The Earth's Decease

Everything happened so quick, it felt as if I was living in a movie. I had heard about the Earth has an expiration date but I always thought those were myths. I never actually believed in the world ending. A huge surge of wind came towards me and everyone continued to run. The planet was eradicating and there was no escape. I grabbed the nearest traffic pole and held on as tight as I could. I closed my eyes so tight, almost as if I thought that was going to end everything. When I slightly opened them I turned behind me and I noticed a long item was quickly approaching me. Before I knew it I was knocked out. 

*A few hours earlier*

It was a normal day in New York, the streets were busy with people going on their lunch break, the honks of the taxies were repeating filled the air, the sounds of construction, it was rush hour for New York City. I was on my way to meet a friend at Joe's Cafe. It was the corner coffee shop on Columbus Avenue and it was across Broadway. It was my favorite place in the city because not only did they have the best coffee in all of New York, but they had amazing sandwiches. I was going to meet my friend Lauren, who I met at my Guggenheim fellowship interview. While I waited for my interview, she was also in the same waiting room. We started to have a conversation and it turned out that she was also there for the same reason. We had a great conversation and I felt that we connected very well. I decided to ask her on a date at Joe’s Cafe. She said yes and she gave me her phone number. Honestly, my dating life was never well, and it never came easy for me. So yes, I would say it was probably too soon of me to ask, but I was desperate to find real love.

 I entered the cafe and sat on the north side of the room. I sat against the huge window that gave the view of Broadway across the street. As I looked out the window, I thought about the possible conversations I and Lauren were going to have. From experiences, I feared that I was going to come off as too narcissistic or egocentric, so I made sure to remind myself of things to not say. I was nervous because Lauren and I had a great conversation at our interview and I did not want to mess up any chances with her. The waitress came up to the table and asked me if I wanted to start my order. I said I was waiting for someone and denied her offer at that time. At that moment I realized that it had been ten minutes past the time I and Lauren agreed to meet up. I started to think that she stood me up because of something I said.

 I grew concerned about why she was late for our date, but a loud crash interrupted that thought. I looked outside the window and noticed that a taxi had crashed into a white vehicle. I stepped outside to see if I could help those in the accident but the loudness of the street grew louder. The ground began to shake and it came quickly to me that an earthquake was occurring. I ran back inside into the café and ducked beneath the table I was sitting at. The ground continued to shake tremendously and it felt as if it lasted forever. it would only slow down but the movements would rapidly increase again. I left the café once the movement began to slow down. At that point, I had already forgotten about my date with Lauren. There were so many things happening I could not think straight. The car accidents continued to happen, the wind was blowing strong, the earthquake occurred continuously. All of New York City was a catastrophe. I wondered if this was happening all over the world. I started to run, I didn't know where I was going but it felt as if I was escaping the nightmare. I looked behind me and I saw a huge wave of black smoke rising above the buildings of New York City. I continued to run for my life and I didn't know what was going on inside of my head. Everyone was screaming and running and it felt as if the world was coming to an end. At that point, I decided to just stop and grab the traffic post. I shut my eyes so tight and I prayed that everything was a dream, but it wasn't. When I turned behind me and opened my eyes I saw a huge piece of Gray Metal coming towards me. Before I knew it slammed against my body and sent me flying through the crowded streets. At that moment I was knocked out.

I woke up looking at the sky filled with black smoke and residue. I was surprised when I woke up because I thought the world no longer existed. It didn't make sense to me how I was still alive. The voice of a young female caught my attention. As I turned to the side and got up from the ground, I noticed she was coming towards me. She approached me so frightened and surprised to see me. She began to tell me that my body was against the windshield wipers of a taxi and that I was the only one that was conscious so she dragged me to a safe spot. She continued to tell me how she was so happy to see me alive but I was looking at everything around and it was a horrific sight. Buildings fell apart, there was still some on fire. The sky was filled with black smoke and I could barely breathe. There was water on the ground as if the ground had flooded. A thought kept crossing my head but I didn't want to believe it; the world had ended and we were the only ones alive.