Humanity's Peacekeepers

- 01 : 2138

It is 2138, 9th of October, and the sky was falling.

I stood in my brown coat and scarf, with a mug of hot coffee in my right hand. The wind had started to bustle long before October came, along with the end of our civilization, of our history...

...and of us.

I stared blankly at my phone's radio app, playing the radio station managed by the United Nations, exclusively for this type of... occasion. Since the news was broadcasted throughout the globe, they had been playing every single national anthem, all in instrumental piano renditions. They began with Afghanistan's and kept going, up to the now-nigh-ceasing Zimbabwe's. Every single anthem that represented every people of every nation, every current 218 member states was played, and this tune was the very last one.

All around the world, people were still praying while the UN Radio Station sounded through their phones, I'm sure of it. Everyone prayed so desperately for this to just be a hoax, just a massive hoax that everyone would all laugh off, that the future generation would learn as they flipped through their history books.

The entire city, and most certainly the entire human race as well, looked up into the sky. The final cadence of the Zimbabwean anthem chimed sorrowfully, much to everyone's anguish, as the voices of a man and a woman began to speak

"The world is ending," the woman cracked. She sounded like she had just stopped crying. "And everyone here shall stand... together, and brace for it all."

"The 8 km-wide asteroid, 2138 WY₂₅₁, L38WP1Y, or Thanatos, will be on its collision course with the area near South Africa." The man sounded more formal, but not necessarily more calm. "The impact will be bound to kill... at least 800 million people directly, but will trigger global earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions throughout the Ring of Fire and beyond thereafter."

"I-It will be imp-p-p- hic- impossible for anyone to survive..." The woman burst into tears. "It h- I-I don't want to die, Leon! I don't want to die!"

"Fr- ahem... F-Florence..." There was a pause. The man, Leon, was presumably comforting her.

"T- I- It had been myriads of years since humans have roamed the Earth. Countless feats have been... sniff- accomplished in the last tens of thousands of years. Generation by generation, have w-we all gained knowledge, and p-passed it down to our... children..." the woman sobbed, struggling to go through the script.

"From the discovery of fire, t-to electricity, to harnessing the power of technology to nearly beyond of its limitations. We have done... everything there is to be d- No," the man stopped for a second. "What in the hell is this? That's a lie, and every sane person on this planet knows it!"

Papers rustled and slammed onto the table.

"If it weren't for that stupid treaty in 20-whatever-the-hell, we wouldn't be remotely close to being here right now!" he shouted.

"Leon... we-"

"We're gonna die, Florence! We're going to fucking die! W-" The radio cut off. The street was petrified. What was supposed to be a heartwarming closure for all human life had twisted into an unsettling nightmare of an end, just like we are soon to be.

"Forty-five seconds, сорок пять секунд. Beep. Beep. Beep..." A robotic voice said eerily in English and Russian, followed by the monotonous beeps of a countdown timer.

The city was suddenly in utter discord. The streets were filled with a cacophony of "I don't want to die!" and much despairful cries.

"Thirty seconds; тридцать секунд. Beep..."

Thanatos, the god of death. It came crashing down from the sky. It looked way smaller from here in Europe, but across the continents, it was mercilessly hurling towards the southern tip of Africa.

"Twenty seconds; двадцать секунд..."

My mug of coffee was cold, from the breeze of this last autumn that I will ever experience.

"Ten; десять... Nine; девять..."

This was a cold, cold truth that I had to bear.

"Eight; восемь... Seven; семь..."

A truth that all of us, the undeserving humanity had to bear.

"Six; шесть... Five; пять..."

But it is different for me.

"Four; четверка..."

Because for me,

"Three; три..."

This is undoubtedly,

"Two; два..."

Undeniably,

"One; один..."

"..."

"...Karma."

"Goodbye; прощай."

The ground beneath my feet started to rumble in agony.

The showstopping song had just started to chime, the denouement to the chapter of human life, and it is the anthem of Hell itself.

Thanatos has come forth, and he has spoken loud and clear.

It is death and suffering that he fates.