Note: This has not been throughly edited yet, and I changed my music to the song that I based this story off of. As always, credit goes to Matchbox Twenty for writing the song, and please leave a comment or find some way to give me feedback. I can't be a better writer if I can't get feedback.
Could I Be You
Inspired by “Could I Be You” by Matchbox Twenty
He was staring at her again. She could feel it. Beth looked over her shoulder and sure enough the man was there, eyes boring a hole into her. He was a short man, not that intimidating. He could be young or he could be old, Beth never really looked. All she knew was that he would stare at her, with his hat pulled low, like he knew she wasn’t one of them.
She took off down the street, careful to keep her pace at a slow, stately walk, instead of the sprint that she wanted to do. Every once in a while she would peek back to see if he was following. He was, as always. She darted into an alley way and immediately started to run. She knew he wouldn’t follow this far; he never did.
She was out of breath by the time she arrived at Tara’s. Tara lived in an abandoned warehouse, in the Old district. There was no telling on how long it would be before Tara and Beth would be discovered. Every day, they lived in fear of being found. Other pockets of humans had been found and taken. They were never seen again.
The human race wasn’t ready for such a quick take over. The Operation was over quickly and only some people still survived, if you call hiding and scrounging surviving. Beth didn’t know where they came from, she didn’t think anybody did. One day the world was in perfect order and the next the human race was gone. At first nobody noticed. They acted human, went to work, ate, had families, everything. Except for one small detail; they had no emotion. Their eyes, devoid of any feeling, gave them away. People panicked at the thought of an alien invasion, and in that instance lost any ground they may have had. For with panic come mistakes and humans made some bad ones. The invaders called themselves Din and they took over quickly and efficiently.
The humans that were left learned that the best way to survive was to behave like the Din, no emotion whatsoever was allowed. And it worked, as long as they could keep the anger, fear, and sadness, out of their eyes. Beth’s sister, Tara, couldn’t do it. She was too emotional, and it fell to Beth to make sure that the Din never found out they were still free. Beth had perfected the blank look, locking her fear and anger inside a room deep inside her mind. She would go out walk the streets of what used to be Nashville and steal what they needed to live. But she hated it. She had to be stoic and automatic, when all she wanted to do was scream and cry.
A couple of weeks ago the man had started to stare and follow her. She didn’t tell Tara, because that might be the final straw to send Tara over the edge. She already was in a fragile state. She spent all her time in her room, pouring over pictures of disappeared family and friends, arranging and rearranging them. It broke Beth’s heart and she would do anything to protect her. But at times she just wanted to give up, let the Din take her and Tara away. At least, then she wouldn’t have to worry how to find food to eat or how to fix the generator when it next broke down.
Beth still didn’t know what to make of the man, even after a couple of weeks of seeing him. He never approached her. Just stared, and when she moved he followed until the alleyway. Every day they went through the same routine. It didn’t matter if she tried a different part of the city; he was always there. Beth sighed and walked into the warehouse.
Tara, as usual, was sitting in her room when Beth found her. She sat down the bag she was carrying and walked over to her sister.
“Hi, Tara”
Tara looked up forlornly at Beth, her huge brown eyes filled with tears. She looked back down at the picture she was gently caressing. Beth looked down to see a picture of their parents. Her dad, tall and strong, with her mother, small and petite, in his arms, filled the picture with their smiles. Beth gently took the picture from Tara and set it among the others scattered among the floor.
“Oh Tara” she took her sister into her arms, while Tara collapsed into sobs. And all the while Beth thought about giving up.
~
P4 stood in line, but his mind wasn’t on the food. He automatically moved and spoke, his face never betraying what was going behind his cold eyes. He took his assigned spot, and started eating. His mind whirled in a flurry of thoughts. P4 wasn’t used to the activity punishing his brain. The girl intrigued him. There was something different about her; he just couldn’t put his finger on it. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. And dealing with confusion isn’t something that as a Din, he didn’t have experience with.
In fact, no Din anywhere that P4 knew of dealt with any emotion. As far back as the Din could remember emotions never once marred their minds. They were rational beings, viewing the world with the cold lens of logic. It wasn’t until they found Earth that Din encountered emotion. Humans were full of the volatile stuff. P4 remembered watching humans cry, laugh, fight, and love. As the Din watched, humans killed and loved one another in a hectic cycle. If emotions could cause that much destruction, the Din reasoned, then they were the superior race. So they had invaded. Humans were too wrapped up in their emotions, their daily dramas, to notice.
P4 took his tray up and walked out onto the street. The city used to be called Nashville and it was the center of what humans called music. All the Din understood was that music was mainly made by emotion, and what better place to start an invasion then the place with the most emotion. Soon Nashville was the epicenter for the Din.
As P4 wandered the streets, he felt his mind drifting to the girl over and over. He stopped and slapped the building in frustration. Then he froze. He stared at his hand. Something wasn’t right. P4 believed he displayed emotion. Quickly, he pulled down his hat and walked to his suite. Next time he saw the girl he would follow her. Maybe she had the answers to his troubled mind.
~
Beth saw him again. This time he was bolder, walking toward her before she had even a chance to start walking. Her eyes widened and without thinking she took off. He knew. He was coming to take her away. What would Tara do without her? Beth stopped and realized what she was doing. She would lead the Din right to her sister. Beth felt a surge of fear. She turned and took off in a different direction. They wouldn’t get her sister. Never. It didn’t matter that yesterday she wanted to give up; she couldn’t be weak for Tara’s sake. She lost herself in Nashville’s streets. But each time Beth looked back, he was always behind her.
The dead end took her by surprise. Beth whirled around, but it was already too late. He stood blocking the entrance. She thought at first she could still pass herself off as a Din, but she discarded the thought as soon as she thought it. Din didn’t take off running; they walked with even, unhurried strides. Din didn’t look wildly about for an escape; they had nothing they needed to escape from. Beth faced the man and finally let the anger and fear leak from her eyes. She was tired of running. Tired of the fear. Tired of being the brave one, the supportive one. She was tired of living her life. She was ready to give up. What she wasn’t ready for was the sound of the Din’s voice.
~
P4 stared coldly at the girl. She was human, no doubt about it with her eyes blazing. But something stirred within him, something he had never encountered before. Without thinking he asked her, “Why?”
She looked like he had shot her. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped from her mouth.
“Why what?” she finally answered.
P4 looked at her, seeing if he could edge closer without her bolting. He needed to hear the answer.
“Why am I feeling this way?”
Beth looked at the Din. His voice wasn’t the monotone she was expecting. Instead it was soft and lilting, and there was something in it that made her want to hold him tight, reassuring him. This wasn’t how she was supposed to act, not to a Din. She was supposed to fight or give up, not feel for them. He was dressed as always in a suit, and he stood as ramrod straight as the others. His eyes were cold as ice, but there was something on the edge of them, something she needed to see.
“What are you feeling?”
The Din shook his head. “I’m a Din. I don’t feel emotion. I don’t feel anything”
“Then why did you ask me why you felt the way you do? How can I answer if I don’t know how you’re feeling?”
P4 sighed, took of his hat, and sat against the wall. His head hurt, with all these, these, feelings. The girl was right. After a moment she sat next to him. Not close, but close enough that he just felt her. He looked at her, and again he saw her jump.
Holding out his hand he said, “I’m P4, I believe this is how you humans greet one another, yes?” He cocked his head at her.
Beth laughed despite herself. She expected to be taken away and killed when she finally gave in, not sitting here laughing with a Din. It was just P4 looked like a puppy, with his huge brown eyes and his head tilted. She took his hand and was surprised that it was warm.
“Hi P4, I’m Beth.”
“Beth” he rolled her name over his tongue, savoring the sound of it. It was warm and smooth, unlike Din names. He smiled and Beth couldn’t help but smile back.
“You should do that more often.”
He looked at her in confusion. “Do what?”
“Smile” she said “You have a nice smile” She stared at him, taking in his short spiky hair, down to his brown shoes. “Do all Din look like you?”
“No, we are all different.”
“But you dress the same, walk the same, and even eat the same. How are you different?”
“We aren’t robots. We look different, have different thoughts, and prefer different things.”
“You could have fooled me,” she swept her eyes away from him, and instead stared at the wall in front of them. She fiddled with her straggly brown hair. P4 took her hand into his.
“You are so full of it”
She looked at him, confused. “Full of what?”
“Emotion. You laugh and cry. You are confused and angry. Fear. Passion. It radiates from you, bursting from every pore. You are so…alive!”
She started tracing circles around his thumb. “If you call stealing and hiding living,” she gave a small, sad laugh, “sometimes I wonder if it is even worth the trouble, living. All I have left anymore is fear.”
P4 lifted her chin. “Could I be you, then?”
“What?” she looked at him, startled.
“Ever since I saw you on the streets, there has been something inside of me. Something unfamiliar. I think if I was you, just for tonight, then maybe I can make sense of it.”
Beth looked at him. His eyes were filling with tears and she caught one on her fingertip. She looked at it in wonder and when she looked up, P4 was staring at the tear in shock.
“What is that?”
“A tear”
“It’s…beautiful isn’t it?”
“I guess it is.”
“What does it mean?”
Beth looked at P4, her green eyes suddenly full of something close to hope, “It means you can be me.”
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sneak Peak of "Could I be You?"
Here's a sneak peak of my next story, "Could I be You" I am not yet finished with it and it is UNEDITED, meaning it is FULL of mistakes. I'm excited because it is my first attempt at science fiction. Enjoy. As always credit goes to Matchbox Twenty for writing the song.
Could I Be You
based on the song of the same title.
He was staring at her again. She could feel it. Beth looked over her shoulder and sure enough the man was there, eyes boring a hole into her. He was a short man, not that intimidating. He could be young or he could be old, Beth never really looked. All she knew was that he would stare at her, with his hat pulled low, like he knew she wasn’t one of them.
She took off down the street, careful to keep her pace at a slow, stately walk, instead of the sprint that she wanted to do. Every once in a while she would peek back to see if he was following. He was, as always. She darted into an alley way and immediately started to run. She knew he wouldn’t follow this far; he never did.
She was out of breath by the time she arrived at Tara’s. Tara lived in an abandoned warehouse, in the Old district. There was no telling on how long it would be before Tara and Beth would be discovered. Every day, they lived in fear of being found. Other pockets of humans had been found and taken. They were never seen again.
The human race wasn’t ready for such a quick take over. The Operation was over quickly and only some people still survived, if you call hiding and scrounging surviving. Beth didn’t know where they came from, she didn’t think anybody did. One day the world was in perfect order and the next the human race was gone. At first nobody noticed. They acted human, went to work, ate, had families, everything. Except for one small detail; they had no emotion. Their eyes, devoid of any feeling, gave them away. People panicked at the thought of an alien invasion, and in that instance lost any ground they may have had. For with panic come mistakes and humans made some bad ones. The invaders called themselves Din and they took over quickly and efficiently.
The humans that were left learned that the best way to survive was to behave like the Din, no emotion whatsoever was allowed. And it worked, as long as they could keep the anger, fear, and sadness, out of their eyes. Beth’s sister, Tara, couldn’t do it. She was too emotional, and it fell to Beth to make sure that the Din never found out they were still free. Beth had perfected the blank look, locking her fear and anger inside a room deep inside her mind. She would go out walk the streets of what used to be Nashville and steal what they needed to live.
A couple of weeks ago the man had started to stare and follow her. She didn’t tell Tara, because that might be the final straw to send Tara over the edge. She already was in a fragile state. She spent all her time in her room, pouring over pictures of disappeared family and friends, arranging and rearranging them. Beth would do anything to protect her.
Beth still didn’t know what to make of the man. He never approached her. Just stared, and when she moved he followed until the alleyway. Every day they went through the same routine. It didn’t matter if she tried a different part of the city; he was always there. Beth sighed and walked into the warehouse.
Could I Be You
based on the song of the same title.
He was staring at her again. She could feel it. Beth looked over her shoulder and sure enough the man was there, eyes boring a hole into her. He was a short man, not that intimidating. He could be young or he could be old, Beth never really looked. All she knew was that he would stare at her, with his hat pulled low, like he knew she wasn’t one of them.
She took off down the street, careful to keep her pace at a slow, stately walk, instead of the sprint that she wanted to do. Every once in a while she would peek back to see if he was following. He was, as always. She darted into an alley way and immediately started to run. She knew he wouldn’t follow this far; he never did.
She was out of breath by the time she arrived at Tara’s. Tara lived in an abandoned warehouse, in the Old district. There was no telling on how long it would be before Tara and Beth would be discovered. Every day, they lived in fear of being found. Other pockets of humans had been found and taken. They were never seen again.
The human race wasn’t ready for such a quick take over. The Operation was over quickly and only some people still survived, if you call hiding and scrounging surviving. Beth didn’t know where they came from, she didn’t think anybody did. One day the world was in perfect order and the next the human race was gone. At first nobody noticed. They acted human, went to work, ate, had families, everything. Except for one small detail; they had no emotion. Their eyes, devoid of any feeling, gave them away. People panicked at the thought of an alien invasion, and in that instance lost any ground they may have had. For with panic come mistakes and humans made some bad ones. The invaders called themselves Din and they took over quickly and efficiently.
The humans that were left learned that the best way to survive was to behave like the Din, no emotion whatsoever was allowed. And it worked, as long as they could keep the anger, fear, and sadness, out of their eyes. Beth’s sister, Tara, couldn’t do it. She was too emotional, and it fell to Beth to make sure that the Din never found out they were still free. Beth had perfected the blank look, locking her fear and anger inside a room deep inside her mind. She would go out walk the streets of what used to be Nashville and steal what they needed to live.
A couple of weeks ago the man had started to stare and follow her. She didn’t tell Tara, because that might be the final straw to send Tara over the edge. She already was in a fragile state. She spent all her time in her room, pouring over pictures of disappeared family and friends, arranging and rearranging them. Beth would do anything to protect her.
Beth still didn’t know what to make of the man. He never approached her. Just stared, and when she moved he followed until the alleyway. Every day they went through the same routine. It didn’t matter if she tried a different part of the city; he was always there. Beth sighed and walked into the warehouse.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Gearing up
Ok, I'm getting ready to start on the next story. But first I'm going to print out all the lyrics to all the songs...that way I can better see where I want to go, instead of playing the song over and over again (I'll still play the song over and over again :D what it helps me with the tone lol) Anyway I gotta do that first and then I'll plant a little sneak peak of it...for new people my previous story "How Far We've Come" is still up, so head over and read it...leave me a comment :D
Friday, May 1, 2009
Song post
I forgot to tell you guys that the song playing is the song I based the story on. :D Also I have finished my next story but my editor (aka my best friend Amanda) hasn't had the chance to read it yet. But it isn't going to be public....wait a couple of weeks and I might post another story...ok back to studying for finals :D
Friday, April 24, 2009
Finals Week
Just getting you guys up to date...I have finals coming up, so I have been working on school work. I haven't been writing all that much (in fact I have only the first line down for my next story) but as soon as summer break hits, I'm going to be writing up a storm....be prepared. So that's why you haven't seen anything new...also go listen to Rob's new single "Her Diamonds" it is a beautiful song.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
SINGLE IS OUT
Hey everybody HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!! But the real reason is....Rob's single is out, "Her Diamonds". So everybody head over to his website and check it out...if you like on the sidebar under the welcome there is a widget with Rob on it...it will take you to his website( I think). Well I have to go to class...talk to ya guys later!!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
How Far We've Come
Here it is folks: my story. Yep, please read and leave some feedback so I can improve it. Hope you enjoy it!!!
How Far We’ve Come
Based on “How Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox Twenty
The end of the world began just like any other normal day. The alarm went off at 8:30 a.m. Nathaniel groggily sat up. He took a shower, ate breakfast, and called Emily, his girlfriend. Then he headed out to work. Just like he did every morning.
He was of medium build and height. He had bright green eyes, and a quick smile. His blonde hair was short and spiked up front. It wasn’t like he was handsome, but he got by.
It wasn’t until he hit the freeway that Nate realized something was wrong. The cars barely moved down the highway.
“What is going on? MOVE PEOPLE!” he honked his horn. The cars kept creeping along until the line completely stopped. He almost honked his horn again, when he noticed people jumping and running from their cars. He sat, dumbly, looking at them. What in the world was going on?
The end of the world.
It was then that Nate saw the wall of fire. It roared and swallowed everything in its path. Nothing survived; there was no possible way it could. Nathaniel wasted no time opening his door and pelting it back toward home.
He heard the screams of people; saw the looks of fear on the faces of the people still sitting in their cars. In one van, a little girl was waving at the running people, a look of sad resignation on her face, as her parents panicked in the front seats. Nate ran all the more faster.
The wall of fire gained on him, burning a swath of destruction. It stretched as far as the eye could see, and it seemed to touch the roof of the sky. Nate knew in that moment that this was the end of the world and that death was riding on his shoulder.
He almost gave up then. He stumbled. His life meant nothing if the world was ending. He never went out of his way to help somebody, never cared beyond what he wanted to do. Now it seemed so pointless, the way he focused on himself and his legacy in the world.
It was just by chance that Nate fell into the hole. But then again, maybe it wasn’t. It was a manhole, and Nate fell painfully to the bottom. He could hear the crackle of the fire and took off at a limping run down the pipe.
Nate sat up. He didn’t know how long he had stayed curled in a corner of the sewer. It felt like days. Slowly, he made his way up the tunnel. Ashes were everywhere. Somehow the iron door that he had hid behind had survived the destruction. He slowly climbed up the ladder. Just enough had survived that he could climb up, but it was melted into an unrecognizable lump.
Nate’s head popped out, and the first thing he noticed was that the air was very hot. It scratched and burned on its way to the lungs, barely breathable. The second thing he noticed was silence. Nothing, not even the wind was blowing. All around him, buildings and cars were destroyed, and no living thing was to be seen. He looked at the sun and then to his watch, though while scorched and scuffed, amazingly still told time. 10 o’clock. That couldn’t be right. The end of the world couldn’t happen in an hour, could it?
The tears came then. They rolled down his cheeks and splashed into the decimated earth. He sat down on what was once the highway and just let tears fall. There was no point in trying to stop them. The world had ended, and Nate realized that it had been heading for Hell a long time now. He should have seen this coming, and now it was gone, all gone. There was nobody left in the world.
After a while Nate cried himself dry. He stood up and started walking. He didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care, just as long as he moved. He ate up the miles, scenery changing. Hunger and thirst didn’t bother him. What was the point if you were going to die anyway? He walked away from that ruined city and all the deaths that happened within it.
Nate walked until he simply collapsed. His feet couldn’t carry him anymore. His lungs sucked in the arid air, like he was a fish that had flopped onto land. His stomach threatened to eat him alive. His entire body was shutting down on him. He closed his eyes, hoping that this nightmare had come to an end.
He woke up to blackness. He slowly sat up, and immediately realized that he was no longer outside. In fact, he had a ragged blanket covering him. He stood up and suddenly sat down. His body was sternly telling him that it was not taking any more abuse. Where was he?
Then he saw a light, a tiny pinprick in the distance that steadily came nearer. He shielded his eyes from its glow.
“How are you feeling?”
The voice was a soft, slightly accented one. Definitely female. Another person. Nate sat blinking in surprise. He was not alone.
“You survived too?”
“Not exactly the answer to my question, but I’ll take that as a yes.” Her tone was one of light teasing. He could almost see the smile on her face. Problem was Nate didn’t know what she looked like, or who she was for that matter.
“Could you move that light somewhere else, please?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” A click and the light was gone, plunging the area back into dark tar.
Silence. Nate didn’t know what to say. How do you start a conversation on the end of the world? “By the way, did you know that the world has ended?” That would make him sound like an idiot.
“Would you like to go outside?’ she asked, “The sun is up and I rather talk to you when I can see you. But I’ll understand if you don’t want to, considering…” she trailed off.
“I would, thanks.”
The light clicked on again, this time facing away from him. He noticed that there was a hand held out in his direction. It was small and clean. He reached up and grasped it. It was like an electric shock went through his body. Another human had survived, and he was holding her hand. She pulled him up and started through the twists and turns of the passage. She pushed aside a door.
Then she led him out into the sunlight. Again, he stood blinking in the brightness. When his eyes cleared, he looked behind him. It was a mountain. It rose up from the ground, a fortress of rock. The outside had a melted look, and it took him a moment to realize that the fire had actually melted the rock as it moved across the world. Then he turned and looked at her.
She was small, about a head shorter than him, and of a petite build. Her jet black hair was pulled back from her face, allowing him full view of her blue eyes and small nose. She smiled a slow, small smile.
“I’m Miranda Jenning.”
“Nathaniel Perk. Or Nate for short.”
“Nice to meet you”
“Likewise”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Miranda asked, “So, how did you survive?”
Nate looked at the scorched earth, before he looked at her. “I fell done a manhole. I just kept running until I came to the end. How about you?”
Miranda looked off into the distance. “I was out walking. I just needed some fresh air from home. My siblings were driving me nuts. This used to be a huge field of wildflowers.” She gestured outward, “That’s when I heard it, this roaring. I turned around and there was this wall of fire, galloping toward me. All I could think was, “Not the field.” Then I ran into the mountain. It used to be a bomb shelter back in the sixties.”
Nate carefully put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you the only one?”
It was a harsh question, but one that needed to be asked. He had to know. It scared him to think that they were the only two left. But it excited him, that he wasn’t alone.
“As far as I know” she said, looking up at him. They turned to look at the setting sun, each knowing that everything they knew was gone.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Nate and Miranda worked at making a home in the post-end world. They explored the mountain, tried to plant crops, learned about each other, and more importantly, tried to find other survivors. Nate went into the destroyed city about every week to see if anyone else had survived. He became skilled at salvaging anything that could be of use. Bits of metal, pieces of wood, anything that could be used, he picked up. He became tan and his hair grew out, falling to his shoulders. Miranda became lean and quick. She was skilled at climbing around in the tunnels and searching for any surviving plants or animals. She was the one who planted the fields with the little seeds they found, and made the mountain as habitable as possible.
Not only had their physical appearance changed, their moral had too. Nate was more serious than he was Before. Everything had to be perfect, in order to survive. Miranda was more forceful. She took control, and basically, ruled the mountain. Nate didn’t mind; he was just happy he wasn’t alone.
They called the mountain Beacon, because as Nate said, it was the tallest thing in the area, a beacon to all that survived. They worked together to survive, passing the months in warm companionship. They weathered every ash storm, failed crop, and cold nights in the mountain. Life marched on.
It wasn’t until Miranda ran up to Nate, hands cupped and eyes bright, that he realized that he couldn’t survive without her. She was his bright light, his only reason for living. He slowly tuned into what she was telling him.
“I found it just sitting there. Do you know what this means, Nate?”
He looked into her cupped hands and saw the most astonishing thing. It was a tiny sparrow, still a baby. But it meant hope. Hope that maybe the world hadn’t ended for good, hope that life still found a way to make it, hope for everything new.
He looked into Miranda’s eyes and found himself saying something he never thought he would say again.
“I love you.”
She looked up in surprise, still tenderly holding the bird. Her lips parted as she searched for something to say. He didn’t give her time; just gingerly put his mouth on hers. In that moment, he knew this was right. Slowly and sweetly, they deepened the kiss, telling each other all their hopes and fears. When they broke apart, they looked at each other in wonder. Miranda spoke first.
“You know when you look back to before the End, we thought we were so smart; the whole human race. We had computers, great medical advances, architectural marvels, and faster ways to get around. But when you look at how far we’ve actually come, we haven’t really got that far.”
Nate looked at her in puzzlement, her face between his palms. She held up the sparrow and looked tenderly at it.
“What do you want most in life, Nate? What does this bird mean to you?”
“I want love. I want you. I don’t want to be alone.” He paused and looked at the bird between them, “I guess life. That is what the sparrow means.”
“Life?”
“Yes, life. It survived the End of the world. Which means other things, life, could survive,” he looked searchingly into her eyes, “and that means that I can go on.”
Miranda smiled and tenderly placed the bird on the ground. She reached up, running her hands through Nate’s hair. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” she whispered before she kissed him.
Miranda told him that the survivors would come to Beacon. They stayed on the lookout, readying the mountain for them. Nate would always remember that day, when he first kissed Miranda. She had taught him that he was special, even if he was the last man on earth. And she taught him to think about how far he really came. He always came up with the same answer: further than before.
How Far We’ve Come
Based on “How Far We’ve Come” by Matchbox Twenty
The end of the world began just like any other normal day. The alarm went off at 8:30 a.m. Nathaniel groggily sat up. He took a shower, ate breakfast, and called Emily, his girlfriend. Then he headed out to work. Just like he did every morning.
He was of medium build and height. He had bright green eyes, and a quick smile. His blonde hair was short and spiked up front. It wasn’t like he was handsome, but he got by.
It wasn’t until he hit the freeway that Nate realized something was wrong. The cars barely moved down the highway.
“What is going on? MOVE PEOPLE!” he honked his horn. The cars kept creeping along until the line completely stopped. He almost honked his horn again, when he noticed people jumping and running from their cars. He sat, dumbly, looking at them. What in the world was going on?
The end of the world.
It was then that Nate saw the wall of fire. It roared and swallowed everything in its path. Nothing survived; there was no possible way it could. Nathaniel wasted no time opening his door and pelting it back toward home.
He heard the screams of people; saw the looks of fear on the faces of the people still sitting in their cars. In one van, a little girl was waving at the running people, a look of sad resignation on her face, as her parents panicked in the front seats. Nate ran all the more faster.
The wall of fire gained on him, burning a swath of destruction. It stretched as far as the eye could see, and it seemed to touch the roof of the sky. Nate knew in that moment that this was the end of the world and that death was riding on his shoulder.
He almost gave up then. He stumbled. His life meant nothing if the world was ending. He never went out of his way to help somebody, never cared beyond what he wanted to do. Now it seemed so pointless, the way he focused on himself and his legacy in the world.
It was just by chance that Nate fell into the hole. But then again, maybe it wasn’t. It was a manhole, and Nate fell painfully to the bottom. He could hear the crackle of the fire and took off at a limping run down the pipe.
Nate sat up. He didn’t know how long he had stayed curled in a corner of the sewer. It felt like days. Slowly, he made his way up the tunnel. Ashes were everywhere. Somehow the iron door that he had hid behind had survived the destruction. He slowly climbed up the ladder. Just enough had survived that he could climb up, but it was melted into an unrecognizable lump.
Nate’s head popped out, and the first thing he noticed was that the air was very hot. It scratched and burned on its way to the lungs, barely breathable. The second thing he noticed was silence. Nothing, not even the wind was blowing. All around him, buildings and cars were destroyed, and no living thing was to be seen. He looked at the sun and then to his watch, though while scorched and scuffed, amazingly still told time. 10 o’clock. That couldn’t be right. The end of the world couldn’t happen in an hour, could it?
The tears came then. They rolled down his cheeks and splashed into the decimated earth. He sat down on what was once the highway and just let tears fall. There was no point in trying to stop them. The world had ended, and Nate realized that it had been heading for Hell a long time now. He should have seen this coming, and now it was gone, all gone. There was nobody left in the world.
After a while Nate cried himself dry. He stood up and started walking. He didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care, just as long as he moved. He ate up the miles, scenery changing. Hunger and thirst didn’t bother him. What was the point if you were going to die anyway? He walked away from that ruined city and all the deaths that happened within it.
Nate walked until he simply collapsed. His feet couldn’t carry him anymore. His lungs sucked in the arid air, like he was a fish that had flopped onto land. His stomach threatened to eat him alive. His entire body was shutting down on him. He closed his eyes, hoping that this nightmare had come to an end.
He woke up to blackness. He slowly sat up, and immediately realized that he was no longer outside. In fact, he had a ragged blanket covering him. He stood up and suddenly sat down. His body was sternly telling him that it was not taking any more abuse. Where was he?
Then he saw a light, a tiny pinprick in the distance that steadily came nearer. He shielded his eyes from its glow.
“How are you feeling?”
The voice was a soft, slightly accented one. Definitely female. Another person. Nate sat blinking in surprise. He was not alone.
“You survived too?”
“Not exactly the answer to my question, but I’ll take that as a yes.” Her tone was one of light teasing. He could almost see the smile on her face. Problem was Nate didn’t know what she looked like, or who she was for that matter.
“Could you move that light somewhere else, please?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” A click and the light was gone, plunging the area back into dark tar.
Silence. Nate didn’t know what to say. How do you start a conversation on the end of the world? “By the way, did you know that the world has ended?” That would make him sound like an idiot.
“Would you like to go outside?’ she asked, “The sun is up and I rather talk to you when I can see you. But I’ll understand if you don’t want to, considering…” she trailed off.
“I would, thanks.”
The light clicked on again, this time facing away from him. He noticed that there was a hand held out in his direction. It was small and clean. He reached up and grasped it. It was like an electric shock went through his body. Another human had survived, and he was holding her hand. She pulled him up and started through the twists and turns of the passage. She pushed aside a door.
Then she led him out into the sunlight. Again, he stood blinking in the brightness. When his eyes cleared, he looked behind him. It was a mountain. It rose up from the ground, a fortress of rock. The outside had a melted look, and it took him a moment to realize that the fire had actually melted the rock as it moved across the world. Then he turned and looked at her.
She was small, about a head shorter than him, and of a petite build. Her jet black hair was pulled back from her face, allowing him full view of her blue eyes and small nose. She smiled a slow, small smile.
“I’m Miranda Jenning.”
“Nathaniel Perk. Or Nate for short.”
“Nice to meet you”
“Likewise”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Miranda asked, “So, how did you survive?”
Nate looked at the scorched earth, before he looked at her. “I fell done a manhole. I just kept running until I came to the end. How about you?”
Miranda looked off into the distance. “I was out walking. I just needed some fresh air from home. My siblings were driving me nuts. This used to be a huge field of wildflowers.” She gestured outward, “That’s when I heard it, this roaring. I turned around and there was this wall of fire, galloping toward me. All I could think was, “Not the field.” Then I ran into the mountain. It used to be a bomb shelter back in the sixties.”
Nate carefully put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you the only one?”
It was a harsh question, but one that needed to be asked. He had to know. It scared him to think that they were the only two left. But it excited him, that he wasn’t alone.
“As far as I know” she said, looking up at him. They turned to look at the setting sun, each knowing that everything they knew was gone.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Nate and Miranda worked at making a home in the post-end world. They explored the mountain, tried to plant crops, learned about each other, and more importantly, tried to find other survivors. Nate went into the destroyed city about every week to see if anyone else had survived. He became skilled at salvaging anything that could be of use. Bits of metal, pieces of wood, anything that could be used, he picked up. He became tan and his hair grew out, falling to his shoulders. Miranda became lean and quick. She was skilled at climbing around in the tunnels and searching for any surviving plants or animals. She was the one who planted the fields with the little seeds they found, and made the mountain as habitable as possible.
Not only had their physical appearance changed, their moral had too. Nate was more serious than he was Before. Everything had to be perfect, in order to survive. Miranda was more forceful. She took control, and basically, ruled the mountain. Nate didn’t mind; he was just happy he wasn’t alone.
They called the mountain Beacon, because as Nate said, it was the tallest thing in the area, a beacon to all that survived. They worked together to survive, passing the months in warm companionship. They weathered every ash storm, failed crop, and cold nights in the mountain. Life marched on.
It wasn’t until Miranda ran up to Nate, hands cupped and eyes bright, that he realized that he couldn’t survive without her. She was his bright light, his only reason for living. He slowly tuned into what she was telling him.
“I found it just sitting there. Do you know what this means, Nate?”
He looked into her cupped hands and saw the most astonishing thing. It was a tiny sparrow, still a baby. But it meant hope. Hope that maybe the world hadn’t ended for good, hope that life still found a way to make it, hope for everything new.
He looked into Miranda’s eyes and found himself saying something he never thought he would say again.
“I love you.”
She looked up in surprise, still tenderly holding the bird. Her lips parted as she searched for something to say. He didn’t give her time; just gingerly put his mouth on hers. In that moment, he knew this was right. Slowly and sweetly, they deepened the kiss, telling each other all their hopes and fears. When they broke apart, they looked at each other in wonder. Miranda spoke first.
“You know when you look back to before the End, we thought we were so smart; the whole human race. We had computers, great medical advances, architectural marvels, and faster ways to get around. But when you look at how far we’ve actually come, we haven’t really got that far.”
Nate looked at her in puzzlement, her face between his palms. She held up the sparrow and looked tenderly at it.
“What do you want most in life, Nate? What does this bird mean to you?”
“I want love. I want you. I don’t want to be alone.” He paused and looked at the bird between them, “I guess life. That is what the sparrow means.”
“Life?”
“Yes, life. It survived the End of the world. Which means other things, life, could survive,” he looked searchingly into her eyes, “and that means that I can go on.”
Miranda smiled and tenderly placed the bird on the ground. She reached up, running her hands through Nate’s hair. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” she whispered before she kissed him.
Miranda told him that the survivors would come to Beacon. They stayed on the lookout, readying the mountain for them. Nate would always remember that day, when he first kissed Miranda. She had taught him that he was special, even if he was the last man on earth. And she taught him to think about how far he really came. He always came up with the same answer: further than before.
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