OUR WORLD

DOOMSDAY Essay

OUR WORLD

He opened his eyes slowly. It was hard to tell day or night anymore. The quiver of grey light forcing itself through the small rain hole above him is all he could count on as an alarm. The cold thick air violated his living space. Five shelves stored his freeze -dried meals, his means of survival. The old farm sink in the corner held two urns of drinking water. The faucet would run cool water for what could be an hour every day, he wasn’t sure but it was enough to freshen up the last 4 days. The toilet thankfully was screened off. Every time he used it he was wondering where it went. It wasn’t that important any way. How he made it and survived, he still couldn’t clearly remember. All he wanted to remember was being at school with his friends, having fun like a normal twelve year old should be doing. His Mom. He could smell her still, every time he woke up, even when he slept. His dreams were sometimes so real and pleasant. They were all he had left of his memories. The trips to grandma’s in the summertime at the coast. The beaches, being out on the water and the salty spray on his face, the taste of the ocean on his lips. The beautiful warm rays of sunlight sweeping his skin. He missed it, he missed her, so much. When he was younger and would complain about being out on the boat for hours. “Its too hot, can we go in now?” The way she would always place her hands on either cheek, look into his eyes and say, “ Lets enjoy what we have today, all the beautiful sunshine, cool air. We’ll go in soon sweetie” The heart shaped locket would swing into his chin when she kissed his cheek. She always wore it.

He got up now and reached for the backpack. He was sure she had given it to him that day that started out so beautifully perfect, then it suddenly all dissolved. That’s what woke him this morning. He dreamt of the locket she had given him to keep. He remembered, they hurriedly packed some bags and she took it off and placed it in his hand. “Don’t let go of it, I love You”! She shouted, so he could hear her above the dreadful noise that was shaking everything around them! Did she know t was the last time they would be together. The sky outside was so dark. “ No matter what !” she said. “ Stay with me and don’t look up!” He followed her outside the house. He tried to look over at Sanny’s house. He wanted to know if she and her family were all right, alive, had survived this. He couldn’t see a thing and it wasn’t that far away. His mom was just a shadow in the thick clouds in front of him and he tried to keep up. Then there was another thunderous boom and the earth he was running on suddenly felt like water ebbing and flowing beneath him. He saw her hand reach out to him and she pulled him up off the ground. He found his balance and kept up. The noise from the darkened skies were confusing him. He was supposed to follow her to the bunker she and dad had built before he was born. There was a stock pile of food , water etc to hold the three of them for at least a year, if ever. She yelled again,” Don’t look up! Hurry! Don’t look…” Her voice echoed in his ear as he slowed down for some reason and looked up. He could remember the feeling of being in a frozen state. His limbs were stiff, he felt a pain in his chest like his heart shattered into tiny pieces . He heard her voice again one last time. “Gabriel!” The thick darkness was all around him , he felt it. In the sky were these odd shaped lights , many colors. But it wasn’t the sky, or clouds. They were huge round objects just hovering. He heard her voice for the last time. “Gabriel!”

The next thing he knew , he was on the floor of the bunker, the backpack torn and smelled like carbon He must of found his way some how. Now he was alone.

This morning he woke up with a purpose. The locket. His Dad had given it to her the day before he left for his trip. He never took those overnight meetings anymore but this time he had to, the client specifically requested him, mom said. The three of them had the best pancakes and bacon breakfast together that morning before he left. He was the happiest seven year old. It was also their last breakfast together as a family. Dad never made it back home. That was five years ago.

The one thing that would have given him hope and comfort and he could not find it. He failed.

He looked all around the bunker floors and through his sleeping bag and blankets. His eyes were drawn to the rain hole again. The human like forms he would see strutting around near the rain hole would put such a fear in him. They looked like him in some way, almost human except for the mossy color of their skin and the imbricated row of scales that ran down the center of their faces. He remembered those descriptions in his dinosaur books. No tales or tentacles that he could see but so scary looking. In the days that he had been in here, he saw no humans and heard no voices . He was sure he was the only one left alive but he worried, for how long. Her smell. He held the blanket to his face and cried into it..

The thickness of the air outside, the layers of the atmosphere were flipped or displaced by these beings and their machines in the sky. The upper part of the troposphere was now in and around his air. Cold air. He didn’t understand how he was still alive, or what happened to his mother. Were there any other survivors, human? He could see outside the usual forms moving around. Two of them were walking towards his only window. As they got closer he saw a light, a twinkle on the chest of one of them. He felt a sudden jolt in his heart. He wiped the glass with his sweater and pressed his face against it. It looked larger now, he could see the pinkish glow dangling and swaying a little. It is the locket! His locket, the last piece he had of his parents, their life, their world. He didn’t need anything else any more, just that. He knew had to rescue it. Save their memory, even if he died doing it. There was nothing else to go on living for. No family , friends, summers on the island. He hadn’t even tried to go outside since he was here. There the door was in front of him. He looked out the window again and there it was still. He moved towards the door , turned the first three knobs, next the latch and finally pressed on the handle. He could smell the strong acid air coming in, He turned and took one last breath of the air inside. He stepped out , there were three of them now.

He took off running like a bull to its target! He could see the necklace! A scream tore from him that almost startled him, tears streamed down his face. They looked up at the same time and faced him. The locket holder stooped a little, hands outstretched to protect itself. He realized he was still breathing comfortably despite what was going on out there. As he got closer he could see faces, eyes, and those bumps. He was running so fast. “That’s mine” he screamed as he slammed in. His fingers covered the rose gold gem and tugged it with a vengeance. He felt himself tumble with the creature. They rolled over a couple times. A groan came from the creature , while the other two just stood watching. He had it ! He got up and started a sprint of survival towards the bunker. He heard something but wasn’t sure if it was real. “Gabriel!” Was that his mother’s voice?! What was happening. His fear turned to confusion. “Gabriel” He stopped now. He turned around and saw her walking towards him. This strange thing was suddenly looking familiar to him. The eyes, the lips, yes . Everything except for those scales. “What?” Was the only thing that ejected from his soul. Her hands stretched out. “Its me baby.” “Its mommy”. His body grew limp and he fell to his knees clutching the necklace, not wanting to give it up. She knelt in front of him and held his cheeks between her hands. “ Its me” she said again. He knew it was, her hands felt and smelled the same way they always did. “Everything is okay, everything is fine, You’ll adjust to all the changes soon.” “What do you mean?” He asked the question but felt like he already knew the answer. “Where is everyone ?” Where is grandma?” “ Honey , try to remember. “ “The conversations we had out on the boat almost every Summer.” The words danced in his brain as he remembered. “What we have” “Sunshine” “Cool air”. Those phrases came to him separately now. “ You’ll remember “ she said.” “ The past and those in it is all gone. Grandma understood because she loved you so much. ” “She knew and understood the sacrifice.” “You have so much of your father in you, it will never die.” “Our people were dying by the thousands each day and taking this planet was our only way of survival. Living here among the earths inhabitants was hard, but we had to do it.” “You are already adjusting my love” “ You’ll make more friends.” “We are almost done rebuilding all over the earth.” She had the biggest smile on her face now. “This, is our world now.”