The Nibiru Effect

Memory 97

The Chicxulub asteroid is on its way. The volcano is about to erupt. The tower on which I stand is like a house of cards. One more tremor and it will crumble, taking me down with it. My one chance at survival is to make it down to ground level and find a way down the mountain before the volcano erupts or the asteroid hits.

I tuck Jonn's knife into my belt and make my way to the staircase. All that remains is the outer half of the steps. In some places, they're missing. In others, the stones that remain are less than half a metre in width. But the worst part is by far the large shaft of emptiness that borders what remains of the staircase. All three floors are gone, leaving a gaping hole at the bottom of which stands a bubbling, hissing pool of molten rock.

Why me? I wonder. Why did all of this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? But no amount of deprecating pondering will help me now. I have one shot at survival, and I'm not about to let it slip through my fingers. Unfortunately, Kara is no longer here to distract me with kisses. Nor is Jonn to keep me busy with one of his stories. I'm on my own, and unless I find it within me to overcome my fear of heights, I'm going to die.

I refuse to give up. I have survived too much to let it all end now. Still, it's with sweaty palms and shaky knees that I begin the slow, perilous journey down the tower. The first few steps aren't that bad, but the farther I progress, the more difficult it becomes. More than once I slip, nearly plummeting into the volcano's maw, but always I manage to regain my balance. It takes a while for me to recover from these near-death experiences, but I continue the journey down what remains of the tower.

After a while, I allow myself to believe I will make it. Of course, that's the very moment things go wrong. The earth shakes. It's merely a tremor, but it's enough to critically jeopardize the precarious balance of the tower. The entire structure shifts, and for a brief moment, I fear it will collapse. Against all odds, it doesn't, but the same can't be said for the staircase. A portion of it gives out before me, nearly drawing me to my death. I backpedal, only to have another section crumble behind me. The trembling eventually ceases, but I'm now trapped.

The fragment of stairs on which I stand is barely big enough for me to maintain my balance. The gap behind me is over a metre long. The one before me is twice as massive. Even with the downward angle of the staircase, there's no way I can make such a jump.

I am, for all intents and purposes, doomed.

I can't believe this is how it ends. I think back to what my older self said. I guess he was wrong about both my destiny and the fact that I would one day get to meet my parents. I don't know what I did wrong, but I failed. And now I'm going to die. I could wait for the next tremor to do the job for me, but if this is to be the end, I prefer it be on my terms.

I never thought of myself as the kind of person who would commit suicide, but at the moment, it seems like the only logical option. Not to mention it's not really suicide if I'm going to die anyway. Is it?

It doesn't matter. My mindis made up. I take a deep breath, turn toward the mouth of the volcano, and getready to jump.