To Hel and Back

Gone

In both senses of the term, humanity was gone. The whole world was destroyed, leaving only an island floating in the void. There were no stars, no planets, nothing but that island. Atop it were three beings and their house. Nothing more, and (unfortunately) nothing less. Grian sat as he always did, feet dangling over the edge of the island. I could jump. I could just jump off into the void. He sighed heavily. No. There's nothing down there, and I might just end up back where I started. Thinking about the same thing day after day may have been monotonous, but at least he knew where it was going. He knew what would happen next. No more surprises.

"Hey Greeon! How's it going?"

Grian cringed at the sound of his own name. Why won't he stop saying it like that?! His eyes remained fixed on the empty space in front of him as footsteps approached from behind. Sam sat down next to him, mimicking his dangling feet and slouched posture. "I said, how's it going?" He playfully elbowed his friend in the arm, trying his hardest to remain friendly. Grian saw right through his sugar-coated bullshit. He glanced at Sam, their eyes locking for a split second before Grian snapped his head away. He couldn't look into those eyes without seeing the school, his teachers, his classmates, his friends, their bodies... Grian shook himself out of his thoughts, finally replying to Sam with a disgruntled sigh.

"I get it, Greeon. It's been a while, but grief isn't something that comes easy." Coming from anyone else, those words might been helpful, said with at least a fraction truth behind them. With them coming from Sam, they were said with an unaffected, emotionless smile that made Grian's skin crawl. "Grief takes time. I mean, for some people it does. Me on the other hand..." He put a hand on Grian's chin and tilted it towards him. "I've already gotten over it. Maybe it's time you do too."

Grian grabbed Sam's wrist, pushing it away. "Leave me alone," he muttered through gritted teeth. Sam popped up, brushing off his pants and shrugging. "Alright. Suit yourself, Greeon." He did as his classmate asked, turning around and walking away. Grian watched as he walked back to the house, a slight bounce in his step.

"How can he act like that?" he asked himself, knowing well what the answer was. "How can he just pretend like nothing happened? How can he be... happy?" He sighed once more, turning to face the void. "I wish I could forget. I wish things could've been different. I wish, I- What could I have done?!" he cried, his tears following the same path as yesterday, rivers through a valley.

He felt a hand gently press against his back. "I thought I told you to leave!"

"Hey, it's okay." His voice was gentle and familiar, that of a friend.

Grian sniffled, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. "I'm sorry Taurtis. I didn't-"

"Shh," he cut him off. "It's okay. Just let it out." He continued crying as Taurtis rubbed circles into his back, eventually sitting down beside him. "I know this isn't easy. It's okay to cry." His friend began to shed a few tears himself, for the most part staying quiet.

"I really am sorry though. I was su- supposed to protect you, and I- I-" Grian decided it would be best to give up on talking right now. Taurtis had heard it before. Taurtis knew. Taurtis understood. Taurtis knew.

"We're all sorry, G. Well," he said, glancing back at the house, "at least two of us are. It's okay- not okay, but... fine. We'll get through this together, just like we always have."

"No we won't."

Silence settled around them, broken only by Grian's sniffles. Taurtis sighed. "Yeah," he whispered, "...yeah."

The two sat there, unmoving, not a word spoken, for what felt like hours. There was nothing left to say, nothing left to do, nothing left. There was no hope, no one who could rescue them, no one left to tell them everything would be okay. Nothing was okay, and it never would be again. They were trapped on an island together in the middle of space: the three who ended it all.