I Watch it All

Every apocalypse scenario follows a similar pattern. The events that occur may be different, but the general outcomes are the same. Truth be told, you have to experience enough to even notice, which is a bit hard given their finality. I believe it was a little over a hundred for me.

As such, no matter what tale is spun, the climax always comes too early. That’s the problem with emotional beings, especially one with a timeline hanging bright in the sky. So, what does that mean for us?

Well…

Tick.

“We’re done here. Do you have the food?” Andrea asked, walking out of a supermarket controlled by the Sycophant faction. I gave a brief nod while tapping the bag. “Good, let’s be on our way then.”

“Wait a moment. You have a hair stuck on your lip.” I grabbed it with a paper towel , then tossed it as far as I possibly could.

“Thanks… I cleaned my mouth out with water, but I guess I missed it. At least I didn’t need to wash my hair this time,” she cheerfully spoke, though I could see the hint of deadness in her eyes. All I could do was give her a pat on the shoulder as we trudged our way back to the church under the bright sun.

Tick.

A month had passed since I received Andrea’s… passionate… offer to join the Harmony faction. I ended up agreeing to help out in exchange for some baby formula and finding a diesel truck to refill the train. Putting my faith in others was never the best strategy, but compared to scouring an entire city on foot, it was much more efficient. Plus, I did trust Andrea, and I planned to offer her a ride out of the city once the train was up and running.

On these long walks, I had learned a lot about the area. Alleyways and sewer systems to the history behind buildings and statues – Andrea knew it all. Rather unexpected for a school girl, but it explained why so many people in the faction treated her as their de-facto leader. With her help, I became about as knowledgeable as an average citizen.

As for after the countdown, I also gained information about the various factions vying for power and resources. There were about a hundred of them, but the only ones I bothered to remember were the four directly adjacent to the Harmony faction: Crusaders, Paradox, Sycophants, and Marauders. What they stood for and who they were composed of, I had no idea. The most I understood was that we provided ‘services’ in exchange for a constant supply of resources. It was the main reason why the Harmony faction was left out of most conflicts. Some might find it degrading, but I found it admirable how far they went to survive as peacefully as possible.

Tick.

I continued fiddling around with the radio, trying to pick up any stations. While the news was typically bleak, it did keep me informed about the world’s progression. A few days ago, there was a report about an assassination of some country's leader due to lies about the burst. But now–

“...wee–bzzz… …wee–bzzz… …wee–bzzz…” None of the stations were responding whatsoever. Instead, it seemed like the white noise in-between was steadily getting louder with each passing day. It probably had to do with the green dot, which had grown to the size of the moon.

“I guess we can assume the radios are finally dead, huh?” Andrea stated.

“Yeah. With the power down, they lasted a bit longer than expected though,” I responded before casually switching the topic. “So, what did you learn?”

Tick.

Andrea’s face turned serious. “They were stockpiling a ridiculous number of weapons. With that and the scouts appearing everywhere, another fight will break out soon.” That was expected. While the initial chaos had stabilized somewhat, the peace was extremely fragile. Each faction eyed up the others’ territories, figuring out when was the best time to strike. It would only take a single incident to reignite the fighting, dragging everyone, including the Harmony faction, into the fray.

Andrea continued. “Luckily, with this, we should have enough food for everyone for the next two months, so hunkering down is our best option. Since the other factions know we won’t initiate a fight, they should leave us alone for a while. That plus the weapons you gave us will definitely keep us safe!” It wasn’t the wrong conclusion to draw, but it wasn’t right either. There was one glaring hole in the plan, not that I planned on telling her. I wanted her to keep her enthusiasm for a little while longer. As I had said before: the outcome was the same either way.

Tick.

“Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

“Oh, Casey! You’re finally back! Jack wouldn’t stop crying as soon as he woke up, no matter what we tried to do!” One of the nuns immediately rushed over with Jack flailing around. I immediately took him out of her hands, making sure to rub his back while bounding him up and down.

“There, there. I’m here. You can relax now,” I soothed, calming him down enough only to fall asleep again. “Thank you, and sorry about that.”

“Ha ha… It's fine. I can understand that a child doesn’t want to be separated from his mother,” the nun spoke with a smile. However, her cheeks were flushed, and she seemed to be having trouble standing straight.

“Are you okay?”

“Soraya?” Andrea asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Just a bit of heat stroke. Nothing a little rest won’t fix,” the nun said, trying to reassure us. However, given that most buildings, including this one, had turned into saunas, she failed.

“Where’s the firefighter? He should have an idea of the best place to cool down,” I asked.

“You mean Brutus? He went out a while ago… something about checking the perimeter.”

Tick.

“...I see.”

“We can worry about that later. Here, Soraya. You can lean on me for a while,” Andrea offered her shoulder, walking the dazed nun back into the hallways. As she left, I glanced up at the ceiling, staring at no particular spot.

It seemed like Andrea’s prediction would come sooner than expected.

Tick.