Dem and Tir of Sonmatia Two, the only human brother and sister on the planet, had three days to think about the offer Feli-tala Rima had made to them.
In that time, twenty-one more couples arrived at the Angels’ camp, in three separate groups. The last group reported that everyone had had a chance to join them, so anyone who didn’t, must have been happy with mushrooms, and maybe some old canned food.
Feli-tala Rima, three other mission specialists, the regular crew of the life-monitor ship, and two others not visible to the local people, all conferred, and decided that their mission was drawing to a close.
Dem and Tir both struggled with their decision, knowing that the tunnels and caves of their childhood home, in not many years, would fall completely silent. It somehow felt right that the last people alive would be the Tunnel Thugs, eating old canned food, but having no one to sort their trash.
Finally, the tables and stools were brought into the ship. Since the refugees were all young and mal-nourished, most passenger seats easily held two. The hatch was closed by the furry steward, the feathered navigator plotted a course, and the pilot with iridescent scales guided the ship into a large pool in the back of the cavern.
With arms around each other for courage, the passengers soon beheld the sickly yellow daylight of their dead cities, then the warm white light of the Sonmatia sun, and finally the star-studded velvet of space.
Dem and Tir looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.