He awoke still stiffened by the firmness of the wooden gym floor. Although he could make things more comfortable for himself, he didn't. He found comfort in the harsh conditions. In a way it made him feel alive.
Waking in the gym started to feel normal. He was no longer in a state of confusion when he stopped dreaming.
The sun was beaming through the dust covered windows once more. Again, the dust was visibly floating through the air.
"Time to go I guess."
He lay there in the square of light for a little longer. A picture of the rock crashing into Earth flashed before his eyes, a sudden sense of urgency invaded his body. With that he was up and grabbing his backpack.
He rushed out the door but quickly came to a stop. The acidic air poured into his lungs, wasting no time coating the insides of his nostrils.
He began to cough violently and retreated back inside.
"That...is...not...air!" He tried to say in between gasps.
Once he finally caught his breath, he walked down the hall into a classroom.
"This place has to have something."
He was in the yearbook room. He scrambled around through boxes of spirit wear.
"Ah ha!" He pulled out a red bandanna. "This should work just fine." He tied it around his face making a face mask. He rummaged through the boxes a bit more before pulling out a black pair of air-soft goggles.
"I have no clue how they got here but I'm glad they did." He pulled them around his eyes.
"This should stop the irritation for now." He walked toward the door but caught a glimpse of himself in the window's reflection.
"Hm. I don't look too bad for my first apocalypse."
Tightening his backpack straps, he was out the door once more.
"Now where would a police station be from here?" He looked up and saw a sign.
"Hollywood Ave. That's way too far, there's gotta be a faster way." Looking around he saw a wooded area to the left of him.
"If I cut through here, I should get there faster." He walked into the forest. Before he knew it, he was completely engulfed in the last thing Earth had to offer.
"I forgot things were ever this green."
He hesitantly touched some of the leaves worried something could be poisonous. A few feet below him, a small trail was dug out.
There was a steep slope leading to it. It would be a bit dangerous to go down, but it could be done, nonetheless.
He sat down at the top of the slope putting his hands down at his sides. He shifted his weight onto his hands and as slowly as he could he lowered himself down. He let go with his hands and pressed his elbows to the back of the slope to stabilize himself as he slid down.
But there was a miscalculation.
The slope didn't go all the way to the ground; there was a 10 foot drop off he couldn't see from the top.
He was going too fast and there was mud since it had freshly rained.
"NO! NO!"
Once he arrived at the drop gravity did as gravity does and pulled him down.
His ribs struck the ground first, and the rest of him followed.
His body rolled limp before hitting a tree.
YOU ARE READING
The Ends of Earth
Science FictionA teenage boy, Oliver Flynn is faced with the grief of his younger sisters death. However he has to deal with much more than just the emotions that come with the loss of someone close. Oliver, with his sister now gone is seemingly the last person le...
