Climate Change

Window of Opportunity

[WILBUR SOOT'S POV]

When I woke I noticed Schlatt still quietly sleeping in my arms. Cute. I thought to myself before kissing him gently on the head. He began to stir in my lap, groggily rubbing his eyes.

"g'mornin Schlatt." I said sweetly to him.

"mornin' Will." he replied, cuddling further into my sweater.

"we've got to get up now Schlatt, we can't respawn any longer, once the next water rise is up, It's over." I told him with a frown. I really didn't want to leave him, but we had no choice.

He sniffled silently.

"I know Schlatt, I don't want to leave either." I said.

We stood up and left the bastion of hope, swimming to the last piece of land left. We indulged in playful arguments as usual.

"-Yeah that was fucked up why'd you do that?" Schlatt said in reference to me destroying our old house.

"It wasn't me." I replied stuttering a little.

"It was almost like an act of desperation, like you can't live without me or something Wilbur." he shot back, with a smug look on his face.

I swam up to him quickly and kissed the smirk right off his face. I left him stuttering and red as we swam the rest of the way.

Schlatt and I continued to joke, me giggling the whole way there to the island, infatuated with the shorter man that was swimming infront of me.

He jokingly tried to block my jump, which didn't work for him.

"Fuck you!" I said laughing as I ran up to a zombie to 'take my anger out'.

The zombie killed me and I heard Schlatt's stupid giggle as he watched me swim to the surface. I got back up to the island we chose to call "The Window Of Opportunity".

beep. beep. beep.

My timer went off as I was collecting wood, and the water rose directly to my feet. I waded my way to The Window Of Opportunity as Schlatt jokingly told me to "Stay over there." What an idiot.

We continued to play our little game of Schlatt saying he was going to kill me. We stopped as he dangled over the tree top looking at me lovingly.

"Hey Wilbur, How are you?" He asked smiling like an idiot

"Y'know what I learned down there Schlatt?" I said, disregarding his question.

Then Lightning struck only a few blocks away from me, I jumped up in fear.

"Fuck me that was close!" I exclaimed.

Schlatt giggled at me.

"One more rise of the water, and a death is permanent Schlatt." I spoke softly, staring at him from below.

He was silent for a while, we both knew this would come sometime. We reminisced on where we began, in that gentle forest, now submerged in icy waters. I wonder what death would feel like, I was at peace. Schlatt gave me a look of reassurance, we both knew the fun would end soon.

We stared at each other for a long while, warm tears beginning to fall.

beep. beep. beep.

[490 words]