DEFCON 1

His finger hovered precariously over a RED BUTTON. Blinking crimson lights and alarm sirens blared in the bunker in a display of utter chaos and madness. It took all his effort to ignore the alarms, the knot in his stomach, the tightness in his chest, as well as the panicked thumping of his heart. He had to remind himself that the Men in Black prepared him for this situation. It was the reason they stationed him to this remote, isolated place. With eyes wide open, he gawked apprehensively at a monitor on a control panel, hoping beyond hope that it was only a drill.

A warm sensation began to spread in the lower half of his body, unnoticed.

His heart skipped a beat when the word ‘LAUNCH’ appeared on the control monitor. All systems were a go. The underground installation shook violently as massive silo doors rumbled and grumbled open. All the while, his finger twitched nervously over the RED BUTTON. This was not a drill. The moment he had been dreading was finally happening. Considering the direction the world was heading, he wasn’t in the least bit surprised. In fact, he suspected it was only a matter of time. On cue, a computerized woman’s voice started a slow methodical countdown.

“10, 9.”

As the countdown commenced, so many thoughts and images ran through his mind. He began to think about all the things he had not yet done, all the places he had not yet seen, and all the girls he wanted to smooch. His whole life—past, present, and possible future—was right there in front of him, flashing before his eyes. 

“8, 7.”

The thought of family members, sleeping peacefully in their beds, popped in his head. They were unaware of the death and devastation that was about to befall them. This could very well be their last night on this planet.

“6, 5.”

His finger inched closer to the RED BUTTON until he lightly touched it, just a whisper of a touch. It was enough for him to feel the texture of the button, its smooth, metallic surface. At that moment, it dawned on him that he held the fate of the human race at his fingertip. He had the power of a God—a being who could dispense life and death at a whim.

“4, 3.”

This was it. The moment he prepared for, trained for, and planned for had arrived. All he had to do was apply a little pressure with his finger and push down on the RED BUTTON. Could he do it? COULD HE END ALL OF LIFE? Then he could be alone, truly alone.

 “2…”

He suddenly felt a warm, wet sensation oozing in the lower half of his body.

Kevin woke up with a jolt. It took a moment to shake the dreamworld from his mind. To his dismay, he instantly realized that his pajama bottom and bedding were soaked. The stench of urine was in the air.

“Not again,” he whimpered, “mom is gonna to kill me.”

He quickly shot up from his bed, took off his pajamas, bundled up his bedding, and stealthily throwing them in the washer. A can of Lysol by his bedside promptly eliminated the smell of urine from his bed. This wasn’t his first rodeo. If everything went according to plan, mom wouldn’t suspect a thing, or so he hoped.

With his subterfuge complete, Kevin took a beat to look around his bedroom at all his zombie figurines, and all the apocalypse themed posters displayed on his walls. It occurred to him that he might be a tad preoccupied with the whole ‘the end of the world’ scenario. Every Halloween he dressed up as a zombie or a mutant monster. He always wore dark, drab t-shirts with messages of doom. No wonder he had no friends, and why classmates avoided him like the plague. Creepy Kevin was what they called him behind his back; he knew because he had heard it many times. His parents tried their best to be supportive, but he saw the look of concern and disappointment on their faces.

There was no doubt about it. He was a freak, a weirdo, an outcast. Kevin often told himself that everyone died alone, so he was just ahead of the curve. Yet it would have been nice to have someone to hangout with, goof around with, cause mischief with, share thoughts and feelings with, maybe even a girlfriend to play doctor with. Spending quality time with kids his own age, however, was something he rarely did. That was why he was so awkward in just about every social setting.

There were no excuses. Deep down inside, Kevin knew he had only himself to blame for becoming such a social pariah. He grimaced when he saw the blu-ray cover of the movie War Games on his TV stand. It was the movie he watched before going to bed, which lead to his nightmare, which in turn lead to his bedtime urine-fest.

“That settles it,” the boy thought to himself, “no more gloom and doom.”

His nightmare taught him a valuable lesson: he was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him. First, he had to put himself out there, turn a new leaf. From now on, he was going to live life not revel in death.

"Look out world, a new and improved Kevin is about to grace the scene," the boy rejoiced. "Ding-dong creepy Kevin is dead. Long live Kevin the outgoing, Kevin the life of the party, and Kevin the lady’s man."

Kevin had never felt such excitement, such a zest for life and for new beginnings. He could almost feel his life changing for the better. All that came to a screeching halt when he noticed an X mark on a calendar on his wall. It was the day the blu-ray series he ordered on Amazon was scheduled to arrive.

“Right after I watch the new season of The Walking Dead,” Kevin reasserted. “They say it is the best one yet.”