Coming to an End

Chapter 1: Packing

“JONA! COME ON, WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP!” Jona’s mom, Raelynn, called.

“I’LL BE DOWN SOON!” Jona called back, she finished packing up her books and art supplies. Her and her mom we’re going to Isle of Skye. Jona had always wanted to visit Skye, it had great photo opportunities. Plus plenty of color schemes for her drawings, and quiet places for reading. The only thing that would be hard to get around was the weather. It was September, the nicest time for traveling to Skye, but it would still only be around 50°. 

Jona fixed her scarf in the mirror, untucking her brown curled hair from under it. She took one final look around her room, her room had stayed the same ever since her dad had passed away 4 years ago. She picked up the photo of the three of them from their last vacation. Her dad had surprised them with a trip to Worlds of Fun, it was the last time they had all spent time together.

Walking downstairs, her suitcase dragged behind her, hitting every step. Raelynn was already in the car, pulling out her phone she texted her mom.

“Mother. Are we stopping somewhere to get a drink and a snack before we go to the station? I want a drink.”

“I suppose... Don’t see why you can’t wait until we get on the train but I guess we can stop. Need gas anyways.”

“Okay.” she put her phone back in her hoodie pocket and headed out the door to the car. Once she was buckled in, they headed to get gas and drinks, and then to the train station.

Chapter 2: Train Station

Arriving at the station, Raelynn went to make sure the E-Tickets had been registered, while Jona sat in a corner to charge her phone before the ride. It would take about 6 hours to reach Scotland, then another couple hours to get to Skye. 

Raelynn came and sat down next to Jona, and plugged her phone in as well.

“Our tickets worked, ready to get out of here?” her mom asked, laughing.

“Yeah, definitely.” She was, she hated Montana. There were always too many people around, she hated her school, and no one talked to her. She was known as the outcast, even when she tried to make friends with other people.

“They say Skye is a great place to meet friends..”

“We’ll see about that mom.” 

“Train 22 is now boarding. Train 22 is now boarding.” someone on the intercom said.

“Guess that’s us” Raelynn said. They got up and checked off their E-Tickets before boarding the train.

Chapter 3: Train Ride

Boarding the train, Jona and Raelynn were put in different places. The train would only go to Scotland, so Raelynn said that she could pick where she wanted to sit, seeing as she was almost 16, they’d still be on the isle of Skye when her birthday came around. Jona had picked a spot towards the back of the caboose, next to a window. When they boarded, she was the only one in that row, that’s why she picked it. Raelynn sat towards the front, talking to the conductor. She always had to talk to people, it kind of got annoying.

Looking out the window, Jona wasn’t paying attention. Suddenly she heard a voice next to her,

“Hey! Are these seats taken?” said a cheerful, smoky voice. Jona turned to see a tall, red haired boy standing at the end of the row, looking directly at her and smiling.

“N..No. It’s not.” she stuttered, she wasn’t used to people talking to her, let alone boys. She looked up at him, he had deep ocean blue eyes.

“Cool!” he said, sitting down next to her. “Hi! I’m Admond.”

“I’m Jona.” she said, still slightly nervous. She decided to start a conversation. “Where are you heading to?”

“Some place called the Isle of Skye. Supposed to be really nice and quiet. What about you?” asked Admond, smiling at Jona.

“The Isle of Skye.” she laughed. 

“Coincidence?” Admond said, laughing with her. Jona enjoyed having someone to talk to and laugh with.

Chapter 4: Off the Train

Admond and Jona talked the whole train ride, they didn’t even realize when they were in Scotland. Raelynn walked to the back to where they were sitting. 

“Who’s this Jona?” she asked her daughter. 

“Oh hey mom. Mom, this is Admond. Admond, my mom.” 

“Hello Admond, nice to meet you. I’m Raelynn.” 

“Nice to meet you as well Raelynn.” he stood up to shake her hand.

“You guys just gonna sit in this seat all day or are we going to actually go to Skye?” They all laughed and walked off.

Raelynn went to get their luggage while Jona continued to talk to Admond.

“So who are you here with? I assume you didn’t come by yourself.” Jona asked, realizing she hadn’t seen anyone else board the plane with him.

“Just me actually. My uncle surprised me and gave me some extra money to come here. My parents abandoned me when I was 5, and he raised me. He said that ‘I’m old enough to start traveling’ since I’ll be 17 really soon.”

“Oh.. I’m sorry.. When do you turn 17?”

“October 20th.”

“I’ll be 16 September 20th.. We’ll still be here on my birthday.” 

“I’ll still be here too.. Maybe we could hang out while we’re here?”

“S..Sure. Where are you from?”

“Billings, Montana. What about you?”

“Lockwood, Montana.” Jona laughed. They were only 10 minutes apart, but she hadn’t ever seen him around her town before. Realizing this Admond laughed with her. “Do you ever go to Lockwood?”

“Yeah, all the time actually.” Admond replied.

“Weird. I’ve never seen you around before..” she paused. “So if you’re here by yourself, how are you going to get around and where are you staying?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Hold on.” Jona ran to catch up with her mom, Admond followed behind her but not as quickly. “Hey, mom. Can Admond stay with us? He’s here by himself.”

“I guess I don’t see a problem with it.” Raelynn replied. Jona smiled back at Admond who had heard the response to her question. He too smiled.

Chapter 5: Scotland

They arrived at their hotel. Raelynn signed them in and payed the extra for Admond to stay with them. 

“You’re room will be on the second floor. You’ll be in room 243.”

“Thank you.” said Raelynn. The 3 of them walked to their room, Jona in the middle of Raelynn and Admond as they walked. “If you guys want to go explore the city you can, just make sure your phone is on Jona. We’re heading to Skye tomorrow morning.”

“Okay mom, we’ll be back before 10.”

“Be safe.” 

“We will.” Jona grabbed the bag she had brought with her, inside the bag was her phone, her backup charger, a sketchbook, erasers, and a couple pencils. They walked out the door together, closing it behind them and walking out of the hotel. Raelynn smiled, her daughter had finally found a best friend.

“Do you know your way around here?” Jona asked after they were a block away from the hotel.

“Kind of. Let’s grab a map just to be safe though.”

“Okay.” Jona said picking up one of the free maps at a nearby tourist stand. “So what should we do first.. They’ve got a fishing harbor, a target sports place, stores for shopping..”

“What about going to The Lump watchtower and trails? I’ve heard that’s a fun place to go.”

“Sure. It looks fun.” Jona said, opening the brochure she’d picked up from the hotel stand. 

Chapter 6: Coming to an End

Jona and Admond had arrived at The Lump. It was a colorful place. They could see the watchtower not to far ahead. It looked over the water, which was crystal clear. Looking around, the trees were as green as they could be, and they had to be at least 10 feet tall. Jona thought about taking a picture of them but realized they were so tall that they wouldn’t fit in one picture. She had been so mesmerized by the scenery that she hadn’t noticed that Admond was walking ahead, she ran to catch up with him.

“This place is beautiful.” she said when she caught up.

“Yeah, it really is.” Admond replied, not looking at Jona. He kept his head down, looking at the ground. They walked in silence for a while, until Admond broke the silence by asking, “have you ever realized how short life is?” 

“I never thought much about it..” Jona paused, thinking about what he had said. “But I guess you’re right. It’s all been going by so fast.. It’s kind of weird. Seems like just yesterday we were still young kids.” she laughed quietly. Admond didn’t laugh with her this time. He looked up from the ground and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting now, it was below the top of the trees. The color around them had changed, it now had a reddish tint. Admond stopped walking, Jona stopped too.

“Jona.. We aren’t going to make it home..”

“What do you mean? My mom knows that we’ll be home. And I’ve got my phone, I could text....”

“No.. that’s not what I mean..” he cut her off and paused. His tone changed, “Jona, the world is ending.”

“That’s ridiculous. It can’t be.” 

“It’s true Jona, I wouldn’t joke about this.. Civilization has destroyed our world and now we’re faced with our own truth and destiny. Today’s the last day anyone on this planet will be alive.” They stood there in silence once again. Jona couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not, surely he wouldn’t make a joke like that but she had just met him. She looked up at him and saw him staring at the water. The water reflected the sunset, and in his eyes, she saw the same thing. He wasn’t joking.

The sun was almost set now. The trees still stood tall, their shadows falling onto the ground. People were leaving the watchtower, talking about coming back tomorrow.. There wouldn’t be a tomorrow, but no one knew that. Everyone lived on their devices and had social lives, factories and everything the human population had invented. It had been slowly destroying humans, but it continued until it destroyed the world. And now it was over.

“Admond.. If the world really is ending.. I’m glad I met you, you’re the only real friend I’ve ever had. I wish this wasn’t the end..”

“Me too, Jona... Me too..” he grabbed her hand just as the sun set. 

And then there was nothing but silent darkness. Birds stopping chirping, people stopped talking, cars stopped running. The world had truly come to an end.