Prologue: Longing for Something More

“Evangelists are once again claiming that the end of the world is upon us. We think they’re just trying to get attention. More from John after this commercial bre-”

I abruptly shut off the TV as my mother walks into the apartment.

“Horace, you better not have been watching the news again.”

The woman scolding me was the average middle-aged single mother. Tired looking blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair with a hair clip in the front to stop her long bangs from falling into her eyes. She was wearing a conservative blue dress that was stylised with silver-colored flowers.

“Of course not, Ma, I was just browsing through channels looking for something to watch.”

I stand up from the soft, brown leather sofa that was placed in the middle of a small apartment. My legs almost failing me, tired from a long day of working at the local pizza joint.

Without saying another word, she just shakes her head and puts her blue jacket into a closet beside the front door. She instinctively locks the door as she walks over to the kitchenette, grabbing a beer from the fridge before slumping down onto the couch with a grunt.

“Well, we gotta watch something. I’m not going to drink beer on an empty stomach for no reason.” My slobbish mother laughs as she takes the remote from my hands.

“Want me to make something, or should I order something? No proper son would let his mother drink all night hungry.”

“No proper son should be living with his mother at twenty-three.” She waves her can of beer at me after she takes a sip.

“Bah, no mother I know would get home and open a beer before even eating a few crackers.” I walk to the kitchenette and decide to just cook something from the fridge.

“Your words are just as harsh as your father’s. Good thing I’m a single woman again.”

“I was going to ask how the date went, but I guess from the sounds of it, I’m not getting a step-father.”

“Course not you ungrateful child. It was alright, but he actually just left when I said I had a kid that was already twenty-three.” She sighs as she puts her feet up onto the coffee table, still wearing her shoes.

“Shame on him then, not getting to meet an actual grown adult that wouldn’t impact his life in any way. That means you had to foot the bill then.”

“Who do you think I am? I cried as he ran out and they called the cops for a dine and dash. I was let go after they figured out that I didn’t have more than twenty dollars in the bank.” My mother quickly browses through the TV channels for something to watch.

“A few crocodile tears and you get a free meal. You don’t even need anything to eat, do you?”

“I’ll take something if you’re making it. Working in food business sure has made you a good cook.”

“So greedy, if you get fat, don’t blame me if you can’t get any dates in the future.”

“Shut your mouth. Not like you’re getting dates either.”

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“Ouch, you know that your son has feelings?”

I grabbed a small pack of ground beef that had been thawing in the fridge. Today felt like a good night for a quick pasta. So quick that I’ll just cheat and use a jar of sauce instead of making it from scratch. The water had been boiling away in a pot since I started clapping back at my mother.

I throw in some fresh pasta I ‘borrowed’ from work and waited until it was the perfect tenderness. At the same time, I browned up the ground beef in a frying pan. I strained the noodles and added a small amount of the water to the pan I was cooking the beef in and added the jarred sauce. It was quick and dirty, but it tastes almost identical to the shit you’d get in a restaurant.

“Food’s ready.” I scoop a small amount of noodles onto a plate and pour some of the sauce on top.

“Great timing, I finally found something to watch.” My mother kicks her shoes off as she sits up, ready to eat while sitting on the couch in her dress.

“Just a quick pasta, nothing fan-”

I nearly throw the plate as a horrendously loud noise blares from our phones and the TV, and by the sounds of it, the neighbours TVs too. I gather myself as I quickly set the plate onto the coffee table as me and my mother stare at the TV in shock.

‘NATIONAL ALERT: Imminent impact from an unknown space rock approximately the same size as the moon. NASA has issued a warning saying that it just suddenly appeared within the solar system and is approaching earth at speeds close to twenty Jupiter lengths a second. Expected impact: twenty-five hours.

Please remain calm and remain in your homes with your loved ones. May God have mercy on us all.’

The loud blaring continues as the message scrolls past the screen again and again.

My mother and I are only shaken out of the state of confusion by the sound of screaming in the halls of the apartment. I rush over to the door to check the peephole. I see people running through the halls, with one woman bleeding quite severely.

“Unless someone lights the place on fire, let’s just stay here. We’re on the second floor, so just jumping out the balcony is viable.” I speak calmly to keep my mother calm and she just sighs.

“The end of the world and people just panic.” She laughs to herself, clearly still in denial in her mind.

Just like me.

In a daze, I sit on the couch beside my mother.

Was it really the end of the world?

I craved for excitement to escape my boring monotonous life, but not the end of the world. I didn’t want it to be like this.

“Horace…”

“Yeah mom?”

“The pasta you made tastes really good.” She tried to lighten the mood, seeing me holding my head in my hands.

The blaring of the alert had stopped an unknown amount of time ago. The screaming in the building had died down and it was just the noises of the sitcom my mom had decided to watch filling the room. As I sit and contemplate, my stomach growls, reminding me, that even at the end of the world…

I’m still hungry.

“I’ll get some too.”

Time seems to go by abnormally quickly. My mom and I just sit together, and she eventually falls asleep on my shoulder as the night turns into morning.

I didn’t bother waking her up. I just let her sleep.

If I could let her sleep until it was all over, I would. She wouldn’t have to see the end of the world. Though, knowing her, she’ll wake up in a few hours after she gets uncomfortable. Until then, I just held still.

I watched the sun rise through the balcony window as the screams outside grew louder and louder.

Car alarms and glass shattering, the city was devolving into complete chaos, but it isn’t like I don’t understand. It is the end of the world, just do whatever you want, not like there will be any consequences.

Everything started to quiet down as gunfire rang through the streets. Someone going around mass killing or the police trying to get things under control, it’s impossible to say without looking and I sure don’t want to get shot because I looked out a window.

“My baby boy… you won’t get to grow old like your mother, it just isn’t fair.” My mother cries softly as she wakes up on my shoulder.

“It’s fine Ma… maybe I’ll be able to see Dad again after all these years. You’ll have to fight your way out of hell to see us.” I gently poke fun at my mother in a soft voice and she laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Did you get any sleep?”

“None, had some strange lady on my shoulder all night.”

“Well, that strange lady feels like she slept on some bricks, you aren’t comfortable at all.” She leans back on the couch and sighs a sigh so long it might just be a world record.

“You slept well, want something to eat for breakfast?” I stand up, tired, but it isn’t anything I can’t handle.

“Are you sure you want to spend your time here, not out trying to live out your final wishes?” She asks me hesitantly, clearly worried about me leaving.

“You being happy is my only wish, Ma. I’m worried about you wanting to go out with all the violence out there.”

“Aren’t you just the sweetest little boy. I’ll stay here, you’re the only family I care about.”

“I love you, Ma. Thanks for taking care of me all these years, I know raising a brat like me was hard by yourself.” I wipe a tear from my eyes as I walk to the kitchen to make some food.

“Horace… I love you too. You haven’t been all that too hard to raise, but you can be a pain in the ass sometimes.” She laughs as she smiles.

Time flies by as my mom and I reminisce about the past and the good and bad times.

About how Dad died when I was only ten years old. He died of some untreatable disease that’s treatable now. They used his cells to help find the cure after his death because it was such a rare disease. My mother and I thought that at least some good had come of it.

Childhood memories that are too embarrassing to remember even before we all die.

Before we knew it, there were only ten minutes until impact, and the object was visible in the night sky as it reflected the sunlight. Tonight was a nearly full moon, the night sky was full of stars, and the city was still full of screams and alarms.

I hugged my mother and she held me close on the couch as we counted down the time we had left together. It was the most agonizing ten minutes of my life.

Then fifteen, twenty.

There was no impact, the massive rock had stopped beside the moon. It sat there with an eerie purple hue that was an extreme contrast to the Moon. Then the alert blaring from everyone’s TV’s and phones started again.

‘NATIONAL ALERT: The object has stopped beside the moon abruptly. Scientists at NASA are baffled, the world still could be in danger. We will keep the public updated through this channel. Please await further instructions.’

We didn’t die…

For now.