The End,
Is only the Beginning
"Is the president here please?"
"Who is speaking?"
"The commander of the Space Department."
"Alright. Wait a moment please."
Jake hugged the phone closed. He didn't even use the intercom, he didn't want the president to see the fear on his face.
"Hello. This is the president speaking."
"Mr. President, this is Professor Sandaville of the Space Department." Jake's voice was strained. The phone was going to slip out of his hands as his palms were sweating like a rain in a storm.
"Yes, Professor Sandaville, what do you want?" the president asked. He was frustrated. He was also tired. The hectic day had worn him out. It was ten at night, for goodness sake, not ten in the morning. He wanted the day to end as soon as possible, so that he could go home and be with his lovely family.
"It was a very bad news..." Jake's voice trembled on the other. He still hadn't found a good way to the president.
"Yes!" said the president impatiently.
"A sudden change of the world has cause it to end its days..."
"What are you talking about? Get to the point at once! Will you?" the president shouted to the phone. Usually, he wasn't this bad-tempered. But that day was such a bad day. He had fired his secretary; a maid has over-turned his plants; the tallest building was found to be in the danger of collapsing, etc.
"We have only three more hours to live, sir. The shocking change in climate, the heavy pollution; the ozone layer's problem..." Professor explained it all to the president, the best and most simple way he could. "The world has come to an end. The whole of human race; of living things and all."
The president didn't say anything. He has nothing to say. He was shocked. The wasn't much of a news for him. He had been expecting this day since he was born. All the faults of humans for thousands of years had caused this tragedy.
"There's nothing we can do, is there?" he asked. "Don't tell anyone. Don not call the press or papers. We will just wait, wait."
"But Mr. President-" Jake was horrified. How can the president be so cruel, so careless?
"Listen to what I say! We deserve this. This is time for punishment. Sit back, and wait for it. Think of happy things. You don't want to die sorrowful, do you?" With that, he slammed down the receiver. He rubbed his hands. His palms were sweating. Dropping his head is his hands, he sat there in silence. For once, the president had learned to worry.
"Catalina!" called my mom. She was washing the dishes in the kitchen.
"Yes?" I answered from the living room.
"Can you go to pick up your sister from the nursery on your way back home, please?"
"Sure, no problem." I told her while grabbing a packet of sweets and a granola bar from the cupboard. "Bye" I said as I took my bag and headed for the door.
I put on my sunglasses. The weather was freaking hot. I just came out for one second, and already, I was sweating. It was really freaking hot. This was supposed to be winter here! and the weather should be cold, not boiling hot! I felt as if I was at the foot of a volcano, no, inside a volcano. Oh man...
Today was 7th December, 2085. The world had changed a lot over the pass eighty-five years, since the day human entered the new MILLENNIUM. America wasn't ruled by a President anymore, nor are other countries. There wasn't only Africa, America, Britain, China, Europe... in the world only. We had the Sky Palace. People didn't live on Mars, they live on Lancaterin- a planet in SugarWay Galaxy. Things were even more high-tech than ever, ex: we didn't need to study, not really, in desperate moment, information would be downloaded onto your brain if there wasn't time for you to study. But worst of all, was the weather.
The weather, was beyond imagination. Well, maybe not. If you had ever think carefully, about what people in the past had been doing to the environment, you wouldn't be surprise that this happened. It was hot everywhere on Earth now. Some people moved away to Carmokana- a better planet, to live. But that was expensive, not everyone could afford that, even you had money, it wouldn't help much: you had to do something honourable, something that made you deserve to live in a better place than Earth, then, you could move there. So to the Earth residents, they had to take a medicine, called the Vernogannanimo, in order to avoid the sun's radiations from getting cancer and other disease...
"Hey!" I turned around. It was Elliot.
Elliot was he boy -next-door. My neighbour next door. And as for the boy-next-door? Forget about it. I as his best friend, who had known him since babies, just couldn't see him as the 'gorgeous', 'cute' guy, as other girls did.
"Hey! My mom asked to pick baby up after school, wanna come?" I asked him.
"Sure, don't see why not." he replied.
That was all we said the whole day to school. Through years of friendship, we had learned to communicate through silence. Words weren't necessary. But somehow, today, I felt weird. This silence was... uncomfortable...
"So, I'll see you at lunch, K" he asked nervously as we arrived at the school doors.
"Yep. The usual." I answered, trying to sound enthusiastic. He must had noticed, because he reached out and squeezed my hand.
"Hey!" Elliot called as he slide into the empty seat beside me.
"Cri-uh-i..." I tried to greet him with my mouth full of mushy hamburger.
"Hey!' is for horses, Liot!" joked Craig. "And don't talk with your mouth full, honey!" I rolled my eyes and swatted his arms playfully.
"You are horny, Craig," I commented.
"And corny, too, Craig." Liot added. "This was the worst joke you cracked, Craig." We all laughed while Craig pretended to look hurt.
"Ha ha!" I said sarcastically.
We might be all laughing and joking around, but I could see that Elliot still had that troubled look on his face. Then again, so do I.
We walked into the hall. After lunch, it was the usual Friday assembly.
'Guys, I need to go to the little girl's room.' I reported. 'Wait for me here.'
I went into one of the stalls and looked out at the high window. We had no other windows at school. At least, nowhere that I could proceed to at lunch.
The sky had an eerie gloom outside, yet the sky was as blue as the Caribbean Sea. Something was hanging over it, though we couldn't see with our naked eyes.
I went out to the corridor. The Snob Queen Ana was talking to Elliot, I couldn't say that he was enjoying his chat with her.
'Hey Liot, let's get moving.' I pulled him.
'Isn't it Elliot's stupid, ugly best friend.' She sneered. I tried to ignore it. No matter how many times Ana had said that to me, it still hurt. I kept my face straight. I wanted to smack her right in the face.
'No time to put up with a snob like you.' I retorted.
'Like you have a chance.' she said. I swear I really hate that girl, I would kill her if I had the chance. Her football jock boyfriend walked by and dragged her away.
'Ignore what her, Catalina," Elliot said. I didn't take another look at him and dashed away.
Things didn't start out well at beginning of the day, and it was going worse and worse. The problem is not just me. It's everyone.
Leia came back from lunch outside with a electric-fried hair. She didn't explained it. Heck, she didn't even realize it until we told her.
My books had either disappeared, or the pages became blank.
My friend Cassie disappeared during her nature call.
Our school's memorial hall was burnt down during the last lesson.
And lots, lots more weird mysteries.
But that's not the thing-- no one seems to care. No one seemed to take actions. No one stood up and shout, 'My God! The hall was burnt down or anything like that.
It was all silence, like nothing happened. No complaints. No screaming.
C'mon, people! I thought. How could this be, this is asinine! Everything is in danger, can't you sense it. Something's going to happen. Don't you see??? How can this be! Are you guys in a trance or something?
School ended at three. Elliot and I walked home, due to the fact that my mom didn't came when we've already waited for an hour. Things are weird, warning signal flashed across my mind like red light bulbs. A ring was tightening around my head, and I couldn't take it off.
But I dared not asked Elliot if he sensed the danger I was feeling. I dared not. I just stared intensely at his face. Luckily, he didn't notice, or I'd be embarrassed. even though he wouldn't consider me a freak.
I arrived at my doorsteps. Elliot said farewell to me, but sealed was my mouth.
The living room came to my vision as I stepped in. Something wasn't right. I thought hard. I realized what it is. The roof was on fire!
I dashed out of the house.
"Elliot! Elliot!" I called francticly, rushing over to his house. I banged on his door. It flew opened.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"The house... the roof... It was on fired..." I stumbled across my words.
"What?" I pointed to my house. "Oh my God! Run, Cata, run!"
"Where's your mother?" I asked as he dragged me across the lawn.
"I don't know! She disappeared!" Elliot hollered over the haling wind.
The weather had gotten worse over the last ten minutes. Thunder roaring, lightning bolting. Rain pouring, wind howling... The sky... It was the sky that frightened me most. It was green! Eerie green with a purple edge!
Everyone's out in the streets. Running for the life. Furnitures ran along with them. They were flying all over the place. Houses were on fire, blazing red. Our destination unknown. We just ran. Just wanted to get out of here. Hell didn't know what's going on.
Suddenly, everything stop. Silence filled the place. I could hear everyone panting.
It was so peaceful. Everything had stopped. Even though the houses were in ashes, chairs and tables all over the streets. There was a holiness in it. A calmness that I hadn't felt since yesterday.
I grabbed Elliot's hand. "Is it over?" I asked softly, not wanting to break the peace.
"Yeah, I guess," he whispered.
We could see Craig walking towards us slowly. He was like a figure in a slow-motions film. A moment when everything dragged by to show good memories.
"It's over!" he shouted happily. "The tension. The draught! The helluva time! They have all ended. Things might be broken, but they can be ment." We all smiled.
Maybe it's just me, I ain't sure. But I knew one thing-- we were not alive. No one could possibly survive that storm, that...
Maybe it's just that everyone died at the same time, it was all so fast, that no one realize it...
I don't know for sure how was it supposed to mean. But I know: The End is only the Beginning.
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