Before Ruin
Flash fiction from the archives
People were getting sick every day. Scott could care less. It was just something talked about on television. So when he fell off his bike and tore up his arm, he was only thinking about when he could get back on and ride again.
The day after the accident, Scott’s arm hurt most of the day. His bones felt like they were grinding together. He thought he could hear them making little snapping sounds. He thought it was weird. The swelling was going down by the minute. The color was returning to normal. But it hurt! The pain reached a climax, and he heard a pop. It wasn’t in his mind. He heard his bone pop.
His arm was better. He could move it again. Scott didn’t know what they had given him at the hospital, but it sure as hell worked. His arm had healed itself within a day of his accident.
Scott threw himself on the floor and did ten push-ups. No pain. He did twenty. He did thirty. His arm was better. Even better than before.
Then the pain in his head began.
It happened fast. A sharp pain shot from his eyes to the base of his skull. He barfed cold pizza. Sweat poured from his body. His muscles felt like they were being ripped from his bones.
911 was experiencing a high volume of calls. It didn’t matter. He crawled into bed. The light hurt his eyes, so he left the lights off. If his television had been on, he would have seen that this was happening all over the world. He would have known that people were dying. He would have known what happened after they died.
Scott closed his eyes and dreamt. His dreams were wild. He was in a wasteland. Cities buried in sand. He became a bird and flew to a half-buried power line. Then, he melted into the power line and was pure energy. He coursed through the line and into the wasted city. He found himself in dead appliances. He glowed on television screens and computer monitors. His eyes became street cameras. His ears became discarded and dead cell phones. His voice came through radios and mp3 players. He screamed for someone to answer him. No one did. He was alone.
For a time he waited silently. Breathing in the desert air. He was a ruined city. He was a world without people. He was the last thought of a dead civilization. Rain began to fall, and each drop was his tear. Then he got angry and he was lightning. Then he was still and nothing.
Scott’s heart stopped at nine o’clock that night. His apartment was dark. It was still. In the streets, fires were burning. Around the world, people were dying just like Scott. There was panic. There was fear. Eventually, there would be nothing left.
At ten o’clock that night, the lights in Scott’s apartment came on. His television turned on. His mp3 player started playing. His blender came to life. Every electronic device activated. At ten o’ one, Scott’s eyes opened.
Originally published at https://365tomorrows.com on September 15, 2012.
