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He ran. Sprinted. Like he never had before. He didn't even know he was capable of running this quickly. Adrenaline. He had to get away. He was not going to die. He couldn't. He wasn't ready. He had more to do, more to see, more to say. A dozen or so henchmen were chasing him, he didn't know exactly how many, because he couldn't afford to look behind him and count, that for sure would get him caught. He made it to the fence, which he clumsily climbed over, scraping himself on the barbed wire at the top, the sharp metal sunk deep into his legs and arms, but he didn't feel a thing, his nervous system was so clogged up with images of a slow painful death that it didn't have time to tell his body that it should be screaming in pain. He thudded on the ground after missing his footing on the way down from the fence, hurting himself further, but still it wasn't enough to get him to accept his fate. He continued to sprint like his life depended on it (it did), he continued to run, still feeling a military presence behind him, at least the fence had given him some distance, he supposed they never expected him to get so far, so it came as a shock when he got over the fence, leading them to pause for a short moment.
Blood was coursing through his body at a rate just short of a medical miracle, his survival instincts more alive than they had ever previously needed to be. He ran and ran and ran. People were still chasing him, people much faster and fitter than he was, but what Grace lacked in physical fitness, he made up for in desperation to live. He made his way through the field surrounding the base, his lack of stamina beginning to catch up with his racing thoughts of death. His body had used up all the oxygen it had, it was no longer capable of respiring aerobically, and the lactic acid from anaerobic respiration began to fatigue his under utilised muscles. But that was when he saw a truck that must've been leaving the base with deliveries of some kind, this was his escape. He forced his legs to keep going just a little bit further, and he clambered onto the back of the truck, using his final gram of strength to pull himself up into the almost empty cargo bed. He breathed a sigh of sweet relief and said a prayer to a God he wasn't sure if he believed in that he wouldn't be noticed and hopefully he'd be taken to somewhere that would allow for an easier getaway back to the states. However, after all that running, Grace passed out from exhaustion, or it could have been due to the pain in his limbs that he was starting to feel as the adrenaline release slowed.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he fell asleep, but the truck was still moving and he hadn't been caught, so perhaps the military men hadn't seen him escape into the truck and as a result, hadn't been able to notify anyone. It was unlikely that they hadn't seen him, but if they had, well they clearly hadn't notified the drivers of this truck or Grace would probably be on his way to the Hail Mary by now, the frightening part being that if he were, he wouldn't even know it, as Stratt sure would've had him sedated during his slumber so he couldn't run away again. Stratt. How could she? Grace knew she would do anything for the survival of humanity, or maybe he didn't, because he never thought she was capable of this. Of murder. Grace's entire body began to fall victim to floods of sadness, now that he was no longer fighting for his life, he was able to actually process and feel what had just happened to him. Stratt's betrayal was a sour taste in his mouth, so sour that his eyes began to water, tears forming, Grace covered his mouth, he couldn't risk being heard, but keeping in his sobs seemed to be a much more difficult task than running across an enormous field and he had to bury his face in his beanie in an attempt to stifle his sobs.
Through his blurred vision, Ryland noticed that the truck was passing through a town. He didn't have long to think, but from his point of view, he had no idea at all where this truck was going nor did he know if they'd pass through another town in the future, this might be his best chance at finding a US embassy and trying to get the fudge out of here. So, he took a risk. He jumped out of the truck, rolling on the ground in a not completely successful attempt to not further injure himself. At his point of exit from the truck, he was now a little outside the town, so he began to hobble his way back towards the town, he didn't have a plan, he guessed he would just knock on door after door hoping someone spoke enough english to help him get somewhere with a US embassy so he could try to get a temporary passport and go home. Well, maybe not home-home, as it was likely that Stratt had sent people there, on the slim to none chance he found his way back. Oh goodness, this was going to be a humiliating task.
He came to the first house. He knocked. "Hello, my name is Ryland Grace. Do you speak any-"
The door was slammed in his face. He couldn't blame them. If a man who spoke a funny language, had bloody clothes and eyes so red he gave the devil himself a run for his money showed up on his door, he too would probably slam the door in their face too. Onto the next house. He repeated the same words as before, trying to look less insane, but failing miserably because yet another door was slammed in his face.
He must've knocked on at least 30 doors by now. The sun was setting, his chances of seeing any success were slimming by the minute. Okay. Time for the next house. "Hello, my name is Ryland Grace. Do you speak any-"
Ah yes. Another slam. Grace was going to lose it in a minute.
Next house. "Hello, my name is Ryland Grace. Do you speak any english?"
No slam. The owner of this house was an old woman, she was staring at Grace, she clearly didn't speak any english, but she hadn't slammed the door in his face, so that was something. She put one finger up at Grace, and said something in what must've been her mother tongue. Grace didn't know what she was saying but she assumed the finger meant wait there, so he did. He didn't know what he was waiting for, but he did know, that she hadn't slammed the door in his face and she had actually acknowledged his existence. It did take everything in him not to do a victory dance of sorts.
He waited for a couple minutes until a much younger man opened the door. "He-Hello," he said, his voice was nervous but kind.
"Hello, my name is Ryland Grace. You speak english?" he said, his assumption was that, yes this man did speak some english, but he thought it would be rude if he just assumed that he did, and even though Grace was at the end of his tether, he still didn't want to be rude, especially not to the people that might just be about to save his arse.
"Some."
"That'll do!" Ryland said gleefully.
"How can I help?" The man said, then noticing Ryland's bloody clothes, "Oh dear, please come in, we help."
Grace clocked that the man was looking at the bloody clothes, "Oh please dont worry about these, I'm fi-"
"Please, come inside, we help you, then we talk."
Ryland could felt his cuts beneath his trousers stinging, maybe some help wouldn't be so bad. "Thank you," Grace said, following the man inside.
Inside the house, he saw the woman who had opened the door previously sitting at the table, the man said something to her in their language, and the woman immediately looked at Grace's arms and legs, she must not have registered the blood before, because the second she did, she rushed over to Grace to help him sit down. She then left the room. Grace heard what he thought was the sound of a bath running.
The man walked over to Grace and pulled up a chair. "Hello. My name is Amir," he gestured towards the room the woman had gone into as he then followed up with, "and that is my grandmother, Sofia."
"I am Ryland Grace. Thank you for helping me."
"No problem. How do we help you?"
"Well... I need to find a US embassy so I can go home."
"Embassy?"
"Building, probably in a big city, I need to get some kind of passport so I can fly home."
"I drive you to capital city?"
"Yes! That should work! Are you sure it's not too much bother?"
"It could take long time. 10 hours."
"Oh wow. Look, I'm sorry man. That's ages. Don't worry about it."
"No, no, we get you home."
"Are you sure?" Such kindness was something Ryland hadn't been privy to in what felt like forever, since every positive interaction he'd had with anyone on the Petrova task force now felt like some cruel manipulative joke. He knew it wasn't, at least deep down he knew that, he knew that he was the last resort, that he was never supposed to go on the Hail Mary, that it was that darn explosion. But right now, his anger and hurt prevented him from thinking rationally.
"We get you home."
After a few minutes, the woman came back and gestured for Grace to follow her. He followed her into the room she had just been in, Grace was right, she had been running a bath.
She gestured for him to remove his clothes. He stared at her. Surely he misinterpreted that. The woman looked at the man and said something in what Grace was guessing was Russian, the man then turned to Grace, "She wants you to remove your clothes, so she can help you."
"Is she sure?" Grace was absolutely terrified he was going to scar these people for life by misinterpreting this.
"Yes." And as he said it the woman began to take off Grace's jacket. Okay, here goes nothing. He began to remove his clothes, until he was completely nude. How stupid he felt. The woman pointed to the bath and Grace got in, the warm water hurting his cuts in a way that almost felt nice. The warm water relaxed his muscles, allowing Grace to breathe a sigh of comfort. Sofia began to wash Grace's cuts, cleaning them for him, she gestured for him to lean back and relax, and despite not really wanting to trust anyone ever again, Grace allowed himself to trust Sofia to take care of him, her eyes shone with kindness, and after all, she had helped raise the lovely man that is Amir, so she must have a beautiful soul.
Amir had left Sofia to clean Grace, assuming his translation skills were no longer needed, and he wanted to give Grace as much modesty as he could. At the end of his bath, Sofia handed Grace a towel and Amir came back holding some pyjamas of his, and said to Grace, "You dry yourself then wear these clothes."
Grace had every intention of protesting and saying that he would wear his own clothes, but the two hosts had left the bathroom before he could string a sentence together so Grace got out of the bath, pulled the plug, dried himself off and then put on Amir's pyjamas.
When Grace exited the bathroom, Amir said, "Sofia bandage you, then we sleep, then in morning we go to Astana."
Grace nodded. He assumed Astana was the capital that Amir had mentioned earlier. As much as he wanted to get home as soon as possible, he didn't want to put Amir and Sofia out more than he already had, so he followed Amir to a room with a bed and fell almost instantly asleep. Long day.
"Mr Grace, Mr Grace!" Amir whisper-shouted at Grace, shaking him awake.
"What is it?" Grace said sleepily, only half remembering where he was.
"We must go now! Men knocking at door asking if we seen American!"
"What?!" Grace hurried out of bed in a panic. Had they figured out that he used the truck to escape? They must've. Damn you Stratt. He was not going on that ship. He didn't care what he had to do, he was not dying. Not yet.
"Wear this." Amir handed Grace some proper clothes, they were big and baggy, almost as if it was a disguise to prevent anyone clocking his americanness.
Amir and Grace hurried downstairs, Grace thanked Sofia the best he knew how to, and Amir kissed her goodbye, then the two of them snuck out the back and fast-walked to the car. Amir drove casually away, as to not draw any attention to them. Military men did look through the windows of the car as they drove past, but Grace had made sure to duck down in order to not be seen. According to the small screen in the car, it was 5am, so perhaps the military men assumed Amir was going to work, Grace wasn't too sure, but they didn't stop and search the car, so Grace just thanked the God he prayed to earlier and allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Once they were very clearly out of sight, Grace allowed himself to sit up straight.
"Sorry for sudden wake up, men knock on door and I panicked, I never lie to police before. You criminal?"
"I am not a criminal, I- I- I just don't want to do something that those men want to make me do." He took a moment to reflect, "I am sorry you had to lie for me, but I do appreciate your trust in me."
"I not think you criminal. That's why I lie. You seem good man."
Grace smiled. He needed to hear that. His brain had been quietly yelling at him for being a coward all day and night long, Grace had tried to suppress it, but he heard it.
"You tired, you sleep, I drive. You need rest," Amir said to Grace.
"No no no, you've been kind enough to drive me I can't possibly sleep while you so kindly drive."
"I prefer quiet driving, you sleep."
And that was all Ryland needed to send him straight off to sleep.
He woke up suddenly as the car came to a sudden halt. Amir looked over at him, "Sorry Mr Grace. Man stop suddenly. But we are in Astana now, so maybe you wake up now."
Wowzers. Had he slept the whole 10 hours? Clearly he had. He guessed he was still reeling from his impromptu sprint yesterday. Amir looked down at his map, he had the US embassy circled, Grace didn't remember him having a map when they'd first set off, perhaps Amir had stopped on the way, 10 hours was a long drive to do in one, it would make sense.
They arrived at the embassy about 20 or so minutes later. Grace suddenly realised, he could use a ride to the airport. He was in a big city now, it was fine, he'd find a bus or something.
"Thank you for everything Amir, I really appreciate it, you and Sofia have no idea how much this has meant to me."
"No trouble, we are happy we help. I wait here until you get passport?"
"What?"
"You need car to airport no?"
Wow. Was there no end to this man's kindness? "Amir, thank you for all your help but this is really too much."
"It's okay, I drive 10 hours, I am okay to drive 30 minutes more."
Grace smiled. It was the existence of people like Amir that made him glad to be human, glad to be on earth. It was also the existence of people like Amir that made Stratt want to save the world, because kind souls like Amir deserved to not starve nor freeze to death. Stupid brain. It was like his own brain wanted him to seethe with untapped guilt and self-loathing.
"Thank you Amir, I'll be as fast as I can."
The US embassy was huge. Grace had no idea what to do or where to go. He decided the large desk right in front of the door was probably a safe bet. He walked over. The woman immediately started speaking to him in what Grace was now sure was Russian.
"You don't happen to speak english do you?" he asked her.
"Why yes I do," she smiled back at him.
"Thank God! Hello, my name is Ryland Grace, I lost my passport and I really need to get home."
"Okay. You'll need to fill out some forms, I'll need a passport photo and proof of emergency travel."
"Right, okay so here's the issue. I don't have any proof as all of my belongings were stolen," he lied.
"Hmm. Okay, you will need to file a police report then."
"Can I do that here?"
"Not really no."
"Great. Where can I do it?"
"The police station."
Nice one Grace. Really showing the world you deserved that PhD.
"Can I at least have the forms now?"
"Why don't you go file your police report, then come back with proof and then you can have the forms?"
Ryland huffed. Yes because he needed to take advantage of Amir's kindness even further. "I'll be back."
He walked out of the embassy in a huff, just one more thing going wrong away from a hissy fit.
Amir looked up from what looked like a book he was reading. "I didn't think it would be that quick!"
"It wasn't. I have to go become a criminal."
Amir started at him, confused.
"I don't have any proof of emergency travel, so I told the woman everything I had was stolen, so I need to go and file a police report, but of course nothing was stolen, so it is in fact a false police report, which is a crime, which officially makes me the criminal I told you I wasn't."
"I see. Get in. I drive you to police station."
Grace smiled again, he knew Amir was going to drive him, but Amir's kindness still managed to surprise him in a way.
The police station wasn't too far. Amir parked outside the station and got out as well as Grace. "You don't need to come, Amir, you don't want to be an accessory,"
"Accessory?"
"My accomplice, my partner in crime."
"It's okay, I not sign anything, I just translate, I shan't say I witnessed anything." Grace nodded, so long as Amir didn't get in trouble, Grace appreciated the help he was being offered, a translator was sure to come in useful.
They went inside the station, Amir spoke to the man at the front desk, and he gestured towards Ryland a few times. The man nodded and gestured for them to take a seat, which they did. "What did he say? Will this take long?"
"No. He said you just have to sign a few forms, then he make copies then we leave and you get passport."
Phew. As grateful for Amir as Grace was, he was very concerned about Stratt showing up at the embassy and prevented him from leaving. His only saving grace, was that what Stratt was doing was surely illegal, if he screamed loud enough or ran fast enough, people might hear, then she might get in trouble, perhaps arrested for attempted murder or something, whatever, Grace didn't know, he didn't know how the legal system worked, or if Stratt's authority transcended sending someone to die in space against their will.
The man came back quite quickly, he handed the forms to Amir, who then handed them to Grace, who filled them out (with the help of Amir of course). They gave the forms back, the man made copies and that truly was it. They barely spoke to anyone. Grace guessed that would've been a pretty bummy way to deal with things, if his passport had actually gotten stolen, but for Grace's current situation, it was bloody brilliant.
Amir drove Grace back to the embassy. Grace marched back in. "One police report madam."
The woman looked at the form that had been placed on her desk, "That was fast."
"Yeah, the legal system's a joke. Now where are those forms?"
She gave him the forms, "You'll also need to remove your beanie and glasses, and use that booth over there to take some passport photos."
Grace turned to look at the Photo Booth in the corner of the room. Nice. A photo shoot to end this holiday from hell. Fabulous.
Grace filled out the forms, took some rather awkward photos and then gave everything to the receptionist. She looked over it all. "Looks good."
"Great. So can I have my passport now?"
"No. You need to have a meeting with the counter manager. They will look over your evidence properly, then once they give you the all-clear, the passport takes about 4 hours to properly make."
"How long until I can get a meeting?"
"You're in luck. It's a slow day. He'll see you in 20 minutes. Just wait there." She pointed towards a line of chairs that was just through an arch way to the left of her desk.
Grace nodded, "Thanks for your help."
The counter manager came down 25 minutes later, "Ryland Grace." He sounded American, Ryland was ready to charm this guy so bad, he was getting that passport.
Ryland almost burst out of his seat. He ran over and followed the man up the stairs.
"Aylin gave me your evidence. Looks good. Sorry to hear about your passport man."
"Nah its alright, just glad for you guys or this would've been a lot worse."
"Flattery will get you everywhere my friend," the counter manager smiled. Ryland smiled back, hook, line and sinker, he thought.
The two men talked for a short while, this fellow American laughing at all of Ryland's jokes, Ryland learnt that his name was Terry and that he'd been living here for two years, he had two little girls, named Florence and Stephanie, they were 8 and 5, his wife, Lauren, was initially very apprehensive about the move, but she's really enjoying the city, and has made a lot of friends. Ryland had maybe stretched the truth with Terry, as when Terry asked him about his family, he'd said he has a wife and kids waiting for him at home, so he really needed that passport.
They talked for about 45 minutes, only ending the conversation when Terry glanced at his watch, and realised he had another appointment he had to get to.
"It all checks out man, I'll put through your request, maybe even expedite it so you can get back to the wife and kids faster," Terry smiled.
Ryland felt bad for deceiving him. He was such a kind a fella. "Thanks Terry, it was great talking to you."
And with that, Grace walked out of the office, then went back to the reception desk where the woman he now knew was called Aylin resided, "Hello again."
"Appointment go well?"
"Yes. I just wanted to know when I should come back to get my passport," Ryland said.
Aylin looked on the system. "Hmm... oh look, there it is, your request has been expedited, so if you come back in 2.5 hours, it should be ready. I'll be here, so just come to my desk again and I'll give it to you."
"Thank you," Grace smiled at her, then he left the embassy to go and meet up with Amir.
"Hey man, we've got 2.5 hours to kill, wanna get some food?"
"I'd love to."
They found a restaurant within the city centre, the food was lovely, but the best part was that Grace really got to know Amir, his favourite colour, what he did for work, why his parents weren't around. Grace didn't really give much back, he kept his cards close to his chest, but Amir didn't mind, he didn't even push, he understood that Grace was a good man and that was all that really mattered to him, he wasn't going to push for details he didn't need.
2 and a half hours later, Amir drove Grace back to the embassy, where Grace collected his passport from Aylin, he thanked her for all her help, "No worries," she said.
Amir then drove Grace to the airport, it was a short drive, only 28 minutes, which compared to 10 hours, was not bad at all. As Amir pulled into the drop off point at the airport, Grace noticed that there were military men dotted around, not so many that any regular person was alarmed, but enough that Grace was alarmed.
"You better go while you still can," Amir said, noticing the men.
"Thank you Amir. I wouldn't be here without you. In fact, I'd probably be-" he stopped himself, Amir didn't need to be plagued with the details, "Thank you, and thank Sofia for me."
Amir smiled, "You are welcome Mr Grace."
Shit. Shit shit shit. And one more shit. Grace didn't swear often, but the realisation that just hit him, made him wish he had gone to space.
"I don't have any money. Oh my god. I doubt I'll find a flight for less than a grand and I don't have any money."
Amir looked at Grace. Here. He handed him a bank card.
"Amir. I can't. Like I actually cannot. If I take this from you, I am officially the worst person in the world, and trust me, I am already pretty close to that title."
Amir moved his hand holding the bank card closer to Grace, "We get you home."
Tears welled in Grace's eyes. Here was this man, who didn't owe Grace a thing, who didn't know anything about his life, who didn't know that Grace may have just played a part in the end of the world, and yet, he was willing to do so much, just to get him home. Kindness like this was a rare thing. A rare jewel amongst the evil that has corrupted humanity.
Grace took the card out of Amir's hand and put the bank card into his pocket.
Grace scrambled out of the car, passport in hand, before he shut the door, he said, "Thanks again," and then Grace hurried into the airport.
Grace looked around. Where to book a flight. He noticed a check in desk. He walked over, praying the desk's operator spoke english.
"Hello, I am Ryland Grace, do you speak any english?"
"I do."
"Great! Any flights to the United States? San Francisco ideally,"
"No flights to San Francisco, but I do have one for Los Angeles in two hours," the man at the desk said.
"That's perfect, thank you." Ryland used Amir's card to pay, and then the man handed him his plane ticket.
Grace ran back outside to Amir, he gave him back his card, and thanked him again, "I'll always remember this, thank you."
Amir just smiled, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to do for a random stranger. Grace waved, as Amir drove away into the now-setting sun.
Grace's check in was smooth, aside from a few queries about his temporary passport, but he made it to his gate with plenty of time, he even did some window shopping around the airport, of course, he couldn't buy anything.
It didn't take too long, for Grace's gate to be called, and he got onto the plane, he had a middle seat. Yuck. But anything would do right now. He was finally on his way home, to a life he wasn't sure existed anymore, an uncertain fate awaited him that was for sure.
He had a layover in Istanbul, luckily it wasn't too long before he was back on the plane (aisle seat this time, better) on his way back to the United States again.
Grace had planned to try to sleep the entire flight, but unfortunately, a wave anxiety washed over Grace, he had no idea what to expect when he landed, no idea what Stratt could be doing behind the scenes to find him. He'd been her leading expert on astrophage for almost two years now, he knew her power, her reach, what she was capable of. He wouldn't be totally surprised if she was at the airport waiting for him when he landed, in fact, he'd probably be more shocked if she wasn't.
His thoughts raced, the entire flight. He kept seeing different flashes of himself being dragged away, kicking and screaming, begging not to be sent to die, pleading with whoever he could, he saw his own death over and over again, sometimes he starved, others he went by injection with Ilyukhina. These thoughts haunted him, tormented him, had him tossing and turning in fear. The flight felt like forever, he was half scared Stratt had hijacked it, and the entire flight was being redirected or something, he was reaching new levels of paranoia. But according to the small screen in front of him, they were in fact heading to LAX. Grace breathed a sigh of relief, though just because they were going to LAX didn't mean Stratt couldn't be there waiting for him.
The plane landed at Los Angeles the almost 23 hours after it had left Kazakhstan, what a long travel day it had been. Grace got off the plane, sleepy but he was happy to be back home, he had never been so grateful to see such an array of American flags before. He managed to get through customs swiftly, since he was an American citizen, though he did keep an eye out the entire time for Stratt or at least possible military men she could've sent. Must to Grace's dismay, he did see quite a large gaggle of military guys, no sign of Stratt though, but Grace wasn't going to assume that these men weren't with Stratt, better to assume the worse so he can prepare better.
He tried to blend into the crowd, not daring to make eye contact with any of the men in uniform, Grace walked out of the airport, he didn't have any money, so he guessed he was walking. Great. He had planned to use a cash machine at the airport, but the large number of military men had scared him shitless, so his mind had fogged up and he'd forgotten to look for one.
It didn't take Grace long to fall victim to America's poor walkability, he decided that walking would probably get him killed even faster than the Hail Mary would. So naturally, he decided hitchhiking was probably his best bet, so he stopped walking and put his thumb out. Several cars passed him, some giving him an awkward stare, others just ignoring him entirely, until a couple in a van pulled over, "Where you going man?" said one of the guys.
"San francisco?" Grace replied.
"Brilliant, we're going there too! Get in!"
And he did. Was he going to die? Likely. But at least he'd die on earth.
The couple were chatty and kind, they played lots of 80's music, which Grace enjoyed, they told him they were from Florida and had been driving around the country for about a month now, they'd been stopping in a bunch of different cities on their way around and San Francisco was there next stop, their names were Marcus and James, they'd been together two years, they both loved to travel and taken the year off from work to travel around the world together.
They stopped at a gas station along the way, the couple bought a bunch of sweet treats for them all to share. Grace even managed to get some money out at a cash machine, luckily he remembered all his details so he got out $500, since that was the maximum he was allowed to get out at once.
Grace had asked the couple to drop him off at a motel, he'd spend the next few days there and then surely he could go back to teaching, maybe not at Grover Cleveland Middle as he didn't want anyone like Stratt or Carl to pay him a visit. Or maybe he wouldn't even stay in California, he did love it here once, but as he was driven around in the backseat of a Volkswagen bus, he didn't really feel at home here anymore, he felt on edge and out of place, but maybe that would pass after the Hail Mary launched.
The couple drove into the car park of a motel and Grace got out of their vehicle, "Thank you guys so much for the ride, and the snacks too!"
"No worries Ryland, nice to meet you man," said James, and Marcus just smiled and waved. They drove off, presumably towards a pre-booked, much nicer hotel.
Grace turned around and looked at the motel, it'll do, he thought and he walked up to the main office.
"Hello could I get a room for one for one night please?"
"Yeah, no worries, would you like to pay upfront?"
"Yes."
"Okay, that brings it to $87."
Wow. Grace hadn't expected it to be so expensive, but he paid anyway and then took his key and found his room. All he had to his name was $413 and Amir's baggy clothes from the morning before, his beanie and glasses and that was it. He thought about potentially going out and finding a thrift store, but it was now the early hours of the morning and anyway, Grace needed to save all the money he had, his future was still very much uncertain.
He woke up to a bright bright light gleaming through the window, he must've forgotten to close the curtains when he'd gotten in last night. He decided he would live out his next few days here the best he could, while also retaining as much money as he could. He got up and took a shower, then he put Amir's clothes back on, they were smelly now and they were definitely not in accordance to the fashion in San Francisco but Grace liked them, they served as a reminder of Amir's kindness. Grace went downstairs and asked the woman how far away the nearest diner was, it was a 30 minute walk, Grace could do that, he walked over to the diner and had some much needed American food.
His breakfast made him feel a little more at ease, like he was coming down from a very high high, and finally felt normal again. He then found his way to a thrift store and managed to find some sick science t-shirts and a pair of jeans, that'd do. That was pretty much his go to uniform, it was a shame he'd had to leave so many epic t-shirts behind in Kazakhstan, he'd miss them.
Grace went back to the motel to change, he then turned on the tv, hoping to watch some kind of sitcom for comfort, instead he was greeted with the news, talking about the launch of the Hail Mary, for months Grace had had this day drilled into his mind, this day was the most important day for all of humanity, and yet in all of the travelling and running, Grace had completely forgotten that today was the day on which the Hail Mary was launching. He'd done it. He'd escaped. He wasn't going to die. For like at least another 30 years anyway.
He watched the TV, it looked like Stratt had had to use another scientist, they weren't as knowledgable about astrophage as Grace was, they hadn't sat in on as many meetings as Grace had, but at least this person actually wanted to go, or maybe they didn't, may Stratt had done to this scientist what she had tried to do to him. Grace watched as the three astronauts were wheeled onto the Hail Mary, each of them in an induced coma, he saw Ilyukhina and Yáo too. He caught a glimpse of someone he thought might've been Stratt, she was standing far away from the actual ship in a safe zone, along with many other important people who had come to see the launch in person. Carl was nowhere to be found, though Grace assumed he was there still.
He watched the news for the rest of the day until the Hail Mary had officially left earth. Grace had never felt more relieved than in that moment right there. He was safe.
He immediately left his room, and walked down to the reception area and asked the woman to call him a cab. She did and it came in about 10 minutes. The cab driver drove Grace back to Grace's apartment, where Grace then realised he didn't have a key. He then remembered he had given a spare key to his neighbour, Mrs Plemmons, 3 years ago, after he'd gotten locked out. He knocked on Mrs Plemmons door.
"Oh my goodness! Ryland Grace it has been so long! I hadn't expected to see you again, in fact, I half thought I'd outlived you!" she said when she opened the door and saw his face.
"For a second there you almost did! But not to worry, I am back now, here to stay. Do you happen to have that spare key I gave you?"
"Hm. I know I have it here somewhere," she looked around her, oh so messy, apartment, until she found a small pot underneath a pile of clothes, "Here it is!"
She handed him the key and he thanked her profusely.
Then, he went back to his apartment and finally he was home. At last.
He didn't leave his apartment for days, part of him was scared that if he did, he'd never see it again. His mind raced with newfound anxieties that he didn't know were possible, not until Stratt's betrayal and his treacherous journey to escape her murderous intentions. He stayed in bed most days, only leaving the house to buy food and a phone.
After a few weeks, he got his tv to work again, he turned it on, to yet again be greeted by news of the Hail Mary, this time, instead of having to search for Stratt, he saw her right there, on the big screen, the caption read, "Eva Stratt, leader of the Petrova Task force arrested this morning."
Ryland stood up in shock, Stratt had told him once that she thought she'd be arrested after the launch, but he never actually thought she would be. Then again, there were a lot of things he never actually thought would happen. He observed her face as she was arrested, she was calm, she didn't fuss, didn't resist, just allowed herself to be handcuffed and taken away, into the back of a police vehicle, he watched as all her freedom was taken from her, her life as she knew it was destroyed, and she was just fine with it. He thought about himself, how when he was asked to sacrifice his life, he refused, kicked and screamed, he ran away. But she wasn't being sent to space, just prison, he knew which he'd rather go to. It was different, the sacrifices weren't the same. She still gets to breathe fresh air, she gets to talk to different people everyday, and anyway, she might even get out some day.
Months went by, Ryland couldn't get himself to do anything else but lay around, on his phone and on the tv, every now and again, he'd watch a film to make himself feel productive. His most productive day was when he managed to watch almost the entire Rocky franchise in that one day.
Stratt's trial was scheduled, it would be televised, Grace told himself he wouldn't watch it, but unfortunately when the date finally came, he couldn't resist, he turned it on and watched the whole thing, he watched lawyer after lawyer from country after country lay into her, scrutinising every choice she made, she didn't defend any of them per say, but she did explain why she made each choice, but she never claimed any of them were 'necessary'. She was sentenced to life in prison. Life. She wasn't getting out, she wasn't ever getting her freedom back, and the mission might not even work, not to say it would've worked with Ryland there, but it probably would've had a slightly better chance, since Ryland was the leading researcher when it came to Astrophage. No. He couldn't allow himself to think like that. He was already somewhat depressed, thinking that he could change the outcome of a likely failure of a mission might just kill him.
Seeing Stratt's life be taken away from her on live television was the motivation Grace needed to get himself out of bed, he decided that if he was going to remain on earth, he was going to teach. He would help this next generation through the devastation that awaited them. He managed to find a teaching position at a local middle school, and since he was well over qualified to be teaching middle school, he did manage to get the job, he would be teaching again, this was what he needed, he'd feel whole again.
After a year, he news stopped talking about the Hail Mary, the world forgot about it, instead the news reported on all the growing environmental effects the dimming sun was having on earth, the days were getting cooler, the oceans were becoming less safe for swimming, acid rain was becoming a more regular occurrence.
Grace was doing better, teaching again had helped his recovery, he still had nightmares most nights about the Hail Mary, he thought about Stratt and Carl, Ilyukhina and Yáo, that poor scientist that was Grace's replacement, Shapiro and Dubois. All these people. Each one tormented him in their own way. In Grace's lessons, the kids asked him about Astrophage, and he'd give them a short explanation and refused to go further, he instead taught them how to handle themselves in the coming years, it didn't matter anymore why the sun was dimming, it just mattered that it was dimming and that it wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.
As the years went by, Grace got older, the weather got colder and the food supply was smaller. More and more crime started happening as people began starving, people would fight in supermarkets over fruit and vegetables, and more animals were becoming endangered. The world was becoming a shell of what it once was, Grace hardly recognised it anymore. He continued to teach the kids that came through his classroom, he taught them to the best of his ability, trying so hard to give them at least an hour of normalcy in this dying world.
At the two decade mark, more and more groups were being established, most groups were unhappy with the fact that the billionaires of the world continued to lead relatively lavish lives, while the working class were dying in the masses from starvation. Some groups were peaceful, most were violent, protests began happening every day, people began to get hurt in streets, shops were ransacked and trashed, at least three people fell victim to a stampede a month.
Populations were halving, due to a combination of famine and war. Immigration rates spiked, people were desperate, doing whatever they could to save their families. People complained of overcrowding, turning on each other, everyone was just trying to survive the easiest way they knew how to.
Whenever Grace witnessed any violence, he thought of Sofia and Amir's kindness, of Terry, of Marcus and James, these kind people, what were they doing now? Did they have to give up their kindness in pursuit of life? Did they hold onto it? He thought of Stratt in prison, how much about this did she know? Was this exactly what she thought was going to happen?
The Hail Mary probes were supposed to arrive any day now, it was the closest thing people had, had to hope in years, and for a short while, people became kinder, they stopped fighting, they helped each other, worked as one, but when the probes never showed up... people fell right back into their previous methods.
Grace still held out hope for the Hail Mary, he believed in Ilyukhina and Yáo and the other scientist too, they could do it, they could.
After three decades, Grace lost hope too. He realised that the Hail Mary had failed, he wasn't sure what had happened, but if they were going to succeed, they would've done it by now, it was a sad truth that Grace had come to accept. Less and less kids were showing up to school, their parents forcing them to stay home and help out, Grace's classes were getting smaller, and the kids that did show up, they lacked motivation and passion, "what's the point? we're going to be dead in like 10 years anyway," they'd say to him, and the sad thing was, they were right, the United States had lasted this long without a civil war, but it wasn't going to last much longer.
It didn't. Just before the four decade mark, a civil war broke out, people were fighting and shooting each other in streets, the military barely had any control anymore, people had nothing to lose, they were going to die anyway, and a gunshot was less painful than starvation, it was faster. Grace went back to never leaving the house, every sunday, he'd go and scavenge for food, he found less people were outside on Sunday as more people had turned to religion as the world fell apart.
Stratt died at 87 in prison, Grace found out a year later when he heard people talking about her in a ransacked target. When he heard her name, he felt like he'd been shot himself, he ran his hands over his body, checking for blood. He'd managed to suppress his thoughts about the Hail Mary, and all the events leading up to its launch, of course, he still had nightmares about that day, but he never thought about it when he was conscious, he'd gotten good at controlling his thoughts.
Grace was getting old now, he couldn't walk with much speed, so going outside was nearly impossible, no one was willing to help him, it was every man for himself, without any allies in this war, Grace succumbed to his age at about 76, alone in his apartment, nobody found his body for weeks afterwards, when a group of teenagers were going around, looking for homes they could loot. They broke into Grace's apartment and were greeted with the horrific smell of rotting flesh. They saw his corpse in his bed, unfortunately, in the current state of the world, this wasn't the first time they'd seen such a sight, nor the first time they smelled such a smell. They took whatever they could from Grace's apartment and left him there to rot alone.