>Short Stories<

>Honeybee

Around 440 million years ago did the small marine animals from the Ordovician-Silurian period go extinct from global cooling and reduced sea levels. Only 75 million years later did tropical marine animals go extinct in the Devonian period due to many changes in the earth-leading into the Permian-triassic extinction being considered the biggest extinction yet; caused by global warming leaving them unable to breathe which only happened 115 million years later. Though only 40 million years passed before more animals went extinct from the earth changing once more in the Triassic-jurassic period, leaving us to the next and last extinction; 145 million years later-65 million years ago did the cretaceous-tertiary extinction happen. Wiping out the rest of the dinosaurs, in which was supposedly caused by asteroids.

So many organisms went extinct since the beginning of the earth, the dinosaurs supposedly being the world champions for completely disappearing. Yet it seems humans may be competing with the number one spot nowadays; though the way they climb up the boards might as well be seen as cheating, since the rest went out by natural causes and we caused our own. But that's all humans are; cheaters who care for only themselves and not other living things. Even to the extent of not even caring for each other. Because if humans did care for other living things, then maybe we would be the only ones going extinct-not the entire planet. It doesn't matter anymore though. What could be done is done-and what will be done already has.

It was a given that you'd die, and not from old age either. It was hard for people to accept the first three years, but once it settled and was accepted, it'd become almost a challenge. If you died from sickness, disease, or bleeding out you were considered unlucky; succumbing to the conditions brought on by your own brothers and sisters. You died because of your own faults. If you killed yourself, depending on the cause of reasoning, the understandability would be wavered. Did you kill yourself because you couldn't handle it? Well that's one way to make extinction quicker. Did you lose your family to the circumstances and want to be with them? Go with them and be happy again. Life has always been a competition to people, from job opportunities all the way down to who sang the alphabet first in kindergarten. And within the luck of death and weakness-if you were to die from starvation and dehydration, you were the luckiest. To which it seemed Tio would be the lucky one today.

Crouched down in the middle of a field full of dandelions and daisies, was a young man observing a flower midst bloom. Life starting afresh in the most beautiful way possible. Adorning his face was a black gas mask to keep out unwanted toxins the best he could, and though the sun beat down harshly, he wouldn't dare to take off his duster and gloves. Tio had wanted to survive as long as he could, yet as his vision blurred and his stomach sunk in-he knew he wouldn't be able to last any longer. After three years of traveling and searching, it seemed his body could no longer take the harsh conditions and little food provided to him. Though the food part more than likely could be blamed on him and him alone.

While food was scarce, animals and bugs still hid around and could be easily eaten-but to him, nothing else deserved to die. At least not by the hands of another god-forsaken human. And even with this type of thinking, he knew deep down lingering in his subconsciousness that they were dying out anyways from extinction. Still, he could never find it in him to take an animal's life so early. So that'd left him to scavenge for plants, yet he rarely ate those either due to contamination; leaving his body unhealthily skinny and rugged.

It was truly a funny thought. Only years ago had Tio been a healthy young man with a smooth olive complexion, standing around 6'2. He had been fairly attractive as well; his hair being kept cut and styled, good hygiene and a healthy food intake. But now his skin pales in comparison to what it used to be, his hair almost coming to his shoulders (it would if it wasn't so matted and dirty) and now he was starving and stunk of death.

It was-and is-truly funny.

And as he stared at the last life he'd see for the last time, a bee without a stinger landed gently onto his gloved hand, causing the young man to smile. His goal was to find the committee, and yet here he was with tunnel vision, looking down at the small bug-and that was okay. Though he knew he was as much at fault for this extinction as any other, he also knew he was human and couldn't fully blame his brothers and sisters. He knew this time would come-tragedies to overwhelm and take over. A constant cycle; a cycle that was natural. He'd been scared and still was of what would be at the other side, but finally, finally he could be let go of this world.

Slowly did the bee die in his hands, and as Tio fell backwards onto the ground his final conscious thought was one of peace; one of gratefulness.

'Set me free, my sweet honey bee. And let my brothers and sisters join me in peace.'

Around 440 million years ago did the small marine animals from the Ordovician-Silurian period go extinct from global cooling and reduced sea levels, and soon the human race were to join them...

"Hey! Hey over here!"