The air was hot and sticky. The cruel sun beat down upon the arid ground with a force that would have threatened life, but there was no life on this grim planet. As the travelers wandered across the deserted terrain, a vague breeze could be felt, but even this was no match for the tiresome sun.

The travelers were quite protected from the intense heat by their apparel, which was designed to defend them against any sort of fierce weather they might encounter on their journeys. These explorers were time travelers from the year 2000. The four of them, two women and two men, had been carried into the next millennium by the world's first time capsule, created just three months prior by NASA.

This was the time capsule's first mission. The mission itself didn't have a central purpose. It was only an experiment to distinguish how well the machine could operate and what it could help to accomplish. It was also important to discover any "bugs" that might need to be worked out before any relevant missions were attempted.

When they had first embarked on the mission, the voyagers had been exuberant, eager to view the futuristic Earth that modern humanity could only imagine. The travelers had expected to be welcomed by great cities. They had been waiting to see numerous improvements in technology, and curious inventions such as flying automobiles and supercomputers that could do everything from housework to algebra homework in less than five minutes. Nevertheless, what they found was more disturbing than disappointing.

The Earth of the year 3000 was a forsaken planet. The only signs that life had ever existed were graveyards, abandoned homes, and human possessions thrown about in such a casual manner that one would surely have thought their owners had only gone out for a bite to eat, and would be back within the hour. Still, the most horrifying element of this unsettling panorama was the unavoidable realization that the year 3000 Earth looked relatively no different from the Earth the explorers had left behind. Whatever had happened to civilization had not happened many years after their journey, or even years later at all...

Christine felt goose bumps spread over her body despite the heat. As she looked upon the house her pulse began to race. "Danny," she spoke meekly to her companion. "Oh my God..." An expression of panic came over her and she began to cry. All the color drained from Christine's face and her features twisted into an expression of pure horror.

"What is it?" Danny managed to ask, despite his fear of the answer.

"Danny, that...that's my house," she answered before breaking down into massive sobs of pure anguish.

Danny held her as she cried. He knew it wouldn't have been a problem for her if the house had changed since when she had left it. But from what he could see, everything looked about the same, right down to the red welcome mat facing the front door which he had given Christine as a housewarming gift when she had finally moved away from home and got her own place. Across the street, Jendi and Nathan were investigating an old corner store when Christine started to cry. Recognizing the house which Danny and Christine stood in front of, they hurried over.

Danny and Christine had been dating for about two years. Nathan and Jendi were a brother and sister pair. They had all become friends through internships at NASA during college. Now, their positions at the institute kept them together. Perhaps if it weren't for their close ties to each other, they wouldn't have had the strength to go any further than the red welcome mat of Christine's home. But, somehow, Danny managed to guide Christine over to the door, and the four of them stepped inside.

Everything looked generally as Christine had left it on that dazzling Tuesday morning. She could almost smell the sweet-scented geraniums that had once grown from the flower pot in the kitchen window, now long dead, the dried brown petals scattered about the yellowed linoleum that had once been a sparkling white, daily scrubbed to shine. The only noise that could be heard was the simultaneous and quite labored breathing of the frightened explorers.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing an enormous cloud of dust at the travelers. "So, this is what happens to a house that hasn't been cleaned in a millennium," Christine laughed dryly. The crew smiled faintly as they began to regain control after fits of coughing and sneezing. At this time the wind again settled into a gentle breeze, whimsically blowing Christine's lacy kitchen curtains with a fading force.

"Hey, what's that?" Danny inquired pointing to a dust-covered leather-bound book that was now lying open on the floor, its pages turning mechanically with the breeze.

"You left your journal in the kitchen?" Nathan asked. "That's kind of bizarre. What were you doing, writing in it while you ate breakfast?" Nathan's sarcasm had little effect on Christine as she picked up the book and began surveying it.

"This isn't mine," she stated. "I don't even keep a journal." Curiosity overcame the group, and they all gathered around Christine. Finally, the anticipation was just too much, and Nathan grabbed the book from her hand.

"Come on, let's see what this darn thing says," he ordered.

"What! Look, Mr. Patience, the book was in my house. I'll read it," Christine replied. Nathan backed off, and handed her the book.

The explorers gathered around the musty kitchen table, the chairs creaking beneath them, rotting and ridiculously old antiques made of what had always been flimsy plastic and metal. "Okay." Christine cleared her throat, and began to read...

The entire company was in tears as Christine shut the book. Jendi looked up to see a numb expression on Christine's face, tears in her eyes. "She was your sister, wasn't she?" She asked tenderly. Christine nodded solemnly. Then she began walking towards the door. The group followed.

Outside, their eyes beheld an immense catastrophe. Buildings were beginning to crumble and the earth beneath their feet seemed to be eroding as if to swallow everything that rested upon its surface. It was as if the erosion and decay that should have happened centuries ago to the planet was now occurring all at once.

"Run!" Christine shouted as the land beneath the explorers began to split. The four raced to the "Counter Clockwise" at speeds they could not recall ever reaching before. Relief came over the company as they entered the shuttle. No one saw the rock that came flying at the capsule before it was too late. "No!" The ear-piercing screams of the group echoed across the empty world.

Then all was quiet.

Nathan was the first to speak. "Well, now what?" "How are we going to get back home with that hole in our chamber?" He pointed to the jagged gap that had been left by the rock. "This machine won't run with that kind of damage." The group shook their heads gravely.

Suddenly, Jendi cried out. "Where's Christine?" The crew rushed from the time capsule, into the dismembered town.

They found Christine lying on the ground over by the remnants of her home. "Christine!" They all shouted, but she didn't move. The group rushed over, and shook her.

Slowly, Christine opened her eyes. "What happened?" She asked, visibly dazed.

"I think you were hit by that rock that came through the shuttle," Jendi answered.

"I was?" Christine inquired. "No, I wasn't." She held up the journal that was lying at her side. The front cover was severely dented, but not destroyed. "The book saved me," she informed them. "The impact just sent me flying out of the shuttle."

"I don't know who it was who left the door open!"

Nathan blushed briefly, but composed himself. "That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen," he stated. "That rock should have gone right through that book at the rate it was going. Did you see that thing? It must have weighed more than the four of us together!"

"Now that's exaggerating a little bit." Christine giggled nervously. She really didn't know if it was truly an exaggeration or not.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Danny told her, his voice choked by tears.

The voyagers helped Christine up and headed back to the shuttle. Nathan came up with the idea of shoving the book into the space destroyed by the boulder. It was a perfect fit.

"I can't believe all the ways that that book has saved us today," Christine remarked. "It's almost as if it were in itself the salvation of the world." Making sure she set the timer in the shuttle for a day before their supposed return, Christine pressed the release button. The next thing she knew, the group was back at NASA.

Needless to say, the world was surprised to find the travelers home early, but they were even more surprised to find that they had brought nothing back but a strange leather-bound book. Christine made arrangements for the entire memoir to be published in daily newspapers around the world the next day.

That evening, Christine knocked on Lydia's bedroom door. Lydia had been in complete shock over the book she had supposedly written, and she hadn't taken any chances. She had called Beth as well as Brian, making amends. She had had that conversation with her parents about their favoritism. She had even asked Perry to hang out with her at the fair the next day.

When Christine entered the bedroom, Lydia was apologizing to Ginger. Now, she took a running leap and threw herself into her sister's arms. "Chrissy, I'm so scared," she managed to voice through her tears.

"I know," she answered, stroking Lydia's long, dark hair. "Me too." No one knew what would happen the day after the festival.

People did all kinds of crazy things. It certainly felt like the end of the world. But, the next day, Christine woke up to her very own bed, and looked outside to see children playing and laughing in the golden sunshine. At first she didn't understand. Then a mysterious but ever-so musical voice echoed from all corners of the globe.

"It was a lesson that had to be learned the hard way," the mystical being proclaimed.

Those were the only words that were spoken, yet everyone heard, and everyone understood. Since then the memoir has disappeared. Blank pages are all that remain in Lydia's unused journal.

The story of the year 3000 has now become an often talked of legend. Many still believe it really happened. It's really become hard to say for sure, and NASA's Time Exploration Institute refuses to comment. Still, somehow humanity seems to remember the message even as the tale begins to fade away.

Maybe you never had a grandmother to tell you such tales, but I did. I know the truth. Humanity was saved by a young girl's journal. People continue to walk the planet today because of Lydia's bravery. She stood up, accepted the challenge given to her, and taught the world a simple lesson that it had been trying to master for years: "Live each day as if it were your last. You might not get another chance to say those words unspoken."

Great Stories Online 2000Ó TJ Greaton