accidents happen

1/2

The world was dying; that was a no-brainer at this point.

The once blue skies were clouded over in a dangerous murky smog. The oceans went from having a clean pretty sparkle under the sun, to be murky and brown; the inhabitants within the water's surface being long-dead. Hospitals were overrun with the sick, but the power-hungry souls in the world still continued to ravage what Mother Nature still offered to the cruel hands of the planet.

The only attempt to save the dying planet had passed quite a while ago, while a special few still tried all they could to save it.




Milo subconsciously stuck his tongue out through his lips as he tried to pour the correct measurements. He ran his ungloved hand through his unruly chestnut hair and pushed the bridge of his glasses back up his button nose.

He set down a tiny beaker and coughed into the elbow of his clean, white lab coat. He paid no attention to the minuscule splatters of blood in the crease of the sleeve.

He quickly combined the fluoride into the solidified hydrogen, causing the 2 elements to react; a colorless gas released, follow by a small putrid smell which Milo wafted into his airways, only to send him into a fit of coughing.

His lungs continued to spasm as he hacked up blood. He collapsed from his stool at his work desk onto the concrete floor, using his lightly scraped up hand to support his heaving body. His mother quickly rushed into his room and spotted him on the floor. She slid to his aid, and fervently rubbed his back, whispering sweet nothings into his ears.

As Milo's hacking ceased, he flopped onto his back and raised his arms above his head to open his lungs' airways and regulate his ragged breathing.

"Thank you, madre," Milo softly said, eyes closed as he dreamed of a place where everything would be fine.

"Anything for you, mi hijo," she smiled, softly stroking his cheek with her callused hand. "Let me go check on dinner real quick; it should be ready it just a second."

"Alright, mama. I will be out in a second, just let me clean up," He said, watching his mother exit the room. He said; his appetite had dwindled to nothing nearly a week ago; he suspected from being exposed to hydrogen-fluoride for too long. It's where his cough originated from, after all.

He discarded his blood-spattered lab coat onto his dusty concrete floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Sighing, he walked into the tiny, cramped kitchen and quickly washed his hands and face.

"Hola, mi hijo," Angelica, his mother, kindly smiled at him as she continued to make a simple pot of rice and corn on the cob. It wasn't much; most of the food had been contaminated and you had to be filthy rich to get good meat now-a-days.

"Hola, mama," he greeted back, setting the table with paper plates and plastic forks as he sat down in his chair, Angelica bringing over the pot of rice. She divided enough between the two of them and gently laid down seasoned corn on the cob in the middle of their small dining table.

She clasped her hands in Milo's and uttered a quick prayer before quickly digging into her meal. Milo could tell she hadn't been eating as much; her cheeks bones had sunken in significantly and he could nearly make out her ribs from the shirts she wore.

"Please, have some of mine mama," Milo slightly pleaded, pushing his plate towards his mother. She shook her head and pushed the plate back stubbornly.

"I have not seen you eat as much, no?" She retorted, arms folded over her chest. "So eat!"

Milo sighed, his face deadpanned. The roaring of his stomach finally made him cave in as he took a bite of the seasoned corn; he missed his mother's cooking.

Angelica nodded in satisfaction before she began to eat, devouring her food quickly. Milo was struggling to eat his third bite. He sighed, pushing down the urge to vomit as he quickly swallowed his third bite of the rice. He nibbled on some corn as he watched his mother finish her plate.

"Here, mama," Milo softly said, pushing his plate to her. "You need it more than me. I am a strong man, you need to eat some."

Angelica glared at her son, but finally caved in whenever her stomach let out a ferocious roar, demanding more sustenance.

Milo smiled whenever his mother began to eat the leftovers on his plate. He stole a glance at the clock and lightly sighed; it was only 6:39 PM and he still had hours of work to do.

"Excuse me mama," Milo muttered, pushing his chair out as he discarded their trash from dinner. He pushed his chair back in before swiftly returning back to his room, eager to resume his experiments.

Getting all the necessary equipment ready, he shrugged on a lab-coat and a pair of disposable gloves, completely forgetting about his goggles.

He quickly poured the fluoride into the solidified hydrogen, cheekily smiling as no prominent reaction occurred.

His lungs didn't burn, his skin didn't itch and his eyes didn't sting. He cheekily smiled and he began to laugh in amazement; he had finally found the cure!

Suddenly, a loud "boom" protruded from Milo's experiment, and his, now limp, body was tossed to the other side of the room.