Receeding Tides (mcyt)

Prologue

For anyone and everyone, the day the world ended was a refreshing spring morning.

Not in a war or in a nuclear accident. No rain as far as the forecast could see. It was Easter Sunday. Probably the furthest date you could get from the end of the world.

The skies were sprinkled with pristine, puffy clouds, and the air was filled with the lively music of chirping birds. Dozens of people went about their day enjoying the refreshing spring weather as if nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong at the moment. Who knew it only took a few hours to instill panic in the populace?

Tommy himself had chosen to take a walk into town with his friends. They wandered the streets in search for something to do. Ultimately, they opted to "vibe" (really people watch) and munch on McDonald's nuggets, and Tommy couldn't have been more content. He sighed sitting on a park bench with a coke in hand.

Children and adults alike enjoyed themselves under trees, on benches, in the grass, by the water. Laughing. Living life. Everyone minded their own business with exception of the occasional compliments and permission to pet dogs. People sat in clumps spread out on the soft, dewy, grass, and several couples walked hand in hand along trails sprinkled by shady trees. The world looked like a photo straight out of a college advertisement. Enticing people to visit campus.

Some people enjoyed ice cream from the newly reopened shops, and others munched on whatever fruit was in season. One couple sat feeding chunks of water melon to each other while their children plucked and wove blades of grass into crude braids. People laughed with and at each other without a care in the world, and Tommy relished in the sights around him.

Unlike his internet persona, TommyInnit, Tommy was a rather calm. easy going person. He preferred to mind his business rather than ask random women to be his girlfriend. Sure he was fairly confident in himself, but TommyInnit was still a tad too rash and outgoing for Tommy's liking. Nonetheless, he enjoyed playing the part. Sadly, the days of minecraft and chatting on discord until 2 am were long gone. A scream rang out behind Tommy, and his mind threw him back into the ugly reality he lived.

The one of toasted, charred trees and ash slowly falling from the grey clouded sky. The one where billions of people died, and survivors kept living in a Hell on Earth. The reality Tommy wished desperately was just a bad dream he'd wake up from soon.

Another scream rang out, and Tommy sighed. He knew that scream all too well. Someone was grieving. Probably just lost a loved one in a horrific way. Tommy rolled his eyes and returned to silently washing the blood out of his friend's bedsheets. He'd witnessed those scream in person too many times. Why bother giving those senseless scream any more of his time and energy?

Overall, there were three Waves. First came the Heat Wave. The Sea Wave, and the Ash Wave not too long after. The cause for the Waves was never discovered. There wasn't enough time to study them. All people knew was that each lasted around the same amount of time as the last. Scientists were baffled by each one more than the last, and the world's top governments were held hostage at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Each Wave came with her own challenges, and each took a substantial chunk of the Earth's population with her. Human, animal, plant, fungi. You name it. Nearly everything and everyone on Earth disappeared within months.

The Heat Wave hit on Easter evening. Before the Wave, temperatures ranged from mid 50's to the low 60's. Typical for mid-April. What meteorologists described as a perfect spring day. But in what seemed like the blink of an eye, temperatures skyrocketed into the triple digits. Even places like Florida, which were already in the 80's and 90's, and the Arctic, where temperatures usually hovered close to frigid, reached temperatures way out of character.

"What's going on?" Tommy shouted to his mother. "Why is it so hot for April?"

"I don't know but don't go outside today! It's supposed to reach the 40's by noon."

Obviously, these record temperatures were unprecedented, and they were so sudden, that scientists had almost no time to warn society. Consequently, dozens of bodies of water around the world evaporated, and nearly 90% of the Earth's ice melted. In many places, buildings, plants, and even clothing were prone to spontaneously bursting into flames.

"Holy shit!" Tommy dropped the hat he'd been holding as it smoked on the ground.

The Sea Wave hit agonizingly slowly after its sister since ice melts over a long period of time. Sea levels rose across the world and hundreds of island nations disappeared under the waves. Oceania sank, and the tides suffocated the inhabitants of coastal towns. Those living on major continents and those who lived inland were the fortunate ones. Only by a few weeks though.

"Mum, what the hell is the ocean doing?" Tommy shouted from his bedroom. "Tubbo's telling me his place is flooding!"

Antarctica and the Arctic disappeared along with almost every known island. Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, even Madagascar and Seychelles. Gone. The British Isles became the lone British Isle, and the coasts of every continent disappeared from view. Places like Amsterdam and Brasilia, cities with a large part of their nation's popuation, were submerged, and these cities took with them their citizens.

"We'll be okay, Lani. Just keep floating."

"Tubbo, we're on a door in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!"

"I- It's a boat, thank ou very much."

"That you barely know how to sail."

"Whatever, we're... we're going to be okay. We'll just wait to float to land."

The Ash Wave came in response to its two sister Waves. The rising sea levels cooled the sizzling earth, but the now-bearable temperatures came with a hefty price. The ashes that resulted from burning soils caused infections to those who inhaled too much, and the planet's salt water to turn unhealthily acidic.

"Tubbo? Your neck is bright red..."

"Argh!"

"Stop splashing water on yourself!"

Not only was the ash poisonous to the environment, but it was detrimental to the human body too. Anyone who breathed too much of it were met with intense consequences that only slowed in progression. Most common being trouble breathing and loss of some or all of the five senses. As far as Tommy knew, there was no cure or treatment, but it also couldn't be transferred from person to person. The only way to protect yourself was to cover every opening to your body. Including the eyes, nose, mouth, and even open wounds if they were too deep.

"Tommy, keep this over your mouth or you'll end up like your father."

"I don't want to wear it. It's scratchy."

"Well, suck it up. It's going to keep you alive."

A large part of Tommy's community had perished thanks to the Ash before people figured out it was poisonous. His luck kept him and his family alive a little longer than the average Brit. Good for him?

Everything on Earth had gone to shit and was beyond unbearable, but Tommy soldiered on. Those "lucky" enough to have been left in this hell were tasked with not only surviving but also thriving at the mercy of a nature that wanted them gone. The world had become an ugly place, and Tommy knew it better than most. But each wave leaves behind treasure buried in the sand.

Word count: 1271

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Thank you for checking out my story. Hopefully, you guys find it interesting to keep reading!