End of the World

I.

I never felt alone. I mean sure, the entire world may be gone, but Naomi and me are still around. Strangely enough, just that thought alone gives me hope. I feel like I can conquer whatever else the world still has to throw at me as long as I have Naomi with me. Sure, she leaves on her own little adventure from time to time, but she always comes back to me when I need her the most.

I sigh and look towards a nearby mirror. Even through the rusted and broken mirror, I can see the end of the world taking a toll on my appearance. Cuts, bruises, and patches of dirt surround my skin, and my clothing has definitely taken a few scrapes and cuts themselves. My chestnut brown hair is quite a mess itself as well. Oily, ragged, and unkempt are some of the few words I can choose to describe it. I sorely miss the ability to have warm showers and to maintain my appearance. Just remembering the old times is making me quite depressed. I try my best to calm down, taking a few deep breaths. It’s been almost a year since the apocalypse started, I can’t let my emotions get to me now. I take a look back down to my journal.

“Michael, you’re suppose to use ‘I’ instead of ‘me’ on that first line.”

I turn around, Naomi’s face only inches away from mine. I instinctively pull my head away. She turns towards me and flashes a warm smile, which always seems to calm me down.

“Geez, Naomi. I know we’re the only survivors, but you could still knock on the door, y’know?” I close the journal, mostly because I didn’t want her to continue reading my thoughts.

Naomi stands at about the same height as I do, maybe a few inches shorter. Even after the world ended, she always finds the time to keep up her looks. Her jet-black hair flows smoothly and silky down just slightly below her shoulders. Her crystal-blue eyes are wide, giving her an almost innocent look. Her seemingly impossible clear and fair skin completely contrasts with the barren, constant-orange sky.

She giggles as I put away my journal, “Even after the world ended, you still want to be a writer, huh?”

“Well, yeah. God knows I need something to do when you go off on your own little adventure. Who knows, maybe millions of years into the future, another race will come by to inhabit Earth, and my journal will become a masterpiece in their society.”

Naomi stares at me with the same expression as a mother would use when they hear a child talk about their dreams.

“That’s pretty cute of you. But you know, I’m sure the first thing they’re going to comment on is our race’s terrible use of subject pronouns if your book is the first thing they read.”

“Ouch, Naomi. Well, I guess that’s why I hired you as my editor!”

We both laugh, even though we both know it was a terrible joke, if you can even call it that. In times of stress, it’s always good to laugh it out. That’s what I was told before the world ended. I can’t imagine spending the last few moments of humanity by myself, I think I’d go crazy before I die.

“Anyway, Naomi, I found this wonderful place that we can stay at. The water wasn’t tainted when I scanned it, so we could probably stay there for some time. Not to mention, there's a great view of the town..” I told her. She places her fingers on her chin, and makes a humming sound as she thinks.

“Sure, you know I always love going on an adventure. Let’s pack up and head out.”

I did just that, packing my journal and pen, as well as my only other extra set of clothes. I made sure my scanner was still in my pocket. Thank god for technology, I would've never been able to figure out what's clean water and what isn't without this.

I was about to to tell Naomi the same, but it seems that she planned ahead, already carrying her own pack behind her back.

She turns to me and flashes me a smile, almost as if she knew what I was thinking.

 

II.

We begin our trek through the empty roads. The very same roads that once had life, society, and other people. No matter how many times I walk through them, the feeling of dread and despair never stops coming. The grass, now a dull shade of brown that extends past our view. Buildings around us crumbling, a shell of their former glory. It’s funny how I long for the noise that once annoyed me back then.

That doesn’t matter now, though. I can’t worry about what life was like before, I have to focus on the now. I have to keep up my chin for Naomi, I can’t let her see me being depressed.

“Hey Michael.” Naomi’s voice called out to me, as if she wants to distract me from these thoughts I’m having.

“What’s up, Naomi?”

“Do you ever wonder why the sky turned orange? There should be a reason, right?”

She isn’t wrong. Ever since I noticed the orange sky, it’s been on my mind. Even my scanner is confused about it, no longer identifying it as the sky, but instead gives me an error of some sorts.

I look up to the sky. The orange hue completely replacing the once beautiful blue it was. “well, even if there isn’t a reason, it’s still beautiful, in it’s own way. Then again, blue always was my favorite color.”

I look back to Naomi, a smile on her face.

“Well, you can always look at my eyes at least, right?”

I turn away, my face reddening. Even if we’re the only two people left in Earth, I have no idea how she can be so blunt with her advances sometime. Maybe it’s just me being too much of a wimp to say anything to her?

Her laugh fills the air, completely distracting me from my thoughts once again.

“I’m sorry, Michael. But you’re just so cute when you do that.”

I stare at her with annoyance, but a smile on my face couldn’t help but to appear. Soon, I join her in her laughter. We continue cracking jokes at each other for the rest of our trek.

 

III.

We continue our journey through a city overrun by nature. Even then, it seems that nature itself knows that Earth isn’t long for the Universe. The buildings that once housed stores, businesses, and people were now nothing but a shelter for vegetation.

We went by the park, an abandoned playground that is now a home to a plethora of plants paints an eerie picture. What was once a place for family and friends to gather was now nothing but a dull shade of bleakness and lifelessness, complimented only by the deafening silence. Save for, of course, the occasional winds cutting through the trees and grass.

We passed by a school. My school. Just looking at it brings back memories of hardship and good times. It’s hard to believe that back then, I would always dream of getting away from school. Now, the only thing I can remember were the good times.

Finally, we arrive at the location. Past a few trees that towered above us, over a creek that has dried up, and up a cliff that is nothing but dirt and rock. Up there, we finally arrive. A beautiful view of our empty town. A town that was once filled with life, death, beauty, ugliness, good, and bad. Now it’s nothing but a reminder that there was once life here. Naomi says nothing, and I don’t blame her. Looking down below, our empty town a shade of orange because of the looming sky, we can’t find the right words to say.

“Michael.”

“Yeah, Naomi?”

“Thank you, for being with me.”

“O-Of course, Naomi. I mean, it’s not like I have any other business to attend to, and I can’t imagine not being with you.”

“But you’re not real, are you?”

That last line caught me completely off-guard. As if it was a sudden blow to a gut. A quickened change of pace, and not for the better. Thoughts begin racing through my mind, but only one question came from it.

“Naomi, what are you talking about?”

“You’re not real! You were never real to begin with!” Naomi shouted. Her voice echoing through the vast empty sky.

I was dumbfounded, I have no idea what she was talking about. The words I want to say are stuck in my throat, alongside with the words I should say.

“You’re just someone I’m imagining, aren’t you?!” She glares at me, her blue eyes now hidden under a veil of tears.

The only thing I can do is reach out to her, my dirtied hand reaching out to her pure self. She pulls back, horror replacing her face.

“No! No more! Please! Just disappear already!... I don’t want to keep living like this!”

What was I supposed to say? Even now, tears were beginning to well up as I am unable to find the words to say.

“This?” She shouted, pointing at the cliff.

“This is just my own way of saying I should off myself, isn’t it?!”

“N-No! Naomi, never! Please, just- please calm down!” She glared at me, silent as the world below us. I recognize the look in her eyes. It was the very same despair and hopelessness I saw in my parents when they protected me from those thugs.

“Thank you, Michael. But I know what I must do now.” Naomi simply smiles at me, tears still flowing down her face. She takes a few steps backwards, towards the ledge.

“NO!” I screamed, but my feet were firmly planted onto the floor. I desperately reached out to her, as if that alone was enough to save her. Her foot didn't land on the ground nor the ledge. She vanished, down into the ground below.

Finally, my feet gives way and I collapse. I climbed my way towards the ledge, my feet no longer cooperating with me. I look over, expecting to see the corpse of not only my last friend, but the only other person in Earth. However, to my surprise, and horror, the ground beneath was as clean as it was before. A horror that was not known to me, until now. I stared. I stared for what seems like hours at the ground, my brain constantly coming up with theories and ideas as to what happened. But no matter what my brain comes up with, the logical side of me knew. I knew.

I laughed. I continued to laugh as I finally regain my footing. I kept on laughing as I made the same journey back home. I never stopped laughing, even as I opened the door and collapsed on the makeshift bed that I thought Naomi made. The laughter never stopped, even as I sobbed throughout the entire night. Even in the morning, when I thought I’d get over it, it never stopped. The laughing just kept coming, even as I loaded the gun I hid under the bed and placed it on my temple. Strangely enough, the only thing that popped in my head as I laughed was what I last wrote on my journal.

I never felt alone. I mean sure, the entire world may be gone, but Naomi and me are still around. Strangely enough, just that thought alone gives me hope. I feel like I can conquer whatever else the world still has to throw at me as long as I have Naomi with me. Sure, she leaves on her own little adventure from time to time, but she always comes back to me when I need her the most.

And remembering that, I continue laughing.