"I know," she replied, her voice growing faint as the distance between them stretched. "But look at the stars, Elias. Have they ever been that bright?"
"The air is getting cold, Sarah," Elias whispered. He watched the crystals of ice begin to form on the edges of his visor. Falling Falling
Elias looked down. The world below was an indistinct blur of sapphire and white. There was no horizon, only the terrifying realization that the Earth was receding. The gravity well hadn't just flipped; it had vanished. They weren't falling toward a destination; they were falling into the vacuum. "I know," she replied, her voice growing faint
Elias tilted his head back. Away from the lights of the vanished cities, the galaxy was a spilled bucket of diamonds. It was beautiful, silent, and indifferent. He stopped fighting the wind. He tucked his arms against his chest and closed his eyes, letting the momentum carry him. He watched the crystals of ice begin to
The sky was no longer a place; it was a speed. Elias had always wondered what the end of the world would look like. He didn’t expect it to look like an endless stretch of bruised purple clouds and the frantic, rhythmic whistling of wind against his goggles. He wasn't hitting the ground. That was the problem. He had been falling for three days.
"They say if you fall fast enough, you eventually miss the earth and start orbiting," Sarah said. There was a faint, hysterical edge to her laugh. "Maybe we’re just becoming moons."
Should the "falling" be (like this sci-fi version) or metaphorical (falling in love, falling from grace)? What is the target age group for the story?