One Last Chance

At twenty, everybody is supposed to get their mark. The mark that matches them with their soulmate. When I woke up on my twentieth birthday, my pale wrist had nothing. I couldn’t say I was surprised. After all, I was the last person on Earth. 

It wasn’t the pandemic that had wiped out half of our population, the government took it too far. After the President and Congress were deposed and beheaded by the One World Government officials, things worked differently. Before, we were allowed to see follow social distancing and quarantine on our own accord. It was our choice. When One World came in, it became mandatory, and any deviance from the supreme law of His Majesty, King Daniel, was to be dealt with has harshly and publicly as possible. This deviance included driving in your own car, alone or with family, trying to escape somewhere where One World wouldn’t find you. This included protesting, however peaceful or violent. This included walking in your neighborhood, sitting outside, looking out your window, and many other meaningless transgressions. This basically tanked the global economy that had just begun to rise, but I guess it doesn’t matter when the entire world has the same leader. 

It finally got so turbulent in the former United States that King Daniel just had to nuke us. It wasn’t really a nuke, it was one of the other bombs that were tested back in the 1950s, but it really messed us up. Obviously, people died instantly, and obviously, others died slowly. After that happened, the other holdouts, Australia and North Korea surrendered. Of course, their leaders were publicly executed. The only country that seemed to continue resisting was Africa. One World didn’t really report on them much. They were just a rebel state that would soon fall to the “might” of the One World King. 

I was fortunate enough to get underground in time, just thirty minutes before the first bomb shook Los Angeles. After that first one, it was just a constant barrage of the bomb after bomb, city after city. When I finally resurfaced a month later, I found the small town I lived in, completely razed, with not a soul in sight. 

As you can see, I wasn’t really expecting my mark.

Five years after the first bomb, I walked. I just walked any and everywhere. My twentieth birthday came and went, I found several US bases that still had some MREs left over, I survived. As I traveled inland from California in my third year of roaming, I found a Tesla in New Mexico that was basically untouched. I would like to say that I just “happened” upon it in somebody’s locked underground garage, but honestly? I broke in and stole it. I would never say this is moral, but listen, asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission. 

Now, I drive that car everywhere. It is my only companion, the only solace I have from the debilitating world I live in. I had always wanted my own car before One World, but my parents thought I would get myself killed. If only they could see me now.

Now that I’ve traveled pretty much all over the states, I decided to settle down in Tusla Oklahoma. It was modest, but it was pretty, and undisturbed by the bombs themselves. The radiation still killed all the residents though. So it looked to be completely barren. I went down by the river to see if it was poisoned, but it was fine. I had some iodine tablets and a UV light to kill any lingering bacteria anyways.

I had stopped trying to find people a long time ago. After I didn’t get a mark, I just took that as a sign to stop trying. It was really lonely for an eternity.

So imagine my surprise when I found some butthole trying to steal my car.

I had just stopped along the road to fill my water canteen, but when I’d turned back to walk back to the car, some guy was in the front seat. He hadn’t seen me, so I took this opportunity to pull out my knife. It was pretty dull from years of use, but I could still make it look threatening. 

As I approached the car, I felt terrified. I hadn’t seen another human for five years, and then, all of a sudden, one just sits in my car? How was I even supposed to talk to him? Had I really not spoken to any communicative being in that long? What should I do? Where should I run if he attacks me? What do I-

“You can put the knife away, I’m not going to hurt you.”

I froze. Those words sent chills throughout my entire body. He looked up at me with cold eyes. I didn’t know what I should do. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, accusingly. “I haven’t seen any humans in years, what are you doing here.” I couldn’t even find my voice to answer his question. “What, do you not know how to speak? Are you deaf? I asked you a question!” He started getting out of the car, and I finally found my strength and flashed my knife at him as he approached me. I found my voice, “I have a knife,” I muttered weakly. He laughed, “Well aren’t you intimidating. Why don’t you try and stab me then?” That set me off. He was mocking me. I felt my face turn red and then I found my real voice, “How dare you taunt me. Who do you think you are? You come here, sit in my car, look through my things, and have the audacity to mock me. I’ve got half a mind to throw this knife through your skull!” 

His eyes were wide as I threatened to throw the knife. He took a step back and that gave me the confidence to continue, “I don’t know who you are or what you want with me, but you better leave me and my car alone.” I stepped towards him, waving around my knife, “I don’t know how you survived the bombs, but I can assure you that you won’t survive me if you keep nosing around me and my property.” 

He tripped and fell backward, then raised his hands over his eyes. “Please! I’m sorry I was messing with your stuff! Just please don’t stab me!” Then I felt awful. I lowered my knife and just sighed, “I’m sorry, you scared me.” I stuck my hand out to help him up. “I haven’t seen a person in five years, then you show up and I can’t even be excited about it.”

He looked at me, bewildered. “Five years. You haven’t seen anybody in five years.” I nodded my head. He looked around him, then leaned in close and said, “I think you need to wake up now.”

I shot up from the hospital bed and took a gasp of air. A doctor stood there shocked. It was the same guy from before. All he said was this: “If the pandemic didn’t kill me then a heart attack will. You’re finally awake now! Welcome to 2026!”