All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
Anna's Diary August 13, 2197
We made it! I can't believe we're at La Belle Île en Mer. Everything is gorgeous. The kids share a room, and Ernest and I have the most lavish suite on the hundred and twentieth floor. The views are to die for. The way the hotel spins, we can often see Earth. It looks like a bright star from here. The place is huge, with thousands of guests. We haven't even begun to explore it. Ernest and I are excited to spend time with the kids. It's obvious that Georgie and Lillian love it too. We're losing them bit by bit. Lillian expects Francis to propose at any moment. And George is sorting through which college he'll attend next year. This may be the last time we're all together as a tight-knit family.
Ernest is such a gentleman for going along with this trip. And we've already rekindled a little fire in our marriage. Last night I finally got to take the gloves off. He was so excited that he went down on me. Can you believe it, Diary? He hadn't done that in years. I just know this will be the most amazing family trip ever.
Ernest's Diary August 13, 2197
We arrived in the evening yesterday. For what this place charges, I had expected more. My sweet wife has asked the whole family to keep diaries of the trip. She wants us to remember this forever. The kids agreed, and so have I. So ... here we are. I'm looking forward to finding the Belle Île's golf courses. They're supposed to be spectacular. The food is all replicated at the hotel, but it's not bad for what it is. Despite the drawbacks of coming way out here, the smile on Anna's face is worth it. She's as giddy as a schoolgirl. And if she's happy, I'm happy.
Lillian's Diary August 13, 2197
Ffffuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkkkk. How did I let myself get talked into this? Sharing a room with my little shit of a brother? What the fuck? He might be eighteen, but acts like a baby. Mom fawns over him ... her precious ball of sunshine.
Maybe he's not totally a baby. He does act like a teenager in one way. He's a fucking horny baboon. I heard him jacking it last night! When I told him to stop, he said he wasn't doing it. But I know what I heard. He wouldn't look me in the eyes this morning. What a pervert. This trip is a disaster.
George's Diary August 13, 2197
I know this trip is important to Mom, so I'm doing all I can to make it go smoothly. I won't let Lillian get under my skin. I'll try and keep a smile on Dad's face. The hotel is beautiful, but I do miss home. We had a tennis tournament against Winters Valley High, and I hope the team does well without me. Mom said we could play some tennis later in the trip, the Belle Île is supposed to have amazing grass courts.
I'm not sure what sort of stuff I'm supposed to write here. I think Mom wanted us to have these just for ourselves, so ... maybe I can swear here? What if we get hit by an asteroid? That would be fuckballs!
Honestly, Diary. I've never told anyone this, but I can't wait to go swimming as a family. Swimsuits might not show any skin, but the way Mom's swimsuit hugs her body ... drives me crazy. Even thinking about it makes me wish I had a private room. Lillian caught me last night. I was thinking about Sarah Walsh from chemistry class. She has such huge tits ... sort of like Mom. And I couldn't help it. I didn't think Lillian would hear me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to look my sister in the eye again.
That took a dark turn. Sorry, Diary. I'm going to make this the best trip ever. Mom will be so happy when we get back home, she won't stop smiling for a month. Maybe then I can talk to her about my college decision.
~~
Sirens wailed. George let his mother drag him toward the dock. Her gloved hand gripped him tightly. Red lights pulsed rapidly. The strobe effect made Anna's tight sleeves, elegant bodice, and long skirt seem to move in alien ways. They passed the central nerve center for the spire. It wasn't marked, but George had a keen interest in AI, so he'd made a point of learning a bit about Océane, the hotel's master system. "Mom ... Dad ... we need to go in there." He pointed to the door as it opened and someone in a white coat ran out. The door didn't close behind the man.
"Skyrmion burst detected. Move to your nearest lifeboat and evacuate. Estimated burst arrival in six minutes," Océane had been repeating the same countdown message over the hotel's sound system for ten minutes. "Skyrmion burst detected. Move ..."
"Hurry, Georgie!" Anna pulled her son with one hand, her daughter with the other. Her husband ran beside them, holding his hat to his head, his tie billowing over his shoulder. They were in a long elegant mirrored hallway, with room doors passing by ever few seconds. The carpet underneath their feet had a wonderfully lush, red botanical pattern that practically crawled with the strobing alarm lights.
"We're not going to make it to the dock, Mom. There's not enough time." George dug his heels in. "But the nerve center has a Faraday cage." They stopped and people passed all around them. Someone slammed into George's back, fell, rose and ran ahead without so much as an "excuse me." "Come on!" George shouted. He was much taller than his mother, and despite her curves and his lean frame, he outweighed her. He pulled her back the way they'd come, moving upstream against the rushing tide of fleeing people. He led his mother and sister, forming a chain. His father stopped, looked back, and ran to catch up with them.
"What's this?" Ernest furrowed his brow. "We're going to miss the lifeboat." He had to yell at the top of his lungs to be heard over the cacophony in the hallway.
"Yes, we are. No matter what we do." George pulled his mother into the outer room of the nerve center. There was nobody inside, and the inner door was open. He said a little prayer of thanks as the rest of his family followed. He looked back at them. "The main processing components for Océane are at three nerve centers. One here, one in the central ring, and one in a similar room in the other spire. They're all shielded to protect Océane from radiation, like a skyrmion burst. When the burst hits, if we're in there, we'll be safe. If we're not ..." He didn't want to say what would happen.
"I don't know ..." Earnest looked back through the door. A steady stream of people passed hurriedly by wearing suits and dresses.
"Please, Mom. We'll die if we go back out there." George squeezed his mother's gloved hand, his brown eyes filled with desperation.
"We should listen to Georgie, Ernest." She moved toward the inner door that her son had indicated and looked inside. The room was filled with electrical equipment. "It doesn't look shielded."
"The Faraday cage is built into the walls." George breathed a sigh of relief when his mother led his sister and father into the protected space. He looked back at the hallway.
"Aren't you coming, sunshine?" Anna's face creased with worry.
"Skyrmion burst detected. Move to your nearest lifeboat and evacuate. Estimated arrival in two minutes," Océane said.
"We have two minutes to save as many people as we can." George wanted desperately to hide with his family. But there was room for more people. And nobody outside was going to make it to the dock. "I'll be right back." He stepped into the hall and flagged down as many people as he could.
With thirty seconds to go, the Faraday cage gave warning that it would automatically lock the doors. George raced in. Joining his family in their shelter were six other souls. The skyrmion burst hit the hotel at 7:57 in the evening. George hugged his mother tightly, pressing his head to her bosom and praying for all those still rushing to their lifeboats. It was bitterly cold in the room. George knew that the processor needed to be kept at -196 Celsius. It was insulated, but the cold seeped out.
When Océane's countdown ended, silence filled the strange room. The only sounds George could hear were the weeping of two women, the humming of fans, and the runaway thumping of his mother's heart.
~~