The End.

This is a story about the end of the world. Erm... Yeah...

 

The alarm sounded again; this time, louder. Well…possibly not louder…higher, maybe? It was a more shrill sound, I suppose. Or maybe… Maybe that was all in my head. I don’t remember why I came here. I realized that while making the walk across the old high school parking lot. I don’t remember why I came, and I don’t know what good it did that I was here now. But it certainly didn’t hurt anything, I suppose, although it was a pointless field trip. …what, at this moment in time, wasn’t pointless? There are a variety of answers depending on what you believe in, but, still, there will remain piles and piles objects, ideas, other humans, and emotions that are, in fact, of no use to you, no matter what morals you hold. Faced with… Faced with the end, everything is nothing.

            The alarm sounded once more. This time I winced at the noise; no longer doubting that it had been louder. The alarm, I believed, was pointless also. I knew it. The people whose job it was to sound the alarm knew it. Most of the world knew it, but what else had we to do…?

            They wanted us to move underground… That’s what the alarm was supposed to mean. Into our basements and caves and holes just in case the quake wasn’t as bad as expected. And, then, just so we can have another few months before the toxins finished us off. Well, I refused to go down breathing decayed animals and soil… But for each his own and all that.

            My car sat, expecting me almost, as I had counted on it to be seated there. What I didn’t count on was a shining black motorcycle, sitting peacefully beside it. And on this motorcycle sat Salem Hall, calm and patiently waiting my arrival. He gave a weak smile and threw one leg over his bike in order to stand properly.

            “Hello, October,” He said to me, almost hiding the stress in his voice.

            “Salem,” I muttered in reply, giving him the once over. He lifted off his helmet and let his dark hair fall out of it. There was a long silence that followed, then. A pause that allowed the tension to flow through our veins. He coughed twice and lit a cigarette. Then, stealing a glance in my direction, he changed his mind and threw it to the ground, stomping it out with the tip of his boot.

            “Look, Tobie, I came here to see if you were coming tonight… to Kayla’s. It would mean a lot to…” He cleared his throat when his words began to become indefinable, “To all of us.”

            I sighed and looked at him. He seemed like he wanted this. And I considered it for a long moment. I mean, actually considered it. Which was different from the way I usually treated his ideas, but my answer seemed clear to me as the poisonous gas Salem and I were breathing in. In that moment, it wasn’t a matter of wanting or not. It was a matter of mental ability.

            “Say, I can’t just pretend nothing is wrong,” I replied carefully, making sure he understood what I was saying. “I never was good at pretending… You, of all people, know that.” My words hung in the air, blending with the poison now floating nearly full force, and, in a few days… Who knows how much would be in the air.

“You don’t have to pretend, October,” his words seemed to struggle out of his center, “You just have to be there… You have to.” Then, as if from his very soul,

 “Please?”

And that was that.

 

 

Cars lined the road leading to Kayla’s doorstep. I recognized Salem’s motorcycle instantly. It was leaning against an oak tree in Kayla’s front lawn. I stopped for a moment and felt a tremble go through my spine. Was I really doing this? Was this the right thing to do? But… really, I had no other way of finding out but to-

I, then, heard a noise coming from almost directly above my head. I studied the     silhouette of two large figures that seemed to be… struggling on the roof before I realized what I was really watching.

“Onyx?” I called to him, surprised.

“Yes?” He answered, his voice harsh from the physical strain of his activity.

“What- What are you doing, exactly?” I asked him. He was standing with a large, wooden cross, about two inches taller than himself.  He was now trying to lean the cross against the stone chimney, and struggling greatly to do so because it wouldn’t balance. He finally found a good position for it; then, straightened and turned to face me. Even in the darkness, his eyes burned right through me.

“In a time such as this, what else is there to turn to?” he replied in a monotone. I stood still, not knowing what to say. His words echoed in my ears for a moment. When did I stop believing in Christ? When was the last time I called upon him for comfort? What had changed inside of me that had caused this? And, really… What else was there at the end of all humanity? Certainly nothing on Earth…

When I finally rose from these thoughts and remembered where I was, Onyx was gone from the roof and I was alone in the darkness with a wooden cross.

 

I don’t know what I had expected, really… as you can imagine. But I don’t believe I was expecting what I got. As I entered the door, I heard laughter and bright voices. The door squealed open and Kayla called my name, greeting me with a strong embrace and a kiss upon my check. Salem smiled, widely; soon he was at my side. His embrace felt familiar… a lonely kind of familiar. It was like walking into a house you used to live in, laugh in, cry in… now empty. I felt the same way about his smell; a combination of cologne and cigarettes. Kayla was speaking to me, but I couldn’t hear her over the other voices that filled the room and the thoughts that were pounding inside my head.

Everything seemed to be so bright and so fast. It seemed I was watching someone fast-forward a video tape. Kayla put a drink in my hands and, from the taste of it; it was some kind of hard liquor. I, eventually, decided that it made sense. This was to be the end of us all. Aren’t we supposed to spend it together? Aren’t we supposed to drink alcohol and put metaphoric paper bags over our heads? Maybe it was the drink, but, as time progressed, the whole situation seemed less sick to me. I had been there for hours and no one mentioned the end of the world.

My first reality check was the alarm again. Most people didn’t seem to have noticed… Or, at least, pretended they didn’t… But it chilled me to the bone, that alarm; Although, I can’t exactly say why.

Twice that night we had a knock on the door from religious cults, begging us to repent from our sins or we would be cast into Hell. The first group was quite persistent and wouldn’t leave until threatened with a hand gun that one of our guests disturbingly kept on his person.

But the second group only gave a weak smile and a nod of understanding when their offer was declined. They most likely had a lot of refusals that night. They, most likely, felt defeated.

It wasn’t until everyone was asleep… until Salem, Kayla, and I sat alone in her bedroom that death was finally mentioned. Kayla had a cigarette between her lips and Salem was relighting his. They offered me one but I declined. Salem found a comfortable position leaning against the bed post with his left hand buried in his pocket. I lay beside him, breathing the smoky air. Kayla sat facing both of us. There were a few moments of silence. Then, Salem dared to speak the topic that was on all of our minds.   

“I wonder what it’ll be like, you know?” his voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it was the clearest thing I had heard all night.

“Yeah…” Kayla added, her voice hinted a note of sadness, “Personally, I can’t imagine an earthquake that large.”  

Salem scoffed, “I figured we’ll choke on this-” he waved his empty hand in the air around him, “This air before the ground even begins to shake.” I remained motionless, staring at the ceiling above me, thinking about the wooden cross; wondering if it still stood on the roof.

“So,” Kayla took another puff of her cigarette, “Now that it’s all over, what do you want? Do you regret anything?”

Salem looked uncomfortable. His hands shook lightly as he put out his cigarette and found a spot on the wall opposite us to focus on. “I regret what I said to you, October,” In saying my name, he glanced at me; then, went back to the spot on the wall, “I wish I could take all that happened back.”

My heart quickened in my chest. “Don’t wish that. It’s over now.” I reached for his chin and held it in my hand, turning his eyes to me. I was glad I came. I was glad I forgave him before… “I love both of you,” I added, turning towards Kayla.

They reassured me the feeling was mutual. Then Kayla repeated her question for me to answer.

I coughed on the emotion suddenly stuck in my throat, and when that didn’t work, I tried to swallow it. Salem knew what I wished for. My only wish.

“She still won’t come out, huh?” he asked, sympathetically. I shook my head, trying to gather the pieces of myself before an emotional explosion. But I was seeing in my mind, now, her smile…

“She won’t even tell you goodbye before…” Kayla let her sentence trail away. I shrugged and looked out the window. The gas had made a thick fog over the grass, a certain shade of green, I suppose the poison was. Some of the grass had turned yellow-brown… It couldn’t be long now.

 

 

I had driven my car to Kayla’s, but I had the odd desire to walk home. I picked up a baseball bat on my way out to hold off any more religious cults, and, taking one last look at the cross on the roof, I disappeared into the darkness.

I surprised myself by making a familiar turn.

There were assortments of flowers on her doorstep. I had supposed there would be. Her friends, of course, had begged her to stay with them, just as I had. Her window light was on and, for a moment, I considered knocking on her door. But I knew she wouldn’t answer, and I wasn’t in the mood for rejection. She preferred to be alone and cry. I gazed into her window for some time, seeing only a yellow light and a white curtain.

“You should be here tonight,” I muttered. My words caught the wind and they flew away together. I kicked the dead grass, lightly, and turned back on my path. I gazed at the empty street covered, lightly with a layer of poisonous gas. Sometimes good bye’s the only way; I knew that. I knew it now. That maybe… maybe we all needed this. Maybe we all just needed relief.

This was my last thought as the ground began to shake.
 

 

Reviews

[Raef C. Boylan]

Impressively real. Nothing to do but drink the last hours away; feeling restless, with no gesture big enough to offer yourself to make it feel better. Yeah, this is good. Stuff's left vague enough for it to feel real, like the narrator doesn't need to explain because the facts are known to us all. All the heartbreak trivial and yet still important, because it's your life at the end of the day.
The missing girl at the end intrigues me as a reader. Interesting touch.
The religious aspects were a nice touch too; the cross and reflection...I really liked the relgious sect people going door-to-door offering repent...and the way October picks up a baseball bat - casually - planning to swing it if approached.
Overall, great piece.
Thanks for sharing it here.

"Hello, October," He said to me [he]
"But it chilled me to the bone, that alarm; Although, I can't" [although - lowercase after semi colons]

[Iretex2012]

this was great. enjoyed reading it. thanks for the comment on my work.

[Vlazuvius]

This is a really well written story, I enjoyed it alot. I was wary at first, because usually in stories with Octobers and Salems it turns out to be badly written vampire smut, but this is really quite a blast...very sinister. The poison gas is a good prop for the story, as it just makes every scene spark with dread.

[Oz]

I like the idea of spending the last few hours of existence drinking and enjoying the company of close friends (even if constantly hounded by the religious folks).

I'm curious as to who the missing girl at the end is; that was a nice touch. I liike how the narrator is limited in her explanation of what is happening so that this reads almost like a chapter out of a book.

Great write!

-Oz