The morning began as any other had in the past month of pre-apocalypse. Brush teeth, finger-comb hair, and slouch over to the kitchen. My mom had already prepared fried eggs and gravy, leaving a note that said she and dad were out for a morning walk.
Those lovebirds…
I shoveled down breakfast before throwing on some actual clothes. Apocalypse or not, decency was a must. I checked the clock hung in the dining room to see it read 9:46.
Bet Ian’s not even up yet.
Not planning to waste anymore of what could be our last day, I put my plate in the sink before running out the back door. Letting the door slam behind me I headed in the direction of Ian’s home. It was situated further back along the coast, taking the closest spot to the sea. The salt of which danced around me. The morning sun was dimmed by clouds in the blue sky, which made it a pleasant morning.
Making my way on the well-trodden path I was surprised to see Ian already walking out of his house. He was wearing a cut-off t-shirt and athletic shorts. It was both of our usual outfits.
“Who woke you up?” I shouted to him.
He shrugged and said, “Just felt like getting up early.”
“Oh sure. So, what do you want to do?”
“That’s what I was coming to ask you!” By now Ian had made his way over so we turned and started heading back inland.
“Ride our bikes?” I asked.
“We do that every day. Let’s change it up. Do something fresh.”
“Fresh? What is there to do that’s fresh.” I asked adding quotation marks.
“C’mon there’s gotta be something new we can do.” He said exasperated.
“Do you want to go to Foodmart?”
“You know what? Why not. I could go for some mint ice cream.”
“Ian. You can always go for some mint ice cream.”
He shoved me to the side before admitting I was, indeed, correct.
“Let’s hurry it up if we want to get there by today, Kai.”
“I’m not even the one walking slow! You are!”
He took a few hurried steps forward.
“Pretty sure you’re the one lagging behind.”
“Such an idiot.”
We continued on the path for awhile before reaching the road and continuing down the curve. Soon we were greeted with the sight of a gas station, a few strip malls, and Foodmart. The only place to get real and fake food in one stop. It was the biggest store on the Island, cheap orange paint slapped around the whole thing. Spanning the top obnoxious red letters spelled its name out. I was sure at some point they had all lit up, but now most of them were barely attached to the thing.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Crossing the parking lot swiftly we entered into the glow of cheap LED lights shining down on both produce and twinkies alike. An attendant barely managed to spare a glance at us before going back to their phone.
I guess customer service isn’t a priority with the state of things…
“Beautiful isn’t it.” Ian mimed wiping away a tear. “Really makes you feel like we’re in paradise now huh?”
“Sure, paradise is the first word that comes to mind.”
Ian rolled his eyes and began making his way to the back of the store. I followed after him, taking cursory glances at several chips and candy bars, nothing really catching my eye.
Ian beelined to the back where old freezer sat. Foodmart only carried several kinds of ice cream within the small space, mint being one of them. Ian slid open the glass cover and grabbed a pint of it. It was a generic imported brand, but Ian called it “delectable”.
“Betchu could do that in your sleep.”
“Betchu you coul- SHUT IT. No way are you getting any of this.”
“I didn’t even want any.”
“Sure.”
Just to back up my statement I snagged a birthday cake protein bar off the shelf. Truthfully I wasn’t hungry, but that didn’t matter because I knew it would bug Ian.
“See this? It’s called being healthy.”
“I watched you slam a chocolate bar yesterday. Don’t even pretend to have changed up your game.”
“Guilty.”
Deciding it would actually be good to have a snack for later, I took my protein bar and paid up at the register. Ian did the same and we walked outside.
“What now?” Ian asked.
“I don’t know! Usually you’re the one coming up with stupid stuff to do. I don’t like all the pressure today.”
He just shrugged.
“Let’s just go sit somewhere shaded so I can eat all of this.” He held up the pint to emphasize his point.
We wandered to where a single bench was covered in shade. Plopping himself down Ian grabbed a spoon out from his pocket and began scooping chunks of gooey ice cream into his mouth.
“Did you actually bring a spoon with you?”
“Yes, I carry a spoon with me everywhere I- No. There were disposable ones off on the counter. And so what if I did? You never know when you might need a spoon.”
“And to think we would’ve been sophomores in high school next year…” Shaking my head at his idiotic logic.
“But now we’re not so I can be as childish as I would like.”
”You think Mackenzie would say yes if I asked her out now?”
Ian gave me a deadpan stare.
“Pretty sure the number one rule of ghosting someone is that they stay ghosted. Even if it’s the apocalypse.”
“Yeaaahhh but she could say yes.”
“Maybe.”
“Ian?”
I’d caught him mid bite so all I received was a questioning hum.
“What do you think about the system? Aliens or AI?”
He tried to swallow quickly before getting a response out, mouth still half full. “Aliens are scary. But omnipotent AI is also terrifying. Honestly, I feel like its some sort of universal narrator ya know?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s a good way to think about-”
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
SYSTEM INTEGRATION PROCESS FOR (EARTH 5021) WILL BEGIN SHORTLY. SYSTEM INTEGRATION INTO THE MULTI UNIVERSAL REGION CAN BE KNOWN TO DISRUPT TYPICAL PLANETARY STRUCTURING. SYSTEM INTEGRATION WILL ALSO AFFECT INDIVIDUAL PERSONS. CLASS SELECTION WILL HAPPEN IN TANDEM TO SYSTEM INTEGRATION OF PLANET. COUNTDOWN: 8 MINUTES.
The message disappeared just as quick as it had materialized, leaving both Ian and I in shock.
“Ian its happening. We have to get back, now.”
“We can’t make it Kai! Even if we managed to run home, which we can’t, we’d never make it in time.”
“So you want to just sit here!”
“No… I just… No, you’re right let’s go.” Ian abandoned his pint and stood, joining me as we ran back in the direction we had come from.
The timer from the message ticked in the corner of my view, like one of those annoying pop-ups you can never seem to click away.
9:10
8:23
6:15
Ian was right, we weren’t going to make it. The sound of our footsteps thudded in my ears as we ran on the familiar asphalt road.
4:43
3:58
2:28
1:01
The bend in the road came into view as we pushed our exhausted muscles further than ever before.
30
20
12
10
9
8
We reached the trail where we began and ended all of our adventures.
5
My mother and father stood outside my house holding one another.
4
3
2
Ian turned to me, genuine fear in his eyes.
1
Then everything flashed.