Tired, I turned over and blinked. I just saw the door to the bathroom close, Jessica had woken up too early again. I turned onto my back and checked the time on my smartphone, just five in the morning.

"Are you okay Jess?"

Silence.

"Jess?"

"Yes, um sorry, I slept badly again, had a weird nightmare," Jessica answered me absently.

Slightly surprised by the serious tone of her voice, I crawled out of bed and put on a T-shirt, which hung over the back of my desk chair.

Grinning, I said, "Weirder than usual?"

At that, I couldn't help but think of the many nights she woke me up for some absurd nightmare.

"Alexander, I'm serious."

"What was it about?" I asked.

"I don't know, it simply felt too real. I saw a man floating in space, facing a huge armada made up of creatures that looked like big ants. But instead of fleeing, he remained steadfast and didn't move from his spot. In the background was a planet whose atmosphere looked similar to that of Earth. Suddenly it broke into thousands of pieces and the creatures seemed to panic. Then the dream broke off and I woke up," Jess explained to me.

I looked at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say. Usually her dreams were harmless, sometimes even funny.

I just took her in my arms and asked, "Are you feeling any better now that you've talked about it?"

"I do, but it actually felt real. I know people always say that, but I mean it. Even now, I can remember everything down to the smallest detail."

"You were probably just out of deep sleep. Don't worry too much," I replied and kissed Jess gently on the forehead.

"You're probably right, I love you," Jessica said with relief.

After we cuddled for a good half hour, I got up again and started to make us coffee. Most of the time once I woke up, I usually couldn't get back to sleep anyway. While the coffee was going through, I had to think about my life. Currently, things were going surprisingly well for me. I was enjoying my teaching degree and since I was already in my master's program, there was also an end in sight. Thanks to my job at the local school, I could afford my apartment and my relationship enriched my life in every way possible. However, I felt like something was missing. Sighing, I filled two cups with coffee and brought them to the bed, where Jessica smiled gratefully at me.

Suddenly an alarm went off on my cell phone, surprised I pulled it out of my pocket and looked up what it was about.

Emergency alarm

ATTENTION, THIS IS NOT A TEST ALARM!

Tonight, on the 27.04.2023 in Berlin, the department of security of the DLR, has discovered an asteroid, which is on a direct collision course with earth. According to initial calculations, the size of the asteroid is about 9 km in diameter. Experts suspect that the impact point will be somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and South America, where the asteroid will hit the ocean at an estimated speed of 45,000 km/h today at 5 p.m, Berlin local time. An international team of experts are working at maximum capacity to find a way to avoid this catastrophe. It is important that you do not panic and if the situation cannot be averted, seek shelter as best you can. Particularly suitable for this are bunkers, basements or other premises in which you are protected from falling rocks and shock waves. We will continue to keep you up to date.

I stared in bewilderment at the message that was on my cell phone screen. Jessica looked questioningly at me and I handed her my phone so she could read it herself.

"This can't be real..." she whispered.

Honestly I didn't think it would end like this.

My guess was a third world war, but maybe it was better this way. Whereby if the impact point is in the pacific, then perhaps not everything is destroyed on our side of earth. After all, we Germans have experience in rebuilding our country, I thought and had to grin a bit.

"Alex, please say something and why are you smiling in a situation like this?" said Jessica desperately.

"It’s nothing," I replied a little more seriously.

"But Jess, what can we do? If the impact happens as predicted, it's all over anyway. Even if the shockwave, tsunamis, or falling chunks of rock don't kill us, the resulting climate change will wipe us all out." Without realizing it, I had become loud and Jessica looked at me angrily.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT," Jessica barked at me.

I looked down at the floor, somewhat ashamed, and apologized after a short pause.

She then hugged me and said softly, "Sorry for coming on to you like that."

"It's already forgotten," I kissed her on the mouth.

"So, what do we do now?"

While wondering the same thing, I looked at her long blonde hair, blue eyes and sharp features. She usually wore her hair tied up in a ponytail, so you could see her earrings that always matched her outfit. Although she had a nice athletic body, Jessica usually hid it behind rather loose-fitting clothes. Right now, she was wearing leggings and a way too big white shirt, which she had probably stolen from me.

Suddenly I realized that I was completely aware of what I wanted to do, considering the approaching apocalypse. I pulled Jessica to me and kissed her passionately, which she eagerly returned.

An hour later, we were lying next to each other in bed, slightly sweaty, staring at the ceiling.

"That was the best sex of my life," I said while chuckling.

"I was just about to say the same thing."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

After some silence, Jessica’s mood changed and she said slightly distressed, "Let's call my parents."

 She took out her cell phone and dialed the contact, but it quickly became clear that the network was completely overloaded. Since her parents lived in Hamburg and we lived in Berlin, just walking there wasn't an option either.

My whole family had died in a car accident five years ago, so I didn't need to reach anyone. Maybe that's why I remained so calm in our situation. The subject of death had always accompanied me since my family's accident.

"What if I never see her again?" I looked at Jess.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be insensitive."

Shortly after I lost my family, we had met. She had witnessed how much I suffered from the loss.

"It's okay, we'll just keep trying. But at least they have each other… just as we do."

By now, the streets of Berlin were completely clogged. Jessica and I tried to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing more we could do. While we were walking aimlessly in the streets, I noticed that many people around us were pointing upward with desperate faces. As I turned my gaze upwards, I saw the sky turn increasingly reddish.

The government referred to the meteorite, which was responsible for our precarious situation, with the term Eversor, somewhat theatrically, if you ask me.

I grabbed Jessica's hand and we hurried home to seek shelter in the basement with our neighbors. On the way, we could see the sky turning increasingly reddish. Once in the cellar, we saw families trying to encourage each other and comfort their crying children. A knot formed in my throat and I mustered up to avoid sobbing myself, not because I was afraid of death, I just couldn't bear the idea that I could lose Jessica as well. I turned to the side, where she had sat down on the stone steps leading to the basement entrance. Her eyes were glassy.

"Jess. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I hope you know that. I love you and if we somehow survive this, I want us to get married, get kids and grow old together."

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders.

She whispered, "I love you too Alex."

Then we waited.

17:05, my cell phone battery was almost empty.

The impact could happen at any moment now.

Suddenly it happened.

The whole basement vibrated briefly and dust was stirred up. My ears rang, my heartbeat was louder than ever.

Shock and horror was written on the faces of everyone around me. We all sat there without moving.

An even heavier shock followed and in the next moment all hell broke loose.

The house above us was completely ripped away and a heat like I had never felt before scorched my hair. Fragments of the basement ceiling came crashing down on us, crushing anyone unlucky enough to be underneath.

Adrenaline pumped through my body.

"WE HAVE TO GO UP," I yelled, though I could barely understand myself.

Fortunately, Jessica understood what I was trying to do and followed me.

We ignored the screaming from the people around us and tried to ignore the pools of blood forming under the rubble. We rushed through the destroyed doorway and glimpsed at the extent of the destruction.

Everything around us was leveled to the ground. The sky seemed to burn and spew glowing boulders at us.

The heat was unbearable.

Fire surrounded us.

All of a sudden I saw only white and felt a huge explosion, which was probably caused by one of the falling rocks. Jessica sought shelter behind the rest of our former house wall and I rushed to her.

Arriving next to her, I looked at her for the last time, seeing my name, Alexander Rikart, on a piece of half burned paper which floated through the air.

Then the shock wave hit us and everything became black.

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15 years later

"Markus, hurry up! We have to be at school before night falls."

"How do you even know if the old woman was telling the truth," said a frail looking boy to an older looking one.

"Why would she lie to us. Besides, we even helped her with the water fetching," said the older looking boy as he floated a ball of water, the size of a tennis ball, above his palm.

"As old as that woman looked, she was probably just imagining it. Besides, you were just showing off," grumbled the younger of the two.

"Just because someone is old, the person doesn't imagine things, you idiot."

Suddenly, the floating ball of water rose from the palm of his hand to his fingertip. Then the ball climbed higher and higher into the air before it began to fall.

Splat.

"YOU!!!" the smaller boy yelled, completely soaked.

"Hahaha, if you were as cool as I am, you would show off too."

While the two argued and followed the path that led them through the densely overgrown forest, a gray wolf lurked nearby, slowly approaching the boys' position.

After some time they reached a clearing. In the middle stood a sign with the inscription, Academy of Elements - 5.20 km, which pointed in the direction of the only continuing path.

"You see that Max, I told you. You just have to trust your older brother," Markus said proudly to his brother, who was also beaming.

They looked at each other while laughing and ran off as fast as they could. When they reached the end of the forest, idyllic fields stretched out before them, streams flowing along the gravel roads and flowers decorating the lush green meadows.

All this stood in stark contrast to the ruins that covered much of the world.

The beginning of a smaller village could be seen on the horizon. On the outermost fields, people were tilling the fields. The eyes of the two boys sparkled and they knew that they had arrived at the right place.

But before they could step completely out of the forest for a closer look at their destination, the two heard a terrifying growl from behind them. Markus' hackles started rising and a shiver ran down his spine, but before he could turn around, he felt claws digging into his back.

He cried out and was thrown onto his stomach by the sheer force of his attacker.

Nevertheless, Markus reacted quickly and tried to use the water of a nearby puddle as a projectile to ward off the creature that had thrown itself at him. But despite his efforts in recent years, he was not yet strong enough. His attack just didn't have enough power to seriously hurt the wolf.

Markus looked to the side and saw that Max was wisely trying to get the attention of the people working in the field. But as much as he yelled, they were just too damn far away and wouldn't make it in time anyway.

In a last attempt of resistance, he turned around and looked the wolf in its wild eyes, which prepared to rip his throat out.

But just before the wolf reached its target with an open muzzle, the animal was suddenly flung to the side and crashed, with a loud crack, against a nearby tree.

When Markus realized that he wasn't dead yet, he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the purple flickering air. He also noticed the streaking trail, about five meters long, leading to him from a bloody spot in the middle of the forest path.

Hearing a soft whimper, he saw the wolf, which had just tried to kill him, lying half-dead at the roots of a tree. Some of his ribs were poking out through his skin and fur, which was already bloodied.

"Don’t worry, your wound is nothing serious," I heard a deep voice behind me.

Markus turned around and saw a man at least 1.8 meters tall walking in his direction. He wore brown leather trousers, a white linen shirt and a belt to which a sword scabbard was attached. Despite his beard, he appeared well-groomed, which amazed Markus, considering most adults he knew looked filthy and poor.

Then Max came howling and fell into his arms, whereupon he first had to groan. The cuts from the wolf's claws were starting to hurt, now that his body had stopped producing adrenaline. After he was sure that his little brother was alright, he turned his gaze back to the man.

To Markus' surprise, however, he was heading straight for the wolf, which was slowly bleeding out. He unsheathed his sword and plunged it straight into the dying animal's heart. Surprisingly even though he wiped the bloody sword clean and put it back in its sheath, he still looked focused.

All of a Sudden, the man jerked both hands in the air and slammed them on the floor with such force that net-like cracks formed on the floor.

The blast wave of his blow kicked up so much dust that the boys could barely see.

When the dust settled, a swath of destruction, 13 meters long and 5 meters wide was visible, which removed part of the forest.

Next to splintered tree trunks lay half a dozen wolves, which, similarly to everything else, were completely crushed. The smell of wood and blood hung in the shimmering air.

The man sighed and turned his gaze to the two boys, who were sitting on the floor with their mouths open.

"Sorry you had to see that. Nature is brutal and although we've been trying to secure the forest from wild animals for some time, they just spread too fast. You must have wanted to go to the academy, right?"

Markus and Max nodded with vigor.

"Then you are in luck. My name is Alexander Rikart and I am the director of the Academy of Elements."