The End of the World is as Good a Time to Change as Ever

It was supposed to be a chill camping week, away from society. Leah and I had borrowed all the equipment necessary for a comfortable trip up into the mountains. For three days, everything was calm. Then the apocalypse hit. Or at least, it felt like it.

A flash of pure white light split the sky, with lightning branching into three forks. Leah’s body trembled in my arms as thunder followed just seconds later. The storm was directly overhead. Rain fell from the pitch-black sky, pelting the trees and us relentlessly. The gales had torn our tent half an hour earlier, leaving us huddled behind a pile of rocks serving as a windbreak. The rocks slid and rumbled every few minutes—the storm was that strong.

Another lightning strike illuminated the sky, followed by thunder louder than anything I’d ever heard. Leah’s fingers dug into my sides, so hard I could almost feel her nails through my jacket. I wasn’t much better off. I clutched her tightly, heart pounding in my chest and ears, drowning out the rain and wind, everything except the thunder.

Had you asked me a day earlier how I’d react to such a situation, I’d have said I’d dig a hole, huddle inside, and wait it out with my hands over my head. Instead, I lay there, rocks at my back, Leah pressed against me, trying to shield her with my body. My mind raced, and my senses heightened beyond anything I thought possible. Despite the darkness, my eyes darted, taking in every detail.

For a second then, the world went black. No lightning, only rain blending into the darkness. I let out a shaky breath.

A rod of light—not white but glaring—crashed into a tree across the clearing. The image seared into my vision before I even registered what happened.

The tree exploded. Leah screamed, but beyond that, the world went silent, a long, high-pitched ring filling my ears. The shard of the tree came a moment later. I twisted to the side, pulling Leah with me, barely in time. A sharp pain shot through my right leg, and I yelled as pieces of wood struck my back and sides like bullets.

In the cold rain, warmth spread down my back and leg where the pain still throbbed. Leah was shaking even harder.

I cursed under my breath. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’d spent two months convincing, buttering up, and eventually begging Leah to go on this camping trip. Another month went into planning, making sure the weather forecast was perfect!

Leah squirmed, and I dared to lie back again. I yelped from the pain and quickly sat up. My thoughts went to the warmth running down my back but was distracted by a sight.

Across the glade, a fire burned. Despite the rain, surrounded by the deepest of blacks, flames devoured the tree that had been struck by lightning. The rain distorted the image, making it surreal. It was... beautiful. I shuddered at the thought. Was I really finding beauty in such a traumatic moment, with Leah crying into my shoulder?

She moved her hands, rubbing my back, making me groan. Her fingers quickened, finding the centres of my pain. I yelled as she pressed harder. If it weren’t for the storm, I would’ve known exactly where to find the first aid kit—Leah liked keeping our things organized.

Thunder ripped through the winds and rain and Leah shook again, pushing at my wounded back and making me scream. Then she stood still. Perfectly still. Her hands went across my back once again, then fell limp.

I waited. Maybe she was just exhausted. But then, she came alive—not by wrapping herself around me, but by pushing me away. I yelled out as she shoved me down. The rain slowed to a drizzle, but the occasional lightning still lit the sky. Leah stared at me, her mouth stretched into a grotesque grin.

“You’re bleeding.”

My heart stopped. She said it so... happily. I probably had goosebumps from being drenched to the bone already, but now I explicitly felt them prickling my skin.

The wind howled, and Leah started shaking again. But this time, it wasn’t fear. She was laughing. She held her stomach, trembling as thunder roared overhead.

I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t obey. Leah spasmed, and somewhere in my mind, I was intrigued.

She stood up and walked steadily toward the centre of the glade as if the wind couldn’t touch her. The fire over the glade was dying, so the darkness consumed her, leaving only her silhouette visible. My heart raced, blood pounding in my ears. I opened my mouth to call after her.

The sky split with the brightest lightning of the night, revealing Leah in her totality—arms outstretched like wings, face tilted toward the sky. Her red jacket stood out against the darkness. As the light went away and the sky thundered, Leah turned towards me. I glimpsed that her eyes were closed and her mouth wore a relaxed smile. Then, the light faded, and she became a shadow again.

The rain intensified and Leah vanished from view in the torrent of rain hid Leah. Laughter cut through the rhythmic platter of water and another lightning brightened the world. It struck somewhere just behind the first line of trees and thunder followed immediately.

My attention stayed on Leah. She no longer had her jacket on.

I grimaced. She’d be upset if it got dirty in the mud—she liked her things clean.

She was moving again. Groaning, I stood, yelping as I put weight on my right leg. Warm blood mixed with rain. I peered through the downpour at her silhouette.

She was... dancing. Or at least beginning to. I recognized her routine—starting with elegant stretches, even in the rain and darkness. From turning her head, she went to her shoulders and arms, spinning them in a mesmerising way.  Her silhouette was a shadow, a dream against the dying firelight, half-hidden by the rain. She bent, legs spread, body lowering beneath her hips.

I knew what she would do next, she would…

She kicked her feet, and I saw something fly off. Her shoes. Then she threw out one of her arms and a second later she pulled off her pullover.

I took a step forward, ignoring the pain, and realised my mouth was agape. She wasn’t….

She tore away her t-shirt and pulled off her pants in a mere moment and she was naked. She again spread her arms into that bird-like posture and gazed up at the sky.

She stood still. The world stood still, except for the rain pelting us both. I made another step towards her.

A lightning bolt struck just meters behind her, its thunder deafening me. I called out her name, though all I could hear was ringing. But I saw her. She danced in earnest now, turning, twisting, jumping, throwing herself into the mud, only to rise gracefully like a swan.

Multiple thunders bombed in the sky and she, as if knowing when each and all of the booms would come, incorporated the ripping of the world into her dancing.

Leah danced—through the mud, the rain, the wind—moving to the rhythm of her heartbeat and the storm. As the ringing in my ears subsided, I realized she was screaming, shouting, laughing. She stomped and kicked, sending mud flying, completely unfazed by the mess she made.

The rain and wind swatted at her to stop her, but she only danced faster. Her steps and twists and jumps and falls became a series too fast to follow with the rain and I felt like I was watching an old movie, with the pictures not quite following each other.

Then, suddenly, she stopped, arms flung wide and let out a roar in unison with the thunder. I heard only the latter, but I felt the first in my heart. That roar was hers—a cry against the world. She collapsed into the mud, and I ran to her, ignoring the pain in my leg.

It was the end of the world, wasn’t it?

I reached her, sprawled in the mud, staring up at the sky. I followed her gaze.

A majestic lightning bolt shattered the sky like broken glass. My heart pounded. I looked down at her. She was twitching from exhaustion but she beamed one of the brightest smiles at me I ever saw. I collapsed beside her, sinking into the mud. We didn’t speak. We didn’t move.

The cold crept into my fingers and toes, but I stayed still. Until Leah moved, I wouldn’t either. I watched her chest rise and fall as the rain washed the mud off her body.

Time passed, and the storm began to quiet, the rain lessening. There hadn’t been lightning in a while, and thunder was distant now. I didn’t feel my hands or feet when Leah finally stirred—sneezing.

I burst out laughing, and she joined me. We laughed until my stomach hurt and she too, was holding it and letting out yelps in between attacks of laughter.

As the clouds parted, Leah looked at me, a lock of her light brown hair falling over her eyes.

“I’ve decided. I’m quitting my job. Do you still want to get a van and travel?”

My mind whirled. Was this really Leah? I reached out and scooped her hands out of the mud and held them. Then, before she could react, I grabbed a handful of mud with my free hand and tossed it at her face.

“Yes!”