Finally, Silence Settles

How many ends are there in an apocalypse? Most will think there is only one. After all, the last day is what marks the finale of a world. You can think of it as the ‘true end’ – the one that almost everyone will never witness.

To me, there are three ends depending on the advancement of civilization. For an average one, the first comes at the end of society, where towns and cities can no longer exist except in places far removed from conflict. Next comes the end of humanity, where the last person dies. Finally, there is the true ending, as mentioned.

The world has already gone though the first of the three. So, next comes…

Tick.

“Cough, cough!”

“Need any water?” I asked.

“No, cough, it wouldn’t be much use,” Robert spoke, his voice hoarse, barely having the strength to string together a few words.

Almost two weeks had passed since I put the others to rest. I did regret my actions, getting caught up in the moment, but I felt like I would make the same choice, regardless of the scenario. Andrea’s words moved me, and in return, she would live on through the delusions in my future. However, leaving the bodies lying around was a bit too much, so I spent the better half of the time burying the bodies just outside. It was a pain to carry them, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“Cough, cough!” Meanwhile, Robert continued to deteriorate. He offered to help at first, but his body barely had the strength to stand, causing him to collapse after a few steps. From there, he remained on the floor of the abandoned station, slowly growing pale as he coughed and spat up blood. After a week, he stopped being able to eat. And just a few hours ago, his body began to reject liquids. At this rate, he would only last a day at best.

I offered many times to send him off, trying to alleviate him from the pain, but he refused each time. He must have wanted to keep his connection to the village, even choosing to die the same as them. We had only just left on our journey, and it was already coming to an end. I expected as much with how close the apocalypse was. Still, it was a bit saddening that I couldn’t show more than a few decrepit buildings and a dirty platform. If I had known this a week or two earlier, I would’ve let the two leave this world surrounded by the kindness of his hometown.

Tick.

“Are you…” Robert tried to speak, his words close to a whisper. His eyes had clouded over; his hands moved blindly from side to side.

“Yep, I’m still here,” I repeated. He had asked that question a few times already. I wouldn’t be surprised if his memory was failing too. He seemed to be nervous about his known future, so I simply sat by his side, watching the scythe creep ever closer. My doll form needed no sustenance, so spending a bit caring for a traveling companion was fine. I owed him that.

“How much…”

“I’m not completely sure, but given what I observed so far, probably a day at most, a few minutes at least,” I responded honestly. It made no sense to lie given the sincerity about his death.

“I see…” Robert trailed off, moving his lips ever so slightly. The rhythmic motion of his chest slowed as the exact same conversation played out a few more times. Then, just as the sun began to rise, it stopped entirely.

He died as he lived, and he didn’t even bother to say goodbye, leaving me all alone, just as the other had done before.

Tick.

I spent the rest of the morning hauling Robert’s body out of the station. A staircase at the edge of the platform, a right turn towards the food stalls, a left turn at the coffee shop, and a final set of stairs out of the underground building. A trip that typically took a minute or two lasted an hour. I would complain, but this my last walkthrough, so it felt more nostalgic than anything. I wasn’t sure why, but maybe it grew on me over the last two weeks. Or maybe it was because of the dead. Yeah, definitely the dead.

The sickly green pallor of the sky flooded the entrance as I pushed open the metal doors, making me squint instinctively. The distinct colors that had once made up the overworld had turned monochrome, only differentiable by the amount of light. I was used to it at this point, but it was still jarring compared to the plethora of tones below. What would happen when the end finally came? I was curious to find out, but I could ponder on it later.

Tick.

Readjusting the body on my back, I walked along the sidewalk towards the side of the building. While the station was installed on the side of a mountain, most of the accessible area was paved with concrete, making it rather impossible to bury someone. However, there were a few places that I scouted beforehand, and out of all of them, I ended up choosing the flower pavilion as their final resting place.

I continued to lug the body over to the hole I had dug out a few days before, right next to Andrea’s grave. Apparently, this world buried people in coffins, but I had no idea where any of them were, so I gingerly laid him in instead. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t notice if I threw him in, but I wanted to be respectful, just like I had to the others. He seemed at peace, or maybe it was a trick of a light. Who knew?

After filling back in the hole, I grabbed some nearby flowers, replanting them atop his grave. It didn’t have any grand meaning, and it would be gone soon. I just wanted to preserve the beauty that was a person’s life, through their struggles and hardships to their happiness and kindness. In the end, they would all become the stories that followed me to the next.

As I took a step back from the graves, the wisps of those buried stood there, staring. Like the others, I couldn’t make out their faces, not even Robert’s. Andrea alone remained crystal clear, bidding me farewell with some mix of a curtsy and bow.

I didn’t wave, instead mouthing a single word, before leaving without looking back.