Mist

The end was coming, and Calin was sitting in the perfect spot to see it. Had he been asked what he thought the apocalypse would look like, he would have said that it would be fiery, that the air would be drenched with screams, and every mouth bitter with the taste of blood.

But it wasn't like that it all.

There was only an eerie silence and the great blanket of mist, slowly advancing, gently prying the world from humanity's grasp... Somehow this was much more daunting.

There was no fire, only the Mist tentatively lapping at the outskirts of the city, no screams, only the eerie silence of abandonment, and no taste of blood, only the distant smell of rain.

He estimated it would take about five minutes to reach him.

The Mist was creeping further into the city now, no doubt it had already passed over the first bunker. He wondered if the people inside had survived. After all, the bunkers had only been thrown together last minute in the hazy panic of distressed fools. No one knew if they would actually work — if a single inch wasn't airtight, they were all done for. Calin hoped they would hold. Eidel was in one of them. Carlin didn't care much for the other humans, but he didn't want Eidel to die.

The Mist marched on, indifferent.

"It's almost... pretty." The words cut through the thick silence with crystal clarity. Calin froze. He wasn't alone.... Perhaps if he ignored the voice it would go away.

"I mean... it's going to kill us but at least it'll look cool when it does."

The voice hadn't gone away. And it sounded all too familiar. Calin turned, needles of icy dread stabbing at his heart. Realising who the voice had came from, he pinched his nose in annoyance and disbelief. "Eidel... what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, dummy," Eidel sounded unusually calm for someone about to die.

Calin wrapped his arms around himself and turned away, not wanting to face the truth. "...you're meant to be in one of the bunkers," he fumed.

"Yeah, and so are you!" Eidel snapped back, unappreciative of Calin's angry tone.

"Eidel, you should have stayed in the bunker."

"And so should have you!"

"Ugh! Eidel... you always were so reckless. But I never thought you'd die because of it, you idiot!"

"I'm not the idiot! I was looking for you Calin! You weren't in the bunker!" Eidel stomped his foot and put his hands on his hips.

"Thats because I didn't need to be!"

"Yeah, well—...Wait what!?" Eidel stepped back, furrowing his brow.

"...I'm one of them, Eidel, I'm an Android" Calin looked away, ashamed.

Eidel looked around frantically, as if he would somehow find answers this way. "...I...But... this whole time?" he stammered.

"Yes."

"But that means-...the Mist- ... you won't...?"

"No. I'll be fine... you, on the other hand..." Calin turned to give the oncoming Mist a glance.

Eidel fell to one knee, an invisible spear of realisation skewering his heart.

"This whole time... you were one of them!" His voice was tangy with the accusation on betrayal.

Calin didn't say anything. It wasn't his fault, he told himself. He knew that wasn't entirely true. After all, he was connected to the mainframe, just like the rest of his kind. He had known this was coming. And he'd done nothing to stop it.

Calin turned away and pretended he was preoccupied with the Mist. His prediction had been correct. Exactly 4 minutes and 52 seconds had passed. 53...54... 55...

"...I'm...sorry Eidel."

Calin turned back around just in time to see Eidel's lifeless body engulfed by the Mist.