Valentine had always known it was going to end someday. Since youth, he had been unable to deny the inevitability of his certain death. This, however, was not the way he’d ever imagined it all ending.
“I’m sorry,” said a voice over the speakers- over all of them, in fact, that the man could locate in his vicinity. “But this is the day that the world will come to an end.”
In the blank following the announcement, distant cicadas resumed their noisy stridulation. Air conditioners hummed, only making the stifling heat and dry hair seem thicker. The bland, sun-baked streets themselves were oddly quiet, as if drivers had fallen asleep over their steering wheels, leaving cars idling where they were. The people were staring up at the sky blankly. …show more content…
Valentine and Atristole stood there, only their eyes moving as they watched the first bolt of fire come down from the sky.
It was beautiful, and tragic, and terrifying. Heaven’s wrath met Earth in a poison-laced kiss. The city went up like paper, flames ascending the skyscrapers eagerly, crisping stone and concrete and glass as if it were so much kindling.
Nobody bothered to run, really run. Not from this place. There would be no point.
Valentine felt blank. His mind was empty. The red sky loomed overhead, seeming to weigh down on him. Even the wind felt still around him. He was going to die. Oddly enough, this was one of the few times in his life he wasn’t afraid. Yes, he had Atristole by his side, and that made it hard to be afraid.
And, yes, when he glanced over, his oldest friend was still there, waiting with a mild expression. Just… waiting.
“Atristole,” Val whispered, because a whisper was all he could bring up at the moment. “Why aren’t you running? You could outrun it.”
People were screaming nearby, and crumbling buildings crashed down, spilling flaming meteors across the streets, but it was all drowned out by the silence between them. Finally, he responded to the question with his own
“I’m sorry,” said a voice over the speakers- over all of them, in fact, that the man could locate in his vicinity. “But this is the day that the world will come to an end.”
In the blank following the announcement, distant cicadas resumed their noisy stridulation. Air conditioners hummed, only making the stifling heat and dry hair seem thicker. The bland, sun-baked streets themselves were oddly quiet, as if drivers had fallen asleep over their steering wheels, leaving cars idling where they were. The people were staring up at the sky blankly. …show more content…
Valentine and Atristole stood there, only their eyes moving as they watched the first bolt of fire come down from the sky.
It was beautiful, and tragic, and terrifying. Heaven’s wrath met Earth in a poison-laced kiss. The city went up like paper, flames ascending the skyscrapers eagerly, crisping stone and concrete and glass as if it were so much kindling.
Nobody bothered to run, really run. Not from this place. There would be no point.
Valentine felt blank. His mind was empty. The red sky loomed overhead, seeming to weigh down on him. Even the wind felt still around him. He was going to die. Oddly enough, this was one of the few times in his life he wasn’t afraid. Yes, he had Atristole by his side, and that made it hard to be afraid.
And, yes, when he glanced over, his oldest friend was still there, waiting with a mild expression. Just… waiting.
“Atristole,” Val whispered, because a whisper was all he could bring up at the moment. “Why aren’t you running? You could outrun it.”
People were screaming nearby, and crumbling buildings crashed down, spilling flaming meteors across the streets, but it was all drowned out by the silence between them. Finally, he responded to the question with his own