It all happened on a perfectly normal day.
That day, as usual, Lucas woke up early because he didn’t like being late for classes. Since he was accepted into one of the greatest medical schools in the country, he never stopped studying, well except when he was working, doing whatever he could to make some money. His routine was one that many would consider boring and mind-numbing, but he needed nothing else; he loved being surrounded by books and to immerse himself in a subject. And the jobs he did, well, they were a necessary evil.
His dream of one day overcoming his condition burned in his soul and gave him all the motivation he needed to keep pushing. After a long time of working hard towards his goal, he finally felt that he was on the right track in his life, and that was when everything changed.
There was something different in the air that morning; he could almost feel it. Soon he noticed a peculiar commotion around campus; everyone seemed to be rushing somewhere, and a sound coming from a television far away near the cafeteria caught his attention. Since he was early, he decided to take a little detour to check what that was all about. But even before he reached the spot, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Everything felt different… wrong.
As he reached the place where many were gathered, he saw why: everyone was looking at the screen, and the reporter had a very grave look on his face. He was talking about something that would forever change everyone’s lives.
…
Lucas had to admit, out of all the things that could kill him, the one and only “Lu-glass”, as his dearest former middle-school colleagues used to call him, he never thought a comet would be the one to do it. If he had to guess, he could see a flight of stairs being the reason he died, or who knows, perhaps a misplaced step on the sidewalk. That was the reason he was always on high alert. However, as he looked at the sky and saw another glowing form up there besides the sun, he had to admit there was no escaping that one.
While almost all the people from Earth were losing their minds and indulging in looting, destruction, sex, drugs, and whatever else they could think of, Lucas could only feel unwilling and bitter. All his life he had been swimming against the current. Since he was born he had the diagnosis of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as Brittle Bone Disease, hanging over his head, promising to make life extremely difficult for him, and that it did.
In his short life, he had endured almost fifty fractures, but he never let that stop him. Just after yet another fracture, there he was again, focused on his studies. Destined to be a doctor in search for, perhaps a better life—a cure maybe, as far-fetched as that may be. However, just as he finally entered university and all the world seemed to opened up to him, everything changed.
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The news announcing the catastrophic event that promised to wipe out all of humanity—a comet that surely had been heading in their direction for a long time before the news was announced, giving some people enough time to reach their bunkers—stated that, in no more than a few months, the planet would be completely destroyed.
After the shock passed and the comet not only became visible to the naked eye but also seemed to grow bigger by the week, he went back home to stay with his mother. What else was he supposed to do in the end of the world, after all? His classes were canceled, as there wasn’t much of a chance they would survive the collision, so he had no reason to stay.
On his way back, he observed in great detail how everyone was taking the news, and the only word he could use to describe it was chaos. Widespread fires, broken glass everywhere, people screaming, the sound of shots being fired, car accidents all over—it appeared that civilization had left early, as was to be expected when the whole world knew their last days were numbered.
Back in his mother’s house, Lucas could almost feel like he had never left. His bedroom was the same, with the same furniture, the same peculiar smell, and all his action figures reminding him of simpler times. The memories almost bringing a sense of normality to the whole thing, but as much as he tried, he could not ignore the anomaly looking back at him from the sky.
And while he indulged in self-pity and gluttony in his last days, his mother had a very different approach to the disaster that was about to befall them.
“Mom, that’s the fifth time today,” Lucas said on his knees, almost begging internally for the comet to come sooner.
“I already told you, sweetie, if we show enough devotion, God will save us; now stop dallying,” the middle-aged woman next to him said. Her face was stern, but Lucas knew that was all a facade, behind was the loveliest woman on the planet, the one who was always there to comfort him when he got back from school, suffering from yet another injury.
He couldn’t help but sigh internally, his parents were always very religious, and after his father died, his mom spent even more time in the church. He kind of expected that to be his mother’s reaction to the end of the world. She spent so much time praying for his body to magically heal itself, only for that to never happen. Why should she stop now? But the thing was: Lucas had had enough. They were going to die, and this reality that he was so eager to ignore hit him hard.
“How do you know? Maybe, he’s the one behind it,” he said, annoyed. She looked disapprovingly at him.
“Son, this is all a test. If you show this much doubt just with this little trial…”
“What part of that thing is little to you?”
He knew he shouldn’t get angry with his mother, but even after all the time that had passed since the announcement of the comet’s arrival, he couldn’t overcome the feeling of unwillingness; it just seemed that he was never really able to do what he wanted. As a kid, he was obsessed with action movies, so he decided to learn how to fight all by himself. It took multiple fractures in his body for him to realize he was never going to be Jackie Chan. And then, when he pursued that which he believed no one could take away from him—knowledge—a damn comet shows up to ruin everything.
“No one is getting us out of here! We are…”
*POP!*
A sound like a balloon popping rang in his ears, and on his mother’s too, judging by the look on her face. But it wasn’t a natural sound; it was almost like it came straight from inside his head.
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