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Prologue

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About this story

Humanity has already destroyed the Earth twice. Mother Earth won't give them a fourth chance.

The Earth is dying.

Again.

After centuries of pollution, destruction, and greed, humanity has finally pushed the planet beyond its breaking point. Their solution is simple: abandon Earth and find another world to call home.

Mother Earth has other plans.

Nikita knows exactly what comes next. Once human herself, she is now one of Mother Earth's Guardians—an immortal tasked with carrying out the Reaping. Billions will die. A chosen few known as Green Thumbs will survive. And when the last human has been sorted, Mother Earth will wipe away everything humanity created and give the planet a chance to heal.

Nikita has survived Reapings before. She knows the rules. She knows the cost.

But this time is different.

The Earth is taking longer to recover. Fewer humans are worth saving. And the time between humanity's mistakes is growing dangerously short.

This is their third strike.

There won't be a fourth.

Humanity doesn't need another world. It needs one last chance to save this one.

Your guide through this story

Mary Duke

Meet Mary Duke

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2081

The Earth is dying.

It has been plagued by an infestation of a species that only cares about themselves, and an object called money. If what we were told is true, when this species realized that the planet they were living on was dying, instead of stopping what was causing the destruction, those in charge made it worse.

They called it a new era. An era for travel. Instead of fixing what they had neglected, instead of nurturing the planet which had provided them with everything they ever needed for thousands of years, they were ready to abandon it.

We weren’t going to let that happen.

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