The End

“Attention, everyone! We’re all going to die!” How was I supposed to react to this? The news reporters were crying, actually crying! How was the public supposed to feel if the people in charge were hysterical? And three weeks from now? How is anyone supposed to mentally prepare to die in three weeks? My family was hysterical, the neighbours were hysterical; as far as I could tell, the whole city was hysterical.

3 weeks later

We were still running, I felt as if we had been running for hours, my legs were shaky, my chest was tight, I could hear my heartbeat over the sounds of panting, from all of us. We stopped for a minute to catch our breath, taking shelter underneath a collapsed rooftop. I heard many more people running by, some screaming, others weeping. Another explosion went off, making my ears ring.

My name is Luc. About three weeks ago, the government announced the end of the world. That’s right, The End. Every country in the world knew about it by then. The time of systematic structure was over. The world’s population had become totally chaotic. Crimes were being heavily committed, families were spending last moments together, and the need for satisfactory last meals had increased tremendously. I don’t think most people were intentionally acting in harmful manners, but rather the gradual realization of the literal end of civilization had forced them into states of psychosis.

“Luc! Luc!”, snapping out of my daydream, I realised that we were running again. We should have left days before, but Mum and Dad could not bear the pain of leaving the home that they shared for over two decades. Mum, Dad, my sister Britney, my two male cousins and I were all on the run together. We were desperately trying to seek refuge in the building of Dad’s office, as our home was one of the many unfortunate victims of uncontrollable fires.

Why were we seeking refuge if we were all going to die anyway? Well, ours, along with all the other governments in the world, had announced the exact time of The End, and were kind enough to grant every single being a tiny red pill that would prevent any sort of potential suffering. They warned us that there would be three sirens that would go off at specific times, worldwide. We were supposed to swallow the pill, if able, at the sound of the first siren. If not, there was always the second siren, but by the third, every pill given out in the world had to have been taken, as the third siren marked The End of the world. We were not told how exactly it was going to end. Most people assumed that a series of natural disasters would form at that exact time and wipe out the entire population. Others took a more spiritual approach and stated different religious reasoned ways of The End. I did not know what to think, but I won’t deny that I was not curious.

Feeling as if I was in a movie, I avoided a rock being thrown straight at me as we ran past an alleyway where an elderly couple was attempting to take shelter. My heart sank as they watched us running, all hope lost from their eyes. I felt a lump rising in my throat as I realised the intensity of the day, the last day. I reminisced about enjoyable moments that I had shared with my friends, my family, and my pets that I tearfully had to leave behind as we escaped the destruction of our once peaceful neighbourhood. I was angry that it had come to this. If the world was ending, so what? Why did everybody have to lose their minds and destroy everything in sight? What if the actual end of the world was going to be caused by the actual world’s population destroying it?

We were finally at the building of Dad’s office. If only our car hadn’t been targeted by more rock-throwers the previous day, we would’ve arrived a lot sooner. We knew we wouldn’t be the only ones there, but none of us expected the shock that we felt when we realised just how many families had come to take refuge in the same building. Anyone who had a building to go to considered themselves lucky. Almost every major company offered their employees along with their families to seek asylum within their work spaces. We shoved ourselves past a few crowds until we reached Dad’s office. Lucky for us, Dad had a large, comfortable office. The blue-skied view that we usually enjoyed had been replaced with a smokey grey along with the occasional flicker of flames.

Mum started to tear up, and then Britney, and then me. Dad put his arms around us and tried to convince us that we were lucky to be leaving together. I tried to imagine the pain my cousins were going through, as they were only living with us so that they could go to college in our state. I had heard them trying to call their parents a few hours before we left the house, but there was no hope for any sort of cell service at that point. I removed myself from my father’s embrace and walked over toward them. Awkwardly and uncomfortably, I pulled them both into the tightest hug I could muster. I don’t think I had ever hugged them before that, and I wish I could say that it felt good, but it was clear that we were all too distracted by what would happen in the next hour.

The rest of the hour passed by with us sitting on the floor, our backs against the couch, whilst telling tales of our favourite moments spent with each other. I wondered whether to bring up the topic of the afterlife, but decided not to cause conflict within the last moments we shared.

After an emotional hour, we counted down the seconds on the clock, leading up to the siren. We, along with everyone else, had our pills in our hands. I wasn’t sure when the noise outside had stopped, but the entire world seemed pin-drop silent at that point. The last three weeks were spent leading up to those exact minutes. We waited, listening, not even daring to breathe loudly. I was afraid, and I knew they were too. I squeezed my little red pill, trying to fathom the fact that such an item could actually end my entire life.

We all lay down on the floor. Each of us had a comfortable pillow to rest our heads, as we had agreed that we would all depart this world comfortably, together. At last, the first siren screamed loud, and then louder. It seemed to go on forever. We all said our goodbyes just one more time, and they swallowed their pills. I waited, caressing the miniscule red drug that I was ordered to take, at that very moment, but why? How would the world actually end? What exactly was going to happen? How could I be sure that the pill would take care of everything? Was I the only curious soul out there that did not want to just agree with and obey the leaders of the country? These along with many other questions swarmed around my mind. It was time. I had to take the pill.

The second siren started screaming, just like the first. The rest of the city was even more silent than before. I stood up and looked at my family, sleeping soundly. I had the slightest bit of hope in me as I looked for the rise and fall of their chests, but it was not there, they were gone. I knew I had to join them. I knew that I needed to be asleep, or dead, by the third siren. The problem was, I did not want to die, not like that anyways. I felt as if taking the pill was a way of giving up, somehow. I was curious about how the world would end, but I was also determined to not let this stupid red pill take over me. If I was going to die, I was not going to go with the gracious way of the pill that the government told me was purely a form of generosity. I decided that I would leave in the way that I wanted, by letting the world consume me, in its own way.

Hesitantly, I let the pill slip from my fingers, and heard it bounce on the ground. I caught one last glance of my family before walking towards the window, ready to witness whatever it may be that takes me. I hoped I was not the only one who did not take the pill, but I could not see any movement in the distance. Finally, the third siren started. The hairs on my arms stood on their ends, and I felt a chill crawl along my spine. This siren lasted longer than the others. Perhaps it was giving those last few remaining beings a chance to escape, I thought. Eventually, it stopped. I waited, my eyes scanning everything that I could see from the window of the office, trying to spot the beginning of The End. Nothing happened. I continued to wait. I was afraid but ready for whatever it was that would officially end everything. Still, nothing happened. I waited some more.

After what felt like several minutes of me standing frozen in that same spot, I heard a voice. The echo was unbelievably loud, as if he was speaking to the entire world. “Attention!”, the deep, robotic voice exclaimed. “Congratulations, you have passed. You last remaining few beings will help us reshape the world in a better way”. I figured other countries had the same narration going on, in many other languages. He continued, “There is no End, but rather, a more superior beginning. We have been devising this plan for several years, and, at last, we have put it to action. We used the process of elimination, but we could not decide which beings to eliminate, and so we allowed you to be the masters of your own fate. Those that gave up, those that did not have any curiosity or wonder about the actual earth we live on, those are the ones that decided to leave, to drift off peacefully into the unknown. The rest of us are fighters, clearly. We will all come together to rebuild this society. We will rebuild our earth that those monsters destroyed. We will live in harmony knowing that we have always been far more superior to those with whom we were surrounded with. This is a new beginning, a new world, a better world, but most of all, The End of a disastrous world filled with disastrous beings.”

The thumping of my heart was all I could hear once the echoed message ended. My body felt numb, and the atmosphere around me felt surreal. I could not believe what I had just experienced. I was slightly satisfied to be amongst those who were thought of as superior beings, or rather just relieved that I was not the only one left. But did I even want to be here anymore? Did I really want to help rebuild the world and help guide a new population? Was being alive really worth it if my family was not with me anymore? I wondered if it was too late to take the pill, but even in that situation I could not imagine myself actually doing it.

I’ve been staring out of this window for half an hour now. A few people came out of their hiding spots, celebrating. I guess I’m the only one that feels indifferently. Rather than feeling as if I rose up amongst the rest of my family, I feel as if they left without me. They’re sleeping peacefully, while I’m being made to live a supposedly better life. They were right to announce that this was The End. If I have to live in a world without my loved ones, am I really living a better life? They warned us that The End was coming, and they were right. It came, it’s here. The End of my comfort, The End of my joy, The End.