Prologue- The End of a World

Death.

It's something that everyone fears. We do everything we can to stop it, so much so that our every action has the underlying purpose of avoiding or mitigating it. Why do we get jobs? Why do we cook? Why do we pursue our passions?

The answers are simple: We get jobs to earn money to afford our needs, we cook to feed ourselves, and we pursue our passions to make our time living more meaningful and our deaths less painful.

In short, we are fueled by our primordial fear of Death.

Oh, but there are a few exceptions. Notably, I, me, and myself. I've met a few wild individuals who claim to surpass this, blabbering about how they can rock climb hundreds of feet and skydive from thousands. Unfortunately, like everyone else, they died shortly after, and the face of horror on their corpses state otherwise. But I guess they weren't lying—they truly could skydive from thousands of feet.

I don't fear Death because I crave risk but because I have lost everything, or rather everyone.

And now, it seems like it finally caught up with me.

Today, I stole a can of coffee from my local convenience store. And today, the cashier died. And today, the store collapsed. Someone tried to pickpocket me on the way out, but they also died.

There was an old man who spat at me. He fell to the floor and died.

Someone bought stocks near me. They lost all their money and I'm sure he died on his way home.

And the flowers wilted when I stepped on the same soil they grew.

So out of curiosity, I pointed my finger in the far distance. It was the first time I saw a sunset this radiant. The sky was dyed in a myriad of vivid reds and purples, almost as if a painter colored it themselves. The clouds were barely obscuring its beauty, parting ways into the coming night. The sun was bright and full, almost a little too full...

And there came a meteor hurling toward Earth.

Sigh...

It's gotten this bad.

How did this even happen? Did I enter in a cheat code for the worst life in existence?

I laughed. Then, I placed a hand over my face.

This is ridiculous.

I downed a can of beer, then reposed it on a nearby table. I suppose a kid like me shouldn't be drinking, but what do I have left to lose?

"A METEOR HAS ENTERED THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE AT IMMEASURABLE SPEEDS. TAKE COVER, STAY INSIDE, REMAIN CALM."

People scattered.

"God?! Please save us!"

"Is this it...?"

"I'm sorry to my family, I'm sorry to my wife and children..."

"WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?!"

"How did this happen..."

"Young man, what are you doing?!"

"HEY, YOUNG MAN! Fuck, is he deaf?!"

I cast my gaze up, marveling at the scene unfolding before me. I took a step forward, outstretching a hand toward my doom.

These screams mixed with this sight...

Makes me feel...

Almost feverish.

And yet,

So sick at the same time.

Familiar words bellowing under a veil of screams and panic, Death coming to take the lives of everyone and me. The noise is horrible, a cacophony of last words and wishes.

I think there are only a good thirty minutes left?

It's better to get another beer.

I walked into a liquor store, stealing a few of their betters brews, alongside some new ones.

I stepped back out, chugging down each bottle one by one, admiring the beautiful sunset.

I looked around, but there is no one else. It's nice to have it all to yourself sometimes. Today is a good day, or rather, a good afternoon? Whatever.

Good afternoon.

I opened my last can of beer, a bright smile spreading across my face, as my time came closer and closer.

I placed my lips on the edge of the can, drawing in a sip.

And...

It tasted like ass!

This was the most expensive one I could find!

As I let out my final groan of disappointment, the sky became a rock.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

And then I was no more.