Final Hours

Ding! My toast pops out of the toaster. I spread some butter on it, then walk outside. Already there is a dark spot in the sky. Other than that, however, the sky is a beautiful shade of blue, and the birds are singing. Ignorance must be bliss.

I glance back at the sky. Is it my imagination, or has the dark spot grown? I finish my toast, and go back inside for my shoes. It seems insane how normal this day feels. My alarm went off at 7:05 this morning, just like always. I came downstairs for breakfast, the only one awake in this big house, just like always. I shake my head, attempting to clear the thoughts from my mind. Unfortunately, there really isn't very much distraction at half past seven on a saturday morning, even when riding my bike through town. I live in a stereotypical small town, where everyone knows each other and all of the business are little, family owned, shops. I pedal my bike out past the edge of town, to the large field.

Sitting on the big flat rock where my sisters and I used to have tea-parties, my mind begins to wander, but no matter how hard I try to avoid it, my thoughts keep returning to the asteroid. That was really only natural, it would hit the exact spot where I was sitting in a matter of hours. I remember distinctly the day, last month, when they told us that an asteroid was going to hit our little town. A giant, earth-killing, species-destroying asteroid. The scientists said it didn't matter where it hit, because it would probably wipe out the entire human population on earth. Every last one of us, gone. The chance of any of us surviving was so low, it was nearly impossible. Though some would survive the initial impact, the initial blaze, none would survive the effects. It would be the dinosaurs all over again. Did the dinosaurs know what was coming? What did they do?

I only know what has happened to the humans. Suicide rates have skyrocketed, because some people couldn't stand waiting to die. Other people, the religious fanatics, claim that the wickedness of man has brought this upon us, and that God will spare the righteous. Still others lived wildly, skydiving and doing things that they would never have dared do. Trying to cram a whole life into a few weeks, a few days, a few minutes. The calm and stoic seem to have disappeared. I think I am the only one left with any sanity. The politicians all talked of sending people to colonize the moon, but with such short notice, all the plans fell through. The media pointed fingers at different scientists and politicians, blaming them for not funding asteroid watches, or not focusing enough on asteroids. But in the end, nothing happened, and we all wait helplessly.

Looking back to the sky, I realize that I must have been lost in thought for quite some time. The dark spot is much bigger than it was when I sat down, and the sun is higher in the sky. It's probably about nine o'clock. They say it should hit between 9:15 and 10:00. The scientists, I mean.

I stretch my arms and legs, and consider going back to my house for another piece of toast. It doesn't look like anyone else is out this morning; I'm all alone. I decide to keep waiting here. Waiting and thinking.

I wonder if there will ever be life on earth again. I wonder if there will ever be humans here again. Could it be that this is a never ending cycle of life and death, creation and destruction. That fits with just about everything that I know.

The dark spot that is the asteroid is so large, it is beginning to obscure the sun. Stretching out on the rock, I brace myself. My heart beats frantically, as if it is trying to burst out of my chest and run far, far away. It knows that it is doomed.

The rock is going to hit in minutes, and I wait for my life to flash before my eyes, or some other cliche of the sort. Maybe I'll see a light, and walk down a tunnel towards it. Or maybe I'll find myself in a line, waiting to speak to someone at a gate, soon to be joined by the rest of the people in the world. Perhaps things will just go black, and I will dissolve into nothingness. So many unknowns.

I have seconds left, maybe a minute at most, and I should be afraid. I am not. I feel warm.