disappearances could've been a global occurrence. That thought had never entered her mind. But it wasn't crazy to think that way. What guaranteed the disappearing event stopped here in California? Nothing.
"Yeah. Actually, that is what i'm saying." Stine said.
"Just like here in California?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah, that's exactly what i'm saying." Stine answered. "You all wanna hear this?"
"Yeah." Bryce said.
"Mm-hm." Will added.
"Sure." Tommy stated.
"Yes." Charlotte said.
"You know it." Kyle said.
"Okay, uh...first let's recap what's happened. Number 1-The state of California-and possibly the whole world-awoke to find this morning and what did it find?" Stine said.
"A bunch of people who are now gone without a trace?" Charlotte guessed.
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it did. But more importantly...it woke up to something that it had never seen before. The start of the apocalypse. The end of the world." Stine said.
"Oh, yeah. Rory was always jabbin' on about this." Will said.
"So...you've, uh, heard about this before. The apocalypse, i mean." Stine said.
"Well, yeah. Like i said, Rory-" Will stopped himself. "Hey, come on, man. I'm not the only one who was caught off guard by this whole thing."
"You're right. You're right, we all had our chances to prepare for this day. Anyhow, the disappearances of countless people has most likely ushered in the apocalypse. The beginning of the end, so to speak. Number 2-We can't fight this thing by ourselves. There's no way. The biggest mistake we can make at this time is to think that we can handle this problem without any help from the rest of the world. The entire human race should definitely stick together in a time like this." Stine said.
"I didn't even pay attention to the doomsday people, 'cause i didn't think that an apocalypse happening in our time was possible." Charlotte said.
"So...what do you think now?" Stine asked.
"Well...yeah, it's possible." Charlotte said.
"Okay. So, uh, it's just the six of us and we can't win against this end-times event on our own. Number 3-Going off on your own during a time like this would be a death sentence. Plain and simple. You go off on your own and it's likely you won't survive." Stine said.
"So what's the point in-"
"But we as a race of people have proved time and time again that if we come together and help each other, there's nothing we can't overcome. See, that's the solution. Humanity, who is made up of billions of people, can accomplish anything when they stick together. And when we as people come together as a whole, and then just work together to resolve this current life-threatening issue...well, we save each other." Stine said.
"What do you mean we save each other?" Charlotte asked.
"We save each other from being wiped out. From becoming extinct." Stine said.
"So that's all we have to do? Just come together as an entire race of people and fight back save and planet? Sounds simple to me." Charlotte said.
"Yeah, well, that's easier said than done. Some people will probably be killed along the way. And people in California are currently being killed right now in riots, angry mobs, lootings and home invasions, as i've researched online. But the people's sacrifice will be worth it in the end when we save the world." Stine said.
"You make it sound easy, but it's not." Charlotte said.
"Exactly. Exactly." Stine said. "Any other questions?"
"Hey, is there anyway to know for certain what caused the disappearances?" Bryce asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, i'd like to know that." Charlotte added.
"Sure. There's a video on YouTube of a boy that i think will help explain what has happened. Is that something you'd be interested in?" Stine said.
"Yeah." Bryce, Will, Charlotte, Kyle and Tommy said in unison.
"Good, then follow me." Stine said before he and the five kids got up and left out of the basket-ball gym.
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