The last thing I see.

A short story that was inspired when I read a comment that said that scientists would smile at the end of the world.

A large mechanical groaning fills the air, as the steel machine tumbles and whirrs. The wind around us stirs with such a force causing papers to fly in a circular motion. I look at monitor etched on the console.

“Dr. Nomura, the machine its overloading! We have to stop this!.” I shout at my partner standing beside me.

“Thompson we are so close, we’ll just have to push for just a bi-” Dr. Nomura tries to reply as the machine emits a pulsating shockwave knocking all of us back. My head bangs on the wall knocking me unconscious.

I stir myself awake, finding myself lying on the laboratory floor.

“What happened?” I asked.

No reply.

I push myself up, listening to the listless sounds of people moving to and fro outside the room. The lights of the room begin to flicker as a rumbling occurs from the ground beneath the building,

A dull pain radiates from the back of my head, as I move outside of the room.

I began to notice the number of scientists running around calling and leaving the building.

Dr. Nomura would know what would happen.

My legs move at a steady pace occasionally being unbalanced by the frequent quakes. I proceed towards the door of the balcony.

My hand touches the cold metal of the balcony door.

Dr. Nomura would often smoke at the balc- Ah!

Opening the door, my eyes teeter to the leaning figure of someone smoking on the balcony. I move through the interior of the building slowly walk towards the figure.

“It’s beautiful, isnt it?” The figure asks as I go closer to it.

My eyes register her figure leaning on the steel railing that stands on the edges of the balcony. Dr. Nomura, a resident physicist of the laboratory, clad in her long white lab coat, holding aloft a lit cigarette on her right arm as she leans on the balcony.

She looks back with a grin adorned in her face. Her glasses hanging on the precipice of her nose and allowing her chestnut eyes to peer on faraway horizons.

“Glad to see you here, Thompson. Wouldn’t want to miss the end of the world, do we?” Nomura puts the lit cigarette stick onto her mouth inhaling the bitter smoke. I look beyond the horizon, seeing the once blue sky painted in crimson colour as if the clouds were tufts of wildfire.

The sound of people within the building emanates from the doorway behind me. My ears picking up the lulls of people panicking, running aimlessly, or just calling their loved ones. I step forward, closer to Doctor Nomura, the sound slowly disappearing from behind me.

“So this is how it ends, huh?” I say to Doctor Nomura.

The wind picks up as the sky changes its hue; the wildfires begin to dance across the horizon, turning the horizon above us to that of the colour of space. I lean on the steel railing; a metallic groan enters my ears as I shift my weight on the railing.

“Why are you smiling, doctor?” I say this while looking at Doctor Nomura, her dyed red hair billowing wildly in the wind, accompanied by a small grin.

She looks at me and says. “To think all our meddling, had caused whatever this is. I know I should be more concerned. I can’t help but smile in the face of annihilation”

Nomura looks back at the horizon.

The wildfires on the sky are beginning to burn to a cool blue. The temperature around us becoming chilly, our hurried breaths visible. I look up to the sky, my eyes registering the mixture of red and blue in a deep tone; surrounded by thousands of blinking and twinkling lights.

I close my eyes, darkness invading my vision. My ears pick up the soft puff of breath Doctor Nomura made and the slight chuckle escaping after.
I then open my eyes, and see nothing.

Related posts:

Planning a relocation in Connaught Place can be a challenging task, with numerous considerations and tasks to handle. However, with the assistance of professional packers and movers in Connaught…

I feel more certain than I ever have in my life that I know I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing and I am doing it to the best of my ability. Life is an enigma comprised of multiple…

Even checking my phone once or twice during a deep work session is super bad for my focus. It takes nearly 30 minutes just to refocus again! But if I’ve gotten my important tasks done for the day, I…