1 The Beginning of the End (Edited)

"So… this is what the world has come to huh…" echoed aloud in the baren warehouse full of rust and dirt.

Sighing heavily, the lone man sat atop a broken milk crate that could barely sustain his weight, thought of pasty memories and moments, wondering what he could have done to change his fate.

"What a way to go out… taking the dark history of humanity with it into the annals of extinction."

He swayed side to side, as he stared out through the small shard of glass that remained unshattered and clean enough to see through.

With his hazy eyesight from the effects of alcohol, making it already a challenge to see, much less through a small piece of clean glass.

But even if his view was unobstructed from the shattered glass, none of what would be visible could calm his aching heart.

Rather it would pain him deeply seeing his city that he called home for so long, reduced to nothing more than a steel jungle on fire.

All that was visible through the small shard of clear glass was a hazy skyline of the city in the distance through the dense clouds of dust and smoke in the air duty to the chaos.

It seemed as if the world had recently fallen into the apocalypse for someone who was unaware of the coming events.

"I wonder if it'll be painful…"

Sighed the young man as he closed his eyes unable to comprehend what he had heard earlier that changed the fate of every being on Earth.

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֍ 72 hours ago ֍

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"Hey boss, how's it going?

Did ya miss me?" laughed a youthful girl full of spirit and beauty as she ran up to her boss after noticing his arrival at the office.

With a bright smile that could make all your worries disappear, she raced to join the side of her boss as they would walk towards their office, while discussing the duties and tasks of the day.

"I am ok, how was your weekend, Synthia?

I heard you were going away with Jeff to his family home for Christmas.

Why are you here?" said the young dashing man with a chiselled jaw and sharp hazel brown eyes that could make you feel like you were drowning in a pool of deep golden honey.

Synthia was lost for a second looking at her boss's dark brown hair tied into a stylish man-bun, a style currently trending amongst the populous.

She always would commend her boss secretly for his revival to civilised behaviour from how he acted much earlier on when she first saw him.

Previously he was known for his recklessness and always being ruthless to everyone, no matter their gender and authority.

It was nigh impossible to get to know him, even management would drop face to face contact with him as could not look him in the eye for fear he would rattle their soul, which was already decrepit and sold to the devil.

But to Synthia, he was just misunderstood and needed a friend, so she took the bullet and approach the 'One that even the demons fear' or better yet 'Reaper of Souls, Devourer of Flesh'.

When she sat next to him during lunch, the entire cafeteria fell silent as the gaze of everyone present fell onto the duo, wondered if he would kill her with the spork (spoon/fork hybrid) in hand.

"Hi, my name is Synthia, it's nice to meet you!

I've always seen you around work, but I haven't said hello, sorry about that…" with that said, everyone looked at him, waiting quietly for the doom that await the poor girl.

"Hey, my names Ben and don't be sorry it's not your fault.

I've been told that I have a resting bitch face that could rival death itself, according to some of my juniors." as he smiled at Synthia.

To her it seemed as if this was the first time his smile was seeing the light of day, blinded constantly behind a dense fog of darkness.

It made her feel incredible to see Ben smile, making him seem more human and normal than ever before.

Thus began their friendship that started with lunch time catchups to his promotion and her being offered the role of Bens personal secretary.

Synthia always counted that day as the most important memory of their friendship that had lasted close to five years by this point, making each day unforgettable.

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"*Sigh* Jeff ended up going with his ex, since they got back together at some point.

That cheating bastard texted me saying that he still wants to catch up went he gets back and wants to be 'friends'.

The fucking nerve on that guy, honestly."

Her tone gradually increased to the point of destroying somebody's eardrum, but Ben sensed it was pent up anger at the man who relentlessly pursued her for several months, only to throw their relationship away like it was nothing.

All Ben could think about at this point was the unfortunate future for Jeff when he returned, as it was likely Synthia would gain payback for being treated like trash.

As he was calming her down from hunting down poor Jeff during Christmas, the two made their way back to their office, only for their phones to suddenly ring out emergency alerts.

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(ATTENTION – THE PRESIDENT WILL BE ADDRESSING THE MEDIA SHORTLY)

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They both ran to Ben's office immediately waiting for the addressment.

For some reason, the duo sensed the addressment was serious and not about some health issues or new policies that might affect the nation.

Rather, they figured the news was far too important and serious, since the President rarely addressed the nation and media through an emergency televised speech.

Shortly after the addressment began…

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(Good morning my fellow citizens of my homeland and those around the globe…

I apologise for taking up your precious time as every second will matter to us all from now on, so I will make this short.

A planet destroyer asteroid is heading towards Earth.

We have tried everything from nukes to manned missions, landing on the asteroid, but we have failed everything, with the current end result before you…

The end is nigh.

All I can say now, is that you should hug your loved ones and spend whatever time you have with them as humanity finds itself in a situation it cannot survive.

Estimation of the asteroid's arrival is roughly 72 hours from now.

May God bless you all.)

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At that point, every bit of law and order in the world collapsed and society was turned upside down.

Thus, began the riots that destroyed businesses, leaving them looted clean and heavily damaged, if not outright burned away due to deliberate fires.

People were desperate to find any means of protection from the end of the world, even if it wasn't logical, like hiding out in supermarkets, in the hopes to have everything to survive after the asteroid.

Some chose to hide in coolrooms, with their hopes tied to insulated walls, but it wouldn't be strong enough to fight against the force generated by the asteroids impact.

Other people dashed throughout their cities and towns killing, raping, vandalising without any concern.

They had lost their minds so for most of the populous around the globe, it was a free for all.

By the time the addressment was finished, both Ben and Synthia were making their way to her family home outside of the city.

Safe and away from the city, the two believed it was much safer than the brutality that had started to unleash itself across their beloved city they came to call home for so long.

Ben was quiet during the drive to Synthia's parents' home, with his whole attention on driving through the chaos on the road as gangs interfered and took over certain sections of the city, while majority of the people were trying to escape.

Most wanted to move out of the city and head for the countryside, as any hope of survival was better than none.

All the while, Synthia was trying to call her family, but the calls were not going through.

Frustrated, she screamed and began to cry, wondering about the end that was coming and how she wanted to still live and do so much with her life.

Now it was all gone, in less than three days they would be gone and that would be it.

Nothing would be left of the world.

Lost in her thoughts, Synthia suddenly felt a warm hand on her arm, "I'm here, Thia…

Don't worry, okay?

Everything will be fine." Said Ben in his attempt to calm Synthia before she fell further into her thoughts, wondering about her parents' possible fate.

Looking towards Ben, Synthia caught sight of his gentle smile.

Typically, it was broken and unable to form, but now, Synthia saw it as the brightest sun during the darkest of times.

It was infectious, and she knew about it more than anyone else on the planet.

Right now, all she wanted to say was everything that was held back over the years out of fear for what it could do to their personal friendship and professional relationship.

Synthia wanted to let go of everything she buried deep down in her heart, hiding it in the abyss of her heart.

She never wanted to admit how she felt and what she'd held back out of fear and worry, but now it didn't matter.

Nothing matter besides the little time they had left to be with one another without anyone encroaching on their relationship.

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Just as Synthia was about to tell Ben everything, she suddenly felt the car coming to a complete stop in the middle of a two-way highway.

Her eyes stared at Ben as if piercing his soul screaming, 'Asshole what do you think you're doing? I nearly smashed my face against the dashboard!'

That's when she noticed his eyes were sharper than usual and more focused ahead on the road.

She had never seen Ben like this and felt quite frightened of the man's sudden change from his typically calm demeanour.

In all this time, Ben was a stone-cold rock, with nothing able to make him feel tense or anxious.

Even the moment they found out about the end of the world; Ben's eyes never wavered, as if the events was a usual occurrence, but now his eyes were screaming danger.

Curious, her eyes were drawn to what was outside, leading her to turn her face towards the windshield.

But before she could look ahead, Synthia felt her arm being squeezed tightly "Crouch down and do not get up until I say so, do you understand?"

He whispered coldly, only to shove Synthia into the footwell of the passenger seat before all hell broke loose while waiting for her decision, and hit the gas.

Terrified already from the addressment released by the President, Synthia's mind started to race around erratically, piecing together wild ideas of what was in front of the car.

Close to experiencing an anxiety attack, Synthia worried that they wouldn't be able to get away, while the thought of her parents came rushing forward, on the surface of her mind, as she wanted to be in her loving warmth of her parents embrace.

As Bens erratic driving got them out of harm's way, for it seemed as if everything would be fine for the moment, but then sudden shots fired were easily heard, as some bullets hit the car, shattering the back window, as well as the back seat passenger windows.

Constant shots were heard, some hit the car to create small bullet holes, while others completely missed.

Most of the shrapnel created from the impact of the bullets shredded the backseat of the car, sending parts of the cushion material flying into the air.

One of the shots nearly hit Ben, only missing him by a hair's length, as it grazed part of his left arm.

Luckily, he was able to react fast enough and turned off the main road and into some fields to get away, as the group pursuing them were firing off some precise shots, worrying Ben about a stray bullet hitting him or worse, Synthia.

Soon after the pursuers gave up, Ben finally relaxed, and slowly let go of his tight grip on the steering wheel, which returned some of the blood back to his pale hands and stressed knuckles.

He looked down to see if Synthia was ok, but he found her with her eyes shut tightly, with her hands covering her ears so couldn't hear the gunfire.

Shaking from the terror of the pursuit, Ben pulled her up onto her seat, while grabbing hold of her hand and decided to explain the pursuers had turned away.

To his surprise she just smiled and passed out, falling back into her seat, and fell asleep.

He understood it was too much, especially with everything that happened in the last couple of hours to her.

Ben could tell it was honestly too much for Synthia to handle, with the stress compounding on her fraying mind and soul.

It even surprised him how fickle people were to quickly revert into savages, hunting others in what little time they had.

Disgusted by the actions of society, Ben continued to focus on driving with his right hand tightly gripping Synthia's free hand.

Plenty of thoughts raced through his mind, wondering about the next few days, trying to survive until the inevitable end, but more than anyone Ben knew how fickle humankind was, and how difficult the next few days would be to survive.

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Soon after, once Ben decided to drive off the remaining major roads that weren't taken over by some gangs or large gatherings, while choosing to sneak through fields every so often just in case they were ever being followed, and to throw off their pursuers.

Eventually, they arrived at Synthias family home, which was built in a rural town, in a suburb section, giving them plenty of space and land around the property.

Her parents lived a couple hours from the major city close by that Ben and Synthia resided in, so it wasn't difficult to reach in time before more people tried to rush out towards the vast open lands of the countryside.

When Synthia graduated from high school, she immediately moved to the city nearby, but would come back home to her childhood home during most free weekends.

Ben had previously visited Synthia's childhood home a couple years earlier for Christmas, so he wasn't unfamiliar with the property and its location.

He watched Synthia closely as she raced out of the car, racing to the front of the house, only to bang viciously on the door with all of the might she could muster into her bawled fists.

Ben wanted to be by her side, as he noticed the tears running down her beautiful face, paled by anxiety, and stress, leaving her on edge and near breaking point, but he focused on the surroundings, afraid of any sudden attacks or ambush.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, and Synthia was pulled into the warm embrace of the two figures who had been on her mind every moment for the last couple of hours.

Up until now, Synthia worried something horrible might have occurred to her mother and father, but seeing them now, she finally accepted they were safe and fine.

Smiling with tears of joy running down her face, Synthia remained in the embrace of her parents, thanking God for keeping them safe as she let them hug her with all of their strength.

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"Hey mom… dad…

I-I was worried something happened to you guys when you would not pick up the phone…"

Synthia mumbled out through the gasps of air, still unable to contain the tears running down her rosy cheeks.

"Silly girl, none of the phone lines are working.

We even tried to call the both of you, but it seems everyone thought the same thing, making it difficult for the phone call to get through." Replied Synthia's mother, only to further ask about the journey to their country town.

Once Synthia calmed down enough, she finally had the strength to bring her parents up to date about what happened till now, her parents dragged them further inside their home, while speaking off the issues plaguing the area.

Ever since the announcement, many of the neighbours armed themselves with weapons of various sorts, and a few chose to go out 'purging' before the end of the world.

Synthia's father explained that it wasn't long before society completely went berserk after witnessing many people trying their best to survive, even though they committed heinous crimes that God would frown upon.

Some tried to prepare last minute shelter to save them from the asteroid, by raiding other homes and taking whatever, while also taking what they could from stores.

Ben along with Synthia's father suggested to leave and head further away from civilisation, but Synthia's mother prepared a small meal, after which they begun readying themselves to leave.

Out of nowhere, the house windows began to be shattered in succession, as the hail of gunfire broke through the house, narrowly missing Ben, Synthia, and her parents.

Frightened screams of horror and pain came from Synthia and her mother as they tried to find cover from the shattered glass and gunfire, only to find themselves injured by the glass shards littered across the grown when they crawled for cover.

Synthia's father threw the first thing that he found in his hand, which happened to be a heavy-duty steel torch towards Ben as a means of protection for himself and the ladies.

Before he could grab another weapon for himself, the back door was broken down with several burly looking men, covered head to toe in cavalier armour, charging into the house with firearms drawn.

"Hand us the girls and anything else that's valuable, if you don't, we will beat you close to death and then make you wat-"

Before the supposed leader of the burly men could finish his sentence, Ben ran up to the man and smashed the torch straight into the side of the head, creating a loud dull sound that reached the ears of everyone present.

As the man fell, his face awkwardly hit the ground, causing his jaw to crack, further injuring the burly man, who had no chance of waking up anytime soon.

Before the others could react to what just occurred, Ben pounced on the remaining handful of thugs and quickly aimed for vitals points.

In the hopes to get out of the area as fast as possible, Ben hastened his attack on the burly men until he noticed the sole remaining guy being attacked by Synthia's father.

Unfortunately, the assailant countered the punch to the jaw with a fatal attack, leading to Synthia's father being stabbed multiple times in the abdomen.

Unable to control himself any longer, Ben let his rage unleash on the assailant, punching the man with all of this strength, leading to the man's skull being broken.

The continuous punches to the face and skull led to the man's eyes burst apart from the force of the punches to bones of the skull piercing through the skin.

Covered in blood of the man who struggled to remain alive, much less than focus on his breathing, Ben finally moved away from the dead man.

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Reaching Synthia's side, he found her father bleeding out heavily from the abdomen, with the first aid applied so far doing nothing to stop the blood loss.

Synthia and her mother tried to help, but the shock was too much for them to move or say anything, other than the tears that continued to fall down their face.

Both were shocked to the core over what just occurred and the scene in front of them.

Ben ended up getting them out of their shock and they moved to his side to give him a hand, with Synthia believing it was still possible to leave with her whole family and remain safe for the next few days at the very least.

However, reality is not as we hope and a couple hours later, Synthia's father passed away from the excessive bodily harm from the stab wounds.

Ben decided to bury the body in the backyard with dignity and respect, much to the appreciation of Synthia and her mother, who continued to mourn.

In the car, with Ben driving and the others sitting in the back, the mother and daughter thought of past memories and moments they shared, which at times they spoke of with Ben.

Synthia was feeling rather depressed over the whole course of events, blaming herself for causing the assailants to arrive at their home, since her mind believed the car chasing them earlier was in fact the thugs who killed her father.

All that was replaying in her mind was her fathers last moments, his last words of love to her, and to be strong even if the end was coming.

A small but futile wish for survival was spoken of by her father, who cursed the misfortunate of the world that interfered with the blessed life of his only child.

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After a while, they arrived at a small farm, not too far from the city, enabling them the ability to search for any necessary items if required.

Also, Synthia and her mother didn't wish to remain in their hometown, so Ben chose the small farm he'd previously visited for work.

For now, though, it was more than safe enough for everyone to rest temporarily, but only after a quick clean up of the property was conducted immediately.

While scouting out the large two-story house, Ben discovered dozens of bodies gathered around a dinner table, pale, cold, and dead.

To him this was not a surprise.

One of the first thoughts that came to his mind after the President's announcement was the sheer scale of mass suicide that would occur across the globe.

Ben wasn't aware of the true scale of death that occurred right after the emergency announcement, but after witnessing the dozens of bodies around the dining table made him question how many homes nearby would be littered with bodies from suicide.

Yet that didn't trouble him as much as the city skyline in the distance, which was obstructed by dense smoke, fire, and gunfire that drowned out the screams of various victims.

Looking into the distance from the worn down and rusted shed built nearby the house, Ben noticed parts of the city infrastructure had collapsed, leaving most of the place destroyed beyond recognition, as if someone fired missiles into the city centre.

Rubble from various buildings and landmarks was scattered all over the place, turning the previously bustling city into an errily dead ghost town, haunted by the worst side of a collapsed society and mankind in general.

Faint sounds of screams and gun shots continued to reach Ben, as if carried by the wind, though he wasn't concerned by any of it, as he just stood there, for a while, taking in the chaos and anguish.

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By the time Ben returned to the car, both mother and daughter were already in the house, stunned by the actions of the family who'd chosen suicide over survival for a few days.

They could not understand why they would want to suffer through the agony of death, which included young children.

Synthia's mother wasn't sure how to feel about the children, who appeared no older than 5 years old.

Without waiting for either of the ladies to ask, Ben entered the house and one by one removed each of the bodies carefully, not wanting to disrespect the dead.

Slowly, Ben dug up a dozen or so holes near the large oak tree in the open backyard of the small farm, as it was the ideal place in his opinion to be buried.

It wasn't far from the shed either which made the temporary storage of the bodies much easier.

While Ben continued burying the bodies, Synthia broke free from her stupor and started cleaning up the cold and mouldy food littered across the dining table.

She realised the farm was the most ideal location for them to set up as their base until it became unsafe, so Synthia moved ahead to make the place liveable for the next few days.

Synthia's mother joined in with the cleaning, only to notice some vials near the kitchen sink, currently being checked by her daughter.

While interested in what they were, she chose not to bother her daughter and continued cleaning, as memories of her beloved husband came to her mind.

What she hadn't noticed was Synthia's hand on a single vial that still had some liquid remaining within it.

She paused for a while, trying to figure out exactly what the vials contained, yet it didn't take her long to be startled by the realisation that it was poison.

Every fibre of her body was screaming to throw it away, but a small part said, 'just in case, keep it' and so she sneaked it into her pocket, away from the eyes of her mother and Ben.

After some time and rest, they all sat down in the lounge without saying a word to each other.

Nobody said a thing, leaving the three of them to remain silent while seated in the lounge room, which wasn't affected by the deaths of the previous residents who were now all buried outside.

It was only then, Synthias mother decided to make some food for them with what remained in the house and what they brought along.

After eating they decided to go to bed, hoping to sleep through the nightmare of a day it had been.

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Yet things aren't so simple, and Fate isn't known to be merciful…

Loud screams and cries shocked Ben into suddenly waking up, as he ran down the hall towards the room they were coming from, only to find Synthia crying as she held onto her mothers' body that had hung herself overnight.

She left a note telling her daughter how much she loved her and that with her father gone, she wasn't able to contain the grief that overwhelmed her heart and soul.

A part of her wanted to stay behind with her daughter, but with their end guaranteed after the next few days, Synthia's mother didn't want to wallow in grief until then, being unable to spend her last moments with her beloved husband.

Ben stood still as a statue, with his eyes glued to the peaceful figure of Synthia's mother.

He could not say anything, as if his lungs had stopped functioning and all he could see was the misery and death of countless people crowding around him, drowning him in their darkness and agony.

He struggled to take in a deep breath to focus himself, as he needed to be there for Synthia, who'd lost both of her parents within the last 24 hours.

Neither greeted death in comfort, but Ben figured the couple was a peace together and awaiting their daughter, who would arrive with the rest of mankind.

Ben chose to move beside Snythia, prying her away from her mother's body, only for her to bury herself into Ben's chest, letting out hoarse cries, soaking his shirt with tears until she passed out in his arms.

Taking her to one of the spare bedrooms, Ben placed Synthia down and made sure she was comfortable on the bed, before burying the body of her mother near the oak tree in the open backyard.

Some time passed, and Synthia awoke, hoping her mother's death was a cruel nightmare, yet after searching the house and coming upon a dirtied Ben with a shovel in hand, she rushed towards him.

"Where is my mom!

Tell me!" she screamed, grabbing a hold of his collar out of anger, while gritting her teeth together as she noticed Ben's solemn expression trying to comfort her.

He explained what happened after Synthia passed out, while walking back to the fresh grave near the oak tree.

Synthia sat down next to her mother's marked grave, dazed a little by the sight of the grave as she started remembering the past.

A small family of three who were happy and safe, only for it to come crumbling down in a heartbeat because of their extinction.

She sat quietly, while Ben stood behind her like a knight protecting his Princess, unable to do anything but comfort her as best as he could in the moment.

They remained by the grave for some time until Synthia asked Ben to make her something to eat.

For the rest of the day, she wondered around the house in silence, from time to time replying to Ben's random questions as to not make him worry.

During her sleepless night, Synthia wandered about from her mothers' room to her grave and to Ben's bed side.

Her delicate eyes were drowned in sorrow and pain, trying to decide her future actions, even if it seemed pointless to most with the end of the world about to arrive.

She soon left his room one last time, coming to a final decision about her future.

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In the morning, Ben woke up to the fragrance of pancakes with butter and syrup, as he saw Synthia's beautiful smile greeting him in the morning as he walked into the kitchen.

Unable to contain himself, he grabbed her hand and pulled her in close, and whispered in her ear "I knew you were in my room last night.

I cannot comprehend what's going through your mind right now after everything you've gone through, but I am here for you silly…

It isn't much but I hope it's something that can help…"

Synthia faced him, eye to eye gazing straight into Ben's piercing hazel iris's that burned alight with determination, sincerity, pure love, and compassion.

Pulling Ben in close by gripping the back of his neck, Synthia continued to peer into Ben's eyes.

They slowly moved closer, bit by bit, until they locked lips… escaping all other worries and pains for the moment.

They enjoyed one another's embrace, forgetting all that had happened the previous day, and leaving them to concentrate their heart and mind on the other.

That was all that mattered.

When they broke away from the deep kiss, Synthia told Ben how she felt about him over the years, and they spoke about their regrets and happy times.

What they wish they had time to do together.

Most of their chats were about 'what ifs' they could have experienced if they were truthful about their feelings, rather than avoiding them.

Without even noticing, the day flew by, and another morning came.

Ben woke up still tired from last nights antics and was quite starved.

With a sheepish grin on his face, Ben moved to get out of bed, only to find the bearing weight on his numb arm awoke some sensation, quickly alerting him that Synthia was still in bed.

Still expressing a bright smile across his face, Ben couldn't stop thinking of Synthia and the time they spent together yesterday, as the two expressed their whole heart and passion.

He thought to himself, this is love.

As she tried to wake her up from her sleep, he noticed a small vial close to her chest, as he read the label, Ben began to panic as he frantically searched for a pulse or any faint sign of Synthia breathing.

He applied CPR for some time, praying she might regain her pulse, however she remained unresponsive after quite a while, further leaving Ben distraught and utterly furious at himself for not paying closer attention to Synthia.

Ben could not control himself anymore, weeping uncontrollably, while holding Synthia close.

Everything crumbled around him, all that happiness he felt before was gone in the abyss of his misery and darkness.

For some time, he stayed there with her in his arms, screaming 'WHY?!'.

In the end, Ben chose to hold a small funeral for Synthia, burying her next to her mother, while remaining seated by her grave until the pain in his chest and voices in his mind needed to be drowned out.

Slowly he moved about the farm with a bottle of scotch in hand, smashing windows of the house and shed, throwing fuel into the house, and setting it ablaze.

He felt some joy as he wallowed about until he sat down in the shed, chugging away the last of the bottle.

All he could think about was the crap that happened in the last 3 days and the cold feeling of being alone once more, like how he was before Synthia came into his life.

Looking out for the last time through a small clean piece of glass window, all that remained on Ben's mind was seeing Synthia once more in the possible afterlife.

As he closed his eyes for the last time, all life on earth was gone as the asteroid blasted through the atmosphere and slammed into the surface of the planet.