annon-author - Tumblr blog

annon-author · 3 months ago

Text

Last days on earth

BREAKING NEWS: LAST TREE TO BE CUT DOWN!

Protesters are chaining themselves…

I stopped reading, unable to process anything more. They were really going to do it? They were really going to destroy our last chance at survival? Our last hope that we might recover what little hope for humanity we have left? I looked to my husband, who was reading it over my shoulder. He looked like he had seen a ghost. He might as well have with what was about to happen to us. To humanity. We looked at the T.V. “Turn it on. We need to see if this is really happening.” I nod, doing so. The anchor came up, I could never remember her name for the life of me. It seemed silly to care about it right now though.

“-last night, Congress made the decision to cut down the last tree. Most people have already evacuated the earth, and those who can, are advised to follow.” Her eyes shone with fear under her gas mask. Being outside without it was dangerous enough, but at least there was photosynthesis then. Now? Screw it. Screw it all to hell.

“Advised to follow? Advised to follow?! Sure, let’s just whip up a build-your-own-rocket kit and fly to the moon! It’s as easy as one, two, three!”

“Andrew!” My husband looked back at me, and calmed down from his angry rant.

“I’m sorry Jace, I’m just-”

“I get it. But here’s the thing, being angry about it won’t do anything to ease the situation.” He looked scared, as he looked back at the T.V. His face paled. I looked back at the T.V too, tuning back into what used to be background noise.

“-The civilians who have chained themselves to the tree have been warned to move, or suffer the same fate at the tree.” The camera zoomed in on the action, where protesters have literally chained themselves around the trunk of the tree, secured by a padlock. They all looked scared. The world held its breath as they were talked to. “Experts are advising against this, but the Congress has already put it into motion. Biologists give us two to three days before the earth runs out of breathable air, if that.” The camera panned back to the woman on screen. She held her hand to her ear, and she took in a sharp breath. “I… The protestors have refused to move. The tree will be cut down in five minutes. Those who could have already left the planet. This might be the end for us all.” The poor woman looked terrified standing at the scene.

The camera zoomed in, as no more words were said. “Andrew, what are we going to do?” He shook his head.

“I don’t know Jace. But whatever happens, we’ll do it together.” I nod, and we look back at the screen. The sound of saws buzzing came through the sound system.

And we watched as they cut down the last tree on earth.

We watched in silent horror as they brought the saw to the tree, the protesters screaming about them being murderers, and tree killers, while their screams of protests were drowned out by the screams of terror of the others around them. The last source of air, being killed before our very eyes. “Damn it! They already killed the algae! They trashed the forests for wood! What more do they want?!”

“They want money. They just want more money! More, and more, and more, nothing’s enough for them!” I yelled back, losing it. People on screen were rioting, some dropping to the ground in a panic, likely passed out. Some were crying, hugging each other for what might be the last time.

A shout of timber.

A falling tree.

And it was all over.

“They... they really did it.” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah. They did.”

And with that, the riots began.

7/21/2043, 8:18 AM.

With so little time left, people started giving up on caring what others think of them. Couples were fornicating in what used to be public parks, people were jumping off buildings, either to die, or just some sort of crazy stunt. People were grabbing what food they could for themselves to eat, and others gave up on it altogether.

Andrew and I lay in bed together after living what might turn out to be our last night together, not knowing what to do now. We had no children of our own, and nowhere to go on these last days. But a nagging part of me didn’t want to just give up. I was a fighter at heart, and a veteran of Iraq; if anyone could still find a place off this god forsaken planet, it would be me. And I’d be dragging Andrew with me the whole way.

I’d make it with him, one way or another. It would happen.

Just watch.

I got up pulling on some clean clothes, Andrew looking at me confused. “Get dressed. We’re finding a way off this damned planet.”

“What?! Jason, are you crazy? All the rockets have left already, and we need more than a couple of days to make our own.”

“Did you forget who I am?”

“No, you’re a crazy conspiracy theorist, with severe PTSD.” I looked at him with mock offense. “Babe, don’t get me wrong, I love you, but there’s no way we can get off here! We might as well accept our fates. I mean, we’re not going to live forever anyways. We were lucky to reach fifty. Forty-eight hours left to live is a generous estimation too. How-” He looked into my eyes, a familiar glint in them. He knew when I made my mind up, I wasn’t going to give it up without trying. He sighed, and got up too. “Fine. What’s your idea?”

7/22/2043 10:38 PM

I was driving fast, not a care in the world. I smiled, feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins. It didn’t take long to figure out where they were keeping the last rocket, being a Vet and logical. They would want it close to the congress, near a place they could easily load it. Five miles north of the capital building, there was a space force base. Exactly where they would keep a ship for the congress.

When we got there, there were guards surrounding the las ship. I hummed happily. Time for a little fighting. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I stepped on the compound with a gun in my hands. Warning shots were fired.

I fired back.

7/22/2043, 11:57 PM

“You’re crazy, you know that right?”

“Well then, you must be a little crazy too. After all, you did marry me.” I chuckle. I look at the guards I just took down, guarding the last rocket off the earth. “Besides, I told you they were sending them back.”

“Yeah, for the Congress! Not us!”

“Please, what has Congress done for us? They’re the ones who approved the thing that solidified our damnation.” I smiled under my gas-mask. “Besides, it’s not like they’re going to notice a couple of stow-aways.” I told him, grabbing space suits. “Now stop complaining and hold your breath so we can put these on.”

“Jason, I’m still not sure about this.”

“But I am. And you trust me, right?” I held his hand, rubbing it softly with my thumb. “Congress is corrupt. They killed the oceans, the bushes, the grass, every single plant and body of water have been killed, or made so toxic we can’t even use them anymore without filtering them five times, and boiling them. They don’t care about us. We’re human. We want to live and love, and overall survive. I’ll do anything it takes for us to do so.” I place my other hand on his face, covered by his gas mask. “So trust me on this, it’s something we have to do.”

“I…”

“I know you want this as much as I do. You’ve never been one to roll over and take things either.” I chuckled. “Well, except me sometimes. But that’s different.” He chuckled, and I could tell he was smiling from the look in his eyes.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

“Then let’s go. The rocket is taking off in less than an hour.”

7/23/2043, 1:02 AM.

“I have to admit it, your ideas, while crazy, aren’t the worst.”

“Why thank you! I’m honored.” I joked.

“No seriously.” He floated over to me. “If I could kiss you right now, I would. I’m glad you talked me into this.”

“Did you expect any different? I’m not leaving you to die.” I could faintly see his smile through the tinted glass of the helmet. I hoped he could see mine. He held his gloved hand in mine, and we floated over to the window. Watching the stars as they passed us was a beautiful sight to behold, and one I never thought I’d see in person. I leaned over to him. “Do you remember our wedding night?”

“Yeah. The dancing under the stars-”

“Our families crying in happiness-”

“Stargazing in that clearing-”

“Doing other things in that clearing.” We both chuckled. I sighed happily, recalling the memories from twenty years ago. I Grabbed his gloved hand, and hummed. “May I have this dance?”

“Even after all this time, you’re still the dork of a man I married. Of course.” I smiled in my spacesuit, and together we hummed ‘It’s You’ by Ali Gate. We danced together, slowly. I spun him a couple of times, and he did the same to me while we sang the song together. In the distance, the earth got smaller and smaller as we got farther away. It’s as if it was just us on the ship, the two of us with no care in the world.

Unfortunately, that isn’t what’s happening here.

The doors to the chamber we were in opened. We froze as a person floated in. We looked at one another, the three of us. And then we were held and being forced to unwillingly comply with what they wanted us to do.

They brought us over to the airlock.

And tossed us to the cold abyss of space.

7/23/2043 4:15 am

We had been drifting together for hours now, holding onto one another as our last chance to keep together. If we were going to die, we were going to die together. Air was low, and we were feeling light headed. I looked to my husband as the warning blared in my ears that I needed air. “I love you.” Was all I said to him, before I closed my eyes.

“I love you too.” I gasped for air, before feeling my body get heavy in Zero G. My eyes fluttered open one last time, and I looked at him, wishing I could see his face. Spots danced in my vision, and I smiled, knowing no matter what, I was with him at the end. Just like we promised.

I took one last breath, and closed my eyes as I exhaled, losing consciousness as if I was just falling asleep. I wish it was that easy.

The blare faded in my ears, and then stopped altogether.

And that’s the last thing I remember.

#sience fiction #scifi #death #gay men

0 notes

annon-author · 3 months ago

Text

Deep down

We swim in the deep blue, play with dolphins and fish we find. Collect sea shells, and rocks we find. If you’re lucky you find a fossil from a different time. But what lies below is mystery. Myth. Legend. Those who dive too deep never come up. The ocean is an unforgiving place in this world. Some find it as a place of beauty. Others, a place of mystery. The rest, a source of fear. We may never know what lies in the depths, but one day, we might. But in the meantime, we can only ponder what hides in the darkness.

Past what we know, anything can happen. When you eliminate the impossible, all that’s left is the possible, no matter how improbable. But how much can we eliminate when there are endless possibilities? Anything can happen in the murky abyss known as our oceans. It’s a mystery that has inspired so many things, and will continue to inspire many more.

Would you believe me if I said deep down there were mermaids? Ones that hid in the darkness of the deep? They watch with large eyes bugging out of their heads, accustomed to the darkness of the deep. Hardly any light gets down there, but they can see everything just fine. Night Vision is a natural adaptation for them. Or maybe they are blind, going off the feel of the water around them. An odd sense of smell guiding them to their meals.

What do they feed on? The people who went too deep. They lose their air as they drag them down to the depths. And then, they feast on the fresh carcass. Anything they can find, they feed on. Angler fish, deep sea squid and octopi, dead whales and sharks. Anything they can find that has meat and blood. They can’t survive any other way, seeing as they have no other way to get the vitamins they need to live.

Their skin is pale and pasty, clammy if you ever got the chance to touch them. Their flesh is cold, getting warmth only from volcanic vents in the ocean floor. Their tails are smooth yet slimy like eels, leathery to the touch. Webbed hands push them forward with their tails, and claw lick fingers catch their prey. Unsuspecting fish, and the unlucky whale, hunted by a pod of them. Its flesh is gone in a matter of minutes, eaten while alive. Blood seeps through the sea, and they smile with their sharp teeth. They are proud of what they do. They love what they do. They have their own lives, and way to live. A way that is terrifying to us.

Would you believe me if I said they were real? Maybe not. Maybe they aren’t real, but perhaps they could be. No matter. Who knows? If they are, heed the warning of the sea, for it warns someone only once. They come up with the tides to drag someone down. A feast for them alone. Their bones, left on the sand. Beware of the mermaids, deep down below.

If they are real or not, we may never know.

#mermaids #sirens #writing #creative writing #oceancore #ocean #short story

0 notes