She’d never seen anything like it. All of these massive ships were lined up in a row stretching towards the horizon, probably for miles, although she certainly wasn’t going to be the one walking it to find out … her father made a weird joke about a traffic jam, pointing to all of the ships trying to funnel through the few gaps in the cloud of smoke covering their earth.

Ahead, they saw a small ship, with a handwritten sign advertising empty seats. As her parents rushed to book their passage, she thought it looked rather like the other ships’ little sibling. "The Exodus … " she said to herself. A perfect name. Despite its diminutive stature, the Exodus appeared to be a spaceworthy craft … at least we’ll be safe while we try not to die, she thought wryly.

The captain shook her father’s hand and motioned towards her. “I’ve got a daughter ‘bout her age. Maybe they’ll hit it off.” He turned and walked back towards the ship; her family picked up their belongings and followed him in.