The End

All Rights Reserved 

Walking down the desert-like streets of town to the local coffee shop has become a daily ritual for me ever since I moved here last month. I have become accustom to the regular acquaintance-like interactions with everyone withholding the same routine as myself. The people here are nice, kind, and welcoming; I think I’m really going to like it here.

The wind, now blowing my shiny, golden brown hair is the closest weather pattern I have encountered lately to fresh dripping rain, as drought has taken its course here for the last month and a half, as I am told. The sky is bright though, but beyond the sun’s blinding rays of light, my eyes welcome dark clouds that I hope will bring the rain the town so desperately desires.

Approaching the shop’s entrance I reach out, grab the door handle, and head in, immediately embraced in the sweet aroma of fresh coffee and homemade baked goods. I am not even fully through the door and I am already being welcomed for my annual appearance.

“Morning’ Laura!” exclaims the middle-aged owner Steve.

I wave as I walk up to the counter in front of him, “Good morning Steve. How’re things?”

He smiles widely before responding with an enthusiastic tone, “I finally got that T.V for the shop I’d been waiting’ for. Set it up just before opening,” he points with his thumb to the far wall behind him which held the T.V, “Not much on at this time in the morning though; the news was most interesting. You’re welcome to it if you want. Oh, and I’ll get you your regular. Blueberry muffin and a French vanilla?” he speedily spoke to me, which in result, I nod giving him a genuine smile before turning and taking the closest empty seat to the new addition. It’s not very hard considering Steve and I are the only ones here.

I look over to see Steve’s ice blue eyes focused on my order and his graying black hair disheveled atop his head. I can’t help but to smile and think about how homey living here is surrounded by great people like him. I turn my pale green eyes to the new T.V that Steve purchased within the first couple of days in which I had moved here. Focusing all of my attention towards the news story being reported, I am instantly brought into a trance by the words coming out of the news reporter’s mouth:

“Breaking news! An unexpected virus is making itself known, presenting sudden death to anything in its path. The source of the virus is yet to be determined, but sources say that none of this was expected, even by the highest of scientific researchers. We will be back soon with new information on the case. Stay tuned.”

The screen is left with an image of the gray clouds I saw just minutes ago outside the shop.

I blink and for the first time I notice Steve is beside me, mouth hanging open, and eyes wide in shock. We are both speechless as he meets his eyes with my own. I swallow, placing my hands on the table in front of me and Steve pulls out a chair, taking a seat. No words are shared but our thoughts remain the same, ‘What now?’ Though this question and possible outcomes roam around in my head I don’t want to believe them. I want to believe that I got today’s date wrong and it is April Fool’s Day. I want to believe that just like teenagers, news reporters will pull pranks on all people that are willing to fall for it. However, deep inside, I know that this information is true, it is happening, the human race is coming to an end.

My eyes travel up to Steve only to realize that he is still in the state of shock. His line of vision is focused on something over my shoulder, outside, and before I turn to see what is capturing his attention I know what it is. The clouds, or what we formally now know is the deadly virus. I shut my eyes tight together and swivel in my seat, preparing myself for what I am about to see. The wind is stronger than I have ever seen it, dark clouds fill the once bright sky, and debris of objects, plants, and creatures fill the space above the ground, being tossed around by the current of the wind. Fear is very much evident in both Steve and myself as the winds pick up again and the sky darkens shades more than it was before.

Steve is about to speak, I can see it through the sudden twitch of his lips, but he is cut off as the news reporter comes back on the screen and announces the deadly subject she is about to approach, effectively silencing both Steve and myself:

“Attention! New reports that have just come in from trusted sources say that all events taking place now, because of the virus is our fault. Up until recently this virus was untraceable. This was only because it was hidden by the ozone layer. Now, as a result of our pollution creating actions many holes in the ozone have been created, which allowed and encouraged the virus to take advantage of the opportunity and travel places where it has never gone before, leading us to our current situation. We can do nothing to stop it now. The beginning of this problem only happened a short while ago, but the end, our end will be soon to follow. There is no other information to share and we will be tuning ou-. “The reporter was cut off as the screen went black. I don’t know whether it was from her end or ours, all I know is that I am scared beyond belief.

Without adverting my gaze, I can see Steve’s reaction to this information has taken a hard hit to him mentally. In the background I can hear that the wind has picked up yet again. This has made my nerves react with high alert. With any more wind force, the windows successfully displaying the disaster zone outside would shatter. Resulting in this new found information, a rush of adrenaline pumps heavily through my veins. I stand up, pushing out the chair I had been occupying behind me and step over to Steve on the other side of the small table he and I had been sharing, grab his arm, and help pull him to his feet. Still speechless, he looks at me confused, so I let out a huge breath and explain while walking to the back office of the shop, holding onto Steve’s wrist.

“With the way the wind is growing more violent by the second, it’ll crack the glass of the windows anytime now, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t find comfort in glass piercing my skin from all over.”

Though, still speechless and shocked, he comprehends my opinion and willingly joins me on the short walk to the shop’s back office.

Now inside the tiny room we both take a seat, Steve on the chair behind the desk and me on a plush tub chair in front of it. We don’t say anything, there is nothing left to say, we both know that this is the conclusion of all time, so we just sit in our seats drowning in our own thoughts. But there isn’t much time to think, as the low howl of wind breaks into a loud scream because of what I can only assume to be the windows letting their resistance fall into nothing. Both mine and Steve’s eyes are wide with more fear than I ever thought imaginable. We both get up slowly from our seats and make our way to the centre of the room standing next to each other. As the screaming wind becomes more of a shrill whistle I cringe, and more so under the sudden pressure the room now contains. The walls start to shake and everything around me becomes fuzzy from the fast movements. Surrounding us I notice a light cloud of gray and start to panic; this is the gray misty virus that has killed people all across the Earth.  It is becoming so thick that I can’t even see Steve anymore, but my lungs are on fire as well, so calling out for him was nearly impossible, just as much as breathing in this cavern. I try not inhale the gaseous substance, but why prolong the inevitable?

Seconds of inhaling and exhaling the toxic air around me, I am brought to a visual fuzziness and a mild ache in my lungs. All of my limbs are starting to feel weak and I drop to the floor. I want to reach out for Steve, but I just can’t find the movements possible anymore. My eyes are fluttering closed, my body goes numb, my positioning goes limp, and just before I black out of consciousness I can finally accept. Accept that this is really happening, and accept that the world has finally come to the end.