WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW ?
Chapter 1
by Georgia Peach

Tanya awoke on some kind of bed , who knows how many hours later. Her eyes blurred for several minutes. When they finally snapped into focus, a dark brown ceiling filled her vision. She stared at it….hadn't she just been in some sort of desert. The good thing was she was breathing easier. She brought her hand up to her mouth only to find some sort of oxygen mask over it. It made no sense. How had it gotten there? She slowly sat up to find a weird cream on her skin….Wherever she was or whoever had taken care of her certainly knew what they were doing.

Tanya gazed around the room…. It was not a nice home that was for sure. The wind howled outside making the roof shake. The fear that went through her could never be explained, all she kept thinking was, if this was the type of wind that came with serious tornadoes. The room was dark and chilly, the sun had obviously set, making the earth go into a deep freeze.

Through the ragging wind footsteps could be heard. Tanya immediately jumped up, making her world spin more. Even if this was the person who had helped her it did not necessarily make them kind. The unknown stranger opened the door….the wind blew in blowing an even colder chill over Tanya as she held on to a table for some form of balance. . "Wh-who are you?" She asked hesitantly.

The stranger stepped in to the old, and broken house . Went to the side and lit a lantern. A girl of maybe sixteen, face was exposed. She had dark hair and eyes. Her skin was almost semi-olive . She wore a plane white T-shirt , with light denim jeans.

She slowly gave Tanya a kind and warm smile, "My name's Amy, Tanya….It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Tanya gasped. How did this girl know who she was?!!! She had never seen her before in her life!!" How … how do you know who I am?" She asked nervously.

"You're one of the power ranger's from Angel Grove, aren't you? I remembered reading about them in the history books." Tanya's face turned as white as a ghost, she felt like she might faint….This girl knew stuff about her…. She knew she was a power ranger, and from Angel Grove….Oh, my God!!! Tanya thought to herself, she had found out about this stuff in the history books, which only meant one thing….She was in the future!!!!" I don't get this," Tanya finally spoke, " Where am I , who are you , what am I doing here, and what year is it?!!!"

"Tanya, please calm down…. You were really sick earlier you don't want to have a relapse…. You are still in Angel Grove… You never left…. As I already said my name is Amy, Amy Jackson….. It is the year 2097…And you are here because I brought you here."

Tanya's eyes just widened with shock, she took a deep breath and stepped backwards….She felt like she was really going to faint this time…. It was just so hard for her to understand…. Nothing was making sense, none of it could make sense. She took another step back and slowly lowered herself back onto the bed. She could see Amy watching her keenly, making sure she was okay. Tanya brought her hand to her forehead to rub it, a headache coming on . " It just doesn't make any sense…..I know you brought me here , but why….What do I count ? Why am I in the history books? " She questioned.

Amy lowered her head, " You just don't understand do you ?…. The reason why your here is to show you what is going to happen , the devastation, the ruins…. I was looking through that old chest a few days ago and found a book on you and the rest of the rangers…. When I finished reading it I knew it was the right thing to bring one of you here…. I wanted one of you to see what was going to happen…So that way one of you might be able to do something about it."

Tanya just shook her head again, " I still don't understand, how did you get me here?….I mean we're talking about time travel."

" I opened up the time line, and just had it send for one of the rangers, from the year, 1997 ….. I wasn't sure who I'd be able to get …. But it turns out I got you ." Amy explained.

Tanya was beginning to vaguely understand. She was either in the Twilight Zone or a total nightmare!!!! If by some bizarre chance this was real she sure hoped she'd get the point and then be able to go home. " Okay,….so what do you want me to do? What can I do ?…. What type of a person do the history books say I am?" She asked getting off of the bed still holding on to it for a little balance.

Amy only brought that warm smile back onto her face." They said you were a very kind, and thoughtful person. And I say that they did not do you justice…..The reason why I brought you here was because you had to see this…. Please just sit back down and let me explain it all to you….The rangers continued to do their job in Angel Grove, protecting all the citizens … But there was one thing the rangers couldn't stop… It all began with a chemical company that had been polluting the nearby forest. The streams were completely chemicals . All the plants , fish, you name it, they all were dead… Several environmental groups went after the company… Eventually they all one and they closed down. But one problem remained where to put the chemicals….They obviously couldn't leave them there , they were seeping into the ground….So they all finally deiced to shoot it out into space….. Everything was fine after that until about thirty years later….Then the ultimate doomsday hit, one that Angel Grove, let alone the world never thought they'd see." Amy's voice faded.

Tanya was listening to the story contentedly and when Amy suddenly stopped it surprised her." Amy , are you all right?"

Amy jerked for a second in some other world , "Wh-what? "

"Are you all right ?…You….seemed kinda dazed." Tanya asked again." Please continue with the story if you can,….I would like to hear the rest of it." Tanya seemed to plea .

Amy's eyes lowered carefully studying the old decaying wood, that might be called a floor." Thirty years after this happened, people all over the world started to have a very hard time breathing…People started to investigate it, only to find that the chemicals had somehow gotten trapped into the earth's atmosphere and was now coming down into our breathing air….. Acid rain began to get worse, until every time it accumulated people had to stay inside their homes…..Because if they were to go out and the water were to get on them, it would burn right through their skin, all the way to the bone….After three years of acid rain no one could get spring water anymore…. When the rain fell on the mountain tops it poisoned the snow and everything else….After almost a decade all of the plants were gone , than the animals,…and eventually….people." Amy paused again. "Why couldn't the power rangers do anything?" She asked. Amy sighed, " They tried with all their might, but the chemicals were so strong it went right through their power suits, and well….Destroyed them."

Tanya was shocked. This had to be a nightmare, it just had to be!!! There was no way any of this could have happened, there was no way whoever God was would allow this to happen….Then Tanya paused in thought,… "What about free will?" Isn't that what Leeza always talks about. How will all have the right to make choices and decision for ourselves, whether there right or wrong. "Well, if that's true, I guess it makes sense." She thought.

"What do you mean by people?" She suddenly questioned, but as soon as she asked she wished she hadn't.

Amy sighed," I'm the only person left here…From what I know….Their might be somebody, but I doubt it.."

Tanya's mouth dropped open. She looked like she might faint, and deep down wished she would. She was not only in the year 2097, she was also talking to the supposed to be last person on earth! The devastation was immense. But somehow she was prepared to hear what had happened," How did it happen?"

Amy glared at Tanya for some bizarre reason. "Are you sure you want to know?" Tanya nodded a truthful yes. Amy sighed again, almost not wanting to remember." Okay,… Well, remember how there used to be plagues and breakouts of severe viruses and things like that?" Tanya nodded again , to intense to speak ." Well there was a sort of outbreak with a strange form of cancer ….People started getting it and dropping left and right from it…. It wasn't like it was the curable kind… And the few that were curable couldn't get tended to because so many other people were coming down with the disease… The hospitals were so crowded that they had to move some people out into the street….And than the doctors began to come down with it…It continued on and on until there was barely anybody left for the disease to linger so it just somehow disappeared…. That ended around sixteen years ago, just before I was born… And the few remaining people including my parents died of different things… There were a matter of ten people left. Most of them died the way my parents died, of starvation, and lack of water…. The others died of the chemicals, or being caught out in an acid rain storm…. That's pretty much it."

Tanya didn't know what to say….What could she say? This girl had literally been through hell, and back!!!" I don't know what to say Amy,… I'm so sorry…and I know your probably going to think I'm stupid,…but how did you survive all this time with no food, or water."

Amy only smiled, " My dad was a great scientist and inventor …. Before he died he invented a special pill that you can live on instead of eating or drinking…. Here let me show you." Amy walked over to a small broken cupboard , and pulled out what appeared to be a box. She flipped the lid off, and it's base had a keyboard… She pressed one button, and what Tanya thought was a box turned out to be some sort of computer… She moved a lever on the side of it and there were three green pills, and eight semi-blue ones…."See." Amy handed them to Tanya.

Tanya was astonished. They were remarkable….and yet sad.. There was no life whatsoever on this world… How lonely it must be here." It must have be hard for you….to lose both parents….It must also be hard now,….what's it like to be the last person on earth?" Tanya asked boldly.

Amy lowered her head looking near tears," It's….very,…very difficult…. I know that whenever I die it will be it…I will be the last person to ever live…if only people would have cared, would have taught their children to care, this might have been prevented…." Amy paused and looked at Tanya wide-eyed. "That's another reason why your here… Adults make so many mistakes, and that's okay, because their human… .But- but so many children look at what adults do and copy those actions and think it's okay to do, than their kids do it, than their grandchildren, than their great-grandchildren.

And before you know it that's four generations doing the same actions because of what that one child saw… Now try and multiply that times how many people in the world…You probably can't, because even I can't, but try and imagine that…All those people and all those generations, being passed down through the centuries….If only people realized what their influence made on these kids, this world would be a better place." Amy finished and let out a deep breath. It seemed as if all of that emotion had been held inside that girl for who knows how many years and now it was finally being expressed. Tanya was almost afraid to speak, she was not sure on how to go about this. Amy was telling the truth, what we did would affect our future in every sense of the word.

Whether it be what we ourselves did , or the examples we set for younger generations.

We all hold a very special gift in our hands. The gift to know right from wrong, the gift to change the world and the gift to set good examples…We have to teach these gifts to the children so that they will understand and do the same for their children.

"Your right, " Tanya finally piped up." What we do affects our future, what we do affects it and will change it for the good or bad of everything….I never realized the responsibly I had… The responsibility we all have…..Can I change it?…Can I prevent this from happening? Is it all up to me?"

Amy looked at Tanya , her eyes glassy," I don't know…Each person has an affect on this world…You do affect it somewhat, but as for if you set a better example the world will change, I'm not sure…Everyone has to care, everyone has to prevent these things from happening…You can't save the world on your own, all you can do is the best you can and pray God will be there to back you up…God loves this planet and everyone in it, he doesn't like to see us hurt, or in pain, he wants to help us and hold us and never let us go. But so many of us run away from him and don't listen, and don't want to except his love…We ask him for things , and when bad things happen we ask why God would do this, He loves us, He's supposed to be there for us, but were all so busy looking left and right for him that we can't see him right behind us, supporting us and carrying us through it." Amy finished tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. They were soft tears , gentle and real.

The more Amy talked the more Tanya felt horrible… She would complain if she didn't get this, or if she couldn't get her way from time to time…Now this girl who had no family whatsoever and literally was alone in this world, still had an unbelievable faith in God… Another person who believed in God. For some reason she trusted Him, and somehow thought there was still a plan for her life.

"How do you do it ?…How do you keep faith?"

"I know, a God must exist."

"Why?"

"Because I'm still here." Amy said staring at Tanya almost waiting for some kind of response.

Tanya froze, "What do you mean by that?"

"God didn't let me die with the others…I was caught out in acid rain once and somehow I lived, it didn't get into my blood stream which meant it couldn't kill me. It almost did, but somehow I pulled through, and I was only five years old…And I'm alive now, I somehow survived through these past ten years since my parents died."

"You're so cheerful for someone whose been through so much, whose been so alone.

You still believe there's a plan for you, don't you?" Tanya questioned.

Amy's eyes lowered once again. It was so hard to talk about this, she hadn't spoken to anyone since her parents had died, she had been all alone, the only person she could talk to was God." Perhaps, "She began slowly," Perhaps, my plan was to tell you all this, so you could stop it from happening."

"Amy, that could be one thing, but I'm sure there's more…"Tanya paused, she had an idea but wasn't sure how to say it." Amy, why don't you come back with me? You could help me convince people, and go on with your life and tell the world your story."

Amy just stared at her in a form of shock not sure of what she just heard." Are…you serious?…You want me to go back with you ?"

Tanya was a bit surprised that she didn't believe her." Of coarse I'm serious, why wouldn't I be?…You can come back with me….wait a minute. Can I get back?!"

"Oh of coarse! You could leave now if you wanted too,…. I already told you everything you need too know…..Would you like to leave ?"

"I would love too, but first answer my question, do you want to come back with me?"

Amy shifted from one foot to the other , a bit impatiently. It was hard for her to answer the question. " I- I can't….You have no idea how much my heart longs to go with you, to be able to live my life to the fullest….. But if I were to leave that would be altering time… You just can't mess with things like that."

"But that makes no sense!!!" Tanya screeched. Nothing made sense anymore!! Nothing could be understood." There's no way you can go on here anyway!!! Why not just come? What would that change?"

"You just don't understand , Do you?… If I were too go back with you, it would change the coarse of time….Let's say you were able to change things where this wouldn't happen, and I would have gone back with you…That means that I might never exist, or disappear, and than what I was meant to do in this time couldn't be done… Do you understand at all, Tanya?"

Now Tanya had to ponder this for a moment… Now she considered herself to be a pretty smart girl, most people saw that also … But tonight was a whole other story. She had somehow been brought to the year , 2097, than she saw her home town, which looked like another planet to her now! She than found out that this girl was the only living being on the planet. Not to mention the fact that she also had found out almost everything about her life from a history book. Plus a bunch of other things that just didn't flash into her mind at that moment or she just didn't want to recall them. And now this!!!!! Part of what Amy was saying made total sense, and yet…yet part of it made no sense whatsoever… She would change the coarse of time that was true, but would it really matter? Her life was practically over anyhow, why not just change it when she had the chance? " I guess that's just going to have to be her decision. " Tanya thought.

" I guess it makes sense," Tanya said with a sigh. "I think it's time you went home…. You aren't immune to these chemicals…If you stay here to long you could become really, really sick…And I don't have the proper treatment for you." Amy said walking over to a small control panel.

"All right, " Tanya agreed. It wasn't really like her too be so agreeable, but she was tired , and confused… And truthfully what Amy said was true , she was beginning to notice herself becoming weak. The chemicals weren't settling right with her, if she stayed here to long she might never be able to return home.

Amy continued at the control panel, preparing for Tanya's trip home…The only problem was Tanya wasn't sure where home was . The home she had know that afternoon had seemed so real to her, now it seem as if….as if everything had changed somehow. That when she went home it was going to be different for her. Nothing would ever be the same for her , she realized that now. There was no way she could ever look at the ocean again or see trash along the roadside without thinking of this fateful night.

"You ready?" Amy suddenly asked jarring Tanya out of her deep thought.

Tanya jerked a little. For a few minutes she had thought she was all by herself. The thoughts continued throughout her mind. Everything was going to be different , how could she ever continue to live a normal life after seeing all this. She literally knew the future. She knew what could, and probably would, happen. Than a thought came into to her mind that surprised her…. The funny thing was it surprised her more than anything that had happened that evening…..She didn't want to go back!! What was the point? There was no way what she did would really change anything. Unless men's hearts would change and see the light there was no chance at anything changing for the better.

Amy looked at Tanya a bit perturbed. Either she was just ignoring her or something was wrong. Quietly she walked over to her. Lightly she grasped Tanya's shoulder," Tanya ?" She asked, " Tanya, are you all right?"

Tanya jarred again, but remained in reality this time." Yeah, I'm fine." She said with a voice that sounded so different…. Everything was different . Everything. " I was just thinking about how different everything is going to be when I get back…. Nothing is going to be the same again…. I know to much now…. I can never go back to the way I used to be. " She sighed in frustration.

Amy calmly and quietly sat down next to her." But that's a good thing….I don't want you to go back and forget everything you learned here….. You have to go back and tell everybody what you know, so that way they'll change…. I don't know if everybody will change, but some will….Who couldn't ? You have to tell people what you saw, but in a very careful way….If you tell them everything exactly their bound to lock you up and throw away the key…. Now you better get going before the door shuts on you…" Amy stated getting up." But first I have something I would like to give you so you'll always remember what you've seen."

"How could I ever forget!?" Tanya screeched.

"That isn't what I meant Tanya, I mean so every time you see this it will be a constant reminder of what happened….So you will always remember and tell people. " She opened a small drawer, and out of that drawer she took what looked like a jewelry box.

She opened up the small box and took out a shiny silver necklace. On the thin neck chain was a small pendent, with a stone inside it… The color of the stone could not be described, it looked like a combination of opals. The white colored ones and the black colored ones. The colors that came from them shined vibrantly. " Here."

Tanya stared at them, they were remarkable. "They're beautiful…. What are they ? I've never seen anything like them before." She said taking hold of them. She held them up to the faded light that came into the broken down shack. They sparkled and twinkled like diamonds . " Where did you get these?"

"My mother gave them to me…. They were her mother's… They're a combination of several stones… Opals, diamonds, and other truly rare stones….Wear them and remember. " Amy placed them in Tanya's palm and closed her hand. A friendship had been made between the two that could never be replaced by anyone. The two were in a way from different planets and yet they were closer than sisters. " You better get on home."

Amy said with a vague choke in her voice.

"Okay… I'm ready now." Tanya said trying to hold the tears back.

The two headed outside into the unknown , were a timeline doorway spun open, calling for Tanya to return home. Tanya stepped closer too it. Than suddenly she stopped and ran back to Amy. She wrapped herself into a big hug, Amy returning it to her. The two felt more like sisters now than like strangers .

"Thank you, so much." Tanya managed in between tears.

" Your welcome. " Amy said , hugging her tighter. Than she let go. Quickly she swiped the tears away from her eyes. " Now go home and set a good example. Tell people the truth so maybe one day we'll see each other again."

Tanya just nodded, afraid to speak for fear of what might happen. She turned toward the doorway and walked to it. But not with much effort , she wasn't in any hurry to get home yet. When she was a matter of three feet away she stopped she had to think about what she was doing. She knew what she had to do , and why she had to do it. But one problem kept coming into her head and that was , was she strong enough to handle it. Would she be able to do what she was supposed to do? Would she be able to set the proper example and do the right things… Than something dawned on her, she couldn't change the whole world or how the world lived or how people chose to live and to do things. She could only change herself , and the way she chose to live , and to just set the proper example for others and show them what was right , and hopefully if she was lucky they would listen…. And if not, well she would just have to trust whoever was in charge of this universe with that one.

She was just about to step through the doorway when lightening flashed and seemed to hit some electrical circuit, inside of the shack. It went from the shack to the doorway. When the lightening flashed and the doorway fizzled out, and disappeared.

There was a sudden scream , "No!" for Tanya and than, total darkness.

End