Consistency: 08/28/2022

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Buildings collapsed in every direction, falling with an earth shattering thunder onto the ground below. Screams and sirens filled the air as people ran from the catastrophe unfolding in their home to anywhere. Anywhere other than here.

Tae stood still amidst the destruction, staring wide eyed as the city he grew up in collapsed into itself, swallowed by the very earth it was built upon. After long centuries of abuse, nature finally took back its claim, laying waste to a city of millions.

It wasn’t like this… It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Everything was fine when he left– Everyone was fine. How? How could this happen?

Within moments, Tae was the only remaining person standing in the still intact street unable to look away from the scene that neared him with every passing moment he lingered. But from the midst of the dust and debris a figure emerged, walking steadily down the middle of the misty street; their walk leisure and calm, contrasting the terror behind them.

As soon as the figure stepped into the light a gasp fell from Tae’s lips, his eyes focused on the unmistakable void-like eyes that found him and the short brown hair that swished in the wind, framing the face of doom.

“Galena…” he breathed out, unable to look away from the sight of his companion, so different from the last time he saw her while simultaneously looking exactly the same. After all, time had no effect on the immortal.

As soon as he whispered her name, her act fell, her eyes widening as she stared him down, her body frozen in place. “Little flower…?” her voice trembled, her hand reaching out for him only for her to hold it back, the horror settling on her face as the realisation struck her.

Tears gathered in her eyes and she collapsed onto her knees, taking in a sharp breath as she grasped her head in her hands. “What have I done?”

Without a second though Tae rushed over, taking her face in his hands as he knelt down in front of her. “Gal?” his thumbs caught the tears that streamed down her cheeks, her face showing more emotion in that single moment than in all their months together before.

She took his hands into hers, gripping him tight as she leaned her head against his’. “I’m sorry… Tae, I’m– I’m so sorry”

“Gal, come on, we have to go”

“It’s no use…” another tear slipped down her cheek as she shook her head. “It’s already started. There’s no stopping it now.”

Tae glanced briefly at the destruction nearing them, his heart beating violently against his chest as he turned back to Gal. “What are you going on about, Gal? There’s no time for riddles right now”

Ever so slowly she raised her gaze to meet him, the void in her eyes glistening with the united guilt of every monster history knew the name of. “This is the end, darling. Doomsday is here… and I brought it.”

WC: 503

“The Event is anticipated to occur at 5:32pm, EST today. This is our final broadcast…”

The news channel plays in the background while I make my coffee. Apparently, my last cup of coffee. 2 sugars, a generous pour of half and half that I put back in the fridge, despite that being pointless at the end of the day.

The Event has been approaching for months now. Scientists alerted the local government back in January that it was imminent and fast-approaching.

It was announced to the public in early March that the world was ending, and since then everything has gone to shit. If there’s other life out there looking down on our planet, I’m sure they wouldn’t judge our reactions. What else are you supposed to do when you’re told when your last day will be, and that it’s only 127 days away?

I imagine knowing that your life is going to end radically shifts the way you look at the meaning of life; but knowing that the rest of the world is going to end with you?

There were the conspiracy theorists that argued the government was just trying to scare us for their own ends. Religious zealots proclaimed the Event was the coming of their god, urging anyone who might be in earshot to repent, turn toward truth. It was chaos, still is.

There were massive spending sprees, and replacing family members with a variety of vices. Some people hid away, choosing to live their lives in solitude, where they alone determined how their final days played out; perhaps a reclaiming of an autonomy they didn’t possess in life. Others chose to band together in groups to spend these last months with loved ones, taking care of each other. A lot of people killed themselves, whether on purpose or by accidentally overdosing on their drug of choice.

My husband decided he’d live out the rest of his life in a heroine-induced stupor. I’m not sure where he is now.

In the end, I don’t know where I fit in. My days go on like normal, except my career of 15 years has ended. That certainly didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t turn to drugs or pleasure houses. I make my coffee every morning, read a few chapters of my book every night. The cat is fed at 9am and 7pm, just like normal.

I wonder if there are others like me out there, quietly awaiting the end.

We’re all born to die, the Event just takes away the unknown.

WC: 422

A howl from the icesnow mountain tore through the village. Ice in snowflake patterns clung to the windows, turning the wood inside out. For most doors in the village it was worse. Made of lighter wood to open and close more easily, they opened their interior to the cold and closed the ice inside, bursting the door open into pieces. A second door, a hastily erected barricade, kept the cold at bay.

Inside was barren. Stone table and shelves repurposed to a hearth, the wooden chair and books now embers. No smoke, only light and warmth. It killed nonetheless, a fire always consumed oxygen, but at least being inside was less scratchy and more muffled.

Any hole to outside was, of course, sealed. Remained sealed during the ice winter. Only when the snow lessens, and the bite is not as cold, and the wind seems to go into a lull is the roof opened and outside air let in. To someone unfamiliar with the place, the roofs look comical, like Christmas hats hung up in the air. The hope was that thirty metres above the house the snow would stop piling up. But that day was not today. That day was the coming weeks, after the cold ascended above to the clouds.

Huddled close to the embers were family or friends, warming each other with harsh rubbing and stomping boots. Cold comes for everyone, but preys on the lonely.

When the last embers die out, and the whole phase is over, a sense of normalcy returns. The residents set out for food and wood almost immediately, trying to forget the grief through motions, only to be preyed upon and hunted down in the next cycle.

One cycle, a child figured out a way to use inherent magic to stay warm. Inherent magic can only be taken from the recently deceased.

And so the time of the maddening ice begins.

Alarms are going off. There’s a whole panic outside, but I haven’t even paid for my shopping yet. I glance up at the self-checkout. Ugh, the security screen isn’t even displaying anything… Looks like these are all mine now. Swinging the gray plastic bag from my wrist, I leave the store, pushing the automatic doors to force them open.

Outside, the sky is on fire. The parking lot is an absolute mess, stray flames burning over pools of gasoline everywhere. Hopping this way and that, I look for where I parked, but with the roar of the burning it’s impossible to hear the chirp of my car alarm.

Ah, there it is. Shiny red and right where I left it. Getting in and turning on the engine, it looks like it still works. Perfect. I pull out of the lot and onto the freeway, and one pit stop at a fast food restaurant later, I’m cruising on the highway.

A burning sky and almost cold fries. What else could be better? Shades on, windows down, music pumped up to the max. The road’s never been this clear before—well, of living people, I suppose. Debris lies every which way, which is, admittedly, rather annoying to dodge. But at least there’s no one honking on my tail.

There’s a horde of zombies groaning by the roadside, but I simply flash them a peace sign and slide by. They’re so slow and fragile, a little tap should be enough to take them out. Honestly, I don’t even know why their population is increasing; if people were smart and didn’t panic, they’d be all gone within a week. Ah, whatever. Screw them, living their best life. I’ll find something better and become the king of them. King of the Zombies. No, wait, King of the Undead sounds much better.

I guess the end of the world means the exam next week is canceled, eh? Well, not like I can check my email anyways. Hope I don’t get marked with a failing grade.

Heck, the sunset’s beautiful tonight. The fire really does add something.

WC: 514

The nefarious Doctor Desastre threw his lanky body back and let out a maniacal cackle. “You’re too late, my magical mongrels!” he exclaimed. “My super-evil Doomsday Laser Apparatus is already at maximum power! The end of the world is at the push of a button, and the time for the extinction of humanity is nigh!”

“Desastre, you monster!” I called out. “You need to stop this! If you do this, everyone you’ve placed your trust in is going to die!”

“You fool! Do you really think I’m the type of person who gets caught up over sentimentalities like that!? Doctor Mortimer Desastre trusts absolutely no one but himself!” With this being said, Dr. Desastre pushed a button on his remote control, prompting the entire laboratory to rumble violently.

“What have you done!?” I called out.

“Within seconds, this laser will strike the moon, and the debris is going to crash down onto Earth due to gravity! It’s over! The planet can’t survive an impact of such magnitude!”

“What do we do!?” asked Melody, turning to me

I didn’t answer. I just hung my head. So, it’s gotten to this, huh?, I thought.

“Ben…?” Melody’s voice began to crack. I’m sure she’ll never forgive me.

“I’ll have to intercept it,” I told her.

“What do you mean, intercept it?” asked Melody. “Even if we fly over there, there’s no way we’re reaching the moon before the laser does!”

“There is one way.” “You don’t mean…?” She’s starting to put two and two together, I thought. I have to act fast.

I turned to her and asked her straight out. “Teleportation is instantaneous, right? Once I cast it, I’ll arrive at the surface of the moon the next instant. Is this correct?”

“Well, yes, but even if we were to land on the moon with the Teleport spell, there’d be no atmosphere to support us. We’d freeze to death…”

“Ten more seconds until doomsday!” The good doctor, as expected, already assumed he’d won. He didn’t care if I or anyone else killed him at this point; he’d already gotten what he wanted… at least, in his eyes.

I let out a sigh and raised my hand in a good-bye wave. “Do you remember the promise I made when I first decided to use my powers to become a superhero?” My voice cracked as memories of my life up to that point began flooding my eyes. “I promised to protect the innocent at all costs, even if it means putting my life on the line.” I grabbed Melody by the shoulders and hugged her tight one last time. “More importantly, Melody… I want you to know that I’ll love you forever. Even in death, I won’t stop feeling this way.”

“Ben…” Melody muttered under her breath, wrapping her arms around my waist and digging her chin into my neck. “Don’t do it. I’d rather die myself.”

“I’m sorry for being late to our last date. I’m leaving the rest to you.”

The last thing I remember hearing before everything cut to black was Melody screaming my name.

TW: Mentions of Blood and Death. Neither are graphic~ The end of days were coming. You’d heard it your entire life. The world would end in a rush of fire and brimstone that would rain from the heavens above. But it wasn’t exactly like that, was it? There was more than fire and brimstone tearing the world to pieces. You were never meant to go out in just a blaze of glory, but the way it did inevitably come about? No one expected.

It’d been approaching for so long and no one had been the wiser. Well, except for you. Each warning you’d delivered had been met with scoffs of disbelief. That wasn’t possible because the creatures you spoke of were not real. The constant stream of denials flowed until they descended into the city, tearing through it with a renewed vigor. Elementals weren’t real, but as the one made from fire hovered above a smoldering pile of rubble, you knew you’d been right. It was followed by one made from crackling electricity — the ones that had shut off the power grid just moments before the first building fell.

Fire and electric elementals flocked together, but those were not the ones you’d seen first. You had vivid memories of the first one you met. Earth elementals were rare and often the most protective of their secrecy. You’d been young though, just a child when you stumbled upon someone made of shimmering metallic stone. He’d towered above you and called you out by name as you stepped foot onto his land. You were not welcome there, but you were too young to know better.

You could remember stumbling forward to get a closer look and the feeling of the elemental’s heavy hand resting on your shoulder. Stone pressed into your skin and left pinpricks of blood that seeped through the fabric of your shirt as he knelt to your level. It’d been obvious it wasn’t intentional harm. Even at your young age, you understood that. The final sentence he’d stated echoed through your mind as you watched the city burn.

“The world was ours, and it will return to us. Few will be spared, but you, little one, are one of them.”

You had seen him once since that first interaction, and you’d finally seen the others. Water elementals flooded the coasts, working in tandem with the wind elementals to unleash hurricanes across the lands. Other wind and water elementals could be found stalking after lightning ones and casting never-ending thunderstorms paired with tornadoes that ravaged the land-locked cities. Nothing created by humanity was to be spared. However, you were a prime example that certain humans would be spared.

The second time you’d seen him was moments before the beginning of the end arrived. He’d arrived out of nowhere, pulling you backwards and into an area reminiscent of where you’d stumbled upon as a child. Shimmering as he did originally, the color had shifted from golds and silvers to red. You wondered briefly if it was meant to represent rubies or blood. Maybe it didn’t matter.

“Hello, little one, I have something for you.” Before you could question what he meant, he pressed a sparkling red stone into your hand. It pulsed in different colors, each representing the other elementals as well as himself. Orange, yellow, silver, light blue and bronze alternated with red spread through the stone as though it were veins. The red pulsed as a faster pace, and after several minutes you realized it was matching your heart rate. “This is a gem of protection. You shall not be harmed. I will return to retrieve you once it is time. Be safe, little one.” And then he was gone. Silence enveloped you before screaming echoed through the air. The end of days was here.

It had been hours since then and very few humans were still alive, aside from you of course. You knew, inherently, there would be others that had been chosen. It simply couldn’t be just you.

You supposed it didn’t matter. Standing amidst the rubble and taking in the bodies around you. This was the end and you didn’t know what was in store for you afterwards.

(A continuation of my consistency post for Schedule)

My new world is akin to the one before it called Earth. It circles the sun, is made up of oceans and lands, but what is different about it is the species which inhabits it. Human they remain, in the crucial department of looks. Blemishes, acne, two arms and two legs, even gender which I keep thinking about removing. But there are many differences between these humans and the ones of my previous creation.

For one, they cannot feel physical pain. No more suffering, no more agony! Isn’t that great? For two, they aren’t as technologically advanced, yet. But they’ll get there in time, I’m sure. They’re still relatively new. And my third change is that they are unable to experience love or other silly, needless emotions. Libido remains, as it’s necessary, and so does the survival instinct.

But that’s all they really need, isn’t it? No more betrayal, hurt, and with physical and mental anguish gone, bullying would be pointless, so none of that either. All the bad things removed, leaving only the good. This world is perfect.

Well…it’s been a couple hundred years since its creation and nothing much has happened. Reproduction, house building, the discovery of animals (did you think I removed the lovely things?), hunting. All things the previously made species of humans did.

Inexplicable why I find myself feeling like something’s amiss. Like something is missing. There’s no reason for it, everything’s the same as it was but better, and nothing’s missing.

Except pain. But why in the world would anyone miss that?

I must be a sadist if its vanished presence plagues my mind, as if it should come back.

No, I decide, I do not miss pain. It’s something else, it has to be.

…Joy?

The people have to be happy if they can’t be sad was my reasoning when I came up with this new human species. Then again, I’d forbid them from feeling anything other than the instinct to survive.

Uh oh. I messed up, colossally. The entire reason I destroyed Earth (number one) was to ensure the future of humans would be joyous and nothing but. And now I’ve created an entire planet of people who can’t experience joy.

It makes me laugh, the irony.

Well. Do I start over then? At least this time, when I obliterate the inhabited planet, no one will feel it. No one will torturously withstand their demise, but rather go peacefully, painlessly.

Good.

January 6, year 629. It’ll be seasonally appropriate for it to end in ice, won't it? I push the sun away until the planet grows completely dark. The ice spreads fast, turning the world into an ice cube, freezing everyone to their core, killing them.

Maybe I got it right the first time. I’m still not sure about the pain. Physically anyway. But I know I want the people to have passion, because if they don’t, then they do not truly live or exist at all, and they are meaningless.

one last day

Word Count: 505

Summary:

Voluntarily surrendering for crimes he didn't commit was its own kind of doomsday. And frankly, Akira merely wanted some time to savor his freedom.

There were only a few more minutes.

The snow fell softly around Akira’s feet, the cold making his breath steam. The city center around him remained lively, filled with joy and hope. Most of the city streets were pervaded with light as people flocked in groups, waving their phones towards the sky to capture the beautiful evening.

However, the street Akira stood on was empty. Street lamps burned orange light into the pavement. With bated breath, the silence waited.

His footsteps echoed. He walked away from the city center, bringing himself farther and farther. His eyes were devoid of any emotion; he had no reason to offer some reaction to the simple passage of time.

Akira knew he had a minute or so to treasure his freedom. He could have denied it all, refusing the upcoming offer from the prosecutor. But there would be no one to take his place now. Everything was going how it’s supposed to.

The teen didn’t understand why his chest felt so tight. He didn’t have the language to explain why his stomach twisted whenever he thought he saw a brown coat pass him. Or when he thought he heard a familiar voice beside him. There was never the right words to convey what the terror meant even when he was free waking up in cold sweat in the previous nights.

He called it grief, once. But decided against it. He didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew it wasn’t the right name.

There was no body to confirm it. That was his faintest bit of hope.

However, he should have known better. People who die in that other world, often die as well in reality. He knew better than most that bringing back someone from death was impossible, so selfish of a decision that the consequences were powerful.

Still, Akira wished it wasn’t the case. That even a fact can be wrong.

Yet every time, his hope was a mirage.

He walked in comfortable silence. Akira wondered what was happening a few miles away, back in the cafe. But then it morphed into light regrets; leaving his friends and family with no reason whatsoever, voluntarily placing himself back in the hands of the law that once failed him. But the outside world was too large to ignore.

Akira sighed. He could only silently hope everyone he knew for the past year would be safe once he was gone, wherever they were.

He fiddled with the edge of his sleeve. He wasn’t sure if he would remember the city, or even decide to visit it someday. Obsidian eyes met the bright billboards of the city center. He stared for a moment, but he didn’t care how long. The starlight shined with the quiet laughter of the folk around him.

The silence lifted, before settling in once more.

Akira heard footsteps approach him. He turned around, and met the prosecutor. His eyes closed as he heaved a sigh, nodding in acceptance of her offer.

It was time to go.

The day after the end of the world is always the hardest. After the flood meets the lava and the earth is halved in fire and water and blood somewhere in between, some people actually survive it.

They survive to die.

Everything is gone, no markets to steal food from, no ancient kingdoms to find pieces of. Wood is nowhere to be found and the only light on the planet is the boiling heat of the lava.

A path of sand is the only solid ground found my feet can find comfort in, the east being dried magma, and the west, the vast, united ocean. The pure chaos of nature and its order show its true colors as the human race fades to ashes under its rage.

I decide to wait until something else brings me to the gates of heaven or hell. The atmosphere is thick, and I find myself gasping every thirty minutes. With each one the path closes by an inch from the waves, and every hour by the bubbling lava.

I have no urge to scream, plead for help to drowned corpses or burned ones, nor whatever supernatural entity watched this all in their alien living room, packed with popcorn.

Huh, both popcorns and living rooms don't exist anymore.

A voice inside tells me that I could survive this, if I somehow find a fish to ration, and land to reside in, far from the eastern wasteland. But fishes would never go as near as this gap, and even the skyscrapers have fallen to the tides and volcanoes.

There is nothing, no one left. I am the last to see the skies before the planet rests from tens of millennia's of torture and abuse from its inhabitants. May you find peace in your destruction, Terra Firma.

[WC: 300]

Word Count: 372 words

this day was hard 💀 i really had no energy to write today

The sky has long faded away, replaced by unfading, relentless pitch-black clouds that pulsed scarlet and purple. A child looks up with blank eyes, one tiny hand holding on to her mother’s as they climb the last steps to the hilltop.

The ground shakes. They pause, waiting. Her mother’s hand grips hers tighter. She doesn’t wince.

A moment passes with a flash of lightning. Somewhere to the west, another building falls.

They press on.

Breaking out of the brush and into the empty hilltop, hasty winds greet them, bringing the smell of rust and smoke that has long encompassed their journey.

“Well, the world is ending,” her mother says, looking into her eyes with a smile. She places a hand on her hip.

The child looks back, tilting her head in confusion.

“I promised you dancing lessons last month.” The one remaining star in her mother’s eyes vanishes. She can only blink as confused unrest stirs in her small heart. “Since we can’t go find Miss Helly anymore, I’ll be the one to teach you.”

Her mother takes both of her hands, smiling down at her as she leads her in a playful, childish waltz. Little steps fall into her mother's rhythm, moving as one just as they've practiced before. One, and two, and three. The world provides the song to which they dance to—lilting pitches brought by baleful gales, tempo following each quake of the ground, and all heralded by the rumbling peals of thunder.

Hollow joy cuts through stale, suffocating air. As the world’s tilt slows and the ground trembles once more, the child sees a spark of a star in her mother’s eyes. Smiling, she twirls and dances and embraces the clouds in her steps.

There is a promise in the child's heart that only now takes form. It’s a small little shooting star that flies across the expanse of her mind. Dancing with her mother is one she never thought of doing—back in her room embraced by wallpapers of the galaxy and stuffed bears. But what better time to do it than the day the world collapses into itself?

Laughing, she dances one last time as the valley’s maw, fissures red and burning, catches up to their feet.

Wc: no idea but its long

Emily woke up on her head with a strange feeling inside her abdomen.

Wait, that's wrong. For a moment she didn't know what it was but then she remembered the glowing streets and the strange creatures and blacking out.

Was she taken? But that didn't make sense, why would they bring her back here after going through all that trouble?

She examined that feeling near her stomach. It was like there was something - something was swirling inside her.

She stood up suddenly, the world swaying for a second, and then dashed to the bathroom to give back everything she had eaten in the past 24 hours.

Her sandwich greeted her, somewhat digested already but still recognisable. It can't have been too long then. She clutched her stomach again and hurled some more.

She wiped her mouth and rinsed it with water, then flushed the sick down the - still working - sewage system.

That was good. The infrastructure still being intact was good.

She went back inside her living room, and peeked behind her curtains. She gasped.

Those strange creatures were still there, outside, as far as she could see. They seemed to be communicating animatedly, making wild gestures as if to emphasize their points.

She had no idea if their expressions were similar to humans, but many of the creatures' eyebrows were knitted in a way that showed apprehension or just tension. She couldn't know what about, but it made her feel uneasy.

Slowly placing her curtains to their original position she scooted to her laptop and booted it up - yet again - to hopefully know more.

What she didn't expect was one of the creatures climbing up the apartment building and entering her flat through her window.

They looked very purple, the same shade as Thanos actually, but the similarities ended there. They had two antennaes on their head which had small blue spheres on their ends, and their ears were pointy, shaped like ninety-degree triangles. Their hair was black and long, though not wild. It seemed like they had hairdressers where they lived as well.

Their eyes were a deep onyx, where you couldn't separate the pupil - or was their entire iris just a pupil? - which looked somewhat unnerving at first glanced, but they seemed to be holding no malice when they looked back.

She had a mild panic when she realised they looked back, but forced herself to not run away screaming into the wide world outside. She braced herself.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I, am, Kali. You use energy?" he asked in broken but clear English while pointing at her laptop.

"Um, what?"

"Energy. What energy you use?"

"Oh, electricity if that's what you're asking." she answered then got distracted when the news popped up on her screen. Of course, it normally wouldn't, but she found it in the settings the other day and so now every time it booted up the news showed without her having to do anything. She read a headline, which said "Glowing roads in all the states - are our days numbered?".

"Visual information. Fascinating." The blackhead said as Emily jumped. When did they get behind her?

"Um, can I ask what you're doing in here?"

"I come to see technology I sensed. We don't know much of you, yet."

"... What technology do you use then?"

"We use light and inner force."

"Oh. Think you could-"

"Oh no."

"What is it?"

"They come."

"Who are coming?"

"The Ardesians. They take over all planet. We need to leave, and you need to prepare."

"What?"

"They strong. We can't help you if we captured. You must prepare for worst."

And then he just up and left, along with all the others on the streets, using some sort of - light-powered, she guessed - machinery on their backs to fly back to their ship.

A flash encompassed the ship, and then it was gone, leaving the Earth unshielded from the Sun.

And then, a huge fleet with innumerable red and black spaceships descended from above, turning the blue sky dark and red.

If they thought Doomsday had come before, they were dead wrong.

It had only just begun.