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The End of the World {Short Story}

   A single finger of mine traced along the cool surface of the window absentmindedly, that thick plain of glass being the only thing separating me from the dark void of space, protecting me from an excruciating death out there in the twinkling nothingness. In movies, death-by-outer space always seems to happen within a matter of seconds. The person would frost over in an instant, or their head would explode into a million tiny icy crystals. The truth is much more gruesome than Hollywood's overly exaggerated version of it, or at least that's what I think. Your demise wouldn't happen within a matter of seconds, but rather a matter of minutes. Minutes that would tick on by at a snail's pace, and all you can do is float there while the vacuum of space steals the breath from your lungs. The fluids inside you would boil, and the parts near your nose and mouth would freeze. You'd die a slow and agonizing death.

   Abruptly a chill runs up my spine, derailing my train of thought. A shuddering sigh leaves my lips as I attempt to pull my knees even closer to my chest now, trying rather desperately to provide my body more warmth. But the coldness of the shuttle's floors seemed to seep into my bones, no matter how much I curled in on myself. Perhaps sitting out in the hall like this wasn't the best idea, but sleep eluded me. I couldn't just lie there in bed, alone with my thoughts, and I didn't want to risk waking Gale with my restlessness. Out here I was still alone with my thoughts, but at least I had something other than my darkened ceiling to look at.

   The stars were like little pulses of light out in the far distance, dotting the blackness of space in an intricate pattern of twinkling light. It's amazing to think how those small glowing orbs are actually massive celestial bodies, producing light and heat from the churning nuclear forges inside their cores. When a star eventually dies however, they die a slow but magnificent death.

   Whether I'm awake or asleep, death lingers in my mind.

   Death is all I've ever experienced.

   When I was brought into this world, the Earth was just barely limping along. The Earth was dying a slow death like a star, only its death would not bring forth the creation of something new. It would destroy humanity, and possibly all life on the planet. While yes, the advancement of humanity brought forth so many good things that made life better, it ultimately led to a further increase of the Earth's population. You may not think that's all too bad, but with more people comes more demand for the necessities of life. Humanity was ripping the resources from the Earth in an attempt to compensate for overpopulation, the planet practically spilling over with too many human bodies. The spread of large-scale epidemics erupted as humans invaded wildlife spaces in search of resources, not only destroying entire ecosystems but now spreading deadly viruses in the process.

   Famine, deforestation, pollution, pandemics-

   It all led to more death.

   No matter how many protested against it, no matter how many advocated for better solutions, no matter how many tried to make a difference to preserve the world-

   Humanity took and took until there was no more to take.

   As resources dwindled into non-existence, violence sparked not only between countries, but with the people within them as well. Unrest flourished like wildfire, world leaders were at each other's necks, and the world fell into the flames of chaos. Desperation caused even the most gentle people to grow violent, doing what it took to survive in their eyes.

   What followed next was no surprise: war.

   Nuclear war, to be exact.

   I would have to say it was by luck so many of us survived the nuclear fallout of 'World War lll' or as us survivors prefer to call it 'The War of Desperation.' The warning signs of war had shown themselves way before nukes started flying in the sky, however. Even in our desperate times, people prepared for the worst. Those who managed to survive either were in the few zones left relatively unscaved by the war, from the radiation that followed such nuclear disasters, or had a nuclear bunker to hide in. But it was such a small percentage of mankind that survived, and that's not even considering the wildlife lost in the crossfire. Everyone had honestly thought it was the end for humanity, with the planet dead with all life, but some had been more prepared than expected.

   Scientists saw the encroaching doom of Earth, and with the technology humanity had sacrificed much to obtain, they built shuttles to house and carry what remained of humanity off to another planet. Rebuild what had been destroyed.

   But what's to stop humanity from destroying this planet as well? And the next one after that? What's to stop mankind from repeating this same vicious cycle over and over again?

   Those 'in charge' aboard the ship haven't spoken much about the future plans of our colonies, though in their defense their main focus has been to keep all of us alive on these shuttles. But people talk, and I've heard many ideas being thrown about what we should do. Not all are too bad. Implementing more efficient production methods for food is one thing, another being the promotion of family planning. Simple things like equality, better education, and green energy makes a surprising difference with overpopulation and the preservation of life.

   One thing we can all agree on: no nuclear weapons.

   It might be a bit improbable to hope that no one in the future decides to unlock the destruction of nuclear weapons, destroy whatever planet we colonize little by little with pollution and greed, all we can really hope is that we lay a good foundation for a better way of life. Hope later generations don't follow in our footsteps.

   "Angel?"

   My head more or less snaps to the side as I hear my name spoken, that familiar voice I know and love laced with the hoarseness of sleep. My eyes land upon Gale in all of their sleepy glory, sporting that 'I just rolled out of bed look' perfectly with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders all cozy like. I could hardly meet Gale's gaze because their eyes were so squinted with sleep, yet they seemed to see me quite perfectly as their eyebrows now furrowed together in somewhat dazed confusion,"What are you doing up?" Gale turned their head from side to side, gazing down the lengths of the dimly illuminated hallway I sat myself in before their tired eyes returned to me,"In the hallway, especially."

   "I couldn't sleep," I admit with a slight shrug of my shoulders, my gaze flickering elsewhere as a fiddle with my own hands absentmindedly," didn't want to risk waking you."

   "I wouldn't have minded, you know," Gale murmurs, letting a yawn slip past their lips before they began to shuffle closer to me. With a bit more effort than was truly needed, Gale manages to get themselves down to my level, sitting beside me all wrapped up in a blanket burrito. They lean themselves back into the wall as I do, exhaling a slow breath through their nose before they added," and besides, the bed isn't the same without you in it."

   "Bullshit."

   "Not bullshit," Gale bumps into me lightly, which earned a faint smile from me at least," it's not as warm without you there. Plus, I don't have anything to cuddle without you."

   "Then cuddle a pillow like everyone else."

   "I want to cuddle you, asshole," A chuckle escapes past Gale's lips as they slip their arms out from their blanket cocoon, reaching out to grab me and reel me into an embrace. But their hands seemed to retract back the second it made contact with me," holy shit you're cold-"

   The sound of my own laughter echoed down the long hall as it forced its way past my own lips, giving a light shake of my head as I attempted to compose myself from my momentary burst of laughter,"Yeah- didn't think to grab a blanket or something before I left." I confess with another simple shrug of my shoulders.

   "Come here you idiot-"

   I was unwillingly manhandled out from my spot against the window, pulled to sit between the legs of my partner with my back pressed against their chest. Gale pulled the blanket that once solely wrapped around them around me now too, cocooning me in comfortably warmth as they situated their arms around my torso and their head upon my shoulder,"If you won't come back to bed, then I guess I'll have to stay here to keep you warm. Can't have you getting sick, you know?"

   mAnother laugh tumbled past my lips, a small snicker in compassion to my previous burst of chuckles. I shook my head slightly to myself, however I did find myself relaxing back into Gale. My cold hands found themselves overlapping the warm ones wrapped around me, and as a sigh eased out of me, my eyes found themselves back at the twinkling jewels that glittered in the darkness of space.

   "I love you."

   "I love you too."