The End

Near the start of the 23rd century, the world was in chaos, a literal hell on Earth, in which the majority of civilization had completely collapsed. Governments of the world sought their seat of power to rule all nations, resulting in everyone's worst fears...using biological weapons of mass destruction, leaving the survivors horribly mutated, looking more like monsters rather than human beings. I was one of the survivors, with only minor mutations on my left leg and arm. I remember a time when I had a happy home life, a wife and children, yet only memories are left now there in my thoughts of what was, having only a crude, slightly faded photo of my wife Juliette, whom I miss so much. Juliette and my children died almost instantly, when the first series of missiles exploded right above our town, releasing their deadly toxins into the environment, which choked the air of all oxygen, causing heavy internal bleeding and horrifying eruptions on the skin. I was out on an expedition at the time, at an archaeological site underground. I had heard a loud explosion outside the cave and I went to investigate, only to be shocked by what I saw, the sky had turned a scarlet red color, and there was this foul odor I couldn't place. I proceeded to run back to my Jeep a short distance away, when all the sudden, this odd triangular shaped object was falling out of the sky towards me completely on fire, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. I turned and ran as fast as could back to the cave entrance, yet I was a little late, the object pierced the ground behind me with an explosive force as I ran, sending fragments my way, throwing me onto the ground just short of the cave. I was hurt, writhing in pain, my left arm felt like it was burning, I could see open sores and lumps forming on my leg where fragments burned my pants. These sores became swollen quite quickly, and were leaking blood and puss, as I was having trouble breathing. What happened? I wondered to myself. Still in horrible pain, yet alive, I made it back to my Jeep, only to find it would not start. Little did I know at the time, it was the beginning of the end of civilization as I knew it. In the past, decades ago I remember reading about a pandemic in the twenty first century that shocked the world, causing many deaths and sickness in every country, whom eventually recovered from the sickness through multiple doses of a vaccine. It was a deadly abomination created in a lab, which escaped unknowingly into a human host, circling the globe in a very short time. I never thought it would come to this. I had also read about these biological weapons governments of the world were currently creating, but using these were of a very last resort, for like a demon in the form of a deadly cloud, would completely break down civilization, destroying all life...and so it seems, it finally happened...the end of the world as I've always known it. As I started to cough up blood, I pulled myself to a standing position and reached in my pocket for the photo of Juliette, looking at her, remembering the golden heart shaped locket she wore that day, that contained photos of our kids, whom I also miss very dearly. I had bought her the heart shaped locket on our fifteenth wedding anniversary...oh how I miss her and the kids so much. I wondered how I would survive? the air is toxic, causing me to cough up blood if I stay out in it too long. I couldn't even head home to see if my family was still alive, living on plants, crickets and what water I might find deep in the cave, which seemed to be the only thing pure left, for even the trees and all other plants outside were dying...I was only supposed to be gone for a day...is there anyone left? I decided to take what I could from the Jeep and head deeper into the cave, hoping to find another exit further away, the air in there was not as toxic and perhaps I would survive...there has to be someone still alive, somewhere...all the while remembering Juliette and the kids and how happy she was when I gave her the heart shaped locket.